Guest dwinthrup Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 would it be a good idea to put a 3.8sc motor in to a z i was thinking its small light and power full aprox 300 foot pounds of torqe and 210hp i was thinking this cuase my brother has a t-bird sc and it screamed but he blew it up bad cranksensor and replaced it and put $500 of parts in it and no longer wants to deal with it. so i thought it would be really fun and tear some go a$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I like that engine, but I heard it's crap. Search for this engine mentioned in this forum. Don't knowmuch beyond that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I don't think Light and Powerful are words to describe a 3.8L v6 from ford that's been prone to blowing headgaskets (LTD what?). Cast iron block with iron head making 140hp. Not sure about differences with a supercharger, but you'd be able to get better results from an ls1 which would weigh just as much if not less, and produce more power/torque in naturally aspirated form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 Its an uninspired, heavy, unreliable, boat anchor of an engine. But, here at HybridZ we don't want to discourage your efforts... Now, the Yamaha head SHO 3L engine was a good engine from the same basic family and I think here's a couple guys on the site doing the swap. Also, the SVT V6 would be another good choice. FYI... my uncle also had a SC T-bird and he thought it was the baddest thing on the road, until I beat him in my Contour SVT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paddyz Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Two of my last three cars were T-bird S/C's, with simple bolt-ons both were 211-218HP and 308-312TQ at the rear wheels. One was an auto one was a manual. Both cars were 4000+lbs and a blast to drive. Both engines eventually experienced head gasket failures which were the bane of these motors. With a proper top-end rebuild, a light porting of the heads, a little exhaust work, and a smaller blower pulley it would be very possible to see 240HP and 340TQ at the wheels which would power a Z quite well. For more info on S/C's check out http://www.sccoa.com all of your questions will answered there!!! Best regards. Pat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwinthrup Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 as far a headgaskets are concerned a pluged cat is usally the problem most sc owners remove them asap. i HATE ANYONE that says 3.8 is unrealiable my 3rd car had a 3.8 and i bought it with 149k and it now has 250+k and the ONLY part replaced was the alt. i dont want a drag car i just want a every day driver with some punch that i don't have to pay an arm and a leg for. i just want something with a good punch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwinthrup Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 ps the sho yamaha is the one that is a pice i don't know anyonme that owned on the would say anthing good about them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 i HATE ANYONE that says 3.8 is unrealiable my 3rd car had a 3.8 and i bought it with 149k and it now has 250+k and the ONLY part replaced was the alt. Then you hate me... My mom had to pay to get two head gaskets replaced on her T-Bird, my uncle's SC Bird was bought back under California's Lemon Law, and two friend who owned 3.8L Windstars/Aerostars had to pay to replace head gaskets. Both sued Ford after Ford issued a TSB extending the warranty on head gaskets and Ford refused to reimburse. They won. The 3.8L V6 was not one of Ford's better ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwinthrup Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 really well in mn i hear everyone saying nothing but good things never heard of hg problems except from the sc because of the restictive exhaust maybe in ca the cats are WAY to restrictive than they are in mn. i never had a problem with mine and i sold it to my brother he never had to replace a thing then his freind bought it never replaced a thing. the car looks like sh1t but the engine is still strong. didn't mean to ofend anyone jus my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 If it's the same engine in the '86 LTD 2 then my parents never had problems with it. the car pulled hard for what it was. It did wear done bad after towing a 2500+ of boat for over a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sc0tty8 Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 I like that engine, but I heard it's crap. Search for this engine mentioned in this forum. Don't knowmuch beyond that. If you heard, and had not experienced, please, put your hand back down and sit back down. I don't think Light and Powerful are words to describe a 3.8L v6 from ford that's been prone to blowing headgaskets (LTD what?). Cast iron block with iron head making 140hp. Not sure about differences with a supercharger, but you'd be able to get better results from an ls1 which would weigh just as much if not less, and produce more power/torque in naturally aspirated form. There where a lot of differances between a 3.8na dn a 3.8sc motor. To allow for the additional power generated by the engine there were new designs for reinforcement made on the following components: Block Main bearings Crankshaft Bearing Caps Crankshaft (Dura-cast initially and forged steel for the majority of the production run) Steel crankshaft sprocket Timing Chain Cylinder head Head bolts Rocker arms The throttle body was designed new for the SC motor. Water routings in the engine were redesigned for the SC motor. Stock sc motor, depending on year, is about 220hp, and 315tq. Capable of 480+rwhp. Its an uninspired, heavy, unreliable, boat anchor of an engine. But, here at HybridZ we don't want to discourage your efforts... Now, the Yamaha head SHO 3L engine was a good engine from the same basic family and I think here's a couple guys on the site doing the swap. Also, the SVT V6 would be another good choice. FYI... my uncle also had a SC T-bird and he thought it was the baddest thing on the road, until I beat him in my Contour SVT. The sc motor is heavy? Do you know what it is made of? The yamaha motor, your saying that is good, and you where just bitching about head gaskets on the 3.8? Put that 3.0 yamaha motor with an atx trans, and beat the shit out of it, tell me what one goes first. As for beating him with the contour, they both RUN THE SAME TIMES STOCK!!!!, so, you know how to drive better then your uncle, congrads. Two of my last three cars were T-bird S/C's, with simple bolt-ons both were 211-218HP and 308-312TQ at the rear wheels. One was an auto one was a manual. Both cars were 4000+lbs and a blast to drive. Both engines eventually experienced head gasket failures which were the bane of these motors. With a proper top-end rebuild, a light porting of the heads, a little exhaust work, and a smaller blower pulley it would be very possible to see 240HP and 340TQ at the wheels which would power a Z quite well. For more info on S/C's check out http://www.sccoa.com all of your questions will answered there!!! Best regards. Pat. Someone that knows something about the mn12 sc platform. Oh, pat, I bet if you would have pulled the cats/res off, you would not have had HG probs;) Then you hate me... My mom had to pay to get two head gaskets replaced on her T-Bird, my uncle's SC Bird was bought back under California's Lemon Law, and two friend who owned 3.8L Windstars/Aerostars had to pay to replace head gaskets. Both sued Ford after Ford issued a TSB extending the warranty on head gaskets and Ford refused to reimburse. They won. 3rd party experience/hear say. You californians...I bet if your emmisions where not so tight, your hG's would be fine. I have known a lot of people with the 3.8na motor and non have blown a HG.... I have had 3 mn12's with the v6 3.8 motor, no probs, and, that 3.8 motor, there are people making a lot of power on it. You should check out morana v6 racing and magnum powers before you start spoutning off at the mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwinthrup Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 sounds like scotty8 has you a licked from experence not here say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paddyz Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Someone that knows something about the mn12 sc platform. Oh, pat, I bet if you would have pulled the cats/res off, you would not have had HG probs;) Both of my cars were pretty much stock. The Cats were a little restrictive but the Resonator is where the problem's lie in a T-Bird S/C. It is necked down to about 1.75 inches at the outlet for reasons only known to the Ford engineering staff! It is this element that is responsible for 75% of the head gasket failures. The other 25% are usually the result of running the motor too hard when cold and the reactions to the iron block and aluminum heads heating up at dissimilar rates and causing the head gasket to get sucked into one or more cylinders, usually #3 & #6. The morale of the story is: put in a freshly rebuilt motor, open up the exhaust and ALWAYS warm the motor up before spanking any stray Mustangs or Camaros!!!! There would we be significant engineering time involved in placing a 3.8SC into a Z, however with a good rebuild, 75MM MAF and T/B, 5-10% underdrive blower pulley, hi-flow cats, dual 2.5 or single 3 inch exhaust, front mount intercooler and an EEC tuner you could expect 325-350HP and 400ish TQ at the rear wheels. The TQ builds right from off-idle and you could easily smoke the tires in second and third given the light weight of our Z's. Pat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dot Posted November 7, 2004 Share Posted November 7, 2004 A friend of mine is currently swapping a 3.8 SC into a Triumph TR7. I'll let you know how things go. This motor out lasted the hard driven donor car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 7, 2004 Share Posted November 7, 2004 My 'Ford" friend is trying to convince me to use the SC3.8, instead of the 2.3 turbo. (If ANY of this dream turns into reality) And I was concerned about the h/g issue and cracking heads.. I had not done much reasearch yet, but it would seam those two issues have been adresed here.. But the MAIN issue I had with it is, like has been stated, the 'engineering' involved to make it fit/work in a Z. For that kind of time/effort, I could do my original 351 V8 plan and most likely have more power/ect. There are reasons that plan has been scraped (for now) so it looks like no matter how 'good' the 3.8 actually is, it's not gona happen for me. Good to know for future reference though.. I have half a dozen swaps/projects in my head that Im sure I'll attempt/play with in the coming years. I have to finish my aprentishit first, and buy a little house.. with a big garage. Hope we're still burning fosile fuels by then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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