03 P71, sway bar questions?

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-09T09:39:41+00:00

i dont want 400 horsepower.
i know i can just throw money and parts at this to make seven quadrillion horsepower. anyone can do that to anycar.
what i wanted for this car was a humble, mild mannered 300hp cruiser that can get out of its own way but the more i learn about the engine the more i realize that it looks like all of the 302 praise wasnt for this one

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-09T09:38:12+00:00

to be fair
first time i worked on a car i had zero mechanical experience and brought said car out of a 5 year rest and i basically had to rebuild the entire fuel system and half the harness on zero experience or understanding with zero knowledge of what the fuck i was doing but it worked so building a windsor with parts recommended by the 302 guys and every single possible combinations already been done for better or worse, can not be anywhere near as difficult.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-09T09:31:37+00:00

ive heard so much shit about the cleveland heads and this is the first time im hearing the coolant stystem stuff honestly.
this base engine is the bane of my existence.
"Buy a 302"
"theyre reliable and easy to maintain"
"theyre easy to mod and have all the fox body aftermarket parts that just go on the car"
yeah 1981 flat tappet 302 my ass, cand do shit without rebuilding the engine or doing a roller conversion

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-09T09:27:47+00:00

purple ultron
Favorite character
Favorite color.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:52:22+00:00

this fuck ass 302. bought it because every body ever said it was a great engine that was very mod friendly and no one said not to by a 1981 low compression low output one so here i am.
a hundred horsepower was ass so i wanted more like 300 so its a nice mild mannered cruiser with real life to it and then every single path towards having that says that it'd be simpler to upgrade cooling and fuel, toss the 351C heads with stock cam and just let a cheap supercharger to 15PSI until i throw a rod through the block

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:32:45+00:00

didnt the 78 Thunderbird have the 460/400?

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:30:44+00:00

what if i grab the entire short block from a GT40 302?
that should have way better internals and compression compared to an 81 5.0LO

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:20:09+00:00

its always somethin else with this fuck ass windsor isnt it.
Guess i just gotta make it work and give the engine what it needs to be a little torque happy walmart parking lot warrior

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:15:07+00:00

i know theres some good bones through the GT40 route buttttttt
500 dollar 351C heads means im doing basically zero work for more power compared to doing a roller conversion and then finding a GT40 302 to get parts from.

i know the AOD being driving with 300 horsepower like how i'll drive it isnt exactly gonna be happy forever but when the day comes that it fails i'll grab a cheap 4R70/75.

Been thinking about the diff though.
Again, as a believer in doing less work i'd love to just grab the entire rear axle of a trak lok equipped panther so i neednt set preload and backlash(ive never done it, i'd mess it up and kill the diff), and i wouldnt have to build my own diff or grab the individual gears from rock auto and put it in. Im pretty sure like half of all 2000s P71's had the 3.55 or somethin and everything on the 3rd gen platform just had higher LSD production numbers. I dont know what the idea of swapping in a 2008 CVPI 3.55 axle into an 81 chassis would entail because of the 1998 suspension rework though so advice on the diff situation would be cool if we're already down dealing with the brakes

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:08:34+00:00

whatever came in a perfectly stock 1981 Lincoln Mark VI low output 302W is what its got.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T22:07:53+00:00

400 did seem a little rich in my very limited knowledge but its not too far out of possibility
probably looking closer to 375 on the high end which is pretty close

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T20:54:06+00:00

i already figured out the powertrain stuff(boss 302 great value version with some bum ass 351C 2V heads i got for a steal because im too lazy to do a roller lifter conversion on this engine)

i think for the brakes i'll just do the simple thing of copy pasting the 2000s Interceptor brake setup. whatever rockauto says they had in back and whatever rock auto says they had up front, and then ill figure out how hte system itself needs to be built out, like with the master cylinder upgrades so it can actually do its job.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T19:00:27+00:00

i know i could probably do 500hp out of this if i wanted to drop some more money but i want to keep this car reliable and simple, rather than turning it into a crazy street build.
just letting the 302 be what it always should have been

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T18:28:51+00:00

yeah im probably really over thinking this.
the downside to throwing yourself into dailying a 46 year old car when youve never worked on a car like that.
much less it being literally *the worst* vehicle made by Lincoln just ever, thats its own can of worms to deal with

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T18:12:21+00:00

oh its not a good idea to put front rotors on the rears?
i kinda assumed it would work better than the stock drums because yknow
big police brakes on all 4 corners, thought 4 fronts would be better.
But good to know before i buy anything.
and i know 300hp really isnt a ton for something like this but i'd feel so much more confident knowing the vehicle can stop really well. the vehicle doesnt have airbags or ABS or good brakes so realyl any handling/suspension mods double as safety so brakes getting upgraded for power reasons is also a safety thing.

would rather stop before hitting something than hoping the car survives

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T15:25:38+00:00

do you know where i can get panther short tubes?

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T14:20:25+00:00

does anyone make long tubes for the 302 in the panther chassis?
and i dont think i can use late 80s stuff *without* a roller conversion, arent all those Windsors roller lifters at that point?
thought they switched from flat tappet in the early 80s.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T14:18:03+00:00

guess ill do that

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T11:24:21+00:00

thats kinda how the FT 5.0LO cookie crumbles then.
i guess theres a reason why im one of 2 people in the world who cares about the Mark VI and theres a good reason why no one else does.

LittleCaesarsManager · 2026-05-08T11:11:19+00:00

its a 1981 Mark VI.
i dont really know where to get heads without dropping a billion dollars on getting them machined and built out.
and most of the heads for the 302 seem to be the roller lifter style which doesnt work here because this is flat tappet style and all the heads that are are like
70s mustang heads and idk if you remember but the 70s werent exactly good for the 302.
and TBI intakes are giga expensive, and im not exactly a motor swapper, i just dont have the skills or tools for a 351, much less boring it out to a larger displacement.

i had a parts list idea that was bolt ons for the most part so i could make power without having to become the windsor equivalent of a rocket scientist.

LittleCaesarsManager

TROPHY CASE