So... I have a couple of junk 5.0 HO engines and I was planning to build one for my Bird. Today, I came across an incredibly clean, complete, low mile '95 5.0 Mustang motor that's ready to slap in. I know I have to use the older style intake (I have an Exploder intake ready to go). Anybody know what else needs to be changed?
Also, what do you guys know about wiring the thing? Computer? It's going into an '83.
Under the intake and accessories, it's still a 5.0. Just install the Fox body accessories and the intake of your choice and you're good to go. As far as wiring it to work with SEFI and the '83, I'm guessing fuel lines, harnesses need to be swapped, fuel pump, and more. If you keep the engine's H.O cam, you don't have to go Mass Air, you can stick with Speed Density. I used a DA-1 computer before Mass Air went in.
Thanks Vinnie. My car is a cfi (read: total shiznit) so I'm planning to use the mass air that's with the motor when I go EFI. My car is one with two fuel pumps so I'll need to swap the gas tank with one from an '86 and do a new pump and fuel lines. I have an '89 5.0 computer that I think I can use. I figure I'll put a cam in it while it's on the stand and port the E7s (unless I can find some good heads cheap). The part that confuses me is what wiring harnesse(s) I'll need to make it all work in the '83 chassis
I've heard the '88 5.0 Bird has the ideal harness (you'd also need the under hood harnesses as well I'm sure,plus fuel and more). Lot's of bits and pieces. Probably cheaper to find an '88 5.0 car for parts and buy the whole thing and swap it all over.
if you dont want to mess with wiring put a edelbrock victor jr intake and like a 650 or 700 cfm carb on it and go that way. just throwing that out there as a idea.
Definitely staying with fuel injection. The carb on the '72 Mach 1 I just sold gave me so much trouble, I vowed to never build another carbed motor. I might be over-thinking wiring this fuelie motor, but right now it's a big, scary mystery to me...
Grab the eec from whatever car you pull the engine from, either speed density, or mass air, and you know it will work properly, although you will have to run a wire or two in the engine harness you'll need to grab for the sefi engine's setup.
I'm with Vinnie, I'd probably use an '88 harness, but I can't say for sure if it'll mate directly to your car's body harness..might have to do some repinning.
As for the '94-'95 intakes, you can make one work, but you'll have to get creative with the intake tubing. I've read that because they're little lower they don't quite produce the same power that '93 and older does...but you can easily make the difference up, and more by better exhaust, ported heads, cam, etc etc
Isn't any might to it, it's a definite... A '88 harness won't even direct connect to a '87, it surely isn't going to connect to a '83...
For this swap, there isn't enough difference in the '86-'88 SEFI harness to get excited about, go for what you find(being over 20 years old, this stuff is getting scarce)... Can also use a '89-'93 Stang harness, with the '89 reported being the easiest to work with(no air bag), but again I'd take what I could get... You'll need a '89-'93 Stang ECU or otherwise the "new" harness will have to be repinned for the '95 ECU(which are not as good as the earlier versions)...
When I did the 4 banger to V8 conversion on my 93 Coupe the air bag harness was separate from the EEC harness as were the alternator wires. You will also need a different distributor if the 94-95 motor is coming with one. The MSD units are mechanically fine but the electronics are terrible. Most guys end up installing Ford electronics on the MSD distributors and then the problems go away. I have used a stock Ford distributor for years and have had no issues. You can get them from NAPA but get them without the electronics and buy the Ford internals. I will tell you this, its not cheap but when the aftermarket ola electronics leave you stranded you will think twice the next time.
Darren
As luck would have it, I have a complete '89 harness and computer, so I guess I'm off to a good start there.
I also have two distributors in my other 5.0 HO motors. Can I just use one of those?
As long as they are fuel injected cars I would assume they would be good to go. My T-Bird is carbed so I have to revert to my Mustang when it comes to fuel injection. If your harness and EEC came out of an 89 Mustang then you are on your way with a MASS air set up. I can say that a distributor from an 87-93 Mustang will work but I am not sure what else will interchange. Read this and it should answer some questions on how to mix and match or how not to mix and match different year harness:
http://forums.corral.net/forums/general-mustang-tech/795562-official-four-cylinder-v8-conversion-dos-donts-merged-threads.html
Darren
As long as the dist is for a roller cam engine you are fine... The ones for a flat tappet cam are made of cast iron and the steel gear on the camshaft will "eat" it... Electrically the dist for most all EEC IV are same..
Yeah, the distributors I have are both for roller motors.
I just wish I could find a step by step guide for wiring the car. There's a ton of information out there but none of it is definitive. I like to read everything to death, gather the parts I need, then go out to the garage and just plug it all in according to plan. With this project it looks like I may have to dig in and figure it out by trial and error...which I hate...
Get a wiring diagram of your car and one for the donor car's wiring harness. You have to make the EEC harness work so the enigne will run. There are a couple of wires coming back to the gauge cluster that are for low oil pressure, low oil level, high temp, etc. You have one of two clusters based on the picture of your car, the base buttstuffog or the digital. Depending on which cluster it is the cluster may only support one or a couple of the warning lights. The biggest thing is the check engine light which will start flashing when the EEC gets a code. I am not sure if any of these loop back to the EEC but I do not think they do. This is where you need the two electrical digrams and you can trace out all of the donor car's wiring and then look at yours and see how you can tie it back in and what can be left out if you are going to be running any pillar gauges or something like that.
Darren
I dont mean to highjack but I read on this thread that the 87 and 88 harnesses are different. Does this mean that if I use a 87 mustang computer for my HO swap that I will have to repin? Sorry for the highjack.
If you're staying with Speed Density, you just plug the computer in. No harness mods at all. Plug and play.
Well, if your car was an '87, you'd have to repin some wires to use an '88 engine harness, as well as change connectors, as they are physically different.
However, on my '88, I've got a Stang DA1, using the complete, and unaltered whatsoever Tbird engine harness, with an '89 Stang 5.0 engine. No mass air, and not other mods.
Everything is truly plug and play, but I had some wiring that came with my drivetrain...injector harness, O2 wiring, etc..I used all of that...
the 5.0 itself will mate to an '87 OR an '88 harness...it's where the engine harness connects to the car proper, that the differences between the 2 years become separate.
Hope this helps, even though yours is an '83...of that, I have no idea, I've never seen a cfi 5.0 in person.
Yes a '88 5.0 harness will swap into a '88 3.8 car and everything is plug and play as long as you are using speed densety, I suspect the same applies to '87 & '86, it's when you mix years the fun begins... Any harness going into a earlier car will no doubt need some degree of altering to make it work...
When I did my 5.0 swap in the the TC, I disconnected every thing I could on the 5.0 '87 donor to see on how little it would still run... What i found is that as long as all grounds are still in place for the injector, ECU & fuel pump harnesses'(you're gonna need all three), the engine would still run as long as a red & green wire had power(feed to EEC relay)... With everything disconnected including the plug on ign switch, I could connect that wire to the battery, jump the solenoid to crank the engine and she'd run...
One other connection that should be made is the constant power(memory) feed for the ECU, the engine will start and run without it but will always be in a learning mode...
Well, I have everything from the '95 car - the entire harness and computer. I also have another whole harness and computer from an '89 that came with the last motor I bought. I conned a friend of mine into helping me with this and we'll be working on it at his shop when he gets a lift free.
Good luck.