I have a 2000 with a 3.8L V6 I really love the car and I could never sell it but I gotta get a V8!!! any advice? I would really like to put a 302 into it but is it really a reasonable dream? This car was my first car and I have put a lot of time and money into it but im tired of not having the power to run with the big horses. What do I do?

 

sell it and buy something similar with a v8.

 

first, don't bother with a v8 swap unless you plan to buy a whole GT and swap pretty much everything over. It's a bitch full of details and little parts.

once you've understood that you don't really need a v8 so much as you just want more power, 1 word: TURBO. You could also go the blower route. You could also pick up a stompin bunch of grunt with a 4.2L swap (kind of like a 5.4 swap for GT's).

Here's the cars with 4.2L available. You could find one in a junkyard or busted pickup and swap that in for an instant bump, then put a blower or turbo on it and have just as much thump as a v8 car but with the weight and balance benefits of a v6.
* 1997–2008 Ford F-150
* 1997–2005 Ford E-150
* 1997–2005 Ford E-250
* 2004–2007 Ford Freestar
* 2004–2007 Mercury Monterey

In your shoes, I'd grab up some ported v6 heads, a custom turbo cam, a 57mm turbo, and stick those all on a 4.2L block. Bet you'll clear 300rwhp.

 

What he said. I've decided a v8 swap isn't worth it. Plus having an automatic transmission is PERFECT for a turbo. Just waiting till my car isn't a DD anymore.

The only reason you should spend the money to go v8 is if you MUST have the sound.

 

i guess i could stick with the 6 but the thing that gets me is the engine sound I love the sound of a strong V8 i threw some flowmaster 40s on it and im runnin with no converters and i put a bbk cold air intake on it and that added a fair amount of jump to it the car does great against other v6 mustangs but I can only hang with the GTs up into 3rd gear and they are gone. With me bein in the army and all Im pretty competitve and I dont take losing too well. I forgot to add that its a manual traunsmission and the suspension was lowered a little bit before I bought it I couldnt ask for it to handle better. i just hate losing and I cant see myself ever selling the car to upgrade to a GT

 

anyway this is it I like it

 

Yeah, well wouldn't you feel better making guys in GT's wanting to upgrade to forced induction to keep up with you?

You can go 5.0, you'd have to change your K-member and a bunch of other work to make it actually run, and it wont really be a daily driver cause a lot of the gauges wont work right unless you get a 94/95 wrecked GT and use all of its stuff. But I do believe the upgraded 99 and up 3.8s are pretty similar in performance to 94/95 5.0s. Maybe a second or so difference.

 

There will always be someone faster. You don't do an engine swap for sound. You figure out a budget and what you can realistically do for the amount of power. You need to figure out what you can afford and if it will make you happy or not. If not, then save the time and money. Don't mod the car just so you can say I'm in a V6 and can beat a GT. Who gives a crap. There will be someone you come across who has a GT and whips your *** cause they're blown or whatever. Plan ahead first.

 

I have a pretty fast car and I get whipped all the time. Get used to it. (I do my share of whippin too but that's just life... even a blind squirrel gets a nut now and then)

There will never come a day that your car isn't beaten by some 9 second Integra or a GT or a Camaro. Make your car fast enough to make you personally able to enjoy it but definitely don't waste time and money trying to get to a goal that's not attainable.

I got my car fast enough that I don't really want it any faster without having to flip the nitrous switch. At 300/332 it's there already.