1995 Mustang 5.0, good choice for a swap?

[JoseBronco]

Hello,
I have the chance to purchase the engine out of a 1995 Mustang. I would like to know if it is a good choice or it is better to look for a 92 or earlier Mustang engine. I am located in Spain, and Ford V8 engine availability is very scarce.

Is out there some list about the best donor vehicles for a 5.0 swap?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Broncos n' VWs]

The 1995 5.0 is a suitable donor vehicle, especially if your availability of donors is limited in Spain. There is plenty of information on this forum regarding the 1994-1995 Mustang EFI setup. Also, if you need... tambien hablo Espanol.

 

[Broncobowsher]

There are always opinions on what the better engine swap it. Given you probably don't have much for choices, this is a good one for you. Each of the choices has good and bad about it. I will call this a good choice.

There are a handful of swap things to look out for.
Is the mustang a stick or an auto? How about the Bronco?
What are your plans for the accessory drive / cooling fan?
Keeping the EFI or going to use the old carb?

Best donor is a very subjective thing. What part about best are you looking for? A direct replacement where everything is an exact match for what you have? Best for drivability? Best for performance? Best bang for your buck (this also depends on how much money you want to spend)? In the united States the current donor vehicle of choice is a '96 to '01 V8 Explorer. They are old enough you can buy the whole vehicle cheap, the engine is typically still running great, has some of the better flowing heads and intake, the EFI conversion is figured out, and the accessory drive is a great fit into a Bronco. But those probably don't exist where you are at. The fact you found a V8 Mustang to get an engine out of I find impressive. I doubt there are many around.

 

[pcf_mark]

I have a 95 Mustang engine it runs really good in the Bronco. The EFI is not the highest output intake upper and lower but for a truck it works pretty good. If the engine has good oil pressure, clean under the valve covers and priced right buy it. Unless you can get a 351 then get THAT!

 

[JoseBronco]

There is plenty of information on this forum regarding the 1994-1995 Mustang EFI setup. Also, if you need... tambien hablo Espanol.

Echaré un vistazo, gracias amigo!

this is a good one for you. Each of the choices has good and bad about it. I will call this a good choice.

There are a handful of swap things to look out for.
Is the mustang a stick or an auto? How about the Bronco?
What are your plans for the accessory drive / cooling fan?
Keeping the EFI or going to use the old carb?

In the united States the current donor vehicle of choice is a '96 to '01 V8 Explorer. They are old enough you can buy the whole vehicle cheap, the engine is typically still running great, has some of the better flowing heads and intake, the EFI conversion is figured out, and the accessory drive is a great fit into a Bronco.

The donor car has auto tranny, the Bronco had the three on the tree, but it will be a 5 speed stick. At first, I was thinking into discard the EFI and install a 4 barrel intake and a 4100 carb with a duraspark II ignition setup, I would like it were as simply and easy to fix as possible (if I am wrong please let me know).

I have seen a 98 Merc Mountaineer V8 for sale fairly cheap. I had read some issues about headers and a idler pulley clearance, then I didn´t think on it anymore. It is probably the only V8 Explorer in the whole country. Ford sold Explorers here from 92 to 01 if I remember correctly but only with the V6 engine.

I have a 95 Mustang engine it runs really good in the Bronco. The EFI is not the highest output intake upper and lower but for a truck it works pretty good. If the engine has good oil pressure, clean under the valve covers and priced right buy it. Unless you can get a 351 then get THAT!

Great! I take note, thankyou!

 

[Broncobowsher]

Few things about the plan.

Some of the old 302 parts you think will work, won't. The flywheel will bolt up but the balance is wrong. You need a 164 tooth flywheel (not a mustang sized 157 tooth) with the ate balance. Probably going to be part of the 5-speed kit you are planning.

Same thing for the front accessory drive. The crank damper is balanced different. It is also a different offset and bolt pattern than the Bronco. So the pulleys won't match up. To use the old accessory drive you need an aftermarket crank damper with the late model balance but the early model bolt pattern and offset. The Mustang accessory drive can be a tough fit and there is no provision for a mechanical cooling fan. You might be able to get the Mustang cooling fan to fit but Broncos and electric cooling fans are not known to play together very well. Aftermarket cooling fans are way worse for cooling than reworking a stock fan from just about anything.

The Mercury you looked at has a very nice accessory drive setup with the correct balance everything for late model 5.0 engines and it works very well on a Bronco. Yes the idler can be a little bit of an issue at times but generally that is a better issue to work around than the other options.

Going carb and using the original distributor? There are issues there as well. The cam is a roller version, the distributor gear is machined the exact same gears but the material is different. running the old distributor gear on a roller cam will cause self destruction and metal fragments throughout the engine after a little running time. You have to change to a roller cam compatible distributor gear (change from cast iron to a steel gear).

Keeping the mustang EFI when converting to stick will throw a check engine light. The computer runs the transmission and if it isn't there it sees that as a problem. The engine will still run, but you will have the codes for the transmission.

 

[JoseBronco]

I already have read about the distributor gear fact and the CEL light issue with a manual transmission, but nothing for the accesory drive until now, thankyou for the tips!

 

[Broncobowsher]

I just have to think backwards. Normally I am dealing with Spanish motorcycles in the states. The opposite of American cars in Spain. But the issues can be the same. Having to deal with specialty shops. Trying to keep in mind that parts availability that we have here isn't the same that you have over there. Getting what should be simple cheap parts can be expensive and time consuming. Planning ahead is important.

 

[JoseBronco]

I know very well what you say! I own more Broncos, I had/have to locate and import spares from U.S. since a long time ago. Do you buy parts here in Spain? If you need me to call to some specialty shop here, or ask for some parts, just let me know.

 

[73azbronco]

I think the explorer idler pulley frame clearance issue is really an engine mounts being flat issue, mine is well over an inch away.