we also need to see some pics of hunterwiley's car...or maybe he'll start another thread so it this one won't get all cluttered.
Hunter posted a thread with a few pics. He's running a 347/TKO 600 setup in a race car.
No, we're gonna gather all of the parts before we start. I told them we have two weeks to get the car drivable once we start, because it's my daily driver. They don't seem to think we can meet that schedule, but I don't see why not. I'll be taking that two weeks off, and will be doing a lot of the work myself. If everything we need is at the shop before we start, and we've figured out all of the possible issues ahead of time, I see no reason we shouldn't have the car drivable in the first week.
The first issue was converting to a return-type fuel system. We're going to put a bulkhead fitting in the passenger side fuel hat and run the return line from there.
The second issue was retaining the OEM instrument cluster. We're going to retain the ECU and use the OEM crank sensor triggered from a 1996 Explorer 5.0 crank trigger wheel. This will give us a tach signal.
The final issue was the power steering. Originally, I was going to just go hydraulic, but since we're keeping the ECU, we're going to try to retain the EPAS. Fitment is the big issue, but even after making it fit, it still may not work due to the ECU not getting the info it needs to properly meter the steering. I'm hoping a crank signal is all we need to convince the computer to do its thing, but since nobody has done this yet, it appears that we're going to be blazing the trail here.
We're going to use a BMR 351w engine swap K-member, Accufab mid-length headers, and (I think) an OEM transmission cross-member, so getting the engine in the engine bay won't be a problem.
Once we get it running, I'll be able to add A/C back to the car when I get around to it.
We have a plan, and a parts list. Best case scenario with absolutely zero problems, I'm expecting 3-7 days to get it drivable.
I'm at STP every Saturday - they allow me to help out around the shop.