1998 v6 worth building?

d-camarena · Feb 23, 2018

Hey guys, im new here but ive been building cars for a long time. Ive always been into imports. Ive had 240sx, civics, and an evo. Ive been out of the scene for a while since my son was born, i was not planning on building another car soon but my sister gifted me a good running and mint interior sn95 v6. Its a 1998. I have a daily so im planning on upgrading the rear end, suspension and in the end i plan on doing a coyote swap. Im doing lots of research and im questioning wether this is a good place to start or not. Would starting with v6 be a huge setback or do most swap parts fit a gt and v6? Is hydroboost a must for a coyote swap? Any help is appreciated

07GtS197 · Feb 23, 2018

Its up to you what your goals are and how much you want to spend. A twin turbo 3.8 would make the same if not more power than a coyote and could be done easier, not to mention it could be cheaper if piecing together a kit yourself. Thats just an example.

If you do go with either a 4.6 or coyote yes you will have to swap to hydroboost. Ford used hydroboost with the 4.6 in the mustang because of the lack of room. A coyote takes up a little more room so yea itll need it too.

There are a few on this forum with built 3.8s that love them. Theyre not bad motors and can make good power. One thing I like to share is a video from engine masters where they threw a powerstroke turbo on a junkyard 302 and made over 600 hp at the crank. Yes it is apples to oranges but my point is you can make good power with little money with these cars.

96blak54 · Feb 24, 2018

Thats a great video!

d-camarena · Feb 24, 2018

Thanks for the reply, its gonna be a looong term project. Engine is last in my book. Im most concerned about s
The suspension. Can i buy parts for a gt and they will fit the v6 shell?
And thanks for the vid, very interesting

07GtS197 · Feb 24, 2018

Most of the suspension parts are the same except for the springs and maybe the front struts because of the different springs. Suspension stuff will swap from one to another.

evilcw311 · Feb 24, 2018

Yes the gt suspension upgrades will bolt right on to your car. Couple things to keep in mind is the difference in rear ends. You have the 7.5. Best to grab an 8.8 from a junkyard gt or find an irs from a newer cobra.

Also keep in mind with lowering springs that your front end wonâ€™t settle as much due to less weight from the v6.

Other than that get whatever you can find for the gtâ€™s. It will be a great starting point for when you do build a motor. Monkey will probably chime in here soon with some info. He has a pretty sweetly built v6.

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g36 monkey · Feb 24, 2018

When I built the V6, it made sense to do so. But, at this time coyotes have come sooooo far down in price, they make the most sense.

However, the platform is just as well. But as Evil said, put the 8.8 in, otherwise everything else is pretty much the same.

If I were doing everything over, I would go this route:

Car
8.8 rear end
Subframe connectors
Coilovers or springs and shocks/struts
Torque Arm
Panhard Bar
Whatever powertrain

white95 · Feb 26, 2018

evilcw311 · Feb 26, 2018

white95 said:
No

Hush you!!!!

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d-camarena · Feb 26, 2018

Thanks all, hey monkey my plans for this car are 100% street. I live near backroads and i love driving the curves, i was thinking of buying a grip box but do you think everything on the kit is a necessity? Could i be good with just panhard and torque arm and a nice set of coilovers? I dont really drag race, on the roads we race there are some curves and our races are 1/2 mile.

d-camarena · Feb 26, 2018

Ive never raced a car without irs so im worried but im sure ill figure it out

evilcw311 · Feb 26, 2018

Pan hard and torque arm setup is superior to a stock irs. A fully built irs would be hard to beat.

Iâ€™m building an irs myself. Iâ€™ve had torque arm cars and they do handle really well.

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g36 monkey · Feb 27, 2018

Built SRA vs Built IRS, both cars will handle very well, but the IRS will be a bit more "comfortable" on a course. But you can usually come out lower cost on the SRA.

I am pretty sure I bought a grip box but I don't remember. I am a Maximum Motorsports fanboy and have most of their catalog under my car.

bmcgc · May 28, 2018

2011-2013 3.7 V6 Mustangs are now under 10k.

That car is far superior to the SN95 Mustang.

8.8, 305hp, 6 speed.

evilcw311 · May 28, 2018

bmcgc said:
2011-2013 3.7 V6 Mustangs are now under 10k.

That car is far superior to the SN95 Mustang.

8.8, 305hp, 6 speed.

Theyâ€™re also a bit on the heavy side compared to our snâ€™s

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bmcgc · May 28, 2018

305hp vs 150hp.

How much will you spend matching the 305hp?

evilcw311 · May 28, 2018

bmcgc said:
305hp vs 150hp.

How much will you spend matching the 305hp?

$1k buys all the parts you need from a junkyard to drop a running v8 in the sn. Donâ€™t need 305hp to match when they weigh so much more.

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bmcgc · May 28, 2018

Depending on options, SN95 vs S197 is 200-400 lbs. As soon as you drop a V8 into the SN, the weight advantage is nearly gone.

My wife had a 2014 V6/AT/2.73 vert, it spanked my bone stock 94 GT/5spd/3.08 vert all day long. It wasnt even close, off the line she pulled away and I never caught up until she backed off.

The majority of posters on these forums do not have the time, money, ability, tools and garage/shop space to do a engine/tranny/wiring/rear end swap.

Sure anything is possible, but being realistic, start off with the car you want, go from there.

Salvage yard prices are way more than $1000 for a V8 swap. the going price for a good used 8.8 is now $500. I go to the Pull-A-Part in Atlanta, I could probably get everything for a V8 swap for around $1000, but condition is unknown and I might be buying $1000 worth of junk.

evilcw311 · May 28, 2018

bmcgc said:
Depending on options, SN95 vs S197 is 200-400 lbs. As soon as you drop a V8 into the SN, the weight advantage is nearly gone.

My wife had a 2014 V6/AT/2.73 vert, it spanked my bone stock 94 GT/5spd/3.08 vert all day long. It wasnt even close, off the line she pulled away and I never caught up until she backed off.

The majority of posters on these forums do not have the time, money, ability, tools and garage/shop space to do a engine/tranny/wiring/rear end swap.

Sure anything is possible, but being realistic, start off with the car you want, go from there.

Salvage yard prices are way more than $1000 for a V8 swap. the going price for a good used 8.8 is now $500. I go to the Pull-A-Part in Atlanta, I could probably get everything for a V8 swap for around $1000, but condition is unknown and I might be buying $1000 worth of junk.

Most of the posters currently on here have done multiple motor and tranny swaps. The op already has the sn so Iâ€™m not sure why your bringing up info about buying another car. Heâ€™s looking for info about best route to build his car that his sister gave him.

And just so you know, 94-95gt verts are horribly slow as they weigh far more than a coupe and they are way worse on body flex.

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bmcgc · May 29, 2018

I see nice SN95 GTs for 3-4-5k. The OP could sell his V6, add 1-2k which is money he is going to spend anyway, and start off with a far superior car.

I would only be interested in a SN V6 if it had manual everything, a few of them slipped out of the factory that way. Losing weight has the same effect as adding hp.