1996 t bird, anyone know about them

[one8turbo]

Well i might be able to get a 96 tbird with the 3.8 6cyl. Its not in great shape but runs and everything, alrigh tbody, bad paint. anyway i want to swap 4.6 into it and a 5 speed. Does anyone on here know much about tehse cars and that swap. IM just looking to see all of what i would need, how much im looking at moneywise, all that stuff. im more of a vw guy but ive been wanting to build a street/drag car and this seems likea legit idea.

[Action Park]

93
The 3.8 had some head hasket issues, but I vaguely remember them doing something about that in '95. Those cars also came with the 4.6 so I'm not so sure why you'd want to swap as the price is'nt very different; unless of course you have a built 281 lying around or sumpin'. With the 8, they're only 2-300 lbs shy of 2 tons so, obviously, you need to make a good amount of power to really get it moving. 'Bout 360 crank to trap 100, 475 to do 110 factory weight. Other than that, stock, they're big and cushy. I guess you already know that the earlier 5.0 and 2.3t birds are easier to setup for drag and whatnot. Oh yeah, there's always the supercoupe :).
93 93/93

[ToyotaTat]

turn it into this:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/ToyotaTat/Carlisle/Carlisle354.jpg
this is the front:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/ToyotaTat/Carlisle/Carlisle355.jpg

[lownslow95]

turn it into this:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/ToyotaTat/Carlisle/Carlisle354.jpg
this is the front:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/ToyotaTat/Carlisle/Carlisle355.jpg

i've seen that b4 at english town. when i first saw it, i was like wtf??? thats a tbird???

[one8turbo]

ill be getting it for free. im going to check it out tomorrow, i jsut gotta find a place to keep it, which i think i have. If its a v8, im gonna swap a 5 spd into it first thing. Ill do exhaust, and i have some cobra rims that i guess should fit it. correct me if im wrong. Afterr that i really dont know. i dont know anything about these cars, and this is going to be a complete learning experience for me. Wish me luck in being able to get it.

[NJGOAT]

The only snafu you are going to have is that a 4.6 will not drop into the stock cradle of a 3.8 car. They use two completely different engine cradles for the engines. The 3.8 is based off of the old 351 block and shares common engine mount locaitons with the 302 (5.0) and 351 engines. The 4.6 is from the modular family and uses completely different mounting locations. To do a 4.6 swap would require replacing the entire engine cradle. If it is a 3.8 car, your best route would be a built 5.0. The engine is lighter and is easier to make power with anyway.

[Intercooled T]

It's not worth the effort. It's actually easier to buy a 94-96 w/ 4.6L put PI parts on

[Ryza24]

hopefully its the 4.6 so u can just build that.. decent enough.. but ur at 225whp i think so.. and those cobra rims SHOULD fit ur car if its a 5 lug.. it would be the same spacing

[NJGOAT]

It's not worth the effort. It's actually easier to buy a 94-96 w/ 4.6L put PI parts on

For the money/power quotient, there is no way that a N/A 4.6 will ever be better than the old 5.0. The 94-98 4.6 SOHC came factory with 215-225. They generally dyno about 180-190 to the wheels. If you add PI heads and intake, you will bump the power to about 270-280 crank and net about 225-240 to the wheels. The 5.0 could be built up for much less and make more power. Cheap heads, cam, intake manifold will put you in the 290-310whp range and they can all be bought for less than a set of PI heads.

[Intercooled T]

Yea, but the newer PI motors (from mustang gts/exploders) will work with the factory ecu from the tbird with a 4.6l, so it makes more sense and is cheaper.

[NJGOAT]

If the car was originally a 4.6 car then you are right. However, if it is indeed a 3.8 car, like the OP thinks it is, then it will need an ECM either way and the 3.8 mounting locations and wiring harnesses will work on the 5.0 motor. A 4.6 swap into a 3.8 car will require an entirely new wiring harness and engine cradle. So, IMO, this is what the recommended path would be:

4.6 car...swap to the PI setup, unless you are going FI. A PI swap on the older 4.6 motors results in a sizable compression bump do to the piston design of the older cars.

3.8 car...swap in a modified 5.0. Utlimately the 5.0 swap should net you better hp/per dollar then modifying a 4.6, even with swapping the engines (which is very easy as far as engine swaps go), the cost isn't much different and the 4.6 motors struggle to make power without FI.

The only other thing the OP should look into is to see if different rears were used in the 3.8 vs. 4.6 cars. If they are different, you may also need to swap the rear to handle the torque of the V8.

[Intercooled T]

plain and simple, DO NOT buy a 3.8 car, it's NOT WORTH IT.

Buy a 91-92 Tbird Sport that comes with a 5.0HO

[Ryza24]

plain and simple, DO NOT buy a 3.8 car, it's NOT WORTH IT.

Buy a 91-92 Tbird Sport that comes with a 5.0HO

:iagree:

[87fierogt]

how bout sell it or trade it to me