Forged internals on the 4.6

[mensrea]

I have been knocking around the idea of having some forged internals put in my motor.

ANy suggestions

[Accufab Racing]

I've heard of Chicago but I'm just not sure where it is. Is it east of Phoenix? Anyway, we use the stock OEM forged Cobra crank. We lighten it of course and knife edge the counterweights. Other than the normal heat treating, etc., there's not much you can do. So far we haven't experienced problems with the crank, other than pulling some heavy metal out of one of the journals (for balancing) which took out the block too. We are spinning the engine past 9200 RPM with as much as 40 psi of boost. Rods are custom steel I-beams designed by John Mihovetz and built by Crower. We have used Manley also. Pistons are forged, of course, and low compression. Most of the work goes into the 4V heads and custom Accufab intake, duplicates of which we have sold to others. We have a 90MM throttle body (guess who's) and STOCK rocker arms and STOCK hydraulic lifters (or whatever you want to call those things). We use a Precision 98MM turbo and an custom intercooler. Stock bore and stroke (4.6L, 281 ci). About 1500 HP at 9000. We will have the car on display at the SEMA show in Vegas as a feature car. Stop by and say hello.

[Leadfoot]

That can't be cheap. How much is invested?

I was told to expect to pay about $3000 total to swap pistons and rods to forged pieces. I'm just waiting to see if something breaks, then I'll change them. I'm sure something else will go long before the stock rods and pistons do.

[Accufab Racing]

The rods are not the weakest link. The pistons, however are cast (hypereutectic) and will give up first, usually taking everything else with it. Get some forged pistons with a dish in your case because of the blower.

[mensrea]

So George, how much to swap the parts, and can we ship the motor to you?

[modular46]

I have a brand new 1996 Cobra Short Block. Will it interchange with the Marauder block? Can it be used as a block starting point?

[Accufab Racing]

Please, don't ship any engines here. That's all we need. We manufacture throttle bodies and such for Fords, Buick GN's and Vipers. We don't want to get into the engine building business. Our Marauder engine program is just for or own Cougar race car. This Pro 5.0 car is our hobby and sometimes test vehicle ($250,000 and counting). I see people on this board who are doing the engine stuff for a living and would recommend talking to them about your engine building needs. You don't want to know how much money we have tied up in just dyno time. It's ridiculous, but hey, we are Mercury Marauder enthusiasts just like you are. We are just stupid, that's all.

By the way, the promoter of the Fun Ford Weekend series has agreed to allow us to hold a "meet" or Marauder Owners Convention at any facility we choose. I'm going to work with Logan on this and he can be the point man on this board. I want to get the L-M Regional managers involved but I don't know how to reach the various offices or who these guys are. Any help that you have would be appreciated. The only fellow I talked to was out of the Washington DC Region and he is interested in coming to the Richmond, VA event and having some dealers bring some cars, etc. I am in a position where I can do anything I (or we) want at these events regarding the L-M people, but it's like pulling teeth to get their attention. I want to get L-M involvement at every event and we can pick one to be a National Marauder Event. Anybody able to help out there? Anybody from L-M out there reading this that might want to sell some more cars?

[Logan]

Accufab,

I have contacts at Mercury Corporate that would be interested in this... I'll send a few emails and see what happens...

[Accufab Racing]

I have had some contact with Steve Babcock in Michigan and Eric Koehler and Philip Smoker in Irvine but I need to have more than a fleeting meeting in the halls at L-M HQ. I can present a neat program to them if I can just get a chance to have a "sit down". I think at this moment in time it is difficult for L-M management (other than S. Babcock) to make the connection between "performance enthusiast" and "Mercury Marauder". I'm looking for the individual who can make that connection.

[Logan]

I'll have a few words with the people I know and get back to you...

[modular46]

Originally posted by Accufab Racing
I've heard of Chicago but I'm just not sure where it is. Is it east of Phoenix?

Like all West Coasters, you probably think we're all within a 15 minute drive of Chicago and St. Louis! :p