Hello, I'm new to this forum but not really new to the Mustang world as many of my friends are hardcore Mustang enthusiasts. I've always been into the Grand Prix GTPs and more specifically the 3.8L Supercharged engines. I own a company specializing in designing and selling aftermarket performance parts for the 3.8L as found in my GTP. Anyway, my girlfriend has always wanted a Mustang and we recently got the chance to buy one for cheap with a blown motor. I was taking it apart to discover what the problem is exactly and so far have gotten the drivers side cylinder head off and noticed the piston closest to the firewall is almost 45* in the bore. I haven't gotten the motor out yet to see if the problem is with the rod or the piston, or wristpin, crank or what exactly, but I wanted to get your guys' advice on what to do. She wants to get it running good, and I'd like to get the engine strong enough to be able to get the car running 14s as a goal for now. I have heard that these bottom ends aren't the strongest so my questions are mainly what are the common problems, things I should replace and stuff. Like will the rods hold, will the crank hold? And what should I do, rebuild this motor if possible, find a supercoupe short block, buy aftermarket parts or what? Thanks in advance for any help you can give! BTW what do these things typically run stock and whats the fastest stock times??? Thanks
Newbie / Bought a 94 Mustang 3.8L with a blown motor...
- Thread starter animuL
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GTA_V6_Mustang
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my $.02 is that the motor itself is actually very reliable with the exception of the head gasket issue but replace those and any problematic parts and make sure u use the upgrade kit for the headgasket that ford offers and you should be fine. Ive noticed in many applications the motors are good for mild use of nitrous so yea just my $.02 
slowstang305
New Member
the ford 3.8 was a modified copy of the 231 buick and is a good design with a stout on-center block design unlike the off-center buick231animuL said:
the bottom ends are very strong just like the buick.
the heads can be easily ported to support 220+cfm flow on the intake side
head gasket problems in the 94-961/2 cars were a problem caused by too many coolant passages.
a 97 block would be a smart swap. or get a 4.2 truck engine and get a modified fuel rail to be used in the return style 94 setup. the 4.2 makes generous torque
you can get a running 97 or 98 engine from www.stangparts.com
or just get a built short or long block from www.rpm-mustangs.com
there are many options for the ford 3.8
it is an engine worth messing with
For now I think she wants to put it back together stock to see what it runs and then do the mods and get the satisfaction of seeing the improvement over time. I've been modding and racing 3.8L buicks for years now, but she is new to this stuff so she wants to start where most people do. I still haven't had a chance to pull the engine out, but I can see that the rod is definitely broken and knocked a hole in the oil pan. I can't tell if there is any block damage yet. But so far it needs a piston, a rod, an oil pan, and all the rings, seals, bearing, gaskets, etc.
i built turbo buicks in the past. great engines but the heads suck especially the stock shaft rockersanimuL said:
the ford has few of the buicks downfalls.
build the ford like a turbo buick and similar results will be rewarded. the ford will produce alittle more power/level of boost if turbo is what you want in the long run
In the long run I think we'll definitely go twin screw. I own a business making adapter plates to bolt 2300AX Whipplechargers to the 3.8L Buick engines as they are found in late model Grand Prix GTPs, Regal GSs, Impala SSs, etc. From the sounds of it and from searching around, it doesn't look too difficult to get it in the 14s with the split port setup. Thats gonna be the goal for now 14s and then we'll see whats next. Has anyone ever ran a twin screw on one of these?
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