Hi all I have a question. Can a rear wheel drive transmission from, say a 96 Ford Mustang with a 3.8 engine, bolt up to a 3.8 Windstar engine (front wheel drive)? I have an extra 3.8 engine from my van and was THINKING it might be possible to convert it to rear wheel drive. I don't know if it will physically bolt up, and if it does, I don't know if the Windstar computer that is used to talking to an AXODE transmission can "talk" to an AODE transmission.
Anyone have any knowledge on this subject?
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66 Coupe - CandyApple Red, 2 barrel 289, C4.
66 Coupe - (father-daughter project). Tangier Orange, 302 with AOD, 17 inch Bullit wheels.
69 F-100 - 351c. Emerald Green Metallic paint. Still "in progress".
68 Barracuda - Rusted out project. 318 in the frame rails for now. Maybe a 360 in the future.
00 Mustang - (son's car) V6, 18 inch Saleen wheels.
If you are taking an engine from a windstar and putting into a mustang, it should bolt up to the mustang transmission, then it should match up with no problem. If you are wanting to convert the van to a RWD, it would require a lot of modifications. I am not sure which way you are trying to go. But if you are putting the windstar engine into your mustang, you should keep the computer from the mustang.
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'67 coupe, restomod with 5.0 EFI from '91 GT, GT-40P heads, Explorer intakes. Future plans, 306 forged eagle kit, Kenne Bell supercharger. Current status: On hold til the credit cards get under control.
You "can" make it work, but you "can" make "anything" work.
None of the accessories will bolt up, and you will have problems of all shapes and sizes.
There is a reason they're labelled FWD and RWD on the block!!
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Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,his upper rooms by injustice,making his countrymen work for nothing...Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?Did not your father have food and drink?He did what was right and just,so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy,and so all went well...But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain,on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. Jer 22:13, 15-17
To clarify, I was not trying to turn my Windstar into RWD, and I was not trying to replace a Mustang 3.8 block with a Windstar 3.8 block.
What I have is a Windstar that had a blown engine (blown head gasket, 208,000 miles on the motor), so I bought a rebuilt 3.8 motor for it. I kept the original engine, it already has all the accessories that is not an issue.
I also have a 66 Mustang with no motor or transmission that I am going to rebuilt with my 14 year old son. We just started it last week. Now I do have 2 spare V8 engines, one is a 289 from a 67, the other is a 302 from an 83 Cougar. But I really don't want to give a 16 year old a V8 Mustang, so my original thought was to build up a 200 inch 6 cylinder.
But having that Windstar motor laying around got me to thinking how cool that would be to stick in there. I mean whats the coolest thing you can do with an old Mustang; convert it to late model fuel injection. So it would be cool from that standpoint, and yet it would still be a 6 cylinder, so the best of both worlds from my point of view.
But if I can't put a regular RWD transmission on this FWD block then it's not going to work, and I'm not going to waste any money rebuilding the 3.8. Will just stick with the original plan of building up a 200 I guess.
Thanks everyone for your advice!
John
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66 Coupe - CandyApple Red, 2 barrel 289, C4.
66 Coupe - (father-daughter project). Tangier Orange, 302 with AOD, 17 inch Bullit wheels.
69 F-100 - 351c. Emerald Green Metallic paint. Still "in progress".
68 Barracuda - Rusted out project. 318 in the frame rails for now. Maybe a 360 in the future.
00 Mustang - (son's car) V6, 18 inch Saleen wheels.
Check the local junk yards, a donar mustang (or similar) with a 3.8, transmission, and computer should be readily available and relitavely cheap. Good luck with your project.
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'67 coupe, restomod with 5.0 EFI from '91 GT, GT-40P heads, Explorer intakes. Future plans, 306 forged eagle kit, Kenne Bell supercharger. Current status: On hold til the credit cards get under control.
Can you convert a 3.8 FWD to RWD? 
