engine swap

I have a 1993 2.3l mustang and I was wondering if it is possible to swap out the 4cyl. with a older V-8 302

Not without replacing the entire drivetrain. You will have to find new motor mounts and have them welded to the frame, not to mention a new tranny crossmember and supports for that for either a T-5 or an AOD, a drive shaft from one of the older vehicles and the rear differential. You will have to get a new wiring harness and pcm for the new motor, and may also have to do some firewall/wheelwell clearancing to squeeze in the new motor. Another exhaust system will also have to be installed. Not an easy task, but well worth the effort.

would it be easier to find a V-8 out of a 93 mustang

Not without replacing the entire drivetrain. You will have to find new motor mounts and have them welded to the frame, not to mention a new tranny crossmember and supports for that for either a T-5 or an AOD, a drive shaft from one of the older vehicles and the rear differential. You will have to get a new wiring harness and pcm for the new motor, and may also have to do some firewall/wheelwell clearancing to squeeze in the new motor. Another exhaust system will also have to be installed. Not an easy task, but well worth the effort. Not to be a stickler, but some of this info in false. The basic configuration for the motor mount points is the same on 4cyl and 8cyl fox's, just different mounts will be needed. Also there is no need to clearance the firewall or wheelwells. Again the engine bay of 4cyl and 8 cyl fox's are the same.


Here's a list if things that need to be changed right away, just to be able to make the car drive.
-motor
-motor mounts
-fuel lines
-wiring harnesses
-computer
-Exhaust system

Now here's a list of things that should be changed for the sake of safety and longevity.
-trans
-rearend
-all suspension components
-whole brake system
-driveshaft
-wheels

It would make serious sense to find a donor car that was maybe wrecked, that has usable parts. Just remember this will be time consuming and take some level of skill to complete the process.

Please listen to Hi Flow 5.0 I've Been there SEVERAL times and driving one now that has been converted and he is dead on with it all if you do change it over take a donor car and the wiring harness will roll off of the old v-8 and assume the place of your old one with little effort and please take a 8.8 rear-end as the first mod there is nothing like setting on the side of the road with the remains of a 7.5 rear scattered behind you been there done that

I'm preparing to do a swap now. I have an '88 4-banger. For the purpose of a swap, that's no different than a '93. I agree, for a swap you're miles ahead if you get a complete car. You can find them cheap, if you're a little patient. I wasn't patient, so I bought a 302 from a wrecker. The motor is out of an '88 LSC. Thats when reality hit me. Dude...you need to get a whole car!
Sooo, just about 3 days later, my sister's boyfriend tells me he knows where there is a whole '88 5.0. I got the whole car for $100 more than I paid for just the engine itself at the wrecker. Sure, the body is crap, but the drivetrain works. I drove it home.
Still, if you don't get the whole car, some parts are compatible.
-The crossmember is the same on my 4-banger as the 5.0, and a lot cleaner.
-You might be able to use your stock tranny ('til it breaks), but the bellhousing is different.
-The underside of the car is probably tapped to accept hangers for the dual exhaust (mine is), BUT you'll likely have a brake line coupler fastened where the right-side muffler hanger should be. This will have to be moved.
-You'll want an 8.8" rear end. Don't even bother with the 2.79 the 'Stang comes with. Go to the wrecker and get a 3.55 or 3.73 from a Turbo Coupe or similar.
...and the list goes on, to be sure. It's more labour intensive than anything else. But get a whole car!

I'm doing the swap w/ a 1989 2.3L notch. The donor car is a 1990 5.0L hatchback. I'm taking my time on it, a little after work, mostly on weekends. The V-8 will go right into the engine bay as allot of the past posts indicate. Need to disagree somewhat w/ the wheel well clearance issue though. The 5.0L's started using steering rack limiters around 1993ish (don't quote me on this year) due to the 16" rim upgrade. The tires will rub on the inner fenderwell if the wheel is cranked to a hard turn. This applies only to vehicles w/ 16" rims or bigger on vehicles w/o a steering rack limiter. Also, if you haven't come across this yet, it's been a nuissance since I became aware of it (left me scratching my head and wasted a good part of a Saturday). The fox bodies have differences: 1987-1989 (same), 1990-1993 (changed the strut tower pattern, changed wiring on dash). Best to try to stay in these year groups if you can. Called Ford Motorsport about the strut towers (they thought they were the same from 1987-1993, called Dugan Racing (they referred me to Steeda), called Steeda and they confirmed this. The reason I'm having such a focus on the strut towers is the camber/caster is out of whack after swapping out the spindles/11" rotors/bearing/calipers/etc.. You can look at the tire and the top of it is leaning out, so I'm tracking down adjustable camber/caster plates to address the issue.

The tires will rub on the inner fenderwell if the wheel is cranked to a hard turn.

Yeah, that's a really good point. I have an '88 4-banger with 16" Turbo Coupe rims (225/65 tires) and they do rub when the wheels are cut to either extreme. It isn't a problem with normal driving, because you never cut the wheels that sharply at driving speeds (I hope!). However, in a parking lot, it turns out they rub alot. You just need to take the wheel off to see how it all adds up! I've even stalled the car a couple of times when feathering the clutch performing really slow manouvres. Seems to hurt the car more than the tire- so far.

Got 245/50/16's on my GT, and don't have any clearance problems when turned lock to lock. You guys also have to remember that 4cyl springs will make the car sit lower, especially if you have converted to a V8. This is were you will see a problem, but rolling the fender lips should take care of this.

Fender clearance isn't a problem (yet), and I don't think it will be when the 302 is installed. The backside of the tire actually rubs against the frame of the car. Mine have rubbed a small hole throught the plastic lining inside the wheel well. It isn't a serious problem. 215 tires might not rub. 245's are out of the question! If there was only a quarter inch more clearance, the 225's might not rub (that's only a very rough guess, though).

I've heard of using wheel spacers to extend your wheels out maybe an inch and a half. wouldn't that provide more clearence.

Wheel spacers, and I believe you can get nylon bushings from dealers that limit the rack a pinion from turning to those extreme limits. Also note that The ratios are different. Both my 89 had different ratios. The GT was a wider radius, and the LX 4cyl had such a tight turning radius.

Thanks. I'll have to look into those things. The rubbing will probably add up after a while. Then boom!