The 2.3 in my 89 mustang is junk. Some times it wont have enough power to keep it going 40 down the highway. My buddy has a 351W I can get and wondering how tough it'll be to put it in. It is carburated. The mustang has a Borg Warner 5 speed, will that bolt up to a small block? If the tranny dont ill just get another 2.3 since this is my daily driver and cant have it down for a long time. How about motor mounts, ect...

Thanks

 

That's a BIG job, you have to replace the whole drivetrain.. trans, driveshaft and axle, swap in an aftermarket k member, buy a raised hood, engine mounts, exhaust, put V8 springs and sway bars in it....

 

Honestly... It was an easy job. It was cake. I did it

Here is what you need, Engine mounts, conversions are sold everywhere

Motorsport drivshaft... SUmmit has them for about $300.00

Cross member/ tranny mount. I got mine at Lumberton Ford but after market sell them. about $70.00.and $30 respectivly. I dont know where you are located, but I have an almost new radiator that was out of that exact match.

Keep in mind the deck hight of a 351 is different from a 302. SO unless you go stock exhaust, you need 351 headers... Not 302, they will hit the floor boards.

I bought a 90 Mustang with a blown 2.3 and now drag race it...

It is an easy swap. If you have all the parts you may be able to do it in a weekend. Since it is a bolt in swap

 

But I'm sure you don't have the light duty T5 and 7.5 axle in that car anymore. Yes the V8 T5 and 8.8 are direct bolt-ins but that's more parts to swap and they will be necessary sooner rather than later with a 351 under the hood.

 

The 7.5 rear end was used for many years behind the 302 HO It will take moderate abuse. I had a 347 in an 82 Mustang. She Pulled the front wheels off the ground for many weekends Mid 10's I sold her that way.

Made a believer out of me. As far as light duty tranny. I would run it till she breaks. It dont owe you anything, and If he wants, it is out, he can change out the front and rear bearings, If the motor sport drivshaft bolts up. I bet he is fine to 350 or 400 HP.

I did change my rerar to an 8.8 and I am pushing my luck... Strange has done great with the inner parts, I also run a C4 tranny. But my HP is light years away from a stock 351

 

Im not worried about the tranny or rearend, Ill change those after I wreck em. I was most concerned about the tranny bolting up and motor mounts. It was said that the hood needs to be raised, I thought I remember hearing something like convertable V8 mustangs have lower mounts or something. Any truth to that? Would that be enough to get the room I would need under the hood? V8 springs arent a big deal to get. Thanks guys

 

Actually with a low profile intake and air filter you probably won't have much problem getting it under the stock hood, I was thinking of the EFI cars that need a K-member and a hood to fit.

 

actually... There is now difference in K-members 4, 6, or 8 cylinders, they are all the same. The V8 engine mounts are what positions the engine.
Get them from chassis engineering, also tranny mouts, unless you go solid.

As far as the springs go. If you look at Dragracing springs, 4 banger springs and 8 cyl springs you will notice, the drag springs are the same as the 4 cyl springs. Tightly wound coils. That is an old racer tip. I use 4 banger springs in mine. I did put on adjutable struts though.

If you private message me your email address I will send you picture of the finished product. Or I will try to post them on here, also I think I have a few in my profile.

 

Sounds like a recipe for fun to me.

 

Yes.. but an EFI 5.8 still won't fit under the stock hood so the stock K member has to be dropped(shimmed down) or an aftermarket one installed to position the motor lower.

 

Dude WTF... its carburated. Shimmed down... This conversion is very common and can get done easily in a weekend. Parts needed are readily available

We put a 460 carberated in a merc capri. It worked fine. We changed the oil pan, they even sell that kit. Ran great for years till some guy had to have it. He still drives it. It even has A/C.

 

Be real , putting a 351 in a mustang with a 2.3 in it in a weekend dosn't sound right to me. Theres a ton of other stuff that needs to be done just to get it runing , the OP said it can't be down for long ???? Lew

 

Yes I know THIS one is carburated and I already agreed it should fit no problem. I'm just saying it's a bit more complicated if you want an EFI motor.

 

So will my tranny acually need to be moved from its original position, why the need for new crossmember and mount?

Can I get motor mounts from a 302 mustang cuase they bolt the same as 351, correct?

I am not new at pulling and swaping engines, its always been trucks for me though. This really doesnt seem like a terrible job to do. If things went smooth(never ever happens to me but i can dream) and I had everything I needed to do it, seems like a day project with a friend to me. Im sure I could have the motor yanked in an hour.

 

I put a new crossmember in because the stock 2.3 liter has on hump for exhaust, and wasnt beefey. They sell a double hump for duals which I wanted. It has mounts that mount to the frame, but depending on what tranny you have, you will need to position the crossmember. I put my engine/tranny, the crossmember, then set the member so the mount wa in the middle of the bolt holes. The I tacked the ends of the crossmember. It is hard to describe but if you have swapped before, you will se what I am talking about. I just wanted a double hump crossmember so I didnt have clearence issues.

As far as engine mounts. I would call and see what is available. I used solid mounts because of HP Rateings. My mistake was I raise the engine 3/4 inch. Clearence wasnt an issue, but the engine sits as high as the radiator and , it is difficult to burp (air bubles) I would either go stock or 1/2 lower. Watch your oil pan, and rack is all. Your headers, if you use them are a pain becaus of the steering shaft. My opinion is remove it till the engine is in , and use shorty headers or manifolds. I used Hooker competiotion header, each tube on the left is seperate and slides into the colector. same on V8 cars.

As far as fuel... put a regulator on it, to lower the preassure for a carb, if you had fuel injection, If you buy a regulator get a return line on it. SO fuel will circulate with out building preasure with out releife, or Plug the tope of the tank and put in a sump, and an external electric pump.