Hey guys, continuing on my 83 ls cougar 351w swap, been keeping busy trying to get it as light as possible. i had damage on my rad support and it just looked bad, so figured i'd replace it have not yet installed it but it is made up of aluminum tube for strenth and flat bar for bolt in access and just being much lighter and better looking
let me know what you guys think i'm pretty excited to cut out the old and bolt in the new!
well still trying to get all the sound junk off the floor on the inside, started filling holes in the swiss cheese engine bay, slowely coming along just been busy helping a friend with his girlfriends g5 she blew her motor up in, reminded me why i have a rwd and carberated car, much nicer than this new junk
and also trying to organize my garage a bit but here's the beautiful mess i'm in right now just to keep updated, will be taking pictures of everything in the next couple days for you guys
thanks for the info guys, haven't been on for a bit, but i'll give you all an update
the motor is still at the machine shop but is being rough bored in the next couple days i'm sticking with c6 as i already have a rebuilt one ready to party i pick up my headers on the 3rd i think i mentioned my oil pan kit already but its a moroso 7qrt full kit and with it i've read people having troubles with clearance issues but looks as if i can just upgrade my suspention and run with out the sway bar in the front
the interior is in a millllllion pieces the dash is ripped out and even though it might have been dumb for people that like original stuff to take out the digital gauges but really for performance there isn't even as much as a temp gauge on it so its gotta go. i tore out the seats and carpet, got rid of the insulation and and working on the sound detanator junk as trying to lose a bit of weight while i'm at it too, just the insulation under the carpet alone had about 100 pounds!! and the power seat motor! wow that thing is heavy!
so right now i'm on the search for different seats, maybe some with harness holes cause i found a 4 point cage that just bolts up to the seat belt bolts
anyways there's my update for now and now that i'm back online i'll be sure to keep on updating, guess i'll have to bring the camera to the shop as well!
lemme know your guys' thoughts and idea's if you have any as well
thanks for the info guys, haven't been on for a bit, but i'll give you all an update
the motor is still at the machine shop but is being rough bored in the next couple days i'm sticking with c6 as i already have a rebuilt one ready to party i pick up my headers on the 3rd i think i mentioned my oil pan kit already but its a moroso 7qrt full kit and with it i've read people having troubles with clearance issues but looks as if i can just upgrade my suspention and run with out the sway bar in the front
the interior is in a millllllion pieces the dash is ripped out and even though it might have been dumb for people that like original stuff to take out the digital gauges but really for performance there isn't even as much as a temp gauge on it so its gotta go. i tore out the seats and carpet, got rid of the insulation and and working on the sound detanator junk as trying to lose a bit of weight while i'm at it too, just the insulation under the carpet alone had about 100 pounds!! and the power seat motor! wow that thing is heavy!
so right now i'm on the search for different seats, maybe some with harness holes cause i found a 4 point cage that just bolts up to the seat belt bolts
anyways there's my update for now and now that i'm back online i'll be sure to keep on updating, guess i'll have to bring the camera to the shop as well!
lemme know your guys' thoughts and idea's if you have any as well
well guys, i know a lot of you guys may not agree with me, but what i just got today was a t5 world class tranny with a removable bell housing. now what i need to know is what i gotta do to withstand we'll say 500 ft lb any ideas? i see there is a lot of stuff for these transmissions including straight cut gears, a lot more solid stuff, looks like there is a big market for these trannys. any ideas would be much appreciated i realise this might cost me a bit of money but since i got this tranny for free i'm willing to spend a couple bucks on it
also any tips for swapping this from an auto in my cougar would be appreciated, but i see there is alot of posts on this forum going from auto to stick in these cars.
but every bit of information helps.
i already got most of the dash ripped apart because i am putting in aftermarket all mechanical gauges in this car because the digital gauses gave me eff all for readings. had fuel, speedo, and odomotor, the rest was all just dummy lights which with a new 351w i don't really wanna take any risks.
in my 83 i have the dash all ripped apart putting in after market gauges in where the old gauges were. while having the whole thing ripped apart i was thinking how easy it would be to put in a standard now, so what i want to know is what should i do? built up a C4? or throw in a standard?
my motors power is roughly 400hp 450 ftlb out of a 351w i'm currently putting in i know a stock c4 or t5 won't hold up to it is there another standard that will hold up that kind of power?
basically i'm looking for the cheapest route around all this, i know i can build up a t5, or a c4, but if there's something that's gonna be cheaper i would like to go that route
well i'd perfer to stick with a 3 speed, but ya this motor should be well over 400 ftlb, so far looking like i'm gonna have to build one up
3.8 is just about out, ordered my oil pan kit today and motor mounts. all slowely coming together. the motor is still at the machine shop but shouldn't be too much longer. guess i'll have to start taking pictures and keeping all you guys up to date on the build, i'm quite excited to drive the ol girl again. there's a car festival in july, i want to be driving it for it. so gotta keep on givenr'
Thanks for the reply, I also agree with the cam, I'm sure sometime soon I will convert it to roller, I really like the edelbrocks and carters so will probably stick with that.
ok guys, i'm starting to think i'm not gonna put my truck together now, as its not the year of truck i really wanna build anyway but the motor i'm building, and just waiting for the machine shop but it has 351w: -shaved crank(had 2thou wear) -40 over kieth black flat tops -arp rod bolts -getting decked to as much compression as i can get on pump gas (11:1?) - comp cam extreme 4x4 cam (.490 lift, 270 dur i think? power range 1000-5300) like i said, built for a truck, lots of tourque -hardened push rods -pro comp 195 aluminum heads -procomp roller tip rockers -edelbrock 351w performer intake -edelbrock carb
so anyways, i have my cougar sitting here, waiting until my truck is done, or should i just bring the cougar in the shop, throw this motor into the car? another thing is, i have bought a rebuilt c6 for the truck, has anybody put one into a fox body before?
thanks for the advise guys, all the brake stuff is good to know. I don't wanna use the c5 and am thinking on building up a c4 with a higher stall. I want big power out of the motor, full roller, good heads, i want this car fast, really fast.
could anyone recomend what to do for front suspention? i'm thinking about going with coil overs in the front since the engine is heavier than the 3.8 and i want it lowered as well.
But i am willing to spend money on this car. I got 3 vehicles and in my truck i am currently building a 351w for that will put out about 400hp 450ftlb, it will be my daily driver, the cougar i want to be my fun car that will blow away mostly whatever pulls up beside it.
Thanks for the advice guys how much difference is the rear end? can it be fixed just by wider tires and different wheels?
i am going to stick with carb, i prefer carb. the 90 f150 i'm doing right now i'm swapping to carb as well but i'll be sure to check out what other guys have got for windsor swaps
I'm new to this site, but am not new to working on old Fords/Mercs. I bought an 83 cougar, wanted it since the first time I seen it in the city I live in, and well now it's mine :D
The 3.8, I think C5? and 7.5 just isn't working for me, and the 3.8 I think has spun a bearing. I bought an 82 half ton for parts for my other truck and the engine to build for this car. I found an 8.8 from a stang with 3.73 gears and LS, haven't looked into a tranny yet cause we'll see what kind of parts I get on the girl before i look into that.
Anyways, what am i getting at is what do I need for this 351w to fit into this Cougar. so far looking at it I am wondering with the bigger deck height of the 351 compared to 302, will the brake booster fit? I wanna run long tube headers, any recomendations? Can i use the oil pan off a Crown Vic 351?
