so I'm getting a loan from my parents for $3500 to fix up my engine, and since my car has 152,000 miles on in now I thought it would make more sense to replace my entire engine with one out of a 98 cobra. I've been doing a lot of research on the swap, and have started to second guess if this is realistically possible with $3500. I know I can pick up a used cobra engine for around 2500-3000, but depending on what it comes with, I'll most likely have to buy new headers, a mid-pipe, then reprogram my ecu to work with the new engine. I'm not a expert mechanic, but i've pulled/installed a 89 5.0 engine out of a fox before, and it wasn't too hard. other then a few wiring harness mods, from what I've read, the cobra engine will drop right in. have any of you had experience with is type of work, and do you think it is possible with my budget. my only other option is to rework the top end of my engine with some new high performance heads, cams, and intake. this would leave me a lot more money to play with, but would be a lot harder for me to install, and I'll still have the bottom end of my engine with 152,000 miles on it. my friend races cars, and just got done building a very nice shop for personal use. I'll be de-virginizing the shop for him, so I'll have access to tools, and a lift. but I still dont want my car to be out of commission for more then a week. All I want is a car that with run high 12's N/A, and still pass the sniffer test. what do you guys think I should do?
