Crazy idea ofthe day...
 

So, it was bound to happen. on one end of the driveway was my 1981 F150, 2wd, Clyde, whos been parked for a few months because he's been pulling a horrible 8 mpg. on the other end is a rusty but, until recently, trusty 1992 Lincoln that ran like a top, pulled 24 mpg with the AC on, and got parked due to the fact the frame rusted in half and broke on the jack stands ... with me under the car.

I'm pondering swapping the 4.6 and auto trans into Clyde. I figure it may be a simple swap due to the fact that:

I have the complete wiring harness, etc from the Lincoln.

Clyde was a base model, no tilt no cruise, no air truck

im excellent in metal fabrication.

I figure i can scrap whats left of the Lincoln afterwards, and possibly sell the 300 and C6 out of Clyde.

I hope this swap will yield me a very reliable and drivable setup, and some economy, something over 18 mpg.

I plan on using a 1992 F150 tank, pump, and fuel line setup for fuel needs, so that part is already covered, but does anyone else have a way of pointing me in the right direction? li've been poking around, but cant find anyone who has done this swap...

What about selling the eng/trans & everything else of value from the car, then buy another 300 motor with the cash?
One day to swap, & your done.......less time, no headaches, & an unmolested truck when you do go to sell it (some extra cash from the worn 300 too :))

The 4.6 is a large engine, and needs lots of wires to run. If you are really into wires and can work on the 4.6 when the fuel injection system has a problem, then it may be possible. If you can make the motor mounts and tranny mounts, and if the oil pan will clear, it probably will fit, I believe I remember on this board one person happened to see one in a parking lot once. But you will be on your own, I doubt anyone else will work on it if you bring it into a shop with a engine/sensor problem. Custom exhaust too.

It will probably work, but you will need all the engine wiring and if it is the AOD-E or 4R70W transmission, the transmission wiring. The mod motors except the FWD versions are deep skirt block with rear sump pans. You are probably not going to get 18mpg from a 4.6 in a bullnose, the aerodynamics aren't there.

The Lincoln transmission should be the long extension housing case, my 90 was. You will have to fabricate the front mounts, But maybe E-series perches might work as the E-series frame didn't change much between the demise of the 5.0/5.8L and intro of the 4.6/5.4L, rear you can probably get away with as the frame will have two sets of holes about 2-3" apart. Radiator will be interesting, but if I remember correctly, the 300 has the upper hose to the driver's side, and a lot of mod motors use a real long lower hose. The mod motor in the E-series has the oil filter back on the block side with a cooler in between it and the adapter. Filter points straight down on my friend's 03 E-250 with 5.4L

Not worried about taking it to a shop... im a technician at a shop, and one of our specialties is custom exhaust work. So yeah, i agree, rolling up to a shop wouldnt work, but i have that end it covered.

i did some poking around, and found a few different guys who have done this swap in 87 to 96 trucks. while the wiring will be different, the frame rails, mounts, firewall placement will be the same.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...g-project.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-4-6-swap.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...s-in-here.html

so really, i know fitment will work, i have the fuel system roughed out, exhaust is no issue, really, it comes down to wiring. my idea is to pull all the wiring, computer, everything out of the Lincoln, and transplant it all into Clyde, then just start very slowly sorting out stuff i dont need. Really, the wiring/electrical is going to be the hardest and most time consuming part of the project.

i know i may not reach that magical 20 mpg mark, but dammit, im gonna try for it!! Lol

the more i read, the more i think the engine mounts, transmission mount, and radiator wont be a huge deal. i have noticed that if people use v8 perches, the oil filter will line up with that magic hole in the corssmember, but i think i may relocate the filter to the back of the engine, like the E series vans and 2wd F250s have. Just for sake of simplicity.

I have the same though with a 90 Lincoln into my 89 Bronco2! At least the 90 Lincoln has the last of the 302/aod before the 4.6L took over.

If I do, I will totally swap the Lincoln wire harness(engine and inside cab). Install the Lincoln cluster into the B2 dash(Trip Computer functions). It should be plug and play wiring wise, just a different vehicle shell installed into.

The problem is going to be how the fuel injection system is integrated into the LIncoln's harness. I am sure it could be done if you get all the diagrams and do a lot of head scratching. I am sure you will have to snip some wiring and splice others.

I am wondering about the speed sensor. It will hopefully be mounted on the tranny, but if the car has ABS and a electronic speedo, these will have to be dealt with since they use the speed sensor also. If you are going to try and keep the cruise, it uses the speed sensor signal also.

The fuel pump wiring. It comes from a relay, which I guess is probably in a box with a bunch of others, and then it runs to a pendulum crash switch and then to the pump.

You have the main power wire that feeds into a main computer power relay. You will have to search out the key-on power and decide how to get that from the truck.

If you do this, it would be a nice write up to put on here. I know it takes time to do it, but it would give us an idea of what it takes.

Yeah, this could be a REALLY COOL writeup/howto with enough pictures & explanation! Would definitely become part of the sticky ;)

If you want to borrow it I still have the manuals and big set of wiring diagrams from our 1990 Town car.

If it were me, I would do an engine exchange. Swap it all out, rebuild the carb, make sure the ignition is set well and drive it. Gas is expensive, but it don't matter as long as you aren't making a truck payment, expensive insurance, and constantly buying parts.

I am an optimist, so i think you can pull this off. However, the older I get the less trouble I want. If it were me, i would just rebuild it the way it is and preserve the truck as it was built.

If its a money issue, and you want to use this engine to swap in because its just there and you think you will save money....beware. In all likelihood this will end up costing the same or more than a straight rebuild. There is ALWAYS with custom swaps things you don't foresee before you get going.

x2

I haven't yet done a project that I regretted, but a couple weren't as financially infallible as they first seemed. :-roll

But, if for fun/interest,........go for it :)

I appreciate your input on the wiring and fuel issues. the speed sensor is mounted in the tranny, and i plan on ditching the ABS and Cruise. As for the fuel system... running wires to a pump is simple enough. time for more manuals.

I appreciate it, but i am afraid there were too many wring differences between the 5.0 setup and the 4.6. I'm going to invest in my own manuals.

Well, i totally agree with you! if i was looking for the absolute cheapest, i would refurbish the 300. The carb has been rebuilt twice, but i would keep tinkering, and eventually get it straightened out. But im an optimist as well. I WANT to push the envelope, and have a daily driver that looks old, drives like new, and the only thing i have going is that i have a truck already sitting here, and the Lincoln was free.

This isnt a "i need to do something fast so i have something to drive" project. I've got about 8 other cars and trucks that can fill in the driving thing. This week, its a 1966 Ford LTD. Next week, it may be my 4 door F350. This, simply put, is a "I think i can pull it off, so therefore, i going to do it!" type of deal.

In the words of my father " we can always make more money" :-X04

The offer of the Lincoln wiring manual was for the other member talking about using his 1990 Lincoln powertrain in a project.

On yours, I do have AllData and access to a friend's AllData Pro acount. You should be able to use the fuel pump control that the donor vehicle has with no problems.

I have Alldata at work as well. I may invest in just getting it at home