3 Engine Swaps for Building the Perfect Fox Body Mustang!

Love your Fox Body Mustang, but crave more power? Here are the pros and cons of three great engine swap paths, from the obvious to the controversial.

It may be hard to believe but the newest Fox Body Mustang is now 30 years old. That means that there are some tired Mustangs out there that could use a bit of a power boost. The top dog 1993 Mustang SVT Cobra made 235 horsepower. Solid numbers for the time but certainly nothing that is going to set your hair on fire in 2023. But many folks still love the Fox Body even if performance is tepid by modern standards. You can tweak the original 302 V8 that came on these Mustangs and make a bit more power. You could even go forced induction if you wanted to. However, depending on what you are looking for it may be best to just do a complete engine swap. But which is best for you?

That is the question we are here to help you answer. When it comes to Fox Body engine swaps you have a ton of options. You could probably figure out a way to stuff a Lamborghini V12 under the hood if you really wanted to. Or on the other side of the spectrum even do an EV conversion. But there are three common paths and those are what we are going to examine here today. Like most things in life, there are pros and cons to each approach. Read on to find out what they are.

1. Ford Pushrod V8 Fox Body

For those that want to keep their Fox Body Mustang old school the popular choice is to swap a tried-and-true Ford pushrod V8 under the hood. On the lower end of the power spectrum, you can easily get 340 horsepower from a Ford 302 crate engine. That right there is already a significant power bump over stock and should really wake up your Mustang. Want to go bigger? How about a 5.8L 351 Windsor. This larger unit will take more effort but you can make it work. This setup will get you in the 500-horsepower range. And it will be low-stress streetable horsepower. There are of course other options beside these two if you want to go the pushrod route. But the overall concept and the pros and cons are similar no matter which specific engine you go with.

Ford Pushrod Pros:

• Simplicity – These engines are easier to work on and have less parts that can go wrong. The pushrod design has a single camshaft which keeps things simple. Ford pushrod V8 engines have been around for nearly 100 years now. They are still around for a reason.
• Size and Weight – A simple design is smaller and lighter design. Both key advantages when looking to do an engine swap in an older car. If you go with a larger 5.8L then you are obviously getting a larger engine. But if you stick with a 5.0L you are still looking at an engine that is 24 inches wide and 27 inches tall.
• Torque Delivery – With a pushrod design you get torque down in the lower rpm range. That helps not just with the obvious power delivery characteristics but also will result in better fuel mileage as you don’t need to rev it to the moon to get power.
• Connectivity – Depending on how you build your pushrod Ford V8, there’s a greater chance you’ll be able to integrate these motors into your original wiring harness and gauges and other (relatively primitive) vehicle systems. Still, it’s just a touch easier.

Pushrod Cons:

• Low Revs – Because of the general pushrod design they typically don’t rev very high. Air flow is limited in the typical pushrod design and there is simply not enough of it available to support a higher-revving engine. So, if you are the type that loves to shift at 8,000 rpm, then a pushrod engine is probably not for you.
• Pushrods – It may sound strange but one of the drawbacks to a pushrod engine is the actual pushrod and rocker arms. These parts have a high reciprocating mass which also contributes to the lower rev limit.
• Tuning is harder – To oversimplify a complicated discussion, Fox Body computer tuning options are growing more and more limited. Which means it’ll be hard to tune with the stock setup, or you’ll need to go to an expensive, standalone ECU (that won’t be street-legal in some areas).
• Outdated Stigma – This may not bother you, but some folks see the pushrod engine as an old and outdated design which has its best days behind it. It is a bit like using a mobile flip phone. Of course, as we know those flip phones last forever. So, if you don’t care about using old technology this con won’t matter much.