4.6 to 5.0 conversion?

Im intrested in hearing about this as well. Im thinking of something similar in my 99 except if I went thru the trouble, Id be installing a 351.
In theory it shouldnt be too difficult as 99+ share the same engine bay as 94-95's. For sure youd need a 94-94 K member (stock or tubular) and some headers. Depending on if your going with EFI or a carb will determine what else you will be needing. Carb would be the easiest/cheapest. Gains from such a swap would be an entire aftermarket of parts supporting your engine platform most of which are quite a bit cheaper. Not to mention what how many used parts are available. Really I guess it comes down to what you want from your car... if 400 hp and good street manners is something you are looking for, youd probably be better off with a blower on your 4.6.

Too much work to install a 5.0 in a 96+ with 4.6. Well it can be done expect to change every single wire and you will need T-5 tranny.

Cheaper to buy a 94-95 5.0

christiesledd said:

has anyone done a 4.6 to 5.0 conversion on their 99+ stang? I'm thinking about it and I heard the swap wasn't that bad.. but who knows. This would be something in the distant future for my car.. I think it would be cool to have a 5.0 03 mustang.. cuz you never see those lol. What kinda gains would I expect from such a task? opinions/comments?

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What 5.0????

The 5.0 Cammer modular engine OR the old 302 push rod?

If its the Cammer then 385bhp is about stock power for them, don't really see the point of using the old 5.0 push rodder, it was a fine engine in its day but needs a lot more work to produce big power and ultimatly won't produce any bigger nummbers than the 4.6 mod unit. The only things it has going for it are size and weight, but the 4.6 already fits in the engine bay so it only leaves the weight and unless running aluminium heads is not really going to make that much difference.

It would also be a lot of work, time and money as every thing from the wireing loom to the fuel and cooling systems would need changing.

For street use a 302-351 windsor/cleveland is only going to produce 350-410bhp crank (yes more is possible but it would be more than an every day street motor, just take a look at the crate motors available, they will give you a good indication of what is duable), the 4.6 mod engine is also capable of 350-400ishbhp and still be streetable.

If you really want to look at somthing different then maybe a big block Ford 460ci engine would be a better bet, they will produce a nice 550+bhp in street tune. However if you want something different Mustangs are far too common on the roads in America. If your itching to spend some doe then maybe one of these would be a better options:



Its built on a SN95 Mustang platform and running gear and can use pretty much any V8 (Ford - Cleveland, Windsor, mod, big block. Chevy 350, Ls1, big block). It does cost a bit more but there are cheaper kits if you build them yourself AND ITS PROBABLY THE COOLEST COUPE ON THE ROAD

A cheaper option would be a regular Cobra replica using your GT as a donna, they only weigh like 2500lbs so with the same HP will be much quicker than your car know.


Did you know that a 427 (7.0 litre) AC Cobra can run a 14 second 1/4 mile @ over 100mph by starting off in 4th (top gear) - that's pretty damn impressive

300bhp/ton said:

For street use a 302-351 windsor/cleveland is only going to produce 350-410bhp crank (yes more is possible but it would be more than an every day street motor, just take a look at the crate motors available, they will give you a good indication of what is duable), the 4.6 mod engine is also capable of 350-400ishbhp and still be streetable.

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i am not for a 5.0/351 swap. but 300bhp i don't know if you are aware of the size of the aftermarket for the 302/351 over here. plus people get there underwear wet whenever they think of the 5.0.. there are still some people that don't belive you can hit 13's in a stock 99+ they refuse too belive it because there 5.0 never hit 13's stock. so off course the 4.6 can't

ok time for some myth busting now. anybody considering this swap should realize a stock 5.0 is down about 50+ horsepower too a 99+ pi 4.6 i would only consider this for a all out drag car.

Please don't do that to your Mustang...

the only 5.0 that should go in a 96+ is a cammer or a stroker kit.

then you could answer yes to the 'is it a 5.0' question

Yes, it would be alot of work, but itd still be very cool. Even a basic 306 with AFR 185 heads, a cam and say a Holley SystemMax intake will make 400 hp. Much cheaper than trying to make 400 N/A HP with a Mod motor. Granted getting it installed is the tricky part, but Summit sells a painless wiring 5.0 engine harness for $299. Then youd need a 89-93 EEC a distributor, ignition and some various sensors, along with the Kmember exhaust and trans. The thing is there are so many used parts and wrecked 5.0's out there that if you did some research it wouldnt be to horribly expensive. Natuarly itd be much easier to just put a blower on your 4.6 and make about 400 but theres alot of supporting equitment to go with that as well.

MikeZ28 said:

i am not for a 5.0/351 swap. but 300bhp i don't know if you are aware of the size of the aftermarket for the 302/351 over here. plus people get there underwear wet whenever they think of the 5.0.. there are still some people that don't belive you can hit 13's in a stock 99+ they refuse too belive it because there 5.0 never hit 13's stock. so off course the 4.6 can't

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I have an idea how big the aftermarket is for the 302's and it is a common engine over here for Cobra replica's and is often fitted to cars like Ford Capri's and Seirra's.

But I don't get the fasination with this AVERAGE engine, yeah sure its quite compact but its only 5.0 and will always have the limitations of cc (or 351ci if you like).

There was a big kahoot about the 5.0 v 4.6 before the 'crash' in the S197 talk area, I did a study and as a production engine the 302 never really managed much more than about 250bhp since the 1960's right thru to its demise in the 90's (yes there where limited run Cobra's and specials, but as a regular production engine it was only ever average).

As I said look around at the crate engines you can buy, they will give you an idea of the REAL power available

http://proformanceunlimited.com/ford.html

The most power 302 they sell has 380bhp, the larger cc stroked engines and the 351's are over 400bhp but only just. Is it really that hard to see this kind of power from the 4.6? Not to mention the cost factor of buying a whole new 5.0 and all the parts then getting them installed.

And think about it, if you tuned each engine to the same specific output, say 100bhp/litre

5 litres x 100bhp = 500bhp
4.6 litre x 100bhp = 460bhp

At most the 4.6 is only going to be 40bhp or so down, but with the OHC design I bet it has a higher tuning ability in terms of specific output per litre.

Of course there is then the issue of FI, but we all know the 4.6 is capable of over 700bhp with a blower, the 5.0 is harld likely to exceed it by much if any without costing more money.

I actually really like the old school grunt and sound of a push rod V8 as I'm sure many of you do to, the Chevy Ls1 and newer engines are proof that a MODERN design on this ethos can still work well, but OHC and DOHC with variable valve control and advanced valve timing multiple stage camshafts can produce a lot more.

But the old 5.0 is just that OLD, its not a new design and suffers as a result, call me a hypocrit if you will as my own car has a push rod v8, but I respect that it has limitations, e.g.

a built 5.0 = 380bhp
a new Chevy LS2 6.0 = 400bhp
TVR 4.5 flat plane crank V8 = 440bhp
Ferrari 3.6 V8 = 420bhp

The modern designed engines are just capable of more power with less capacity, I do respect that due to the cc the LS2 is capable of more power, but as a ROAD engine your only going to be looking at 500-530bhp tops, which considering the extra 1.5 litres over TVR V8 is not really much gain, and the TVR is still STOCK!

And when this tech is applied to bigger engines it get even more extreme. Take the new Z06 Vette with its 7.0 litre V8 it has a very respectable 500bhp stock, the 8.3 litre Viper also has 500bhp (which is not quite as respectable as it needs an extra 1.3 litres to do), TVR produced a 7.7 litre V12 for their road going Speed 12, this monster in stock tune made well over 800bhp, although there are reports that one such engine was fitted to a 1000bhp engine dyno, and at about 3000rpm BELOW the red line the dyno maxed out. They even had to de-tune the engine to be eligiable for GT racing where everone else was needing to generate more than stock power.

I'll be honest the mod engine is not in this league, but the DOHC variant is certainly a world class engine, the 5.0 was a great engine and for the hot rod after market tuner very very capable, but compared to larger cc big blocks and more modern designs it falls by the wayside. If 350-400bhp is all you want and you already have a 5.0 then it will do very nicly, if you want simlar power and have a 4.6 it will do just as good a job.

the Cammer 5.0 mod engine is a great choice, 385bhp is stock (as used in the MG ZV supercar), with a few mods they should be good for about 450bhp. The stock CR from Ford Racing is a little high for an FI setup, but a slightly lower CR with a blower should see 550-600bhp all day long every day no porblem. If you want to run it harder then there is still more, it should have the potential to be 40-50bhp more than any DOHC 4.6 as fitted to the 03/4 Cobra's.

Well, that would be an easier swap than a pushrod 5.0 I guess..lol

However, the price tag on the complete motor is something in the area of $15K if Im not mistaken. If you want the ultimate in Ford 4V N/A motors, thats the way to go, however a complete 03/04 Cobra enigine is in the Ford catalog for only $12K, I think Id go that route first as there are alot of options with that engine.