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V8 conversion

z06killinsbf

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
171
Location
McKinney, TX
I searched, no tomatoes. Has anyone done a RWD V8 swap like what is do able in the Focus??? I did find the AWD swap though, pretty cool.
 
I searched, no tomatoes. Has anyone done a RWD V8 swap like what is do able in the Focus??? I did find the AWD swap though, pretty cool.

So you didnt find anything on the engine swap but you did find the awd swap that hasnt been completed yet?
 
I searched, no tomatoes. Has anyone done a RWD V8 swap like what is do able in the Focus??? I did find the AWD swap though, pretty cool.

As far as I know, no one has done one yet. It will be a very big project as you would need to redo the floor pan to allow for a drive shaft and differential. Maybe you will be the pioneer. Keep us posted if you decide to tackle it.
 
facepalm.jpg
 
Technically, there is no AWD swap and nobody has done it. You could probably modify parts from a Jag X-type, but i certainly wouldn't call it a "kit". It's probably just as involved as swapping a V8 in there.

BTW, you'll learn real quick that 95% of the owners here probably couldn't even afford a set of $200 headers, let alone a $30K V8 RWD swap.
 
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The only V8 stuff I read was putting the SHO Yamaha motor in these things.

If your going to spend the time and money to do a RWD V8 swap, I would put something with a little more power than the Yamaha V8's.

I think it would be pretty cool to just have a 3L Turbo RWD Contour. It would have plenty of power and you wouldnt have to worry trying to use a different wiring harness. Hmm I wonder why nobody has thought of that before:idea: :cool:

Oh well one of these days someone will do one just to say they have the first RWD contour.
 
The only V8 stuff I read was putting the SHO Yamaha motor in these things.

well, in that thread we mentioned V8s and other rear drive possibilities, along with the feasibility, cost of those types of projects. Anyone should be able to read that and realize that noone has done the swap yet. In fact, in nearly every thread on here that mentions swapping to an engine other than the 3.0 you will find people discussing a V8 RWD swap when we use the complexity/cost of that to demonstrate how much harder it would be to put any other engine in the car that wont fit.

:edit I cant understand why so many people just look at the first page of threads in each of the sections then say they searched.
 
what it comes down to is this...

Money. A job like that would cost a boat load of money not to mention time, unless someone stubbled across say a trashed Cobra got for dirt cheap and had nothing else to do with it (plenty of other cars out there that do well with a swap like this) it will never happen.
 
i think joey put a 3.0 turbo motor into a 240 with a T-5 mated to it.

sounds liek that part is easy. the hard part is getting everything to work right. it could be done. will it? probably not. too many broke 16 year olds are asking this question. there are way more cool cars you could do a crazy swap to. thats why nobody does it. just not worth the time/effort to make a rwd contour.
 
The only V8 stuff I read was putting the SHO Yamaha motor in these things.

People talked about doing this 10 years ago when these cars were brand new and people could afford to spend $21K-$23K on these cars. The majority of these people that could afford to do this swap have since moved onto newer cars.

And I agree. A 3.0L RWD swap would be so much more ideal. Still crazy expensive, but at least you can use the existing harnesses...modified of course.
 
wasn't there a mondeo owner a few years ago that started a rwd swap? I don't recall if the project was ever finished. I remember seeing the pictures on their forum and the car was completely stripped ....
 
wasn't there a mondeo owner a few years ago that started a rwd swap? I don't recall if the project was ever finished. I remember seeing the pictures on their forum and the car was completely stripped ....

Yes, IIRC, last pic I saw was the rear end stripped and mention of working with an X-type drive train... IIRC.
 
well i can see why he asked it, I have personally seen 2 RWD focus V8's done with the kit. i think they even ordered it from summit racing. One was a 5.0 mustang motor, and one a 5.8 gen 1 lightning motor, so if people can spend the money and do those why wouldnt at least one person have tried a contour?? And neither of the Foci i saw were the only cars the owners had, the wanted the shock value. Im guessing they havent made a kit because the contour wasnt as popular of a car, just my 2 cents.
 
i would do a LSx engine just do to the compactness and weight of an aluminum block. While I am a die hard Ford guy, you cant beat an LS engine for stuff like this.
 
i would do a LSx engine just do to the compactness and weight of an aluminum block. While I am a die hard Ford guy, you cant beat an LS engine for stuff like this.


i cant stand when people put chevy motors in fords, if you wanted to do a LSx with a front drive car then pick a cavalier or something, boo chevy:nonono:
 
i cant stand when people put chevy motors in fords, if you wanted to do a LSx with a front drive car then pick a cavalier or something, boo chevy:nonono:

the problem is ford doesnt have a engine that compares. 302's are cast iron and heavy, unless you spend big money for a aluminum block, and 4.6 are huge. an ls1 is a pushrod aluminum block v8 that makes tons of power and is light and compact. I am a ford guy more than most (at 25 years old, I have had 18 cars, and 15 have been ford), but I'm sorry, I dont let that blind me to the fact that the lsx series of engines are better for this type of swap. convince me otherwise, you cant.
 
if you really want a RWD contour, the first step should be something simple, like a WC T5 mated to a Zetec with a Quads4rods bellhousing. this way you have very little modification of the wiring and PCM. It also just bolts together, no adapter plates or custom fabed bellhousing. Once you get it in and running, then you can either SC or turbo the Zetec, or move to a bigger engine.

as for cost, I know many people who have built their own cars completely from the ground up (frame and all) for under $5K so it can be done low cost, if you can do all the work yourself. Obviously most people cant, just look at how many people were really impressed with Goumba and his rear subframe for the AWD setup. Im not saying it was easy, just that when you know people who build the whole car, complex, difficult, and impressive take on whole new meanings.
 
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