v8 conversion questions

[TheNoachSHO]

I know I know...there are a ton of these but i've gotten conflicting views on a few things.

1) My driveshaft. Do I need a V8 one or will the length of my 4 cyl one work. I need new U joint and before I spend the money on the 4 cyl ones I want to make sure i'm not throwing it away in a month or two. ADvance auto has different ones listed.

2) Pistons
a) How do you tell the diff between forged and hypers? I have an 88 GT motor so it should be forged but this is a weird motor I got ad don't trust anything to be correct.
b) It was missing one piston and have found two others to be shot. Can these be bought from Ford and anyone have any ideas how much?
c) If I go with hypers will they hold 300rwhp NA and 400rwhp on NOS?

3) Rear End. I know it won't hold for too long but until my wallet says' it's ok i'm doing a 7.5 with 3.73's. I got a posi unit for it. Any way I can beef it up for now and are there any rebuild units for it?

TIA

 

[TheNoachSHO]

ttt

 

[85GTlover]

looking in the manual it does not mention a difference in the shafts, but if the store has several, I would think there is a good chance they are not the same. The difference could be auto to standard though. As for the rear you would be better off with 8.8 but take it easy and you should be ok, opinions vary on that topic. As for pistons, I think forged would look different I don't know how to describe how they differ. Good Luck.

 

[fordracingfan]

I have a couple of questions to add to that...
I have a running 87 LX 5.0 and am looking at getting a 93 LX 4cyl to drop my 5.0 into...
both cars are AOD
My 87 LX is a salvage title and the body is completely shot...engine and drivetrain are in great working order.
with the donor car what all am I gonna have to get?
I am going to switch it from SD to MAF definately, but what else will i need?
Any good websites to check out? or any knowledgeable people out there?

 

[Fastcat]

1. If you have an manual the 4cyl driveshaft will work. If you have an auto you will need a V8 driveshaft

2a. Forged pistons have 2 notches cut into them and hyper pistons are flat (they actually have a circle cut into the middle of them)

b. If its missing a piston, I would do a complete rebuild of the engine or just get a KNOWN good running 5.0 HO (make sure its an HO... from a Stang or Lilcoln Mark VII). I dont know if you can buy them from Ford but there are plenty of places to get stock sized pistons on the net

c. Hypers will probably take 300HP BUT I wouldnt trust it... and it will almost definately blow w/ 400HP and Nos (this is just my opinion)

3. Your asking for trouble w/ the 7.5! No need to try to beef it up, just save for an 8.8. The 7.5 will last for awhile as long as you dont drive hard, or fast, but thats HIGHLY unlikely w/ a 5.0.... especially when you just finish a project like this!!

fordracingfan:
Everything from the 5.0 will swap over to the 4cyl BESIDES the wiring harness (UNLESS you change the whole dash wiring harness which you dont wanna do) You will need a 93 harness and a A9P or A9L computer (those are in 89-93 stangs)

Hope I helped

 

[bluevenom867]

Hyperutectic pistons are great if you not runing alot of boost (+12psi) or nitrous (+200 shot).
Why hypers are better for mild rebuild:
1. cost,hypers are cheaper.Period.
2. hypers seal better against the cyclinder wall (i.e. they don't expand as much alowing tighter clearances)
3. hypers are lighter,this means less tress on the rods and more rpm capability
4. with the cheaper price of hypers,you can afford to have a anti-friction coating and a thermal barrier coating aplied to the piston,makeing them as durable and more heat resistand than forged

 

[fordracingfan]

thanks for the info
from what I have heard having my donor car is going to make this conversion painless (or less painful anyway)