Old School 1999 V8

Dons1999

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Jul 11, 2017
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Hello.
I'm new to this forum and to Mustangs I've always been old school Mopar but I picked up a 1999 convertible V6. I want to replace the V6 with a V8 preferably carbureted. Since I have very little knowledge with mustangs I'm seeking any advice. My main concern beekeeping everything lined up since this is a 5-speed manual car. I do know about replacing the rear of an 8.8. And I've also heard about a 347 Stroker???. This is just going to be a fun car for me so any advice on helping me have fun with it I would appreciateit.
Thank you
 
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The easiest way would probably be to buy a '95 Mustang GT, throw it on jack stands, remove everything from the k-member up including wiring harness/sensors/computer/whatever, and move it over into the '99. If you're going to do the k-member, you may as well just go the aftermarket route and get it with the pre-'96 motor mounts.

Basically a big ol' job that doesn't make any sense. If it makes you happy though, I suppose you should have at it. I hope you don't have to pass emissions.
 
The easiest way would probably be to buy a '95 Mustang GT, throw it on jack stands, remove everything from the k-member up including wiring harness/sensors/computer/whatever, and move it over into the '99. If you're going to do the k-member, you may as well just go the aftermarket route and get it with the pre-'96 motor mounts.

Basically a big ol' job that doesn't make any sense. If it makes you happy though, I suppose you should have at it. I hope you don't have to pass emissions.
 
That sounds like no work at all. Last one i did was a 72 Challenger 318 automatic and when finished it was a 440 4 soeed show car. Ever square inch of that car was redone. Im not looking for that with this car. Just want a playcar with some power. K members and wires dont bother me. Im looking for info on motor and trans that will line up with the original. The 4.6 is basically bigger than my 440 mopar is. Thats why im more interested in a push rod type. But i dont know ford enough to know which combos will work.
Thanks
 
It seems to me that you are over looking one of the key points that others are trying to help you with. Namely HOW do you intend to use this car when it's done? What are your expectations?

This is NOT the same as swapping a motor into a 72 Challenger. Why? What's different? The amount of electronics and pollution control and the associated EPA regulations. In states with a state inspection the car must be able to pass the pollution control standards that were in place at the time of manufacture. Clearly the 1972 model year car has be HUGE advantage over it's 1999 counter part.

Sooooooo if you live in a state with no inspection requirement then the fact that your project car won't pass is not a "deal killer".

The next thing that you may be over looking is just how integrated today's cars are with respect to engine management and the other "systems" on the car. It's just not as simple as "swap in a carburetor" and hook up 3 wires as in the old school days. Do you expect the AC to work? The automatic transmission to shift? The speedometer to work?

Not to say that it can't be done because it can. But going back to the original question. HOW do you intend for the end project to work? Like a race car or like a stock car with stock manners that your Wife/GF can drive without issue?

Finally. If you are expecting this project to be cheap then you would be well advised to do your homework before hand. Because likely you will find as many have that's it's cheaper and easier to buy a GT and fix it than to convert a V6 to a GT. Of course YMMV.

Also ask yourself the question about resale value. Because should you ever decide to sell your project in the future it's unlikely that anyone will pay anything close to what the project will take. Compare this to a fixed up/repaired GT. In this case the car's VIN will match the equipment. With the added plus that the car would pass a state inspection.
 
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I didn't just do a motor swap I redid the entire car every single piece. Now in this case as I thought I stayed in the beginning this is just a weekend driving car not a race car but I want more power than 190 HP. All I'm asking for is a good motor tranny combo excluding 4.6 or 5.4. I would have thought there's Mustang people that have already done this. Could be in the wrong forum. Please don't reply if all you list is negative because negative tells me you don't know how or you can't do it. Once again I'm just looking for a good motor tranny combo that I can put in a 1999. And thanks to any people that may reply who know what they're doing and have done
 
All I'm looking for is ideas from guys who have done this saying use x engine with y transmission and this is what you need to do to go from fuel injection to carburated since I've never done that before. I can pretty much figure out the mechanics on the other stuff. And I never asked how much it will cost. And once again thanks for any guys who have done this before.
 
All I'm asking for is a good motor tranny combo excluding 4.6 or 5.4.
Well. then I guess you have the information requested as really you have already decided which style motor you are interested in. Technically virtually any 5.0 OHV motor will bolt right up to the V6 manual transmission that you already have. Just count the starter bolts holes. Are they to same? The need to swap the K-member has already been mentioned.

Please don't reply if all you list is negative because negative tells me you don't know how or you can't do it.
Clearly you didn't read through my post because no where did I say that it couldn't be done. I only asked questions intended to gather information that might be used to help you in your quest for information.

For the record. I have helped several people that have attempted this swap. The usual way I get involved is after the work is partially done and they can't get the AC to work Or the Speedometer doesn't work. Or the cooling fans don't work. That's the point when the realization hits just how much of a modern stock car that the PCM actually does control.

Or the other way I get involved is after the swap is done and there's been a Mix and match between V6 and GT wring harness and other electrical parts and they don't play nice with each other. It's surprising to see just how often it happens that people are surprised to find out that two wiring harnesses that LOOK the same are in fact not.

I would have thought there's Mustang people that have already done this. Could be in the wrong forum.
With regards to if you are in the right forum or not I guess that also depends upon if you want honest answers to your questions or you just want someone to agree with you. The reason that few people do this swap have already been given. Many people give up on the swap once the full scope and cost of the project is understood. But clearly you are not the typical poster asking the "I have a cheap V6 that I want to swap in a V8" question.

Please press on. Your project will make a great build thread for others to use as a guide.
 
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I may just have to press on not finding much experience in here. too many you can't do it it's never been done I can't do it.

Tell you what for other people want to do this hit me up in about two months and I'll walk you through it and for the ones that say you can't do it you've already replied hit me up and I'll walk you through it to
 
I'm pretty sure you have got no feedback on this because most people would not see this as an worthwhile endeavor, for the reasons listed above.Most people have to worry about emissions too. Definitely can be done though, commend your ambition and good luck.
 
I may just have to press on not finding much experience in here. too many you can't do it it's never been done I can't do it.

Tell you what for other people want to do this hit me up in about two months and I'll walk you through it and for the ones that say you can't do it you've already replied hit me up and I'll walk you through it to

I've done the opposite of what you're trying to do. I've built a couple drag cars for myself. I've got a twin turbo build on jack stands in the garage as we speak. I've noticed several knowledgeable people on this site that I'm sure could walk you through step by step what you need to do.

What I can also tell you is that with your BS attitude, you won't find help from me. I'll be content to sit back and chuckle when you disappear from this site, never having built what you claim is so simple, while also admitting you don't know what you're getting into.
 
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Hmm, it isn't really THAT hard to do this swap and get the car running down the road. As wmburns said, the hard part is making everything in the car work after you have it all running. If you don't give a damn about AC and you don't have to smog it (which you said you don't) AND don't care about ever selling it for a dollar amount that reflects what it is worth, this swap is for you.

On the other hand, if you expect everything in the car to work like stock when you are done, this is going to be a monumental pain in the ass.

Now perhaps someone on the forum can correct me because I've always been under the impression that the V8 K member and V6 K member were different between the 4.6L and 3.8L but the V8 K member and the V6 K member were the same on the 5L and the 3.8L. Is that correct? If that were true, couldn't he swap in a push rod motor using the same K he has because all he needs are the 5L motor mounts?

My advice is closer to what RaggedGT said. I'd get a 351w and a TKO unless you want a 6 speed, then you might want to go with a T56 or a T56 magnum. If you use a TKO you can probably use the stock drive shaft out of a Fox V8 Mustang or a 94-95 GT. If you go with a 6 speed you will need a custom drive shaft. I'd recommend going to the junk yard and pulling a drive shaft from a police or taxi crown vic as those are really beefy aluminum units and are long as hell. You can have a shop cut them down and put the correct pinion flange/yolk on the shaft and have a great drive shaft for way less that a lot of places charge for prebuilt stuff.

The pushrod motors connect to the heater core in the front and the modulars connect at the rear so when you get your motor (from a junkyard) if you can find the steel heater system tube that wraps around the motor on the passenger side it will make getting the heater hoses run a lot cleaner. If you don't care about the heater, skip this step.

The power steering is easy, you can just use the standard gen3 Ford pump (I think its gen3 my memory is a bit unsure here) but make sure you buy one that was used in an application that had hydroboost because I believe the PS pumps that were made for hydroboost had a slightly higher output rating and also had 2 return ports instead of just 1. Although thinking about it, I think the return on these are joined together and go into the pump with a single inlet. Maybe someone can speak up as to the flow characteristics of the earlier pumps. Be careful with the hydroboost lines, they are pricey and can be hard to get a hold of if you screw up the wrong one. Also I just realized you have a 3.8L car so you have a vac booster on the firewall anyways and can probably just ignore this. I think the 3.8L pump can be reused on the 351w by changing the bracket but its been a while since I looked under the hood of a V6.

People here will help you on most things if you just have a good attitude about it.
 
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