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project: dirt cheap

3K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  35terraplane 
#1 · (Edited)
so i picked this up today and wanted to share. its a 89 thunderbird 5.0 auto. trans is bad motor was knocking when it got parked. i picked up this motor from my friend its a 283 sbc bored out with all forged internals. heads are redone stock head 2.02 1.70 just needs intake and cam. motor has 500 miles on it. he spent $3000 in machine work on it. i dont have the built sheet in front of me right now. he had it in his s10 until he wrecked it. the s10 did wheelies and had a 150 shot of nos. i picked this all up in a trade. going to sand down the bad spots on the body and do a $200 maco special on it gut it and run it with a th400 trans i got laying around. not sure what im going to do for suspention or if ill tub it or not should be a nice sleeper. so whats everyone think.

edit:that intake is just there to hold the plastic down thats sealing off the top of the motor


 
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#2 ·
I'm guessing you live with you parents there. Are they ok with this? Will there be an adult helping you with this, because you are biting off a pretty big novice project to put that chevy engine into the T-bird. I'd say go find another 302, they are a dime a dozen and it will be a lot more likely to get done.
 
#4 ·
Parents or not- I say to stick w/FoMoCo power under the hood of that T-Bird, too. What are the emission requirements where you live in MI? Sometimes swaps like that aren't even possible, legally.

The 302 is likely rebuildable- there are cheap crank kits to turn the docile 302 into a 331 or 347, and guys are running some LOW quarter mile times w/these engines. Even the 5.0L w/a turbo or centrifugal blower will make huge power.

Swapping in a 5.0 HO engine is another cheap option. The '87-'92 engines had forged pistons and a cam good enough to make 400 HP w/a set of AFR (or similar) heads.
 
#5 ·
Got a casting # for those heads on that 283?? I can tell they are not stock 283 because they have accesory bolt holes on the front of them - no 283 ever had them.

How about a casting # of the rear drivers side bellhousing flange of the block, to confirm it is a 283??

Car is not going to be very popular with a chevy engine swap should you decide to sell it, and don't expect it to be very quick with a 283, it weighs at least 800 lbs more than the S-10 did.

Not exactly a popular engine swap, and a lot of work and custom fabrication - it won't just bolt it, for sure. Exhaust, driveshaft, trans crossmember will all need custom work, and you will need a GM radiator as the Ford hose connections are on the wrong sides of the radiator for a Chevy engine. Aftermarket floor shifter needed, and you'll need to work on the underhood wiring to fit the Chevy engine. Speedo cable will need to be custom, to hook Chevy trans to Ford speedo.
 
#6 ·
to chevy or not?

Spend your money wisely and swap in a 351w, makes the car faster, worth more and more desirable. A 283, if it is one is to hindered by last of cubic inches, to much work to be worth it and you will just wish it was at least a 350 because of being so tired of reving it to the moon all the time just to get it to go. Cool at first then lame after. :confused:
 
#7 ·
I was young once.. Fwiw,
Why not do the thing that will help best, get the bird engine changed out or rebuilt. Going where you stated is alot to take on. I mean more than you can really guess. The above posts say some good advice on things you need and there will be times you might go, wth?
I'd trade the motor for a FMC product. It's a bolt in, basically.

Why did I say that? I never got some of the early projects done because TIME and LIFE came up. If this is just a hobby, and ya can handle 4 weeks to 4 years..kewl. Life does get in the way, just saying. Best to you.
 
#8 ·
this was part of a large trade. picked this up, a nice s10, a 14 foot enclosed trailer, and a few other odds and ends for my 94 gmc 1500 mud truck and a older bass boat and a few other things. i know what im getting into with the swap its not ideal but its here. depending on what the 5.0 looks like once i get the pan off my brother might rebuild it for his mustang. the body work is where im going to cut some corners most of the rust is just surface rust just a few spots where its rotted. instead of welding in new sheet metal im just going to sand it down and bondo over it the best i can. not looking for a 8 second show car just something to have some fun in.

willowbilly3: i understand what im getting into and thats its going to take for work. i have people that will help me out with it if i need it. also not living with my parents.
 
#9 ·
ericnova72: i'll pull the casting #'s in the morning not sure if the heads are off a 283 or a another sbc but it's definitely a 283. the custom motor and trans mounts is one thing im going to need help with but i've got someone that can help me with it
 
#11 ·
Well, you don't seem to have much into it and it will be a good learning process. But take this from a guy who has had about 90% of his projects that seemed like a good idea at the time, never get finished. Most of those when I was younger and had a lot more energy. Most of my good judgment comes from bad experiences, which were the result of poor judgment. It can't be imparted, you have to have your own experiences. Education costs money, be ready to spend a lot more than you think. I mean, just getting a drive shaft built for the car, call a machine shop and see what that costs, or an exhaust system, it will pile up a lot faster than you think. Look the car over good, what else is it going to need? How much to fix the window? How is the front suspension? Brakes? It has the weeny 4 bolt hubs and axles, are you ok with those? Can you find any decent wheels to fit them?
 
#16 ·
Build a 302 with Ford AOD and 4000 stall, and 4.30 gear. That is dirt cheap and fast.

302 are very cheap. Originally fit in the car, and fit the pit your getting in.

A old freind had a 280 z 5 speed that he wanted a Chevy 350 swapped in. Bought tons of parts, all from different people not in cooperation with another. A Nice rust free 280z was gutted, had a running motor and the sculpted interior not a crack. Got the 350 engine on a mount plate with a special distributor. Could not close hood, because the valve covers hit. Engine never fit. He moved the firewall, rad support, and engine craddle. That was the first year. Only got worse from there. 10-12 k spent , ended up with a parts car for sale.
 
#18 ·
Project

Unless someone changed hoods on that car it never came with a 302 or any other V-8, it came with a turbo four Cly. and with the four in it it was almost as fast as the GT Mustang. I know because I have a 87, which they only made 5500 of them. I got mine new in 87. That car is a 88 because 89 they went to different body style. The 87-88 and some before that were the turbo coupes. 89 they became the super coupes, with a V-6 and supercharger.

You would be best off getting a turbo engine for it. that car has adjustable air ride for when you have your foot in it.

You talk about gutting it and make a sleeper, that means street racing, and that's just plain stupid. The strip is were you race not on some road where you could loose it and plow into a bunch of cars or people.

Bob
 
#19 ·
Check position #8 on the VIN tag for the engine ID (not all these engines were available in your car):

3 = 232 cubic inch, 2V, 6-cylinder

4 = 3.8L, MFI, 6-cylinder

A = 3.9L, MFI, V-8

B = 200 cubic inch, 1V, 6-cylinder

D = 255 cubic inch, 2V, V-8 (1981 and 1982)

F = 302 cubic inch, 2V, V-8 (1981 through 1983)

F = 5.0L, V-8 (1984 through 1988)

R = 3.8L, Super Charged, 6-cylinder

T = 2.3L, Turbo Charged, 4-cylinder (1988)

W = 2.3L, Turbo Charged, 4 cylinder (1983-1987)

W = 4.6 Liter, 8-cylinder
 
#20 ·
project

cobalt327 said:
Check position #8 on the VIN tag for the engine ID (not all these engines were available in your car):

3 = 232 cubic inch, 2V, 6-cylinder

4 = 3.8L, MFI, 6-cylinder

A = 3.9L, MFI, V-8

B = 200 cubic inch, 1V, 6-cylinder

D = 255 cubic inch, 2V, V-8 (1981 and 1982)

F = 302 cubic inch, 2V, V-8 (1981 through 1983)

F = 5.0L, V-8 (1984 through 1988)

R = 3.8L, Super Charged, 6-cylinder

T = 2.3L, Turbo Charged, 4-cylinder (1988)

W = 2.3L, Turbo Charged, 4 cylinder (1983-1987)

W = 4.6 Liter, 8-cylinder
Cobalt I'm not saying that car only came with the 2.3 turbo, but if it had that hood with the scoops on it that's all that came in it. those scoops were for the inter cooler for the turbo. also the 1st 5500 were made in 87, as I stated I have one. The turbo is different than the ones built before that. So not all the 87 cars had the same turbo, or the code is wrong, but I didn't get mine until the end of April, I had ordered it in Oct, 86. At first each dealer was only suppose to get one car, where I got mine the general manager was a friend of mine, so I got it. I also know that they were bidding on them at some dealers, mostly in CA.

The r 3.8 supercharged V-6 came out in 89.

What I was saying in my first post was
1 If it had that hood from the get go, it never came with a V-8
2 The car was not a 89 as he said as they changed body styles in 89.

Bob
 
#23 ·
The idea that this may have been a (relatively rare) turbo coupe- would that make it worth it for the OP to try to restore it w/a turbo 4, from a resale POV? Like you said, they ran pretty strong originally and can be made to run even better... might be the best bet on several levels.
 
#24 ·
project

cobalt327 said:
The idea that this may have been a (relatively rare) turbo coupe- would that make it worth it for the OP to try to restore it w/a turbo 4, from a resale POV? Like you said, they ran pretty strong originally and can be made to run even better... might be the best bet on several levels.
Well to me that would be the way to go keep it stock, you, like me know where the price of cars are right now. The one thing is that is the same engine they had in the Pinto. My wife had one, Pinto, that had 400,000 miles on it, never had it apart. At the end it would only go 30 MPH in forth gear. My wife has to have a stick, the turbo-coupe is a stick. I don't know if you could find a engine and turbo, another thing is that car had all kinds of things the other t-birds didn't, the air bags, four wheel disk brakes, four wheel anti lock, I don't know if you can get those any more. The car is 23 - 24 years old, parts might be hard to find. Mind don't need it but the Ford garage told me a few years ago to go through my engine would be about $7,000.00 and that's with the turbo. but I only have about 34,000 on mine. I take it out in the summer, But my wife has a GT Mustang Convertible to that has to be taken out. That's also a stick.

But I don't really know which way to go he has the motor mounts and everything in it, if they had to cut it up to get the 302 in it that maybe the best, by his pocketbook.

Bob
 
#26 ·
project

cobalt327 said:
Well, if it's a Turbo Coupe, it'll have a decent rear gear- 3:55 w/the T5, 3:73 w/the A4LD. The site I was looking at- http://members.tripod.com/~extreme_tbird/tcperf.html
said it was a 7.5" rear end?

I wonder why/how the power went from 190 HP w/the T5 down to 140 HP w/the AT. They mentioned an intercooler- another thing that will be missing here.
I'm no guru on turbo's, more the opposite, But the turbo they had used, the cooler was the problem, so they went to the inter cooler, it's big and does cover the engine. that's one of things I said he would need, to rebuild one. I don't know how easy they would be to find. Like I said they only made 5500 in 87, how many in 88, I don't know but my guess would be more. I always wondered why such a drop from t-5 to auto myself, I had a ride in one and it was a dog, on the other hand the T-5 car was almost as fast as the GT Mustang, at only a 190 HP, you would not think so. I don't know if they were playing the HP game like they did in the 60's and 70's, or not.

I don't know what size rearend was in it, I know it was a disk brake one. I don't keep mine here, it is at my brothers. Like I said in 87 every dealer was only suppose to get one, and when it was sold Ford wanted the paper work right away, they didn't want any sitting on the showroom. Some dealers were taking bids on them, they started at $10,000.00 Over list price. I got mine for $100 over list.

Like I said, me I would keep it stock, even the 88 they didn't make that many, I think there are a big number stored away, I drove mine, didn't make much since to have it and not put a few miles on it.

Bob
 
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