Engine Swap Questions: 1982 Into 1993

Evan Babatz · Jul 22, 2017

Hello. I have a 1993 Mustang, but it is a 4-cyl. I am planning to swap a V8 into it. I see a pretty good deal for a 1982 5.0, and now I am wondering if there would be any significant difficulties swapping the whole engine and drivetrain from the '82 to the '93. Wiring issues? Any issues at all?

Davedacarpainter · Jul 23, 2017

Welcome to Stangnet brother.

Do you have a donor car that you're getting the engine out of, or is it just the engine? There are lots of things you'll want to take along with the engine.

Tell you what, I'll move your thread over to the fox general talk subforum, you'll get lots of sharp gearheads to drop in there.

Good to have you with us, maybe post a picture or two of your mustang as well.

General karthief · Jul 23, 2017

@90sickfox did something similar, I'm sure he could reveal some secrets if he can pry his arm from around that girl of his.
Dave hinted around about a donor car, that would be ideal.

Dan02gt · Jul 23, 2017

I think I would pass on a '82 engine. I don't think it's a roller motor and the heads are going to be very restrictive.

A '87 or newer would be a much better starting place or better yet a 302 out of a Explorer.

General karthief · Jul 23, 2017

I do agree, a explorer/mountaineer in useable condition would be easier to find and a better foundation to build from.

90sickfox · Jul 23, 2017

There are huge wiring differences between an 82 to a 93. You'd have to get a 93 wiring harness.

The engine heads and trans are all a little different from your 93.

The first thing I'd do is source a 93 engine wiring harness and computer from a v8. The swap is almost plug and play at that point. You'll also need engine brackets for alternator and AC. The AC lines are cheap. The condenser by the radiator stays the same.

mikestang63 · Jul 23, 2017

sell the 4 banger and get an 8 cyl car.
by the time you are done upgrading the brakes, suspension, engine, trans, rear end, wiring, etc. you will spend 2X as much as just starting off with a decent 5.0 car

85_SS_302_Coupe · Jul 23, 2017

karthief said:
I do agree, a explorer/mountaineer in useable condition would be easier to find and a better foundation to build from.

This. Find a pull and pay junk yard that has a '96 or newer 302 in it and swap in the whole thing. I'll have "Cobra" heads (at least what the '93 Cobra had) and will run circles around the '82 engine.

General karthief · Jul 23, 2017

85_SS_302_Coupe said:
This. Find a pull and pay junk yard that has a '96 or newer 302 in it and swap in the whole thing. I'll have "Cobra" heads (at least what the '93 Cobra had) and will run circles around the '82 engine.

Specially if it's not in a car
Seriously, start with a roller block at least, flat tappet cams are sooo 70's.

Evan Babatz · Jul 23, 2017

After seeing the specs on the '82 engine, it does look like a newer model engine would be better. Yes. It would come from a donor car, but I also just realized that the '82 may not have the 8.8 rear end, so I think I'm ruling that off the books.

Evan Babatz · Jul 23, 2017

mikestang63 said:
sell the 4 banger and get an 8 cyl car.
by the time you are done upgrading the brakes, suspension, engine, trans, rear end, wiring, etc. you will spend 2X as much as just starting off with a decent 5.0 car

I could do that, but the 4-cyl's body hasn't been abused by the torque of a V8 ever. I think it would be real hard to find a V8 that hasn't been driven hard or that has chassis reinforcement to prevent twisting for cheap.

General karthief · Jul 23, 2017

You've got some options, none are good for someone that is not mechanically inclined or has a lot of time and patience, what are your plans for the car, are you mechanically inclined, do you have another vehicle that you use?

Evan Babatz · Jul 23, 2017

karthief said:
You've got some options, none are good for someone that is not mechanically inclined or has a lot of time and patience, what are your plans for the car, are you mechanically inclined, do you have another vehicle that you use?

I would say that I am mechanically inclined. This will however be my first project car. My plan is to build a drift car. I just want some decent power at first. I plan to build a roll cage for it myself. It will be a quality build.

General karthief · Jul 23, 2017

Ok then, you got some work to do.
If the car is not going to be driven on the street you have opened up a larger box of options.
Efi: your best bet is finding a doner car with mas air, you will need all the wiring with the instrument cluster, the wires running to the back of the car are the only things that will stay. This is not a street car so air bags don't matter. But you do want a functional cel. Another option is a stand alone efi ignition system like megasquert or FAST system, I have no experience with either so do some research to find what fits your budget/experience.
Carb: you will need a harness that uses a duraspark ignition and likely aftermarket gauges will be installed anyway, I don't have any experience with drift cars but I imagine a carb will work, you will have a learning curve with that setup too.
So do some research and pick your poison.
Those are my uneducated thoughts, I wouldn't be surprised if someone chimes in with something better.

Davedacarpainter · Jul 24, 2017

Evan Babatz said:
After seeing the specs on the '82 engine, it does look like a newer model engine would be better. Yes. It would come from a donor car, but I also just realized that the '82 may not have the 8.8 rear end, so I think I'm ruling that off the books.

It doesn't have the 8.8, starting in '86 the GT's got them.

revhead347 · Jul 24, 2017

mikestang63 said:
sell the 4 banger and get an 8 cyl car.
by the time you are done upgrading the brakes, suspension, engine, trans, rear end, wiring, etc. you will spend 2X as much as just starting off with a decent 5.0 car

Amen. I second that advice. If you are building a race car with 1000hp, that's a different story. If you just want a V8 Mustang, for the love of god sell it, and just buy a 5.0 Mustang. They are cheap these days. Hell, you can get a 5.0 SN for under $4k. You'll either buy another car and thank us, or regret it later.

Kurt

mikestang63 · Jul 25, 2017

revhead347 said:
Amen. I second that advice. If you are building a race car with 1000hp, that's a different story. If you just want a V8 Mustang, for the love of god sell it, and just buy a 5.0 Mustang. They are cheap these days. Hell, you can get a 5.0 SN for under $4k. You'll either buy another car and thank us, or regret it later.

Kurt

some people gotta learn on their own Kurt. I've seen this movie many times before.

Engine Swap Questions: 1982 Into 1993

Evan Babatz

Member

Davedacarpainter

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Dan02gt

mazing how much gas smell came from that tiny hole

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

mikestang63

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Evan Babatz

Member

Evan Babatz

Member

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Evan Babatz

Member

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Davedacarpainter

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

mikestang63

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Engine Swap Questions: 1982 Into 1993

Member

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

mazing how much gas smell came from that tiny hole

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Member

Member

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Member

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.

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