Ford Taurus SHO engine swap in an FC
 

Hi, I've been thinking about doing an engine swap on an FC RX7. That being an engine from the Ford Taurus SHO

For those of you not familiar with this engine, There are 2 variations I'm looking at, in 89-91 a 3.0L V6 putting out 220 HP and 200 Ft-lbs of torque, and from 92-95 a 3.2L V6 with the same horsepower and 215 Ft-Lbs of torque. this may not seem like a very good engine, but it accelerated to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds, and a quarter mile in the high 14s, which was pretty good for a family sedan in the 90s.

Part of the reason I wanted to do this swap is because I've seen people put them in Rangers, I don't really want a truck, and the FC RX7 has been one of my favorite looking cars since I was a kid. Another reason is that its such a unique swap, and I'm looking for a challenge (and a money pit lol) that i can be proud of.

One thing you might be wondering is, hey, its a FWD engine in a family sedan, how are you planning on putting this in an RX7? Well, I'm glad you asked. The way I'm doing this is the same way as people putting the SHO in rangers. The M5OD-R1 transmission. You see, when Ford was working with Yamaha, they made sure to use the engine block from the Vulcan V6, an engine found in the ranger and some other light vehicles of the early 90s and 00s. This way, you can use the M5OD-R1 transmission specifically because it's rated for a pretty good amount of torque, its been used a lot in SHO swapped cars without any problem, and the gear ratios are similar to the CD009 a popular transmission found in the 350z/370z (this is important because I plan on drifting it, or at least using it as a fun daily). Behind the transmission will (likely) be a custom driveshaft, bolted up to a Ford 8.8 limited slip rear end from a mustang. I don't really know much about the FC's suspension, so I may need a little help figuring that one out.

Here comes the hardest part, the one I will dread the most. Wiring. I have too little experience with wiring, and this would be my first ever engine swap. But, either way, I have chosen to devote my life to cars, and I want to be a master at everything, and I may try to work with a professional to wire it. I've noticed quite a few 302 Mustang swaps, which use the same onboard computer (EEC-IV onboard system) and I was wondering if people used the same ECU or used a standalone, and if they still had the amenities, such as pop up head lights, ABS or if everything was even still compatible at all. I'd obviously want it to be a fully functional car, with everything working reliably, but since this will be my first swap, its absolutely not going to be right the first, or second, or third time around, but that wont discourage me.

Now for the "dream" part, forced induction. SHOs are pretty robust engines, being able to take quite a bit of boost on stock internals, so I could probably run 10-15 pounds of boost easily. Nobody really makes turbo kits for the SHO so it'd probably all be custom tubing, I could use an intercooler from any car probably. I'd also probably have to wire that up as well. To be honest, besides the tune, it would probably be easier than the entire custom wiring harness I'd need to make.

Other things I may need to worry about that don't sound too hard would be custom engine and transmission mounts, rear suspension setup, intake and exhaust fabrication + sensor placement, throttle/clutch/brakes fabrication/placement, and hood clearance (even though its a pretty small engine and should fit in the bay, its pretty tall). Let me know if I'm missing anything.

So that's the swap, I've researched extensively on it and yes, I know its gonna be a money pit and a bitch to create, but its going to be one helluva unique project.

If y'all have any ideas on how to wire it up, if I can use the factory harness and computer from the SHO and somehow hook it up to the lights and such of the FC, or if i need a completely custom harness, I want to know, because I am committed to making this car.

Since I'm too young and don't have any money, or any of the necessary parts to make it, this car probably will not come to fruition for several years. I am seriously planning to make this car, nevertheless, I'm just planning ahead.

Thanks, Let me know what you think of the swap and any problems with my idea.

Here's some links if you wanted to learn about the SHO engine

https://www.rideapart.com/articles/2...ged-the-world/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Taurus_SHO

You can use the factory sho engine harness and pcm. On the fc, the front harness controls all the lighting, headlight motors, washer pump, etc. This harness doesn’t really need to be touched when doing a swap so all your lights will be fine. Honestly I would recommend getting some kind of electrical training whether it be online or in class. It’s important to understand how to read a schematic when doing a swap, especially if it’s efi. It will save you time and frustration in the long run.

Oil pan clearance may be your biggest issue with engine placement and hood clearance. I’m not familiar with the sho but you may have to fab a pan/dry sump/lower front subframe.

Not sure if you want to keep irs or go solid axle but I’d recommend keeping irs and check out Ronin speedworks for an 8.8 kit.

Swaps are a labour of love. Take your time, learn some skills and most importantly, have fun!

Interesting swap, you might be in luck actually, the M50D-R1 is a Mazda based transmission, its a P Type, and its 6 speed variant was used in the 2009-2012 Rx8.

your other transmission option, might be the older Mazda based Ford transmission, i think TK5? its the same thing Mazda had in the Turbo 2, so you could potentially have something that bolted in. Mazda calls it an R type

Thanks for the help, I'm trying to become a mechanic (going to trade school) and I'm hoping to learn a lot about cars and how they work, so hopefully I'll learn a bit about wiring harnesses and such along the way.

The SHO engine is a pretty tall engine, even with a 60 degree bank, so i may have some oil pan troubles, is there some sort of measurement for the engine bay that I can compare with the SHO?

I may just go 8.8 rear, I hear a lot of good things about it. If there's an IRS option, that would be cool as well, but it doesn't matter much to me, because I'd probably be afraid to track the car when I've put so much work into it lol

I'll do my best to treat the car as best I can, and to get it right.

The reason the M5OD-R1 works so well is because the bellhousing of the engine is the same as the vulcan, which is in the ranger, which is where the transmission comes from, and I'd like to do as little fab work as possible.

the Vulcan came with the TK/Mazda R box too, i'm saying i think you can put a T2 tailhousing on a Ford TK trans and it would bolt into the car. (or maybe the Vulcan bellhousing on the T2 trans)

An LS1 weighs less, is more powerful and less complicated, There are brackets and mounting plates readily available, and the car will be worth more when you're finished. :icon_tup:

If I wasn't a full fledged rotard, 400lbs of smog legal torque would be hard to argue with.

No disrespect but he didn’t ask what swap he should do. A Chevy LS based something is obviously a more logical choice, however he’s made up his mind to do something left field and a road less travelled. As a rotary guy I’m sure you understand that lol.

to the OP:

I don’t know much about SHO engines but be prepared to cut a hole in the hood. I do know what makes those engines special is the variable intake manifold so I don’t think you want to lose that until after it sees boost. I can get you a measurement from the top of the steering rack to the hood skin, but even my V6 of choice doesn’t fit easily.

Be prepared to do more hours of research than working on the car, learning driveline angles and electrical workings. Unsure what you’re budget is but if you want to learn fundamentals of EFI a stand-alone is a good way to go. The oem ford EEC will throw you some curve balls.
I’d look into HP academy for wiring and EFI tuning courses.
Also be prepared to spend more in tooling then in actual parts lol

LS is way overdone and honestly a bit too easy. Plus, I'm a Ford/Mazda guy.

Thanks, I'll definitely look into HP academy.

I honestly kind of want to keep the exterior stock, and maybe I could move or change the front subframe to get it to fit, but I may have to cut a hole in the hood.

I may go standalone ECU anyways, because EEC-IV is a bit outdated and it may hinder the engines power...?? I dont know much about electronics yet, and I'm gonna have to read up.

Another problem I've just recently remembered, how would I wire up the dash to make the engine readings and speed accurate?

I would need to set up the speed sensor to be accurate to the axles, I would either need a new speed sensor to work with the diff, which I'm not sure what ratio to run yet. I also haven't chosen whether to keep the FC's IRS or just use the Ford 8.8 rear.

I would need to figure out how to measure engine speed (in RPMs) and get that accurate to the dash, which I would have to adjust to meet the Taurus SHO engine's 7000 RPM redline.

Battery voltage should be (semi) easy.

I'm not sure what other readings are on the FC dash, but I'd need a way to hook those up as well.

As y'all can plainly see, my biggest problem with this swap is absolutely going to be wiring everything up

True, though it would be much easier to use the Ranger trans. It's already used in a lot of SHO swapped rangers, so I'm going to apply what the Ranger owners have learned to this car.

I could always swap it out if i needed to.

keep the FC diff, don’t make it too complicated right off the start. At that power level it will be fine

grannies speed shop had a good write up for adjusting the tach

the rest is pretty straight forward. Sensors in the 13B run the gauge cluster and idiot lights, speedo is cable driven. FSM is free online and has good wiring diagrams, just google for it

the Ford EEC is way more advanced than entry level standalones, but that’s the problem lol. It’s tuneable but not very user friendly

Alright, I hear a lot of good things about the FC diff, so I might as well keep it. but if I purchase just the shell of the car (without axles or anything), I'll look for an FC diff, or some other RX7 diff, but 8.8s are everywhere so I'll go with whats easier.

Regarding the Tach, I've looked for grannies speed shop, but I can't find anything on them anywhere, is there a link to their website?

I may just go with a standalone ECU and hook everything up to that.

GRANNYSSPEEDSHOP.COM

search the site for the fc Ford 5.0 swap and there is a write up on tach re-cal.

The 8.8 is sought after because of gearing options and strength. I definitely agree with teeson though - keep it simple to start with.