'91 LX Engine Swap

[cody_stl]

I have had this old 1991 Fox Body LX sitting in my garage for some time now. It has the 4 banger in it right now and i was curious into what all it would en tale to swap a 302 in to that bad boy to transform it from a Shetland pony to a damn Stang! I am first gonna tear out the interior and remove the old engine tranny, drive shaft and rear end. I then am going to start junkyard/classified hunting for a descent 302 block. Questions being what are some good ford model cars to get a potential race 302 block from? i know they came in an assortment of different vehicles, i was wondering which ones were best to retrieve a block from and rebuild from scratch? Also which ford transmission i should keep an eye out for to go with that block and if that tranny should be modified or if it can handle the torque/power i wanna achieve stock? My power goals are 400hp and torque to match it on motor. I am also wondering if a ford 9 inch rear end is the best way to go? does anyone know what rear end is in it now with the 4 cyl? and what installing that will en tale? I am definitely going Carburetor not F.I.. So take that into consideration when helping me choose a block to locate. The car is all ready a 5 speed, so that will cut down on some work....but on second thought most of your really fast pro drag cars are manual auto type deal. but i am on a budget here. Well that about sums it up. I am going the carb route cause i think it will cut down on wiring a great deal and i hear they are easy to tune. Wiring gives me a headache! thanks for any help

[351wStang]

Do you want 400rwhp/tq or fwhp/tq? If you want rear wheel you may need to look into a mexican block or R block. If you are looking for flywheel numbers then a stock 5.0 block will be fine. To get 400hp/tq out of a 302 you are gonna need to spin it a little, it wont be cheap. How much of a budget do you have? Remember you can make 1000hp but if you cant use it its worthless.

[cody_stl]

the budget is not set really. Just building it check by check so whatever needs to be done...will be done in time. I'm sorry you said spin it to get 400? not sure what that term means. Well instead of power goals how bout ET goals? i would like to get it to hit mid 11's to start eventually mid 10's. There is no budget, only time! lol thanks

[BigDanTheMan]

be prepared to spend about as much on suspension components as the power plant. you might want to consider saving up to upgrade your car to a cobra or at least a stock v8 of another year. i imagine that you'd save more in the long run by doing less fabrication and upgrades. gts aren't expensive these days and they come with the stronger rear end and the necessary v8.

the alternate plan is to build the engine up out of the vehicle while you still use the car with it's stock components. it would be better to do it all slowly out of the car than to slowly modify the block with it is in use.

[zagrot]

bah, why is everyone afraid of fuel injection? what is your objective? a daily driver or drag machine? if you want to have something dependable find a stock 5.0 /w EFI and throw it in. if you want somethiung to tinker on constantly get a windsor engine with a carb and put that in. just my opininon.