57 ford engine swap

[joaquinros]

good afternoon

thank you for letting me be a part of this club. i purchased a 1957 ford fairlane convertible for my father 8 years ago as a gift. lately we have been having lots of problems with engine tunning and transmission. i wanted something for pops to ride without any problems for long trips. i purchased a 1990 ford crown victorian with a 5.0 with 65,000 miles. runs beautiful.
my question is as followes. does everything fits perfectly or do i have to make modifications?
can i use the same motor mounts and transmission mounts from the maarge?
can i use the rear ends from the marque or do i keep the same ones?

iam not a mechanic so i will have to find someone. its been hard down in new orleans so if you guys know someone please let me know.

[Wirenut]

I did a similar swap. It's not a simple swap. My swap was from an 86 Grand Marquis.
I went with headers for some clearance issues, motor mount replacement, shifter cable, driveshaft shorten and balance, wiring upgrade, transmission cross member and trans mount modification. The rear end is probably too wide but the 57 differential is in my opinion better left in. I went to a different gear ratio to better match the transmission overdrive. If the donor trans is an AOD/ Metric lokar makes a cable and adapter. If it's electronic shift some others on the site may be able to let you know what's needed.
I may have left out a few things. I did upgrade mine with a mild cam and upgraded heads with intake. I'm not sure if the year you have has fuel injection or not, if it does there's some wiring harnesses and fuel pump upgrades needed.
Hope this help some. The swap is worth it in my opinion but it is some work to do it right.

[RICH MUISE]

Welcome. One of our more knowledgeable members lives in Baton Rouge. I'm sure he'll be chiming in when he sees this. Lynn is more traditional, but he or his friends may know somebody in your area to do the swap for you. I'm not sure if the '90 CV has a computer, if it does, I'd recommend checking with Ron Francis Wiring for a conversion harness.
Welcome to the forum.........we like pics!!

[Ford Blue blood]

Welcome aboard!  Natural swap.  Speed density system. It is kind of a stand alone system.  The EFI system does only one thing in that car....runs the engine.  Great swap, easy swap, do what Rich said, look to Ron Francis for the stand along wiring kit for that set up.

[Wirenut]

Another item to look at is the oil pan, if it's a front or rear sump, if that needs changed it will require an oil pump and dip stick change. Welcome to the forum, we have a lot of great members that have been there done it on most 57 requirements and are a wealth of information.

[RICH MUISE]

Joaquinros...........one of the members just informed me he accidentally gave you a smite...........I can't remove it, so just ignore, and have a great day!!

[joaquinros]

thanks everyone
i called ron francis and got the info i needed for the wiring harnest.
any other comments are appreciated

[RICH MUISE]

Ron Francis is the best available, both in quality and correctness. They are a little pricey, but well worth it in just about everyone's opinion who has used them. If you end up needing a rewire of the entire car, their Express kits are great, and made specifically for your car.........no chevy color coding here!!. Be patient, I think given a little time, some more members will chime in. I'm not sure how many members here have done the 5.0 to be honest but I know it's been done a lot, and I'm on another forum that I'm pretty sure has 5.0 members.

[Lou]

It sounds to me that the swap you plan will cost as much as fixing the problems you have.
OK.... it well known that I prefer bone stock cars, so my comments trend to lean that way.
What is wrong with the stock engine and trans?
If you or your father ever plan to sell the car the 5.0 will kill a good amount of it's value.
About 10 years ago I drove a 57 Hardtop with a 5.0, it was a nice driving vehicle but did not have the same feel as a stock 57.

[RICH MUISE]

Everyone knows I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum from Lou on how we like our cars, and I feel the quality of the modifications has a lot to do with resale value. With that said, the convertible you have is one of the hardest to find '57s, so extra thought should be given to the mods as I have to do the rare agreement with Low on this one. However, also to be considered is the mods wouldn't require any alterations to the car that couldn't be undone pretty easily. With that in mind, being a convert., I'd if you go ahead with the changes, storing the engine and tranny and anything else removed from the car would be important. BTW, since you're calling it a convertible, we're assuming it's a soft-top, not a retractable.?? And maybe being a newbie to the '57s, what is the engine code listed on the driver's door jamb vin plate? That also might be a huge factor in deciding the swap.

[mustang6984]

A 312 would be an easy re-build and install...plenty of get up and go...and MUCH easier for a mechanical novice to accomplish without feeling overwhelmed having to learn new technology. I'm with Lou here.

Rich had an advantage of being possessed with an engineering mind...(which explains a lot of other things... )

[djfordmanjack]

Hugh, I understand your thinking of 'keeping things original makes it easier', but I have to say that Y blocks may not be for tech novice. Although I love them and they are a pretty simple and sturdy engine, but most engine shops do not have experience with them and parts may become way more pricey than even on a modern 4.6 or 5.0.
Unless someone is a very much interested in modern equipment, like Rich is, somebody else might be much better off using a 351 carburated SBF in a 57. It's a pretty easy swap, and easy to find and easy to maintain and reasonable to rebuild. jmho.

A 312 would be an easy re-build and install...plenty of get up and go...and MUCH easier for a mechanical novice to accomplish without feeling overwhelmed having to learn new technology.

[lalessi1]

joaquinros, I live in Baton Rouge and I might be able to help. I have little knowledge of shops in the New Orleans area but I do know a shop in Baton Rouge that MIGHT be interested in doing your swap. I know the owner and I will ask him. I do everything pretty much by myself so I have little experience with shops. I will ask around for you. If you'd like contact info send me a PM.

[Ford Blue blood]

Got to jump in here....can;t help myself....I'm of the opinion cars are a hobby.  I like cars, I don't hunt, don't fish and don't chase little white balls around the pasture.  If I break even with buying/selling/modifying a vehicle I'm happy. 

Cars are not an investment, at least not at my (many of us) income level.  I build and modify to my taste, no one else.  The number of hours put into a project are immaterial, not part of the "investment".  They fall into the "relaxation and re-boot the mind" to keep my sanity arena.  So building a car to provide fun and relaxation moves right out of the "investment" category into the "therapeutic" category and that extends into the driving category as well.

Off my soap box now....:<)

[Jeff Norwell]

Preach on Brother Bill.
You have hit the nail SQUARELY on the head.