1973 in a 1966?
you can read this article on FordMuscle.com
I converted my nice roller cam ’95 Mustang GT 5.0 HO motor to a carb set up and installed it in my ’66. Here are some details on the swap. It was a great project and if I can do it anyone can. Keep in mind that the ’94/’95 5.0 motors are not exactly the same as the ‘83/’93 motors so there are some differences.
When I bought my mustang the motor in the car was a 1973 302 with a 2 barrel carb. It was a tired motor with no go. The rad leaked and to be honest I was not sure if I was going to make the 2 hour drive home. I was lucky and I made it home but I knew that I had lots of work to do. So out came the old motor. I found a completely dressed '95 5.0 HO for under $300 with just over 100k miles on it. I decided that this would be a good foundation to start with.
New power. Roller cam 5.0
The roller cam motors last forever, don't waste money rebuilding it, but do change the gaskets (intake, valve covers, rear main, timing cover, water pump, oil pan, etc and give the motor a good look over to be sure it is in good shape. One pleasant surprise will be the rear main seal; it’s a one-piece unit (ring) that you can install from the back of the engine without dropping the oil pan.
Early motors are balanced with a certain amount of weight at each end and they must match. My old ’73 302 was balanced using the 28 oz harmonic balancer and the 28 oz flex plate/flywheel. The 95 is balanced using a 50 oz harmonic balancer and a 50 oz flex plate/flywheel.
With that in mind you will need a special balancer that will fit the front of the '95 motor with the 50oz weight. I believe the yoke (not sure what it is called) of the balancer is much longer on the ’95 motor and won’t fit right once you have the timing cover on etc so you need a ‘special’ balancer made for this application. I bought mine off EBay. In addition the '95 balancer is a 4 bolt and the old balancer is a 3 bolt so you |
'SPECIAL BALANCER
Fits Late SB Ford Engines
The late style damper has a 50 oz. in. counterweight and is suitable for all '81 and later 5.0L engines. This damper is made to the early short length so you can install a late 5.0L engine in an early chassis or street rod (like a mustang). We also offer three different bolt-on spacers (shown) which provide the proper spacing for correct pulley alignment. Usually an 81007 is required for 5.0L Mustang. HP Harmonic Balancer Damper sb sbf Ford 302 5.0L 50 oz Ebay vendors like racersoutlet and cnc-motorsports carry this item for around $70. I called the vendor I used, racersoutlet, to confirm that I was getting the correct part before I ordered. They were very helpful and my part arrived quickly. I am sure you can also get this through your local part stores like Summit and Jeggs. |
Use your old valve covers, the new ones won't have a provision for the pcv valve, since the new motor located the valve in the back of the intake. |
Above: You can see the double hump oil pan and the valve cover. The oil pan won't fit in the '66 and the valve covers won't work with a carb set up. |
I can say that it was a great learning experiance, especially the timing portion of this project. I could really feel a difference between the old motor and the new one and it really didn't take long to do the swap. This is a good power plant and I am sure it will last for some time to come.
'95 5.0 in place.
Part Details:
600 cfm Edlebrock carb, Offy 360 dual plan alum intake, Headman ceramic coated long tube headers, Pertronix electronic ignition, new wires, plugs, cap, button, seals, '69 water pump, '69 fuel pump, '69 timing cover, Electric fan, 3 row radiator, all new hoses, and a new engine bay wiring harness. The results were great. I certainly could feel a difference especially after the exhaust went on. I have the timing set at about 14 degress before top dead center. I don't know what kind of horse power this set up is making but it goes and can make the tires scream at will.
Future wants for the motor are:
Heads, Cam, windage tray, 2" cotton air filter, some more aluminum bling.