PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a problem of my own creation.  heres the deal, i have the chance to purchase a mid 90's t-bird for a laughable price.  I have always liked the looks and styling of this car, however the problem is i don't know anything about them, or fords for that matter.  It currently has the 3.8L in it w/ 120,000 + miles on it.   An auto shift and all stock.  I have built a few street/strip cars in my life and want to built this, but i don't know if i can do much with it.  I'm not totally insane, this would be a daily driver i just want a mild 350-400 hp v8 and a strong trans, in a car that can take a corner respectabley.  What i need to know is:  Do Mustang parts work on this car?  Can I drop an earlier 351 and trans in without much trouble, I don't know much bout modern  electronic performance so i would like to use good old school stuff here.  I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but i am just trying to see if this car would work for what i want or if i should just stick to my 70's Pontiacs  Any comments would be apreciated

                                Thanks

yes it can be done, and with minimal hart ake. all though i dont if the stang parts will work.     (what stang parts)

ted

if it's a Fox-Body T-Bird, anything goes. If it is a T-bird that had a 4.6 as the V-8 option, I don't know what to tell you with regards to building on a budget.

The 5.0 should swap with ease and some models came with this engine I beleive.  You can use mustang parts on the v8 engine but handling wise these cars are very heavy and don't handle well.   

You have to be careful with the tbird. 

Depending on the year, up until 1992 had the 5.0 avaliable, while afterward it was the 4.6.

I'm pretty sure the automatic is an AOD, which makes it easily buildable and decently strong.  I'm not sure if the AOD's are different between the 3.8 and the 5.0, but I don't think they are (as in GM's different 700r4's for v-6's and v-8's).

I remember reading back in car craft's ask marlan (a while ago, I know) that the 351 is too tall to fit under the stock tbird/cougar hood.

The independent rear end is also a questionable piece, and i'm not sure how much abuse it can take and what upgrade are out there.

But the bright side is that all the 5.0 stuff is there, and the AOD can probably be modified to take the beating, and if worse comes to worse, a solid rear axle could probably be put in.

For the motor, a 347 stroker kit would rock, as would some nice AFR 195 cc heads (which are worth about a 100 hp, as reported in car craft).  For intakes, try something like the 5.0 cobra intakes, which will probalby fit under the hood.

Subframe connectors are probably a must, since the unibody tbird and cougar have a large amount of body flex.

Or, if you wanted, you could just drive the wheels of the thing.  I've got a 92 cougar 3.8 v-6 that just ticked of 170k and it runs nice. (after a head gasket replacement).  They're real nice, comfortable cars.

Words of wisdom from one who assumed too much on Ford interchange, this car is not one to take on from a budget standpoint. AOD means *** just to hook it to a aftermarket carb requires Lokar exclusive brackets and cables for throttle and detent. Then you get in to accessory brackets for a V8 swap and mounts, exhaust and it just piles up into a mess. Even if you swap in a early 5.0 and C4 which should fit with little mods by the time you get it lined out you find out you have a V8 Tbird that you could buy on any lot for around a grand. And no matter what you hear the IRS is not going to hold anywhere near 400 horses at the flywheel it does good to hold 200 for very long.

But these are cool cars and if the 3.8 runs good you could play with exhaust and a few items and have a decent car. And if someone starts talking fox body interchange it applies 80-88 and even with those cars there are issues.

Go to supercoupeperformance.com

those guys are totally into those rides!! by the way it would make a diff what year and all that you have.....some rears had a little 7.5 ring gear but the good ones have the same 8.8 center section as a 1/2 ton pickup....plenty strong. And contrary to what few people know these cars really do handle VERY good

Mine (95 lx 4.6) has the 8.8 with 4 wheel disc and some mark 8's had an aluminum 3rd member (like a vette)

If you check out this site and others you will see a lot of people building up these cars and having a great time with them and that is what car-crafting is all about!!!!

You could find a mark 8 engine and all the stuff to make it work and that would be truly riteous! They are basically the same motor as the Cobra 'stang (4 valve)

The mod motor crowd is growing everyday and they are proving to be VERY fast with little help

JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!! You won't regret it

Check out cool cats message board or just search for fox t-birds to find out what you can do to these cars there are alot of enthusiasts on the net the mods you can do to these cars is neverending and its not a bellybutton mustang

http://pub5.ezboard.com/bfoxthunderbirds