Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Help! Talk me out of the 3L conversion

I was all gung ho about saving up for the 3L conversion once my warranty runs out. I was until I took my supercharged '91 stang for a ride today. My heart says do the 3L upgrade, and my brain says do more to the stang for less money and spread over time since the car is already paid for and out of warranty.

What are your opinions?

Thanks,

Do you wan to be like verybody else and get a mustang? Boring. It'll be fun until you find a corner. I have been thinking the same in the past month, but I am pretty sure that I am going to do the 3.0. Be different, the contour is a beautiful car.

-James

George, I think either way you will be happy, just make sure you do the appropriate braking and chassis mods to go along w/ any power increases on the Mustang (brakes are a necessity! the fox brakes are junk even on a stock engined car they aren't enough)

BB, have you ever even gone for a ride in a properly set up Mustang??? Honestly, a Mustang can be set up to handle much better than a Contour can, especially w/ the limited amount of parts out there for the Contour. I think the Contour is still a better all-rounder, but Mustangs are pretty fast out of the box, and cheap and easy to make faster.

George, fwiw, I am searching for a 95 Cobra to start the mod process to, (either a 351 and maybe an S/C, or an Incon twin turbo on a 5.0 stroked and poked to 331. That and I plan on doing the 3L swap too its actually not that expensive, especially if you can do the work yourself.

OR go ahead and put some more mods on the Mustang. You can give me the extra money you'll save from modding it instead of the Contour. Then I'll use that money towards getting the 3L conversion

Guys,

Thanks for all the responses. British Banger,
FWIW i've installed Koni shocks and struts, Ford Motorsports lowering springs, caster camber plates, subframe connectors, much better lower control arms, and strut tower brace. Near 0 body roll. At least on the street.

Rara, I've replaced the stock brake calipers with those off a '86 lincoln. Much better stopping in conjuction with better pads and SS braided brake lines. My car has 86K miles and I'm also considering stroking to 331 ci.

My problem (well not really a problem but a blessing) is that I'm married with a 16 mo old and I need to decide where the mod money should go. If I was single it would be a non issue. Do I spend money on a car that I drive most of the time but may not keep forever or do I spend money on a car that I drive only during good weather and that someday I may pass down to my daughter. Decisions decisions.

p.s. How about a compromise. Go with the BAT suspension deal with the springs and struts and maybe the MSDS headers and y pipe. The 3L option will be expensive for me because I don't have the time or space to attempt it on my own and I haven't been able to find anyone yet that would be willing to do the install.

Thanks,

work on the stang
it will always be faster
theres way more parts for it
and its a real car
ford recognizes the stang
they don't recognize the countour

Fastcar,

You ain't kiddin. The contour gets no respect from Ford and it seems like people in general. My mustang buddies look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them what I want to do with the Contour. Of course a lot of these people don't understand what a sport sedan is about (like I didn't before I got the SVT).

Jb SVT, you've got a deal as long as I could drive yours everyother weekend. (8^)


:p

fwiw, many of the Ford vehicle dynamics and chassis guys drive Contour SVT's.
Last week, I parked my car at work and walked in towards the door, and I passed 5 SVT Contours in the same row, and there are about 15-20 more rows of cars just at my building alone.

well dang it Rara, get me those build numbers!!!

do some stealth VIN number retrieval


and FWIW ghodge, blowing the diff in a Mustang is much cheaper than in the contour :p

FWIW, I say play with the 5.0, as long as your daily driver is running A-OK. Also consider that the 3L conversion is still an immature mod. It sounds like a really hot swap, but I'll call it a reliable swap once some guys rack 20K+ up on a 3L with SVT heads.