JoKeR6

ok. This is my first post on this site(but I am on a forum for my own car, mx6.com). I don't own a mustang but one of my bestfriends has a 93' hatchback LX(4cyl) 5spd. We rebuild the motor becouse he cracked a valve and the shop that rebuilt his head screwed it up but refuses to fix it. So he desided he wanted to findout what it would take to swap his LX to a V8. I know this is not an easy task and that we will need rearend, motor mounts, computer, gauge cluster, full pump, rad.... ect. But I have not been able to find a good list of what we would have to do. Everything I find it "well you would probly have to...". So I am just asking what would have to be done.

I desided to post here becouse I figgered you people would be the best and most knowledgable[sm=burnout.gif].
I also though that the 5.0 section would be a good place to put this becouse anyone that has done the swap would be in the 5.0 section now

Thanks for any help.

5.7litereater

Well right now im in the middle of my own swap with an 87 LX 2.3 AT, which is recieving a 32V DOHC modular 4.6L V8 from an 03 mach 1. First thing you need to do is figure out what motor he want to swap in. You stated above you want to do a V8 swap but you didnt say which type of V8 you want to drop in it. Also, what transmission does the car currently have? What transmission do you want to put in? Because no matter what tranny is in it, it wont hold up to a healthy V8. Also you may need to find a new driveshaft as well. Find out these details and i can help you further.

Brandon5.0Lee

You are going to need an 8.8 rear, of course you need to know what your engine/tranny combo is going to be. Start there and then get back to it

ben5.0

i plan on doing this in about 2 years, once i find a clean lx, and a decent donor car.

JoKeR6

Well we found a rebuilt 351 modified for a REAL good price off a guy we know. Has about 1000 miles on it and is bored out to a 407, highrise intake mani., 4bar. carbs.... ect. We wanted to use this motor, witch I don't think it will be any different than doing a 302(I may be wrong though). Where not sure about what tranny yet, but the motor will come with a 4spd tranny.

5.7litereater

The 351 you are looking at is STROKED out to 407, not bored. Most you can gain by boring is 5 or 6 c.i. depending on how many thousandths you go. If you do in fact go with this motor you will not need to worry about computer. You stated above that it has 4 bbl carbs, is this correct? Do you mean carburetors in plural form, such as dual 4 bbl carbs? What 4 spd tranny is on the motor? Is it a richmond or a borg warner or a muncie or what have you? And yes, youre right it wont be much different from dropping in a carbed 5.0. What high rise intake is it? It may cause some hood clearance issues. What sort of power are you looking to make and what will this car be for; street? strip? track? Daily driver or weekend warrior? It will bo alot easier to point you towards the right parts if we knew these things.

JoKeR6

alright, sorry for not having all of this stated. The computer thing was stupid, I was just thinking about the computer in the car now and didn't think that if we go with a carberated motor there will be little electronics to deal with.

This car will be a Daily Driver, atleast for the time being, he will be picking up a 4cyl Probe probly for the daily driver after awhile. He wants this thing able to be driven everyday if need be. I am not sure on the intake right now, I will ask him tomorrow to findout what kind it is. Also the tranny is on it from a 79' F-150 so I would venture to guess it won't work in this application, but I don't know that. He wants to make a good bit of power, but not like an insane amount. Wants something that will have a good bit of getup and go but not stupidly fast for a DD.

Would it more simple to use this carberated 407 rather than switch the electrical over to a fullinjected 5.0?

5.7litereater

Well to be honest if you dont have a good overall understanding of how a 5.0 computer controlled EFI system works, then a carbed motor will be alot less painful to install, regardless of displacement. As far as daily driving goes, if he needs to be on the highway then i wouldnt go with anything bigger than 3.73's. If you do in fact go with a 4 spd i wouldnt go any bigger than 3.55's in that case. 8.8's are still available in alot of junkyards at ok prices depending on where youre at, so thats what I would recommend. If you can get a 5-lug disc version, that would be the best way to go. Factory id tags on the differentail housing cover will indicate gear ratio if looking on the door tag is not an option. Upgrading the front discs will be a must with this much motor as well, get what you can from a donor junkyard mustang. A carbed 407ci stroker is not going to be very fuel friendly if you know what im getting at, regardless of driving habits. As far as the tranny goes im not positive, because i dont know which 4 spd it was exactly that came in those year model f150's, but i would go ahead and say that it probably cant be used. Once again, go to the junkyard if you dont have enough cash for a better tranny, and pick up a world class t-5. You would also need to grab the driveshaft out of the tranny donor car (so long as it is a mustang). There are a few other small things that you will need along the way, but those are the major components. Hope this helps

JoKeR6

Thank you VERY much. Very helpful.

I told my friend about the gas going to be a big expence, but he lives right in town and said that for the amount of driving he has to do it will be fine. And he also is planning on getting that probe with a 4cyl.

He doesn't have a LOT of $ to spend, so most parts will probly be from a junkyard donar car. I have a few friends that own or work at junkyards so this should be fairly easy to find. Also my dad has a CnC plasma cutter in our garage and a good friend that works in a welding shop, so all fab work will be inexspensive.

O and while this thread is still here. How much harder would it be to turbo the 4cyl if we fixed the head, that is our other option. I told him as much room as there is in his engine bay it would be easy to run the piping.

Marty86

I have a question about a 2.3 to a 5.0. EFI or Carb (I haven't decided) do I need to do any fabercating? Or can I just drop it in with the wiring harniess (if EFI)? What Tranny's will work for the 2.3 and 5.0?