86 engine swap

lilrik · 01-18-2006

A friend of mine asked me to take a look at his car. it was about an 86 mustang. I said no problem. I raised the hood and saw a 93 cobra 5.0 h.o. engine. After replacing the head gasket on the right hand side i took it for a test drive. Next thing you know i'm hooked. This thing is crazy fast. So i decide to build me one. I found an 86 body that is in great shape. I plan to find a 93 cobra 5.0 just like my friends, (motor, trans, ecu, etc.) I also have a wrecked 94 F-150 with the 5.8 351W in it. My question to any of you that can help is:
-Could i build the 5.8 bottom end and use it instead of the 5.0 and put a cobra intake (or edelbrock) and use the cobra ecu and harness?
-Would the 5.8 be a better path as far as buildable horsepower or could i acheive the same power with the 5.0 h.o. without spending a lot more money?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Jarrett · 01-19-2006

You could use the 5.8 bottom end, but the intake is specific to the 5.8. You could buy a Cobra, GT40, Edelbrock, etc but it will have to be for a 5.8.
The 5.8 would be a better path, but there are specific parts that would not work from a 5.0 like the intake and headers. There may be hood clearance problems with a
The 5.0 would be an easier swap, but I would go with the 5.8.

lilrik · 01-19-2006

Cool, So if i got an upper and lower cobra intake lets say from summit or somewhere similar, would i need an aftermarket ecu and harness, or could i use the 5.0 cobra ecu and harness?

Jarrett · 01-19-2006

The 5.0 ECU and harness SHOULD work. You will not be able to use the flywheel fromthe 5.0 either, it has a different balance. The5.8 oil pan and pickup is different too, you will need one for a 5.8 Crown Vic or Bronco to work with the Mustang.

lilrik · 01-19-2006

Awesome, well i might just use the auto tranny thats hooked up to it now until i can afford a T5 conversion. Any suggestions on internals and heads for the 5.8, (bore, stroke, pistons, rods, etc.) I've heard the Trick Flow twisted wedge heads are good. I'm shooting for atleast 400h.p. maybe more, but my pockets aren't as deep as i wished.