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I am thinking about purchasing a 1952 F1 to be my daily driver for the 5 miles i drive to and from work. I probably could drive it as is but am looking at doing a custom build on it. My thoughts are to put in the drive train from a 1995 Thunderbird SC with the 5 speed manual. I was wondering if anyone has done this build before or heard of anyone with this. I would acquire the whole tbird so i will have every part from the original car to put into the truck. In the future i may do the AWD conversion on the 3.8 but i know people who have done that before so i can ask them for help, that is if the 3.8 will word in the F1. I was also curious about putting in newer front suspension, disk brakes, and possibly an independent rear so the ride will be better and more car like. Possibly using parts from the tbird, but i dont know what would be best. I had a tbird sc as my first car and i still miss the torque and the sound that that motor made.
Most of us here think the only thing better than thinking about a F1 or early F100 project is actually doing it so our advice is do it, and sooner than later. But I suspect there may not be much support for using the 3.8. Wiki says the 1989 model with a 3.8 only made 140 hp and 215 lb.ft of torque. The later model with a turbo made 230 hp and 330 lb.ft. of torque. Now that might do it. The wiki article below says the only reason the T bird got good gas mileage is because it was streamlined. That an F1 will NOT be. Anyway good luck hunting and please report back if you actually buy a project and make a 3.8 work. I think a build like that would be unique here.
140 horsepower (100 kW) at 3800 rpm and 215 lb·ft (292 N·m) of torque at 2400 rpm, many felt the engine was somewhat underpowered for a car that weighed over 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) in base trim (heavier when equipped with available options).[2] This engine was mated to Ford's AOD 4-speed automatic transmission regardless of trim level from the 1989 to 1993 model years. Thanks in part to its low coefficient of drag, the Thunderbird was relatively fuel efficient considering its overall size and weight. The EPA gave 1989 Thunderbirds equipped with the standard V6 a fuel efficiency rating of 19 mpg-US (12 L/100 km; 23 mpg-imp) in city driving and 27 mpg-US (8.7 L/100 km; 32 mpg-imp) on the highway, though, like most cars built before 2008, this rating was retroactively reduced by the EPA to reflect newer, more realistic fuel efficiency measurements.[3] "
So the best, in my opinion, would be to buy the truck and drive it for a while. All the stuff you are considering would change the ride, performance, and cost dramatically for a daily 10 mile ride. Also, you would be well served to take stock of your skills, garage space, time, and budget before launching into any big build project. You may be the next master mechanic - or just a regular schlub like me. Discovering a mismatch of project needs versus your abilities is best done before disassembly.
1995 Thunderbird would have been a 3.8L or 4.6L. Since this is a Super Coupe it would have to be the 3.8L Turbo with approx 230hp. Personally I preferred the 4.6L at around 205hp.
Something to consider; my son had a 93 SC (SC V6). Parts were hard to get for it 10 years ago. The 5-sp is a special variant and parts were virtually unobtainable then. The V6 was known for blowing head gaskets. I'd say go with a 4.6 V8, too.
I've had a number of super coupes and yes stock they blow head gaskets at around 120-150k every time, quicker if you raise the boost. The club at sccoa.com has fixed the head gasket problems and are now pushing 20lbs of boost. The 3.8 sc motor was very under powered from ford since they couldnt have a car on the street faster than their mustang when it was produced, and stock it will still give a stock 5.0 a run for the money. With a little modification, and $500-$600 into to the motor you can easily get 300 hp 400 lbft of torque from that little v6.
I have pretty good mechanic ability and can weld decently. What im lacking is garage space so this project will definitely be an extended one, but ill cross that bridge when i get to it, maybe use the shop we have at work. Its a 40'x80' quansit hut or however you spell it.
For your problems with the 5 speed tranny, its a ford mt-5 and is the same tranny as in the Mazda pickups from that time period so most parts are interchangeable.
