3.8 super coupe swap?

[kenny_92]

has anyone thought of swaping a 3.8 sc motor in? been looking into it. i can get a whole donor car running for about 1000$ . does anyone know if my mazda 5 speed will bolt up to a 5spd donor motor? or is there a difference? will keep everyone posted as soon as i get the new dd to start this swap.

 

[mrbeefy]

No your 5-speed will not bolt up to the 3.8 engine, it has the same pattern as a 5.0 V8. The motor mounts are the same as a 5.0 as well but they are in a different position. A body lift or modification to the heater box will be necessary and the 3.8 is roughly the same size as a 5.0 along with the blower will be the same weight. I recomend just doing the 5.0 swap instead.

 

[mrbeefy]

I did a lil research and I heard that you could swap parts from the mazda 5 speeds to make one big hybrid 5-speed that will bolt to your transfer case and the 3.8/5.0. Not sure which one to use but I think the tailshaft from your trans, maybe an F-150 main case, and the supercoupe clutch. Look over on therangerstation.com and look in the tech articles. There is an article on the N/A 3.8 installation. Pretty much the same as the blown 3.8.

 

[410Fortune]

Using parts from different 5 speeds to make one? Sounds sketchy.
The 3.8L is similar to a Ford small block, just missing two cylinders.
The 3.8L into a ranger has been done a few times, super charged and turbo charged.
It reuiqres the same amount of work and fabrication as the 5.0L conversion for the most part. So typically the opinion is why not go 5 Oh?

 

[mrbeefy]

yeah they have the same internals (mostly)and they have the same model number. MR5-OD

 

[Brian_B]

Well...the consensus is go 5.0 instead.

I think he might want to be different. Almost every ranger/BII/explorer ends up with a 5.0.

Almost every hotrod (at a car show) has a SBC in it. Why not be diffferent and run something unique?

Ok...shutting up now.

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

yeah they have the same internals (mostly)and they have the same model number. MR5-OD

IMO, the super coupe's transmission is not what you listed. It's actually an M5R2. A few small changes, and I believe it may have been beefed up a little bit to handle the torque of the supercharged 3.8. The shifter is in a totally different location, hence the entire top plate is different, possibly including the forks. On an SC the shifter is basically on top of the tail shaft while on the trucks it's right in the middle.

 

[mrbeefy]

Like I said truck case, supercoupe clutch, explorer/ranger/aerostar tailhousing/shaft. A popular beef up for supercoupes is using truck internals for more strength. The shifter will be quite a bit larger than the stock one and it will seem funny swingin that big ol stick around but I have seen it all done over on Therangerstation.com

 

[WickedWindsor]

I see it as being less fabrication than the 5.0 swap. Mainly because you won't have to change the rad location at all. You'll have much more room up front than the 5.0 swap. Header clearance should be better too. Also, you can benefit from better tranny choices than the A4LD for a 3.8 swap (same belhousing pattern as 5.0). The only thing is what power numbers can you get from this earlier version 3.8? Would it not be better to get a late model Mustang 3.8? 190HP there! And that's in stock form, no Eaton!
Maybe you could install this older one now, then down the road, get the newer heads and intake from a Mustang and update your setup.

 

[86caprirs]

I like the idea of a 3.8L SC swap. I think it will be the same work as a 5.0L swap except for the fact it is a V6 that will put out the same performance as a 5.0L. Plus like WickedWindsor said,a little less customizing the rad area.You could use your stock rad and install a Volvo intercooler in front of the rad and use the electric cooling fan from the same T-bird. Then down the road you can do a head/cam/pulley swap and show the 5.0L swap guys a thing or two.I like your idea and think you should try it out.

 

[Vanquish502]

Why in the hell would you want to swap out a 4.0 for a 3.8? Any Ford 3.8 is one of the worst motors ever built, thats why they stopped.

Those motors have a gajillion notorious problems. Then you add a supercharger, which is more moving parts and more power, to a motor that weak from the start. Can't see the 3.8 idea as a smart one, but atleast it was a good one. I'd say just go for the 5.0.

Yeah the 5.0 has been done to death on the internet, but how many of your buddies have Explorers with 5.0's?

 

[86caprirs]

When did Ford stop building the 3.8L????It is now in the Freestars.The only difference is they turned it into a 4.2L engine so people think it is a new and different engine. The 3.8L engines were bad engines due to the headgaskets they were useing in the early years.After 98 the engines sported newer style heads,gaskets,head bolts and intake.Still the same engine with changes.The SC 3.8L used different headgaskets and better head bolts to support the cyl pressure.

 

[mrbeefy]

Actually F-150's had the 4.2 also since 97 and fel-pro gaskets are a god send even to S/C owners. I liked both the 3.8's I owned they kinda sounded like a little 5.0 because really they are based on the 5.0 design with two less cylinders and open exaust at WOT sounded great with the redline at 6500 and higher with a chip and cam. Not a whole lot of power but the S/C 3.8 puts up numbers close to 5.0's and rumor has it that members of SVT were actually reprimanded for the original S/C concept because it outperformed the Mustang GT of 1988.

 

[David Suesz]

The T'bird 3.8 was entirely different

"Why in the hell would you want to swap out a 4.0 for a 3.8? Any Ford 3.8 is one of the worst motors ever built, thats why they stopped. Then you add a supercharger, which is more moving parts and more power, to a motor that weak from the start."

To the contrary, the Thunderbird SC 3.8 had nothing in common with the N/A 3.8, not even the block. They did not "add" a supercharger, the SC had everything special, including a unique HD engine block and heads, and a forged steel crankshaft. The 89-93 was fitted with an Eaton M-90 supercharger, fitted with an intercooler, which produced 13 psi. The 94-95 had an improved supercharger producing 15 psi. I had a '90 SC which I sold to my brother, and it now has about 200,000 miles on it. Having driven both the 5.0 Thunderbird and the 3.8SC Thunderbird, I'd have to say the 3.8SC blows the doors off the 5.0.