Benson, North Carolina based tuner Fastlane Inc. recently posted a video on YouTube with footage from disassembly of a 2011 Mustang 5.0 liter engine. With Ford Racing now offering the engine in crate form for a bargain price just under 7 grand, you can bet it will be a popular engine to modify for the street or strip. For more information on the shop visit www.fastlaneturbo.com
Fastlane’s Nick Field takes the viewer through his likes and dislikes of the new engine from Ford. Fastlane specializes in both Ford pushrod and modular engine builds so they have seen their share of Terminator and GT500 engines.
Starting at the bottom end of the engine, Fastlane likes include the piston oil jets and beefy main bolt and caps. In regards to the 5.0 liter’s connecting rods, they liked the 12 point rod bolts and small end rod bushings that include channels for oil flow. The video also showcases piston design that has advanced over previous modular pistons with a slight dome, valve reliefs and skirt coatings.
News to us was the windage tray design. To keep engine weight to a minimum, Ford designed several parts to multitask. The oil windage tray serves two purposes – to control the oil in the pan and as an oil pan gasket to seal the pan.
Future plans for Fastlane’s 2011 Mustang engine include more aggressive cams, ported heads and updated valve springs in addition to a turbocharger for big power.
One of the major dislikes of the motor was the amount of flashing in the oil pan rail and oil galley. A remedy for this flashing issue is the ol’ grinder and a few hours to smooth out the rough spots. Keep an eye on this project at Fastlane Inc. a built short block, properly flowed heads and a turbo could put the new five liter into the 900+ horsepower range.