1986 Thunderbird Engine Swap?

I got a '86 Bird with the incredibly weak 3.8L V6 engine. I love this car, at least the body style and the interior, and my birds body is in excellent condition but the V6 I have is on its last legs, can't go more that 2 miles without dieing, and its burning nearly a quart of oil ever couple of hours. No hope unless I wanted to totally rebuild it, but I don't want to. I could get a replacement V6 for $1049, but I can get a turbocharged 2.3L I4 for around $850 from Autozone, or the 5.0L V8 for $1000. What would I have to replace besides the motor itself? Will the V6 motor mounts work? How hard is it to swap a 5 Speed tranny? The guy at autozone told me it is pointless to try to swap engines. He said I would need to replace the harness, the ECU, emissions system, and it would be extremely costly....Should I junk this beautiful bird : \ and just hope for a 4 cylinder to show up in my area? My dad already said he would buy a replacement engine if it was under about $1200 total....would this be a ballpark price for this swap? I am not worried about time involved, I have a shop available to me, but I won't be able to get any custom work done because of price restraints. I figure I could probably get parts I would need from a junkyard bird, but is there any outstanding problems I should be aware of? Thanks for any answers you guys can give me, it is a real help.

First of all its hard to find birds in a junkyard at least for the 89s and up I know, The 5.0 would be easier or at least it would be in the newer ones the best option would be to get the manuals to all of the above and look through the wireing diagrams it should help.

The only problem with the 5.0L is that I just turned 17, and money is pretty tight. I don't really have a lot of money to be tossing into the tank, thats why I am looking at the 4 cyclinder

I once had a 1986 Thunderbird Elan with the 5.0L, it was a fast car and I loved it so much, the problem is I just junked it this year because the engine had a loose roader. Now I have a stupid Grand AM

I Would Call a Ford Dealership that is nearest you and ask them if it would work they should be willing to look it up for you. It will take a little work but it can be done.

Also I'm just 18 I used to have a 3.8 but an escort ran in front of it and crushed it a little. Now I have a 95 with a 4.6 and I can agree about the gas, but it has pretty good power and isn't that bad on gas!!!compared to a 5.0 any way. Hope you can get what you want in your T-bird.

Well turns out my tranny is pretty mashed too...my dad is just going to donate the car to the local high school : \ He doesn't think its probable to switch engines and hes just going to get me a different car. Guess I just gotta hope for 5.0 T-Bird