4cyl to 5.0 swap help

the 86 is going to be a difficult swap...do you plan to keep EFI or are you going carb?

...i would suggest getting a 91 4 cyl instead... then the computer hooks up to your dash harness without any issues. this is assuming you wanted EFI

remember the mpg difference from EFI to carb is HUGE...which is why I preferr EFI.

you can use the 91. but if you want to, that means you are going to have to use the 91 dash harness. and on top of that unless you plan to use the 91's dash and instrument cluster, your gauges wont work. but its not that hard to swap out the entire body/dash and engine harness. been there, done that.

If the 86 is in good shape...then +1 on doing a dash swap to make it work.
If the 86 has any rust or in "blah" shape...then i'm not sure it's worth the extra effort. Plus if you're going for the 87-94 fox look consider the extra cost to upgrade the body panels, quarter window etc etc..

it depends on where you want to take the project...if youre going for a 87-94 GT/LX clone...then I opt for the 91 4 banger car if the 86 is less than perfect. you can get 4 banger cars for 1000-1500 in great shape...

really think about what you want for the end result..how much needs to be changed to match your project goals? I did allot of upgrading to my 93-93 conversion; but at least I didn't have to mess with the dash or interior (was already black).

also; remember to keep true to the same year if you do with a different 4 cyl keep it a 91....it'll be worth it if you do. There's ever so slight changes from year to year...but if you get stuck..keep air bag years to air bag years. 90-93