motor swaps

[hotrod_chevyz]

Ive been looking at cheap mustang bodies to donor my crown vic motor and trans into. The body is starting to rag out but the motor really runs great. I would rather be spending money fixing on a mustang than this crown vic body. Mustangs are lighter and my GF would like it better, even though its nice to have a full size car sometimes. If i can find a mustang body no motor for under 1,000 bucks semi-complete its on. It might be an older body so i expect to have to carry over a gob of computer related shit and probably relocate some stuff too.

This is more than likley the future of my CV. Im sure a mustangs 4.6 puts out more power than a crown vic 4.6 but dont know the exact difference.


here are some questions i wouldnt mind knowing the answer too.

Whats the HP difference between mustangs 4.6 and CV 4.6 in 1997?

Can the same mods be done to the crown vic motor as you can do to a mustang motor of the same year, or is their a difference a chevy guy wouldnt know about?

[TheStang00]

1997- mustang 4.6 has 225hp, CV has 190. both kinda low really. the CV can take the same mods as the mustang 4.6, infact with only 190hp i bet mods would make a big difference on it. especially new heads.

[neatofrito1618]

Honestly the best thing to do would be to sell the Crown Vic and buy a Mustang. The '97 Crown Vic puts out 190 hp, stock 99-04 V6 Mustang's put out more power than that. The 4.6 in the Mustang was rated at 215 hp in 94-97, 225 in '98, and 260 in 99-04's.

[hotrod_chevyz]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

1997- mustang 4.6 has 225hp, CV has 190. both kinda low really. the CV can take the same mods as the mustang 4.6, infact with only 190hp i bet mods would make a big difference on it. especially new heads.

Thats what i was hoping. So i could build a mustang for pretty cheap with the parts i have already, and can upgrade it if i want to. I really like the little 1992 GT Mustang bodies. I would aim for that, or close to it.

Originally Posted by neatofrito1618

Honestly the best thing to do would be to sell the Crown Vic and buy a Mustang. The '97 Crown Vic puts out 190 hp, stock 99-04 V6 Mustang's put out more power than that. The 4.6 in the Mustang was rated at 215 hp in 94-97, 225 in '98, and 260 in 99-04's.

I want a lighter mustang that the new ones. You can find the older bodies for cheap. I dont want car payments or high insurance either. We just got the CV 3 years ago for $5k. I want to get the rest of the money that was spent out the drivetrain i already have. The CV has $1k worth of work it needs, so i figured a $1k mustang body with no motor and trans would make the money spent on the crown vic worth it, and i would like it better. It would be hard to sell my CV for 2k right now as is. And i would hate to lose money on it.

[neatofrito1618]

Originally Posted by hotrod_chevyz

Thats what i was hoping. So i could build a mustang for pretty cheap with the parts i have already, and can upgrade it if i want to. I really like the little 1992 GT Mustang bodies. I would aim for that, or close to it.



I want a lighter mustang that the new ones. You can find the older bodies for cheap. I dont want car payments or high insurance either. We just got the CV 3 years ago for $5k. I want to get the rest of the money that was spent out the drivetrain i already have. The CV has $1k worth of work it needs, so i figured a $1k mustang body with no motor and trans would make the money spent on the crown vic worth it, and i would like it better. It would be hard to sell my CV for 2k right now as is. And i would hate to lose money on it.

94-98 GT's are pretty cheap, you can find them in decent condition for around 3k.

[TheStang00]

Originally Posted by neatofrito1618

94-98 GT's are pretty cheap, you can find them in decent condition for around 3k.

they arent worth the money.

[hotrod_chevyz]

I just want an 88-92 mustang GT body in decent shape. I bet i can find one mostly complete for around a grand and convert it all to this 4.6 setup i already have. The overall future potential of the car will be worth the swap IMO. Thats what i can afford this tax season and i would be happy with it also. I prefer the 4.6 to the 5.0 anyways, and i also prefer the light body and style of the 88-92s.

Switching over the engine and its electrical what-nots isnt a big deal, i would pull the wiring complete with fuse box, power distribution ect. This would be easier than trying to "scratch" up the wiring. I want it plug and play no splices on anything having to do with the motor, except gauges. If i do a complete wiring switch it should work out fairly easy. Just get some zip ties and go to town.

The question i have is how would the ABS/TCS system work out in all this? I dont even want the TCS my system comes with, but i do want ABS. Would this conversion be possible and it have anti-lock when i was done? I guess i could live without it but would rather have it.

I know this all might sound goofy or whatever, but with whats already been spent i expected the car to last longer, but the body has fallen out from under us. Here is a list of what has happened this past year.

I had to replace the pitman and idler arms, the tie rods, and center link for safety reasons.The AC is fully charged but this digital dash got a surge (i suspect) and will not kick on the AC clutch. But if i power the clutch myself, the air is cold as a mofo. The heater quit working, the control valve in the dash took a dump and i dont care to even dig into it for replacement. The ball joints, and control arm bushings are shot. The drivers side door panel is trash, and the window motor inside of it, trash. The ABS module took a crap too, so no TCS or ABS any more. The interior lights dont work, it needs a front bumper. With all that i still love this car, its just time for it to go away from me before i have to shoot it. But the motor isnt going anywhere. Its all i have to show from a $5k investment.

A donor car body will cure just about every problem it has. I know for 1,000 spent the mustang is bound to need something on the list of problems the crown vic has, but a mustang would be better to spend money on fixing it up.

[TheStang00]

wow thats remarkable. i dont know if ive ever seen that much go wrong on a car.

[hotrod_chevyz]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

wow thats remarkable. i dont know if ive ever seen that much go wrong on a car.

A year ago everything worked! We are trying to figure out what the hell happened to it.... Its still a good car we drive every day all over the place.

The motor and transmission still work great no probs, no smoke or leaks. I thought about just buying another CV, but my GF wants a smaller car. Ive watched on ebay CV bodies of the same year sell for $500.00 but none are digi dash and most dont have TCS, so its very hard to find donor parts. Between them being used for cop cars and taxi cabs, even finding one in a salvage yard is a task. I feel the same way ive never seen a car mess up this bad this fast, but its been a good car even still i guess we just tore it up.

[TheStang00]

well one good thing you will find is that the 4.6 is bulletproof. it will last you forever. good luck on finding a mustang doner.

[hotrod_chevyz]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

well one good thing you will find is that the 4.6 is bulletproof. it will last you forever. good luck on finding a mustang doner.

I agree with the 4.6 being a tough engine. They are known for taking some abuse.

Putting a later model motor in a earlier model body might be harder and more costly than what i know yet.

It might actually be better to sell this car and watch for a good deal on something. Im not sure about a lot of things with this sort of swap for instance, would anything work after the swap. Shifter? P/S? speedo? OD? ABS? mounts? Shit like that.

Nobody bother answering any of this unless its a suprising answer of "hey wait all that will line up perfect", or even "all you have to do is...." would be acceptable. I suspect most of this stuff would be a headache.

Anyways neatofrito1618, TheStang00, thanks for taking the time to answer back to the likes of one of us chevy guys .

[351wStang]

You may try google.com or search around on corral.net or turbomustangs.com. Somewhere I read a build thread of atleast one foxbody car with a 4.6 in it. As far as motor mounts go I beleive those where custom fabbed to fit the 4.6 in the 5.0 bay.

[351wStang]

http://modularfox.com/

This website may help you out.

[hotrod_chevyz]

Thanks for the info and finding that site. Ive decided converting one over like that is more work that i want to do. I need to just sell the crown vic and hunt down a fair deal on the year model mustang i like. I prefer a 4.6 but i could live with a 5.0 since thats what the mustang i want comes with.

[Morbid Intentions]

buy a cheap fox body... keep the vic as a DD, drop an FR500 dual intake 4.6 in the fox.... end of story


friend of mine on a forum dropped that into his 99 cobra...

here he is...
http://videos.streetfire.net/search/...b8002c1358.htm





with as light as a fox is..... FHOOSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!