3.8L wngine swap help!

[Fordhorsemen09]

i couldnt find a section for this.....but it is an antique so.....here it goes

Okay.......is the 3.8l v6 (carbed) block on an 86 mustang the same as the 3.8L Throttle bottle injected on an 84 mustang.........what i mean to ask is...will the heads and intake and everything swap over to the 86 block.....

The sitiuation is......got a new 84 mustang....but it needs a new crankshaft kit.........and i found this guy that has 3.8L bored .060 over with pistons and everything except heads....and it's carbed....my car is TBI.....so my question is....everything the same? TBi work on the motor????

 

[D.Hearne]

Interesting swap, let us know how it goes. The 3.8's got a bad rap from head gaskets, but as long as you keep coolant levels up, they'll last. They've got excellant heads on em, they ought to really scream with a Holley 500 in place of the TBI T/B and a bigger roller cam. I've thought about doing one in a Ranger swap, just never had the time and money to go forward. Got the heads and intake though .

 

[rbohm]

yes the 3.8's were the same through the end of production. however you do need to differentiate between rwd and fwd 3.8's. it is the fwd 3.8's that had the most head gasket problems and gave that motor the bad rap. check out

Main Page - 3.8Wiki
Tom Morana Racing Engines
Super Six Motorsports

these sites have tons of good information on the 3.8 and the 4.2 and what parts interchange, and what performance parts are available for these engines.