'68 Galaxie swap to 5.0/AOD...

Cory Dunkle opined in news:yiK8b.1117$ snipped-for-privacy@nwrdny02.gnilink.net:

Hmmmm...

Bwahahahahahahahaha!

Sorry couldnt help it.

You need a wrecked 89 to 90 Crown Vic, to start with for the 5.0 version.

Then you need a paper copy of the Emissions MAnual (EVTM)... this will make it easier to work with the wiring.

If you plan on modding it later, try to find a Police version.

I dont have to give you links for the Crown Vic site do I?

Another thing to try would be to get a 93 or so Mark VIII... this would get you the DOHC 4.6 and some REAL potential power... but there's tons of "extras" that go with the power train.

And NO you DONT gain anything by removing the remaining emissions stuff.. AND I understand that some states insist the Emissions reqs follow engine year.

You are in for the project of your life, and it wont be cheap !

reprogrammed

Yeah, tell me about it... I found this web site through a forum.

This stuff is a lot more pricy than I thought! Though for an increase of 10 or more MPG given correct gas prices it may be worth it vs. just rebuilding the bottom end of the original 302. In the long run it may pay for itself, figuring this new engine/trans would last 150,000+, or 15-20+ years depending on how far I need to go and how often I drive the car. I'm starting to get turned off to this idea... But I'm going to continue to research it as a possibility.

Maybe rebuild the 302 in the car next summer and get an AOD, as the transmission seems like it would be an easier swap. Then worry about the engine later. I don't know... I'll continue to look at it as a viable option and see what my funds will allow when the time comes. If worse comes to worse I'll just keep driving my '67 'till I get an econo-box. The econo-box I would be getting (for practically free) would be a Geo Prizm which gets

30+ MPG. I was figuring if my '68 could get 25+ MPG with an AOD and injected 5.0 I may as well drive the '68 and enjoy the comfort and luxury of a nice large car, and the fun of a classic. I suppose it would be nice to not have to deal with adjusting the choke when the weather changes drastically as well. The thing I would like most about the injected 5.0 and AOD would be the max range! 25 MPG x 25 gal = 625 mile range! Realistically I wouldn't run it down to the last drop, but ~550 miles between fill-ups is awesome. Maybe I'm being a bit over-optimistic but the crown vics get 25-27 MPG with the 5.0/AOD so I'd imagine my Galaxie would be comparable to that.

Well I would love to talk to someone who has dome a 5.0/AOD swap into a classic car, whether it be a full-size like mine or probably a more common Mustang swap, it would be great to hear from someone who has done it the cost and work involved. There sure seems to be a lot more than I thought. The thought never occurred to me that I would have to get an idler for the smog pump and plug the heads, or the whole serpentine belt thing. New radiator would be needed due to the serpentine belt system and reverse water pump. Then the electric fuel pump thing. The wiring seems to be more involved than I thought too. The list just goes on and on!

Nonetheless, I'd still love to do this swap as I'm pretty much sold on the mileage and performance of a modern injected and computer controlled engine. Even if I've gotta wait longer than I thought to have the necessary funds, so be it if it means a better end result. A stroked Windsor would be a hell of a lot easier and probably a good bit cheaper too, not to mention would kick the 5.0's ass, but I'd rather keep this car as practical transportation and get a big block '67 Galaxie as my dream car years down the line. What better way to keep it practical than getting kick-ass mileage and driveability, eh?

Cory

-- Your 68 won't get the mileage of a newer car. It's not as aerodynamic and it's a lot heavier. As far as swapping something much newer, it's not a bad idea, but remember that you're only upgrading the motor and trans. The electrics on an older car tend to wear out, especially the wiring. And the weatherstripping, and the ......... and on and on and on. Your 68 is full of old parts, so if you use it as a daily driver, you'll wind up doing a fair amount of repairing. If you can do all of the work yourself it may not be a bad deal. But if you have to pay someone, it will become a huge sinkhole for all of your cash.

max-income Every day is a good day- it's just that some are better than others.

opined in news:VQ99b.3831$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews5.bellsouth.net:

You have two cars, right?

- You're a car enthusiast.. you like to be different.. this will be different.

If you take your time you can find a donor wreck for about 1000.. that will give you about 100,000 of remaining life without major overhaul.

OTOH

I think I know where you can get a 93 Mark VIII DOHC for about 3 grand.

wrote in message news:sug9b.75231$ snipped-for-privacy@rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.net...

Good point, I hadn't thought much about that. My Galaxie is actually about

100-150 lbs lighter than a modern Crown Vic... It surprised me too. :) But being less aurodynamic will probably drop off a couple highway MPG, but nonetheless, if a Crown Vic gets 27 highway MPG, then I may very well be able to get near 25. Even if I'm grossly overestimating, it will surely be significantly better than the 17 MPG I got previously.

That makes me think of something... What kind of gas do these modern 5.0 injected engines run on? My old 302 ran on 89... I'd prefer to run 87 since the whole idea of this is to save money in the long run, as I plan to keep this car for the rest of my life, maybe pass it down to my son/daughter way down the line.

For over 6 months I had been using it as my daily driver. Right when I got it from my uncle, who abused the hell out of it, I had to do a lot of repairs to make it safe to drive. Since then I've made little repairs here and there as things came up, but that was mostly within the first month or two. I think by now I've taken care of most things that are going to be a problem (whole brake system, tires, differential, dirty contacts, alternator, voltage regulator, etc.). You are definitely right that wiring is a pain. No one makes reproduction wiring harnesses for Galaxies (that I know of), so I'm pretty much just left to do it myself when things break, until eitehr a repro harness comes out or I decide to go for a generic one. It all works fine now, so I'm not too worried about electrical stuff at the moment. Thankfully the car has been garage kept for the vast majority of it's life (it's sitting in my great grandma's garage right now) which seems to have worked wonders in preserving the wiring vs. my '67 which was not garage kept... Of course rust is virtually nonexistant on the '68 while the '67 suffers badly. So I think I've got most of the stuff that typically fails taken care of (except wiring)... But you're right, whenever you drive a classic as a daily driver there will always be little things here and there that will break periodically. I figure what the hey, eventually I'll have a whole new car, right? :)

the easyest thing to do is get a carborated 302 or 351 w and drop it in there

Do you have a website or anything with pics of your 67 and 68?

Sure...

I have some old pics here... From 6-7 months ago methinks... The '68 looks kinda ratty in some respects as I had just got it from my uncle (who abused the hell out of it) about a week before I took the pictures. I've cleaned it up fairly well cosmetically and taken care of most of the mechanical problems since then. Still need a good trim piece for the driver side fender... My local yard has 3 or 4 '68s, but all had dings or cuts in that particular trim piece... Just my luck, eh?

Here are some pictures of my '67 when I first got it. It's amazing what a couple winters and a blind old lady in a Mercury can do to a car...

You can lighten it up and make somechanges to get better milage...

Remove weight, any crap with weight that doesnt serve a great purpose. Just rebuilding the short block properly should increase milage some. Aluminum pulleys, aluminum brackets. Fiberglass hood and fenders takes off a few pounds. Look for useless crap that can be removed or replaced with lighter crap. Electric fuel pump not mechanical. Anything you can do to reduce friction on the motor. Make your engine eficient in use of air, spark and fuel. Air Flow...increase air flow in the engine. Ditch the stock air cleaner, but it will be colder starting up north unless you use a form of intake heater. Aluminum wheels and good tires. Modern Fan Assembly (Aluminum) Aluminum Water pump. Plastic Fuel cell(check local laws reguarding fuel tank relocations. When you remove stuff, fill a bucket with all the useless bolts and stuff and pick it up, it weights alot! Dont throw the stuff away if you plan to go stock or want to sell it!

My 64 Galaxy had a 390 Bored 30 over, edelbrock intake, lemans aluminum valve covers, Accel super coil, headers, external electric fuel pump, holly double pumper, etc...it got awesome milage, (till you tromped on the 4 bbl)

On most cars just turning the air cleaner cover upside down gives you an open element air cleaner. Works just as well as those chrome jobbies and doesn't cost a dime. I've done this and noticed a difference in performance at high rpm's (like passing on the freeway, or during a forced downshift with an automatic) but for normal driving you don't see much difference.

max-income