I'm am pretty sure I'm picking up a 91 stang w/ 302 HO and AOD to be swapped into my new '82 bird. I understand it's going to be a major undertaking, having never done a swap. What exactly am I going to need to convert an old carb'd 255 to a full-on fuel injected 302? I know I will have to carry over the engine computer, and figure out the electrical fuel pump situation. Beyond that I'm not sure what hurdles I will need expect. Can anyone come up with a quick rundown on what will need to be transferred over?
For your first swap, it would be a hell of a lot easier to stick with a carb'ed set up...a nice Holley Avenger 570-670 or similar sized Demon....you're likely to make a few more ponies with a carb'ed set up over fuel injection at a small sacrifice of torque.
Not to mention carb'ed stuff is rediculously cheap compared to fuel injection go-fast goodies. You could probably sell off the fuel injection stuff and that'll pay for your intake.
Good luck,
Don
For a first timer it'd likely be a bitch especially if you aren't good with wiring or have a buddy who is... You'd need to interface the Stang engine harness into the Bird, and that'll require wiring diagrams for both vehicles... You may want to seriously consider Don's carbed suggestion...
Besides wiring they'll be a bunch of little things, accelerator & TV cables, fuel lines(there be a return as well as feed) and pump, maybe a later Fox Bird tank could work I dunno... Should be able to use the Stang accessories but AC hookup will probably prove interesting... The Stang tranny will be setup for floor shift, so you'll need to alter the lever... Will need to relocate battery if it's on the passenger side... Possibly will get into modifying a drive shaft if the present tranny is a different length... If you go for it, do not get rid of the Stang till everything is sorted out...
I would get a '91 Mustang EVTM for starters.
I am pretty good with wiring and am usually able to make almost anything work given enough time and diagrams. My big concerns are the physical aspects of the swap since I have never done it. Will it bolt right up with little customization? I will do wiring, but making custom parts and fabricating things is where I am concerned.
I do have the whole mustang to work with, so anything I will need will be there, it's just a matter of making it fit and operate properly. I will be swapping both the engine and transmission, so the tv linkage shouldn't be an issue, as they will not be separated. Also, I believe the tranny in the mustang is a version of the AOD, as is the current one in the bird. Would I be able to reuse the original shift linkage or was the design changed dramatically?
I had considered the problem with return vs. returnless fuel systems and was looking at comparing an 83+ tank and seeing if the filler neck would even be in the ballpark for fit. Wasn't 83 the year they switched over to fuel injection with the pump in the tank?
Though I'm sure a carb setup would be easier, I can't see spending additional money on another intake and carburetor when I have all of the fuel injection parts in working order. I know it will be time consuming, but I have a lot of free time. Not so much on the free spending money. The worst I can do is try and fail, then switch to carb if I can't make it work.
Assuming both are AODs, sounds like you may only need to swap the shift lever from tranny to the other... As far as the mechanical aspects, should be a straight bolt in as physically the 255 & 302/5.0 are the same externally, the '82 most likely uses same motor mounts as the Stang...
That makes me feel a little better. My next problem to figure out is what rear end to use. I'm sure the stock rear isn't going to be able to handle the new power plant so I need to look into swapping that out as well. Will the rears be relatively similar as far as fit between the 'stang and bird? I'm mostly concerned about the width and suspension parts working. I'm sure this will be obvious once I get the cars side by side and do some measuring...
Use the Stang rear. As for fuel pump, I'd just go with an aftermarket inline unit designed for EFI. That way you can reuse your tank.
Im not sure about the 82 T-bird/Cougars but I do know that you can slap in a set of Fox stang lower control arms (fixed length aftermarket) without any problems. However, just an FYI the stang fixed length uppers come up short about 1 1/2 inches. I dont know if this applies to the earlier cars but i know it does for 87/88 T-birds/cougars. You can remedy the upper control arm situation by using an adjustable length upper control arm.
or use the uppers from a 68-72 gm a-body for the 83-88. i believe the 80-82 use mustang uppers.
Would this be like a dual-pump setup I have been reading about? High and low pressure pumps working in tandem with a fuel collector?
First off, you should be buying that stang and planning on returning the body shell to the junk yard along with alot of 1982 T-Bird parts (rearend, motor, tranny). The shifter and all will work fine since the AOD and C4 or 5 (I'm guessing you have) has the same shift pattern. The mustang rear is the best, take the front brakes and all. The fuel tank can be adapted from an LTD or later Tbird/Cougar to fit the car. Spend alot of time at the Junk yard to find the dimensions of the tanks and see what fits without mods. Something WILL fit. When you find it take the lines as well.
If you have to fab a fuel system try this Fuel pump. All you need is something that will push fuel at the levels of a stock 5.0 HO engine with 45 psi. Like an Accel 74701 (http://"http://www.jegs.com/i/DFI/310/74701/10002/-1") Cheap and Easy.
Fuel Lines, I have seen the factory steel lines used with flare fittings to adapt it to braided stainless lines and AN-Ford FI adapters from Russell. Fitting 1 (http://"http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/640870/10002/-1") and Fitting 2 (http://"http://www.jegs.com/i/Russell/799/640880/10002/-1").
Wiring Harness. Do Not even try the Mustang harness. Time is money, puppies it on EBAY. Get the Painless Harness (http://"http://www.jegs.com/i/Painless+Performance+Products/764/60510/10002/-1") and forget the headache from the Mustang Harness.
Bolt engine and tranny in place and have some fun doing big smokey burnouts.
One More Thing.....Put a good gear in the rearend 3.73:1 for the 5.0 to be in its best RPM band with the AOD and heavier 82 Bird Body.
Yeah but the difference in the Painless harness and the Stang is what??? Big $$$$??
That's pain enough for me to repin, cut and solder a few wires on a basically free harness(which I did for my TC)...
Agreed. That's half my budget. My time is free as long as I'm not skipping work to finish the task :hick:
That's your choice. I have converted a TC as well and guess what, the stang harness sucked cause I had a 1 year piece that matched nothing for a EVTM or my diagrams from the net. I ended up using a Sport harness that took me months to find, then repin. The 93 harness that I had was junk after my painstaking week of repining. The painless harness I used in my sport after a mongoose attack in Hawaii was about the easiest thing I ever used. I will always recommend it. Either way you swill get the thing together and have some fun. That's what it's all about.
Did you actually pick the Mustang up? If so, Got any pics?
I am really not sure I follow here...
I was under the ASSumption that the whole engine harness was seperate from the guages and interior harnesses?
I always figured you could just get a wiring harness out of virtially any 86 up EFI car and just plug the computer in and run a few wires to power it all with the keys and away you go.
The 5.0 harness's are all the same as a stang, as far as pins go, are they not?
You want no part of the '86 Stang 5.0 harness, It's totally different from the Birds or '87-'93s... EEC pin out is same on the Stang and Bird Speed Densety EECs, but under hood plug arrangement varies from year to year... The Stang Mass Air EECs use a slightly different pin out than the SD units... The '89 Stang harness is a bit simpler than the '90-'93 due to the inclusion of air bags on the later cars... Dunno the exact difference, but I'd expect plug connections to be different...
LSC harness are a no-no for any year... Those include the ABS system and air bag wiring in the same harness... Also it routes to the front of the car and across the radiator support... It's just plain nasty...
The panther chassis(CV, GM, etc), mount the EEC on the driver side by the steering column support and use a rotated intake, so those are out for a Fox chassis...
Still working on it. The seller left for vacation so we will get things figured out when he gets back.
I am resurrecting an old thread here, but I am getting an engine for sure tomorrow. The parts car fell through, as things seem to do. The engine I am getting now is out of a 1983 mustang. With only 1,000 miles on a rebuild, it seems to be a pretty solid investment. This information is coming from the seller, so I can only believe so much, but it seems to be in good shape. It has a 4 barrel intake and appears to be a stock piece. I will need to locate a carburetor and would prefer a stock carb that I can rebuild to save myself some cash. Horsepower is not a big issue, but the 255 is ridiculously slow, thus the impending engine swap. What carb should I look for? I searched car-part.com for a mustang specific carb and came up with nothing in the area. Another issue I will need to deal with is getting the TV rod for my AOD to function properly. Since the 83 stangs came equipped with manuals only, the stock carb wouldn't have the necessary stud to connect the rod to anyway. Could I maybe find a compatible carb on a truck w/ an AOD?