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3.8 Supercharger Project = Worth It?

3K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Racer X 
#1 ·
There's a '95 GL with a 3.8 in my area. Car looks in fairly decent shape. No peeling paint or anything. Looks like the front bumper is starting to fall off on one side and the rear bumper has a dent, but in over all good shape. The 3.8 with only 77K miles on it has a blown head gasket, so this does mean an engine teardown. I assume that if you replace the head gasket yourself, it's pretty cheap? Is there anything that can be done durring the gasket replacement that would help prevent it in the future?

In the end, I'd like to set this up as mainly a drag vehicle. I want to run the 3.8 on the supercoupe supercharger. I wanna push as much boost as I can without blowing it up.

Does this sound like a plan?

-Dan
 
#2 ·
I replaced the headgaskets on a 94 sable and a 93 sable within the last year. Before that, I had NEVER done any involvod repairs before. The job wasn't too bad, more of a strain on your body than anything else. On the first car i took the hood off to make the job easier, but on the second car i left the hood on. the first time I did it ti took me about 12 hours to finally get the heads off, and about 10 to put it back togeather. As I said earlier I have never done any involved repairs before and this was my first time working on something besides my volvo 940. I don't think the headgasket job is too hard, just make sure you remember where bolts came from, and you will be all set, it's a waste of money to have a mechanic do it.

I got a felpro headgasket set for $190 from auto zone, it had every gasket and seal in it that you will need to to the repair, headgaskets, lower and upper intake manifild, throttle body, injector seals, valve seals, etc...

as for the supercharger, someone else can answer that.

but if you decide not to do it, I would try to get the car for cheap, fix it and sell it.

I got my 94 for 400 with 74K, sold it to my grandpa for $1000 he needed a cheap car.
and I just sold my 93 that I got with 90k for $150 1000. both cars in perfectly clean shape.

maintenance I did while doing the job was I replaced all the serp belt pulleys, the plugs wires ect, and the serp belt. and I also cleaned the injectors while they where out. I also had the heads machined and had a valve job done for both cars. Might not have beed necessary, but it was only $50 more so I did it.

good luck on the car. you should be able to get a deal on it.
 
#3 ·
sounds like a cool plan, isnt it morana racing or something that has cool 3.8products? that way after adding the supercharger u would be super fast, of course, strip the whole inside except for seat, and steering wheel. tint the windows deep, and make it look normal
 
#5 ·
Yeah, I was planning on doing all that. Maybe not all at once, but eventually get it all in there. I'll need to gut it, maybe put in a racing seat for weight. If it has a center console, I'll replace it with some kind of fiberglass structure or something. Extream weight saving. Eventually I might try and learn how to work with fiberglass and start replacing body pieces. Does the hood need to be modified to fit the SC on the 3.8? I guess I'll have to talk with Marvin and DMX about the project, but I'm guessing that anything internal that can be done to a supercoupe can be done to the 3.8 taurus. I assume I have not 5 speed option on the 3.8. Don't think any of the FWD models had a manual option.

-Dan
 
#6 ·
Try this link for engine parts as well.

This is where I'm planning on getting alot of mine from.

supersixmotorsports.com

I think you will like it. It does say that these are parts for the ford mustang, but as far as I know, the 94-98 mustang 3.8 is the same as the ones in the 94-95 taurus. Just with a 90 degree engine rotation. Also check out this site for the cheapest price I could find on a vortech supercharger.

superchargers4less.com

B) ;) B)
 
#7 ·
Why do you want to run high boost? On a supercharger (especially positive displacement types like the supercoupe), boost is all relative to flow.

You can take a stock thunderbird SC and shove a potato up the tail pipe and make 20 lbs of boost, and it certainly will make less power.

When you get to a certain boost pressure, you gain nothing, in fact you lose power.. It takes more power to make the boost than you are gaining from it. And the boost it does make is superheated to the point of decreasing density. (you compress air to make the molecules smaller, but they heat up so much they enlarge)..

A stock thunderbird SC makes 12-13psi boost, and about 180 rwhp..

My thunderbird SC on a stock pulley makes about 11psi boost and 316.8 rwhp.

This is because the heads flow much better, the exhaust (headers, and true dual) flow much better, and the camshaft allows the heads to take in much more air.

The more power you make on less boost the more efficient your engine is running.

Now if you want to run a turbocharger, get a good intercooler and crank up the boost as high as you want. Turbos are much more efficient, but you'll have the iminent "lag" with it, as well as much higher fabrication and install costs.

Jeramie
 
#9 ·
Originally posted by dant98@Mar 28 2004, 03:51 PM
I guess I'll have to talk with Marvin and DMX about the project,
:lol: :lol: :lol: It's Malvin, not Marvin.

Anyway, even if you don't end up SC'ing it, you could always have fun with weight reduction and making fiberglass body panels and stuff. I'd say go for it.
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by 97GreenStreak3.0+Oct 28 2004, 03:46 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (97GreenStreak3.0 @ Oct 28 2004, 03:46 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-dant98@Mar 28 2004, 03:51 PM
I guess I'll have to talk with Marvin and DMX about the project,
:lol: :lol: :lol: It's Malvin, not Marvin.

Anyway, even if you don't end up SC'ing it, you could always have fun with weight reduction and making fiberglass body panels and stuff. I'd say go for it. [/b][/quote]
I think if someone really had the drive, you could fiberglass the entire outside, and save a lot on weight. If it worked for the 'vette, why not a taurus? :)

Open your door...see how heavy that feels? Think how much you would save on THAT DOOR ALONE if you had a fiberglass outside without any foam inside with just a heat shield (to keep heat in! lol) and rammat or something (for noise absorption). Also, with everything being done with much less, I would think that, if done properly, the door would feel much more "put together" or sturdy, I guess.

Ah, to dream. :)
 
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