Total Makeover

[3dd13]

I've been wanting to breathe new life in my '91 Mighty Max for sometime now and I've finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it. I've had the truck since it was new and it's been a great little ride, but there is room for improvement. I'm planning on converting to 5-lug with a Ford 8.8 positrac rear end, 4-wheel disk and slight lowering.

I also want to do the DOHC head swap. I'm still searching for a head\intake\exhaust\ecu, etc., but I'm reading and researching as I search. The head swap is where I'm going to have a lot of questions as I proceed with my project. The one thing that is puzzling to me right now is the crank signal. I have not read any information about installing a crank sensor; won't this be needed if I swap to a new head and ECU with coil packs?

Thanks in advance for any help.

-Eddie

[dash]

DOHC conversion documented too many times. If u can't research that sucessfully.... no chance of pulling one off
Furthermore, it's not at all a 'straight-foward' head swap. On the 2.4 even moreso. Non turbo... what piston$$$ ?

1st gen DSM electronics are run solely using CamAngleSensor (CAS) on the back of the head. No need for a crank trigger
Truck ecu same plug, and can do DSM coilpack by adding a few wires in the loom. 2.4 distributor has same optical disc as DSM CAS
LSRMike detailed it somewhere... dunno if his site still up. Old ECUs risky.
Tons of good non-turbo DSM/ecus scrapped, as demand was for turbo stuff. Should run a non turbo 2.4 dohc good (once u solve compression)

[3dd13]

1st gen DSM electronics are run solely using CamAngleSensor (CAS) on the back of the head. No need for a crank trigger

Thanks, this is exactly the information I was looking for and had been unable to find here or on other forums.

[dash]

non turbo DSMs use to litter the place. If head pulled from non turbo, grab ALL the electronics. Should run a twincam 2.4 fine
From memory, non vs turbo: Mass airflow sensor is different(6 wire)...and there is no knock sensor

2.4 DOHC 'pitfalls': cam gear/timing in syc + correct belt + find pistons with reasonable compression ratio
. + typical firewall clearance + coolant plubing + intake mod


get those ducks in a row and I reckon you'll have a torquey lil 2.4 dohc, to match your nice project truck

[geezer101]

IIRC the intake from the early Hyundai Sonata 2.4's works with this head swap as the throttle body is facing the right way.

[3dd13]

IIRC the intake from the early Hyundai Sonata 2.4's works with this head swap as the throttle body is facing the right way.

Nice to know. I'll add this to my list of donor vehicles to search for. Thanks.

[3dd13]

Head and block are in the machine shop now; will be a few weeks before I get them back. We have narrowed the Ford 8.8 and we're now in the process of replacing all of the steering and suspension components, installing the drop spindles and 4-wheel disks. It's going to be a slow process, but we are making progress!

[geezer101]

Those are ginormous brakes dude. The seatbelt will split you in quarters if you stand on the brake pedal hard All the cosmetics on your truck tie in together - mid blue and chrome/polished alloy works well. You're going to need to 'massage' the firewall to gain clearance for the CAS on the rear of the head. Option #2 - move the drivetrain forward to increase clearance, and use electric thermofans for cooling which is what I would've recommended anyway as these truck engine bays suffer from heat soak (down side is shifting the drivetrain weight forward which isn't great but you're not building a track weapon) I've thought about 1G Eclipse/Talon headers being a possibility for this kind of transplant/head swap but they would need to be modified to clear the engine crossmember.

[3dd13]

Those are ginormous brakes dude. The seatbelt will split you in quarters if you stand on the brake pedal hard All the cosmetics on your truck tie in together - mid blue and chrome/polished alloy works well. You're going to need to 'massage' the firewall to gain clearance for the CAS on the rear of the head. Option #2 - move the drivetrain forward to increase clearance, and use electric thermofans for cooling which is what I would've recommended anyway as these truck engine bays suffer from heat soak (down side is shifting the drivetrain weight forward which isn't great but you're not building a track weapon) I've thought about 1G Eclipse/Talon headers being a possibility for this kind of transplant/head swap but they would need to be modified to clear the engine crossmember.

LOL, yeah, we decided against those rotors, that was something my Son modeled up and 3D printed just to check clearances.

What can you tell me about the heads with the CAS up front? They are mounted behind the intake cam sprocket.

Thanks for your input!

[geezer101]

Using a head with the front CAS saves all of the headaches. Ideal for a RWD configured truck. AFAIK they are wired identically and having it front mounted makes timing adjustments sooo much easier. You will be able to wring some extra power out of it by experimenting with ignition timing.

[3dd13]

Got the 8.8 and the lowering spindles installed.

Had some issues with the polymer bushing kit I ordered. The bushings supplied for the front spring eyes were too small. I contacted the vendor and was told they were the correct number, and they had no other options. We had some Prothane number 2087 bushings left over from the '68 Mercury Cougar project we're working on and found that these are the correct diameter and have the correct bolt hole size, they are just a bit too wide. We cut about 1/16th off of each one and they fit perfect.

We'll be moving on to the rest of the suspension and brakes next...

[3dd13]

Got the park brakes sorted now. Hopefully we'll get time to finish the front suspension coming weekend. Still waiting on the machine shop to finish the head and block.

[geezer101]

Did you have any hurdles with getting the E-brake cables to fit?

[3dd13]

Did you have any hurdles with getting the E-brake cables to fit?

Nothing major, it just took a little time. We made new ends for the existing Mitsu cable out of 3/4" stock. We shaped them similar to the ends that the Ford donor truck used, cut the Mitsu cable and grafted the new ends on and secured with 1/8" set screws. We also used the Ford return spring, which had to be cut down a bit.