V8 conversion

bvav22 said:

Hi, i have an 89lx 4 banger, and i want to get a v8 put in. i live in the detroit area, and i have seen a few comercials for shops that do that kind of work. i was wondering if anyone else has had a shop do the conversion for them. i would like to know how much money i should start saving up for.

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if you're going to have a shop do it, you might as well buy an original 5.0. a donor car is preferred to have(wrecked).

I have a conversion and have no problems however i would keep in mind these to things. 1. The transmissions are not the same I dont care what anybody tells you (I know this from personal exp.) and 2. Your rear end is a 7.5 not an 8.8 like other five-ohs. So keep that in mind. Good luck.

DC

thinking of doing this. Will a thunderbird 5.0 car serve as a good starting point?

yes the trannies are different. I know that A4LD for the 2.3s and AOD for the 5.0 cars. What else would I need? I know the thunderbird is a low output 5.0 thats easily changed.

I'd try and find a wrecked GT or LX 5.0 for the diff, tranny, engine, wiring, etc... The entire swap on a 95 V6 took my cousin and I about a day to finish.

get a crate motor - and a donor gt w/ no motor from the Junk Yard - arent the springs different w/ 4 cyl? car will sit differently - i would assume it would sit lower in the front because a 4 cyl isnt as heavy as a 5.0 sot he spring constant isn't as much to keep the same stance, so when u drop in the 5.0 the springs compress further - CRATE MOTOR!!
Paul Perreca

The brakes are only 10 inchers too, like the pre 86 gt's

Yeah the 4 banger springs will allow more weight-transfer to the rear also a carb'd 5.0L weighs about the same as an EFI 2.3L (60lbs more, MAX).

Other details such as:
- Steering rack
- Torsion bars
- 8.8 rear-end (quads, brake line)
- Front rotors, calipers, spindles
- Fuel lines
- Double hump cross-member
- Dual exhaust
- Fuel pump (not an emergency)
- Computer
- Complete passenger side harness
- V8 instrument cluster
- whatever else I'm missing, lol

I did mine in steps but went with carb at first. I kept the 7.5 on the rear for a summer (still good today, they have better gearing than a stock 8.8). I will keep the 4 banger springs for the better weight-transfer. I also kept the same brake system since it was new when I got the car. But when I upgrade brakes I want to do it right (SN95 spindles + Cobra brake upgrade, and 5 lug swap).

Boss 351 basically touched on most of the stuff. I believe you can use the 4cyl steering rack but it will be alittle more 'loose' then the 5.0 style which is basically all preference. I also believe they had different driveshafts. I am not positive but when i had the 7.5 rear w/ driveshaft sitting next to my 8.8 rear w/ driveshaft it seemed to be skinnier- unsure of the performance difference but it might break easier? You will also need the 5.0 air conditioning hose too. I forgot about this until it was time to tie up some loose projects and had to search one up . Depending on your driving style I would say you might want to change the springs. If your into drag you might want them for the launch but regular driving I would go with either aftermarket or 5.0 springs. They will reduce the nose dive while stopping. I believe the 4cyl and 5.0 brake booster/mc's are different too but I have heard of people running the 4cyl brake booster on 5.0's. I believe their only complaint was the hard brake pedal feeling. Also as for engine harnesses I'd say if you go with maf stick with a 87-89 engine harness so you don't have all the extra connectors which are supposed to be for the airbags. You can run either but it looks cleaner imo.

I did this same swap (wrecked gt91 parts into 89lx) you are thinking about along with the 5 lug swap and rear gears at the same time. I'm not sure if I would do this all again as it is alot of work especially with a maf but it was a good learning experience. Mine has taken me like 3 months or so from stripping my 4cyl to rebuilding and now its just hunting down my parts that haven't arrived yet .