lirocruz

I could use a little help finding a website that will show me how I can replace my inline 4 cyl with a 5.0. mostly because i think it will be easier to find a 5.0

If any of you think you can give me some advice, here is the situation. I have an 88 LX with a 2.3 liter and an automatic transmission. What i would like to know is what do I need to do to drop the 5.0 in there. Can I keep things like the alternator and the water pump or do I need new engine mounts, stuff like that. Or maybe do I need to drop in a different tranny. I know these questions sound stupid, but i really have now idea what i am doing. Please help.

sgt_pepper17

Here's the deal... I like your thinking but I think it's way more a project then you're thinking. Because it's fuel injected, you're going to need to rewire a great deal of shnit. If you're seriously looking at doing this swap, you're going to need to rewire the car as if it were a V8. It would be best to gut the vehicle and start over. You're going to need new motor mounts. You'll need a new water pump, but that's small work and small money compared to the rest. I do not know if the 2.3 and 5.0 have the same bell housing. I know I owned a Mustang once with a 4 cylinder trans, but it wasn't put there by me. First gear is too low for a V8. If you switch to a manual, you're going to need a bunch of crap ( new clutch pedal setup [pedal bracket, pedal, cable, adjuster, quadrant] clutch, flywheel, pressure plate [remember that the clutch counterweight must match the year of the motor, pre '82 is 28oz and '82 and newer is 50oz.] plus all the other crap that goes with a tranny install such as throwout bearing, pivot, pilot bearing, crossmember, driveshaft, exhaust.) Once you've installed the transmission, you'll also need a new speedometer gear to match your rear gear ratio to your transmission ratio. This will be a pain in the a$$ because it's not a stock setup or a variation on a stock setup so a dealer won't carry it probably. You'll also need the interior pieces to match a manual, and in the right color to match your interior. For the motor, you'll probably need a new radiator, hoses, electric system, motor mounts, fan, possibly a new power steering pump, and possibly other parts I've over looked in my half drunk half asleep state of mind ( I work until 2am CST.) Besides all that crap, it'll be easy lol. If you switch to carburated you'll save a lot of the headache, but it would of course be best to delete a lot of wiring that is unnecessary. It will also be easiest to do this while the motor is out.

Just out of curiosity, where are you from? What kind of condition is the car in? I'm looking for a car like that to gut and build for a street/strip car.

rwh129

It would cost more to do the conversion than to buy a used 5.0

stangcrazy

Doing an engine swap will not make your car a GT. LX has 3 body styles all with the 5.0 Notch, Vert, Hatch. To complete the job you would need a set of ground effects. I see that your new to forums so incase you were unaware of that, now you know.

2 kwik

gt's are ugly