Finding Performance Part In A Junkyard

We go on and on about the junkyards here in Southern California, but since most of us aren't actually from the area, we know that a lot of the stuff we come across isn't actually that common in other parts of the country-and many of you remind us regularly. For that reason, we've decided to do another junkyard crawl, but this time, we're going to focus on the later-model stuff that should be occupying yards coast to coast. There are tons of useful parts and pieces that can be pirated from newer vehicles and put into service on vintage street machines, but some of the good stuff is easy to overlook. Check out what we recently came across, and keep your eyes and your mind open.

There's still good stuff to be had in the junkyard if you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff.	The Ford 5.0L V-8 used in Mustangs from '85 to '92 featured a factory roller cam and forged pistons. It was adored by street/strip freaks and weekend warrior road racers alike for its responsiveness to upgrades and overall durability. It also makes a great swap engine for earlier Ford projects. Finding 5.0 Mustangs in the yard isn't too tough, though by now their engines are often clapped out thanks to years of abuse.	However, the very same 5.0 H.O. can be found in '86-'92 Lincoln Mark VII LSC models, and these engines have almost always led much more pampered lives. Make sure your donor is an LSC though, as standard Mark VIIs use a lo-po 150hp 5.0.
Later Mustangs are starting to show up in the yards now, and they have stuff to offer even if they're from the post-5.0 era. This 4.6L GT was heavily picked when we found it; it still had its engine, but swapping single-cam V-8s from this period doesn't interest most motorheads.	But, the spindles from this SN-95 'Stang can be swapped back to a Fox-body version, enabling the use of the sealed hub, which accepts slip-on rotors. This in turn allows the newer Mustang's brakes to adapt to the Fox car. Use the stock GT pieces for a low-buck upgrade or step up to Cobra hardware, which bolts right on.	For GM guys, another great late-model parts donor is the '94-'96 Chevy Caprice 9C1, better known as a police package. These have Gen II small-blocks-some are 4.3L (265ci) L99 versions, but many have the 5.7L (350ci) LT1. The 260hp, iron-head B-body LT1 is a great swap for earlier cars and can easily be upgraded with more aggressive cam timing and intake and exhaust improvements for even more power, but that's just part of the package. These cars also have the tall B-body spindles that can be combined with aftermarket upper control arms to upgrade the handling of early A-bodies (Chevelles and the like); 12-inch brakes are a bonus.
Out back, rear discs with aluminum PBR calipers can also be swapped into earlier GM cars. Plus, there's close-ratio steering, an aluminum radiator with killer electric fans, a 4L60 overdrive trans, and more. We found four 9C1 Caprices during our crawl.	Amazing as it seems, even Cadillac's technological marvel of a few years back, the Northstar four-cam 32-valve V-8, has made its way to the boneyard. We spotted this '90s Eldorado among the usual front-drive, V-6, GM stuff, its 300hp, 4.6L engine ripe for the plucking; another turned up in a De Ville a week later.	While these engines were, until very recently, only used in front-wheel-drive applications, hot rodders figured out years ago how to turn them around to a proper north-south configuration, usually using slightly modified bellhousings from 60-degree Chevy V-6s, as found in '80s Camaros and Firebirds (2.8/3.4L). It's not exactly a bolt-in, but it is a lot of technology and power for relatively few bucks.