got a 1997 mustang 3.8L v6 from family member for free with well over 200,000 miles on it is drivable and drives very well, rear-end has been replaced and that's all i know.
MY question.....What would be better to either rebuild the engine or replace the engine??? and what bigger size can plug and play with that model. NOT MECHANICALLY INCLINED AT ALL!!!
Well, I actually have the answer for you...... If you look at my build thread, you can "Technically" throw in a V-6 with more HP in that car and be done with it after a few bolt on's. It is what I did with mine. 95 with a 02 engine. I took out a perfectly good running engine and put in one from a salvage yard to get to where I am now. In time I will purchase a New 04 engine and put that one in (when this goes tits up). Doing what I did requires some mechanical knowledge, a vehicle that is not needed to be driven for work, a willingness for the project to kick you in the nuts, and Lots of learning by failure. In the end, I have all I need now to drop in an engine (01-04 V-6) that is either built out or just bone stock new to keep the body running for as long as it will move down the road.
I see posts all of the time on here of people saying that "You Can't ......... Blah Blah Blah" In reality, You can if you are willing to take the chance at failure or success. If I listened to all of the people telling me that I could not do what I did because of one reason or another. I would still have a stock Mustang in the garage. I do not have a street fighter, a monster track car, or an Outlaw. What I do have is a fun daily driver that gets decent gas mileage and the pride in knowing that the project I have set out to do is going in a successful manner. It is far from completed, but I am all smiles in how it has come so far.
If your engine is running smoothly and its your daily driver. I would be inclined to leave it as it is, change the plugs, wires, coil pack and keep it running for as long as you can. Proper Maintenance is the key and can get you to 300k on the stock block. By that time, you can read some of our threads, interact with some members, and see what you may be up against here as you plan to do what comes next after the engine goes tits up.
Do Not Give Up. Ask the questions. Ignore the obvious posts that, well you will see them. Keep reading the V6 section and seeing what others have done to their cars. Talk to us and learn from what works and does not work. Just because it is a V6 do not ignore the V8 sections because the body is the same and most of the Non engine items will work on the V6. Hell I have a V8 exhaust on mine and a lot of other V8 parts.
Good Luck
P.S. Read up on Dual Port Swaps that have been done on our engine. (I just went and replaced the entire engine because it was easier for me)