Swap V6 for 302 5.0 V8 in '84 Stang

[bluray]

Hey guys, I am in the process of restoring the '84 Fox body stang that has been in my family longer than I have and I was wondering if you guys might have any tips, shortcuts or ideas that might help me out. Right now the old V6 (3.8 Litre I believe) has been pulled and I have washed out the engine bay.

I am going to be putting in a high-output 302 5.0L V8 and I know I will have to change the configuration of the motor mounts. Does anyone here have a decent idea as to how I should do that?
Also, I am going to put in a new high performance coil and a bigger alternator and I am going to try and hang on to the old power steering pump. I may have to buy a new water pump and thermostat housing if I don't pull the ones off of my other '83 stang. The guy I bought the engine from told me I will need a new distributor as well which can run as high as $160-$200 Canadian . There was something in particular related to the distributer that would only allow for a special type of distributer to be used if I remember corectly. I think it was because the camshaft was a special roller cam and the distributer had to match? I really don't have the information with me, but maybe you guys know what I am getting at?
I pulled the tranny off the old V6 and matched it up to the new block and found that it fits just fine (thank God for that!) so I will save a few bucks on a new transmission hopefully! Any other tips and tricks as far as the engine and accessories go are welcome!

As for body detailing I will be using Aircraft Stripper to remove the paint, primer, etc. and I will be painting the unit cherry red. All of the rust will be bondo'd. There is quite a bit of rust, but not in huge gaping holes, just a little patch here and there. Any tips on fixing rust damage and preventing future rusting are welcome.
I am also going to be mounting a hood scoop and I would like to flair out the fenders a little bit as well, but that will come much later so tips on body detailing are also welcome!

That about sums it up for now. I will try and add pics later. If you guys need more information please ask and I will try and get it ASAP. I am also looking for parts, so if you guys know of any good places or deals let me know!

Thanks alot guys!

 

[MrKwik]

Only thing I can really help you on here is the distributor. If your motor is an 85 or up 5.0 and you are going carbed on it, which I assume you are, you can use the stock distributor out of an 85 mustang GT with a 5 speed (the automatic one wont work). Then you can either use a ford duraspark box with it or do the chevy HEI conversion.

I know you have to change the k-mamber to go from a straight 6 to a v8 but I dont know about a V6. I would assume you would just use V8 mounts and the holes would already be there but I have absolutely no experience with v6 cars.

 

[Dark Knight]

head on over to http://www.foureyedpride.com
plenty of people there that can help
you'd be better off sanding out the rust, if it doesnt go through the metal, bondo wouldnt be bad... but if it's a hole, welding it up would be alot better

what year is the engine you plan on putting in, and what is it out of?

 

[mustangjoe87]

ok ill give you alil body advice. what do you get when you put bondo over rust? ...........rust under bondo. if you dont cut it out of sand blast it first the rust will come back. you can stip it with air craft stipper but you must remember that it is a chemical and if any is caught under the primer it will lift. also it is hazordous waste. i recomend using a DA and 80 grit. what do you mean by flairing the fenders out?

 

[tjm73]

ANY carb 289/302 distributor (nothign EFI) will work....as long as you put a steel distributor gear on it. That's it. Nothing else special required. MSD sells steel gears and so does Crane.

You may save money on a tranny now, but start saving, because no matter what kind of tranny it is, if it's off a V6 it won't live behind a V8 for long. You may get 2 years or 2 month's. No way to know. But be preppared for it to happen. Especially if you run it hard.

Rust is like death. You can't stop it. You can slow rust down to an almost stop, but you can't stop it. You have to cut out the bad spots and patch them. Sand out the other spots, clean it with bodywork solvent, then fill it if it's not more than 1/8" thick with "bondo". Prep it right and you'll be ok.

Of yeah the K-member question someone brought up. V6 used the same K-member as the V8 so no need to change it.

 

[bluray]

Awesome guys! Thanks for all the replies.

Dark Knight
For the engine year I know it is somewhere around 1984 (I will have to call up the guy I got it from) and it came from another Mustang. The guy that sold it to me bore out the cylinders to .40 and pretty much shined up the block and cleaned it up. Most everything else like the rocker arms, push rods, cylinder heads, pistons, oil rings, intake manifold, camshaft, crankshaft, oil pickup, etc are all brand new. Most of those things are also performance grade if that helps at all. And thanks for the URL, dude!

mustangjoe87
Flaring the fenders is basically working the quarter panels on that lip above the tires with fibreglass to "flair" them out and make the car look wider and more customized. I have seen it done before and it looks real badass if its done right. Some cars you can even purchase flaired out quarter panels already done that just need to be installed. I would try and buy them already flaired but finding body kits for any fox-body stangs before 1987 is hard as hell.

As for the rust I am going to cut out the bad stuff and weld tin plates or something in there. Then I will bondo over the plates as you guys suggest. One problem area I notice though is the floorboards. Some of the rust has gone right thru the floorboards What do you guys suggest for fixing that? Replace the floorboard or weld and bondo over a plate in the problem areas?

Again thanks for the comments guys!

 

[bluray]

I also just found this rough guide on converting from 4-banger or V6 to V8 in a foxbody Mustang:

http://www.jason.fletcher.net/tech/v8/v8.htm

Not as detailed as I would like, but it did raise alot of points I had never considered like getting a more heavy duty power steering pump so the steering doesn't lock up and getting a double hump cross-member to fit the dual exhaust... well I thought I might share this with you guys

later

 

[tjm73]

Flaring the fenders is basically working the quarter panels on that lip above the tires with fibreglass to "flair" them out and make the car look wider and more customized. I have seen it done before and it looks real badass if its done right. Some cars you can even purchase flaired out quarter panels already done that just need to be installed. I would try and buy them already flaired but finding body kits for any fox-body stangs before 1987 is hard as hell.

www.maierracing.com has fiberglass 1.5" and 3" flaired fenders and quarter panels for 79-93 Mustangs.

 

[bluray]

I would love to go for the already finished ones but my Dad would have a siezure if I told him I was going to pay $900.00 for quarter panels He wants to shape the fibreglass with me, and I am fine with that... as long a it doesn't look like crap Thanks for the link tho.

 

[Dark Knight]

if the engine is an 84, you dont want or need the steel cam gear for the distributor..

you can get floor pans for it, why not get them and replace them? probably easier and it would work better
http://secure.50resto.com/product1.cfm?SID=1&Product_ID=130&Category_ID=1118

 

[tjm73]

I would love to go for the already finished ones but my Dad would have a siezure if I told him I was going to pay $900.00 for quarter panels He wants to shape the fibreglass with me, and I am fine with that... as long a it doesn't look like crap Thanks for the link tho.

I think you'll spend a lot more than $900 doing it yourself.

 

[bluray]

if the engine is an 84, you dont want or need the steel cam gear for the distributor..

you can get floor pans for it, why not get them and replace them? probably easier and it would work better
http://secure.50resto.com/product1.cfm?SID=1&Product_ID=130&Category_ID=1118

Awesome dude thanks!

And tjm73, I don't really want to make my own quarter panels, just flair out the lip a little more. Well in any case it's not for sure that I am even going to do that yet, I just think it would be cool if I did

Thanks guys!

 

[tjm73]

Awesome dude thanks!

And tjm73, I don't really want to make my own quarter panels, just flair out the lip a little more. Well in any case it's not for sure that I am even going to do that yet, I just think it would be cool if I did

Thanks guys!

Ohhh... I thought you were gonna flair it out big time. My bad.

I saw an article in a magazine once doing what your describing. They cut the stock fenders and moved the lips out a bit and filled the opening with more sheet metal.

 

[bluray]

Ohhh... I thought you were gonna flair it out big time. My bad.

I saw an article in a magazine once doing what your describing. They cut the stock fenders and moved the lips out a bit and filled the opening with more sheet metal.

Can you get ahold of that article man? That sounds like what I might end up doing. I just called A.M.P. Auto Panels and they want $500.00 Can for the two rear quarter panels too! Why would anyone EVER pay a quarter the price of their engine for two durned pieces of sheet metal? All I have to say is junk-yard here I come

 

[tjm73]

Can you get ahold of that article man? That sounds like what I might end up doing. I just called A.M.P. Auto Panels and they want $500.00 Can for the two rear quarter panels too! Why would anyone EVER pay a quarter the price of their engine for two durned pieces of sheet metal? All I have to say is junk-yard here I come

Oh boy. If I can remember which magazine it was in and can find it, I'll post the info. I'll try to remeber where I saw it.

How much of a flare are you thinking about?

 

[bluray]

Not over the top, probably around 1.5" or 2". The flair thats on the quarter panels right now is what, like 3/4" or 1" stock?

 

[slofiveoh]

I may be wrong her but i think i remember the v6 k-member being different then the 4cyl/5.0 k-member.

 

[bluray]

I may be wrong her but i think i remember the v6 k-member being different then the 4cyl/5.0 k-member.

No I think that the 4 Banger, V6 and V8 use the same one. If I remember correctly its the straight-6 that has a different K-Member. It mentiones it in the article I posted above I think.

 

[tjm73]

No I think that the 4 Banger, V6 and V8 use the same one. If I remember correctly its the straight-6 that has a different K-Member. It mentiones it in the article I posted above I think.

The straight 6 DEFINITLY has it's own K-Member.

 

[slofiveoh]

your right sorry about the missinformation, its been a long day.