I was at my local junkyard and found tons of cars that had the venerable Ford 4.6 v8 under the hood. They put these engines in everything from lincoln town cars to pickup trucks and they are a dime a dozen. Great aftermarket support too. What I'm wondering is how hard would it be to swap one of these engines into a fiero. They are shorter than a 350 chevy but a bit wider. I have a friend who's dad is a mechanic that has done too many engine swaps to count and is pretty knowledgable about these engines. He finds the idea of putting one in my little old fiero highly entertaining and would be happy to do it. I know I would need a new bellhousing and mounts but what else? I mean how hard can it be? Crap I shouldn't have said that...
I have a 4.6DOHC in a Lincoln and I think that engine may be a bit too wide to fit in the Fiero engine bay. Those heads look very wide. The SOHC head may fit more easily. It would be a cool swap, especially if you can get the DOHC version to fit, those engines can really rev. They are light (aluminum blocks) and strong (6 bolt mains). Aside from the mechanical issues of mating it with a Fiero manual gear box, getting all the necessary OBDII components to work properly would be the hardest past, I'd imagine.
Oh yeah I was thinking about the SOHC motor I measured the DOHC and it wasn't even close to being able to fit. Maybe I could replace the obd2 with an aftermarket chip? Or wouldthat be too expensive?
I was at my local junkyard and found tons of cars that had the venerable Ford 4.6 v8 under the hood. They put these engines in everything from lincoln town cars to pickup trucks and they are a dime a dozen. Great aftermarket support too. What I'm wondering is how hard would it be to swap one of these engines into a fiero. They are shorter than a 350 chevy but a bit wider. I have a friend who's dad is a mechanic that has done too many engine swaps to count and is pretty knowledgable about these engines. He finds the idea of putting one in my little old fiero highly entertaining and would be happy to do it. I know I would need a new bellhousing and mounts but what else? I mean how hard can it be? Crap I shouldn't have said that...
The SOHC motors, IE: the ones you find in the early 2000s Mustangs and all Crown Victorias from 2001-2011 are really the ones you want. You don't want to get one that's older than 2001 as it has significantly less power, to the tune of almost 30hp and 40ft-lbs of torque. The Crown Victoria, when properly configured from the factory (later 2008+ models), typically put out 250hp and ~300ft-lbs of torque. They are definitely not the most powerful motors in the world... but the one in my Crown Victoria will break into the 14s with what I've got... and the motor itself (block and heads) are totally stock. There's plenty of cheap parts for them, and they are DISGUSTINGLY RELIABLE. They will go 300,000 miles without changing anything on the engine except the oil and the plugs.
That said, they are huge motors, and very wide... and it would certainly take some work to get it to fit into the Fiero. I also don't know of any configuration in which that 4.6 liter motor is transverse, so I don't know how you would solve that problem.
Also interesting to note is that the 5.4 liter is actually a direct swap for the 4.6... almost like how the 3.4 is a direct swap for the 2.8. Only difference is the deck height which is ever so slightly taller, but all the accessories will still fit.
I would have to guess that if you could put one in a Fiero, you'd probably be running high 13s, and about the only thing that WOULDN'T break on that car, would be the engine.
I know someone who put in an SHO engine into a Fiero..not that easy, from the words from the mechanic, as it was a very tight fit.
V6 or the V8?
I've seen a V6 before, but it was a redneck swap. The Fiero had all the body panels stripped off and they appeared to only use it off road. I'd like to have a Fiero with a SHO V6 though. I just really like those engines. Heck if I ever found a decent shaped 2nd gen Taraus SHO I'd get it if the price was reasonable.
The 5.0 is a good motor, and I used to really dislike the 4.6... but that was before 2001. The 2001+ motor far exceeds the 5.0 engine in terms of performance.
Either engine can be made to be really powerful, obviously... and the 5.0 can be done cheaper... but the 4.6 is definitely a much more advanced engine. I would probably say too that you'll get better fuel economy out of it too... although that depends on a lot of factors.
I really, really have a lot of respect for the SOHC V8 4.6, it's a very reliable motor. It has pretty decent power but I think is a perfect engine for a simple reliable / performance resto-mod motor.
I've seen a V6 before, but it was a redneck swap. The Fiero had all the body panels stripped off and they appeared to only use it off road. I'd like to have a Fiero with a SHO V6 though. I just really like those engines. Heck if I ever found a decent shaped 2nd gen Taraus SHO I'd get it if the price was reasonable.
And in a Festiva, aka The SHOgun... http://www.google.com/url?s...5m34xTNWvA&bvm=bv.55 819444,d.cGE Only 8 were officially built, but many die-hard SHO enthusiasts build replicas. I know a guy who built one for 5 grand. I sold him the Festiva (or as some of my friends mistakenly called it, a Fiesta..) I owned. That's what he did with it.
The SHO motor sure was pretty. I had an '89, and while the car wasn't much to look at, the engine bay really was.
In 2013, though, I can't imagine putting in an engine that was only sold for 6 years 20 years ago, especially not when the Duratec V6 is truly a better motor and more recent. It doesn't sound as good, I guess, but it's a lot less work to maintain.
As far as mod motors, look around - some years of some vehicles had all-aluminum ones. IIRC, the first couple years of the Explorer were amongst those with all aluminum SOHC mod motors. Might as well save some weight where you can!
(That said, not sure why to go mod motor over LS... they weigh less, make equal power, and fit better...)
LS engines are great but they have been done to death (for good reason) and I feel like a car like the fiero just shouldn't have pushrods. OHC engine behavior just fits the nature of the car better.
LS engines are great but they have been done to death (for good reason) and I feel like a car like the fiero just shouldn't have pushrods. OHC engine behavior just fits the nature of the car better.
Well, I certainly can't argue that. Definitely something to be said for small cars and lots of cams. Still, though, the mod motor doesn't bring anything to the table in terms of weight, redline, output, or, really anything. It's technically neat and it's surely a great motor, but it seems like the difficulty of fitting it (width, lack of transmission, etc.) and the damage it does to the center of gravity would outstrip the neatness factor - but that's me. Regardless, I'd be interested to see the project!
LS engines are great but they have been done to death (for good reason) and I feel like a car like the fiero just shouldn't have pushrods. OHC engine behavior just fits the nature of the car better.
I assume you are implying you want a higher revving engine that pulls stronger in the upper RPM range. Something like this dyno with peak HP at 6800 RPM:
Hate to break it to you... its from my pushrod LS engine... with a camshaft swap that alters the power band. Simplicity and light weight of the pushrod, power band of a DOHC engine.
It's technically neat and it's surely a great motor, but it seems like the difficulty of fitting it (width, lack of transmission, etc.) and the damage it does to the center of gravity would outstrip the neatness factor - but that's me. 
