[1978jackII]

ok, ill do it like this.

What I have:
1978 mustang II with a 2.3 I4 and 3 speed auto on the floor. Low miles, good condition.

What I want:
swap in some sort of V8, and possibly convert it to manual, but in any case put in like a 4 speed auto tranny. a little more sporty.

I'm wondering:
1. What kind of parts I will need to get exactly.
2. How much work I can do myself, and what I should have done by the mechanic. (I'm pretty mechanicly inclined, I have a good basic understanding of an engine, and what does what.)
3. What kind of engine and drive system would be the best. THAT ONE IS IMPORTANT, ANY IDEA IS GOOD!

thanks for any help.

[1978jackII]

some new found knowledge:

i will most likely be going with a 351w or a 302. 351 would be best.

im wondering, what are the options for a manual transmission for the 351w, and what is the best?

thanks.

[soad]

what kind of torque numbers are you planning on putting down?

if its not too much, you could use a T-5 from a 94/95 mustang GT. those are rated to 330ft/lbs.


if you are going to have a little more performance, i've heard good things from a TKO600.

have you looked at these? http://www.astroperformance.com/adva...at=1&x=29&y=21

im pretty sure they will fit on a 351W. they fit on a 302.

thats about as far as i can help you with the swap. im not that kowledgable.

[1978jackII]

http://www.carmemories.com/cgi-bin/v...erience_id=132

i see there that a 351 windsor puts out 380 lb/ft of torque. and i dont want to spend a whole lot on some racing performance tranny thats rated to like 600 hp... thats not necissary. the most mods ill prolly do to the engine would be like headers and possibly some intake and carb mods. but that would mostly be for sound, not necissarily performance, although in turn it will boost hp and such.

[331mustang]

I have a t5 in mine and it has a 350hp 302 runs high 12s.had one in my 94 gt that runs 11.90s .but oppted to change to a fully race prepped c4 for more consistant runs

[1978jackII]

ok, so its looking like my setup will be a 351w and a t5. now lets talk about rear ends? what should i do there? and i want to get some like 14-16" wides on the back, make it look pretty bad ass.

i've also read some things about changing from 4 lug pattern to 5? what exactly does that entail?