iDave2g

Hi. New to the forums, been looking for a good active forum. hopefully this is the one!

Anyway.. Doing an engine swap. I currently have the stock 289 automatic with a couple after market items, headers etc. I want to put a newer 5.0 in it. Hoping to find a wrecked (RIP) Mustang that I could take the engine/transmission out of. Maybe even the air con.

What would be needed for this swap?
I know the drive line, read diff. Not sure on the length for a drive line though.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

P.S I only know of Mustangs Plus currently, if you have a better website/place to buy from, would love that too.

Thank you!
Dave

HOSS429

sounds like you already have a nice car .. why change it ? a 302 is only a tiny bit bigger than a 289 and not necessarily better ..

iDave2g

I want it to be quicker off the line. There is also a knock coming from the bottom of the engine. Still trying to figure that out, but my car is in California while I'm in Germany at the moment. Going home on leave in a couple months.

HOSS429

stoker motors are the way to go then .. 347 or 363 or even a bigger 351 windsor based motor ,, they can go up to 427 cubes .. save you muster out pay for a big gun ...

iDave2g

How much do they normally go for? And do you have a link?

HOSS429

ebay is your friend ...

iDave2g

One other thing is my thermostat housing always leaks, replaced it a couple times. Any ideas?

HOSS429

if you have a chrome one it will always leak .. you mite try and double the gaskets ..it is very hard to get the thermostat to stay in place while you install the housing ..you mite try and glue the thermostat in place with 3M yellow adhesive before you install it ..

Dyno68FB

Dave..so I got my hands on a 69 Windsor and called Daymon at RPM machine in UT. We went through my engine over the phone and talked about how much I wanted to spend and what I was looking to get out of the engine. The net net was about $3200 to blue print me a 408 stroker with 482 hp at 500 foot lbs.

I wanted to build a reliable driver with some power and stay on pump gas. They blue printed the engine, put together the parts list, balanced the engine and shipped it out to me. Daymon provided everything but the block n cam shaft. In my option this is a great was to build what you want, with a reliable engine, know what you have and get the pleasure of doing it yourself. Windsor blocks should be pretty easy to get on Craig's list.

jsimmons

I would recommend a stroked 351w. It's a common swap into the 1st gen cars, so you won't have problems finding conversion parts (no fabrication should be required). A 408 long block with AFR heads and a forged bottom end will run you about $5k, but it will be pretty much bulletproof.

If you want to stay with a 302 block, you can get a 331 or 347 stroker for about $1000 less, but you're right at the limit of what you can hope to get out of the block.

If you're interested in bigger motors, get a DART block. It's gonna cost you $2k more, but you can go all the way to 460ci if you go with the 351w. With a 302 DART block, you won't be able to go beyond 363ci.

You can save money by getting cast crank/rods, but is it really worth it? I don't think so.

I recommend that you research strokers as thoroughly as possible before spending any money. Make a plan, establish your budget, and go for it.

05stangkc

First thing you need is a Budget. Then what are your goals? Quarter Mile, Street Car, Handling, Braking Etc. Everthing needs to work in concert. Is Fuel milage a concern. Is the car going to be drivin just locally or are you going to want to be able to drive coast to coast.

Get a clear picture of what you want to accomplish and you will get more specific help and or advice. When you say later 5.0 are you talking push rod or latest 5.0 as in current production. Lots of varibles here. Your going to get a lot of varying opinions but bottom line budget is going to be a huge factor.

Lets Start with you have. You say your motor is tired. Whats the condition of everything else. Trans , Driveline Etc. How is your car equipped at the present. Manual / Power Steering. Drum/ Disc Brakes, Air Cond Etc. Suspension Tired Etc. Rear Axle Ratio, Gear Ratio.

KC

irishn8

Dont forget about the suspension and brakes, you'll want to be able to handle that new power. Tubular k-members and disk brakes all around