How to Build Max Performance 4.6 Liter Ford Engines [Paperback]

Sean Hyland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2004

The 4.6-liter Ford has become one of the premiere modern performance engines. In fact, it's beginning to rival Ford's own 5.0 liter in terms of popularity, potential, and availability. With Mustang buy-in prices dropping and media and aftermarket support booming, there has never been a better time take your 4.6-liter's performance to the next level. In How To Build Max-Performance 4.6-Liter Ford Engines, renowned engine builder and tuner Sean Hyland gives you a comprehensive guide to building and modifying Ford's 2- and 4-valve 4.6/5.4-liter engines. You will learn everything from block selection and crankshaft prep, to cylinder head and intake manifold modifications. He also outlines eight recommended power packages and provides you with a step-by-step buildup of a naturally aspirated, 405-horsepower Cobra engine. This is the definitive guide to getting the most from your 4.6-liter Ford.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

When the '96 Mustang came out with the 4.6-liter V-8, some performance enthusiasts were scared away by its technology. But those days are long gone. Ford added horsepower and torque to its 2- and 4-valve V-8s over the years, and the number and quality of available aftermarket performance parts has exploded. How To Build Max-Performance 4.6-Liter Ford Engines gives you a comprehensive guide to building and modifying Ford's 2-, 3-, and 4-valve 4.6- and 5.4-liter engines. You will learn everything from block selection and crankshaft prep, to cylinder head and intake manifold modifications. It also outlines eight recommended power packages and provides you with a step-by-step buildup of a naturally aspirated 405-horsepower Cobra engine. This is the definitive guide to getting the most from your 4.6- and 5.4-liter Ford.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Author Sean Hyland is a well-known engine builder and racer in Ford performance circles. – He builds the engines that power the fastest 4.6-liter Mustangs in the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: S-A Design (April 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188408978X
• ISBN-13: 978-1884089787
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Mechanics > Engine

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice to know hot rodding is still alive and well and doable, March 14, 2005

By 

a reader "eclectic" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Build Max Performance 4.6 Liter Ford Engines (Paperback)

This is a solid and comprehensive - albeit short (120 pages) - discussion on hot rodding the 4.6 litre ford, used in late model mustangs (including cobra and gt models), through 2003. the book was published in 2003 so the newer cobra engines with supercharging are covered.

There are 50 pages allocated to engine block, crankshaft, rods, pistons, heads, and intake manifold. Additional chapters follow for fuel injection, camshafts, ignition, oil, cooling, and superchargers. The author includes an individual summary for a half dozen or so competition and street "packages", examples of successful hot rods and what was done. And finally there's a chapter on building a 405 HP - no supercharger - cobra engine.

This is not a Haynes type of book, with lots of drawings showing how to take something apart and put it back together, this is primarily discussion, with lots of pictures, on what works and why, tweaks you should know about based on the author's experience, and what doesn't work or work quite as well. Of great benefit is the discussion of individual vendor components with associated pros and cons. This helps ensure the right amount of money is spent on the right stuff.

The author clearly enjoys performance engines and making performance engines work better, and he is a pro - see the website at http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com/. He also writes well, there are numerous 'stories' from experience which are reassuring: he's been there, done that. He covers both street setups, strip and road racing. I would say there's fairly even coverage, street vs track, and much is a matter of degree, such as boost from the supercharger.

hence i recommend this book for anyone thinking about tuning their cobra, or getting an earlier model gt or cobra and having some fun hot rodding it. there's a lot that can be done, and this book shows clearly how to get from 240 hp to 600 or more, for street or strip.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Long overdue!, September 19, 2005

By 

William Steck "Bill" (Dearborn) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Build Max Performance 4.6 Liter Ford Engines (Paperback)

It's good to finally see a book on the Ford modular engines. Hyland does the reader a great service by tirelessly going over blocks, cranks, intakes, cylinder heads, injectors, and ignition systems. He does a wonderful job on the cylinder heads, carefully showing how many cc's the chambers have with each style and letting you know what your likely compression ration will be with various cylinder head and piston combinations. One other area where this book really shines is the excellent photos that accompany the text.

I do have two minor quibbles. I disagree with his statement about hypereutectic pistons. For the average mild performance application, hypereutectics will be fine. If you have NOS, or a turbo, then by all means get the forged units. It would also be nice to include a overview of how to set the cams, chains, and sprockets for those who are installing a stock style camshaft without doing cam events. After all, not everyone is going to degree their camshaft, even though they should, and having a guide might prevent a few bent valves.

All in all, it's a solid book with a lot of information that isn't available elsewhere. If you don't have a book on these engines, pick this one up. You'll be glad that you did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, May 11, 2010

By 

Gordon Sims - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Build Max-Performance 4.6-Liter Ford Engines (Cartech) (Paperback)

It's a pretty good book for the money but really not a "how to rebuild" shop manual. No real fits and clearances and only discusses the DOHC engines here and there. Not expensive and an interesting read but wouldn't attempt a rebuild of a 4.6 (especially a DOHC) using only this book.