Factory Built LS with a 4.6, manual, and big brakes..

Back in '01, I was in the midst of a series of articles regarding the 'improvement' of a 390 FE engine for Mustang Illustrated Magazine. To go along with the dozen articles I did for that series, I also did a two part on improving the C-6 transmission. To do so I talked to some Ford guys regarding a kit that was going to be offered to both beef-up and create new ratios for first gear. And I put in a Gear Vendors OD unit.

I ultimately linked up with an engineer who was able to supply the C-6 kit although he was primarily involved with some prototype work at one of the McLaren installations in Livonia. He asked me to meet him there.

When I got there, I was given a guided tour of two projects that they were working on for Ford. One was a seriously turbo'd little English thing with all-wheel drive that'd eat Corvettes for lunch. It weighed about 1800 pounds and with the boost turned up would make more than 500 horsepower. They had two of them there---both in running shape.

The more interesting things were a pair of LS's---into which they were installing five litre versions of the four cam 4.6. The engines had been tuned to about 480 HP.

In order to use the production hood, it was necessary to use a 'low' intake manifold. They'd had several of them cast-up from magnesium and although they were 'squashed', I was assured that they flowed as good as the taller plastic production pieces.

The one on which they were expending effort had the engine installed---with no intake manifold---and they were in process of fitting exhaust components. And they were using an automatic transmission. At that time I was told that it was 'a week or ten days' away from being buttoned-up and drivable. They were working on the passenger side and had the right fender off to facilitate what they were doing in that area.

Figuring 'nothing ventured, nothing gained', I asked if I might be privileged to drive it, briefly, at sometime in the near future. Instead of having my request rejected out-of-hand, I was told to check back with my contact---'in a couple of weeks'.

To make a long story short, I did have the chance to drive it for several blocks, in close proximity to the shop there in the industrial area and along Plymouth road.

The pictures above might well be that car except for the transmission. Perhaps it's the other car that was there that day. As far as I noticed, everything was in working order. Although I didn't try to lean on it very hard, the acceleration was EXCELLENT.

With the combo of the spray and methanol and the addition of the pair of turbos to my own '02 I'll be satisfied. (I bought it new the next summer---about a year after the first test drive!)

KS
 
You'll notice that the rotor design is two-piece, with a center 'hat' and a rotor that bolts on around the circumference. Common racing lay-out. The 'hat' is probably aluminium.

KS
 
Back in '01, I was in the midst of a series of articles regarding the 'improvement' of a 390 FE engine for Mustang Illustrated Magazine. To go along with the dozen articles I did for that series, I also did a two part on improving the C-6 transmission. To do so I talked to some Ford guys regarding a kit that was going to be offered to both beef-up and create new ratios for first gear. And I put in a Gear Vendors OD unit.

I ultimately linked up with an engineer who was able to supply the C-6 kit although he was primarily involved with some prototype work at one of the McLaren installations in Livonia. He asked me to meet him there.

When I got there, I was given a guided tour of two projects that they were working on for Ford. One was a seriously turbo'd little English thing with all-wheel drive that'd eat Corvettes for lunch. It weighed about 1800 pounds and with the boost turned up would make more than 500 horsepower. They had two of them there---both in running shape.

The more interesting things were a pair of LS's---into which they were installing five litre versions of the four cam 4.6. The engines had been tuned to about 480 HP.

In order to use the production hood, it was necessary to use a 'low' intake manifold. They'd had several of them cast-up from magnesium and although they were 'squashed', I was assured that they flowed as good as the taller plastic production pieces.

The one on which they were expending effort had the engine installed---with no intake manifold---and they were in process of fitting exhaust components. And they were using an automatic transmission. At that time I was told that it was 'a week or ten days' away from being buttoned-up and drivable. They were working on the passenger side and had the right fender off to facilitate what they were doing in that area.

Figuring 'nothing ventured, nothing gained', I asked if I might be privileged to drive it, briefly, at sometime in the near future. Instead of having my request rejected out-of-hand, I was told to check back with my contact---'in a couple of weeks'.

To make a long story short, I did have the chance to drive it for several blocks, in close proximity to the shop there in the industrial area and along Plymouth road.

The pictures above might well be that car except for the transmission. Perhaps it's the other car that was there that day. As far as I noticed, everything was in working order. Although I didn't try to lean on it very hard, the acceleration was EXCELLENT.

With the combo of the spray and methanol and the addition of the pair of turbos to my own '02 I'll be satisfied. (I bought it new the next summer---about a year after the first test drive!)

KS


WINNER!! There's your low profile cast magnesium intake right there!!!
 
And that one off intake IS magnesium, not aluminum.. The FR500 intakes are also magnesium and the same color.
 
You're wrong. I was also talking about the intake MANIFOLD.. not the inlet tube.. Back in 2001, there were NO aftermarket intakes for a 4.6.. The intake manifold on that car is one of a kind, and I guarantee you some little shop didn't make it and it's not someone's toy...

There still aren't many (or any really) aftermarket intakes for the B head 4.6. Which that is, you can see the IMRC controller right out there in front. C heads don't have IMRCs of course.
 
Cam- I have read your story a few times, but had never seen that car. It nice to connect that ls with a real picture. The things the ls could've been with a little more support back then, bummer.
 
Guy PM'd me back.. guy was his neighbor who worked for Ford. The story posted is legit.

The doubters are awful quiet now
 
this is still being argued that this is a factory LS?


there is zero chance that motor was put in at the factory.
 
Nice story but I'm sure there were tons of different prototypes out there that got squashed over the years. That certainly was not a production car, even the story in the original link says it was one of 2 Ls's that was being played with at an outside vendor.

One thing I always wonder about is why Ford would put forth the effort to build the car. Where would they profit by having the work done, design, performance? I'm sure from CAD drawings they already new it wasn't going to be producible and there really never was a performance following for the LS like the Mustang. Seems like it was a huge waste of time for a non starter.
 
I will agree with Blwnbyu. My Dad worked for Ford, and actually on the LS trans, (many of you on LLSOC may know of him, he offers trans advice all the time) and he was lucky enough to have either driven it, or be driven around in it, not sure.
Factory build, no. Prototype, 100% yes.
 
Nice story but I'm sure there were tons of different prototypes out there that got squashed over the years. That certainly was not a production car, even the story in the original link says it was one of 2 Ls's that was being played with at an outside vendor.

One thing I always wonder about is why Ford would put forth the effort to build the car. Where would they profit by having the work done, design, performance? I'm sure from CAD drawings they already new it wasn't going to be producible and there really never was a performance following for the LS like the Mustang. Seems like it was a huge waste of time for a non starter.

Test mule for the next gen Mustang engine/trans? Probably never benefited the ls but did benefit the engine development.
 
Test mule for the next gen Mustang engine/trans? Probably never benefited the ls but did benefit the engine development.

Yup...... They mix and match engines and vehicles for test purposes all the time.
 
Hey, cum' on guys---

It seems to me that we have an argument here for no very good reason. I didn't see where it was claimed by anyone that the cars in question were put together on a production assembly line.

For those of us who live around the Metro Detroit area, the way the car companies do things is taken for granted. There was some sort of task force within Ford that was pushing the idea of using the 'mod' motor in the LS platform. McLaren was hired to put the two cars together to do a 'feasibility study'. Having an actual running pair of cars would be an important part of that process. And when everything was in hand there would be a formal 'presentation to management'---some of whom would be 'bean-counters' and not car guys. After such a presentation the cars themselves would be redundant.

Many such cars ARE destroyed---but not all of them. I could tell you stories...

On an allied note, there is a purely Ford location over by the corner of Melvindale, and not far from The Rouge whose function is to do feasibility studies regarding the lay-out of assembly operations for vehicles who have been given the 'go-ahead'. I've been there a number of times and it is usual to see parts of vehicles setting around in storage areas that are several years away from production. What Ford calls 'XE' parts are all over the place. And part of what happens there is that these parts are assembled into vehicles. And driven. And, depending on who is asking, some of those vehicles may be 'loaned-out' for extended 'test' periods. And sometimes those periods get extended to such an extent that 'decades' might well be the measurement.

KS
 
I didn't see where it was claimed by anyone that the cars in question were put together on a production assembly line.

well there is the title of the thread... "Factory Built LS with a 4.6, manual, and big brakes.."

and then there was this one

I did a Google search earlier and read that there were a few ls 4.6 prototypes from factory.








I'm not saying that this isn't a sweet ass LS, I'm just saying the term "factory" or "factory built" usually means that the car was built that way at the factory where it rolled off of the assemble line...

personally I've always said this is the car Ford should have built from the beginning, for a long while there has been a Lincoln built around a mustang drivetrain. this should not have stopped with the LS, the LS and the thunderbird should have always continued to use the 4.6 DOHC/Tremec drivetrain and what ever modifications the chassis needed to make it happen. it would have made the LS much more reliable, give it much more potential, with access to probably most of a huge aftermarket with minor modifications.
 
well there is the title of the thread... "Factory Built LS with a 4.6, manual, and big brakes.."

and then there was this one










I'm not saying that this isn't a sweet ass LS, I'm just saying the term "factory" or "factory built" usually means that the car was built that way at the factory where it rolled off of the assemble line...

personally I've always said this is the car Ford should have built from the beginning, for a long while there has been a Lincoln built around a mustang drivetrain. this should not have stopped with the LS, the LS and the thunderbird should have always continued to use the 4.6 DOHC/Tremec drivetrain and what ever modifications the chassis needed to make it happen. it would have made the LS much more reliable, give it much more potential, with access to probably most of a huge aftermarket with minor modifications.


Agreed x 1,000,000... Everyone on SVTP loved the 4.6 powered LS. I think it would have been extremely successful. The aftermarket for the mod motors is now equal to that of the 302 and they've proven to be an amazing platform that has been remarkably reliable and capable of making loads of power.
 
well there is the title of the thread... "Factory Built LS with a 4.6, manual, and big brakes.."

and then there was this one










I'm not saying that this isn't a sweet ass LS, I'm just saying the term "factory" or "factory built" usually means that the car was built that way at the factory where it rolled off of the assemble line...

personally I've always said this is the car Ford should have built from the beginning, for a long while there has been a Lincoln built around a mustang drivetrain. this should not have stopped with the LS, the LS and the thunderbird should have always continued to use the 4.6 DOHC/Tremec drivetrain and what ever modifications the chassis needed to make it happen. it would have made the LS much more reliable, give it much more potential, with access to probably most of a huge aftermarket with minor modifications.

I mean the definition of factory is a place where goods are built... By factory in this context I meant the manufacturer, I don't think anyone on here implied it rolled off the assembly line like this.
 
Further---

I believe that here in the 'Car Capitol', 'factory' is usually taken to mean that it originated, in this case, with FoMoCo as opposed to having been put together in someone's back yard.

When I was involved with Quality Control at T&C Livonia, we used as a continuing test car, a 427 FE-equipped '63 Fairlane. It wasn't put together on a production assembly line but was assuredly put together at Ford.

Several years later I bought a '60 Falcon with a complete 'K' powertrain. It was a project put together over a week-end by a group of guys who worked a 'Triple E'---'Engine & Electrical Engineering' part of the Dearborn Complex. It didn't exist due to a production assembly line but was just as assuredly put together at Ford.

KS
 
You'd have to be an idiot to think I meant it rolled down the assembly line with the rest of the LS's. Likewise, that doesn't mean it wasn't "factory" built.. as in built BY or for FORD.. For testing.. you know, like ALL prototypes.

Leave it to LNC to piss all over a unique piece of history about their car over semantics.. Out of all the forums I frequent, this one has the most self righteous douchebags, yet has the least valuable cars.
 
I believe that here in the 'Car Capitol', 'factory' is usually taken to mean that it originated, in this case, with FoMoCo as opposed to having been put together in someone's back yard.



Sorry for coming off sounding dickish , Ive just never heard anybody use "factory" as a term for anything/everything built by or for the company, especially in the car capital or around anybody in the industry.


every time I've ever heard it used it been synonymous with OEM/stock
just like when talking to guys at the track or car shows...

person one: oh, man, sweet car, what do you have done to it

person two:nothing really, its all factory




person one: Jesus that was fact, its not all factory is it

person two: no way, its been fully built.



I definitely wouldn't call the facilities at any of the proving grounds where a lot of prototype work and testing is done a factory either.


factory's are only part of Ford, the factory's are where the parts and cars are assembled, there are also many other parts of Ford like offices, design studios, laboratories, testing facilities and so on. the factory didn't ask for those cars to be built, other parts of Ford did...




they've proven to be an amazing platform that has been remarkably reliable and capable of making loads of power.
could you imagine how bad ass it would be to have a termi powered LS!!! expecially after you got rid of its major problem and got a real blower like a Wipple or KenneBell! it would look amazing with a cowl hood to clear the blower or hell TT powered to keep the OEM hood. it sure would be nice if Ford would keep up with Cadillac.
 

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