Salvage Yard Build

[johnt785]

Just picked up a bone stock 1982 Mustang 5.0.

I'm here to learn what other Ford model cars/trucks can I swap parts over to? I'm interested in:

351W Engine or 302 w/ low miles
Heads upgrade
Cam
8.8 Rear. (Currently 7.5 I believe)
5 Lug brakes
Seats

Please name year and model in your description as I will be searching local salvage yard vehicle lists to do this on a budget. Any other cool recommendations not on my list is appreciated too. Thanks all!

 

[JD1964]

Show pics of this bone stock thing yur about to mess up. Bone stock 5.0's are seriously rare these days.

 

[JD1964]

If anything, Coyote swap it, with boost! No radical cams or anything, just a solid stock Coyote with 10-12 psi. Plenty enough to get you in trouble over and over again...

 

[imp]

'82 is in a gray area for me, but a few thoughts come to mind. No idea when Ford introduced the 8.8, maybe after '82. 9" was in use until mid '80s, I believe. 7.5" w/ V-8 seems almost improbable.

5-lug wheels, well, even m y '93 Cobra had 4-lug wheels! If you ever need/want 5-lug stuff with old standard Ford 5 on 4-1/2" bolt circle, I can tell you Explorer was 5 on 4-1/2 at least till 2004 (maybe farther), I drive an '04. imp

 

[General karthief]

Go to the 5.0 tech threads, there is a tech/how to section there with a list of repair/upgrades and find the junk yard parts thread lots of good ideas there but be aware that these cars are getting hard to find in 'salvage yards' nowadays but alot of stuff will interchange and there is also the classified here.
Good luck and post pics of what your doing in a thread so we can follow your progress and possibly help you avoid miss steps,
Fender mounted flame throwers and grenade launchers are a plus.

 

[rd]

Tell us what you have, an 82 could be a first year GT, although with a 2 barrel, but if its nice, it would be worth preserving. On the other hand, it its like my 82 GL former straight 6, it was born to be modded!

If you have the money, a Coyote swap would be awesome. I am still playing with my 302s so not ready to jump to Coyote yet. But one day.....

 

[johnt785]

Hi Guys, thanks for the information. I have a baby and my wife works a lot so between my 40hrs a week I'm pretty tied up in the evenings. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. Here's a pic of my '82. Bought it in Texas a few weeks back.I had a 90 GT before and LMR along with many of websites offered a lot of affordable mods. I don't see as plenty on 1982 year so that's why I ask about salvage yard build. My local pick yard has plenty of Explorers, I didn't know I could get a 5 lug off them, I know 1997-97 5.0 has GT40 heads but that's probably a rare find today. Coyote swap would be cool but it looks like its easily $7k - 10k.

 

[General karthief]

What parts are you looking for? Most of the swap stuff for the suspension and drivetrain are the same, check out the tech/how to threads, biggest difference will be you have a carb and a different ignition system, some interior stuff is different too, tell us what you need/want and the people here can clue you in.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Can't do 5-lug with explorer parts. Not compatible.

That's a pretty clean '82 with a sought after front nose. I wouldn't touch a thing. I wouldn't even sell the TRX wheels, just store them away.

302 swap using explorer bottom end, heads of choice, good cam and intake, upgrade exhaust to 86+ specs, an 8.8 rear, refreshed 5-sod, SN95 brakes and nice wheels, good springs, and call it a day.

 

[johnt785]

Car sat since 1994 in a barn and hasn't been ran. Did the usual things to an old non running engine like new battery, change oil, gas, lube cylinder walls, but it did not run. I poured gas down the carb and it turned over but that's it. I'm thinking fuel pump/filter is next weekend project and hopefully it runs after that. I appreciate all advice and all are welcome to pitch their ideas. I don't want a race car, I just want a nice purring daily driver to go get formula and groceries in an instant . Cool to stick with 302 for now but if you all think it would be a good time to just pull engine and start from scratch I would be open to bore/stroke 347 or a 351w. Thoughts?

 

[johnt785]

Interior needs attention to front seats only.

 

[johnt785]

Can't do 5-lug with explorer parts. Not compatible.

That's a pretty clean '82 with a sought after front nose. I wouldn't touch a thing. I wouldn't even sell the TRX wheels, just store them away.

302 swap using explorer bottom end, heads of choice, good cam and intake, upgrade exhaust to 86+ specs, an 8.8 rear, refreshed 5-sod, SN95 brakes and nice wheels, good springs, and call it a day.

I was told SN95 brakes or any 5 lug needs 87-93 struts, is that right? What heads/cam/intake do you recommend and how much horse power will it net?

 

[imp]

@johnt785 "My local pick yard has plenty of Explorers, I didn't know I could get a 5 lug off them, I know 1997-97 5.0 has GT40 heads but that's probably a rare find today."

Surprisingly, I've seen large numbers of late-'90s Explorers equipped with the 5.0, both still in use, and dead. I was surprised by that, as well as the fact that Explorer kept the "5 on 4-1/2" lug pattern as long as they did: at least 2004, I'm certain, and probably beyond that. For comparison, F-150 got rid of the tried and true "5 on 5-1/2" in favor of a metric dimensioned "5 on 135mm" in 2004, thus making it impossible to use those nice, factory alloy wheels on earlier trucks.

I've machined several sets to fit my early trucks, however. imp

 

[General karthief]

Go with post #9, mustang5L5 has the best susgestion, it's too complete and a nice example of an 82 to change too much, I guarantee it will be fun to go grab the groceries in, you might get a little side tracked get'n home though.

 

[johnt785]

Here are a list of Ford Vehicles from the junk yard I could pick parts off of.

Year Make Model Row # Arrival Date
1997 FORD MUSTANG 10 09/23/2017
1997 FORD MUSTANG 5 08/10/2017
1984 FORD MUSTANG 6 08/10/2017
1995 FORD MUSTANG 6 08/10/2017

1999 FORD EXPLORER 12 07/10/2017
2002 FORD EXPLORER 13 07/10/2017
2002 FORD EXPLORER 13 07/14/2017
2003 FORD EXPLORER 13 07/14/2017
2004 FORD EXPLORER 13 07/14/2017
2002 FORD EXPLORER 7 09/15/2017
2002 FORD EXPLORER 8 09/01/2017
2002 FORD EXPLORER 8 09/15/2017
2004 FORD EXPLORER 9 08/24/2017

2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER 10 09/01/2017
2002 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER 12 07/14/2017
2004 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER 7 09/15/2017

Any other models I should be looking up?

 

[johnt785]

Go with post #9, mustang5L5 has the best susgestion, it's too complete and a nice example of an 82 to change too much, I guarantee it will be fun to go grab the groceries in, you might get a little side tracked get'n home though.

I like #9 post too. I think the best part of this Mustang is the originality. I wouldn't do too much to it but it needs a bit extra for performance. The 1982 5.0 is a dog with only 157 hp.

 

[General karthief]

Grab the front brakes from the 95 mustang and the rear from the same one if you want 5 lug and disc brake rear. But then your buy'n new wheels and tires.
Don't know what your budget is.
Grab a 5.0 from a explorer if you can find a good running one.
You can keep the 4 lug stuff just use good pads and braided flex lines.
Don't get hung up on the lack of hp, a good four barrel intake and carb added to long tube headers and duel exhaust and a 355 gear and a better 5 speed and shifter will suprise you.
Again, this car is too original to change too much, thats my opinion, if you don't beleave me google 82 mustangs for sale and see whats out there.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Hot damn that is a solid '82!

I'm not as much of a preservationist as some of these other guys, just as long as you preserve the origina "spirit" of the car. If it were mine I would 351 swap it with some nice HCI and a nice modern carb. T5 or bigger transmission, 8.8 rear with a minimum of 86+ rear suspension specs. SN95 brakes as said above.

Something that I would love to see someone with balls do is cut up a set of TRX wheels and convert them into 17" split wheels (Google "split wheel conversion"). Those TRX wheels look perfectly 80s, but the rim size is garbage.

 

[Mstng93SSP]

If you want to go 5 lug, grab the front spindles and brakes from the 95, and grab the entire rear end also from the 95. Direct bolt in. Been there, done that......six times now......

 

[Mstng93SSP]

Sorry, forgot to say I LOVE your car. I would say I wouldn't change a thing...but that would be a lie......I would mod a 5 original mile barn find.....