Which is a better upgrade for a lopo 5.0?

[87mefull]

The stock lopo sucks for the roads im driving on as it has barely has any hp/torque every time its driving up hills. Just needs a little more torque in OD and it would be great. I don't have alot of money to spend and this car is my only daily driver (talking $300 or less to invest).

I'm debating on what would be a better upgrade for this motor:

1) Get better rear gears.
2) Swap to E7 heads along with the HO intakes and TB
3) Full HO conversion.
4) Stay stock and buy/build a better motor when the lopo dies.

I have both an HO upper/lower with injectors, egr spacer and throttle body. A full HO conversion would be nice but I cannot afford to take this car off the road for more than a weekend and has to be reliable every day. Is it hard to just swap to e7 heads along with the HO upper intake/tb? I've changed a headgasket before but on a 4 cylinder engine and it was a royal pain in the ass.

Don't know about upgrade the gears though, 2:73's don't seem that bad with these gas prices. If it means more torque, I'll do it then.

[Blaze86Vic]

Rear end gear, cheap, easy, and VERY VERY noticable. The absolute BIGGEST bang for your buck that you could do.

[Freshmeat]

I'd say rear gears, too. The intakes would be good to do, but if you're going to do the heads, you'd just as well swap your cam and ECM, too- it's not THAT much more work.

[87mefull]

I was thinking rear gears would be a good upgrade too since I had the same problems with my old truck on the same roads. Would 3:55's be overkill though and have an affect on gas mileage? On these roads im lucky to see anywhere from 12-17 mpg while at home I can pull of a consistant 20-22mpg.

[Freshmeat]

3.55s would probably help your fuel mileage on those roads. They're far from overkill. I think they'd be a good compliment to your ride.

[89LincolnTWNcar]

i would do E7 heads, 1.7 roller rockers, HO intake/TB/EGR, and 3.73 gears. Leave the computer/cam/injectors alone for fuel milage.

[Blaze86Vic]

You can;t do all that and leave the ECu alone. It will not run even rmotly decent. The HO ECU makes great mileage, around 20ish interstate depending on rear gear.

A 3.55 would do wonders, it would wake that thing up, and make mountains and city streets a breeze.

[87mefull]

You can't do all that and leave the ECu alone. It will not run even rmotly decent. The HO ECU makes great mileage, around 20ish interstate depending on rear gear.

Thats what I thought, I would really have to do a complete HO conversion to see good results from e7 heads and the HO upper/tb. Running the stock SD computer, cam and injectors probably wouldn't be much of an improvement.

I might do the conversion if I can find a good deal on e7 or gt40 heads, a cam and some time off from work to do it. For now I'll swap to the HO upper/tb since I need to replace some emission hoses, etc.

[87mefull]

Also, are there specific 3:55 gears that I have to use or would any 8.8 inch gear set work?

[Blaze86Vic]

All 8.8 rear gears are interchangable.

[DuceAnAHalf]

All 8.8 rear gears are interchangable.

Yup, just make sure not to get a set of reverse cut gears for a front axle, that would be bad.

[88MercWagon]

Yea defiantely gears. From what I've heard [red above] its the best thing for a lopo, and if you think about the car's specs, it makes the most sense on paper.

[gadget73]

You can swap the heads, intake, throttle body, and do roller rockers with the stock injectors and ECM and it'll work. Perhaps not in an ideal manner, but it'll work. Someone on here did it with his car, minus the rockers, and I don't think he has drivability issues, but you'd have to ask. I'm pretty sure it was Matthew that did the e7 swap. Heads are not that hard to change on a 302. Pop the intake, unbolt the exhaust, remove the rockers and pushrods, unbolt the head, then pry it off. They're heavy and awkward but thats really the worst of it. Its time consuming, and the gaskets are not the cheapest thing. Not a good idea to undertake if you don't have some experience doing it if you need it done in a weekend, just in case something goes wrong.

I do have to agree, for your money and time, change the gears, and if you don't have better than stock exhaust, do that too. I do seem to recall you had duals put on so you're probably oK there. 3.31 or 3.55 gears would do just fine for you.

[Mercracer]

Yup, just make sure not to get a set of reverse cut gears for a front axle, that would be bad.

Good thing that there are no 8.8 front axles...:2thumbs:

[N A]

What's the speed limit for the roads and hills you're driving on? What gear is in the rearend? What condition is your motor in? When was the last time you did a tune up? I'd start with a tune up.