Bench racing. Sn95 engine thoughts.

This will probably never happen, but I keep thinking about doing a Lincoln MK VIII 4.6 4v swap into my '97 Mustang GT convertible. I've been lead to believe it's pretty much a bolt in swap. Would still work with the t45 I was going to swap in with maybe a different flywheel than what I would need for my 2v. Mounts are the same as my 2v. Exhaust would be different but I was going to change that anyway and I don't see why off the shelf Cobra headers wouldn't work. 

The big questions I have are:

1. Are front accessory brackets different between 2v and 4v modular v8s?

2. Is there going to be any drastic change in wiring?

3. Will the stock ECM run it? (having to tune it is assumed)

4. How much of a pain is it or is it even possible to put a 4v into an sn95 from the top? I don't have access to a lift to drop the subframe out from the bottom. I know the 2v is huge and the 4v has even bigger heads.

But again this is all just me thinking crazy and I probably won't ever actually do anything but stick with my stock 2v until it finally gives up, which probably won't happen any time soon unless I do something really stupid.

The accessories and timing chain covers change quite a bit from year to year and model to model.

I'd treat it as an engine swap, meaning expect to do a bunch of fabbing and fiddling.  If you can find SN95 Cobra accessory bits, that should smooth things.

I haven't ever tried to take a 4V out the top.  People take 4th gen F-body engines out the top (because they are masochists I guess) so anything is possible, I suppose.  Having the springs on the control arms does complicate things, but it should be in the realm of doability to use the cherrypicker to lift the chassis off of the drivetrain.  Sketchy, but doable.  Putting it back on would be the extra sketchy part.

If it has a manual trans, I wouldn't even bother trying to install through the top, even if the trans were attached to the engine.

I cannot imagine how you would bring one of those gutless behemoths out the top.  

Spend the money on a blower for the 4.6 single cam.  Backdate to a 351W.  Update to a Coyote.  Swap in an LS. 4 cam will make you sad in many different ways.

It's possible I've been disappointed by the 4.6 4 cams I've driven.

I look forward to your anger.

Fair points. I guess I assumed the front accessories might not be much of a deal because I'm too used to GM stuff. I'll look into it more but I'll probably just stay 2 valve with it because the more I mess with it making another engine fit the further it moves from being just a simple car I don't have to mess with. Which is probably the biggest reason I like this car so much.

Everyone I know only drops subframes on the SN-95 and New Edge Mustangs. I think a PI swap would probably be easier, although it would be less HP than the 4V.

The 4V does not physically fit between the top of the shock towers, so sorry but, bottom only.

There are differences between Romeo and Windsor 2V's, non-PI and PI, and the 4V's have Teksid, all-aluminum, 96-98, 99, 01, and 03-04 generations, and a surprising amount of it is NOT modular.

You will  need a 96-98 Cobra engine harness, manifolds, accessories, and clutch/flywheel to make the MkVIII motor work in your 97, and honestly, why not just buy a 96-98 Cobra? They're cheap! Hell, you can buy mine.

Ok so that confirms my suspicion on making the 4v fit. And honestly I should have known as soon as I found out there are 2 distinct versions of just the non pi 2v in the same model year that this wouldn't be simple with parts that swapped over.

In reply to Javelin :

I was just reading up on my new Modular 3V engine, the engine is not modular.  The Modular referred to is the manufacturing plant, the process is modular not the engine. 

A gear swap would probably give you much more bang for your buck than an engine swap.

Gear swap is happening regardless. I was really only interested in the 4v swap because I made some faulty assumptions on how simple it would be. Realizing it's probably just as involved as the LS swap in my GTA it's really not worth it to me anymore. Not with this car atleast. 

In reply to Daylan C :

Yeah, tbh the only swap I see as worth it into later SN95s is the LS. Otherwise, PI swap and gears seem about the best bang for the buck.  

I know there is a handful of Mitsubishi 4G63-swapped Fox-body Mustangs running around, so what you need to do is go get that DSM you were looking at getting and putting that engine into your SN95. Clearly the only logical course of action

penultimeta said:

In reply to Daylan C :

Yeah, tbh the only swap I see as worth it into later SN95s is the LS. Otherwise, PI swap and gears seem about the best bang for the buck.  

GenIII swaps are really popular in Mustangs...

In reply to Knurled. :

So the GTA is definitely getting an LS. I have another car I'm going to get next weekend that could use an LS. And now the Mustang. Before long I'll be helping Patrick find some legal loopholes that allows us to LS swap people's  moms.

akylekoz said:

In reply to Javelin :

I was just reading up on my new Modular 3V engine, the engine is not modular.  The Modular referred to is the manufacturing plant, the process is modular not the engine. 

That was a lie as well. Ford really blew it with the rollout of this engine family and it's subsequent updates in that regard. The Romeo versus Windsor differences were because of non-modular manufacturing processes, as were the too shallow plug threads in the PI 2V heads.

Coyote swap or sell....  that’s really the best one to do.  

In reply to AnthonyGS :

I'm probably leaving it stock motor until I've used it up and then move on to a different car. I'd do LS before I went Coyote.