hello all. I may have mentioned that I am selling my fox, but I have not been able to contact the buyer for the past2weeks... we were talking about payment and picking up the car, then he said he would call me back at the beginning of this past week...

anyhoo, fearing the worst, if the guy doesnt contact me, I'll be keeping my Dorothy after all[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

now since her 3.8 is blown and plauged with problem like bad headgaskets and who knows what else, I was going to have a motor swap done...

now there is a shop near me that would put in a new engine for like 1300 (labor included)or so.. I cannot remember exactly, I may be off by a hundred or so... now should I go the route of having a new 3.8 put or should I just see if they'll put in a 5.0 for around the same price... (I may get some flames for mentioning a v8..) most likely the shop would put a newer motor in the car, or a completely rebuilt engine...now would putting a set of 99-04 headers and a true dual exhaust benifit me in any power gains? I may be stuck with the CFI intake, unless I try to go with a tom morania (sp) carb intake with a 2bbl holley, if I go this route, I'll drop the A/C and maybe the smog pump if I can get away with that...

what would be the best route to take if my car ends up remaning with me? I am concerned with reliablity right now, going fast is not on my #1 priority now. (cops see a 19 year old behind the wheel of a bright red fox and they go nuts... they go crazy about my mom's car and she is 40...) I am asking about the duals cuz I love the look of the duals coming out the back and I prefer a carb since the CFI unit is pretty crappy at best..

any help would be great. I have about 3 months to get the car on the road before college starts up again... so thats why I would go with a shop opposed to doing it myself... (I'm a DIY guy, but some things are out of my hands due to a lack of tools and time)

 

anyone got any ideas they could throw me?

thanks[8D]

 

Well that depends on what you want.

The 5.0 is gonna, hands down, offer the most power, however, if the engine is used, and isn't in the best condition, you may yet again be plauged with problems, but overall the 5.0 is a good engine, and responds very well to modifications.

If you want longevity, and reliability, the 3.8 out of a 99-04 will get you just that. Also, since your car is much lighter than the newer Mustangs with the 3.8L, you'll also gain some nice performance.

So in a nutshel, the 5.0 will install a little easier, has a wider selection of mods, and responds better to mods. The 3.8L will allow you to have decent performance and great reliability since the engine will be a lot newer. On the flip side though, do not put a 3.8L in your car from the 94-98 years, you'll be kicking yourself in the rear end for doing so.

 

thanks man, I'm giving the potential buyer till the end of the week to contact me, and if he doesnt then I am keeping her and seeing what that shop near me can do. my main concern would be to get the car roadworthy.. aside from the engine, she just needs the brakes bled (maybe the drums inspected) a final look over and a inspection...the rest of her work is cosmetic, like a new carpet, repaint the faded interior panels, clean out the car completely... etc...

 

What are you planning for timing and fuel management...the two are miles apart from 86 to 99+.

 

I dont know exactly what I'll do yet. I'm gonna call the shop at the end of the week. if they can get me a brand new motor that will drop in for pretty cheap, then I'll go that route, but if they can do a 5.0 swap for around 1300ish, assuming it would be that price total... I will go that route.. I wont worry about mods or anything too crazy, I just want to get it moving if the guy doesnt call me back... I am going to give him till friday when I get home from college..

 

i have to agree with you here. both the 5.0 and split-port make around the same power. i would base the decision on what you like to do, price, and maybe the type of racing if you race.

say you want better gas mileage, but you would like to have a better handling car. then i would go with the split-port as it is lighter and would better balance the engine. it would get slightly better gas mileage than the 5.0 in a Fox body.

 

I say get an ECU and motor out of a 99-04 car and drop it in there. Super Six did it with their fox coupe. It will create a solid daily driver as well as a stand out car over all.

 

I agree, get a a split port. check ebay, or maybe MPS(but they tend to overprice some things). Mines been dead reliable, even when i was in -25 weather.



on another note, what about the 94-98 and a M90 at the same time? but that might be too much at once.

 

the M90 is a supercharger right?

I heard that the 94-early 96 single port motors had a problem with their headgaskets.