Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Ok so I have my 88 tc, an my 88 xr7. And a Lincoln mark. First off I've read the cool cats writeup on the h.o. Swap. A bit confused. If I have a 5.0 cougar the swap should be straight forward? I would like to use the Trans and motor from the Lincoln. From what I understand it should be a plug and play scenario no? I'd also like to use the disc rear from the tc. I know I'll need the booster. Can I use the stock master? Do I need the front calipers? The tc is a decent car but I like my cat wayyy better.. Sorry if anyone around the central mass area would like tc parts I'm me

The swap should be straight forward. Check to see that the pan is the same, if not, swap them. Don't forget to swap the ECM as well. This will make the injectors have the same firing sequence as the plugs. I would not swap to TC rear brakes without swapping to TC fronts as well. Check out the 11" upgrade in coolcats. I would try the stock master first. What I have learned is the smaller bore in the master gives more stopping power. If the pedal seems to low or touchy, then you can use one with a larger bore. To make it work right you will need to change the distribution block. From what everyone here says, just gut the one you have and install a manual prop valve. This will give you proper bias front to back. I haven't got that far yet. I did a 5 lug swap in the front and have not touched the back yet. Still waiting for a TC rear for it's gears. I would also suggest for you to just swap the entire rear axle out of the TC. That way you will get not only the discs, but the added power of the deeper rear gears. As for gas mileage, the gear swap will not change highway mileage enough to notice, but it will make the in-town gas mileage muuuch better.

Swapping the engine from the Mark VII is straight forward: remove the 5.0 from your Cougar and install the 5.0 HO from the Mark VII in its place. Then just swap the Cougar computer for the Mark VII computer. Done.

The transmission is a different story. The Lincoln Mark VII AOD is about an inch or so longer than the AOD in your Cougar. To use it you would have to have the driveshaft in your Cougar shortened.

Ok cool thanks guys for the info! Btw.. Could I just use the tc prop valve with the tc master and booster? And my original plan is to use the entire tc rear anyway. Also has anyone tried using the Lincoln driveshaft?

If the front is TC, Rear is TC, booster is TC and Master is TC, I don't see why the prop valve can't be TC. I am glad Thunderjet 302 was able to fill in the gaps I left. I would have never guessed the Tranny was longer in the Lincoln. With the right driveshaft it should perform in the same manor. As for the Lincoln driveshaft, just take some measurements. If it is an inch shorter and bolts up to the rear yolk it should be fine.

Yeah I figured. I'm out of work with a broken wrist this week. So I should be able to start this project this weekend. I've also been contemplating pulling the Trans, clutch pedal and master out of the tc and holding onto it until I find a 5.0 bell housing and flywheel and clutch..  I think if all goes well I'll have a nice little setup.. And I was thinking I might just use the front spindles from the bird too? So that way there I'll have all tc brakes and rear..

Mark 7 has a longer wheel base.

There are several different yoke as well.

Yep the Mark VII has a longer wheel base by about 4 inches. Drive shaft won't work.

Standard? Sweet! I would like to do that myself. The price of a new 5.0 flywheel keeps me from jumping right into it. Yes, I would use the TC spindles.

Darn!

Ok other than some odds and end stuff can anyone think of anything else worth saving?

Swap the mark 7 junk in the turbo coupe.

What do u mean swap the mark stuff into the bird? Like motor  ?  I dnt think I wanna pull the dash and swap harnnesses.. And besides I like the cougar a lot more...

Swapping dash harness is totally unnecessary, anyway the LSC harness is he last thing you want...Those have air suspension and ABS intertwined with the engine harness, the TC uses two separate harness, still nothing plugs in...

I built interface harness to connect the 5.0 engine harness to the TC body/dash harness with plugs from 5.0 bird body harness and 2.3 engine harness... Connected color for color and that's probably 75-'80% of the wiring mods necessary...

Never done it but there shouldn't be any reason the tail shaft of the Lincoln trans can't be trimmed and the tail housings swapped from Coug trans... You may have to swap shift levers as well... TC 5-speed D/S is same length as 5.0/AOD shaft(or at least close enough to work)...

If you have room to store it, anything that's good, and in demand. Swaybars, control arms (front) wheels, doors if no rust, glass, etc.

Don't overburden yourself with stuff though...I recently sped a shiznit-ton of Tbird stuff that I couldn't get rid of. Still have some more uncommon pieces and door glass though.

Ok. The way I'm looking at this whole situation is I have 3 94 f150s a 94 Chevy 1500 with a blown motor, my cougar and my bird. And the Lincoln mark.. I'm building one really nice f150 5spd and my cougar. So it's time to use what I need and get rid of the junk. I'm running out of room fast!! My cougar was my first car so obv it's the one I want to save. The only thing left of the bird will be interior and motor.. I was thinkin of saving the doors hood am fenders also.. So I think year down will start this weekend and sry to any of you bird lovers out there..

Do the hard stuff first. Stay focused, one thing at a time. And always do something, even if it's nothing more than getting ALL the parts gathered for a swap. Nothing sucks as bad as having to clean up in the middle of an engine swap because you lost or don't have exhaust bolts, for example.

I got too strung out when I took my Sport apart, I took it down to a shell, and once I got to the point of reassembly, I was overwhelmed, and had forgotten where some of my parts were at, and it ended up becoming a pain in the ass.

I've got some issues with the dash wiring and the heater setup, and I'm leaning towards just swapping a Mustang harness(es) into it and using the basics of the wiring for the engine controls, and dash/hvac. Integrating the body harness into that for the lights.

May strip it and junk it, who knows. I'm like you..I've got too many other more exciting projects than to work on a car that needs an engine, transmission, and rear because the ones in it now are worn out junk.

If I were you, I'd swap a good engine into the chevy truck if it's in good shape otherwise, and sell it for a bit of profit.

About the only good stuff from the Mark VII is the rear, the engine, and the EEC. Pull the engine complete, makes it a lot easier. See what's shakin on the Lincoln boards..you might be able to nickel and dime some parts there.

That's what I'd do, anyway. ;)

Lol thanks. The Chevy is Definately gonna be sped or sold as is.. It was a freebie from a friend that went to jail. I def agree with having the other projects goin on. Right now priority is the cougar. I was hoping one of the pickup motors would've been a better option.. But the h.o. Is something I was thinking of for a while.. If all goes well the cougar will get done in like two weeks.. And then by next winter I'll have the f150 done so I can park and preserve the cat. Man have I missed all you guys!! Is mercury man still around? And dmainc? Hell who am I kidding!! There's so many good guys on this site I'd be here all night trying to call them all out!!! Thanks for the input everyone!

Or simply swap the tailshaft housing.  This is where the difference in length is.  Cheaper and quicker than swapping in a custom length one-off drive shaft.


Use the T-bird spindles.  The larger brakes up front will help immensely.  You could even go so far as to use The Lincoln calipers as they are 73 mm as opposed to the TC's 60 mm.

I'm not sure if there are any differences with regards to the stock brake prop blocks between the 3 vehicles.  If they ARE different, I'd use the TC one.

Tailshaft housing swap would work. Don't use the Mark VII spindles, use the ones from the Turbo Coupe. The Mark VII spindles need a larger balljoint.

Sweet. So tc rear , tc spindles.. Mark calipers.. Tc booster and master.. Mark H.O.  Motor and Trans.. Mark computer... I'm relally excited to do this swap!  How  about springs? I know a lot of guys say this will work and that will work.. But I've also noticed a lot of guys have problems.. Anyone have a guaranteed spring swap that'll lower the front just a little? How about the mark springs? And I know there's probably a write up.. I'm not lazy.. It's easier to talk to someone than read thru others headaches ya know?

if you have a mark 7 there, why not do a 5lug swap on the cougar also?

Discs and 373 in one shot? Pretty sure the mark is 308 gears? And drums?

The mark doesn't have springs, it has air bags. The tc from the factory doesn't have a booster and conventional master cylinder

But the system should work in the  cat.. ?? I'm going to look over everything before I start swapping parts over. And with that info I'm gonna go do some searching....

Ditch the abs and ride control. just not worth it. plus the hydroboost  on the tc is a  shoot and hard to fix.

for springs, the tc stuff might actually raise it compared to stock.

Haystack!! How's things?  I would obv drop the abs.. I'm looking  to use the rear out of my tc and the front spindle and brake assembly on my cougar.  As far as I know I would at least need the booster? And probably the proportioning valve.. I just figured if I have a complete parts car why not take everything I can? I also have a Lincoln mark at my disposal. And I'm not really interested in a five lug swap right now.. Unless there's more benefit than rim selection..

Id leave the booster and everythubg in the cougar. just drag and drop spindles and axle. might need front brake lines and adaptars. you will need the brake portioning valve.

read the coolcats 11" front.brake upgrade and tc rear swap. it covers things pretty well.

things are good. finally looking up a bit.

You'll need new front soft hoses...get them to match the year of the calipers you're going to use. I just did all this and more to my '87 4 banger "WussStang". Swapped in an 8.8 tonight with 3.55 gears. Ranger axles and drums, and boom, 5 lug. Something about a rusted and broken brake line put a stop to my fun n' games, but I have a V8 brake line anyway, so once the rubber is on the ground tomorrow, I'll prop up the passenger side and swap the line from front to back. Easy stuff.

My Thunderbird is going to get a 351w...it's in a Lightning...but sadly it's not a real GT40 Lightning engine, just the regular E7 headed version. Previous owner swapped it out..was a beast, there's still a bottle bracket behind the pass seat of the L.
My buddy is going to drop a big block and do a frame off resto/clean up. He's particular, so it'll be perfect when done.

I'm going to carb the 351w, blah blah, put it in my Sport...possibly a track only car at some point. Right now this Mustang is the priority...it's going to be my daily soon. After I get the rear finished up, brake line etc, the 4 banger is coming out, and it's 5.0 time. The V8 will have P heads, Cobra intake, and aftermarket exhaust. Parts are all here, just need to spin the bolts...spent all day on it today and made solid progress. Time for a beer and bed and back at it. I've got 17 days before my time will be gone, but for two days per week, like all you other sons of guns. ;)

Don't transplant the Teves II ABS unit from the Turbo Coupe/Mark VII to the Cougar. It's a pain and not worth it.

The only thing I would add is the following based off of my past experiences.

Front Brakes
11" TC spindles, calipers, & rotors up front.  Clean and inspect bearings and races in rotors, if they pass repack the bearings and install a new seal on the back.  If it was me I would just get some reman calipers and use the ones you have for the cores.  Cost will be around $20 per caliper with the cores provided at the time of purchase.  This holds true on the Mark VII calipers as well but if you go that route make sure you are getting the steel piston versus the phenolic type.  Get some good brake pads and that will be the biggest difference you will notice in these brakes performance wise.  Check the two soft lines between the calipers and the hard lines on the front sub-frames to make sure they have not swelled shut.

TC Rear End
Maintenance:
Go with the TC rear end as a complete setup.  I would suggest that you give the rear end some TLC so change the oil and replace the axle bearings and seals.  To do this is as simple as removing the rear cover, drain the oil, remove the rear axles (remove king pin bolt, slide kin pin out, remove c-clips, & remove axles), pop out the old oil seals, and remove the bearings.  You can rent/borrow the bearing removal tool and installer from AutoZone or the like parts store.  Inspect the bearing surface on each axle and replace axle(s) if necessary.  My 8.8 was used and had all kinds of sludge and grime in the axle tubes so I used an old broom stick and some 1/4" plywood cut like a half circle and screwed to the end of the old broom stick.  I used this to essentially se the  out of the axle tubes and then stood the axle up on end and used carb cleaner to wash the tubes out away from the center section (gears).  Install the new axles bearings and oil seals, reinstall the alxes, c-clips, king pin, and king pin bolt.  Bolt the pan on and fill with fluid and trac-lok additive.  The one thing you may want to do while you are in there is rebuild the trac-lok which is not too hard and has been covered on here and many of the Mustang sites.

Brakes:
Again, if it was me I would just get some reman calipers and use the ones you have for the cores.  Cost will be around $40 per caliper with the cores provided at the time of purchase.  You would have to reuse the caliper bracket but those are usually in good shape.  The reason I do this is they are old enough that the piston is usually cantankerous and will not screw back in when installing new pads or the e-brake mechanism is hosed.  Again, good brake pads will be the biggest difference you will notice in these brakes performance wise.  Check the two soft lines between the calipers and the hard lines on the rear end to make sure they have not swelled shut.

Transmissions:
Do not use the T-5 from the TC behind a 5.0 and expect it to live with any kind of power and especially if you have good tires on the rear and are hooking up.  the TC T-5 are geared very low for the lack of torque and high RPM nature of the 4 cylinder turbo.  They are worth some $$$ to the 4 cylinder crowd so if you want to go the manual T-5 route source a Fox Mustang unit as they can still be had for around $400 with bell housing and clutch fork if you are patient.

I have no advice on auto's and no experience with building, installing, and setting them up as far as the TV cable and all that goes.

Darren

Or buy a sn-96 v-6 trans.  3.35 1st gear and .68 od ratio . they are allover the junkyards here and stang guys won't touch them because of the larger bell housing.

I've got 50k miles and 3 broken sets of motor mounts out of mine spinning a 275/60 tire everytime i got the chance without a hiccup. the 94-98 has a rating of 265lbs, the 99-04 is rated at 300lbs with a lot of the later model t-5 upgrades according to the v-6 stang guys

Well, I learned a lot from this thread. I had no idea the TCs had Teves II brakes. Yuck! Also learned I should keep my automatic. The parts TC I have my eyes on is a standard, but now I know I should not use it. With the price of another manual tranny, new clutch, clutch cable, and flywheel, the price outweighs the advantages.

From everything I see, I wouldn't touch the front springs on that Cougar. It has the best springs of our cats and birds. The springs on my LX need to go!

I've also learned a lot. Thankful of this site and you guys for sure!! On a side note I've already redone the tc brakes all the way around. New calipers pads and rotors..  But I'm still gonna hang on to the t5. I'm more interested in the clutch pedal assembly and the under the hood stuff.. I'm not looking to make a rocket out of the car right away.. I figure with the tc rear and a fresher Trans and the h.o. Upgrade I should see a huge difference!!! ? No?

Should be a big change. post pics of progress.

x2. I tried to post the exact same thing, but it disappeared.

I will I sold the Chevy pickup for 400$ that should get me enough paint supplies and misc stuff.. Now to get them in the shop and tear down ;) and I will post pics with updates fellas!!