kidtaurus

I have a 1968 mustang coupe with a 200 cu. in. inline 6 and c-4 transmission. I am pondering the idea of swapping a 302 cu. in. 5.0 V8 and possibly a t-5 manual trans. What things should I take into consideration when planning this out? About how much will it cost me?

SuperDave

The cost depends largely on your abilities as a mechanic and a parts "scrounge". To hire it done would be prohibitive. At the risk of offending members of this board, there is a running conversation on this very subject on: mustangsandmore.com Since this board isn't very active, reference to the above will get the information started.

mfp4073

Your best bet for success is to get a 67-68 v8 parts car and change everything over from there. Trying to buy the parts individually and then trying to figure where they go will be the best way to have your project end up dead in the water (and your car in about 5000 pieces).:s6:

SuperDave

IF, and that's a big word, I did such a conversion, I'd go to a late 80's roller cam EFI 5.0 with a T-5. Buying a totaled, but mechanially sound, car would be the way to go. As mfp4030 suggests, piecing a conversion together is NOT for the feint of heart. The finished car would be a joy to own and drive. Modern mechanics in an old-time car! I suppose that if you did most of the work yourself and did it right, you'd be looking at around ten grand.

kidtaurus

I was on the same track w/ you SuperDave. I was looking @ late 80s and early 90s roller block and t-5. But I didn't want EFI. I think its way to complicated to work on. There is so much electronics to work with, I think it over complicates things. The reason I bought a classic mustang was to learn how to work on cars and not have to deal with the electronics. So if and when I do the swap I want it to be carburated. I just like the feeling of a carburated engine.

SuperDave

I understand your concern about the technical aspects of modern electronics BUT injected systems are SOOOO nice. No cold start/choke problems, instant start w/o pumping the gas, smoother idle, better throttle response and many more advantages make EFI appealing. You COULD carb convert an EFI motor but why? If you had a complete running donor car, EFI would be a natural. There are sources and reference on this conversion.

kidtaurus

What are the resources? I want to educate myself on the subject before I start shelling out the cash for the project. Are they online or books??

agawam

This swap is relativly simple get the V8 motor towers(the parts that come from the frame to motor mounts) and put it in tranny mounts should be the same as most of the wireing

kidtaurus

thanks. I was wondering if i can keep my c-4 when I do the engine swap. I want to do things little by little because it is not cheap to swap the engine and the tranny.

mfp4073

c-4 will work, I think you will need to replace the bell housing and maybe a few similar parts. hoses may need changing too, but am not sure.