spur of the moment HO conversion

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spur of the moment HO conversion

March 21, 2008, 12:00:56 PM

ok. nobody is buying any of the stuff i have for sale, now i'm seriously considering a H.O. conversion(sans the e7's) on the cougar since all i need to get are 19's (sold them unfortunatly) and a H.O. MAP sensor.

the only problem is my scheduale, all in all, i'll have about a day, maybe day and a half to do this. with basic hand tools, a 1/2 air gun and 3/8 air ratchet. does this seem capable?

i got
-HO cam
-HO SD computer
-new lifters
-i will get 19's and a MAP
is there anything else i missed?

also, what should i look out for most? i know tearing down the t-bird the water pump bolts gave me a helluva time, i managed to save the timing cover, but the water pump was not so good. are there any tricks to this or just spray it with JB80 and pray. are there any other things to be conserned about? the coug's got almost triple the miles as the t-bird, so i'm not sure what else might be a problem because of that.

and lastly is it possible to use stud mount rockers on a pedistal mount head? like do they make screw in stud adapters or somehting? i'm just curious if i can use my new rockers on my e6's

i think thats all the questions for now(unless someone wants to drive up and help me?)

thanks,
Keith

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #1 – March 21, 2008, 12:27:04 PM

I don't know anything about the rockers, but pulling heads is a piece of cake. I'd go ahead and replace the stock "headers" (more like doorstops) with HO ones as well. Now would be the time I'd think.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #2 – March 21, 2008, 12:35:13 PM

as far as headers, i already have BBK 1-5/8 shorties on there as well as a full 2.5 offroad exhaust, so im all set there.

seein's how i dont have to unhook my exhaust, i planned on keeping the heads on there. i want this conversion to be as quick and as painless as possible. i lived this long with a SO motor, i can live with out the 20 horses e7's give you. my full exhaust gave me roughly 30 over stock, so it evens out.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #3 – March 21, 2008, 12:40:32 PM

ah. cool. i wish i could help ya more, but i'm just now getting into the engine swap game.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #4 – March 21, 2008, 01:30:32 PM

Just keep the pedastal mount rockers.They'll be fine.You can do this in a day easy.Swap the cam and computer,plug in the 19# injectors,and go.I didn't replace my MAP sensor,and never had an issue.As a matter of fact,I'm using the same one now with the Mass Air conversion.Are your rockers for stud mount?They do make a kit,but if I remember right,they're not real cheap.Personally,I'd go ahead and swap the head gaskets now while the engine is torn down.Good luck.By the way,I have a set of 19# injectors if you still need any.$25.00 shipped.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #5 – March 21, 2008, 07:26:05 PM

thanks vinnie, i probably will end up getting those injectors from you. and its good to know i dont need the MAP sensor, coolcats said u need one, but no one ever seems to mention it when they list the parts nessasary on the forum. and yes, my new rockers are stud mount, i didnt know if the was a cheap easy way to get them to work.

NEW PROBLEM- i made the mistake of teling my parents about me wanting to do this, where i shouldve just dug in there and have them ask questions when its already half apart. my dads a longtime mechanic, and a very negetive person, so he's going through the list of everything that could go wrong. basically, whats the REALISTIC worst-case scenario? i can see things like, water pump bolts breaking, even needing a timing cover, that could happen. but, it knock when im done? the computer not work correctly? thats all things that i'd need TERRIBLE luck to have happen right?

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #6 – March 21, 2008, 07:33:08 PM

Your not touching the bottem end, so for it to knock, it would have to be knocking now. Computers not working is RARE, and a simple problem.
Your not touching the heads either right? Thats less problems right there was well. As long as the cam and lifters are good, installed right, and lubed well before install, and rockers torqued and adjusted correctly, you should have no problems. O and as long as you install the distrubtor correctly and hook everything back up right it should be fine.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #7 – March 21, 2008, 07:47:53 PM

Stick in the HO 'puter and fire it up... Will be lean but should run... Computer tested...

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #8 – March 21, 2008, 07:51:11 PM

Quote from: TurboCoupe50;210251

Stick in the HO 'puter and fire it up... Will be lean but should run... Computer tested...

hahaha, idk why, but thats kinda funny, but a good idea though.

thats what i think. basically, i have a very reliable, mostly stock, "fast enough" cougar. (but we all know too fast isnt even fast enough

) and they feel that doing this will either stop the car from ever running again, running shiznitty, or running fine for a month then break. which what they say isnt entirly unplausible with 20x,xxx miles, may not take much to push it over the edge, and them i am screwed, cus im out of a car. but, i'm either replacing things with either NEW parts, or low mileage parts, so its kinda like rebuilding the top end? but it sounds like everyone who's done the swap, hasnt had much trouble.

anyone think they have the most nightmarish conversion story?

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #9 – March 21, 2008, 08:17:26 PM

It's a very easy upgrade.Like I said,swap in the cam (put the engine to TDC and mark the distributor rotor to the cap housing,and the distributor shaft to the block.That'll give you a point of reference when re-installing it.This is a GREAT time to add a new double roller timing chain.They don't cost that much,and can make a big difference.Toss in the computer (plug and play) and you know the rest.You know where to find me if I can help.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #10 – March 22, 2008, 03:16:54 AM

Good advice has been given here. If in doubt, definitely mark off the position before removing, such as distributor shaft and pointer location; individual bolt location; etc. You will have to remove the radiator and AC condenser for room to pull out the cam and put in the new. Bolts for the most part come off OK with the exception of a couple center bolts for pass side lower intake and esp one of the pass side timing cover long bolts near the water passage. I forget if it also was an accessory bracket bolt. However, the key was utmost patience, lots of loose nut (even a day or week before), and 1/16th of a turn at a time with the breaker bar. Don't want to break the bolt in the block. OUCH! and a set back for the 1 1/2 day job. If I were to do it over, I would have let the RTV set and hold the partial gasket pieces and seal on the front part of the oil pan for the timing cover, lots of squirm and anxiety (YELLED at my kid to leave me alone) when putting this back together. OH yes, did run into much prying and lost time when I was pulling the timing cover off because of a ceased dowel tube, though that wasn't my experience when doing this a few times at the Pick n' Pull. Do go very slow at pulling the old cam out and putting in the new cam so not to damage the bearing surfaces. This I practiced at the Pick n' Pull and found putting the cam gear back on the cam helped with tilting leverage. Get extra lower intake bolts for the 4 corners, cut off the heads, and use these as dowel type guides when lowering the intake onto the gaskets and fresh RTV (helps prevent shifting). Lots of assembly grease and a second oil change at fire up is recommended. Do replace timing chain since the original is a piece of , and replace hoses because they look better in blue (Goodyear kit). Otherwise, piece of cake and lots of satisfaction when it fires up right away! Good Luck.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #11 – March 22, 2008, 03:24:12 AM

It will be worth the work hope it all goes well and you get it running soon.

spur of the moment HO conversion

Reply #12 – March 22, 2008, 05:32:28 PM

well, my parents gave me the no go. i dont feel like fighting about it. if the cougar is still alive when the t-bird is done, ill do the swap then. so that way i can do the swap and have a back up car if something bad were to happen when swaping. and i wont have to rush as bad and have less chance of messing something up. thanks for all you're info, im saving this thread so when i can change everything over i'll have all my info ready to go.

thanks again everybody

Keith