V8 Swap

[ShagFestiva]

edit>> just to attempt staying on topic with the OP>> Shagstiva, have you picked out a car yet? or narrowed your selection as to what you'd like to swap?

Im not sure yet...ive been pondering for a few days. Trying to stick with a smaller car ( not a big cadillac boat) that is already rear wheel drive. The volvo 740 that I looked at today seemed like it had enough hood room to fit the motor, and maybe squeeze an s10 or a Jeep axle in the rear. The miata would be wicked but a little bit out of my skill range I think. Basically im just looking for a rwd volvo (or any other rwd small'ish car, give me some ideas) with a blown motor and is a complete junker lol.

[walth]

well...they aren't "small" by any means but neither are volvo wagons. the ford nm12 chassis (cougars, thunderbirds, mark vii's and viii's [i think]) will fit v8's. my cougar was just a v6 auto but had about 6inches more in the front for the 4.6 v8 and earlier models had 5.0's. and they're pretty aerodynamic and the v8's were "sport" packaged with better brakes and a few other things. don't know much about other cars yet so not much more help to you. but I'll definitely keep up with whatever you got goin on here.

we all wish it was a v8 festy...

[wybnrml]

The miata would be wicked but a little bit out of my skill range I think.

There is alot of stuff out there that makes the V8 almost bolt in for the Miata. Check out Monster Miata, they have all the stuff you need for putting in a 302, and he is working on a LS swap kit also. The guy at Monster Miata will walk you through every step.

[gorgonheimer]

i am in the middle of putting a tbi 350 in a 76 mercedes cl450 and let me tell you. it is a pain in the butt. i have 10 years experience an auto tech, can weld and fab pretty good, and it is still a pain in the butt.

making an engine that was designed for some totally different car is hard. a bp swap was really easy compared to this thing. i would look into using a ford small block as they are more versatile in mounting.

the biggest problem is that i am doing this car for someone else and he really wanted a 350. a ford motor would have been lots more versatile. you have a couple options when it comes to oil pan stuff.

oh and go carb. your life will be much easier

[JPT]

well...they aren't "small" by any means but neither are volvo wagons. the ford nm12 chassis (cougars, thunderbirds, mark vii's and viii's [i think]) will fit v8's.

A Lincoln MK 7 is a Fox body car. It would take a little work, but a 460 will fit in one. Mounts are available.

[Zanzer]

^^ X2 I'm working on a 460 Fox swap right now. All the parts are pretty much "off the shelf" unless you want to get fancy. Basically all you need is the K member, mounts, oil pan, and headers. If you want it to fit under a stock(ish) hood then you can get some spacers to lower the K member a bit. There's tons of resources and info out there on swapping a 429 or 460 into a Fox and SN95.

[Evil D]

I debated on a big block swap for the longest time. I ended up buying a 10 second 347 out of a buddy's racecar instead. I don't know if i could deal with it being so nose heavy...i have too much fun going through corners.

[Zanzer]

Coilovers help...a little...LOL

I'm doing this one for mostly straight line action...although one of my rules is that it has to be tagged and be "street legal"

[Evil D]

See that's my thing...if it's not streetable then i have no interest in owning it. I can't spend enough time at the track (drag or road racing) to justify owning a "racecar". Of course, my Mustang is really about as close as it gets to being a racecar as you can be and still call it street legal.

[Zanzer]

That's why I have a slightly modified 98 GT (and of course the Festy) to drive around and not have give up much. The big block car is going to be nothing more than a toy really. I just want it to be "taggable" so I don't have to trailer it and I can get it out to shows and the track easier...or if I just wanna get out and play a little

[Evil D]

I know i'll build a big block car one of these days. I'll probably put one in a Thunderbird or something a little bit bigger than a Mustang just to try to balance out the weight a little. Everyone i've talked to say it's a real PITA to get them to hook up because they're so nose heavy. Another thing for me is i love winding out the RPM...if i can't rev past 6k with a big block then i won't be happy...and that's where the money comes in. If i could own a stroked out 460 that could rev to 7500 i'd be in heaven.

[walth]

you're right. mark vii is and then mark viii is nm12. I know of plenty of nm12 cars that will roast a mustang in a heartbeat though so it really doesn't matter what you go with just depends on looks, availability for parts, better options, etc.

[Zanzer]

I know i'll build a big block car one of these days. I'll probably put one in a Thunderbird or something a little bit bigger than a Mustang just to try to balance out the weight a little. Everyone i've talked to say it's a real PITA to get them to hook up because they're so nose heavy. Another thing for me is i love winding out the RPM...if i can't rev past 6k with a big block then i won't be happy...and that's where the money comes in. If i could own a stroked out 460 that could rev to 7500 i'd be in heaven.

Yup Hooking is not one of their strong points I'm just doing because I've always want to build one. BBF's are my first love from way back and I try to put one in everything. If you want a little more rev capability maybe go with the 429. If you want to build a stroker I have a set of Eagle H beams that'll take a 70' block to 600cid. I'm looking to let them go for cheap. PM if interested...they're still new in box Add those with a good crank and solid lift cam and you could rev pretty darn high

[Evil D]

Nah man i just had to downsize my toy list. I sold an '88 Merkur XR4Ti because i had too many projects. I'm trying to focus on my 'stang right now and i've got too much cash in the 347 to dump it and start over.

[Zanzer]

XR4Ti drool

A buddy of mine had one of those when I had my 84 Cougar XR-7 2.3 turbo....I always joked about stealing his intercooler setup for my car

That thing was SWEET. I've always loved them.