beasting up a 3.8!

Topic: beasting up a 3.8! (Read 4665 times) previous topic - next topic

beasting up a 3.8!

February 03, 2012, 07:10:09 PM

so i have a 1986 3.8L CFI V6 Thunderbird. now i know alot of people think its a stinky turd and not work squat but i like the little motor good on gas and hasn't let me down yet. so what i wanted to know is what can i do to her to get a few more horses like headers or something idk. i believe sarjxxx had a thread a few months ago about headers off a 94-95 v6 pony would fit but he has a newer motor so im not sure if it will work with mine

what i was thinking is doing a 5 lug swap off a 95 pony and swaping out the entire rear end with better gears then getting maybe some headers and a dual exhaust what else can i do? thanks :)

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #1 – February 03, 2012, 08:19:01 PM

Hey, unfortunately, as I found out, that year and earlier block is just about the weakest version they made. But, before it blows up, you can certainly have some fun with it. Except in California. the manifolds he listed should work fine on yours, same heads I believe, but you may end up with clearance issues like he did. If your bird was older, and not in Cali, I would have said swap the heads and manifolds(Intake/exhaust) and enjoy, but I'm not thinking that's not an option, especially not with CFI. Mine was carbureted originally, so I got lucky.

Definitely do the brake swap all the way around, and go for a 3:73 rear axle gear, more if you are unconcerned about highway mileage. Mine was very happy with those and a 3 Speed automatic.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #2 – February 03, 2012, 09:05:51 PM

unfortunately, being CFI, you're very limited to what you can do.. i did a ton of research on CFI 5.0's for a member here and the stock CFI eec's are VERY touchy

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #3 – February 03, 2012, 09:26:51 PM

Unless you just want to spend money just to play around.... I wouldn't bother trying to make it any faster. been there.... just cruise it "as is", and call it a year

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #4 – February 04, 2012, 12:34:37 AM

okay haha well ill go with the 5 lug and gears and call it a day for now until i can se enough for a 5.0 swap :D thanks for the help

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #5 – February 04, 2012, 11:26:55 AM

Put in two new O2 sensors if they haven't been replaced. Made a world of difference in mine.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #6 – February 04, 2012, 03:32:30 PM

cool thanks for the heads up

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #7 – February 21, 2012, 11:03:25 PM

3.8CFI? don't even bother, if you must, and you're hell bent, swap over heads cam, intake, EEC and harness from a 4.2 out of a freestar. there's actually some pretty nasty cams out there for the 4.2.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #8 – February 22, 2012, 11:35:17 AM

Quote from: Base92;379694

so i have a 1986 3.8L CFI V6 Thunderbird. now i know alot of people think its a stinky turd and not work squat but i like the little motor good on gas and hasn't let me down yet. so what i wanted to know is what can i do to her to get a few more horses like headers or something idk. i believe sarjxxx had a thread a few months ago about headers off a 94-95 v6 pony would fit but he has a newer motor so im not sure if it will work with mine

what i was thinking is doing a 5 lug swap off a 95 pony and swaping out the entire rear end with better gears then getting maybe some headers and a dual exhaust what else can i do? thanks :)

I do have a set of headers for sale for free. Cost of shipping and their yours. With my car they were going to require a bit of machining/shaping one one side to clear the strut tower though. Also they have the 1-5/8" collectors. This is why I'm giving them away. Probably would only gain a negligible amount of hp but they'll no doubt flow better than those log manifolds and they'll look cooler;) As for the CFI 3.8 it can be a mean mother, blackcougar3.8 built his up and was making some pretty surprising numbers but he really doesn't come around much anymore.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #9 – February 22, 2012, 11:38:26 AM

Quote from: XR7;381310

3.8CFI? don't even bother, if you must, and you're hell bent, swap over heads cam, intake, EEC and harness from a 4.2 out of a freestar. there's actually some pretty nasty cams out there for the 4.2.

This stuff can also be pulled off a v6 F-150. In fact IIRC you have to pull the fuel rail from an F-150 anyway because its the only one that uses a return style fuel system like our cars. Just be warned, the intake might not fit under your hood. I don't know of anyone doing it to a fox car, but it absolutely will not fit under a sn95 mustang or a mn12 cat/bird. The most common solution I've heard of is to use a Windstar intake instead which is smaller but fits the same. It's still very close though.

Thing is, no matter what later setup you use, it would require some serious rewiring and splicing due to the fact that the later setups are MFI and Mass Air. You can use them with your CFI/SD motor but it will require some "editing" for sure.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #10 – February 22, 2012, 11:49:39 PM

Man tough call. I would do some gear, but in the end the computer really can't
Deal with much more air and know what to do with it. It's a big limitation. With your
C5 tranny switching to carbed would be pretty easy. Ie... Carbed v8.

Good luck,

Travis

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #11 – February 22, 2012, 11:59:10 PM

Quote from: turbotrav;381480

Man tough call. I would do some gear, but in the end the computer really can't
Deal with much more air and know what to do with it. It's a big limitation.

mmmm yes but again, if the wiring for the CFI v6 is similar at all to the EFI v6, then it really isn't all that difficult if you have a basic understanding of how EFI works, and a decent wiring manual for both cars, swapping to an early MAF/SEFI setup from a 89-93 tbird/cougar wouldn't be incredibly painful.That's what I'll be doing at some point in the future myself.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #12 – February 23, 2012, 12:14:07 AM

Quote from: sarjxxx;381484

mmmm yes but again, if the wiring for the CFI v6 is similar at all to the EFI v6, then it really isn't all that difficult if you have a basic understanding of how EFI works, and a decent wiring manual for both cars, swapping to an early MAF/SEFI setup from a 89-93 tbird/cougar wouldn't be incredibly painful.That's what I'll be doing at some point in the future myself.

i'm going to ask the obvious.. why bother? the 3.8 in NA form has no balls, even with a little tinkering.. the only savior the 3.8 has is the fancy little blower that sits atop the SC 3.8's.. which are a better built block and bottom end to begin with

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #13 – February 23, 2012, 12:24:42 AM

Quote from: Shadow;381492

i'm going to ask the obvious.. why bother? the 3.8 in NA form has no balls, even with a little tinkering.. the only savior the 3.8 has is the fancy little blower that sits atop the SC 3.8's.. which are a better built block and bottom end to begin with

Really? How many times do we have to go over this on here, it's a preference, whether personal, monetary, or otherwise, not everyone wants a V8, I4, or a Chevy. That's just how it is.

beasting up a 3.8!

Reply #14 – February 23, 2012, 12:41:45 AM

yes, that i understand.. but the NA 3.8 is gutless.. why doesn't anyone throw a turbo at them? it makes sense, as there's no aftermarket support for the 3.8, other than SC parts, which there are very few that will interchange (because most are blower-related and such)