Motor Swap!!!

debo92sc

Registered User
well its time i cant take the 3.8 anymore!! If im going to keep my car i have to go to a v8!! I know plenty of you guys have done this but im thinking of swapping to a 302 and i was wordering if anyone had any info on this???? computer, harness , trans ect.....would it be easier to change the motor to carburated??? if so can i get the spedo to work?? any help would be greatly appreciated!!! :)

thanks!!
 
Well the carb swap would be the easiest but the fuel injected one isn't that hard, just swap the ECM and wiring harness, and a few small re-wiring issues. The AOD and M5R2 bolt right up to the 302 and you can even use the tbird LX motor mounts for the 5.0L and it will fit right in. You should also use the tbird accessory brackets and tbird oil pan. Best bet is to get a V8 from 91-93 LX 5.0L TBird and then rebuild it with better heads, better cam, forged bottom end and higher compression, and then spray a 200 shot at it. With the right cam, gears, convertor, and tires you could have an easy 11 second car. If you built a 450 hp 347 stroker and supercharged it, sprayed it, or turbo'd it, you could do mid-low 11's very easily. 10's would be do able but it would take some weight reduction, and some driving practice. It's possible. Dave N. is VERY close to running 10's with his 93 SC w/ a 347 turbo motor. I believe his is pretty much full weight too. Even has working a/c if I recall.

It might be easier to buy a V8 LX and put the SC gfx and bumpers on it, and then build the motor if you don't feel like messing with the wiring. I'm lazy and hate wiring. I'm swapping a 460 big block in my car and it will be carbureted. I was considering using a truck intake, ecm, wiring harness, and then putting in bigger injectors and maf, but i'm not sure if the truck computers can be tuned or not. Still it'd be easier to put a fuel cell in the trunk, run some lines, to an old school fuel pump, and then up to a carb. Can tune fuel flow, and idle easily. No need for idle sensors, mass air flow sensors, cam and crank sensors, throttle position sensor. Need more fuel, turn the screw or rejet the carb. Idles too high? turn back the idle screw.
 
You could get a 5.0L High Output from a Mustang LX or GT and then put the tbird brackets, and oil pan on it. Those were 225 hp and I think the Tbird LX V8 was only 205 hp. I'm assuming you don't want to leave the engine stock. 5.0L parts are cheap compared to SC stuff since there's a much bigger market and major manufacturers research and develop parts for them. Nobody knows what a 3.8L SC engine is and the market is too small to sink millions into R&D for an engine with such a small cult following. Thats why most SC parts and custom fabricated and low production.

It costs more to make a fast 3.8L SC V6 but it is rare and unique, plus you can brag that you only have 6 cylinders. But if you want cheap and fast, go V8.

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I would keep the SC body and suspension. I believe the LX 5.0 heads and headers were better than the mustang ones. I have a 92 LX 5.0 and would much rather drive the SC. It handles better and has better acceleration than the 5.0.
 
actually I have done a little research into this myself and I have found that the 93 thunderbird lx 5.0 comes stock with a b303 roller cam ,somthing like.48 of lift and if you couple that with heads from a 97-99 ford explorer ,came factory with gt 40 heads and cobra intake, that woud be a good solid base to start .
 
debo92sc said:
well its time i cant take the 3.8 anymore!! If im going to keep my car i have to go to a v8!! I know plenty of you guys have done this but im thinking of swapping to a 302 and i was wordering if anyone had any info on this???? computer, harness , trans ect.....would it be easier to change the motor to carburated??? if so can i get the spedo to work?? any help would be greatly appreciated!!! :)

thanks!!

Kyle,

It's a lot of work, and if your just swapping over to a stock 5.0 it's going to be slower than what you already have. The 3.8 SC motor is actually a better foundation than the stock 5.0 HO motor.

I swapped to a v8 because I planned to turbocharge mine and didn't wanted to be limited by the 3.8 heads lifting and the rather small engine size. But since the 5.0 block will only handle about 500-600 HP before it splits down the middle, I went with a Dart block and had the motor and everything else on the car built to handle over 1000 hp.

I'm on the 3rd year of the project and for what I've got into the car I could easily build a pair of 11 second 3.8 SCs. If you want 400-500 rwhp stick with the 3.8 SC motor, if you want more then maybe the 5.0 swap is the right way to go, but using a stock block motor isn't going to cut it.

If you just want to swap to a v8 that will make good power and not kill your wallet...look into the 460 based big block carbed swap that Pro Street Rich and a few others have done. With that swap you can start out mild and then upgrade to wild as your budget allows.

David
 
David Neibert said:
Kyle,

It's a lot of work, and if your just swapping over to a stock 5.0 it's going to be slower than what you already have. The 3.8 SC motor is actually a better foundation than the stock 5.0 HO motor.

I swapped to a v8 because I planned to turbocharge mine and didn't wanted to be limited by the 3.8 heads lifting and the rather small engine size. But since the 5.0 block will only handle about 500-600 HP before it splits down the middle, I went with a Dart block and had the motor and everything else on the car built to handle over 1000 hp.

I'm on the 3rd year of the project and for what I've got into the car I could easily build a pair of 11 second 3.8 SCs. If you want 400-500 rwhp stick with the 3.8 SC motor, if you want more then maybe the 5.0 swap is the right way to go, but using a stock block motor isn't going to cut it.

If you just want to swap to a v8 that will make good power and not kill your wallet...look into the 460 based big block carbed swap that Pro Street Rich and a few others have done. With that swap you can start out mild and then upgrade to wild as your budget allows.

David

thanks for all the info guys!!! The reason i want to go to a v8 is because a friend of mine built a 302 with a bunch of aftermarket stuff on it and it hasn't even had any fluids ran threw it!!! the only issue is that the motor was built for a mustang and a manuel trans??? Dont i have to change some things on the motor as it sits to put it in my car?? And btw its projected to have 450-475 horse:D :eek: :D :eek:
 
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