Sorry, Im very new to this site and to mustangs but am very interested in building a 5.4 car. Not sure if this is where i should post..

Ive found a local automatic 95 V6 with 225k on the v6 and trans. I plan on pulling that combo and changing it with a 5.4 and some manual trans.

Im shooting for the cheapest 5.4 build i can get away with and want to know if buying a V6 car for 500 dollars is gonna help or hurt in the long run?

im use to my mazdaspeeds and have never owned a performance rwd vehicle and don't know everything that will be involved..
im assuming ill need to swap:
The rear
the driveshaft
axles?
motor mounts
transmisson
what else?

would i just be better off buyin a v8 original car? and would that tranny and rear end combo of a gt even handle a tuned 5.4?


thanks a lot y'all. ill contribute a purrty mustang to the community soon

-McKinley

 

Yes it would be smarter to start with a v8 car, you will need the entire drivetrain from a v8 car to safely run the power and not be in constant fear of breaking something. Also as far as I know the 5.4 uses most of the same wiring as a 4.6, so you wouldn't have to run a new harness as well like with the v6 car.

Basically with the v6 you will need to strip it to a shell and start from scratch. Now if you can pick at the car and get them to sell it for like 200 or less and have a garage to take your time and hunt for deals on parts that's not a rediculous idea.

If you plan to do this in your driveway it would make much more sense time wise to start with a v8. Because v6 to 5.4 is gonna a be a long process if money isn't flowing like a river.

Also you will need a v8 donor car to get the v8 crossmember so the engine mounts will work. Or you will be fabricating custom mounts for the v6 crossmember. I'm not sure if any one has done that.

 

Also nothing in a 95 is easily used around a modular motor, it was only the 3.8 and the 5.0. a SBF would be an easier adaptation in that year car. 96+ was modular.

 

If he's starting with a v6 car it doesn't really matter if it's a 94-95 cause he will have to swap the entire drivetrain/crossmember and engine wiring anyhow regardless of whether it's a 94 to 04 if it's v6. If you do get a v8 car it needs to have had a 4.6 from the factory.

 

The only thing that would really pose an issue for strength if reused is the rear, it's also the only piece that "could" be reused in that instance. I've done plenty of v8 swaps into 4cyl and v6 cars to know that. But as I stated, IF he were to buy that particular car, a SBF would be a better candidate, and easier to do as well.

 

A modular would be best. And yes if driven lightly the 7.5 rear will be fine. But no one is doing a 5.4 swap to drive it like they are 80 years old. And a modular car would be best. Even if he uses a 94-95 v8 car that is a 5.0 small block, he will still need the modular harness and 4.6 crossmember. The 5.0 crossmember will not work.

So.......

94-04 v6 shell will work, but will require whole drivetrain, harness, computer, and crossmember.
94-95 v8 will require the same thing.
96-04 v8 will only require motor swap and tune or computer from a 5.4.

 

94/95 v6 and v8 have same k-member. The 96-04 v6 and v8 cars have same k-member. So you would need a 96-04 k-member since the 5.4 came as a factory option for 2000