Help, Convert 89 CV to HO drivetrain

[jaywish]

Hi,

My 89 wagon needs a new drivetrain.

I found a good HO engine/tranny from an LSC.

My wagon is a regular 5.0 setup no trailer packager etc.

I thought it might be nice to upgrade the wagon to an HO rather then just swaping over the regular 5.0 stuff to the donor engine. The Crown Vic/Marquis did not come stock with an HO option.

Anybody know the pitfalls of this swap?

Or somebody who does and might be willing to talk?

Thanks
Jay

[RoyLPita]

It's a BIG job. You will need to switch the lower intake, motor mounts, exhaust manifolds, fuel rail to work with the H.O.'s 19# injectors, water pump and possibly modify the H.O. throttle body linkage to make this work. Do you have the PCM? The firing order for the H.O. is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. The non H.O. firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8.

Good luck.

Just my .02 and then some.

[FordNut]

Tranny linkage is different for the column vs floor shift. Easy enough to change, but you have to drop the valve body to do it.

I'm not so sure about the engine swap issues. I know the throttle bodies are on opposite sides of the engine. Maybe you could use the HO engine with the standard intake manifold, or at least the upper from the original motor. I believe both are speed density, but you would pick up the roller cam chain, roller tappets, factory headers, and other improvements that came along with the HO. The original PCM may work ok, since it just adjusts mixture and not ignition.

[jaywish]

Thanks Folks,

I've also heard that the standard EGR spacer needs to be used and thus needs to be bored out to 62MM to match the HO equipment. Possibly custom install O2 sensors in exhaust pipes.


Jay

[the_pack_rat]

Take a stroll over here :

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech.html

Look under the Town Car section for a tech write up on this kind of swap.

Regards,

Eric

[jgc61sr2002]

Jay - IMO sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

[Paul T. Casey]

Jaywish, IMHO, that is a great idea!! If you have the time and space (i.e. a garage or understanding neighbors) take the whole nose of the car off prior to the swap. This will greatly ease the removal/install of the donor motor. It will also give you the opportunity to clean, inspect, and make any needed modifications to the frame, motor mounts, or exhaust. It will also keep the car cosmetcally good. I'm in the process of a similar swap only instead of the HO motor, I'm going to convert one of my spares into a carburated torque motor. I have the trailer pkg on my wagon, and if you could find one in a junk yard, you may want to consider the rear end. It gives you a better ratio (3.55's) and positraction. I've got a 21 foot Grady White boat (around 4000 lbs.) and can manage to pull it around, although it takes about all the car has to get it up the ramp. Good luck, and pm me if you need anything in this undertaking.

[jaywish]

It's a bit of a bummer but my current Garage, while more spacious than I've ever had before in other dimensions, doesn't have the headroom for a crane.

I'd actually have to let someone else do it.

I probably would have changed out the motor before if space permitted.

The rear is a good idea. Probably the same in sedan and wagon. Maybe even Town Car.

Jay

[jaywish]

Take a stroll over here :

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech.html

Look under the Town Car section for a tech write up on this kind of swap.

Regards,

Eric

Thanks Eric.

That's good info.

Jay