4 Cylinder to 5.0 swap talk

sweet88gt · Jan 17, 2011

Well after 6 months without the Cobra, I am planning on purchasing a local 4 cylinder coupe. With that being said lets talk about the things I may need to take into account for the project. Reason is I have gotten soft in the past 3 years with just adding bolt ons to my old 04 Cobra and will need to return to the Fox way of life.

Project is a 4cylinder coupe 5 speed with faded blue interior. It has been sitting for some time but no rust that is in the normal spots. Straight body in need of a paint job. Coupes are getting harder to find around here without being a total junk box.

What things have you run into that were a pain in converting a car like this to a 5.0??

jrichker · Jan 17, 2011

See What exactly do I need to convert mine to 5.0 - Mustang Forums at StangNet in the Technical Thread Index at the top of 5.0 Tech forum. All you need is in there.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Jan 17, 2011

really easy, just get the engine harness from the year your car is, and then swap out the fuel lines, the rear brake line, and then the drivetrain and its done..

sweet88gt · Jan 18, 2011

I have done some research but still have a few questions.

Does the 4 cylinder car have the same wiring harness as the 5.0 with the exception of the additional items for the engine harness?? I have read where the V8 computer will plug into the 4 cyl wiring in the kick panel.

I have the main things figured out as far as engine, brakes, trans and the rear end. My questions will be mainly wiring.

I do not have the car in my possession yet, so I ask these questions with an open mind if it would be a worth while project for me. These are pre purchase issues I would like to get some feedback on before I start. If I already had the car in front of me it wouldnt be a problem.

stykthyn · Jan 18, 2011

Get an engine harness from the same year car. The dash harness from a four bnger will work as long as the engine harness is a matching year.

sweet88gt · Jan 18, 2011

Ok thanks

1987LXragtop · Jan 18, 2011

Its really easy to do the engine harness and computer. Plug and play really. 4 to 8 is one the least complicated mustang swaps there is.

bubbleheadracin · Jan 20, 2011

Hey guys I've been working on a swap for about 2 weeks now and I can say it is alot of work involved in it. I enjoy doing things like this so I would say I would do it all over again. Like someone said earlier the easiest way is to have a donor car that is what I had. I'm almost ready to set the motor and trans into it since everything else is done. I guess my only problem or question is (if someone can help me out) is on the V8 wiring harness on the drivers side beside the brake booster next to the firewall that plugs into the wires that go inside the car it has a couple of plugs on it and my 4 banger harness only has one place to plug them up to. One plug, plugs right up and the other has no plug to be plugged into. Is this something that will have to be spliced into some other wires or does that plug not have to be plugged into anything? Thanks in advance

NotchGT · Jan 20, 2011

I know the swap in general is pretty straight foward, when I did mine I switched to a carb, which made it much, much easier. You could do it in a weekend if you had all the parts ready.

stykthyn · Jan 20, 2011

Bubblehead, do you have matching year harnesses?

bubbleheadracin · Jan 20, 2011

stykthyn said:
Bubblehead, do you have matching year harnesses?

The harness that I have is out of a 1989 LX. Is the harness different for other years? I compared a 1988 and 1989 harness and they look the same except for the mass air plug so I thought all years would be the same. My car is a 1992. Did the plugs change when the airbag was added? I thought that this extra plug might be for the airbags. I really didn't want to change all of the wires out that are under the dash, but I may have to. I don't know of anyone close to me so that I could look at their plug. Can someone look at their plugs and let me know what it looks like? Thanks

stykthyn · Jan 20, 2011

You need a 91-93 harness. There are differences betweem the years. The sticky that was posted should list what years are compatible.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Jan 20, 2011

i did mine in a little over 2 days lol

bubbleheadracin · Jan 20, 2011

stykthyn said:
You need a 91-93 harness. There are differences betweem the years. The sticky that was posted should list what years are compatible.

Thanks alot. Found a harness out of a 92 same year as mine and the plug is the same. Thought all from 87-93 was the same but they are not. Thanks for the help.

bubbleheadracin · Jan 20, 2011

Mr. Rustypwnz said:
i did mine in a little over 2 days lol

I probably could have did mine quicker, but I only had a couple of hours in the evenings to work on it. So I guess if I add it up it would probably be about three days. Seems like it has taken forever. Guess I'm anxious to get it running again.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Jan 21, 2011

yeah its not bad at all!! very much worth it as well.

sweet88gt · Jan 22, 2011

Good to hear it is not a hard conversion.
I have found a few V8 coupes recently so I am still looking for the right project.

4 Cylinder to 5.0 swap talk

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I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

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I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

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