want to swap in a 360

[jmaley]

hey guys i have a 88 rwd d 50 with a 5speed manual 2.6 liter carbureted engine. i want to know what exactly all that i would need. i am just starting to work on cars so i am learning, also i have my dad to help, but he doesn't know much about my car. can you guys basically give me a list and me and my dad can put it together.

[pennyman1]

Before you go hacking up the truck, why do you want to put in a 360? Is the current motor dead?

[jmaley]

the current motor is fine, but i want more performance. i looked everywhere for a donor conquest to turbo charge it, but i cant find anything. i asked my dad what he thought of helping me swap engines and he is all for it.

[Fordubishi]

Don't take a project on like that unless you know how to fabricate and know how to use a welder or are willing to take the time to learn those skills. Look at some of the V-8 builds on the forum and you can see it's not just a "I'll drop in V8" like in a Chevy S-10. Out of the Big 3 the Small Block Ford's are the easiest to drop in with minimal fab work. You could also look at something like a Lexus 4.0L V-8 but you would be stuck with an automatic trans. I'm not telling you not to do it but it might be something beyond your current skill level. Don't let that stop you either as even when something doesn't go right you learn from that too.

[dash]

always selling starquest parts on here http://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?showforum=21
info scattered around that forum
or try here; http://starquest.i-x.net/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=f2314126710b8f82879dd83f2b4fa7fe
ez straight-foward conversion, but..... u gotta put some effort into research

[dash]

a few options for adapting various manual boxes behind the lexus 1UZ v8 also

[jmaley]

I can do a ford small block. Any idea where I can get one for a decent price

[Fordubishi]

If you are looking for a sbf look at something out of an 85 to 93. You can find a roller engine out of a Mustang or 89-92 Lincoln,LTD,Crown Vic. The 90-92 Lincoln Town Car was the highest HP of the 5.0L at 240. You can also find them in some of the later Explorers and they had the best heads. When looking for a engine find a car with lower mileage that was in a accident and was written off as you know the car was running at the time. You should be able to get and engine and trans for $500-$750 as there are millions of them around.

[jmaley]

one more question. can i turbo charge the ford engine?

[geezer101]

You can turbo anything - it all comes down to the bucks. And if you're sensible about setting it up you can pull huge power and it will be a daily, reliable driver that won't try to kill you.

[Fordubishi]

Yep you can turbo a SBF up to around 600hp then you need to go to an aftermarket block. The internals will easily handle 450-500hp with either a single turbo or a twin set up.Friend had a 88 Mustang with a Incon Twin Turbo set up and was pushing 482 rwhp and would run low 10's all night long. He ran that set up for 5 years with no problems till he built a 1200hp engine for the car.

You can get a nice kit from E-bay as well, The turbo's aren't great but all the piping and intercooler stuff is pretty good for the price. If you want to do the swap you will have to go with either EFI or a Turbo carbarator. Factory MPFI from a 90-93 Mustang would be the way to go if you are up to rewiring the truck.If not then any of the aftermarket EFI systems will work. I have the MSD Atomic system on mine but Holley and Edelbrock have them as well (around $2400) or a Turbo Carb (around $1000)

[pennyman1]

If you end up swapping out the motor and tranny, let me know - I maybe interested in them - I am in Pittsburgh, so getting them is easy.

[340D]

I started out with a 360/380 hp crate motor with block hugger headers in my 1980 D50. Then I built a 340 with a 3.79 stroke crank motor (394 ci) and put in it , I built 1 7/8 headers for it. You need some welding skills for the motor mounts and I had to cut the trans tunnel for the 727 trans. But I made a new one out of sheet metal that bolts back in place. Really you only need to make new motor mounts.

[pennyman1]

There is also a guy in Glassport selling a Conquest and plenty of parts to build at least 2 more motors - look under Conquest - its the only one there.