Ls1 swap in SC 90
- Thread starter EdMan
- Start date
I hope not.. Just get tired of seeing yet another LS swap.
Ya, true but cheap and easy power with the good looks of the Thunderbird is a hard combo to turn down.. if it was only going to be N/A then ya, just build a stroker 351W , but an LS under boost is a solid power maker.
But to at least partially answer the OP , one of the biggest issues is going to be most likely needing a double sump oil pan like the 5.0 .. other stuff is going to be custom like the motor/tranny mounts , and possibly the headers/manifolds .. but you may get lucky with a factory exhaust manifold fitting .
Someone did it a while back to a 3.8NA car. They make low profile exhaust manifolds, which would probably clear, and they also make many different configuration oil pans, so it probably wouldn’t be too hard of a swap. The F-body T56 will also put the shifter in the right place for the SC interior, so all told, it would probably be a pretty easy swap. Blasphemy, but easy.
Mercutio
SCCoA Member
It's an old thread and the pictures seem to be gone, but it's been done: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversi...7-thunderbird-gen-iii-budget-engine-swap.html
The t56 will line up the shifter correctly?... Will it bolt up to a 4.6? Or any small block Ford trans?
Its a 4.6 though? I'm sure there would be a adapter for that too.
If you want a 5-speed behind a 4.6, the TR3650 from an 05-10 Mustang GT is pretty much a direct bolt-in swap with the shifter in the right location. You need an SC clutch pedal, and a custom hydraulic line and driveshaft, and a speedometer recalibrator to deal with the different style speedo signals, but it fits right in there like it was made for the MN12.
Well that's interesting... Wonder how hard the speedo would be. The clutch pedal wonder if I could use the master out of an SC as well as the pedal. And wonder how hard it would be to have a line made to go between the master and slave... All that would be years down the road it was more or less just something I always thought about.
Yes you use the SC master. You can buy adapter fittings to go from the factory style fitting to AN line, and then you can buy a 3ft length of braided stainless AN line for the clutch line. The speedo is resolved with a Dakota digital adapter. I did the swap on my 97 in a weekend.
Did you build your own clutch line? The one in my '89 SC has a bad end that goes into the slave and I am at a loss as to how to repair it/where I can get the fittings.
I did a custom clutch line for the TR3650 swap in my 97. You can make a similar custom line to work with the M5R2, however the disadvantage is you won't be able to remove/install the line with the trans in the car, so you will need to drop the trans, attach the line to the slave cylinder, then feed the line up to the master and attach it there and bleed the whole system, and if you ever have to drop the trans, you will have to disconnect it from the master and rebleed the system again. However since the factory line is no longer available, that may be your only option. If so, use these fittings to adapt the factory style fittings to AN style
84-97 CHEVY T5 T56 HYDRAULIC CLUTCH LINE FITTING AN-4 LINE; 5 & 6-SPEED SWAP | eBay
84-97 Camaro/Firebird T5 & T56 AN-4 straight fitting. Adapts the slave cylinder or master cylinder to use AN-4 line. For use when transplanting the T5 or T56 into a different vehicle than was original.
www.ebay.com
4AN 90 Degree Straight PTFE Line Turbo Oil Feed Line 36" Steel Braided AN4 | eBay
SPECIFICATIONS - 4AN Hose Ends with 1 90 Degree End and 1 Straight End. 4AN Stainless Braided Line (PTFE). 1x 36" Stainless steel braided Turbo Oil Feed Line (as picture). DESIGN - Teflon Lined Core, With Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Braided Jacket.
www.ebay.com
Okay, this may be the way I need to go. The trans is out as I need to replace the slave anyhow.
I didn't know anything about the AN-style fittings until now. (I'm not too familiar with transmission/clutch issues)...so do you have to replace the fittings on the slave, or is there an adaptor to go from quick connect to AN?
The first link is the adapter. You will need to remove the quick-connect fitting on the slave, then use the adapter in the link to go from the slave (and the master) to the AN4 line. The slave and master both use the same style fitting once the quick-connect fitting is removed from the slave.