racin66coupe

so, as many of you know, i am goint to do the i6 to v8 swap with the 35w i have. i was going to get theperformance rebuild kit from mustangs plus http://www.mustangsplus.com/xcart/pr...131&page=1
but my question is, di i really need the rebuild kit now, or can i get away with just some new ball joints and what not? i beleive the control arms are the same on sixxers and v8s but not 100% sure

EDIT: i plan on doing the shelby drop as well

racin66coupe

anyone? Daze?

dcohen

you might as well rebuild it while you have it all torn apart

and just to let ya know, you can get every part you need to rebuild your frontend from your local parts store I.E. Napa, Autozone, Advance

mightythor99

if you are going to swap to a v8, from a 6 cylinder,...........you need to realize exactly what you are doing. the 6 bangers have a lighter suspension............the sway bar, etc, is all smaller. you NEED to swap all that out. here's what happens if you DONT.........
when i was pretty young, there were a hand ful of us mustang guys in my town. one guy was bound and determined to put a 460 in his 6 cylinder mustang. probably heavier then what you are wanting to do, but same principle. the v8 motors add a lot more weight to the front end. what doesnt seem like much to you, is a lot, to parts set up to only hold a couple hundred pounds. that was when those parts were ONLY 15 or so years old,............now they are older..................
going in a straight line, it just mashed down his springs and front end some,.............BUT, when he went around a curve going a little too fast,.............it threw off the whole front end, collapsing the front end, on one side,.......and it damn near killed him,............totally screwed the car, and made him wreck, to say the least. you need to switch everything they say you should, because you are changing the whole engineering package that ford came up with, to hold that 6 cylinder in place. it is twinkie, because the 6 cylinder motor is twinkie,.............if you go to a v8, you are adding a lot more weight, on a balance, and it is changing everything on the front end of your car. me,...........personally, i am a purist, i have not thought about switching my front end to all the new bells and whistles,..........mustang II parts, explorer rear end, or whatever,...............i like all original factory stuff, so if i was going to do it on a car, i'd go back all original, and find the original v8 ford stuff, but i'm not racing, or whatever. but you cant just toss in a bigger motor, and not do the suspension..............you are playing with fire.
and old fire at that.
hope that helps you. it's just not safe not to switch the rest of that stuff.

michaelricha33

I guess it depends on how much you value peace of mind...a 351W weighs more than a 200 I-6 but not a whole lot more than a 289 or 302, but not nearly as much as a 460 BB. The springs are rated higher for V-8 for certain to keep ride height. Also you should go to 5-lug hubs both front and back (I-6 cars are 4-lugs). Also if you are going to have the thing apart it doesn't take any more time to put new parts in then old ones. The whole enchilada will cost from $800-$1000 depending on what vender you get it from and then you don't need to worry about your suspension failing if you have to make an emergency manuever on the road. IMO the first gen mustang in stock form is severly lacking in the braking, suspension, steering department..in my own car I have addressed the first 2 and am saving for the third (see signature). Upgrading these as much as possible will add to your enjoyment of the car and your safety.

mightythor99

ford engineered the two motor models of these cars completely differnet,....ALL v8 ones are beefier, and need to be. i wouldnt want to ride and risk my safety in the one we changed over to a 460,..........it wasnt the brightest move we ever made,.......wasnt my decision,..........i wouldnt have done it, but it was a friend, with his car.....just wasnt very smart, but most people had no idea back then,...........it was a weekend job, some cutting, banging, etc........it looked cool.........
for the times, it was everything every other car had for options,..........they had a little "ford drift" in the steering, and the brakes kinda sucked, but so did everyone else's,..........people weren't stopping on a dime,.............most like.........dollar bills........but everyone was.............

Starfury

Not to mention, the entire driveline needs to go, not just the engine. The I6 tranny and rear end won't last behind a V8, so you'd need to convert to a V8 tranny and 8" rear. Springs all the way around (I6 springs are very weak), brakes all the way around, 5 lug conversion for the front, engine wiring harness...

racin66coupe

ok, i guess i should reword this. i know i need to swao out the whole driveline, springs, shocks, swaw bar, rearend, tranny, motor mounts, 5 lug converion,everything
my question is, are the control arms the same or different? everything ive seen says there the same

mightythor99

the steering stuff i think are the same for both models. tie rods might be smaller but i think the other ones are the same. if you call autozone, they can look it up for you on the computer, and do it for free, and pretty quick. i put the parts shops through the motions sometimes.

Starfury

Control arms are the same (I checked on my comp here at Napa, if you're doubtful). Tie rod ends are different. I try not to put Autozone through the motions...they get lost a lot:P