Hi community,
i bought a motor from a
1991 Ford Thunderbird 302cui 5,0L 50oz, block casting number F1FE.

I would like to use this engine in my F100 from 1954 with a C6 transmission and a carburettor.
Currently a Ford 302 from 1978 is installed (block casting number D8VE-6015-A3A) with Holley (600 CFM 1850-4 3574) carburetor and a C6 transmission (D4OP-7006-BA).

Now my questions:
What do I have to consider during the installation?
Which parts can I reuse and which parts I must buy new?
What carburetor would you recommend?

What I know so far:
I need definitely a new 50oz flexplate/flywheel + balancer.

Many Thanks,
Martin

 

I can't think of anything you would need besides the flexplate and gaskets, everything else will transfer once you strip the '91 to a bare longblock.

Oh wait there is one thing, that '91 should have a roller cam so your distributor will require a steel drive gear, you may be able to use the one on the '91 dizzy.

 

You will need the front off the 74 engine, timing cover, water pump, fuel pump and the eccentric from timing gear, along with accessory brackets with oil pan and pickup tube. If you keep the roller cam you will need a steel gear to match. There are also a variety of oil pump drive shafts that match the later distributors. if you just get a 74 shaft and keep your distributor while changing the drive gear to steel to match the cam you should be ok. Basically you would just use the Tbird engine as a long block Might have forgot something here, CRS setting in.

 

Both typing at the same time, also if the 91 has those air tubes in the back of the heads you can plug them with a short bolt, think it's a 5/8s thread 3/4 inch long. I pick them up a tractor supply for less than a buck.

 

I have the same basic engine in my 52 ford (1989 5.0 from a town car) They put out 150hp/270lbs torque stock with single exhaust, stock dual exhaust it was 160 hp and 280 lbs torque. They are choked down really bad on the intake and exhaust side.

If you are wanting to push up the HP a little more the cam and heads can be addressed before you drop it into the truck. The heads are the E6 heads. The E6 heads hit max torque at around 3000 to 3500 rpm and engine stops making top end hp around 4300 to 4500 rpm. Many people just swap for a set of E7 but you need to check piston to valve clearance first. The cam is a roller cam, but is very small.

Check out the base cam specs.


Mine is up and running but I will be pulling it back out later to fix the oil pressure problem when it warms up, also to either port the existing heads or fly cut the pistons for the gt40 heads. Along with this I will be installing a F4TE explorer camshaft. I was going to install a stock Mustang GT cam but it turns out the one I had was another SO 5.0 cam. Same as already in there. But with a 1985 mustang 4 speed distributor (factory roller cam and dura spark 2 ign) MSD box, streetmater 289 intake, TBI 670cfm, speed way shorty headers and 2.5" dual exhaust.

 

There is a good chance that T-Bird motor is a 5.0HO, if so it will have E7TE heads on it and it needs little more than a free flowing exhaust to make 260-275hp.

 

91 bird is an HO motor. Be that as it may, don't toss that D8VE-A3A, that one has the big main caps that also came on the Mex and 289 Hi-Po blocks. Excellent candidate for a stroker build.

 

Thanks,
one question has not yet been answered:
What carburetor would you recommend?

Can someone recommend a distributor with steel drive gear (with link)?

 

Carb ? A Holley 570 is my favorite. As for a distributor, I've swapped the gears on two points distributors. It's not hard to do, you just need to go slow and get good measurements on the gear location on the shaft. Lots of guys recommend those HEI units, but they're big and Fuggly on a Ford.

 

I used the dura spark 2 distributor from a 1985 mustang 4 speed. New at parts store. It had carb and factory roller cam. (the EFI / auto version that year used a flat tappet camshaft) I paid around 60 bucks new for mine. (checking autozone website I see it's currently 61 bucks with cap, with out around 50 bucks, just make sure its for the manual mustang for 85.

I was going to cheap out at first and pulled the steel gear from the Lincoln and was going to put it on the dura spark distributor I already had but the shaft sizes were different and it wouldn't fit. Not sure what year the dura spark was. Other years may fit.

 

All the steel geared EFI distributors had the larger diameter shaft. Looks like the 85 Stang reman dsitributors haven't gone up in price since I bought the one I have in my Comet's 331 6-7 years ago. I paid $55 with a core for mine.