Hi, New Member here & I haven't even got my car yet, but, how difficult is doing a head & cam change? I know....."Why don't you see how it runs first?", it's difficult for me to leave things alone. Thanks!

 

Here's my insight.
I bought a supposedly running 5.0 out of a '95 GT. Since I'm not starting my swap till Aug/Sept, I bought this engine with the intention of replacing gaskets and seals...no better time while the engine is on a stand in my garage.
Since I had the heads off to change out the gaskets and to inspect the piston bores I may as well have the heads checked over at the machine shop. Couple hundred bucks later, freshened heads.
Rings are cheap, and the bores look pretty good. $80 for a quick hand hone of the cylinders.
May as well pull a rod cap to check the bearing. A little scoring, so new rod and main bearings. Crank and cam are out for inspection- looks good.
Will replace timing gear set, water pump, oil pump and shaft etc.

Without purchasing any "power adders" like heads or intake etc this engine will easily cost a thousand bucks by swap time. More than I wanted to spend but it would have been a drag to have to pull the engine back out. I've read about that happening too many times from junk yard engine swaps.

I've never rebuilt an engine before but have been getting good advise from a couple Ford forums and a few Ford nut friends. I'm confident this is going to be a good runner, but still plan on building a more performance oriented 5.0 once my swap is running and sorted.

To answer your question though, heads and cam are easy to change while engine is on a stand...not so easy in the car.
Good luck.

 

I can't speak from direct experience with a miata. But I do have a big V8 in a small car. And the Miata has great accesability.

The biggest PIA with a big engine/small car combo is the exhaust. The bolts are always difficult to get to, and just generally frustrating the first couple of times you do it. Once you learn the tricks of the job, it's a lot easier.

Heads have better accesability than in something like a Camaro. You can just reach in there and pull the heads. People will tell you that if the builder used head studs, it can't be done. Not true. You remove the nuts from the studs, and then remove the studs from the block.

The cam is a slightly different story. You'll need to remove things like radiator and condensor. Which is not a big deal except for the freon charge.

 

Sounds like money well invested. Although, I would not have put any money into the heads, I would have went Aftermarket......just my way. Thanks.

 

Actually, no AC. The P.O. said, it's a convertible & I agree with him. Thanks, Tim

 

That'll be on the next one. )

 

What engine is in the car?

I agree that compared to a Camaro the Miata is a walk in the park and I have done it on both. Exhaust and steering is the worst part but the good news is you can pull the entire nose off the car in 10 minutes. Also consider that if you have a way to raise the car past waste high it only takes about an hour to drop the entire engine cradle assembly and then you have all the room in the world. I wouldn't do that for just a head swap though especially if you have a Ford car with no A/C.

A few shots here of a cam swap in my LS Miata.
Jim and Jenna build diary, Miata LS1 Conversion: V8 Miata Cooling upgrade and other little stuff.

 

It is a 90 Miata with a 90 5.0 FI engine with headers & 5 speed. It has Power steering but no AC. Thanks, Tim