3.7/MT82 into 87-93 Mustang

[jw33]

baller. What did that takeout package run?

$2500. I looked around locally (all of TX on craigslist) for quite a bit and I never came across any cars being parted out with the mt82. A few came up for sale every once in a while with the 6R80, but I wasn't interested in piecing together all the stuff I'd need to get to go with the mt82. I even called a few local yards and it just isn't a desirable or exclusive drivetrain to keep together like an LSx or GT500 setup. I came across this one on ebay and the seller was a guy at a yard in Alabama who told me he intended to use it himself, but got busy with other stuff. I made him an offer and we eventually spoke on the phone and agreed on a price shipped with all the small stuff I wanted. I'll use everything but the driveshaft. This has been on the back burner for a while and I've knocked out several other projects around the house before taking this on. One of them was selling all the 2.3 stuff and money-wise I'm even after getting rid of it all...

I suspect that OEM gauge will always read a little hot; modern stuff tends to be kept at higher temps than that old (90s) junk.

Pretty cool man! You could have turbocharged the 2.5 to end up with 300 hp though

I'm all about that 2.3 life, but hell the fuck no. I will admit it looks so good on paper and I think I would be just the dummy to pull it off, but I have seen them come to the track and fall apart when pushed hard. I think there is just too many things that need major improvements to work at anything other than street duty. N/A they are hard to kill and we beat the shit out of the old motor. But something about a turbo setup just makes them have issues it seems like. I'm hoping this setup is just as reliable as the old motor and we won't even have to push it very hard to have double the power/fun. There was a lot of work put into this engine to make it what it is.

http://v6mustangperformance.com/news/ford-mustang-3-7l-v6-engine-explained/

I'm digging this project a lot. this is a lemons car right?

I think they are doing WRL/chump.

Yes this car has done all three at some point and primarily does Chump/Champ and WRL events.

I was able to use the mustang transmission crossmember with a few modifications. I boxed it to give it a bit more strength since the mounting point is hanging out there so far and this transmission it about double what a T5 weighs.




Summit sells the small bracket that mounts to the transmission with the bushings for people swapping the 6R80 into things. Since the mt82 shares the same bracket, I just used that instead of making it. One less mess to clean up.

[4EyedTurd]

Why’d you pick that motor/trans combo?

[KBScobravert]

Why’d you pick that motor/trans combo?

Looks like weight, power, cost and reliability.

[jw33]

ECU is mounted and the engine wiring is done. Using a couple of Littelfuse PDM with 280 size fuse/relays. One is for everything the engine needs and the other will be for non-critical stuff. Fired up/ran on the first hit and it runs alright. Had a voltage sensing wire off and the alternator was running full blast, but it was an easy find. Still playing with the tune a bit. No major leaks so far.



All the gauges work. The CAN-bus tach is great. No lag as far as I can tell.


All pedal mounted and working and clutch master is mounted to the dash bar with a remote reservoir under the hood. Still need to bleed the air out of the system which might be tough because there isn't a bleeder valve in the circuit. I'm going to try to pull vacuum on it and see if it will pull all the air out that way.





Slowly chopping away at the smaller stuff and playing with the tune. Need to find a '99-04 8.8 rear end because the 7.5 with 4:10 wouldn't live long and there is a MM torque arm in the attic just taking up space. Then I need to find an exhaust shop to build the exhaust....

[46Tbird]

You bleed the S197 MT82 hydraulic clutch by putting fluid in it and pumping it about a million times. Yes, really.

I think the service manual says 400 times or something like that, but it took 400+ pumps just to be able to drive it, and it still worked some air out for a week.

[shumpertdavid]

^^^^^^ what he said ^^^^^^^^

[fordracing19]

Cool project

[Juiced4v]

Wow! 1000 Likes

[NoClassic]

Super cool build. Keep the updates coming.

If you dont mind saying what was the cost of the engine and trans?

[jw33]

I've just been slowly tinkering with stuff and haven't updated much, but a lot of stuff has been done. I swapped an 8.8/3:73 ratio in place of the 7.5/4:10 rear end because the 7.5 did have a tlok, but the clutches are next to impossible to find. Plus the 7.5 was probably on borrowed time even at 2400-2500lbs. I went ahead and put in a torque arm that I bought off of CL a few months ago while I was doing all the rear end stuff too.

The latest project was the shifter and the driveshaft. The MT82 in the 11-present Mustang uses a remote shifter that mounts to the transmission and to the chassis in the stock configuration. It is a shitty setup and because I had moved the engine as far back as possible the shifter with the stock linkage was too far back for comfort in this chassis. I ended up shortening the stock shifter and made a crude mount to attach it to the transmission mount. This moved the shifter handle forward some, but it was just OK. Quick note, the v6 linkage is about 30mm longer than the v8 version. What I ended up with is only slightly shorter than the v8 version and it just didn't feel very great. I taked to MGW and guess what? They make three different versions of their MT82 race shifter specifically for moving the handle forward for swap cars. I ended up with the version that moves the shifter back only 8" vs. the stock 12.5" from the end of the transmission. The MGW shifter is a work of art. You can tell that they are still a small company that doesn't have some nitwit running around who's only job is to cut costs to save a nickel. It is solid. MGW for life.

My version


MGW conversion shifter


It will be a shame to cover it all up with a shifter boot...




The driveshaft I of course had to have made and I didn't feel great about the clearance in the tunnel area. So since I already had to fix the transmission tunnel I went ahead and cut out the sheet metal where it was close to the driveshaft. Now there is plenty of clearance and I shouldn't have to cringe when the car bottoms out over a curb or bumps.





Now it could run/drive, but I decided to redo the stock hard fuel line. Ford thought it would be a great idea to cross the fuel line from the passenger side to the driver side by going over the driveshaft and that just makes me nervous. I ordered some -6 size PTFE braided SS hose and I'll route it a little different to keep it away from moving parts and hot exhaust. After that it is all pretty much small stuff and I can actually start to think about a test day. I even have new wheels/tires sitting in the garage. 18x10.5 with 275/40 on all corners.

[JV106]

That’s a cool build. Mgw makes a damn good shifter.

[bird_dog0347]

very cool man!

[Baron Von Crowder]

That's looking great Jason.

[JV106]

How high are you going to spin that thing? Seems like something you could rev way up there.

[BradM]

That is so cool! I wish I had half of your ability.