I was at the Ford dealer in those years and I can say that those were the most exciting thing Ford had made in years. They destroyed transmissions right and left but the motor was extremely reliable. It pulled to 7K with no effort and when the secondaries opened, it sounded like the V-tec Hondas of today. It also was supposed to have a 2sp accessory drive system to allow it to rev to 9200 but the system proved unreliable at higher crank speeds. Higher mileage ones have gasket issues and the occasional cam and/or crank sensor problems but I would still love to tinker with a turbo kit for one. I spoke to a Ford field engineer that used to service our dealer and he was telling a story of the 25th anniversary Mustang. It was originally conceived with a SHO twin turbo V6 and a 5sp. Supposedly, it was scrapped partially because the insurance companies refused to insure it (it was conservatively rated at close to 500hp) and because it was cost prohibitive. There were also Ranger, Probe and N/A Mustang prototypes that never saw the light of day. I remember seeing pictures of that SHO torture test with the manifolds glowing red.
Thank you for sharing that story! Really enjoyed reading it. A couple years back I saw a SHO power cobra(It used a Ranger 5 speed to convert it to RWD) and it got me really intrigued. I think the engine looks beautiful in Full EFI trim also I've never gotton the Rice term, Unless Imports run on Rice Wine or something..... Other than that it just sounds like a racial slur, I'm part Asian also I don't take offense to it, but I know others do. As for turbos a precision 6265 would be gnarley on a Six! But it would probably max out at 350HP because the head will just not support more. That's were the Fordsix Aluminum head would shine! And that same turbo on an efficient 4 cyl(Like a B/K series Honda) could break 700WHP no problem. http://youtu.be/eWi3DhLP4wM I've recently fallen in love With Honda engines, I mean 2.0L and smaller engines making insane numbers. And these are not all out race engines either. They use Stock heads, blocks, Cranks! Honda really over engineered their engines. And with the civics being so lightweight They're running 9s and 8s in the 1/4 mile. And with just a turn of the boost controller they can be driven home and still get 30+mpg. The funny part is that Fox body guys install smaller turbos and complain about boost lag, and here these tiny 4 cyl run even Bigger turbos I cant wait until Tony finishes his 80mm 5.0L Maverick build, I think it's going to get a bunch of guys on here more interested in turbos, Instead of all the stroker builds.
Maverick75, Sorry about the "slur", I certainly meant now disrespect. Just a term I have always use............maybe not totally politically correct", so for those of you who took offense to it..................sorry. Yes, the term Rice does imply they run on rice wine......................I first heard the term at a drag strip in late 70's or early 80's. Had a friend, Dennis Aldridge, of Aldridge Motor Sports/Engineering in Portland that compained an early Mazda drag car, I think one of the first in the USA..........he teamed with some rotary guru/guy and this little Mazda was turning low 10's and leaving the line at over 10k rpm...........actually sounded like a sewing machine Sometimes I get a smile on my face when I hear the term...........was at the local drag strip with my Model A Coupe with V8 Flathead with a small Weiand 141 Roots Blower on top and turning in low 13's..................I get a bunch of young kids with Honda's, Mazda's, etc................come up to me and say, "Hey man, what kind of motor is that"? I ask them how old they are and they tell me..............I then say well, it's an old Flathead motor made by Ford from 1932 through 1953, their eyes get kind of big and they repsond.................Wow, that was before my time..............neat! Then the next question is how much HP does it make............I reply, about 315 to crank.....................they say, Wow, that's not very much......then I say, well it only made 85HP stock. Anyway..................Sorry if I offended anyone. Just a term a lot of us "Ole Drag Race Guys" use.
I used to call em that...and yeah it's derogatory, not meant as a compliment. Now I call them Axis cars...more accurately targeting the nationalistic pride I have instead of a racially potent word..takes most folks a while to figure that out if they ever do.. be it Italian, German or Japanese car. The original axis countries.
I used that term in the past, but I grew up thinking it was the fuel they burned(rice wine), albeit incorrect, but not a slap on the race of people. I certainly didn't mean it in a derogatory way. I think alot of people pick up things from previous generations that started out as offensive and became so widely used that the real meaning behind it was lost in time and the young ones just pick it up not realizing the implications behind it. It jumps demographics as well, what offends here may not offend in another part of the country and vise versa. That said, I haven't been and won't be using it anyway.
Well I'm Polish and the Polish word for a Polish man is "Polak" . But when I was in school and someone called me that I knew what they wanted to insult me and I would explode... and by the way have you ever tasted rice wine.. N A S T Y... so don't pretend it is a neutral expression.. it's an insult no if ans or buts. Wow this is really off topic.. I'm out.
Captainmack, Off The Subject; Yep, I've tasted rice wine in Japan.................I actually kind of liked it...reminded me of Moon Shine and Schnapps only sweeter...........liked them both.
talk about going off topic just based on a term... I've heard the term used to describe aethetic body kits to japanese cars them selves. I guess now that I think about it in the perspective described here, it could be taken as a derogatory term... I've seen plenty of american cars "riced out". I've never considered it a racial thing to do with the people of the country in question but the cars/car style of the country. btw rice wine aka "SAKE" is really good, drink it at room temperature (how I drink all my wine) or up to 105-degrees I think it is. Doesn't tast to great cold, in my opinion. I've been thinking of putting a import engine in my maverick for the sake of weight savings and I would probably still get about the same hp as my 289... but the stories about the SHO... hhmm.... would a SHO six fit in a maverick?
Yes, you would have to work out the fact that the original throttle body sits over the transmission bell housing but otherwise it's the same lower dimensions as a 3.0l Vulcan engine used in the base model Taurus and the same bell housing pattern. You would have to figure out a way to use the original intake if only because it's about the sexiest intake any OEM has devised for an EFI application. JMHO
