Ford Repair: 1998 ford mustang gt engine, ford mustang, mustang gt

Question
Hi Steve. i have a 98 ford mustang. my dilemma is that the chassis suspension, interior, exterior etc etc everything is done except the engine. It's ready to be dragged. I use it for street use/daily driving but it's my project. i want to start building the engine now to get at lest 500++ horses. Do you think (money wise:horsepower) i should fix up the stock sohc 98 gt engine or go over to a dohc 98 or a newer 99-04 gt sohc engine or 99-04 dohc engine? my question basically is, is my engine worth fixing? will i get all the performance i can with it?

Answer
Hector-

  Well, given all of those choices the 98+ DOHC engine is obviously the best pick for performance duty...but it's got it's downfalls.  First of all, getting one will definitely cost more than a SOHC motor and, after you have it, parts will cost more as well.  Then there's the issue of doing an engine swap.  It's not a nightmare, but there are certainly other things I'd rather be doing than an engine swap.  The same goes for the 99-04 SOHC engines.  You're looking at buying another engine and doing a swap.  What you could do is buy a set of PI (99-04) heads and intake, build up the bottom end, and then just throw some type of power adder on there.  The problem with just about all overhead cam motors is that they don't really like to make big power without some help.  While you could probably hit your 500hp goal without a power adder, it'd likely make the car a pain to drive on the street.  A good turbo or blower could lay down that much power and drive pretty much stock.  Then again, you're looking at between $3500-$4000 for a good turbo or blower kit.  Hope this helps.

Steve