motor swap

[thauty]

Do I need to change the suspension if I swap a 6 cylinder motor for an 8?

[RoushTbird]

It shouldnt be to hard. But yes some changes are necessary . The suspension is not setup to handle the extra weight and bulkiness of a V-8. Any idea on what motor.? as an owner of a 4.6L in mine i would suggest a 5.0 due to the cost effective power adders. Its pretty xpensive for my upgrades

[overl0rd]

Originally Posted by RoushTbird

It shouldnt be to hard. But yes some changes are necessary . The suspension is not setup to handle the extra weight and bulkiness of a V-8. Any idea on what motor.? as an owner of a 4.6L in mine i would suggest a 5.0 due to the cost effective power adders. Its pretty xpensive for my upgrades

Having owned a 4.6 in the past and a 5.0 now, I can honestly say I liked the 4.6 better. Its a much more efficient and economical motor. It may be a little harder to package than the 5.0 but the 4.6 is a great looking and running motor. Besides, what year your car is may determine the motor you have to use to remain emissions legal in some states. When you swap from the 3.8 to a V8, you will have to change the front springs to deal with the added weight of the extra motor, and I dont think the tranny will bolt up. I'm not real sure though, it also comes to mind the GM TH350's were different internally between the 6 cylinder and V8. Don't know if the Ford overdrives are the same.

Also, it might do you good if you go the 4.6 route to find a motor with the PI heads.

[97Bird]

Put a junkyard 3.8 back in it, sell it and then buy a V8 Bird! Unless you have a donor car with suspension, wiring, exhaust, engine, tranny and plenty of time to kill, it's the best route to go imo.

[01GA]

Um, you are aware that the 4.6 won't bolt to that v6 trans, right? A 5.0 will, but then you'd have to take the trans out to beef up the clutch packs anyway. Then, you'd need to upgrade to the 8.8 inch rear end, unless your car already has that. Most of the V6 cars got the wimpy 7.5 rear. After that, you'll need to upgrade your halfshafts to handle the newfound torque.

Or you could just source a six from the j/y, and buy a V8 'Bird.