5.0 Swap.
 

Thinkin bout doin a 5.0 swap out of 88 cougar. Couple questions as far as motor identification don't believe it to be HO motor. Does any body know factory specs on those motors. Mostly worried about power loss, blew 4.6 out of 94 XR-7 Had about 255rwhp. All spec I can Find on later model show 160 hp. Anybody know if this is true not looking to drop 100 hp. Any Help would be appreciated. Still kinda new to ford. Thanks for the help

yeah... the stock 5.0s from back then didn't have much grunt unless you got the HO engine and put some better heads/exhaust on it. I think even the HOs only had 225 at the flywheel... though I'm going from memory and I may not be remembering right. They do have hella lot more torque on the low end than the 4.6.

you could always just get a rebuilt engine and drop that in and not have to re-wire anything. you'll probably need to re-wire quite a bit going from a 4.6 to a 5.0. plus, you'd probably have to get a transmission controller unless you got the 5.0 computer out of a newer explorer. If you want to go with the 5.0, it would probably be much easier to try to get an explorer engine and computer so that you could control the trans with that.

personally I think a rebuilt 4.6 for your cougar would be a better option. It'll run ya between $2000 and $2500 for a long block, but it would definitely work for ya without any power loss. Or get yours rebuilt.

Yeah lookin into further details. Have 88 cougar sitting gonna pull motor anyways. Probably will end up doin 5.0 swap just will have to beef it up a bit. Probably end up stripping the block and rebuilding it.

That should just be a plain ole 5.0.. The heads are the biggest bottle neck on those... Cam intake and headers aren;t going to do so much till you swap those.. Either the E7TE (Trucks and vans 87 and up or a 5.0HO) or the GT40 (explorer 5.0 till 97) heads will work nicely.. The GT40's are better.. Or World Products makes some nice stuff too.... You may want to avoid the later GT40P heads (97 and up explorer 5.0) AS they have a different spark plug placement and require special headers..

AS far as stuffing it into the Cougar, luckily the 5.0 did come in the MN-12 cars from 91-93

You were planning on doing a manual swap right? Now would be the time.. The 4.6 has a different bell and flywheel.. The 3.8 and the 302 have the same bell housing, but different flywheels.... The 302 has 2 different flywheels, make sure you use one newer than 82.. The trans from the 88 t-bird would work but I'd go over it and do some upgrades...

You'll need the computer and wiring from the 88 or better yet a Mark 7 or later 5.0 Mustang/Tbird/Cougar.. Some of the 93-96 F-series had a decent computer as well..

The manifolds from the 88 might work, not sure, headers would be better but are scarce for the MN-12 cars other than what they used on the 91-93's.. The mustang headers from 94-95 might work..

YOu'll need an aftermarket radaitor or something.. The stock radaitor used on the 91-93s barely kept the 5.0 cool with the a/c off.. The 4.6 radiator will require some creative plumbing and still be too small.. If you are planning on more HP you'll need more radiator.. I used one from Griffen on my 89.. It wasn;t cheap, but it worked...

You'll need the motor mounts and brackets from the 5.0 MN12 car, or some creative fabrication works.. I didn;t want the fluid filled mounts on my 89 5.8 Cougar so I made some adapters and used mounts from a mid 80's Crown Vic..

THe intake is a tad lower on the 5.0 MN12 cars than it was on the others.. I believe the 94-95 5.0 mustang used this intake.. A 5.0 explorer upper and lower may work as well.. I believe the earlier intakes as on the pre 95 5.0 Mustang and your 88 t-bird are a too tall on the very ends, and the throttle body is tight to the hood...

You may also need the timing cover and accessory brackets from the 91-93 MN 12 or 94-95 mustang 5.0 cars.. These brackets space the accessories out wider and lower at the front.. The 88 T-bird accessory brackets may work with the a/c deleted....

Ya Decided against 5.0 Swap After All Rebuilding The 4.6. Decided it would be the cheaper and easier way to go. While I'm at It also goin to port and polish heads and upgrade cams pistons valves, etc. Gonna build for turbo any suggestions? Also Lookin For some cheap Upgrades any possible parts I may be able to find at a local junkyard off of similar Cars?