88 crown vic 5.0/auto good donor?
- Thread starter my70stang
- Start date
whatagearhead
New Member
Hey bstrd86,
I'm My70stang's dad. I am helping my son with this EFI swap, so I thought I would get my own account and do some digging. I'll get into the search function and likely find many of the answers I'm looking for, but since this thread is open already here's a few questions:
- Should I look for anything other that the 89-93 Mustang as a donor? or just narrow the search to 89-93 Mustangs?
- I understand 89-93 mustangs have the desirable A9L computer and an easier to modify wiring harness. Are these the only donors that have MAF (vs. speed density)?
- any other potential donors with HO 5.0s?
BTW: this is our first mustang/EFI swap, so we have a lot to learn wrt the wiring, potential donors, etc.... I'm also about 18 months into a '69 vette frame-off and am also building a 38 Dodge biz coupe street rod, but those are both carbureted. This is my son's first car, but he's very motivated and learning fast. He clearly has the gearhead disease
Depending on how serious you want to get with the engine, the fact that the engine is a non-HO motor may not matter. The biggest difference is the firing order, and that can be changed with a cam swap. I'm pretty sure the crank/rods are different than an HO but again, if you're going to build a stroker or something like that and just want an engine to start with, then it's no different (assuming you're swapping internals anyways).
whatagearhead
New Member
The desire right now is to swap in a good, stock, 5.0 w/ EFI. We may make mods down the road, but for now "Dad" doesn't want to build a rocket ship, if you know what I mean
The more I read online, in searches, etc.. lead me to believe our best bet is to find a mustang donor car from '89-'93.
I had a guy call me last night who totaled his '89 last weekend. He's trying to broker the deal w/ his ins co and said he'll take 2 cases of beer (plus what the ins co wants for the car) for his troubles. That might be the way to go.
I'm finding drivable cars in the $2k range as well. We could sell off the rest of the car once we get what we want off it for a strip car (provided it's not a convertible).
I have found some convertible LXs for $1800-$2000, are those motors the same as the GT?
Thanks, Tom
If you ask me, if you're looking for a good EFI 302, look no further than a '97-98 Explorer 302. You'll get GT40P heads, and a cast version of the GT40 intake. It'll be a tad faster than a basic 302 with the better heads and intake, but still manageable. (i've seen these engines in Mustangs run mid 12s all day long with nothing more than a cam swap and slicks ) You might have to do some searching but i've seen them in junkyards for as little as $350 complete, and you CAN'T beat that for the parts you get. I've got a friend who has one in his coupe with a home made turbo kit running 10.25 in the quarter! Basically just great potential.
) You might have to do some searching but i've seen them in junkyards for as little as $350 complete, and you CAN'T beat that for the parts you get. I've got a friend who has one in his coupe with a home made turbo kit running 10.25 in the quarter! Basically just great potential.
90_Red_LX
Member
If you ask me, if you're looking for a good EFI 302, look no further than a '97-98 Explorer 302. You'll get GT40P heads, and a cast version of the GT40 intake. It'll be a tad faster than a basic 302 with the better heads and intake, but still manageable. (i've seen these engines in Mustangs run mid 12s all day long with nothing more than a cam swap and slicks
Thats a good choice there too. A good running explorer engine should probably be mid 13-high 13s depending on the driver on street tires, and gear ratios. While it would be pretty peppy for a new driver, if he has any sense, he should manage. A 89-93 may be a easier choice though, since the wiring, engine, etc is there in the car.
I was going to suggest the Exploder engine as well, but I thought getting everything needed from one donor car would be easier. If you could score the necessary goodies the Explorer is a good choice. Also the Lincoln Mk VII is a 5.0 HO but I'm not sure if they are mass air or not. Also with all the electronic doo dads on that car the harness might be complicated.
If you can get the wrecked car from that guy cheap enough I'd say go for it. Totaled cars can be bought back from insurance companies pretty cheap sometimes.
It wouldn't be too complicated to piece together the right computer for a Mustang, and then swap the cam in the Explorer engine to change the firing order. Then you've basically got a Mustang engine.
whatagearhead
New Member
The crown vic engine has a different firing order as mentioned above, what is not mentioned is the lower compression pistons that have a different shaped top that will make cam selection iffy do to ptv problems. Look for an explorer engine.
I'm assuming you're asking about leaving the Crown Vic accessories? If so, then you would need to swap over your Fox accessories and brackets if you still have them. The Crown Vic runs a different setup with specific brackets: standard rotation water pump, alternator on upper driver's side, A/C compressor on upper passenger's side. The Crown Vic setup also isn't as compact as the Mustang's serpentine system, owing to the greater amount of space under the hood of a Crown Vic.
If you have Mustang 5.0 accessories or a custom serpentine setup you're going to use, you'll be fine. You already know about the difference in firing order.
No worries. You can also get the correct accessory brackets from a Lincoln Mark VII or an '86-'88 Cougar or Thunderbird with the 5.0. Those may be easier to locate in junkyards than a 5.0 Fox Mustang.
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