I currently have a 4cyl notch and wanted to either do a 302 or a 281 swap into the car. its a five speed car and i'm going to use a t-5, t-56 tranny and an 8.8 rearend. I just wanted to no from early experiences what to lookout for. Should i do it or let a shop do it? All help is good help so thanks for your post.

 

Like you said, you will need a new tranny designed to handle the horsepower and torque of a V-8, an 8.8 or 9 inch rear end, (8.8 should be plenty for a 302), the wiring harness, the computer, and you will also have to swap out the cooling system, and brakes. it is recommended that you also redo the suspension, unless you like your cars low to the ground with crappy handling. (V-8 weighs more). You will also need to upgrade the fuel system, exhaust, and i think the accesories(a/c alternator etc.) It is a lot of work and there will no doubt be a need for many more miscellanious parts. If you have the skills and time have at it. it might be easier to just find a cheap 5.0 car and fix that up. good luck.

 

Don't do it. Sell you car and get a 5.0 car. You will be happy that you did.

 

Taking any car from a 4 or 6 cylinder to a 8 is alot of work and can be very expensive. Only reason to do it is if you are 16 and insurance on a V8 will kill you. I did it when I was 17 with alot of help from a friends father. He had a identical car with the V8 motor, trans and rearend sitting behind his shop in a junked car. It took 3 days to do it and was worth it in the end. But if you can afford the insurance on a V8 I have to say try and sell your car and by a V8 car.

 

yea this is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but when it comes time to make words action, id def buy the v-8 and this is coming from someone who wants to install his own gears which isnt an easy task, im prob gonna let a shop do it but you cant do what you wanna do at a shop. Sell your car or find someone who knows what there doing and can help you.

 

i did it with mine. but i went with a bigger motor and trans and ditched the efi for a carb. it wasn't to hard and the 8.8 rear is strong and good so keep it.