Ford engine swap?

[NISTECH]

oh how i would like to get into this pissing match. I have owned 5 and had 2 that i was the sole servicer(daily repair man)of. Speaking from experiance here, most of fords products are very sad. And that is only to back I30t on his statement about fords being crap. BUT on the flip side chryslers products are no better. This statement comes from our shop next door a jeep chrysler facility. at that shop they repair all of chryslers line. Any journeyman tech will tell ya the transmissons in chryslers are garbage. that shop looks like a friggin wreaking yard. there are so many transmissions and engines laying around there that have been replaced due to failure. Now on the GM side of things I currently own 3 GM's and guess what all 3 of them are no better then the fords I have owned. So in conclusion American cars in general are piles of junk. The reason why should be totally obvious. As of last year all but 3 models of nissan are now made in north america only one is made in mexico. all the cars made in north america by nissan are beginning to show charicteristics of the big 3 american car makes. Do you think the quality of cars made in america might be the effected by the work habits/practices of the american worker? and yes I am american and have resided here all my life. so dont think it is a slam from a forigner.

[IvoryJ30t]

oh, dont take me as condoning crysler products either. i just observed which product commited suicide the least, and decided i wanted it, also i liked the silver/black leather and the body style. the only time i towed durangos was due to accidents [they were obviously at fault] and a few no starts. i showed up at chrysler of westchester [white plains] once a week, as compared to the one, two or more times a DAY i would go to rye ford. [usually for focus and explorer]

[MikeMurphy]

I <3 nistech!

I just need to find out the info on the engines myself, instead of listening to some stranger spout out all sorts of opinions regarding a specific product in which he knows very little about. There are far too many people on the net who share their opinions, and state them as fact, when they should state them as suggestions or opinions as to not confuse people.

And for the record, I dont like fords either. I never said I did. No I doubt it shares the same charateristics as the RB line of motors, but thats not the point.

[Nathan]

My family has owned one Ford F150 that was totally trouble free, a suburban that hasn't had any problems, and a new Silverado that so far has only been troubled with a quirky radio. I also never had any problems with my Blazer...are we the ONLY people that havent had a single problem with American cars?

[IvoryJ30t]

ok, but the original statement was the ford motor in a NISSAN, not the ford motor in the ford.

read it carefully, and youl see that this all stemmed from wanting to put the ford in the nissan. i wasnt putting down the contour or the ford motor from the begining, but started to do so when people started getting stupid about putting it into the nissan.

if, after that, your still argueing in his favor, your dumber than i thought and the frustration will make me want to kill myself.

[IvoryJ30t]

My family has owned one Ford F150 that was totally trouble free, a suburban that hasn't had any problems, and a new Silverado that so far has only been troubled with a quirky radio. I also never had any problems with my Blazer...are we the ONLY people that havent had a single problem with American cars?

no, i know people that havent had a problem with american cars.

im not saying that every american product will catch fire and explode on the way home from the dealership, its that COMPARED to imports, they are severly inferior.

[MikeMurphy]

Your first post...

hahahahahahahahahaha

you said a ford craptec, umm i mean zetec is one of your favorite motors.

hahahahaha

you suck

oh ****, i didnt even notice that you wanted to put it in a nissan.now you really suck it. hard.

your following post

read it carefully, and youl see that this all stemmed from wanting to put the ford in the nissan. i wasnt putting down the contour or the ford motor from the begining, but started to do so when people started getting stupid about putting it into the nissan.

:rolleyes man, that was effortless. notice you said you didnt even notice he wanted to put it into the nissan after you shared your consructive comments? come on man

anyhow, im out. take care.

[IvoryJ30t]

ok, lets break this down for the people who cant quite grasp the concept of sarcasm.

a)notice the beginning of the thread, where there is a suggestion of a ford motor in a nissan.

b)think about it real hard.

c)realize how much money, aggravation, and time.

d)then realize the garbage you gonna be left with after the completion of step (a)

those contributing factors led to my post ridiculing the idea of said operation.

understand it now. not quite rocket science.

and i did realise he wanted to put it in a nissan. it just added to my level of ridicule.

[IvoryJ30t]

damn canadians.

j/k

[NISTECH]

hey how about putting a nissan engine in a ford????

[NISTECH]

Oh wait its already been done can you say quest/villager. almost forgot the factory already did that.

[IvoryJ30t]

i forgot about that one. look how dead set people are in their opinion. i wasnt even trying to put anything down unfairly. ive seen/serviced/towed countless cars as you have also, and just expressing my observation, not only my opinon. ok, granted in my excessive sarcasm i can make myself look like an ******* alot, but its not uncorroberated.

its not a "bash ford because they suck" thread,

its

"bash ford becuse they use cheap materials, afterthough engineering, and as a result, tend to pump out an inferior product compared to the world standard" its a growing trend with car companies today. purely and simply the result of cutting costs and corners to increase their bottom line.

[pball]

Well, for the record, the Contour was a POS, the suspension was sub-par, interior design was blah, and the transmission sucked sucked SUCKED...but I really really like the engine. IIRC the Zetec engines use Cosworth technology, and their motors most definitely don't suck - i'd use one if i could afford it.

an SR at redline still sounds like a small I4 (sort of like a GSX-R1000 at redline), it doesn't have the same sound qualites as a V, which i happen to prefer, YMMV.

Oh, and for the record my suit is SFI 3.2a/5, flame away. What's so wrong with putting a domestic engine in a Nissan anyway, you kids are acting like a bunch of good ol' boys ranting about japscrap engines...

PS. first car was an 85 ranger w/130k, the thing ran GREAT for 4 years.

[Nathan]

I dont have a problem with putting a domestic engine in a Nissan at all, but trying to adapt a FWD domestic that is barely larger than what's in the 240 allready is just plain too much of a hassle and trust me, you will grow sick of the neverceasing problems during the swap. I happen to like some domestic engine swaps into 240's...such as Aries LT1 swap, thats just a sweet idea. I dont see a big quality difference between the major manufacturers, its the small new ones that scare me (kia, daewoo etc.).

[pball]

Oh, I'm sure the swap would be a huuge hassle, that's why I just sort of tossed the idea around. I was looking more at the V-layout and the VVT than the overall displacement though, if I could get a revvy 2.2L v6 with VVT I'd be all over it. Aries swap? I have a friend who had one, that's a decent 6. It's FWD too though, no?

[s14=pimpin']

glad the thread is back on topic. My $0.02

Buy a Mazda MX3. A buddy of mine swapped the same zetec contour motor into a mazda precedia (mx3) and it hauls some major A5S!! Really quick car, sounds nice, and a total sleeper. To drop it into a 240, is kinda stupid IMO (NOT bashing you dude). But like the good folks said, the FWD to RWD conversion is not worth all the hassle, again, IMO. Why not go for the VG or VQ swap insstead, if you are so persistant on a V motor. Or you could go RB, which I would do, because i too love low end torque produced from a 6 cylinder motor.

I work at GM, and they are s*** boxes, but better than Ford or Dodge (speaking from friends experience's, i have some more sense than to dump money into an american pile o s***).

and why not swap a rustang V8 motor into the 240, if you insist on a Ford motor? Yes, I know the focus motor is free, find a mx3 shell and you'll have a monster on your hands (I can get more info on the swap if you like).

good luck

[Nathan]

I meant Aries as in the moderator who put an LT1 engine (camaro, vette etc.) in his 240.

[Judge]

Well I just totalled a 98 SVT Contour.....and lemme tell ya, there isn't a Zetec V-6. Its Duratec, and parts are friggen expensive. The Turbokit is EXPENSIVE, Vortech kits suck (go check out http://www.contour.org and doa search on Vortech kits....everyone out there has spun the crosshaft bearing nad wasted the Supercharger)...don't bother with the engine...its crap plain and simple. (I replaced my SVT with a 240)

[pball]

s14...an MX3 is FWD, that was actually exactly what pushed me over to the 240 when I was buying - I absolutely cannot drive an FWD car; even AWD models that have a front bias annoy me to no end. Why not the VG/VQ? Very good question, I think i mentioned it in my original post. The Nissan Vs are significantly larger than a KA, giving the car even more forward weight bias. The Zetec is a smaller, lighter engine to begin with, and since custom mounts are a given, I was entertaining the thought of sliding the engine as far back as possible in the bay a la 350Z to shoot for the 50-50 weight distribution. I'm not looking for a dragger, just a good well-rounded roadracer. You hit the nail on the head with the Mustang engine, I'd have to pay for it =D

[s14=pimpin']

^^^^there si your answer dude, scrap that pile o s***

[pball]

ohhh, aries the moderator. Man...the back tires on that car must be almost off the ground with an engine like that up front!

[pball]

Well, expensive and high-maintenance != crap engine. The Ford-Cosworth RS1 is neither cheap nor low-maintenance, but is generally considered an excellent motor (the chassis wrapped around it is marginal though). Extreme example, but still - if you wanna play, you gotta pay.

[s14=pimpin']

if you hate FWD, then why are you trying to work with a FWD motor? Dude, no offense, but you are not making any sense, unless you have a truck load of money to burn on a custom transmission and differential, you are in dream land.

wake up muther lover, wake up!!!!!!

I was just giving you advice on what you have to work with, and if you are so persistant on using that pile o crap motor, as Judge has mentioned, then I gave you a chassis that it will drop right into, the mx3. You can get one of those piece o crap mazdas for cheap, your piece o crap ford motor will fit right in, you'll have a monster for the streets, and alot of people will kill themselves after being beat by a mx3. my pal said it a fairly easy swap, aparently the motor fits right in.

[pball]

I do have a truckload of money, at least 5 grand marked for a motor, and all the time in the world. I KNOW it's not going to be easy, nor quick, nor cheap, and I still want to do it - like climbing a mountain, or any one of the countless other "stupid" engine swaps people do.The bellhousing and assorted machine work I can get for free, as well as having a retired highly skilled mechanic at my disposal. I'm open to suggestions as to other SMALL (>2.6L) v6s that can be dropped into a 240, but if you're just going to flame me, keep it to yourself..my suit wasn't cheap :P

If you can come up with a way to give an MX3 the chassis performance of a 240, I'm down...like i said, street/dragracing means NOTHING to me, otherwise I'd have some American iron.

[Mr1der]

I don't much care for making "mutt" cars period, just seems wrong to me. I wouldn't hate on a Contour too much, those suckers can be harsh in SCCA racing.

Fords aren't the scum of the earth they're made out to be, hell my SUPERCHARGERED car has close to 160k on it with very few maintenance issues other than a goofy acting dis module that took a bit to figure out.

[jrc90240sx]

I like the MX3 idea, but didnt the MX3 come with a 2L v6 or something? anyway, how hard would it be to put it into a mazda 323 or protoge?

Anyway, IvoryJ30t - i am sorry for getting on you earlier, just the way you came across at frist was lacking. just seems way to many people just go post stuff like that and dont really give good info in either regarde to the original post. you have seens giving good info and resones that are understandable for your dislike in ford.

as for pball, i would say do what you want. it may not be the best or smartest engine swap into a nissan or fare from either but if your hell bent on doing it go for it. there is some smaller displacment v engines from nissan in japan. also the VG dosent not weight that much more then the KA, the KA is pretty heavy engine. an aluminum block and head ford 4.6 i would only think maybe wight 30-80lbs more. and with the removeal off the power steering and AC it would be pretty close to even. the SR would give you less wieght up front. i personly think my KA with all the work i have done sounds way nicer then my friends v6 stang even with his SC. and if you really want a v6 i would go with a GN 3.8 that would be one bad *** swap if i do say so myself.

[IvoryJ30t]

Well I just totalled a 98 SVT Contour.....and lemme tell ya, there isn't a Zetec V-6. Its Duratec, and parts are friggen expensive. The Turbokit is EXPENSIVE, Vortech kits suck (go check out http://www.contour.org and doa search on Vortech kits....everyone out there has spun the crosshaft bearing nad wasted the Supercharger)...don't bother with the engine...its crap plain and simple. (I replaced my SVT with a 240)

oh, wow. first hand experience.

that pretty much clears it up now doesnt it???:D

[methodchris]

if u put a ford motor in..go 302 or 351 but if your just lookin v6...nissan makes a hellova 3.5..

[Scott McLellan]

Ferrari 2.8 V8. Okay maybe not. Ford- Taurus SHO 3.4 V8, now there is a sweet engine. It's actually a Yamaha engine. One thing I think you should try with a small amount of money first is to buy a short ram intake. I thing this improved the sound of my car by a ton. It's way better than you would think and it's not annoying sounding like a dumb buzz bomb muffler. It actually growls! As for taking a transverse engine and mounting it north/south, it has been done as well as going the other way, too. Ex.- Northstar V8 from front wheel drive Olds Aurora going to rear wheel drive Shelby series 1. Notice that Carrol Shelby's budget is a bit bigger than yours. I think it has also been done by the factory in some rear drive Caddy, too(?). Going from north/south (what is it actually called?) engine to transverse has also been done. Ex.- Pontiac Fiero small block V8 swap kits. I really think it is possible to actually mount this engine and everything but I think all the little details would be too much for anyone. If you really are still in love with this engine try going out and testdriving some other cars just cause I think anybody thinks what they have is the best. Also consider this, if you sold that engine for say 1K then you would have 6K to put in a good bolt in KA or SR. Last thing I just thought of that I think might be something for ya to check out. I think there is some "midget" car racing class that runs on 2.0 ZETEC engines (originally transverse mounted) that are rear wheel drive of course. Not sure if there is anything in common here that maybe could at least get ya started. I also know there is an all wheel drive Ford Tempo that might be a "cool" candidate for an engine like this:) I think a "Good Luck" is in order here.

[Chingon]

I'd say build yourself a locost 7 kitcar Light weight, and the satisfaction of building it. There's lots of info on the net. Now if you are inclined into dropping that engine in...have there been any trannys that match up in fr form? If so...maybe it could not be as hard as most put it out to be.

And not all small ford engines are bad...