66' coupe I 6 to 348 V8 questions

You will have to update your front suspension componets as well. Ball Joints, springs, spring saddles, etc.. Those original parts are not made for that much weight, if you look at the part numbers for the L6 front end parts versus the V8 parts you will see the difference. I was going to install a "stroker" my old coup but the front end upgrades were too much for my budget.

I have spoken with one of the original engineers on the early Mustang and they did try putting big blocks engines in the orignal design but with the added torque it twisted the front of the car so bad it would crack or pop out the windshields of the car. So with in mind you would also have to upgrade the sub frame to help with the "Torque Twist" of the front end.

The differential, rear springs will have to revamped as well considering the more muscle being put to the rear tires.

Don't get me wrong it can be done but you just can't drop it in and expect to have no problems.

A '66 coupe unibody will do fine with that engine. The I-6 unibody itself is exactly the same as the v-8 cars, shelbys (with subs), etc. Try to find a donor V-8 car for the front spindles, brakes, and steering system. You'll also need at least an 8" rearend from the same donor. You'll have to buy 5 lug wheels for the conversion. Always remember to upgrade your brakes to match the power output and performance of your car. Do a Google search on the swap. I'm sure you'll find a wealth of information on this subject.

How much were you expecting to spend on yours? How much is a good system cost? And what is involved in it?

This was back in the early 90's when I had mine. I have since sold the car :( Just got to be too much and I was getting out of the service. You can do most of the work yourself. Like Mark stated you might consider buying a "Donor" car and take 2 to make one. There are enough parts out there for Mustangs that you could build a one out of these Parts magazines. I restored mine back to factory spec's had about 7k-8k in it counting the purchase price and sold it for 6,500 which is great considering it was just a plain Jane "T" code coupe.

What I would suggest is just purchase on pair of parts each month and you will get there before you know it. If you do it like that then you don't have that big expense all in one shot. Do some research for some reason now that I am "back into the Pony frame of mind" I think the

1982 Ford Fairmont was pretty much the same front end, at least the brake aspect. They did come with a 4.2 V8 so I would look into that. Just remember if you put Disc brakes on the front of your Pony car make sure you do not use the original purportioning valve!

Ok I have the engine and its out of a wrecked lincoln. It has emmission stuff on it and the tranny is AOD. I don't know what to throw away and what to keep. I do have a donor thunderbird that I can use the parts off of for the suppension but I don't know if it will work or not?

What can I do to the engine for performance? Trade the intake for a better one change the cam shaft and lifters, holly double pumper or edelbrock 4 barrel and headers with dual exhuast. That should make it pretty fun to drive right?

Thanks for your input in advance.

D.L. Man

"D.L. Man" wrote

What year lincoln? 348? For the AOD you'll need some special adapter plates, mounts and TV cable adapter.

None of it will work. Now if you had an old Falcon, then you might have had some interchangeable parts. The T-bird and the Mustang were completely different cars.

You gotta figure out what you're starting with before you know where you can go.

was rebuilt and bored from

305 -> 348 the lincoln was wrecked after 30,000 miles and the engine pulled and put in storage. It has emmission

"D.L. Man" wrote

Well AFAIK, Ford never built a 305, Chevy did and it was a POS, and there's no way in hell you can bore a block that far out and have anything left but a chinese lantern if you put a lightbulb down a cylinder.

Now if it's a stroker motor, then you have something to start with. Again, the actual year of the motor is important, as then you will know if you have a carb engine, a Speed Density EFI, or EEC-IV Mass Air EFI. The last being the most desirable for streetability.

Ok I checked and I have some more information. It was a 302 out of a 78 lincoln. It was bored 30 over and it had a throttle body. The carb with 2 fuel injectors in there.

I want to go low tech since it is going in a '66 mustang. I think it would be nice to have a engine that can handle top speeds but I like tinkering with it so I will have to pull out the intake and exhaust and the start over.

"D.L. Man" wrote

It would have had a carb in '78. You could use any of the aftermarket stuff for the 5.0 and have a nice motor.

Stick with basics, heads, intake carb, maybe a hotter cam. You need to decide if you want a stump puller or a high revver, or somewhere in between.

"D.L. Man" wrote in news:kdqdnbZsOftrWz_fRVn- snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

A '78 302 is a smogged down gutless wonder. Like 120 HP or thereabouts. To get anything out of it you'll need better heads, more compression, and a better cam.

I have an update. I brought the engine home today and like a dumbass my friend dropped the engine and broke off the pulley on the water pump. I have look at it some more but in the morning but I think that it will be fine. I have to pull the pump if I want to get a new cam in there. And I have to pull a bunch of junk that ford bolted on there.

I have to pull the ignition stuff from the harmonic balancer. But I should be able to put a nice distributor in there. And ideas that don't use points.

"D.L. Man" wrote

Simplest and least expensive- Pertronix Ignitor or Crane XR-1 points to electronic conversion. Next simplest but better- MSD Ready to Run Billet Distributor. No brain box necessary. Expensive but the best- MSD Billet Distributor, 6AL brain More Expensive but better than the MSD- MSD Billet Distributor but use Jacob's Electronics Pro Street Kit for the brain and coil.