Hi guys. Names Luke and I live in Union, MO. I have had lots of mustangs in the past and decided I wanted to do something different so I picked up a 94 Splash and am swapping in a 75k mile lightning 351 with a gm th400 tranny and a single turbo. I will get some more progress pics as things move along but here is a quick one of the truck. Bought the truck for 700. Owner thought it had a blown head gasket. Ended up being a rusted out freeze plug leaking out all the coolant. I was able to sell the engine, tranny, rear end and splash wheels for enough to recoup the entire purchase price. Anyways, here is the starting point and I really appreciate the site. Lots of good info...

Luke

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff252/dohcgt/Picture017.jpg

wow... sounds like its gonna be sick!

Hi guys. Names Luke and I live in Union, MO. I have had lots of mustangs in the past and decided I wanted to do something different so I picked up a 94 Splash and am swapping in a 75k mile lightning 351 with a gm th400 tranny and a single turbo. I will get some more progress pics as things move along but here is a quick one of the truck. Bought the truck for 700. Owner thought it had a blown head gasket. Ended up being a rusted out freeze plug leaking out all the coolant. I was able to sell the engine, tranny, rear end and splash wheels for enough to recoup the entire purchase price. Anyways, here is the starting point and I really appreciate the site. Lots of good info...

Luke


Why the gm tranny? :confused

Welcome to RPS! Lookin forward to watching your build. Nice find on that truck too.

Looks good, keep the pictures coming with your progress.
Dave

Nice base truck! Just like my 94 splash minus the 4wd suspension I have. I had the same vibrant red, turned orange when I was stationed in hawaii. Love that color you have.

nice splash! welcome

ust like my 94 splash minus the 4wd suspension I have.

i didnt know splashes came in 4wd? i thought they had K coils for street purposes?

Yeah, I bought it new in november 1993, built in october of that year. 4wd option. big TTB suspension, which is a big PITA now, esp. getting the old mounts out! and figuring out how to dump the front pumpkin/axel shafts while retaining the stubs. Post #400!

anyone want a complete 3.0L 4x4 drive train, minus the front hubs? LOL! Palletized for shipment?

Should be sick man. What size turbo u plan on using?

Thanks guys. I am hoping it's pretty sick...the main reason for the gm tranny for me is durability. Too many problems with c4's in the past. Just my personal experience. This engine isn't the final plan for my truck. I am putting most of my effort and assets into the chassis and mockup this time around. Hopefully will have a bulletproof drivetrain and chassis setup for the 2010 racing season and then add some big power the following year as the budget allows. I chose the 400 because I still plan on street driving the truck alot otherwise I would have gone glide right away. As a said, I have had a ton of mustangs and really have gotten bored with all of them. Same old same old ya know. I think this one's gonna be around for a while! I have to give a big thanks to my buddy Paul at loproracecars.com for all his help so far. I'll get some updated pics for you guys soon!

I really like the tonka truck in the picture, lol sounds like a mean combo when its done!

Well, after more research and some influencing by a couple buddies I have decided to give an aod a shot. Picking up a couple cores this afternoon and getting ready to order the lentech valve body and input shaft. Can't say I'm keeping it all ford though, purchased my chevy hhr electric fan from a local salvage yard yesterday after looking over bigblockranger's post regarding fans...there is a ton of great info on this site!

THANKS,

Luke

sick splash bro. im watching.

lookin good
we need to meet up some time
Nick

Looks like a lot of fun. I like the color. Enjoy the swap, its a lot of fun to do. I like the rear axle so far. Reminds me of mine when I first got started. LOL

Nice!

I'm from Sullivan, Mo. Are you on stlmustangs?

Welcome.. I live up in St. Charles. Ha Ha stlm... I am promod4.6

Yeah, have been a member on stlm since 02'. Same screen name over there. I now have 2 aod's sitting in the garage and have the 8.8 rear end under the truck. The rear is just in with the leaf springs to roll it around right now. I will take it out to lopro racecars to do the ladderbars very soon, and start doing some planning for the cage. The plan is to drop in the shortblock with one of the aod's attached sometime in the next couple days (hopefully friday). I also picked up an sn95 alt bracket last night. Not sure if i'm going to use it just yet, but couldn't beat the free price! I will have some new pics in the next couple days for you guys. BTW, the hhr fan fits the 4.0hd radiator very nicely!!! I appreciate all the comments and any input would be great...

Luke

Alright guys, had some beautiful weather yesterday and started the mockup process on the truck. After some slight crossmember modifications and following the great advice from this site the windsor is sitting in the truck with the aod attached. I actually had the engine and tranny in and out 3 times changing things up slightly and am pretty happy with everything as of now. I was working alone yesterday and the entire assembly drops in comes back out very easily by myself. It has to come back out for cleanup and paint and installation of the new pistons that are on their way...

Bad news though, no pics. The batteries on the camera were dead but I am pulling it back apart tomorrow so I will snap plenty of pics during disassembly. I really appreciate the knowledgable input and posts on this site. It's been a ton of help already

Luke

Uh oh....decisions decisions. A 3v 4.6 and 5r55 have just presented themselves....OK, no decisions really. All my windsor stuff is already for sale on the local mustang board and my build has switched gears. I have a friend that did this swap in a fairmont and the car was a blast to drive. So, goodbye pushrods, hello modular. Sorry for all the 351 buildup but it's not too late to change lol. This is honestly the drivetrain I wanted to do from the beginning.

Pics to come when the parts start arriving!

Uh oh....decisions decisions. A 3v 4.6 and 5r55 have just presented themselves....OK, no decisions really. All my windsor stuff is already for sale on the local mustang board and my build has switched gears. I have a friend that did this swap in a fairmont and the car was a blast to drive. So, goodbye pushrods, hello modular. Sorry for all the 351 buildup but it's not too late to change lol. This is honestly the drivetrain I wanted to do from the beginning.

Pics to come when the parts start arriving!

EWWW, not an automatic... that takes away the fun factor!

Apparently you haven't taken a ride in one of the 5r cars. With a tune, it's a bad ass tranny, especially in a vehicle about a thousand pounds lighter than the car it's intended for!

Nope, sure haven't...

I still think it would be funner with a 5-6 speed.

How strong can the 5R transmissions be built to? I know right out of the box, it is rated 75 ft-lbs at flywheel weaker than a 4R. A physically MUCH smaller trans as well. I can't see it being anywhere near as capable as a 4R. Plus, it has no dipstick / fill tube! What a PITA a fluid change is!

Well, I have a few friends with these trannies. One guy in particular makes some big power numbers (turbo car), and according to him around 550rwhp is about the limit for a stock tranny in a s197. I won't be making that kind of power anytime soon, and i'm putting the setup in a vehicle that will be roughly 7-800 lbs lighter than the s197 cars, so that should be considered in tranny longevity.

A buddy of mine put a stock 3v and 5r55 in a 78 fairmont. When I say stock, i mean the thing still had manifolds and a stock converter. His only mods were a cold air, and a tune. The car complete weighed around 2800 lbs, and with a 75 horse dry shot the car was in the high 10's.

D-RANGD asked that this thread be closed. The reason is that he has decided to go a completely different route.