Engine swap

So do I actually, more and more so with each and every year of ownership, (well, my way not your way ) but I have also let go of reffering to my car as restored or original in any sense of the word. I do throw around refreshed and refurbished once in a while though.

As others have said, it would be more cost effective to go buy a V8 car and rebuild it rather than to swap the 6 for an 8.

To each to HER own though.

I assume you are swapping to the 289. You will want to swap the rearends...completely on either car. Unless you want to pull the axles out of the v8 car and put them in your 6 car. You will then need to replace the front spindles, shocks, and springs. You will need the drums (or disks) from the donor for the front and rear. That should cover suspension and the 5 lug conversion.

As for swapping engines....It is pretty straight fwd. You will need different exhaust, a better built transmission, different motor mounts, and some patience. Parts will add up quickly, even if you have a donor car. Good luck with your conversion.

Just remember...do it once, do it right.

Well, that's different, you didn't explain yourself too well in the original post. You obviously have had some experience, and if you'll stay around for a while, you'll see that about 99% of posts that are worded with as little information as you first posted, do not. Sorry for typecasting you.

You sorta started the smack talking (which happens often from newbies on the board, or just about on any board) by insinuating that we kinda don't know what we're doing. At least that was the way I took it. I see know that you meant it in a more enthusiastic way, rather than a rub our noses in it sort of way. You have to remember that the typed word doesn't have the voice inflections that the spoked word adds to a conversation. Now that you know my point of view, go back and re-read what you typed and see if you couldn't have jumped to the same conclusion that I did.

That said, you're husband is putting in labor in order to trade out for either other parts or other labor which still translates into money and/or time and as my wife constantly reminds me as I do favors to others, "you're time isn't free".

Others were right, it is easier to start out with a V8 car, which is generally what we as a forum, suggest, especially for a newbie. Not to say it can't be done, but its easy to get frustrated and quit a project. Since you all are more experienced, we'll assume you know more of the stuff that is involved. Before anything else, rust on a Mustang is your biggest enemy, and yes every Mustang has some. Cowl and torque boxes are the worst as far as repairing. If you have a donor V8 car, you have probably the sweetest start for a conversion as you have a car the supposably has all the parts in all the right places, so it should be a simple matter of removing and replacing as you go. You didn't make any mention of a tranny, the I6 tranny won't bolt up to the 302. All the suspension should come from the V8 car, or be replaced for parts that are supposed to go on a V8 car. Your second post sounds like you replaced the stock I6 suspension parts with the same in new, shoulda gotten V8 parts, unless you did and didn't explain that. The engine compartment wiring harness will be different if I remember correctly, but I believe can be modified by lengthening some wires to work. There's a difference in V8 motor mounts for the '66 cars, early '66 cars had cast iron mounts (which are weaker in a performance standpoint, but fine for a warmed over stock motor) while the later ones has steel mounts (which are stronger but raise the engine by about 1"), so if you don't have mounts for the V8, there's a tidbit. Radiator will have to be changed out for a V8 one. I'm not sure if the driveshafts are the same, I'm guessing the yoke isn't, unless the I6 has a C4 (you never said what tranny).

I'm kinda answering questions that you may or may not know here. Not trying to be rude, but can you tell us what you already know you'll have to do? I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff and to be quite truthful, the I6 to V8 thing has been answered here to death. We've been clamoring for a classic FAQ page forever as I'm not sure the search function works all the time (have you tried searching on StangNet for the conversion?).

allcarfan said:

Unless you want to pull the axles out of the v8 car and put them in your 6 car.

Click to expand...

Ain't gonna happen, the I6 rearend is a different animal than the 8" for a V8. It has a removable rear cover like a 7.5 or 8.8 (I think it is a 7.5, but not like a late model 7.5).