about 4 yaears ago fast fords and muscle mustangs had a couple page write up on a guy that built an "SVT" 97 tbird. used a 32v cobra engine, 95 cobra r wheels and the hood skin from a 95 r as wells a ton of other updates.
not much info but might give you a start to do some searching
I'm assuming you're talking about the older Thunderbird coupes. If so, it shouldn't be difficult at all seeing as how the Thunderbird coupes and Lincoln Mark VIIIs were essentially the same cars. The Mark was actually the first car to have the 32 valve 4.6L.
I had the same thought a couple of years ago with a 94 t-bird, needless to say, I now have a 97 cobra. I would check out WWW.TCCOA.com By the time you get everything bought and swapped out, you are probably better off tradeing in your t-bird. I had mine for 8 years, and hated to see it go. But good luck to you!