S13 302 build

[broke 20]

Hello zilvia. I am new to this forum and kinda new into the 240 world. I have worked on a lot of friends' cars but never owned a 240 myself until recently. I picked up a roller for pretty cheap off a friend, and did some research on a cheap swap that I wouldnt really want to mess with too much later down the road. I couldnt find much information around the net about a 302 swap, but the cost of domestic parts pretty much sealed the deal. If there is interest in this build then I will make this a legit "how to" thread, but if I am going to get flamed I would rather just keep it to myself.

Like I said the only reason I went with this swap is because of part pricing and availability. Ford parts are STUPID cheap, and they are EVERYWHERE. My budget for this build was $1500 and that includes buying the car and a healthy amount of aftermarket parts. I am converting the car from EFI to carb just to make the swap easier. I would prefer to run EFI, but for now I just want the car to run and carb very simple when it comes to wiring.

Current Parts-
1991 s13 hatch chassis ($100)-friend
1994 5.0 HO from a mustang gt ($499 + $160 shipping)-prestigemustang.com
T5 transmission ($80)-craigslist
'94 mustang motor/tranny mounts ($36)-rockauto.com
Edelbrock Torquer 2 manifold ($55)-cragslist
Holley 600 cfm carb ($25)-friend
Summit HEI distributor ($84)-ebay
Carter Mechanical Fuel Pump ($26) ebay
Modified chrome front sump oil pan ($40)-local shop

Total cost so far- $1105 screw the budget, I want to have a car I can enjoy for a while

I should get my clutch and flywheel in next week, then I can mount the tranny and take measurments for a custom driveshaft. After that, its a toss between having a custom manifold made to clear the steering rack or modify the steering rack itself. I am going to go with whatever is cheaper since this is a budget build. Here is a pic I took of the motor last week while test fitting the mounts.



Here is a picture of the biggest problem with this swap. This is on the driver's side, and as you can easily see the steering shaft is an issue. I have sourced parts online to be able to modify the steering shaft, but I am going to take this picture to some local fabricators so I can get an accurate quote on a custom manifold. I would rather not modify the steering shaft, but we will see how much a custom manifold will cost.



As promised here are some pictures of the cross member I drilled out for the motor mounts to fit. I used a step bit, and drilled the exisiting holes to make them bigger.






The motor sits in pretty well with the modified cross member, but it sits a little too low. The oil pan wont have much clearance over the cross member, so I am going to space the mounts for more clearance underneath. I am still waiting on parts that I expected to get last week, but here soon I will be able to get the oil pan on so I can find the final position for the motor. Here is a picture of how it currently sits in the car.



And here is a picture of the passenger side motor mount. You can see how low the mount holds the motor, so I need to find a way to space the motor up for more oil pan clearance.



Also got the transmission "test mounted" today. Looks like its a little more forward than what I thought it was going to be. Everything is currently loosely mounted, but will be pulled farther back once it finds final position. I am also probably going to have to persuade the tranny tunnel with a hammer a little bit once I raise the motor to where it needs to be. Sorry for the horrible picture, and I know its off center, but you get the general idea where the shifter currently wants to come through the floor.



Here is a picture of the firewall clearance. The motor sits about 2 inches forward of the firewall. If I can find a way to move it back for better shifter clearance I will, still a work in progress.



Drivetrain parts were pretty dirty.





So I took the sand blaster to them and got them prepped for paint.



I was pretty busy most of this weekend but I finally got some time today to make some progress. I let a friend borrow my electric grinder so I didnt get to the steering like I wanted to, but I was able to space the motor up like I wanted, which made a HUGE difference. Also was able to move the motor back in the engine bay today. I wanted to do that so I would have more clearance for a radiator and get closer to lining up the shifter with the chassis.

Spacing the motor up was pretty easy. Just used longer bolts for the motor mounts to the block, then re-inforced the bolt with a steel sleeve. The leaves were a little short, so I threw two nuts at the top of the bolt to fill the gap. Also, I was able to tighten the top nut against the block for a little more peace of mind. Going to eventually weld up some support brackets but thats not coming til later.



Got a couple of really good benefits out of raising the motor. With a little persuading with a hammer on the oil pan, I was able to get the stock oil pan to clear the crossmember. The only place the pan was hitting was on the hard lines on the back of the steering rack. Dimpled the pan in a little to clear that, and it fit like a charm. I know its a bad picture, it was really hard to get a good angle. When I have the motor back out again I will take a picture of the pan.



Then after raising the motor I wanted to try to figure out how to get it farther aft in the engine bay. The simplest solution I could come up with was just switching the mounts. Moved the driver side to the passenger and visa versa. This gave me the exact clearance I wanted. I will have to persuade the tranny tunnel with a hammer now that the motor is farther aft and up, but overall it fits much better in the bay.

Firewall clearance is now very close.



And I am going to have to run the original heater lines through the A/C ports in the firewall. I dont care about air conditioning, but I want to keep the heater.



But this frees up A LOT of space near the steering shaft. I did a quick test fit and I think the OEM manifold will fit now without modifying the steering which is huge. If the OEM manifold fits, it also means that most shorty style headers will fit. I am going to modify a little more and try to get some long tubes in there.



Here is a picture of clearance in the front. I dont have a radiator yet, but I put the water pump pulley on and set a shroud with slim fans in place just to get a general idea.



Here is a picture of how the motor now sits in the bay, and this will be its final spot. I am going to have an issue with hood clearance, but I plan on the spacing the back of the hood to clear the air cleaner.



Slowed down a lot on the car and started taking my time with a lot of details. That along with my wife giving birth to our first baby stig, project has been taking a lot longer than I originally anticipated, my apologies for the long overdue update.

The two studs I had as an extension were not going to work. There was no way they were going to be strong enough. I was able to pick up some aluminum from work, hit them on the drill press and make perfect motor mount extensions. The driver side had to be notched a bit to fit around the block, but other than that they were a perfect bolt up.



I picked up some aftermarket shorty headers and got the steering figured out fairly easily. If for some reason I wanted to change the headers later on, I wanted to modify the steering instead of notching the header. You can pick up double U joints from flaming river or jegs, but I couldnt justify spending $150+ on one when I could make it myself. I just took 2 stock steering single U joints, put a socket between them and welded them together. Yes, its not as pretty as buying an aftermarket one, but it was free. The catch with a double U joint, is you MUST brace the steering shaft to prevent it from binding over itself. You can buy the steering shaft braces from jegs for about 30 bucks, then just make a bracket and weld it to the frame. I dont have any pics of this right now, but it was very simple and relatively easy to do. The hardest part was welding the steering shaft perfectly straight after shortening it.

Also got the ignition setup complete. I decided to run an MSD ignition box and blaster coil. I mostly wanted this setup for a rev limiter. I knew one day I would get a little hyper and blow the mullet madness sky high, so I wanted something to prevent that.

After I had most of the motor figured out, it was time to start on the interior. Took out all the panels/wiring/sound deadening.



Starting fitting up the cage and get it welded in.



Finally picked up some interior parts. F1 spec buckets (decent seats and got them for a crazy price) G Force 6 pt camlock harnesses (5 year FIA legal), OMP wheel w/ nrg hub assembly, Jegs digital gauge cluster and ARC 8000d switch panel





There is a tinted plexi panel to go over the cluster


Got the full custom interior harness made and checked everything for power. The ARC 8000D is stupid simple to install. I have a battery kill switch setup inline to the relay box, then everything is literally plug up and go. My dash also looked like complete garbage, so I decided to wrap it with some purple zebra print fabric. Also in the process of carbon wrapping the swtich panel and gauge panel. Not too happy with how this first turned out, so I am going to go back an redo it.




Then time to paint the interior before everything starts going back in. Still waiting on paint to dry, florida humidity blows.



Went on a spree of paint that day and decided to clean up the motor as well. I dont think it looks too bad for a polished terd.




Getting there slowly but surely...more updates soon

Honestly I completely forgot I had started this thread. The car is finished, and I am currently trying to sell it. I wish I could keep it after all the work put into it, but I got orders and just moved to alaska, where this car would be completely pointless. I will post up the few pictures I have, and if you have any questions about the build, just send me a pm and I will try to help you out. The car is currently in panama city if anyone is interested in buy it!

Transmission Mount



Exhaust Routing- Dual 2.5" to a single 3"


Steering Mod. Not beautiful, but effective and VERY cheap


Pretty Flush with a little camber


Crappy Picture of the digital dash



All said and done it led to this:

[aoiken3]

this is going to be interesting. can you include a detailed list of costs along the way as a reference for everybody else?

[pandaroo]

holly shit someone from pcb! looks like a good start man! i need to find me a 5.0 but its going in my 4runner lol.

[turboboost12004]

If you can try to put some gt40 heads and intake off an explorer..... maybe an e cam or f cam.... then youll be set

[Edwin562]

oh dear......

[Pray And Spray]

woww this should be rather interesting..

[broke 20]

Originally Posted by aoiken3

this is going to be interesting. can you include a detailed list of costs along the way as a reference for everybody else?

Yep no problem. I will start putting together a list tonight and post up

Originally Posted by pandaroo

holly shit someone from pcb! looks like a good start man! i need to find me a 5.0 but its going in my 4runner lol.

the car scene down here is so thin I am surprised to see another panama city member lol. Do you go out to those practices in pensacola? I got my motor from a place called prestige mustang up in atlanta. I caught them on a sale and got my 94 HO with 90K miles and a 3 month warranty for $499 plus $160 shipping. Pretty damn good deal for what you are getting if you ask me. You can google them to find their website.

Originally Posted by turboboost12004

If you can try to put some gt40 heads and intake off an explorer..... maybe an e cam or f cam.... then youll be set

I think I am going to try porting these stock E7 heads first and see where that gets me before I look for some gt40 heads. Unfortunately aftermarket heads doesnt fit the budget. Right now I am torn between the e303 cam and the b303. This is my first time working on a v8, but from what I have read the e303 is more streetable, but it is hard to resist that idle of the b303

If you are going to hate on this project, please keep comments to yourself. I am simply trying to add knowledge to the community since it seems there is not much information about this swap. When its all said and done I am hoping to be around 300whp and mid to upper 300 wheel torque. Not bad for $1500 and thats hell of a lot cheaper than an LSX swap.

[S13Missle]

Good shit man, get it down and on the road! Panama city here as well.

[broke 20]

Damn another one you guys meet up anywhere around town here? I will post more pictures soon of the steering rack clearance issues and the oil pan clearance.

[broke 20]

edited into first post

[sodelS14.5]

Ford...D; but....we will see. Should be interesting.

[broke 20]

Yeah I am not thrilled about it either honestly. I am not a ford or chevy fan boy by any means. The only reason I chose a ford engine is because the distributor is in front. The chevy dristributor is on the firewall side, and I was concerned about clearance issues.

[sodelS14.5]

Chevy woulda fit lol well...then again I guess newer ls and lt models have the dizzy in the front as well.

[broke 20]

True, but that blows my budget WAY out of the water. Your looking at a couple of g's just for drivetrain. This is a much cheaper alternative while still making simple v8 power.

[sodelS14.5]

True my boy put a LQ4 out of a GMC Denali or whoever makes them, and the T6 trans was like 2k used lol rediculous...now his shifter sits verrrry close to the drivers side in the shifted hole...how does that trans line up as far as shifter clearence?

[broke 20]

Thats exactly what steered me away from any LSX or LT1 swap, parts are way too much money for what you are getting. I tossed around the idea of an older 350 swap, and thats when I came across the possible issue of fitment for the dizzy against the firewall. I did a very rough test fit last week and it looks like its going to atleast be very close to mating up in the factory position for the shifter. Also, the factory shifter of a mustang has a 45 degree aft angle, which I am hoping will work to my advantage. I will be able to do a better test fit when I get my clutch and flywheel.

[turtle m3th]

I can't wait to see how this one turns out! I've seen a few of them done, and even began one myself, but my attention turned to the chassis, so I have yet to finish the swap. Keep doing what you do man!

[ShakotanGazelle]

that looks pretty sick man!
but ford............ ew. hahahah
why not a 1UZ or something? you could pick up a running LS400 for like 700 these days and a W58 for like 200. weighs about the same as a KA too.

other than that its looking good! i wanna see this rip the shit outta tires when its done!

[S14DOOD]

Its nice to see something diff then the LS engines in these cars!

[nismoracingsx]

sub'd.

most of the 302 240's you see are ghettttooooooooooo

hope this one isn't so

[broke 20]

Don't worry this wont be a ghetto build. Not going to do that whole "flip the manifold" crap to avoid the steering. This car needs to be well built, safe and reliable so I can finish my s2k, then this will be my toy car. I will have more pictures and updates when I get time off work this weekend. I will get pics up of the mounts, oil pan and tranny fitment.

Originally Posted by ShakotanGazelle

that looks pretty sick man!
but ford............ ew. hahahah
why not a 1UZ or something? you could pick up a running LS400 for like 700 these days and a W58 for like 200. weighs about the same as a KA too.

other than that its looking good! i wanna see this rip the shit outta tires when its done!

I honestly didnt look too far into motors once I found out more about these 302's. Most nissan and toyota motors were out of the question just because of price. I couldnt justify a ka because I would just want to scrap it in a few months anyway. Trying to finder a cheaper way to get solid power and I am thinking this might be it. Ford rates this motor at 225hp and 285 torque, and thats rumored to be low for some reason. But even at those numbers, these engines are extremely restricted from the factory. Before I could never understand how fox body's were picking up 100+hp with bolt ons, but after seeing some designs on this, it becomes very clear.

[240sxdriftin]

Originally Posted by nismoracingsx

sub'd.

most of the 302 240's you see are ghettttooooooooooo

hope this one isn't so

Yeah if you knew this dude you would know he doesn't build ghetto shit...


Lookin good though buddy, get this thing together so when i come down to pcb we can have some fun!!

[Lamp Post]

If you don't mind, could you post up what you are doing for mounts and some pictures? I would really like to do this swap for cost effectiveness, plus cammed 5.0's just sound sick! It would be greatly appreciated!

[turtle m3th]

You can use stock explorer mounts and they line up perfectly, easy peasy! do a search over at silviav8.com

edit: here's a link of someone using the explorer mounts http://www.silviav8forums.com/forum/...2491a45dd27a69

here's also a vid I found showing shifter placement using the same mounts and a t5 tranny, which seems to be pretty spot on! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW65OockPEQ

[broke 20]

Originally Posted by 240sxdriftin

Yeah if you knew this dude you would know he doesn't build ghetto shit...


Lookin good though buddy, get this thing together so when i come down to pcb we can have some fun!!

I knew you would stumble across this thread eventually...spring break is right not too far off and I expect you to be here!

Originally Posted by Lamp Post

If you don't mind, could you post up what you are doing for mounts and some pictures? I would really like to do this swap for cost effectiveness, plus cammed 5.0's just sound sick! It would be greatly appreciated!

Yep I already said in the thread I will post up pics this weekend...is there anything more specific you are looking for?

Originally Posted by turtle m3th

You can use stock explorer mounts and they line up perfectly, easy peasy! do a search over at silviav8.com

edit: here's a link of someone using the explorer mounts silviav8forums.com :: View topic - NISSAN TUFF W/FORD STUFF

Yep...the explorer and mustang mounts both work, and both require the same modification to the crossmember to get them to fit. I just used a drill with a step bit and drilled out the exisiting motor mount hole until the stud on the new motor mounts would fit, took all of maybe 7 minutes including a smoke break. The only reason I went with mustang mounts is because they were like $6 cheaper each side.

[S13Missle]

Crazy crazy, id like to come out and check this shit out sometime. I'm over in Callaway by Tyndall AFB.

[defcon86nwh]

I like you am a Chevy guy at heart but I'm in the same boat wanting more solid power for less. Will be watching this thread.

[Lamp Post]

Originally Posted by turtle m3th

You can use stock explorer mounts and they line up perfectly, easy peasy! do a search over at silviav8.com

edit: here's a link of someone using the explorer mounts silviav8forums.com :: View topic - NISSAN TUFF W/FORD STUFF

here's also a vid I found showing shifter placement using the same mounts and a t5 tranny, which seems to be pretty spot on! 240sx 302 v8 engine startup - YouTube

You're the man, thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by broke 20

Yep I already said in the thread I will post up pics this weekend...is there anything more specific you are looking for?

My bad I must've skipped over that. I'll just wait for the pictures

[conrad_s13.5]

my buddies about to toss one in,... been trying to talk me into it....lol

should be awesome!

[broke 20]

updated