Thunderbird 5.0L compard to 95 5.0L
- Thread starter Travis95gt
- Start date
5.0_GT_kid
20+ Year Stangneter 
mackey said:The newer mn12? has the same engine. That is the newer t-bird body, not the old style. The 87 had a different cam, came with a different intake manifold i think? But now i am not so sure. Actually they might be the same. So just the cam.
The manifolds are the same I believe, my parents had a 88 T-bird with the 5.0 and when compared to 87-93 5.0 Mustang intake, it looked EXACTLY the same, but then again it could have internal differences.
kendoo130
Founding Member
87 T-bird's came with a low output motor(155HP I think)Mustangs came with the HO motor.I think you can tell the difference by looking at which way the rotor spins.
H.O. counterclockwise
L.O. clockwise
H.O. counterclockwise
L.O. clockwise
The following website has alot of good info on the mid 80's 5.0L Cougars and T-bird's.
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/index.html
Cheers
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/index.html
Cheers
Ok...wanna know the real difference before we get anymore speculated guesses.
Intake - an 87 Thunderbird was a fox. It had a similar looking intake in comparison to the '87-'93 Mustang, but it was not. It did however have the same intake used on the Crown Victoria’s and Grand Marquis of those and later years. Machined for a small throttle body and very restrictive....you'll want to get rid of it.
Camshaft – non HO….lose it too
Block – Non roller
Pistons – Cast, not hypereutectic or forged
Heads – E6AE, same as used on the ’86 Mustang. Not the E7TE used on the ’87-up Mustang or MN12 Thunderbird/Cougar
I’d skip it. If you can find one, get one out of a later MN12 Cougar. They were essentially the same as the engine in the ’95 Mustang, minus the Camshaft (which is the same used in the ’93-95 Cobra…..and crap!)
If you want to go from scratch on a budget and a true HO roller motor isn't available, find yourself an '87-'95 F150 302. They were machined to accept a roller cam and used the same heads that were on the '87-'95 Mustang. From there, swap out the cam, intake and distributor gear and you're set. BTW....these engines use cast dished pistons as well, so I wouldn't push it much past about 250hp without upgrading the slugs.
Intake - an 87 Thunderbird was a fox. It had a similar looking intake in comparison to the '87-'93 Mustang, but it was not. It did however have the same intake used on the Crown Victoria’s and Grand Marquis of those and later years. Machined for a small throttle body and very restrictive....you'll want to get rid of it.
Camshaft – non HO….lose it too
Block – Non roller
Pistons – Cast, not hypereutectic or forged
Heads – E6AE, same as used on the ’86 Mustang. Not the E7TE used on the ’87-up Mustang or MN12 Thunderbird/Cougar
I’d skip it. If you can find one, get one out of a later MN12 Cougar. They were essentially the same as the engine in the ’95 Mustang, minus the Camshaft (which is the same used in the ’93-95 Cobra…..and crap!)
If you want to go from scratch on a budget and a true HO roller motor isn't available, find yourself an '87-'95 F150 302. They were machined to accept a roller cam and used the same heads that were on the '87-'95 Mustang. From there, swap out the cam, intake and distributor gear and you're set. BTW....these engines use cast dished pistons as well, so I wouldn't push it much past about 250hp without upgrading the slugs.
I stand corrected.....It was the pre-86's that were non-roller. The 86-88's do come with a roller block although they are not utilized. Regardless, he's still stuck with weak cast pistons, crappy heads and intake, throttle body and a pile of other stuff that will need to be upgraded before it makes any power.Silver85TC said:
If he can get it cheap (nearly free) it wouldn't be bad, but otherwise it's a lot to pay for an engine that needs nearly an entire rebuild just to perform like stock!
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