Need more Yank

[nitrofarm]

Friends,this 1.3 stuff just aint cutting it. I like the MPG because I drive @ 30,000 miles a year. Thats just my mileage,my wife uses the same car each day & averages @ 10,000-15,000. I work thirds and she works 1st shift. But so far this month.I've had 3 different people intentionally harass me on the highway when I tried to pass them. F350 power stroke,Pontiac Formula & a Dodge Dakota. The Dodge was the final straw.He was Fat,Bald & laughing at me. His license plate was "MY HEMI". I live in WI,its one of the few states where when you try to pass people.They speed up! Basically I need a motor with a lot more YANK. I'll still keep my 1.3 for DD but I gotta build another sleeper. And what better car than a Festy.So here are OUR limitations-

Budget-Dont have one. You have to have money in order to have a budget right? LOL

Car - Festiva,because this is a Festiva Forum right?

Engine/Trans its gotta be cheap & have decent Power to Weight Ratio.And decent parts availabilty. An automatic is fine,but must have lockup converter. (I'm thinking the super charged 3600 from a GM.) I would really like to Turbo a Nissan 1.8 4cyl. They are very light weight,but that would be hard on my budget ( or lack of one).

Engine/Trans mounting-Its gonna have to be rear. The Festy front end is not my favorite to date. The lower control arms are very small.Then I'm gonna add more weight & HP to them? No,sorry its just to scary for my driving style.

Building it- I'm going to get my 12 year old son envolved as much as possible. My oldest is @ College so he cant really help. Plus all he is gonna do is complain that we arent working on our Mustang. But those dont fit the "Sleeper" category. And this Car has to appear VERY innocent.
Thats about it. I've sown my seeds.Now I gotta add some water.

STAGE ONE: Procure my Engine & Trans. All feedback is welcome & appreciated. Have a great weekend folks. And in the words of Ricky Bobby.
"I WANNA GO FAST"
Say hello to my Festy with no Name.......

[anomoly40]

So what's wrong with a BP swap? Cheap, easily found parts and have been proven to work.

[gottafesty]

So what's wrong with a BP swap? Cheap, easily found parts and have been proven to work.

I think he wants the engine in the back. That's not as easy of a project.

Engine/Trans mounting-Its gonna have to be rear. The Festy front end is not my favorite to date. The lower control arms are very small.Then I'm gonna add more weight & HP to them? No,sorry its just to scary for my driving style.

[Charlie1717]

So what's wrong with a BP swap? Cheap, easily found parts and have been proven to work.

Yeah... BP with aspire swap. I've never had an issue passing anyone that I've needed to with my BP

[PhoenixSHO]

No budget and you want rear assemblies. Dont want to sound harch but you're in for a surprise.

Rules of motoring life #1

The quantity of cars passing you (with hammer down) on the freeway is directly proportioned to how big your wallet is.

The only way to keep the cost down (by down I mean less - because its gonna cost you anyway) is by having a crapload of tools , knowledge and fabrication skills.

[blkfordsedan]

I always thought a SHO-gun style swap would be cool if you used a standard Taurus driveline. The SHO V6 is a wonderful motor, but can be hard to find and is somewhat complicated......however, what about the standard 3.0L Vulcan V6 or better yet, the 200hp Duratec DOHC V6 (Mazda based). Both of these are dependable, economical and easy to find in junkyards. You'll get the OD trans with lockup as well. I think the basic 3.0L OHV Vulcan would be fun to mess with. There are actually performance parts available and they are simple, plentiful, compact and pretty darn robust. A turbo 3.0L Vulcan would be fun as well. The 3.0L Duratec DOHC V6 is mazda based, has an aluminum block and should also be reasonably easy to find out of a wrecked Taurus. I had an '02 Taurus SES with the 3.0L DOHC.......it was a great engine. I could run with most any car on the road, and drove it to 150K miles without issue. Just a couple things to think about.

[kumalaba]

bp for sale from wis. from guy who just crashed his car (mckabe)buy the whole thing & put it in your car!

[hamburglar]

I always thought a SHO-gun style swap would be cool if you used a standard Taurus driveline.

You make baby jesus cry
SHO's can be had dirt cheap and the engines aren't that complicated. Also only manual available other than SHO is the real old school 4 banger 80's taurus

[blkfordsedan]

LOL, no offense to the SHO V6. They are a great engine, but around here they are almost extinct (not many sold here to start with). Lack of available auto transmission in the early years seemed to hurt sales in this area. When you do see one for sale, it's typically cheap....but that's because it has mechanical issues (with either the motor or manual trans) and needs repair. Plus, the ones still around have been rode hard and put way wet. Complicated was maybe a poor choice of words....I should have said "more sophisticated". Everything I've read or heard about them is that they can be finicky in terms of the valvetrain and maintenance.

I just think the 3.0L DOHC Duratec with an ATX would make a great "no frills" swap. It wouldn't be as fast or have all the glamour of an SHO/MTX swap, be it would still provide 200hp with great DD charateristics and low maintenance. Plus, there's a ton more of the 3.0L Duratecs that were produced in all types of vehicles. I also think an ATX would be great in a RWD Festy...just want to be sure to us a late model trans due to torque conveter issues with the early models.

As for the 3.0L OHV Vulcan, I think it would be fun to build one up with a choppy idle cam, ported heads, etc.. Part of me likes the idea of the "old school" OHV design. I'm not sure if you could adapt a carb, (I think they were all EFI) or what engine management would be required.

[getnpsi]

Why does it have to be a ford engine? If the engine is going in the back its going to be the same work no matter what you pick. If Damkid was for hire...

kumalaba has a point. You have a guy closeby with a wrecked swap, a really nice one.

[fastivaB6TG25MR]

do a rear mount BP+T... ive been wanting to do one for a while now... torque steer at 100mph is gettin old really fast...

[blkfordsedan]

Doesn't have to be a Ford engine............Mazda or Kia would be OK as well, LOL.

I think using a Taurus front assy would be viable, since some on here have already done the SHO swap and there would be some practical experience to draw upon.

Then again, if you could find a wrecked '95+ FWD Lincoln Continental with the 32V DOHC 4.6L V8......Hmmmm.........add a centri and some tuning and have 400+ rwhp Festy.

[nitrofarm]

So what's wrong with a BP swap? Cheap, easily found parts and have been proven to work.

Its a great combo,but I'm just worried about the budget. This isnt ruled out for sure.

No budget and you want rear assemblies. Dont want to sound harch but you're in for a surprise.
to keep the cost down (by down I mean less - because its gonna cost you anyway) is by having a crapload of tools , knowledge and fabrication skills.

I dont think your harsh Bro. I'm gonna try using the torsion bar like a swing arm. And I have a little of each item you listed.But if you talk to my wife.She will tell you I have WAAAAAAY more tools than skills.

I always thought a SHO-gun style swap would be cool if you used a standard Taurus driveline. The SHO V6 is a wonderful motor, but can be hard to find and is somewhat complicated......however, what about the standard 3.0L Vulcan V6 or better yet, the 200hp Duratec DOHC V6 (Mazda based). Both of these are dependable, economical and easy to find in junkyards. You'll get the OD trans with lockup as well. I think the basic 3.0L OHV Vulcan would be fun to mess with. There are actually performance parts available and they are simple, plentiful, compact and pretty darn robust. A turbo 3.0L Vulcan would be fun as well. The 3.0L Duratec DOHC V6 is mazda based, has an aluminum block and should also be reasonably easy to find out of a wrecked Taurus. I had an '02 Taurus SES with the 3.0L DOHC.......it was a great engine. I could run with most any car on the road, and drove it to 150K miles without issue. Just a couple things to think about.

Yes a Short wheel based V6 is really a good thing for sure. I owned new 94ranger with the V-6 . Its got some Yank.The 3.0 Duratech is a great point.You got me thinking.

bp for sale from wis. from guy who just crashed his car (mckabe)buy the whole thing & put it in your car!

WHAT???? I'll have to call him! Please tell me he's OK?! That sucks!

Why does it have to be a ford engine? If the engine is going in the back its going to be the same work no matter what you pick. If Damkid was for hire...

kumalaba has a point. You have a guy closeby with a wrecked swap, a really nice one.

I'm not FORD loyal only. Just Kind of.:p

do a rear mount BP+T... ive been wanting to do one for a while now... torque steer at 100mph is gettin old really fast...

I would love to,just worried about my budget with Turbo-ing.Thats all.
Gotta fly for now.Time for another 12 hr shift in the Coal Mine drool

[getnpsi]

Should get a running list of all aluminum v6/v8 engines no matter their makes

1)availability and price
2)how reliable in stock form (150k miles doesnt hold you back)
3)weight of engine and transfercase/transaxle:refer to #1 again lol

The svt contour 2.5 engine is about the same as the taurus 3.0. Owners swap the 2.5 heads over onto a taurus short block for some extra oomph

Im not a VW guy, where would a vr6 engine play in this?

[timmay89]

I have to agree with all of the BP suggestions. It really is a cheap option to do a front mount BP engine. It there is alot of support for doing the mod, so it doesn't require too much knowledge.