New to site, looking for advice

[ZX3V8]

I figured this would be a good site to join and post on for advice. I do not own a Mustang, but I have a 2000 Focus, and within the next couple of years, I plan on converting it to RWD with a 4.6L. There is not much about this on the Focus forums, so I figured for powertrain advice, this forum will do me better. I am new to the Ford V8 world, and have never owned an 8 cylinder or RWD car. I am, however, a former ASE certified tech, so I'm not stupid when it comes to cars.

The advice I am looking for is, what engine should I go with to cram under the hood of that little car? Any Mustang engine will fit, I have already verified that, but I am looking for what will be the best bang for my buck, what will be the most reliable, what will be the cheapest engine to go with to make mods and good horsepower? I am looking to keep it OBDII, for BS emissions compliance, and not looking to make it a dedicated race car, just a fun little street/strip hotrod, so my build will definitely have manual transmission, A/C, Power Steering.

What are the pros/cons of the DOHC and the Pushrod 4.6? I'm guessing the pushrod is A LOT cheaper when it comes to repairs, but can it make anywhere near as good an amount of power?

 

[KBExperience]

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/840363-4-6-dohc-focus-wagon.html

Do this.

 

[Deleted member 38176]

I hope you have deep pockets because this will be one ****ing expensive project....

 

[joshjwc9]

I hope you have deep pockets because this will be one ****ing expensive project....

Yep. Go to Kugel Komponents for alot of your conversion parts..

 

[trinity_gt]

I'd personally go with a pushrod motor in that car. Two big advantages that immediately come to mind are:

• the additional displacement
• the packaging

The 302 already has 20 more cubic inches that the 4.6 (281) and can be punched out to 347 with enough money. Those cubes help with low RPM torque. Put some decent heads and I/E parts on it and you'll be set...

The 4.6, in SOHC trim (and especially in DOHC trim) is very wide and tall compared to the pushrod engine. I know it will fit with Kugel's kit but the engine bay will be cleaner and easier to work in with the smaller pushrod mill in there...

 

[ZX3V8]

I hope you have deep pockets because this will be one ****ing expensive project....

It'll cost less than buying a mustang and modding it (1999-up, that is), plus, I like to do less conventional car stuff. I'm not by any means knocking mustangs, I think they're great, but they are EVERYWHERE. Not many people have a V8 Focus! Especially around me, I've never seen one in person. I have already been in contact with Kugel, and plan on getting all of my swap components through them, unless anyone knows of anywhere else I can get some of the parts for cheaper (i.e. the $590 set of TWO coilovers for the rear. I don't know if they are mustang parts or if they are completely custom. If they are mustang parts, I'm sure non-chrome ones would be WAY cheaper) Anybody have any insight on this?

 

[ZX3V8]

Trinity GT, I agree with you. BUT I need to keep this car OBDII, because of emissions control. If I keep it OBDII, I can just bring it for the testing and they plug it in, read the readiness monitors, and pass me. If I did not have proper OBDII readings, they would have to sniffer test it, that is, if they would even test it at all, and they would be testing it for 4 cylinder emissions, which would fail miserably. That is.... unless anyone knows of a way to make it work! I'm all ears!

 

[trinity_gt]

Trinity GT, I agree with you. BUT I need to keep this car OBDII, because of emissions control. If I keep it OBDII, I can just bring it for the testing and they plug it in, read the readiness monitors, and pass me. If I did not have proper OBDII readings, they would have to sniffer test it, that is, if they would even test it at all, and they would be testing it for 4 cylinder emissions, which would fail miserably. That is.... unless anyone knows of a way to make it work! I'm all ears!

I don't know where you live but most jurisdictions (and it may be the Federal level driving this) have restrictions on the type of swaps you can do. IIRC, the general idea is that the engine going in must comply with the OBD requirements of the chassis. The general idea is that you can swap new engines into older chassis but not the other way around. If you face such a restriction you may have no choice but to go with a 2000+ SOHC engine and emissions-trimmings in that chassis

Or it may be that all you need to do is pass a readiness check and/or a sniffer. If that's the case then you simply need to adapt an OE-quality midpipe (for example, Mustangs in the 90s had 6 cats (3 per side) and later ones, like my 02, had 4 cats (2 per side) for testing. In good shape these are amazingly effective scrubbers and are usually much more effective than aftermarket "high flow" cats. You'll want to make sure the EGR system is installed and working to keep NOx emissions in check and the PCV and evaporative systems are intact if visual is part of the inspection.

If the car is to be sniffed you may be rolling the dice no matter how effective the emissions equipment is... If you've not done so you should do some more research into what the law in your area actually requires lest you spend all this money for a car you need to trailer.

 

[ZX3V8]

Yea, I'm in the Chicago/ Joliet area. I've never done any kind of swap before on a car that needs to pass emissions, so I'm not sure how that works, but only OBD II cars need to be tested out here, and its just a readiness monitor test. So, my train of thought was if I do this and have an OBD II computer hooked up to it, they will just plug it in and check the monitors and be done.

I also just thought about the possibility of buying an old crown vic squad car from my work, it'll probably be pretty cheap, and I believe there is a wrecked 03 that they will be looking to get rid of. Anyone know if the crown vic uses the same rear end as a mustang? I know it is an 8.8, but is it wider than a mustang rear end? And, if I end up doing that, can the computer still be used if I bolt a T5 onto it, or would I need a different computer?

 

[40oz]

Depends on the year, but later Crown Vic's used a Watts link in the rear. It's actually theoretically better than the Mustang set-up but I don't know how it will fit.

 

[Betrayer00GT]

... And, if I end up doing that, can the computer still be used if I bolt a T5 onto it, or would I need a different computer?

Congrats on deciding on the build. When you finish it, I agree this Focus really will be something different.

I believe this is why you came to this forum for advice:

If at all possible, you should seriously reconsider your transmission choice.

What I recall as the general consensus, for the T5 transmission (vs the T45, T3650, or T56), is to "swap it out. The question is 'when it breaks', not 'if it breaks' when drag racing it after modding for more HP."

The T5 came with 150HP to 190HP V6 mustangs. The 2V SOHC V8 is rated at 260HP, and the 3V SOHC is rated at >300HP. Either of those count as "modded for more HP" vs the <200HP V6s the T5 is used with by Ford.

Admittedly, if you don't take it to a drag strip the question goes back to 'if it breaks' instead of 'when it breaks'. However, if you are going through all this trouble anyway, I just wanted to point out the T5 doesn't have a rep as a strong transmission for V8 level horsepower. Plus, flooring it from a stop sign, then strongly shifting into second gear, is pretty close to drag racing. I assume you will do that at some point. lol

Am I alone on this?

 

[ZX3V8]

Thanks Betrayer, I really don't know anything about what RWD transmissions were in what and thought the T5 was the V8 transmission. I think I am going to seriously look into the retired squad car idea, but I need to figure out:
1. If the CVPI's rear end is wider than the Mustang's.
2. If I decide to go with a manual, can I use the same CVPI PCM and have it re-programmed.
3. No matter what I go with, how do I get the Mustang or CVPI's PCM to work with the Focus' BCM and other electronics?