thinking about a V-8 swap...

[bigcletus94]

Just trying to get ideas together first. That way maybe I can prevent some pitfalls that I might run into. I have searched and searched but have not really found much info from start to finish that anyone has posted. I checked out TCCoA for ideas but they all say to leave the 3.8SC in there because the car is "rare" :rolleyes: But it is more important to me to have a reliable car that runs strong than one that is broken down and rare.

Not sure if I want to do a 4.6 DOHC or 5.0 at this point. I think the 5.0 would be cheaper. But for everyday driving, I think the 4.6 would be better on gas. If I was to do the 4.6, I was thinking about getting a cheap Mark 8 that still runs good (early 93 or 94 for like $2k) and swap EVERYTHING into my car. Maybe even dash if it makes it easier. This is plan 1.

Plan 2 is to get a cheap 5.0 T-bird and do pretty much the same thing except I don't want to down-grade to a pre 94 dash and interior. Not sure which tranny I would use either. I want to keep it an auto. Any input is appreciated.

[pearl95sc]

Not shure who, if anyone, has yet to do the sc to v8 swap in the 94+ category. I am thinking of this myself for my 95. If I gotta do some rewiring, oh well, I wanna stick with my fuel injection. Doing the swap with pre 94+ donor, such as a 5.0 bird or cat, probably wouldn't too bad, but still would require a lot of time. Since you have an auto, you'd probably be better off doing a 4.6 swap with the correlating tranny, then get a v8 bird/car, or mark 8 donor car for the wiring and ecu.

[XR7 Dave]

It's not worth it. If you spent half the time/money and effort on your V6 you'd be further ahead and you would have something unique when you are done.

To put a 5.0 in the car you have to find a 93 5.0 Tbird donor car and use the PCM out of a 95 Mustang. Of course that requires repinning the PCM and a custom chip to make it work. Also the transmission wiring is not compatible from AOD to 4R70W so things get a little ugly there if you swap.

The 4.6 harness is totally different and those motors are dog slow anyhow and upgrades are expensive. I've seen the DOHC birds run mid 14's which is only on par with a good SC, and the SOHC with a blower kit is still slower than an SC with an AR so what is the point?

If you really want to do it I can lay it all out for you but I just isn't practical. If you want to do it because you want to do something different, then that is cool, but if you want to do it because you think the V6 is a headache, you'll just be swapping one headache for another.

[bigcletus94]

If you really want to do it I can lay it all out for you but I just isn't practical. If you want to do it because you want to do something different, then that is cool, but if you want to do it because you think the V6 is a headache, you'll just be swapping one headache for another.

I think you are right in that I would be swapping from one headache to another. I will probably stick with this motor but it is one of those dreaded ford-remans and I think it is on its way out already. I am pretty comfortable with working on this motor since I've done it a dozen times. I have a spare set of heads from my last motor. Maybe I'll source out another block and build a stout 3.8 SC motor and drop it in. Who builds good short-blocks that are reliable? Morana? Any suggestions? If I do this again, I am going to do it right this time rather than just drop a rebuilt motor in the car I know nothing about. Thanks.

[XR7 Dave]

I think you are right in that I would be swapping from one headache to another. I will probably stick with this motor but it is one of those dreaded ford-remans and I think it is on its way out already. I am pretty comfortable with working on this motor since I've done it a dozen times. I have a spare set of heads from my last motor. Maybe I'll source out another block and build a stout 3.8 SC motor and drop it in. Who builds good short-blocks that are reliable? Morana? Any suggestions? If I do this again, I am going to do it right this time rather than just drop a rebuilt motor in the car I know nothing about. Thanks.

A good stock rebuild is plenty stout. I am running a non-rebuilt stocker in mine still. I have had no issues with it and it sees 6000rpm and 18psi on a semi regular basis.