whats the difference? 89 thunderbird 302 and a 89 F 150 302 long block I was told they were not the same

 

The T Bird engine is probably a HO engine. The HO has more horsepower. It has a different firing order and has rollers. The block is the same and will bolt up to a truck.

 

so just for a long block its the same? are there any special mods. to perform other than fireing order ? will my efi intake and exhaust bolt up? and what about the computer is it still the same?

 

Your intake and exhaust will bolt up but I am sure you have to go with the computer for the HO engine.

 

I have a 1990 Lincoln Town Car with a 302 and I bought a engine from a 1991 Lincoln Mark VII. The problem was that the Mark VII had the HO engine. For one the accessories are in different places and the air plenum is switched around the other way. It will not fire the injectors right because your computer is programed for the one in the truck. I do not know If you can switch the computers or not. I could have done that in my case and it would have worked because of the similarites of the systems. But I dont know if the computers are simliar in a truck.

Blaze

 

I dont understand the whole computer thing. cant i just fit the plug wires to match the firing order. it is just the long block that im changing.

 

First off be sure of what you have. There was no 302 put in an 89 thunderbird. 89 and 90 only came with a 3.8 v6. It is a simple swap if you are just using the long block. No need to change computors of do any wierd wiring changes. Some t-birds had the HO firing order and some didn't. Put the plug wires on just like they came off the car motor and you will be just fine.
I have swapped several car motors(including HO motors) into pickups and all the truck accessories bolt up to the block just fine. Just be sure to use the truck timing cover, because the water pump passages are shaped a little different.
Good luck

 

Me and my friend already tried this. The internals of a HO engine are different. The crank throws are different. Thats why it has a different firing order. If you slip the engine in the truck and change the distributor, whats going to change the way the fuel injectors fire? They have to fire the same as the fire order on the HO engine in order to run right. Because of the way the crank shaft and valve timing is, a certain fire order was made . Just because you change the timing of the spark and the injectors to that of the original 302 doesnt mean it changes the way the engine was made to fire. We did everything to make it work. I speak from personal experience. Consult a Ford mechanic on this. It doesnt have to be the dealer either. There are many people out there that have tried to replace the standard 302 for a hO one and failed. You will have to make the truck fire the injectors the same way they did in the thunderbird. If cylinder 1 is supposed to fire and three is next to fire, for example, the crank was made so these cylinders fire in the right order to churn the crankshaft. So changing it to the old 302 way wont work. Try using the thunderbird computer.

Blaze

 

Your still a map sensor motor not mass air. Speed density( map) bank fires the injectors (all 4 on a bank at once) so you'll be fine. Mass air fires them one at a time but all you do is switch your injector harness leads to match the new firing order just like the plug wires.

 

Youbetcha77- I dont know who you talked to, but I wouldnt ever take my car or truck to them. HO and non HO have the EXACT same crank. The cam changes the firing order. The piston comes to the top 2 times in every cycle. Once for exhaust and once for compression. That is how they can use the same crank and get a different firing order.
There is no need to change injector wiring either. Speed density trucks use bank to bank firing. 1-4 fire then 5-8 fire. Bank injection is in no way is affected by the firing order of the plugs, because there is always fuel/air mixture in the intake/head waiting to be sucked in whenever the intake valve opens.

 

I'm not sure whether the T-Bird motor is H.O. or not but I just completed a 5.0 H.O. Mustang motor swap into my 90 truck. If it is an H.O. motor use the distributor from that motor because the cam is steel and requires a steel distibutor gear not to mention it's a roller cam and lifters. Also use the h.o. motor firing order for the plug wires. Don't worry about the fuel injection as it's bank fire. FMS sells a speed density to MAF conversion kit for $750. In regards to the timing cover you can use the H.O. timing cover just use the Mustang water pump. The only difference between the Mustang and truck pump is the shape of the holes in the backing plate. As 2WISE4AGM says all accessories will bolt up. The intake will bolt up just use the truck intake gasket set. The only issue may be the vacuum developed with an H.O. cam. The Map sensor in your truck needs to see at least 16 lbs vacuum so the computer progammed fuel and timing curves can be utilized. Mine is just above 16 lbs and idles fine. The H.O. cam does move the power curve about 1000 rpms up the power band so depending on your rear gear size your low end torque (off idle) may be somewhat diminshed but once it gets rolling the torque is readily there. Good luck with the swap.