[phastlane]

I still havent looked at the '70 stang yet, but I was thinking about it and my friend has an '83 Mustang 302/SROD, hes selling it to people that dont want the drivetrain & most of the car, so I can probably get it all cheap (or the whole car for like $200). My plan was rebuild the 302, pop the 302 & SROD in the '70, plus the clutch pedal & all. So will it fit, or will I need to get a new driveshaft? or...

 

[Royce Peterson]

So you are wanting to remove the engine and install the really anemic 302 and totally crappy SROD in place of it? Bad plan. Ford dumped the SROD in mid 1983 and went to the T5 in Mustangs. You should stay clear of the SROD and put a 351 in your '70. The '83 302 was pretty sluggish.

 

[itow]

Royce is definately right on this one. Ive owned LOTS (at leat 5 that I can think of quickly) of cars with the SROD trans and THEY are wimpy junk! A T-5 is easier to find parts for and will hold up decent (Unless your planning on full out racing with slicks alot then spend the bucks on a Tremec but they are noisey). Dont go with the 83 302 either. The heads SUCK and it is the 50oz balance engine and your lower crank pulley wont work.
Scott

 

[Cougrrcj]

I think we're all in agreement here that the 82 -83 5.0 sucked. IIRC the 83 is just a carbureted two barrel, right? The trans , again IIRC was just a three speed with overdrive. An old racing buddy had a 83GT, and it was a slug! My 85 Turbo Coupe T-bird was faster with just a 2.3 liter!

Well worth the wait to get a 85 five-speed drivetrain. That way you get the roller cam 5.0 and the good five speed, and it is still carbureted. The 85 automatics were TBI fuel injected.

 

[phastlane]

well, I want to eventually go 460 (block)/4-speed.
What I neglected to mention was that this would be temporary, and involve a complete rebuild, some minor porting & polishing, plus the engine has an edelbrock carb & intake and full accel ignition (I know a lot of people say accel is crap, but its better than stock '83 GT parts). This would be assuming the car has high milage and craps out on the compression test.
As for the tranny, again to do with the possible milage, and if it'll most likely end up manual tranny anyway...
The '83 definatly would move, if it ever hooked up. It'll smoke the rears right off the car if you want it to. It usually spins both if you dump it, its got 225/60-15's on newer "turbine" wheels (I want the wheels, not for the '70, but I'm one of the few who like 'em). It's pretty quick, open header, makes the ground shake (very literally).
It'll almost definatly be a while before I've got the green for a built big block & 4-speed, plus the 9" out back, so this is my "just in case." Like, if the engine & tranny aren't hangin in. Of course a 351W/C4 combo... hmm, that describes a few million rusty 70's pickups...

 

[itow]

The bellhousing for the SROD is for a cable clutch and will not work in the Cougar. A old style bellhousing for a Toploader/T-10(like would work in the Cougar) will not work on the SROD. It will bolt up to the SROD but the depth of the SROD and a Toploader are different. Trust me on this one. About 7yrs ago I had an 82 Mustang GT with a 351w and I wanted to put a Toploader in it. Lakewood NOW makes a bellhousing for that but then they didnt. I tried every bellhousing Ford ever made. I finally took 2 factory aluminum bells, $150 and went to a fabrication shop that took the 2 and made 1. It worked but wasn't worth the cost/hassel. The SROD trans isn't worth the time it will take you to bolt it in if you had all the majic parts to make it work, yet alone if you have to give ANY money for it.
Scott