3.8 to 5.0 Swap

[StangModRacer09]

Hi,

I bought a 1995 mustang coupe on the sole intentions of making it my project car for the next year or two. I have the interior hulled with lots of plans for it, as well as ideas for body kits, custom designed hoods etc.... but the place i am stuck is the motor. Now i am not a total gear head but i am a motor enthusiast. This car has a stock 3.8 v6 that i want to pull out. But when i remove everything and sandblast the firewall than is where my problem begins. I have a 302 motor with a blown head gasket. I thought about building it from block up, all performance parts (i.e. forger pistons and crank, trick flow twisted wedge heads, roller rockers etc...) but i dont want to spend all my time if there is a bigger motor with more horsepower available to build. It is going to be a motor build that i will work on in my spare time when the money is available for top of the line parts. Someone said something about a 351w, or a 385. But i dont know much about those but i am a muscle car enthusiatsts (440 six pak rocks)..So anyone willing to help a new member out?

 

[99FiveOh]

Well, do you plan on using EFI or carbing it? If you go carb it'll be a piece of cake. EFI would require you to locate all the harnesses, computer, etc.

 

[StangModRacer09]

I want it to be a carb i dont care much or efi. i dont mind the extra gas use for more power

 

[Stopsign32v]

I want it to be a carb i dont care much or efi. i dont mind the extra gas use for more power

Do the EFI setup right and you will have plenty of power.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

I want it to be a carb i dont care much or efi. i dont mind the extra gas use for more power

No offence, but a blanketed statement like that tells me right off the bat you really haven't a clue and are probably going to get in over your head with this project.

There is no extra power to be had with a carburetor, but plenty of extra headache.

 

[revhead347]

Carbuerator makes about the same power as a fuel injection system, and it's easier. Don't think you're going to make more power though.

Kurt

 

[ProKiller]

there are plenty of people on here that have put 351s in their cars. its not that difficult to do, its more the cost and the time. most of here are FI fans so don't expect the help so much with a carb setup. Cythar has done this swap and is the man for tech questions about this type of swap, but since your doing a carb setup, it should be fairly straight forward. sounds like a fun project. any pics?

 

[StangModRacer09]

sorry..I am an amateur but have recently become an enthusiast of mustangs and decided i wanted to learn all i could about motors. I did more reading but i did believe with having a carb model would lead way to more horses with a supercahrger or nitrous. But i have heard it is easier to make your idle set right and do tweaking to your motor with a carb model. But that is why i am here is to learn whatever i can about motors. I have a 302 motor out of an 82 Ford F-150 that i want to tear down to the block, have it acid washed and magnafleuxed. New freeze plugs have the cylinders honed and than have it bored. Maybe a stroker kit. Also any ideas on which would be better. A Ford 9' Rear or A Dana

 

[Labora]

If you are starting from scratch I would go with a 351w the cost difference when starting with zero isn't a huge one and it is worth it in the long run IMO.

As for the rear end best bet is a normal Ford 8.8. I'd recommend doing a search in the v6 forum and other forums a lot of this has been covered numerous times.

 

[sn-95matt5-0]

i also wouldnt use that block.if i had the money to bet i would bet it is a flat tappet motor and to convert it over to a roller wouldnt be worth it IMO. if it was a 351w then thats a different matter but that really goes with area cause i looked for a roller 351w for about 5 months and couldnt find one and settled on an 89 flat tappet and will be converting it over to a roller.

+1 on the 351w idea as well thats wat i am doing i started out with a completely stock car and decided to go 351w for a stronger foundation for the future.

 

[sn-95matt5-0]

correct me if i'm wrong but i thought carb cars most always actually have more horse power because of the short intake runners but that horse power is higher in the rpm range and the power band is shorter than with a good efi setup. this may still just be some of the brainwash from the local carb chevy guys leaking out tho.

i would stick with efi i really dont see the point in down grading to the dinosaur era for a few extra horses in the upper rpm range. i would rather have a larger power band better street manners and not having to adjust the carb ever so often. i get hell from my carb chevy buddies all the time about not slapping a carb on my motor and drop it in the car but i believe i've made the better choice. plus it looks so bad when tuning on a car with a laptop at the track.

 

[99FiveOh]

That way I always understood it was that carb'd cars "seem" to always make more power because it's cheaper to make it with carbs. People without alot of cash to throw around are able to build pretty stout cars because they can afford the carb components.

They don't have to worry about buying new injectors, maf's, throttle bodys, tuning devices or chips/tunes, this sensor, that sensor, etc... All those items I listed to can add a grand or more to a simple H/C/I EFI car. The carb guy only has to buy the H/C/I and a descent carburetor to achieve his goal.

 

[ProKiller]

if you plan on supercharging it i wouldn't even think about going carb. its sooo hard to tune the powerband with a carb. nitrous is easy enough as you just retard the timing but with a supercharger, you'll be leaving power on the table IMO.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

correct me if i'm wrong but i thought carb cars most always actually have more horse power because of the short intake runners but that horse power is higher in the rpm range and the power band is shorter than with a good efi setup. this may still just be some of the brainwash from the local carb chevy guys leaking out tho.

That may have held true 10 years ago, before the plethora of EFI intakes and advanced tuning hardware/software hit the market....but now a days, carbs definitely take the "Brides Maid" spot in the world of performance and drivability. Especially on a street oriented car. The whole carbs make more power than EFI arguement is certainly one old school mind set I’d love to see go the way of the Doe Doe.

A modern EFI set up will not only make every bit the power at the top end of the tach as a carbureted set up will, but it will do it more efficiently at all temperatures and elevations, while providing cleaner emissions an better fuel economy all while displaying a broader, more responsive torque curve within all ranges of the power band.

The ONLY instance where running a carb is any advantage now a days is when someone is starting from scratch and building their combo from the ground up. Only then can it be considered more "budget conscious"....but in the end, you're still compromising functionality for cost. Now a days, EFI to carb conversions are pretty much pointless and actually end up costing more in comparison than you'd spend just tuning/improving an existing EFI combination. PERIOD!

 

[StangModRacer09]

ok so basically go with an efi setup. and also would it be reasonable to say that most people who responded think it would be better to start wit h a 351w than a 302? Thanks to everyone who has helped on this. Now after i receive these responses i will be looking around for the motor. i found a 302 with a blown headgasket for $150, and its in the truck you can hear it run. but i want what everyone believes is best as i want this car to be my personal beast. it is my first project and my dad is a carpenter and doesnt know much about motors so i have to do this on my own. so everyone here will be my guidance. again i appreciate everyone taking the time to help me out thanks

 

[Gearbanger 101]

The 351 is a great idea if you're wanting up the horsepower and torque potential over the standard 5.0L HO, but you’re going to have to sink some money and parts into the engine in order to do so. In any case its going to be neither a cheap, or strait forward bolt in. You're going to need a few custom swap parts to make it work.

As far as the 302 goes, I would personally pass on the truck engine unless you plan on tearing it completely down and starting from scratch with the build. Although the block itself is set up for a roller power train (assuming its ’87 and later), the cam is not. The truck also utilizes cast pistons and a much too tall intake to be feasible to use in the car. You can make it work as a starting point, but you're going to have to sink some money into it.

No matter what route you go, plan on sinking a couple thousand dollars minimum into the project in orter to build it to even stock specs. The sky is the limit when you start modifying from there.

Keep in mind, you're going to need to upgrade your entire engine and drivetrain in order to pull this off. Its not as simple as getting yourself a set of V8 engine mounts and plopping it into the car. The stock 7.5" rear end one handle more than a handful of clutch drops before you scatter it all over the pavement...especially if you choose to go with a 351W. In any case, buying the parts one piece at a time is going to break you. If it were my money and I were dead set on doing a V8 conversion, I'd probably search around for a complete donor car and work from there. That way you'll not be taken by surprise by any little parts or odds and ends that you didn't account for and you've always got the wrecked car as a template to where everything should go.

 

[StangModRacer09]

i lan on working on this motor itself for the next year or so. i want to tear it down to the block(roller) and completely build up from there. and i have already done reading on swapping the rearend to a ford nine or a dana, as well as front end. changing the trans to a tremec and stout linkage, better drive shaft. aftermarket titanium sway bars, eibach shocks struts coilover springs, brembo rotors with braehm calipers. everything. i want it to be a one of a kind

 

[mustangashley]

3.8 to 5.0 HO swap

Hello everyone. I have a gooood looking 95 mustang. its a 3.8 and I just came across a 302 HO from a 92 Lincoln. I am wanting to find out what all I am going to need to make this conversion. My car is an automatic, and Im already checking out the T5 tranny that I want. I am aware that this might be a little sticky, and i am wanting to commit the cardinal sin.... I want a carb. I don't wanna mess with Fuel injection.... any suggestions?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

.... any suggestions?

First off, welcome to the board. Plenty of great members and info here. Second, we have a lovely search function at the top of the page that will more than likely lead you to threads that will answer your questions. This topic believe it or not has been hashed over and over and over again.

 

[bryan20]

a motor being carb injected makes no more horses than efi...and why so ancy about horsepower..you should be conerned with torque...thats where your performance is at