LS Swap into 1967 Mustang
#1
LS Swap into 1967 Mustang
Hi Stangers,
I have had a hard time finding a conversion kit to help slot an LS1 into my 67 GT. I see alot of forums where there is custom mounts made, but i want to try and avoid having a local workshop try this - workmanship is very average here in Dubai....
Why an LS into the 67? Well i want to get this '67 super reliable and give it to my wife for our anniversary. I have a few 4.6 mod motors, but dont want to cut everything up, and LS parts are so easy. Why Ford didnt continue making pushrod V8s is beyond me....
Anyways, and help or links to other forums on the topic would be excellent!
I have had a hard time finding a conversion kit to help slot an LS1 into my 67 GT. I see alot of forums where there is custom mounts made, but i want to try and avoid having a local workshop try this - workmanship is very average here in Dubai....
Why an LS into the 67? Well i want to get this '67 super reliable and give it to my wife for our anniversary. I have a few 4.6 mod motors, but dont want to cut everything up, and LS parts are so easy. Why Ford didnt continue making pushrod V8s is beyond me....
Anyways, and help or links to other forums on the topic would be excellent!
#2
I'm a huge fan of LS motors. Probably the biggest advocate on this site for the LS. I understand why you would go with the LS.
But just DON'T!
I know all the reasons you want to but it's just sacrilege. Honestly you can get a fuel injected 302 set up that will be just as reliable. Hell I'm pretty sure you can even get an obd2 computer system to run it. You can even go for a 351w if the 302 is just not enough for you. If you just can't sway from the LS motor, pick up a 67 Camaro or firebird instead.
But just DON'T!
I know all the reasons you want to but it's just sacrilege. Honestly you can get a fuel injected 302 set up that will be just as reliable. Hell I'm pretty sure you can even get an obd2 computer system to run it. You can even go for a 351w if the 302 is just not enough for you. If you just can't sway from the LS motor, pick up a 67 Camaro or firebird instead.
#4
here are some of the reasons beyond the normal LSx versus SBF discussion
1. Project car is a base model - 6 cyl auto with zero options. Never going to be a collector car, and the motor just cant deal with the highways here, needs AC and P/S, as i want to give my wife a maintenance light car, hence LSx
2. no pre-90s engines here in Dubai. Oldest i can find is 4.6 2vs. I have a 1996 Saleen 2v motor with a V1 T-trim blower kit in my garage, but local authorities will not approve cutting guards, hence the availability and great dimensions of the LSx motors
3. SBF carbs and dizzys will probably not be as maintenance light as EFI, and spare parts will always need to be air freighted in (never less than $60 for the smallest part)
4. No SBFs available here in Dubai so will need to spend $1800 - $3200 for shipping, duties, taxes, handling, insurance etc, plus take a risk on an unseen motor, whatever it is
5. no knowledge, expertise or quality. workshops here have no minimum requirements. they are mostly hacks. i know of only 2 shops which i trust, but a basic service needs 2-3 weeks lead time to book in and they charge $100-$210 per hour for their work
6. Trust me, i have a 77 Mercury Grand Marquis which i kept original, a 1957 Plymouth which i run a stroked 440, and a couple of 2007 Mustangs (plus some Euro trash). For this car, LS is the way to go..... donor car is outside next to it waiting for a way to migrate into the 67 frame rails
1. Project car is a base model - 6 cyl auto with zero options. Never going to be a collector car, and the motor just cant deal with the highways here, needs AC and P/S, as i want to give my wife a maintenance light car, hence LSx
2. no pre-90s engines here in Dubai. Oldest i can find is 4.6 2vs. I have a 1996 Saleen 2v motor with a V1 T-trim blower kit in my garage, but local authorities will not approve cutting guards, hence the availability and great dimensions of the LSx motors
3. SBF carbs and dizzys will probably not be as maintenance light as EFI, and spare parts will always need to be air freighted in (never less than $60 for the smallest part)
4. No SBFs available here in Dubai so will need to spend $1800 - $3200 for shipping, duties, taxes, handling, insurance etc, plus take a risk on an unseen motor, whatever it is
5. no knowledge, expertise or quality. workshops here have no minimum requirements. they are mostly hacks. i know of only 2 shops which i trust, but a basic service needs 2-3 weeks lead time to book in and they charge $100-$210 per hour for their work
6. Trust me, i have a 77 Mercury Grand Marquis which i kept original, a 1957 Plymouth which i run a stroked 440, and a couple of 2007 Mustangs (plus some Euro trash). For this car, LS is the way to go..... donor car is outside next to it waiting for a way to migrate into the 67 frame rails
#5
Ok, you're overseas so you can do whatever out there. The purist haters don't live out there. If this is the route you go, use the stock motor mounts. Get some universal base plates like you would use on any hot rod swap. Test fit it with the mounts and base plates attached and tack weld it once you get the motor positioned. It's gonna take some cutting and welding on your cross member along with fabbing up a transmission crossmember. It's still gonna take a lot of fab work. You may be able to pick up a LS for pretty cheap but I still think it's not the right option.
A fuel injected 302 out of a early 90's mustang would still be a better option. It truly is just as reliable as a LS motor. There's so many fox body mustangs still running on original motors and transmissions. They have proven themselves over the test of time. Plus the fact that they will drop right in your car with no cutting and fab work. Components to build your motor are all over eBay so it shouldn't be hard to get.
Either way, good luck and keep us posted.
A fuel injected 302 out of a early 90's mustang would still be a better option. It truly is just as reliable as a LS motor. There's so many fox body mustangs still running on original motors and transmissions. They have proven themselves over the test of time. Plus the fact that they will drop right in your car with no cutting and fab work. Components to build your motor are all over eBay so it shouldn't be hard to get.
Either way, good luck and keep us posted.
#7
http://dirtydingo.com/store/index.ph...318e1c262960e0
These might be your only hope, and it's only the motor mount. You'll still have to deal with transmission mount and driveshaft.
Also, there's another consideration. You are putting V8 power into an i6 chassis, and that is just... bad. Oh, it might work for a bit, but... if you're doing this for your wife? Hell, even for yourself?
Buy her a better idea, already made, and don't screw with this. This is a money pit and a safety problem, period, especially if you're not comfortable with fabrication. The steering is not big enough, the rear end can't handle it, the brakes are sub-par for that application... I don't know what you planned to do on all that, so I throw it out there as a 'please don't skimp on this' just in case.
That being said, if you upgrade the suspension and rear end to V8 standards, and then put in a Ford EFI 5.0 from any Ford car from, oh, 1989 to 1995, where Mass Air was a thing for sure (and if you got it from a Fox or SN-95 body, even better), you can almost directly swap *everything* from the engine bay into the '67, except the radiator and the A/C Condenser. You'll need to get new ones of those and make some hoses work. You can also take the transmission from the Fox or SN-95 and put it in there with little effort, especially if it's an automatic, but a standard will go in fine, just may have to play with the transmission hump a little, and probably the driveshaft will have to be acquired to work.
The computer goes in the dash, just gotta cut a little firewall for the connector, and then wire it all up. Tada. Retromodded 67 Mustang, and plenty of easily accessible parts. AND there's a supply chain of coversion kits for all that too. Lots of places to acquire wiring harnesses, mounts, driveshafts, etc, ad nauseum, that are bolt on for the 5.0 swap. Not everything, but a whole lot of it.
That is what I'd recommend. But talk to them guys at Dingo. They may be able to fix you up on the LS1 bit. Everything else out there is custom for this idea, because this is an exception to the rule of Mustang restorations/restomods.
Hope that helps and good luck!
These might be your only hope, and it's only the motor mount. You'll still have to deal with transmission mount and driveshaft.
Also, there's another consideration. You are putting V8 power into an i6 chassis, and that is just... bad. Oh, it might work for a bit, but... if you're doing this for your wife? Hell, even for yourself?
Buy her a better idea, already made, and don't screw with this. This is a money pit and a safety problem, period, especially if you're not comfortable with fabrication. The steering is not big enough, the rear end can't handle it, the brakes are sub-par for that application... I don't know what you planned to do on all that, so I throw it out there as a 'please don't skimp on this' just in case.
That being said, if you upgrade the suspension and rear end to V8 standards, and then put in a Ford EFI 5.0 from any Ford car from, oh, 1989 to 1995, where Mass Air was a thing for sure (and if you got it from a Fox or SN-95 body, even better), you can almost directly swap *everything* from the engine bay into the '67, except the radiator and the A/C Condenser. You'll need to get new ones of those and make some hoses work. You can also take the transmission from the Fox or SN-95 and put it in there with little effort, especially if it's an automatic, but a standard will go in fine, just may have to play with the transmission hump a little, and probably the driveshaft will have to be acquired to work.
The computer goes in the dash, just gotta cut a little firewall for the connector, and then wire it all up. Tada. Retromodded 67 Mustang, and plenty of easily accessible parts. AND there's a supply chain of coversion kits for all that too. Lots of places to acquire wiring harnesses, mounts, driveshafts, etc, ad nauseum, that are bolt on for the 5.0 swap. Not everything, but a whole lot of it.
That is what I'd recommend. But talk to them guys at Dingo. They may be able to fix you up on the LS1 bit. Everything else out there is custom for this idea, because this is an exception to the rule of Mustang restorations/restomods.
Hope that helps and good luck!
Last edited by houtex; 8/3/14 at 10:32 AM.
#11
Yeah, like *that's* a drop in..
---
Just in case some wants to know, the shock towers have to go, the entire engine and trans mounts have to be fabricated, a coil over suspension put in, you'll want to have a serious radiator upgrade, which means the radiator support is also gonna be hacked up, and the firewall might just have to be completely redesigned to deal with that engine too. Or not. Depends.
So yeah. Not a drop in.
Here's a project similar to help ya on that:
http://www.themustangshop.com/projec...&nImageID=1789
(yeah, I'm not digging the interface, but it shows very nice pictures of what's happenin'.)
---
Just in case some wants to know, the shock towers have to go, the entire engine and trans mounts have to be fabricated, a coil over suspension put in, you'll want to have a serious radiator upgrade, which means the radiator support is also gonna be hacked up, and the firewall might just have to be completely redesigned to deal with that engine too. Or not. Depends.
So yeah. Not a drop in.
Here's a project similar to help ya on that:
http://www.themustangshop.com/projec...&nImageID=1789
(yeah, I'm not digging the interface, but it shows very nice pictures of what's happenin'.)
Last edited by houtex; 8/6/14 at 08:20 PM.
#13
Telling you guys with the restomod route, the crown Vic front ends are the way to go. Suspension steering and engine cradle all in one piece. And the dang thing bolts up. Just gotta fab a couple boxes to bolt it to.
#14
I just did a quick search and just found other forums asking the same thing I am. Also saw that it may be a bit too wide?? 4"?
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