krochus

iTrader: (1)

Ive been working on this for a couple months now and thought it was high time I joined and shared it here.

92 4cyl auto notchback, 2860 lbs with a quarter tank and a TH400 torque converter in the trunk.

2008 LC9 aluminum 5.3 with 241 heads, comp thumpr cam, pac 1218 valvesprings 670cfm holley street avenger, performer RPM intake(not bought yet). Hedman hustler swap headers

th400 trans 2700 bear stall, gears TBD



so far I have the motor in the car, mounts fabricated, Im converted to manual steering. All this is on the stock K member and using the truck pan

taking out the trash


first test fit


mounts made from the 4cyl lower joined to the truck upper plates using a piece of tubing left over from a jeep cage build


this last and most important pic for now shows the engine on the car to stay. Hopefully....



so far the real winners of this buildup are the Hedman headers #45840 these fit like a factory engine combination.

Items coming up next are things like fabbing a trans crossmember, fuel delivery and cooling (read$$$$$$$)

wildcamaro

iTrader: (15)

I like that little helper you have in the engine bay...that luggage rack really gives you some sleeper appeal...def gonna stay tuned as I wanna build one of these myself...

krochus

iTrader: (1)

As much as I hate the luggage rack I'm so gonna rock it AND the hubcaps for awhile

redtan

iTrader: (5)

Why did you take off the 799 heads that originally came on the engine and put on 241s instead?

23_hellfox_23

Love the 2 tone!
Looks perfect!
I'm in for this one.

krochus

iTrader: (1)

It was part of the package deal to get the engine so cheap $400

It was purchased by someone for the heads.

krochus

iTrader: (1)

I'm discovering I have absolutely NO room on this corner of the motor to work.

I'm considering ditching the brake booster for manual brakes. Yes - No? Mabye?

gm-ntmr

iTrader: (1)

I had manual brakes on mine and hated it ended up putting the stock brake booster back in I have plenty of room and my down pipe goes that way as well !

LSCustoms

iTrader: (20)

manual will give you a little more room... i say yes...

dmracing

iTrader: (78)

Maximum Motorsports make a good manual conversion. Includes new pedal with correct ratio.

geoff17

Your motor must sit different in the bay then mine, I still have power brakes and nice big 3.5 inch downpipe going through there and still LOTS of room over to get to plugs and whatnot.

geoff17

That stock k-member must place it differently than all the aftermarket tubular ones.

krochus

iTrader: (1)

Apparently a v8 car has a different brake booster than a 4cyl one so I'm being told. The header and steering shaft fit is my limiting factor on engine height.

I would like to get some comparative measurements to other folks swaps on engine height though.

usdmholden

You are correct on the brake booster differences. A 2.3L booster is larger a diameter than the 5.0 booster by at least a couple inches.

Have you bolted the trans to the engine to see if it fits down the trans tunnel with the motor mounts on the k member? The automatic trans fox cars have a smaller trans tunnel than the manual trans fox cars. You may want to check. In my car, a T56 hit in a few places on a T5 chassis, not sure if your trans is physically smaller or larger than a T56.

edit - also, to gain clearance relative to the booster, you can move the engine towards the passenger side a little. The Ford engine is offset to the passenger side from the factory.

krochus

iTrader: (1)

The powertrain is in the car complete.

I could use the stock trans crossmember with some modification but I would lack exhaust clearance on one side.

Things are pretty tight for a trans dipstick though.

usdmholden

One of the ways I used to access to the "hard to get" fasteners on fox race cars, was to drill a hole through the engine bay sheet metal (and sometimes the plastic fender liner), which I could get a socket and extension through from inside the fender. I was actually planning on doing this with my fox swap and 2.3L brake booster, since I don't have much room either.

LSCustoms

iTrader: (20)

I have an aje kmember, where would you like me to take the measurement (from what to what)?

geoff17

hmm cause my car was originally a 4cyl auto car before as well.

krochus

iTrader: (1)

Let's keep it simple.

From the engine block (not valley cover) to the bottom of the flange turned out on the firewall I get 7 11/16"

krochus

iTrader: (1)

Long time without an update.

I've made much progress since posting last.

The fabrication is by in large done. I've managed to use a surprising number of factory mustang parts.

Trans lines
Starter cable
Trans crossmember ( modified)
Radiator mounting brackets
Alternator
Shifter

I've gone with a 2000 v6 Camaro radiator and dual fan setup from a local JY ($65)

Unfortunately the AC had to go for the time being. It will get added back later but that's going to be a project all it's own.

I've decided to write off the factory gauges. I don't trust em and it's going to be much simpler to run a gps unit as a speedo.

More pics to come shortly