old car, new engine

[LEMON8R]

@:-I live in southern Utah where natural gas is cheap and sentiments run strong for home grown energy. I recently purchased a project car- a 1967 Lincoln Continental. It does not have it's original motor or transmission and therefore it is not valuable to keep it "original." I am fooling around with the idea of taking a modern motor/transmission combination and transplanting them into the car. The perfect combination would be a Ford modular V10/4 or 5 speed automatic and regearing the 9" rear end. I wanted to take an existing cng truck and transplant the whole drive train. Is the certification by the EPA specific to the powertrain or is it for the powertrain and the vehicle? Has anyone heard of someone safely and legally doing such a thing?

I appreciate your help.

Bob Lemon
LEMON8R

[Wellarmed]

Re: old car, new engine

I was wondering if you were referring to transplanting a engine and trans combo from a dedicated CNG to your older vehicle? or were you considering converting the modern gasoline drive train to run on CNG?

[LEMON8R]

Re: old car, new engine

I was going to buy an F250 that was dedicated cng and transplant the truck's drivetrain into the Lincoln.

[CNG Utah]

Re: old car, new engine

All the OEM dedicated Ford trucks and vans have the 5.4L V8. That sounds like a fun project, please keep us updated if you go through with it.

[LEMON8R]

Re: old car, new engine

So as far as anyone knows, it's legal to transplant an OEM system into another chassis and still have it be legal. Would I check with the DMV to check licensing? Is there another state agency in Utah that has to do with cng cars?

[larrycng]

Re: old car, new engine

There shouldn't be any problem (at least in Calif) in Utah. The big thing would be to make sure that you have all of the wiring and computer(s) from the CNG Vehicle. You will need the (whole) harness to be able to tie into the Lincoln; right down to the diagnostic (DLC) connector and the check engine light. Any device that is an input or is controlled by the computer (output) will need to be on the Lincoln. The systems are so integrated on the newer vehicles that you will have a lot of fun tying into the Lincoln system to make it look nice and having run right. Bottom line keep the whole truck untill the Lincoln is working correctly.

The drive train shouldn't be much of a problem. Have someone who knows how put the driveshaft together. Also watch the U-joint angles. The Lincoln will probably have a 2.?? to 1 rear end. You might want to go up to a 3.25 or 3.50 axle ratio because the Pick up will have and overdrive transmission (probably about 0.7:1 OD ratio). My guess is that it will also be 9" ford rear axle in the Lincoln which should make it fairly simple to find a different pumpkin with a better ratio (if you go to 4:10 ration with the 0.7 OD you will come up with about 2.9:1 final drive about 2000 rpm at 65 mph).

Just a few ideas. Take your time you have a real neat project with plenty of room for tanks. Be ready for frustration. Get good wiring diagrams.

Larrycng

[cowboy]

Re: old car, new engine

as far as the goverment gos I would go with dont ask dont tell if it is good for the armed forces it is good for me and I dont think I would change the rear till I drove it as if it pulls out ok than your hwy milage would be fantastic with a tall rear and the od it will not be any harder to change it later than now

[LEMON8R]

Re: I asked, they told

I went to the DMV in Utah and got and "official ruling" re: my project. They said that as long as I register my "donor truck" in Utah, I will get the Utah state tax credit and I can then transfer the engine into the Lincoln without jeopardizing the ability to reregister the Lincoln in subsequent years. Now that I have the documentation to move forward, it's time to get started. Thank you so much for all of the help you guys have given me. I especially appreciate the help in figuring out the difference between the F250 and the F150 7700 (or the lack of difference.)

[John Mitton]

Re: old car, new engine

My understanding is that so long as the engine, powertrain control module including OBD II, catalysts and O2 sensors are included in the transplant you have the entire certified emissions control system as far as EPA is concerned.