Time for engine swap.. Need help!

[thesargster4]

Sup guys; got a '95 V6.. and i want to mod it up a bit.

First of all, i want to ditch EFI.. period.. no questions asked lol.

I've got my 3.8 out; and a brand new T-5 ready for something.. This is my first ford build from scratch, so i got some questions.

I'm looking at two options here.. I got to a technical center for automotive, and my instructor is offering my a 302 roller short block with a pair of 351 winsor marine heads for $200.

Or; im looking at modding up the 3.8 and get some balls out of it; because the block is fine.

I'm on a SUPER tight budget; which is why im staying away from EFI.. i cant offord computer tunes, new ecms, harness's and all the garbage.

First of all; if i were to go with the 302.. all i would do is some head work to the winsor heads, and put a new pair of pistons in it.. and ofcourse a cam of my choice and etc.

Now if i were to go with modding the V6.. What would be my best bet for heads, intake (cant seem to find one for a carb setup), along with pistons and a cam? AND is the bell housing the same on a 3.8 as a SBF?

I would appreciate some advice here.. just on a super tight budget, and need to figure out what ima do.

Thanks!

 

[revhead347]

I don't think there are too many mobs for a 3.8. I don't even think it's reasonable to switch it over to a carb. The only mod for that engine really makes a difference is the blower kit, but you would have to keep the EFI. We used to have a guy in Daytona Beach with a 3.8 and a blower that was running high 11s in the quarter. Realisitically it is a lot cheaper to put the blower on the car than to swap it to a 302. Swapping to a totally different engine is going to nickel and dime you do death. Not to mention how long the car will be down while you are waiting for every bolt to come in the mail.

Kurt

 

[madams74]

Forget the 3.8. Go with the 302 engine. It is not easy anyway you look at it. The 302 with carb will need a new fuel pump setup. Way to much pressure with the stock system for a carb. You will need a new intake for a carb. You will need to make sure the marine heads have the bushings to let the standard size head bolts for the 302 block work with the larger holes on the windsor heads. You do not need to worry much about the hareness, but you have to be able to get the gauges working by taping into the stock wiring, or going to an aftermarket mechanical gauge set. The cooling fan needs to be hard wired away from the ECM. The radiator is the same on the V6 as the V8, but it is still pushing the size quite a bit. The throttle cable assembly must be replaced with one from a 85 Carb Mustang. It will shorten the length enough to attach to the carb and make it to the pedal attachment point inside the firewall. You need to obtain a throttle cable bracket to horseshoe the 2 bolts on the carb and attach that new cable. You have to wire up a new ignition system. You need to get a vacuum advance distributor from an 85 carb mustang and wire it up to your choice of ignition brands, like MSD. You can also go with the MSD distributor and their pickup system, so you do NOT have to have a vacuum advance if you do not want it. All this is not to expensive, but is a lot of work. PM me your email and I will shoot you some pics of my setup. Feel free to ask anything else that may benefit other members. I have some tricks I have picked up on the conversions.

 

[final5-0]

I got a thought or two about your quest

I agree about the 5.0 being the best bang for the buck

I don't know about how much power you are looking for
but
The carb thing is gonna cost you some money to get it all setup

You could find a harness, Cobra pcm and 24's in a junkyard

Then you could be at or right around Cobra power
yet
Not need a tune

Do a bit of home porting on the OEM heads

Be on the look out for used stuff like OEM Cobra intake and the like

You know ... Just the normal cheap stuff for a bit of extra power

Going with a carb might be more of a challenge than you think
but
I'd listen to madams74 as he has the experience of ... doing it

Grady