heslekrants

Here's my 1st car, a 65 Mustang conv. I bought it 34 years ago and it's currently a work in progress.

We are using a 98 Lincoln Mark VIII as a donor for the motor & tranny that was a great driver.

So far the Jag rear & front end kit is in. The motor & tranny when in last week so now the fun begins. Wiring everything up to get it running.

Has anybody done this conversion yet?

What all parts do you need from the donor?

The plan is to have it running this summer.

67mustang302

You might want to see which version of the 4v heads you have, it may be worth it to you to swap to better 4v heads like what was on the 03/04 Mach 1's. some of the earlier 4.6L 4v heads made poor low rpm power.

heslekrants

I've heard that the pre 99 DOHC heads are not that great. Current plans are to get it running with current motor/tranny which was running good in the Mark VIII. A full engine build/detail will come later with better heads or even the new 5.0 if we can find one reasonable.

ozarks06

Your engine is a 96-98 Mark VIII, which is good since it's ODB-2 and tuning will be easier (you can use something like Sniper Special Forces to build a tune and turn off PATS [anti-theft]). Wiring will take some time, and you'll need a return-style fuel system. I used a Tank's Inc. in-tank pump kit (in fact, I have a spare tank already cut out for it if anyone close needs one - free!). Hold onto everything from the donor car until you're done. If not, you'll find that buying little doodads will eat you up.

Lots of people have done this type of swap. You'll find a lot of info here:

http://www.modularfords.com/forums/f...ar-Conversions

Good luck.

67mustang302

The 5.0 Coyote will be a mainline production engine for Ford V8 cars and trucks, so it will have economies of scale on it's side. While it won't be as cheap as a pushrod crate engine, my guess is it won't be too terribly expensive either since Ford will be making them in large numbers. I bet in a few years you'll find decent junkyard donors(tards wrecking their 2011+ GT's) or crate deals.

vernlee

Heslekrants - I'm trying to make a last minute decision on puting a 5.4 in my 66 coupe, did you have to modify your mustang II cross member to make this engine fit ? how about the transmission tunnel ? header clearence ? and lastly hood clearence ?
Vern

ozarks06

I doubt you'll get a 5.4 under a stock hood. I have about 1/2" clearance (and had about 3/4" with the Mach intake). The 5.4 has about another inch of deck height. The bottom end shouldn't be any different than a 4.6 (you have to notch the crossmembers for the oil pan, unless you use the Mark VIII pan). The tranny tunnel will probably have to be massaged for any of the trannies behind a mod motor.

That said, the extra torque of a 5.4 should be nice (unless you have a blown 4.6).

vernlee

Seems to me the lincoln pan would be the way to go, I already had my motor mounts made for the 351, is the 5.4 motor mounts completly different ? I'm really kicking this idea around, If I'm going to do it nows the time before I get the car all together,I'm worried about total cost going with the Mod motor, after market ecm,and who knows what that I haven't thought of,
Vern

67mustang302

Just to throw it in here, seriously consider the new 5.0. It's an awesome engine and Ford is now selling it as a crate engine new for $7,000. I think that's without computer/harness though.

ozarks06

The mod motor mounts will be quite different from the 351. You can use the factory wiring and ECM if you have it. There isn't that much you actually need and you can turn off PATS, EGR, rear O2 sensors, etc. with tuning software. Here's all you really need to use:

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/?p=88

The Mark VIII oil pan would work fine, and will actually let you set the engine down almost another inch (and maybe get a 5.4 under a stock hood). I set mine up that way originally but then went with a Canton pan (based on the Cobra pan) for more capacity and I had to raise the motor a little and notch the crossmember. The problem with the Cobra-based pans is that they hang lower than the crossmember and you have to be very careful or they scrape on things (I'm going to put a skid plate on mine after scraping on a few speedbumps and fearfully looking back for an oil slick).

It's a pretty good job, but if you already have the M2 front end, it's not that much more. Aside from the fact that a SBF looks a little lonely with all that new-found room under the hood, the mod motors will get you lots of attention, better mileage, and (I know this is controversial) better overall performance than a similar sized (even 351) SBF. I've seen a few 4.6 conversions but I haven't seen a 5.4 in a vintage Mustang except for 67 Evil Eleanor's fastback. I did see a nice 65 with a chromed-up Lightning motor, but it stood 18" out of the hood - even the valve covers came through the hood on that thing. The real problems with 5.4s is that there aren't any good intakes for N/A except the Cobra R (pricey and rare), the Sullivan (pricey) or the Aussie Boss 260/290 (pricey and 'over there'). If you have a GT500 motor sitting around . . .