Street-legal Dream Maverick?

I am ready to do a complete overhaul on my 200 6 clinder Mav but don't know where to start. My ride is a barn find with everything completely original down to the dog dish hub caps so I want to keep the look the same so it will end up bieng a wolf but look like a sheep.

I have a friennd who is a new auto dealer here in fla and hes a member of an insurance auction where they sell v8 ford mustangs with salvage titles all the time for dirt cheap.

My question is - I don't know any mechanics so who do I get to do the engine/tranny swap? What modifikations are invloved in putting a mustand (late 90's or early 2000's model) in my mav? Are there any particular mustang v8 motors I should be lookign for? What would be your dream mav/v8/sleeper combenation choice? thanks. Mac

 

Based on what you wrote, it sounds like a motor swap may too big of a project for your experience right now. I would take things slow and get the 6 cylinder running good first. You going to be dealing with alot of issues all the way around. Alot depends on your personal preferences, but just off the top of my head, a 90's motors will have the FI system you need to keep or convert to carb, sepentine belt system, exhaust system, distributor, change from rear oil pickup to front, change oil pan.... the list gos on. Who can do it for you? Not sure but I bet it would be expensive for anyone other than a buddy or friend.

 

If you have a place to work on it I say you should do it. You can get a basic set of tools and tear into it. Got to start somewhere.
Everybody here that works on their own stuff started from scratch.
I myself don't see how people can afford to have everything done by a mechanic. That cannot be cheap.
I painted my 71 F100 in the back yard under a tent by reading some books, buying a few tools and asking a lot of questions from those in the know. It is far from perfect but I always get a lot of good comments on it and ssaved a LOT of money. I am happy with it for the time being which really is all that matters.
Go for it
clint

 

To go with a 4.6L SOHC engine your going to have to put a Mustang II front suspension under the front. That way you get rid of the shock towers and have tons of room. I did this on My Maverick and Im going to run a 99 and up Mustang GT drive train w/a 5 speed when I find one for a decent price.

If you just want to swap a 302 its not that difficult but you will need the 302 frame mounts a V8 belly bar and a few other things Im sure I forgot.

Where are you at in FL?

 

That's a lot to bite off. It sound like this might be your first big project. Think you should get the 6 cyl going first and take some time to learn the issues you're going to deal with. There's a tech article on this forum that will give you an idea of what you're biting off. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

Agreed!!!!

 

what they said. getting it running as is gives you something to drive and enjoy while you do the research and gather the parts. then when you have all the bugs worked out of the steering and braking and interior, and feel confident in doing the swap, you can attack it and only be without a driveable vehicle for a little while.

 

Yep you'll have enough work just getting it road worthy. Concentrate on what you have and worry about drivetrain swaps later. Trust me its a lot more work than you first plan for. Mine was close to road ready when I got it and here it is a year and a half later and its just about ready to go. Thats from a guy who does it for a living. So be patient and work with what you have. Like I tell my apprentices, you need to walk before you can run. I like your dog dish sleeper idea. Ah hell I'm just to cheap to buy rims.



Unless of course your loaded then forget everything I said and pay someone to build you a killer car.

 

My mav was my son daily driver . Before he started driving it we got the old six banger running change over all the braking system to disc replace all the front end parts got the cooling system under control ( new big radiator ) . He drove it like for two years then I bought a 88 mustang doner car with a new engine overhauled the aod trans had all the parts needed to install the efi package and it took me and him 8 weekends to complete the install one more day at the muffler shop one more day for drive shaft then more time to work out the bugs don't forget the money.

Jay

 

While a late 90's or 2000 Mustang drivetrain would be neat. It will require a lot more work than an earlier 302. The earlier 302 would fit right in with basically some bolt in parts. The later model motor would require some frame mods like a Mustang ll front end. 95 was the last year of the 5.0 motor. After that it was a mod motor.

 

Ok sounds good thanks for the advice. Btw im in fernandina beach (fla).

 

I'm with them, it may be too much at first, your car with the 200 6cyl will require a trans. out of a 250 6cyl or 302 car as well,along with the factory V-8 car parts:engine mounts/frame mounts,engine cross member(belly bar),trans crossmember,trans linkage and kick down linkage ,accelerator cable,exhaust manifolds,and not to mention engine pulleys and fan, if you have air? or power steering? ..... and on and on, please get the six going and enjoy it, then start gathering parts and info for the swap. every one here has been great with answering questions and they know these cars inside out, hope you enjoy your mav. they are great little cars, and dont get overwhelmed by your project as there is alot to learn ,just take it one step at a time....oh and have fun!

 

I found a nice 4 door v8 (55k) Mav doner car online for $350 but it has a 3 speed manual transmision instead of the automatic that mine does. Ques-How hard would would it be to convert the manual trany in the donor mav to an auto like in my car? Q2-Would it be necessary to shorten the drive shaft of the 4 door car to fit my 2 door car? Q3-How much time roughly would it take to do the swap of engine/tranny/all of the donor car to my car?

From my reading here I understand that the mustange engine is the way to go for high-end performance as i read from this site that they have a roller cam that the later model 302s dont have. Btw what is exactly a roller cam and why does it make the motor so much better than no having it?

Thanks for all the replies and asistance, Mac.

 

More info - the donor car is a 75 mav, has disc brakes but I don't know how good they can be after so many years, it has power steering and after market air that doesn't work. My car is a 73 with no power stering and drum brakes all the way around, and no ac. thanks.

 

Let's start with the questions you asked.... You Can NOT convert a manual transmission to an automatic, you can convert the car by taking out the manual trans and putting in an auto trans or visa versa but you cannot physically convert a manual tranny to an auto tranny.
Yes you would have to have the Drive Shaft shortened and in addition to that you would probably be better off to find a 2 door drive shaft rather then having the 4 door shaft shortened because it would most likely be cheaper. I don't personally know what is better about a roller motor. As far as I can tell you can get more horsepower from them because there is less friction on the motors internals, but I am not sure that is 100% accurate or not and other then that I am not sure.

Other then that the 4 door car sounds like it may have some parts that you could use on your car and then strip some of the other parts off the 4 door and sell them. You can strip the front spindles off the 4 door car and use them to convert yours to disc brakes if that concerns you. You can use the V8 engine and the 5 lug rear if yours is a 4 lug and since it is a 73 with a 200 CID engine it probably is 4 lug... If it were me I would probably use the 3 speed manual tranny and the clutch pedal assembly from the 4 door and convert your car to a manual transmission. Manual trans cars are much more fun to drive and by installing the clutch pedal assembly it will leave you open for a future upgrade to a 4 or 5 speed trans. and of course if you ever get tired of shifting gears manually you can always go back to an Auto, but it is kinda hard to go the other way (Auto to manual) if you don't have the clutch pedal