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1995 Thunderbird LX PI Intake Swap and CAI

28K views 57 replies 25 participants last post by  ogbird95 
#1 ·
This is what I did with my time 2nite

This is what I started with

4.6 SOHC 205 Crank HP


The Intake and CAI kit


In the process


X marks the spot




Engine without intake


The Comparison


So far, this is what I have done. Tomorrow is the day for rigging hacking, and making everything work. Theres alot more that was needed that i dont have, but my dad's an expert at rigging things up, so it should work. Ill post more pictures after everything is done with.
 
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#4 ·
Just curious, how are you going to shut the hood with the new intake/throttle body? It's higher than a 95 and the back hood bracing is formed to fit around it on 96/97 and is not on a 95. I have a 95 and my roommate has a 96 so I was able to do a side by side comparison. I would love to do the same but not sure about the hood.

Mike
 
#6 ·
I have a 95 hood on my 97 , no issues but the body shop did the work .

They did some work to the front lip of the hood though .
 
#10 ·
sorry i didnt get back on right away, i ghetto-rigged alot of these things without buying new. I blocked off both parts of the egr with aluminum, used alot of different hose and vacuum line, i actually turned the fuel rail backwards and made some hold-downs for it. It worked fine but i think i gotta tune everything in
heres a picture with everything completed


CAI


Turned the fuel rail backwards. works just as good


Everything I got on here is rigged up, it does work tho, so i must be pretty good at it. I do feel a big increase on top end. Acceleration is alittle off but im assuming i need a tune since theres more air coming in and the computer still thinks it has the factory air filter. I was considering selling the car but decided not to since i worked out all the kinks.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, true CAI looks like this

 
#14 ·
Or is otherwise heat-shielded from the engine-bay....
 
#17 ·
So your fuel lines to rail connections are on the drivers side of the engine now? Just curious cuz I still have my 94 lines that come in about where the TB is on the plastic intake. I used a crown vic rail flipped and go it all working. Is this a crown vic rail or stock 94-5? Also, where you from? I havent seen you on the boards.
-Rob
 
#22 ·
on the mn12 manifold, theres 2 heater sensors. the one that you see is for the guage. i found out the hard way that you have to use the other one on the opposite side in that hole that you see and extend the wires to make it work. thats the one for the computer. if not, the computer reads 0 degrees temp and dumps loads of fuel. it burned out my rear o2 sensors
 
#23 ·
for the throttle cable, i wrapped it around and hooked it up. with it wot, i used zip ties to tighten it up on the manifold and on the shock tower to make sure the throttle cable didnt move places when i hit the throttle. theres alittle bit of play in the gas pedal, but it works fine. as for fuel lines, i used a pipe cutter and cut the metal line enough to fit a rubber fuel line on both the rail and the metal line, and i got 2 extra feet of hose to each line
 
#26 ·
hmm, I had a different problem back in the day in my case. When I first did a PI swap on a 94' bird I had years ago, I did the "T" setup for my sensors. My sensors were not reading correctly and I had a problem with my fan not kicking on at all. My engine was getting hot, and again my sensors were incorrect, and so my dash gauge wasn't showing it getting hot either.

I don't know, maybe there is a difference in using the T setup and getting faulty readings vs. not using the sensor at all.
 
#31 ·
Yeah, I just did the bullitt swap on an NPI and you can tell it picked up a lot under the curve. I am dissapointed in the overall power, but I think a worn out trans is keeping me back.

SWS
 
#33 ·
i havent had too much time to post any updates, but i got all the kinks worked out of this. the only things i need/want to get are the right fuel rails, the right intake tube, 24lb injectors and a MAF sensor, and PI heads and cams. with it performance tuned, i should be able to smoke 99-04 mustangs.
 
#36 ·
Maybe with a set of 3.73s, and a converter you could get it done. I could take them through 25mph or so with just gears, K&N, and pullies. It was evident that my car was running out of air. May have been second gear...been a while since I raced on the street.

SWS
 
#37 ·
i can stick with my friends mildly tuned 01 mustang from 60 to about 85 or 90. it has a cai, throttle body and plenum, headers, exhaust, tune, and a 5 speed. all i have is a cai(now) and the manifold. I picked up alot, and my quarter mile went from a 15.9 to a 15.03 with a 10 foot burnout. ill say if i get the heads and a nice set of cams and everything i gotta fix, along with a few higher flow parts, ill be running just as fast as my friend or alittle slower. he runs a 13.4
 
#42 ·
As much as I love my Bird, my brothers Stang will smoke me any day of the week. When I finally do my PI swap I figure it will even out a lil bit. His Stang has UD pullies, CAI, Exhaust, Chip, 24lb injectors and 3.73 gears. I think my TBird even with all that couldnt hang with him. Like the others said, the Birds have an instant weight disadvantage.
 
#43 ·
they are at a disadvantage, but 300 pounds can be made up for, maybe not just with the PI swap, but other things. This week I was thinking about going internal and possibly doin the 5.0 stroker when I got all the cash. and I was lookin at Patriot stage III heads, possibly the xe270ah cams, and a Typhoon Intake Manifold. are those any good? they advertise 23 more hp over the stock PI intake
 
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