RWD Conversion

[Power Surge]

Hey everyone....it's been a long time. Some may remember me from back in the day. At the time, I had a white 91 with the motor all powdercoated white/silver, with a Holset turbo and coil on plug conversion. A member from TX here bought that car years ago.

Anyway, I guess I'll be back around again. I'm planning to do a RWD SHO 3.2 in a 76 Mustang II Mach1. I think it will be a really fun car.

Right now, the car has a 302/C4 automatic. I am not sure what I want to do trans wise. I could use the Canfield adapter and keep the C4. I can't find tons of info or pics on that setup though. I'm not sure if starter placement has anything to do with using that adapter. The v8 Mustang II C4 uses a smaller 141 tooth flywheel and smaller bellhousing which also moves the starter in more. It still has the same motor bolt pattern, just not sure if the adapter plate has an affect on starter placement.

Or I could go manual, and use the M5OD setup, which I have found pretty good info on here on this site.

Originally I was thinking, "well the SHO motor really needs a manual to take advantage of the fun powerband", but then again, they did come with autos too and those cars ran pretty well. Plus I prefer an auto.

I know there is also the Quicktime bell, but I'm not going that route. And probably not Aerostar bell either. Are there any other companies that make a RWD adapter plate?

Does anyone know what the balance is for an SHO flywheel or flexplate?

I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions as time goes on and I'll post pics of the progress as well.

 

[rubydist]

the starter you choose needs to match the bell housing you use, so if you use the MII 141T flywheel and C4, then you need the MII starter.

SHO is neutral balanced.

 

[pjtoledo]

if you want an auto, the 4R44 from a Ranger 3.0 (must be a Vulcan 3.0!) will bolt right up. rumor says those trannys can be built to handle some power increases.

 

[Power Surge]

if you want an auto, the 4R44 from a Ranger 3.0 (must be a Vulcan 3.0!) will bolt right up. rumor says those trannys can be built to handle some power increases.

That's a good option I haven't heard of, but probably won't go that route since that would require electronic control.

 

[Power Surge]

SHO is neutral balanced.

Good to know! Once I get the motor and trans out of the MII, I will be able to see how compatible the flywheel is with the SHO motor. The stock MII v8 flywheel is 28oz balance, so I will have to remove the weight.

 

[pjtoledo]

That's a good option I haven't heard of, but probably won't go that route since that would require electronic control.

maybe get an older non-electronic model?

Good to know! Once I get the motor and trans out of the MII, I will be able to see how compatible the flywheel is with the SHO motor. The stock MII v8 flywheel is 28oz balance, so I will have to remove the weight.

SHO flywheels have 8 bolts, most older V8s have 6?

 

[rubydist]

its not just the weight, on some (flexplates for sure, some flywheels) there is a big "hollow" spot on the side opposite the weight. There is a flywheel available that is a Mustang flywheel drilled for the SHO crank. but its the larger size one, iirc.

 

[rubydist]

the older auto trans that fits behind the Vulcan was a pos that would barely hold up to the puny power of the Vulcan, so don't waste your time trying that behind a SHO motor. I don't know if the 4R44 is that much better or not, since I don't have experience with that trans.

 

[Devin]

The AXOD is a piece of crap, so stay far way from that.

 

[Black91SHO]

Just my 2 cents, but a RWD automatic is such a waste. You can have so much more fun and control with a manual. I don't know how difficult it is to mount the pedals and make it work, though. I've never considered an ATX SHO because the ones I've driven have been so boring. But that's just personal preference. Everyone's different.

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[Power Surge]

Just my 2 cents, but a RWD automatic is such a waste. You can have so much more fun and control with a manual. I don't know how difficult it is to mount the pedals and make it work, though. I've never considered an ATX SHO because the ones I've driven have been so boring. But that's just personal preference. Everyone's different.

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I have been considering auto vs manual. I've owned many manual cars, but prefer automatics. I can do a full manual valve body also, which will allow me to make every shift like a manual too.

Another subject... does anyone know if the oil pan bolt pattern is the same between the SHO motor and a regular Vulcan 3.0?

 

[Black91SHO]

That kind of negates the manual, though. I was just throwing in my preference, but it's your car. Whatever you enjoy is what matters most, of course.

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[Power Surge]

It's kind of interesting that doing a search here for RWD conversions, that most stalled out midway and the members never posted again

 

[Black91SHO]

Yeah, I didn't want to mention that. It's not an easy process.

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[Power Surge]

Yeah, I didn't want to mention that. It's not an easy process.

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Oh I know. I've put just about every ford motor into something it wasn't intended for. Just been quite a few years since I was in the SHO game, and needing to refresh my memory on some of this stuff. Plus see if anything new has come about since then

 

[Black91SHO]

My only reservation about using the SHO motor into something else is the maintenance cost. I've spent so much just keeping my SHOs running, it's gotten annoying to me. So I'm afraid I'd end up in the same situation if I put the motor in something else. But I'd love to have the motor in something lightweight and RWD. That'd be awesome. The only other option I've thought of is a bit unorthodox. Two electric motors, one on each rear wheel. The SHO motor would have a high-power alternator to produce power for some batteries in the back to power the electric motors. But this would only allow for rear-wheel drive (or AWD) in small stints depending on the battery capacity. It'd be interesting to work out using the electric motors only for acceleration. Ultimately, I think that'd be too tricky to really make it work well, and expensive, too. Not something I'd attempt.

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[mrecoolgar]

If it ever gets completed.

 

[Power Surge]

If it ever gets completed.

I've been looking at you posts on your project. I had an 88 RX7 that I was doing a fully electric build on.

 

[Black91SHO]

**** yeah. I've owned a few RX7 turbo II's. Fun cars. I've thought about a SHO conversion before, but it seems like a lot of work. I hadn't thought about a fully electric build, though. It'd be a cool build, but I love having range, so I'm always wanting an ICB to recharge the batteries for range, maybe something like a simple motorcycle engine. How'd the electric build go?

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[Power Surge]

**** yeah. I've owned a few RX7 turbo II's. Fun cars. I've thought about a SHO conversion before, but it seems like a lot of work. I hadn't thought about a fully electric build, though. It'd be a cool build, but I love having range, so I'm always wanting an ICB to recharge the batteries for range, maybe something like a simple motorcycle engine. How'd the electric build go?

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Once I realized that it would take years to recover the $15k just the batteries alone would cost, I sold everything off, lol.