🔧 BUILD "Let's ruin an SVO!" build

b00sted

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I bought an 84 SVO a few months back because I wanted a cool cruiser. The car is rust-free from Cali originally, 85k miles, and in overall good shap aside from needing a paintjob and a little TLC in the interior. Unfortunately, it got a visit from Uncle Rodney right away. I started looking into rebuilding the 2.3, but didn't want to spend a ton of money on something that would always struggle to make good power(500+). I also considered a 2JZ and a Ford Barra(I may do this down the line), but either route would have been relatively pricey.

So instead, I'm going to ruin it by sticking a 5.3 LS motor in it, just like every other asshole with a Mustang out there. However, I am going to keep the factory suspension/brakes/etc and do as little "damage" to the car as possible. I also want to keep the stock wheels and appearance.

The 5.3 will be a basic cam-only setup with an s475 turbo and an MS3 Pro for EFI. I already have a nice th400 with a brake. I also have an 8.8 that I'm going to stick some good axles and a spool into, and then swap over the SVO rear disks. The goal is 550rwhp and something that I can cruise and have fun with. This car handles awesome, so I want to keep all of the factory suspension and brakes and forego the tubular/coilover shit up front for now.

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b00sted

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A barra would have been insanely sick.

I'll likely still do it. It just would have been a lot pricier and taken a bit more fabbing to make it work. The engines need a rod/piston in them to be able to handle more than 450-500hp reliably(at least thecheaper n/a motors we get over here). Plus motor mounts, trans adapter for a th400/etc, and all that stuff.

I'm going to get the car running and driving with this setup, and then I'll be in the position to just yank the LS and drop a Barra right in.

And yeah, Barras are so sick. I think the SVO deserves a non-v8 engine like that eventually.
 

zenriddles

Guns don't kill people, 'vaccines' do
Aug 18, 2005
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Yeah - Your an asshole. Shouldn't do this to THAT car, but hey - you are the owner.

Thank you for shelving the stock stuff - that car is worth a small boatload and is only going to increase in value - AS LONG AS IT IS STOCK ! ! !

So, have fun, but make sure you can put it back please.
 

The Beast

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Yeah - Your an asshole. Shouldn't do this to THAT car, but hey - you are the owner.

Thank you for shelving the stock stuff - that car is worth a small boatload and is only going to increase in value - AS LONG AS IT IS STOCK ! ! !

So, have fun, but make sure you can put it back please.

You seem upset
 

FESTER665

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I bought an 84 SVO a few months back because I wanted a cool cruiser. The car is rust-free from Cali originally, 85k miles, and in overall good shap aside from needing a paintjob and a little TLC in the interior. Unfortunately, it got a visit from Uncle Rodney right away. I started looking into rebuilding the 2.3, but didn't want to spend a ton of money on something that would always struggle to make good power(500+). I also considered a 2JZ and a Ford Barra(I may do this down the line), but either route would have been relatively pricey.

So instead, I'm going to ruin it by sticking a 5.3 LS motor in it, just like every other asshole with a Mustang out there. However, I am going to keep the factory suspension/brakes/etc and do as little "damage" to the car as possible. I also want to keep the stock wheels and appearance.

The 5.3 will be a basic cam-only setup with an s475 turbo and an MS3 Pro for EFI. I already have a nice th400 with a brake. I also have an 8.8 that I'm going to stick some good axles and a spool into, and then swap over the SVO rear disks. The goal is 550rwhp and something that I can cruise and have fun with. This car handles awesome, so I want to keep all of the factory suspension and brakes and forego the tubular/coilover shit up front for now.

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Im not a fan of GM powerplants in Ford's personally, but do what you want with the shit.....

Drives me nuts hearing people cry bitch and moan about me "ruining" a Cobra.... Fuck off. :bowrofl:
 

Mr_Roboto

Doing the jobs nobody wants to
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It's is pretty cool having an SVO with the turbo 4. Literally everyone that sees it goes "Holy shit is that a real svo?". I never thought people actually cared about them that much.

They most certainly have a cult following IMO.

I think you're getting the best of both worlds by stashing back the parts to put it back to stock tbh. Just don't go crazy making hard to reverse mods and you'll be fine.
 

b00sted

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Isn’t that why people do the Volvo head swap?

It looks like a huge pain in the ass. Gotta weld a block of aluminum to the back of the head and then resurface it, build a custom intake manifold and turbo header, build a custom timing belt solution, etc. At that point I would just build a 4g63 instead.
 
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Bob Kazamakis

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It looks like a huge pain in the ass. Gotta weld a block of aluminum to the back of the head and then resurface it, build a custom intake manifold and turbo header, build a custom timing belt solution, etc. At that point I would just build a 4g63 instead.
Yea I remember something about all the oil and coolant passages having to be reworked.
 

b00sted

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I've decided against ruining the SVO. I'm going to pick up a known-good 2.3t shortblock soon and am just going to freshen up the head(it tulip'd the valves on #2) and put it back together. I'm going to throw my MS3 Pro on it and do some basic stuff like a front-mount intercooler and larger injectors, and just run it like that next year as a cruiser.

My buddy is an engine builder and expressed interest in building a 2.3 with the Volvo head on it. It turns out that it can be done without welding a chunk of aluminum to the head and all that. So that may be the route I go with it next winter. It should be able to make 450-500rwhp on e85 with relative ease.
 

v6buicks

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I've decided against ruining the SVO. I'm going to pick up a known-good 2.3t shortblock soon and am just going to freshen up the head(it tulip'd the valves on #2) and put it back together. I'm going to throw my MS3 Pro on it and do some basic stuff like a front-mount intercooler and larger injectors, and just run it like that next year as a cruiser.

My buddy is an engine builder and expressed interest in building a 2.3 with the Volvo head on it. It turns out that it can be done without welding a chunk of aluminum to the head and all that. So that may be the route I go with it next winter. It should be able to make 450-500rwhp on e85 with relative ease.
Folvos are neat. I sold a B234 head to a Ford guy once, but never saw anything come of it. I look forward to seeing your progress! This will be fun.
 
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