Transform cougar into SUPERCOUGAR need help

Ok first of all i have no experience whatsoever about supercharging engines but i looked up the supers on ebay and they came with throttle body waste gate intake pretty much everything i think i need . Now are intercoolers necesity or just mods? If put into stock 3.8 cougar am i gonna hafta find a supercoupe computer? Will i hafta get underdrive pulleys or a differnt pulley setup because of the belt needed for supercharger? and anything else that would have to be altered in the process. As you can tell im lost and i need some guidance.

You will need to fully rebuild your bottom end first, change your intake manifold, injectors, fuel pump, etc, ect, ect. You'd be time and money ahead to just find an '89 or '90 XR7.

Thomas

Read the FAQ section about what Ford changed on the SC motors from the regular 3.8's. As Thomas stated you will need to rebuild the bottom end and use an SC crank. The pistons on the SC also yield a lower compression ratio. There are numerous other little changes that you won't notice until you go to put things back together as well (i.e. throttle cables are different, A/C compressor and mounting bracket are different, A/C condenser is different, alternator is different, you will need an upgraded trans and rear end, I could go on). Your best bet, if you are serious, is to find a wrecked SC or XR7 and swap everything over to your car. Or as Thomas stated, it would be a lot easier to just buy an SC or 89-90 XR7. Trust me there is a lot of work involved in this swap, but it is doable. I've done about 90% of the research and have almost all of the parts to do it, but haven't bothered with it yet until I can find a suitable car.

Don't do it man!

Unless you have the shop and all the tools you will need to lay up your car for like 4 months i wouldn't recomend it. Do your self a favor Find a 302 and a tranny and throw that in if you want cheap HP. Dollar for dollar this would be a much more benefical swap plus you can build the 302 on a stand and take your time while you still are driving the 3.8. Then when it's ready it will only take you a week or so to toss it in. Plus you have the option of running a carb just in case you are not good with all the computer crap for fuel injection. Now, don't get me wrong I would never discourage anyone from doing a cool swap in thier car but just don't get in over your head. He's right, above he said it would be easier just to find an '89 or '90. already charged. But if you are in love with YOUR car, I'd go 5.0! These motors are very crammed into these cars.

yeah i know i understand what ur sayin but is the 302 really gonna be that much easier i mean i just got done with my (sorry to say it ford guys) camaro. Your gonna run into crossmember problems ur gonna hafta find a shorter driveshaft your gonna have problems with motor mounts space maybe a big problem also in the end is it really gonna be that much diff than the super? I have talked to some people around here and maybe they are stupid but i was told get the super get a new fuel pump and then computer and itll be fine? so im not gettin any farther than where i was in the first place still confused

Someone is feeding you some bull. A 5.0 from another Tbird will bolt right in. I don't know how well the stock AOD in your bird will hold up to it, but it will bolt right in. I found a complete Tbird 5.0 in a junkyard for $500 and there are plenty around if you just look. That is what I would do. JMO

so motor mounts on a 3.8 will be the same as motor mounts on a 5.0??hmm... well i highly doubt the stock trannyis goin to handle the 302 even if it did have the same bolt pattern so the 302 would bolt up to it. then once again the crossmember (support bracket for tranny) will have to be moved cuz the tranny will be diff size. then once agian we are gonna hafta find a diff driveshaft.

Huh? The AOD trans is case is the same between the 3.8 n/a, SC and 5.0. The internals are what is different. Dave is right, the 5.0 would probably be an easier undertaking. Yeah, the fuel pump and computer on the SC are different from the 3.8 n/a among other things listed in my previous response. Look either way there is a hell of a lot of work to do. Are you really sure you want to take apart a perfectly good running car to do this swap?

discourage!!!

hey man, just wanted to tell you that i was thinking about something similiar before i knew all the differences between sc's and base tbirds, i just wanted to put all the sc goodies (off an sc) into my base, and that was going to be bad enuf....i would think that puting a supercharger alone on the base 3.8 would be asking for trouble somewhere down the road, if not real soon. but there's much much much more differences than the fuel pump and computer that would need to be at least considered. the crank is different, heads are different, intake, lots of major parts to the engine. anyways, to make a long story short, i looked around for a cheap sc...and found one a year ago (5 miles from my house!!!) that's ran (and still runs) almost perfect, for $1000. if i could do it all again, i wouldn't have changed a thing! cost less, and no headaches over it!!! but if you like a biigggg challenge....anything is possible! 5.0 actually would be a neato trade if you're wanting the work! get hold of a wrecked 5.0 tbird...and everything fits! anyways, good luck with whatever you choose!

derrktor feesh

Well i found a guy not to far away from me about 2 hours max and he sells SC engines, trannys, and supers. If we can get engine and super i think thats way we are goin to go. Just worried bout computer if it doesnt come with the engine. Could i get one from ford?

welll...

you could, but shouldn't....unless you have alot of money to spend! they might not even give you the right thing. i would guess that anyone with one of these parts cars would sell you one for much cheaper, just make sure it's for an auto or manual (whichever you have) hmmm...i'm sure there's other differences too, that i'm not thinking of right now....if you can get a computer outta the car you're getting the engine from, that'd work for sure!!

Derrrrrrrrrrktor feesh

Like I said, there are a lot more differences than just the engine itself. Even if you bought the computer with the engine you're still going to be collecting parts for a while to put it all together.