V8 Conversion?

Kev70

Registered User
Has anyone put a V8 engine in their SC? Maybe a big block engine? I know that there are purists out there that consider this blasphemy. However, I was planning on keeping the original drivetrain in case I wanted to go back to the original set up. For those that have done this, can you keep all the electrical toys or do they quit working as well? What kind of setup are you running? EFI or Carb? What about the transmission? I know that they will bolt up to the 302/351. What are the possibilities of using a Ford Lightining SC engine? Would it bolt up? Even a supercharged big block with some work would have better torque/hp than the V6 will. It seems that our V6 engines just havent advanced as much as the GNX or TT V6 (300zx, 3000gt, etc). Has there been any new breakthroughs in the last year or so, since I have been away for awhile. I will always keep my Thunderbird as a SC. Maybe not a V6 though. :D
 
I know a 302 will fit without much modding. a 351W will fit with soem modding but thats about as big as it gets. I'm almost positive the 5.4 L DOHC Lightning Motor will not fit. Of course you could always build a 396 or 400W to drop in there. The bolt patterns for the 302/351W should be the same and the stock drivetrain can likely handle most of what you can throw at it. Though I still like the idea of beating v8'S with an SC V6, to each his own. Good Luck
 
The 5.0L and 5.8L are not that hard to get in an SC. The 5.4L has been done in a tbird but in the 4.6L ones because it's a bolt in.

http://www.geocities.com/v8thunder54/triton.html - 5.4L install
http://www.amphibian.com/cougar/engine.asp - 5.8L install

If you want to do a 5.0L conversion just find a 5.0L 91-93 Tbird and take all the parts you need and swap them. If you really want to do a V8 conversion you better go forced induction. That guy that did the 5.4 swap only pulled high 14s with head work!
 
I was thinking about the 428 stroker kit (strokerkits.com). They are claiming 500hp. I think that you would be hard pressed to get that out of a SC though. The biggest problem that we have though is weight. We weigh as much as an elephant... Does anyone know where our engines top out? Is the Coy Miller Stage II engine as high as it gets? Has anyone tried boring and stroking the engines out? Switching superchargers? How much Nitrous have people been running?
 
Just to clarify, the Lightning motors are 5.4L SOHC supercharged, the only 5.4 DOHCs are in the 99-up Navigators and 2000 Cobra R Mustang. The 5.4 SOHC has been done in a T-Bird, but the DOHC 32V would probably be too wide to fit.


mn12sc35th said:
I know a 302 will fit without much modding. a 351W will fit with soem modding but thats about as big as it gets. I'm almost positive the 5.4 L DOHC Lightning Motor will not fit. Of course you could always build a 396 or 400W to drop in there. The bolt patterns for the 302/351W should be the same and the stock drivetrain can likely handle most of what you can throw at it. Though I still like the idea of beating v8'S with an SC V6, to each his own. Good Luck

cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
What is the highest hp SC V6? How driveable will it be? Coy Miller's Stage II engine was not considered very streetable.
 
If you are looking for the ultimate 1/4 mile car, you can skip the MN-12 body beasts. They are heavy, and the IRS is not even close to ideal.

On the other hand, if you are looking for the ultimate Thunder Bird 1/4 mile car, then your best bet is to take an LX and dump a bigger engine into it.

Coy Miller's car during his record run had barely even had any testing and much tuning was to be done still. Since then, i've seen posts from people that have and do drive it to the grocery store.

While his cam is likely quite agressive the engine computer on the SC is fairly flexible when someone that knows what they are doing with a ECM tuner.
 
George Davenport aka gldiii drives his Coy Miller II regularly and has said there is no problems with it on the street and he has put over 8000 miles on it.

Dr. Fred aka fred 4 pt 3 has his stroked and is making more power then Coy Miller's car. You can see his dyno in the members section.

I believe all of these guys are running S-ports right now and they are not exactly the best blower. I'm waiting to see George's whipple charger or Fred's car running with another blower!
 
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