A 3.0 Swap - CEG Archives

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Hi... I want to do a 3.0 swap in my 1998 contourSVT, but I don't know anyone who does that kind of stuff can anyone recommend someone or help me in anyway???? It would be greatly appreciated....Thank You

Hi... I want to do a 3.0 swap in my 2001 Cougar Zn and I know Daymon and Taylor could probably help me. It would be greatly appreciated....Thank You

Just giving my fellow Ogden peep a hard time.

Have you found a 3L yet?

No... I haven't really looked that hard for one cause I dont know anyone that could put it in for me

I could get you a 3L for a pretty decent price. If you get more serious let me know. The one I have lined up for the Cougar needs a complete rebuild but I have some running Escape motors at work.

I am serious... If i can get someone that knows how to put it in and is willing to do it its a go... I would buy a crate motor if i had too... I was just looking for someone that knows how to do it and is willing to do it and someone that wont robb me blind either...
My car is not running at all right now and before it died it was knocking so i figure if i have to fix the motor i might as well improve it at the same time right???
I just dont know how to do it myself so I need some help there...

Damn, if I had the space I would do it in a heart beat and not bend you over a barrel to do it

I did my 3L swap and then some, so it wouldn't be hard to do a basic swap for you.

Are you looking to do it ASAP or are you a few months out?

Originally posted by Pixie:
I would buy a crate motor if i had too...

I was serious about my offer too, no need to waste the money on a crate motor. I work at a wrecking yard so I can save you a few bucks if you are intrested.

From the sound of it I am assuming you are planning on just a N/A 3L, nothing as crazy as Swazo's turbocharged setup (

). I could put out some feelers at work if you would like and see if anyone is intrested. A list of what exactly needs to be done (besides the obvious) would need to be compiled.

Well to be honest I am not sure what i can do to it so i'm really not sure what i want to do... I just know that i have been without a car for two months now and it sucks... But i dont want to just fix it if i can make it better at the same time... If that makes any sence... If I just wanted it fixed i would just rebuild, But I really like my car, so I want to fix her up good.... the guy that had her before didn't take good care of her: My third gear is going out so i need work on my tranny... My ignition key gets stuck if U put it in the lock position and its a [censored] to get it out sometimes so I need a new one of those... Thats the major stuff, but i'm sure there is lots more... I'm pretty sure my exhaust is screwed, but I love the sound so I don't want to mess with that quit yet... everyone I know keeps tellin me to get a new car, but I just cant part with her... I need a really good car doctor...

welcome to the boards BTW . . .

Hahahahaha, another CSVT owner that's hooked

How much power would you like to get out of your car? Is it mainly a daily driver that you rip through the streets/highway with?

The easiest and most bang for your buck setup would be to find a low mile '01 or newer 3L with the typical mods and upgrade to clevite77 rod and main bearings and swap in your SVT cams w/ their timing assemblies.

You can keep the 3L oval port UIM and LIM, but you would need to make a custom fuel rail.
-OR-
You can port match the 3L heads to your SVT UIM and LIM ( Along with porting and polishing them....)to make "tumble port" heads. This is the more envolved option, but you will get a lot more power by doing this. I went this route with my car(amoung other things)..... and turbocharged it for good messure

As far as your trans goes, you can either have HMS rebuild yours with every upgrade available and an LSD ($1500 +/-)
-OR-
You can go through Exdelayed or www.car-parts.com for a used Duratec MTX75. I'd look for a non-SVT trans as they are most likely less beat, and look for a 2000 or newer as they have the most currant upgrades. One can be had in the $400 range. Add a Torsen LSD for about $500, and you're good to go.

Hope that helps,
Daymon

Thanks for that input I really do appreciate all the information U guys have given me, but I still need a mechanic... any recommendations???

I don't know of anyone that has the space to do it at this point. My shop has a project car dismantled for painting, or I'd jump on this and hook you up

You might want to give Heath @ Modular Madness a call. They build turbo Mustangs, wicked Lightnings and Cobras.... I would think a 3L swap would be cake.
I'm actually taking my car in for a final tune monday, I can fill him in on the details so he could give an accurate quote if you'd like.

wheres that located at??? i want to do as much possible while its torn apart.... As far as how much power i want... I want as much as i can get... who doesn't???

How deep are your pockets?

You can do a wicked NA 3L w/ custom cams, a turbo 3L or even a supercharged 3L.

Modular Madness West 8169 South State Street #C Midvale, Utah 84047
801-561-0963
Office hours:
M-F 9:00am to 6:30pm
Saturday 10:00am to 3:00pm
Sunday CLOSED

Originally posted by TC'd Swazo:

I'm actually taking my car in for a final tune monday. . .

Yeah -

Call me if it actually happens

Shut it

It would have gone in this week if MM hadn't been swamped.

I was going to buy new tires, but decided to turn my currant tires to slicks first

Originally posted by TC'd Swazo:
I was going to buy new tires, but decided to turn my currant tires to slicks first

Too bad I didnt know about that awhile ago. I would have let you bake off the Cougar's old tires. You could feel even better about your car knowing it was able to spin, and keep those heavy 17s lit.

Thanks for the options i do appreciate them... And thanks for ur patience... I know i'm new at this car stuff, but I'm goin to get it...

Originally posted by TC'd Swazo:
How deep are your pockets?

You can do a wicked NA 3L w/ custom cams, a turbo 3L or even a supercharged 3L.

Swazo, just curious. I know this is a pretty open-ended question, but what do you think a high/low price range would be for those three engine options? I'm looking into doing a pretty heavy mod on the SVT when I graduate in a year or two, and am starting to scope out exactly what I want. There's the simple things like Suspension, TH Tranny, but the engine has got me really thinking and is by far the most open and costly variable. I'd like to make a nice comfortable 300 hp at the wheels with a bit of reliabilty. Thanks for your input.

It all depends on how much work you'd be putting in yourself really. If you source an engine and have a local machine shop build it for you, you could do it for way less than it would cost to have ADC/Buckshot do it. A lot can be gained in the head work and is a very important part of these engines. If you do them or you have Kinger do them, it's a must-do if you want to make it easier on your engine to see the 300 HP/TQ mark.

For a nice 300 HP/TQ, I'd say a turbo is the way to go. No need for forged internals as long as you're intercooled. Warmonger has shown that to be true, and I've followed suit. I'm likely going to keep my power down around there for daily driving since anymore than that would be pretty crazy with this platform IMO. I'm guessing that I am rolling around at about 270 HP/TQ now that I have some minor issues worked out and am now able to run all of the way to 7K and it's simply wicked even at 3.5psi

OK, now for prices in a ballpark sense.

*Price of an '01 Escape or Taurus 3L- $300 to $600 (LKQ is the best source, hands down! Ask Taylor

)

*Misc gaskets and SP Pistons and TTY bolts, $400 on a high guesstimate (better than OEM, but not as good as forged. Keep an eye on my engine, I'm sticking with 12psi for a max level for longevity sake)
-OR- Forged Pistons and rods add about $1800 for insane amounts of boost you'll never be able to really use with these cars unless some leaps are made with suspension, etc.

*Kinger's headwork- About $1200 IIRC, but I'm probably a bit high

*Machine work/balancing for 3L- $400-500 ballpark

*ADC's kit- $? Anyones guess at this point

If you can assemble the longblock (not hard to do with a Ford CD and CEG) and install everything, it will only cost you your time from this point.
Paying someone could get spendy.

For an NA beast get CAT cams, forged pistons w/ high CR, ARP head bolts and have your longblock built for you. This would be a good choice and might cost a bit less than the turbo 3L option while having a shop do it all for you.

Thanks Swazo, that helps alot. Definitely gets me on the right track as far as a build plan goes. It's a tough line with these cars, as you said, due to the limits of the platform. But at the same time, they really are fun machines and extremely unique, so for that reason I'd much rather stick with it over just buying a brand new 15-20K car when/if the money starts coming in. But, I'm sure you already are very familiar with this story! Good luck with it, and thanks again for the words of wisdom and experience.