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Ford CourierFrom 1952 to 1958 the Ford Courier was marketed as a "sedan delivery" designated body code 78A, and was based on the contemporary sedan and station wagon designs. During the 1957 and 1958 model year, a windowed variant of the Courier was marketed for fleet orders and a number were produced primarily for Government services.
Hello there, I'm trying to get information on a V8 swap too. I have a Ford 5.0L to put in my 1976 Courier. The engine looks a little long but I think it will fit with a little reworking of the firewall. Not too sure about anything else. Brakes, clutch cable change, driveshaft, rearend etc. etc.. Any information out there will be great, also where I can get a grill and front bumper and left front fender. Thanks
Lenny's correct. If you want to really have fun, find a Turbo TBird. Bolts in to a 2.3 Courier. Plumb and wire. I did. Studded block, increased boost, cam, ect. Approx 250 hp,2700lbs=fun. Sure makes most Mustangs,Corvetts mad.
I am new here but a long time Courier owner! It was my first car at 14 years old and I still have it today at 41! It is a 1976 model, california stepside bed conversion with a 302 Ford V8/C-4 automatic sway. This was my everyday driver from roughly 1981 through 1997. It currently resides in Dad's shop with a very sloppy steering box but a ton of good memories.
My father and I installed the V8 back in 1980. I remember everything about the swap and hope I can answer some of your questions.
First...it fits just fine. It actually looks really cool in the compartment! It is not a cheap swap, nor is it just a bolt in. Hooker Headers used to make a swap kit back in the 70's consisting of Motor mounts, tranny mount, and instructions. You had to purchase the headers seperatly.
The exhaust will not fit without the headers...period! They are Super Comps and thus ran me near $400 alone when my first set rusted out in the 90's. They are fenderwell exit and well made. They drop into the fenders about as close as you can get to the firewall.
The exhuasts comes out under the cab on the outside of the frame. There is enough room to fit a glasspack or a small turbo muffler on there and have the pipes turn out in front of the rear wheel. I run 2.5 inch pipes and Sonic Turbos on each side (yeah...old school).
The firewall took very little cutting and could be done with a big hammer if you didn't mind the look. Basically you have to clearence the starter area some (top part of the bellhousing on the starter nose). The top mounts of the bellhousing hit the firewall so we built a 2*2*width of the tunnel box to clear the ears and bolts. This let us raise the tunnel roughly 2" in the center top.
You also have to run a remote oil filter. It looks trick and by modifying the original air filter mount it sits on the driver's side inner fender in a vertial orientation.
The radiator is out of a 65/66 mustang. I ran a 4 row version. You have to cut the core support so the raditor fits flush with the back side of the support (fan side). You also have to build a top for the core support to hide the taller radiator...much like the firewall. I also have a 90 degree fill fitting soldered to the radiator so I could fill it without removing it.
I run a small flex fan with no fan spacer. Alternator only with stock eary Ford V8 mustang setup (same as a plain jane maverick V8). You must run singe grove pulleys to have the room for the fan.
You cut away the stock engine mount perchers and weld on the Hooker version. It works with stock Mustang engine mounts. This took a while for location! In and out came the engine until I tacked the mounts in place. Then remove the engine and weld tight.
The tranny mount was a simple bolt in place c channel with ears. It used the stock for tranny mount.
We had to build a buldge in the tunnel on the drivers side to clear the shifting mechanism. I run a B&M shifter (you could never get a stock Ford to work...no way!).
Driveshaft is out of a fairlane mated to the Courier yoke for the rear end. The rear end is rather week, and in the 150+ thousand miles I put on it....I destroyed 3 ring and pinion (pumpkin) setups.
Little things are a pain, but I believe I have a basics covered here. Good luck if you go forward....it was/is a great little combo. It runs hot and I never could get it to cool well in the summer...a problem with the small compartment and trapped heat. It will smoke tires with the best of them but it does not like to corner and the steering is heavier than a 1960's F600 but that is the tradeoff!
For fun I make a console, installed 70 Mustang Highback (done in black velour....snicker), and installed a 120 mph speedometer out of a Fairlane in place of the old Courier version.
I have some old hard pictures of it originally and how it changed over the years...but it still is the same basic pickup...still faded orange with the blue engine.
You have my permission to copy and paste it to your forum. I have so many forums I check out...I also have yours on a favorite list, but I don't want to join another at this point.
If I ever get the energy (well time mostly) to scan the pictures I will post them here or on yours. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
I will probably make it road worthy again for my 25th reunion in 2008. My plans have been to install a Ford Fiesta rack and pinion to get ride of that horrid steering box. The Feista rack is very close in dimensions and is rear steer like the Courier. I am also considering mounting Pinto/Mustang II spindles and brakes when I convert. The spindle conversion is quite popular with the mini-truck oval track racing crowd and takes very little mods to work.
I tried to sign up on your forum so I could contact you. I took some pictures this weekend as the pickup sat and dug out the old pictures (1982-1988) to scan. If you want them emailed to you so you can post them...great!
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'76 Ford Courier V8 Swap 
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