Barra swapped GT350 Mustang

[Vesper Martini]

Apologies If this has already been posed somewhere here I thought it would have, anyway I've been watching the progress of the American Youtuber Adam LZ.

his GT350 caught fire, so he got a replacement engine from Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlRmnqvT3AM

[baboon]

There is another post in the Mustang section: GT250R Barra Swap

But its great watching. The barra sounds great in this car!

[Bossxr8]

I love the episode where he goes out for the first time to give it a hit. Just ****ing himself laughing at how fast it is. "it's like a spaceship"

[Hulsty]

I love it, sounds so good too, Barras normally sound crap.

[Vesper Martini]

I love it when they have it on the Dyno with a phone linkup with Scotty at Haltech getting tips

[roddy1960]

He's got a few bob and a few projects all at the same time . The Barra GT350 is one of several.

[roddy1960]

Been watching his Barra GT 350 vids for a few weeks now..He's truly enamored of the big Aussie six and his mates are too ..there mst be at least half a dozen vids of the start to finish project . Well worth a look for anyone who hasn't seen them ... What an engine the Barra Turbo is . Watched this one just posted a day or two ago .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxRxYw_FGV4

Funny thing is the Intech/VCT has a few keen followers in America as well and done right she can see 1000 plus horses too.

[.:4:.]

Its kind of funny how slapping in (i use that term loosely as parts have been chucked in) a taxi motor into a mustang in the US that makes dyno hp is so exciting. People have been making big power turbo falcons for a a long time. No one gets overly excited about that. Put a gt350r 5.2 voodoo in a falcon, that would peak more interest over here. Even if they have oil filter sealing then fire issues.

[FG50T]

Best exhaust note I've heard on a Barra and it took a yank to do it. It's a shame his videos are so long, have been trying to follow this build

[CyberWasp]

I know it is a dumb question but what was the final fate of all the Barra Engine making factory?
How much of the Barra's Components was made directly by Ford and are they totally scrapped?
Like will someone else be able to copy and make the blocks for example, if Ford no longer produce them?

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I know it is a dumb question but what was the final fate of all the Barra Engine making factory?
How much of the Barra's Components was made directly by Ford and are they totally scrapped?
Like will someone else be able to copy and make the blocks for example, if Ford no longer produce them?

Alloy billet blocks are being made in Australia

[roddy1960]

I think what makes the Barra the Barra is the ability to cope with relentless torque/ horsepower across a big rev range and the build strength to allow for longevity when upgrading is done well . As I understand it catastrophic engine failures are few and far between . And , it's a fairly uncomplicated engine to work on compared to many .

I'm guessing that because the Australian inline Ford six was a gradual evolution dating back decades and the durability has always been a key requirement is why it turned out to be a cracker of a donk in many ways . So glad it's ours and finally getting the respect it deserves overseas .

[QIKESP]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I know it is a dumb question but what was the final fate of all the Barra Engine making factory?

Sadly the casting plant is a flat paddock now.

[gkhn]

Nice.
So proud to have Barra in my engine bay too

[Wretched]

got a big enough engine bay to accommodate it.

[MITCHAY]

Seen a few Barra conversions. Too bad they didn't get the Falcons there.

It's comparable to the 2JZ and RB26. We love all of them here.

[FlipXW]

How does it sound so good. The Barra is a pretty ordinary sounding engine I’ve always thought. This has a nice throb about it. If I had a turbo falcon I’d be doing everything I could to try to get it to sound like this. https://youtu.be/q9X-khhsY6c
Skip to 10:10 it sounds very similar to a GTR.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by FlipXW

How does it sound so good. The Barra is a pretty ordinary sounding engine I’ve always thought. This has a nice throb about it. If I had a turbo falcon I’d be doing everything I could to try to get it to sound like this. https://youtu.be/q9X-khhsY6c
Skip to 10:10 it sounds very similar to a GTR.

yep ...He plays the footage of it as the V8 Voodoo and then with the new exhaust ..Until it's really revved you can barely tell the difference ...

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

I know it is a dumb question but what was the final fate of all the Barra Engine making factory?
How much of the Barra's Components was made directly by Ford and are they totally scrapped?
Like will someone else be able to copy and make the blocks for example, if Ford no longer produce them?

Pretty much all tooling has been scrapped.

And no one could just copy it without Fords approval to do so. They own the IP for the engine.

Bits and pieces needed for performance upgrades like billet blocks are fine though. Because they aren't recreating the original.

[fnp]

I believe Xtrene Ford Tuning have done a billet Barra block. I'd hate to know the cost. I think it was machined from a solid block. Beautiful piece of work.

[Wretched]

ive watched all the videos up to and including the first startup. Very well done documenting the process. Couldn't take my eyes away from it.

[holster]

I agree I’ve been looking at Barra exhaust vids for a long time. I love my FG XR6T but honestly think they have worst exhaust note. I seriously love how the Barra Mustang sounds!! I need my XR to sound like this! In one of the videos they refer to the ‘factory’ rear exhaust. If it’s just factory Mustang V8 mufflers on the rear I need to source some stat!

[holster]

I agree I’ve been looking at Barra exhaust vids for a long time. I love my FG XR6T but honestly think they have worst exhaust note. I seriously love how the Barra Mustang sounds!! I need my XR to sound like this! In one of the videos they refer to the ‘factory’ rear exhaust. If it’s just factory Mustang V8 mufflers on the rear I need to source some stat!

[Cobra]

Whilst it's somewhat cool that the Barra is now getting the global recognition it deserves, it's blokes like this guy who'll contirbute to prices skyrocketing.

I recently enquired about the price of a FG Turbo motor from my local Ford wrecker. $7K for the complete motor. Those prices are insane! Even the N/A versions are now fetching prices close to quadruple figures.

I'd like to Barra swap something in the future, but I'm seeing it becoming less and less affordable as yanks are buying our Barras by the container loads

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Cobra

Whilst it's somewhat cool that the Barra is now getting the global recognition it deserves, it's blokes like this guy who'll contirbute to prices skyrocketing.

I recently enquired about the price of a FG Turbo motor from my local Ford wrecker. $7K for the complete motor. Those prices are insane! Even the N/A versions are now fetching prices close to quadruple figures.

I'd like to Barra swap something in the future, but I'm seeing it becoming less and less affordable as yanks are buying our Barras by the container loads

The days of the $250 wrecker motor are slowly drying up. Yes there is a lot you can throw into one, but a stock one, regardless of if its na or turbo etc, for big power most the internals will be changed out out so youre still effectively paying for just the block and a few other bits. Its a bit extreme the new found hype around what we have known for a long time be a robust engine that can punch above its weight if modified, runs for ever, has seemingly a 200k run in period, but we associate them to a degee as taxi engines. So why 18 years later is the hype? My 12 year old fairmont is at 192k, so nearly run in, and never leaked a drop of anything, never seen a mechanic, and ive had it 10 years, its a grandpa car, but been driven like its stolen, yet now, whilst the car isnt, the engine is desirable? Barras are tall, long, heavy and take something in the realm of 7L of oil, so thats why when not stressed by stupid amounts of turboness they go for a long time, and also why with stupid amounts of turboness they take that and run with it.
It almost seem like the interwebs have run out of rb26's and 2jz's, so the australian taxi is the next thing to deplete.

[Cobra]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

The days of the $250 wrecker motor are slowly drying up. Yes there is a lot you can throw into one, but a stock one, regardless of if its na or turbo etc, for big power most the internals will be changed out out so youre still effectively paying for just the block and a few other bits. Its a bit extreme the new found hype around what we have known for a long time be a robust engine that can punch above its weight if modified, runs for ever, has seemingly a 200k run in period, but we associate them to a degee as taxi engines. So why 18 years later is the hype? My 12 year old fairmont is at 192k, so nearly run in, and never leaked a drop of anything, never seen a mechanic, and ive had it 10 years, its a grandpa car, but been driven like its stolen, yet now, whilst the car isnt, the engine is desirable? Barras are tall, long, heavy and take something in the realm of 7L of oil, so thats why when not stressed by stupid amounts of turboness they go for a long time, and also why with stupid amounts of turboness they take that and run with it.
It almost seem like the interwebs have run out of rb26's and 2jz's, so the australian taxi is the next thing to deplete.

If you plan to rebuild then you'd be mad to get a factory turbo motor. You'd be far better off getting an N/A donk and putting the coin towards aftermarket intake and exhaust manifolds, larger turbo etc etc.

I don't think I'd plan to go too extreme with a Barra swap. The stock motors from mid-06 onwards take a fair beating. Unless you want to run 400rwkw or higher, they should handle that with just valve springs and head studs.

In any case, the Yanks have their own version of an XR6T motor in the TT Ecoboost V6. It's lighter, more technologically advanced and fits in their Mustangs so much easier. Hopefully they won't pillage all of our taxi boat anchors.

[CyberWasp]

Another common swap is see these days is putting them into Nissan Patrols.
Plenty of You Tube videos showing people going nuts in the bush in Barra Powered Patrols.
They seem to be a good match for that vehicle.

[davenl5l]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Another common swap is see these days is putting them into Nissan Patrols.
Plenty of You Tube videos showing people going nuts in the bush in Barra Powered Patrols.
They seem to be a good match for that vehicle.

And Landcruisers they have adaptors to run the 6sp auto

[Cobra]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Another common swap is see these days is putting them into Nissan Patrols.
Plenty of You Tube videos showing people going nuts in the bush in Barra Powered Patrols.
They seem to be a good match for that vehicle.

I'm not surprised about that at all. When you see how much TB series turbo conversion kits cost, it's little wonder why many see the value in dropping a turbo Barra in instead.

The worm may turn once the Barras become less accessible. You wouldn't bother dropping in a Barra if it ended up costing the same as a TB48, rebuilt and turbo converted. They are a great engine, those Nissan I6 petrols.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Cobra

I'm not surprised about that at all. When you see how much TB series turbo conversion kits cost, it's little wonder why many see the value in dropping a turbo Barra in instead.

The worm may turn once the Barras become less accessible. You wouldn't bother dropping in a Barra if it ended up costing the same as a TB48, rebuilt and turbo converted. They are a great engine, those Nissan I6 petrols.

It could be those TB48s are getting shipped to Dubai, they love them there