3.7/MT82 into 87-93 Mustang

[jw33]

I'm in the middle of swapping a '11-'17 3.7/MT82 drivetrain into a '91 Mustang. Just thought it would be interesting content for here. It isn't a road car so that does make some things easier.

Out with the old.

This was a N/A rebuilt 2.5L that was a very good little motor. Made 140whp which is about double what these things are rated. Of course it wasn't enough and the modern stuff just makes it too easy.

479lbs. with the T5 and no fluids


The 3.7 weighs 400ish minus the starter and no fluids.


With the MT82 it is 550lbs total. The extra 75-80lbs overall will be going right into the belly of the car.


The MT82 is huge compared to the T5. The trans tunnel had to be "slightly" opened up...


Chopped out just a bit of the K-member. Probably not needed, but for how I wanted everything to sit that it what I did.


Engine mounts built from scratch.


It goes in together and I think you can drop the tranny while in the car, but the MT82 is heavy so that will be a major pain in the ass.


How it sits for the moment.



I've done a bunch of other smaller parts to the swap I'll update later and there is still a fair amount left to do before it can run/drive. Why go to all the trouble for a 3.7V6 swap? I'm a ninja and I like to party. It's 300hp, cheaper than others/plentiful, and it should be reliable. The car weighed 2400lbs before so it will still be pretty light.

[AnthonyS]

Seriously cool project! Thanks for sharing.

[scootro]

wow

[orphan Shelby]

[Baron Von Crowder]

what are you using for engine management?

[cool cat]

Blue and orange, does this car sport the Gulf Racing look?

[bird_dog0347]

That's awesome, This will be a track car I presume?

[jw33]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Crowder

what are you using for engine management?

The ECU and wiring that came from the donor car. I bought the drivetrain with engine, transmission, engine wiring, ECU, accelerator, air-box, and the driveshaft all from the same car. The ECU is not the same as the 5.0 version, but it is supported by HPTuners and I already have that stuff from past projects.

Before:


After:


For gauges I'm using the factory cluster with a CAN Bus tachometer/shift light and a mechanical oil temperature gauge/warning light added to the factory cluster. The '91 oil pressure and water temperature sensors have been added into the engine in all the right spots. I added a factory F-150 coolant-to-oil oil cooler and piped in the temperature sender for the gauge after the oil leaves the cooler. The pressure sensors are Y-ed with each other so that the ECU and '91 gauge cluster will work each with their own sensor.





The new engine doesn't even watch coolant temperature. The ECU monitors cylinder head temperature and there is a sensor in each cylinder head for that. I put the '91 coolant temperature sensor on the engine side of the thermostat. There was enough meat on there to drill/tap with no issue.

Originally Posted by cool cat

Blue and orange, does this car sport the Gulf Racing look?

Originally Posted by bird_dog0347

That's awesome, This will be a track car I presume?

No, it was originally a blue car and then it was white like the Wonder bread car from Talladega Nights and the latest scheme is a play on the Boss 302 look. I think the next look will be a 80/90 DTM clone....

http://www.dfwmustangs.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=58271
http://www.dfwmustangs.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=51205

[AnthonyS]

Using the factory gauge cluster and integrating the harnesses is impressive craftsmanship. Great work!

[KBScobravert]

Too cool. Keep posting!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Baron Von Crowder]

baller. What did that takeout package run?

[46Tbird]

I suspect that OEM gauge will always read a little hot; modern stuff tends to be kept at higher temps than that old (90s) junk.

Pretty cool man! You could have turbocharged the 2.5 to end up with 300 hp though

[silverranger]

This is bad ass

Great work so far.

[4bangen]

I'm digging this project a lot. this is a lemons car right?

[Baron Von Crowder]

Originally Posted by 4bangen

I'm digging this project a lot. this is a lemons car right?

I think they are doing WRL/chump.

[jw33]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Crowder

baller. What did that takeout package run?

$2500. I looked around locally (all of TX on craigslist) for quite a bit and I never came across any cars being parted out with the mt82. A few came up for sale every once in a while with the 6R80, but I wasn't interested in piecing together all the stuff I'd need to get to go with the mt82. I even called a few local yards and it just isn't a desirable or exclusive drivetrain to keep together like an LSx or GT500 setup. I came across this one on ebay and the seller was a guy at a yard in Alabama who told me he intended to use it himself, but got busy with other stuff. I made him an offer and we eventually spoke on the phone and agreed on a price shipped with all the small stuff I wanted. I'll use everything but the driveshaft. This has been on the back burner for a while and I've knocked out several other projects around the house before taking this on. One of them was selling all the 2.3 stuff and money-wise I'm even after getting rid of it all...

Originally Posted by 46Tbird

I suspect that OEM gauge will always read a little hot; modern stuff tends to be kept at higher temps than that old (90s) junk.

Pretty cool man! You could have turbocharged the 2.5 to end up with 300 hp though

I'm all about that 2.3 life, but hell the fuck no. I will admit it looks so good on paper and I think I would be just the dummy to pull it off, but I have seen them come to the track and fall apart when pushed hard. I think there is just too many things that need major improvements to work at anything other than street duty. N/A they are hard to kill and we beat the shit out of the old motor. But something about a turbo setup just makes them have issues it seems like. I'm hoping this setup is just as reliable as the old motor and we won't even have to push it very hard to have double the power/fun. There was a lot of work put into this engine to make it what it is.

http://v6mustangperformance.com/news...ine-explained/

Originally Posted by 4bangen

I'm digging this project a lot. this is a lemons car right?

Originally Posted by Baron Von Crowder

I think they are doing WRL/chump.

Yes this car has done all three at some point and primarily does Chump/Champ and WRL events.

I was able to use the mustang transmission crossmember with a few modifications. I boxed it to give it a bit more strength since the mounting point is hanging out there so far and this transmission it about double what a T5 weighs.




Summit sells the small bracket that mounts to the transmission with the bushings for people swapping the 6R80 into things. Since the mt82 shares the same bracket, I just used that instead of making it. One less mess to clean up.

[4EyedTurd]

Why’d you pick that motor/trans combo?

[KBScobravert]

Originally Posted by 4EyedTurd

Why’d you pick that motor/trans combo?

Looks like weight, power, cost and reliability.

[jw33]

ECU is mounted and the engine wiring is done. Using a couple of Littelfuse PDM with 280 size fuse/relays. One is for everything the engine needs and the other will be for non-critical stuff. Fired up/ran on the first hit and it runs alright. Had a voltage sensing wire off and the alternator was running full blast, but it was an easy find. Still playing with the tune a bit. No major leaks so far.



All the gauges work. The CAN-bus tach is great. No lag as far as I can tell.


All pedal mounted and working and clutch master is mounted to the dash bar with a remote reservoir under the hood. Still need to bleed the air out of the system which might be tough because there isn't a bleeder valve in the circuit. I'm going to try to pull vacuum on it and see if it will pull all the air out that way.





Slowly chopping away at the smaller stuff and playing with the tune. Need to find a '99-04 8.8 rear end because the 7.5 with 4:10 wouldn't live long and there is a MM torque arm in the attic just taking up space. Then I need to find an exhaust shop to build the exhaust....

[46Tbird]

You bleed the S197 MT82 hydraulic clutch by putting fluid in it and pumping it about a million times. Yes, really.

I think the service manual says 400 times or something like that, but it took 400+ pumps just to be able to drive it, and it still worked some air out for a week.