5.4 DOHC Navigator Engine Swap into my 94 Mustang GT

oxemoron · May 22, 2006

I have the oppurtunity to pick out an engine from a friend's junkyard for free. I was originally looking for a GT40 302 or 351 Windsor. He told me today that the majority of the place is 2-3 year old car parts. They have tons of modular engines so I was considering picking up a DOHC 5.4 out of a navigator. Just wondering what your opinions are on this swap and also how big of a project it would actually be compared to the 351

Pokageek · May 22, 2006

I think it would be unique and make the car real interesting. Plus those engines have a load of torque and you wouldn't be leaving any cubes on the table.

zenboy99 · May 22, 2006

A free engine? Wow, what kind of friend is this? Pick one out and sell it on E-bay.

I helped a friend put a 5.4L DOHC motor in his Fox. If you want to stay EFI, this will be a HELL OF ALOT more tricky than a 351 swap. You'll need a whole new computer, wiring harness, sensors, etc. It will be a very involved project with alot of fabrication. If you went with a FAST system or something else it wouldn't be as bad.

As far as putting it into the engine bay, these guys make a k-member to do that on our cars.
http://www.ajeracing.com/

You're also going to have to figure out exhaust, someone like Kooks could make you custom headers but it will cost alot.

My Dad had a 5.4L engine I thought about using, but after looking into it and pricing everything out, I went the 351 route.

I talked to this Al guy at an NMRA race and he gave me alot of good advice about going the 5.4L direction. Here's his website but its still under construction.
http://www.boss330racing.com/

oxemoron · May 22, 2006

I have no plans to buy another car anytime soon cause i love my sn95 and I figured the navigator engine would be a good way to make my car a little more modern. Then in the future possibly cobra independent rear suspension but I don't know much about that setup. Any ideas what exactly is required for the swap in our cars?

Mustangless · May 22, 2006

a few years ago there was a foxbody with a navigator engine in it. I think it was in the 5.0 and sf mag.

oxemoron · May 22, 2006

i actually saw a 95 mustang gt with a dohc 5.4 conversion in a magazine. It was white with a shaker hood. I can't just pick out a engine and go sell it, he already offered to help install it and everything. So this means whatever engine I pick will go in the car. I'm sort of on a budget so originally i wanted to do a explorer 5.0 engine rebuild, make it a 331, and port the the GT40P heads and intake. I was only considering the modular engine swap if there was a complete kit out there. Anything fairly new that will swap easily?

SeventyMach1 · May 22, 2006

oxemoron said:
Anything fairly new that will swap easily?

No, nothing comes to mind.

I am a completely PRO-PUSHROD enthusiast. Especially when it comes to 94-95's. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say DO IT (go ahead Grady, lay it on me ). Why? Because that engine costs BIG $$$ if you go out and try to find one for sale ... or even in a JY. That's one modular that I have respect for. If this guys giving it to you for FREE and even offering help, I say run with it. Keep in mind that it's still gonna cost you (i.e. all the swap parts and tidbits here & there). Just my opinion. I think it would be really fun with a T-56.

BlackVert · May 22, 2006

i say go for it too, if you have another car you can drive while it is down, because it will definately be down for a while. if i had a friend making me that kind of offer, i'd jump all over it.

here's a pretty sweet 5.4 dohc ... make yours like this one:

igotyofire · May 23, 2006

sounds like that project is going to cost alot,good luck id look at somthing lil easier and sell the engine if its free,hehe. pushroad and modular are all power capable just modular usually gonna cost more. if i ever do a modular setupd id probably just build one off a GT iron block and get some DOHC drivetrain componets and use a centrifugal supercharger,hehe

v6v8swap · May 23, 2006

I don't know how different the 5.4 is physically from the 4.6, but a lot of the parts could be used from the 4.6 Mustangs and fabricate out the pieces that are different. The MM&FF magazine had that Fox (I think it was a mid-80's 4 cyl coupe) Mustang with the blown 5.4 Lightning engine in it. That would be a good source of info in back issues to see what is really involved. They called it "Project Frightning" I think. You wouldn't have to worry about that Eaton blower on top of it either. This really sounds like a cool swap, if you have another daily driver to get around in until the car is up and running. I think that most people wouldn't consider it normally because of the cost of the Nav engine. With those four valve heads and 5.4 (330 cubes) it could be really interesting (add a blower hint, hint!!). Do those engines have an aluminum block too? Just something else to think about.. Let us know how it goes.

oxemoron · May 23, 2006

I can get the computer and wiring harness out of the navigator also, but I'm not sure what else I would need for the swap. I have a feeling it will be extremely expensive even with a free engine. So instead I was thinking about getting a Explorer/Mountaineer 5.0 complete engine and a 351W block. Then I was going to have my dad machine and port the heads and intake manifold. Figured I could put the heads, intake, and throttle body on my current 302 for now and in the mean time do a low budget 351W rebuild, i see summit racing kits for $280. If i did that atleast I'd have a high 12 low 13 second car for the summer and not have to take the car off the road. By the time winter comes the 351W will definately rebuilt, or the 302 block will be stroked

zenboy99 · May 23, 2006

I'm curious as to how you're getting this free engine and wiring harness? These Navi motors are EXTREMELY hard to come by in the midwest. If someone doesn't believe that please prove me wrong, I have many a friends looking for one.

oxemoron · May 23, 2006

I'm doing a website for a friend who's father owns a junkyard. As a little bonus for the project he offered me either two low cost engines if they are available or one newer engine. The majority of the junkyard stuff is 3-5 years old, so thats why newer engines would be easy for me to get but since i know him personally I can't go selling the engine on him. So I'm having him keep an eye out for explorer engines, he already has a 351W set aside for me.

gcomfx.com · May 23, 2006

My friend Tony is putting one in a 96 stang:

http://100mphclub.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=1851

The thread gets a bit OT, but it comes back, he has pics of some of the work. He's building his own intake to fit under the stock hood. His isn't going to be a racer, as he has a Capri with a 351 and a vortech already. Just a cool DD.

fordtech28 · May 23, 2006

do it man if you get everything out of the navigator all you need is a different crossmember and possibly a new hood and some minor fabrication and a tune it would be worth it

GTS95 · May 23, 2006

You have already won half the battle if the engine is complete with accessories, harness, computer etc.....
I say do it..
It will weigh about 225 more lbs or so than a stock 5.0, so if it were me {especially since tha indipendent rear from a cobra sucks for drag racing, I would put a built 9 inch rear out back to offset the added weight up front..
{a stock k member from a 96 4.6 gt will work by the way, so no need for high dollar stuff there, you will just need a BIG cowl hood, or no hood at all for a while until you source funds..
You also need a good tranny...
Now what would be HELLA COOL, would be a Navi Engine AND Tranny swap {yeah, you would have to cut some floor pan, but thay have a hell of a tranny in them {same as in the lightning}...
There was a stock navi runnin 15.20 at the strip here in ga a couple years back.
Now imagine,
7500 lbs SUV + navi = 15.20 or so..
3500 lbs CAR + navi = 11.20 or so..
I mean, I know tha 351 swap would be a "quicker fix"
But ANYONE can have/do that....{nothin against anyone here who has by the way}
Hell, I would throw in a set of flat top pistons while I was at it {about 650.00 a set} and up the ante another 50h.p. or so...
But just dont let the 5.4 DOHC design scare you, once your in there, its just an engine, 2 of everything with 2 chains.. Just dont put your cams on backwards if you swap them {I did on one of my buildups in the early years}
Just thinking out loud here..
L.
{wish I had a friend who had a junkyard!}

zenboy99 · May 23, 2006

fordtech28 said:
some minor fabrication

not sure what your definition of "minor" is, but my friend and I spent months dropping this into his fox. It may be a minor fabrication to get a sensor in, but to put a whole wiring harness in is like an avalanche of minor fabrications. Especially on OBDII stuff.

1994Vib.RedGT · May 23, 2006

Im not sure about the dificulty, but a guy in my town has or had a 96 GT with a stock Navi 5.4 DOHC motor (I think the intake manifold was shorter, maybe off of a DOHC cobra, and that thing would roll. It looked stock, with the exception of an R hood; and his exhaust was o/r with like 1 chamber mufflers or something like that, It was obnoxiously loud, but it sounded good, and he would blow the doors off everyone around.

fordtech28 · May 24, 2006

zenboy99 said:
not sure what your definition of "minor" is, but my friend and I spent months dropping this into his fox. It may be a minor fabrication to get a sensor in, but to put a whole wiring harness in is like an avalanche of minor fabrications. Especially on OBDII stuff.

thats because you did it on a fox body its a little bit tighter if you notice our 94-95 cars have way more eletronics than a fox body I actually helped put in a cobra 4.6 4v which is pretty much the same width as the 5.4 a tad wider in my buddies 94 cobra he crashed his 01 cobra and had everything to put in to the 94 it took about a week and a half thats because the crossmember and motor mounts and the custom headers took that long to get to us since we had everything from his old cobra after that it was turn key and go

BlackVert · May 24, 2006

1994Vib.RedGT said:
Im not sure about the dificulty, but a guy in my town has or had a 96 GT with a stock Navi 5.4 DOHC motor (I think the intake manifold was shorter, maybe off of a DOHC cobra, and that thing would roll. It looked stock, with the exception of an R hood; and his exhaust was o/r with like 1 chamber mufflers or something like that, It was obnoxiously loud, but it sounded good, and he would blow the doors off everyone around.

it's probably alot easier on a 96+ because it is already set up for a mod motor ...

5.4 DOHC Navigator Engine Swap into my 94 Mustang GT

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