question about '91 Mustang LX 4cyl as donor car!
08-18-2008, 01:44 PM
#1
question about '91 Mustang LX 4cyl as donor car! Hello all! So i've been trolling my local craigslist looking for a cheap Fox body so i can have a little project car.. I found a decent CHEAP 4 cyl LX that would be the perfect car for a conversion.. Now my question is really regarding the 4cyl vs 5.0 cars.. Is there any pros/cons regarding the two? If i were to get a 5.0 would there be any difference in parts i can use over the 4cyl mustangs? rear ends?
Thanks guys
Thanks guys
08-18-2008, 02:31 PM
#2
On The Tree
The rear end in a 5.0 is the biggest difference. The brakes on the v8 cars are also bigger and probably necessary. Other than these 2 things(which you may or may not be able to find pretty cheap) none of the other 4cyl vs 8cyl differences really matter.
08-18-2008, 02:40 PM
#3
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The rear end is a big one, stock rear is 7.5" which is sorta weak but may be alright if you're doing a moderate setup with an automatic, but I wouldn't want to launch it on slicks with a stick tranny or on drag radials. The 5.0 rearend is an 8.8" but you can get them pretty cheap all day long, and the 8.8s take abuse very well. Brakes are cheap for mustangs either way, and you're going to get an LS1 k member for the car anyway so there goes that issue. Either way, its a great starting point.
08-18-2008, 02:46 PM
#5
The rear end is a big one, stock rear is 7.5" which is sorta weak but may be alright if you're doing a moderate setup with an automatic, but I wouldn't want to launch it on slicks with a stick tranny or on drag radials. The 5.0 rearend is an 8.8" but you can get them pretty cheap all day long, and the 8.8s take abuse very well. Brakes are cheap for mustangs either way, and you're going to get an LS1 k member for the car anyway so there goes that issue. Either way, its a great starting point.
08-18-2008, 03:17 PM
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AJE racing has a K member specifically for fox bodies (and new edge cars) for LSX swaps. Kooks also makes headers for this k member. Better off calling AJE about the A arms- pretty sure you can use the stock A arms, but they have nice tubular ones too in a really affordable package, give em a ring!
And to answer your other question the 8.8 will bolt right in, stock they can handle a good bit of power. You'll need a custom driveshaft, but its as easy as going somewhere and saying you need a TH400 connection in the front and a fox body 8.8" connection in the back. Should be pretty painless.
And to answer your other question the 8.8 will bolt right in, stock they can handle a good bit of power. You'll need a custom driveshaft, but its as easy as going somewhere and saying you need a TH400 connection in the front and a fox body 8.8" connection in the back. Should be pretty painless.
thanks bud^^ Trending Topics
08-18-2008, 10:24 PM
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I have done this swap so if you have any questions feel free to PM me.
08-19-2008, 01:49 AM
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im about to get my AJE k member and th400 crossmember this week ill take some pics and might even install it this week or weekend. I bought a 5.3 with all thee accessories for 800 bucks and sent my harness to current performance wiring to make it a standalone. Im turboing mine with an s475 so as far as headers they will be custom. But it should be a fun car. Plan to spend some money, if you think your gonna get it done cheap think again. Ive already got about 12k in mine and it isnt even painted yet lol. All thats left to buy is: hp tuners, turbo hotside/intercooler piping, bov, 600$ waste gate(ouch), fuel pump/fittings/sump kit/lines/regulator and 3 bar map sensor and i should be all set to go.
08-19-2008, 02:34 AM
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good luck with your swap.
i had a sbc in a stang and i was not impressed with the aje k-member or crossmember at all. the design leaves too much room for error in engine and trans placement. all the bolt holes were slotted or way over drilled, some of the welds were shoddy and it took over3 months to get my trans crossmember. this was about 2 years ago so hopefully they got their act together by now. also watch out for kooks, they make a great header but IMO the sbc/fox arent that great. the collectors point in all different directions, seen it on many different sets..... maybe the ls1 headers are better but i would ask around if i were you.
im very **** about quality and fit. i pay very close attention to all the details.
i had a sbc in a stang and i was not impressed with the aje k-member or crossmember at all. the design leaves too much room for error in engine and trans placement. all the bolt holes were slotted or way over drilled, some of the welds were shoddy and it took over3 months to get my trans crossmember. this was about 2 years ago so hopefully they got their act together by now. also watch out for kooks, they make a great header but IMO the sbc/fox arent that great. the collectors point in all different directions, seen it on many different sets..... maybe the ls1 headers are better but i would ask around if i were you.
im very **** about quality and fit. i pay very close attention to all the details.
08-19-2008, 08:21 AM
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good luck with your swap.
i had a sbc in a stang and i was not impressed with the aje k-member or crossmember at all. the design leaves too much room for error in engine and trans placement. all the bolt holes were slotted or way over drilled, some of the welds were shoddy and it took over3 months to get my trans crossmember. this was about 2 years ago so hopefully they got their act together by now. also watch out for kooks, they make a great header but IMO the sbc/fox arent that great. the collectors point in all different directions, seen it on many different sets..... maybe the ls1 headers are better but i would ask around if i were you.
im very **** about quality and fit. i pay very close attention to all the details.
i had a sbc in a stang and i was not impressed with the aje k-member or crossmember at all. the design leaves too much room for error in engine and trans placement. all the bolt holes were slotted or way over drilled, some of the welds were shoddy and it took over3 months to get my trans crossmember. this was about 2 years ago so hopefully they got their act together by now. also watch out for kooks, they make a great header but IMO the sbc/fox arent that great. the collectors point in all different directions, seen it on many different sets..... maybe the ls1 headers are better but i would ask around if i were you.
im very **** about quality and fit. i pay very close attention to all the details.
08-19-2008, 12:17 PM
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Brake lines and Fuel lines are also different on 4 cyl and 5.0 cars. the main reason that I would look for a 4 cyl car is that the majority of the 5.0 cars have been beat on pretty hard. If a car has been abused at the track most of it's life chances are the toque boxes "mounting locations for the control arms to the body" are fatigued, weak, and prone to cracking or ripping out. on my car I installed full length, through the floor subframe connectors, and I also wleded up my torque boxes solid instead of relying only on the spot welds holding them in. I've just had too many friends rip them out and damage their car during a hard launch. You can also put me on the list of people to ask questions about the swap. I'm here to help.
08-19-2008, 12:41 PM
#18
THANKS man! thats a GREAT point! i dont know who in their right mind would go racing a 4 cyl around]
im going to see if i can see the car sometime this week.. i might be doing this with my roomate so this could end up being a pretty affordable build if we split everything down 50/50...
im going to see if i can see the car sometime this week.. i might be doing this with my roomate so this could end up being a pretty affordable build if we split everything down 50/50...
08-19-2008, 01:05 PM
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Brake lines and Fuel lines are also different on 4 cyl and 5.0 cars. the main reason that I would look for a 4 cyl car is that the majority of the 5.0 cars have been beat on pretty hard. If a car has been abused at the track most of it's life chances are the toque boxes "mounting locations for the control arms to the body" are fatigued, weak, and prone to cracking or ripping out. on my car I installed full length, through the floor subframe connectors, and I also wleded up my torque boxes solid instead of relying only on the spot welds holding them in. I've just had too many friends rip them out and damage their car during a hard launch. You can also put me on the list of people to ask questions about the swap. I'm here to help.
Through the floors and welded torque boxes are the way to go, wolfe racecraft sells tq box reinforcement plates as well as some nice through the floor subs. Glad to see theres someone out there who knows how to do it right with a fox =)
