Okay guys and gals, I am going to perform a swap on my project '79 F100. I am wondering everybody's opinion on whether to use a Mustang 5.0 or one from an Explorer? I am going to buy a complete engine (or maybe a whole car). Which will be better for drive ability in a truck, and/or better gas mileage? My first inclination was the 'Stang, but I'm just not sure. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

Is the Explorer 5.0 an H.O. also? What year range engine are you planning on using as that would make a difference also, my personal preference is '89 and later Mustang H.O. as they are mass air making a little more forgiving in most swap situations. I have put 3 of those in early Broncos and 1 in a '65 F100 and they have plenty of power in an older lighter vehicle.

 

I'm not sure of what year on the Explorer, still looking around. 1998-2001 or so. I believe they are classified as HO, not to sure though. IFRC they are roller. I would definitely go with mass air.

 

i have a 1982 f100 with a 3.8 v6.. the factory carburetor is all messed up.. does anyone know what cfm the factory carb is? i would like to replace it with an aftermarket carb that has around the same cfm as the factory carb..

 

Pretty sure all the rollers are considered H.O. then, I would be curious what the difference in the torque curve is between the two. I suppose that there a wiring harness available to do the swap pretty simply now, all the ones I did were years ago before it was a popular swap an OEM wiring was all that was available. A wiring challenge for sure!

 

Having a roller block does not make it a HO, cams are different with the 351 firing order plus other differences. All Explorers are HO's. Lots of guys at the Ranger sites use the Explorer for their swap because of the short front dress, better Cobra style intake and the better heads. Most dump the Explorer ECU and convert back to the '93' Mustang ignition system. One problem using a later Explorer is the "P" heads have a different spark plug angle, causing problems finding headers that fit.
Dave

 

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering about the torque and power band with this swap mainly. I am going to research using a F150 intakes also for this reason. I would love to have some low end in this thing.

 

Technically there is really only one 5.0 HO engine and it came in cars exclusively, the parts that make it a HO are the cam and intake primarally but most also have forged pistons. Now... the Explorer motor actually has better heads and intake than the HO but the pistons are cast or hypereutetic and the cam is smaller, and that means that even with the better top end it still won't make as much HP as the HO. Of course if you swapped in a bigger cam you would be further ahead overall so that's something to consider, but in general there is no getting good truck torque from 5 liters with any HCI combo, that simply takes more displacement. Options here include a 347 stroker kit which would make for a very nice truck motor with the Explorer top end and a TQ biased cam, and that would run on a stock Mustang MAF setup without much issue. Of course you would get the same results with a 5.8 shortblock with the Explorer top end on it(need the rare 5.8 GT40 lower however), or use an aftermarket intake like the ProProducts Typhoon or Eddy Performer. Both the 347 and 351 could make 300hp and also produce 400Tq with most of that available at 2000rpm, while the best you're gonna get from a 5.0 is about 300tq at 2000rpm and to get that you'll be sacrificing some peak HP, cammed to make 300hp the 5.0 Tq peak will be at 2500-3000rpm.