I have an '87 mustang notch 4cyl/auto that I want to convert to a v8. Car will be a daily driver for a while. The parts that I have are a complete 5.0 motor and t5 transmission, a9l computer, complete v8 donor car wiring harness, and an 8.8 rear. I already know that I need a bigger fuel pump, exhaust, radiator and hoses. What are some of the other parts that I will need to do the swap? How much of the wiring harness do I need to change? What about the gauges? Are fuel lines and brakes different? I am wanting to do the swap as cheap as I can because I am on a limited budget. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
'87 mustang 4 cyl to 5.0 swap
- Thread starter Begizzle
- Start date
cheap, fast, and reliable.
pick two and call it a day.
do a search there is tons of info out there that would take too long for me to post here. there is also a sticky in the useful technical thread index.
pick two and call it a day.
do a search there is tons of info out there that would take too long for me to post here. there is also a sticky in the useful technical thread index.
Sounds like you have the basic easy to find stuff. The harder to find stuff that you need are
Trans harness: Runs from left kick panel through trans tunnel to transmission. Simply unplugs
5.0L Fuel Lines: They run on the passenger side the 4cyl runs on the driver side.
5.0L Headlights harness: The alternator wiring is run with that. The 5.0L alternator plugs are on the passenger side and the 2.3L plugs are on the drivers side.
Fuel pumps: 5.0L and 2.3L are the same. Mine is running perfect with the 2.3L fuel pump....upgrade if you do heavy mods
Dash Harness: They are the same. Mine still has the 2.3L dash harness. All the plugs for the clutch pedal box are there. They simply have a removable jumper wire in the auto harness that you remove when swapping to a manual.
Driveshaft: The yokes are different.
What year is your 5.0L stuff from? Some have fuel pump relays in different locations that make it a little difficult to get running quickly.
Trans harness: Runs from left kick panel through trans tunnel to transmission. Simply unplugs
5.0L Fuel Lines: They run on the passenger side the 4cyl runs on the driver side.
5.0L Headlights harness: The alternator wiring is run with that. The 5.0L alternator plugs are on the passenger side and the 2.3L plugs are on the drivers side.
Fuel pumps: 5.0L and 2.3L are the same. Mine is running perfect with the 2.3L fuel pump....upgrade if you do heavy mods
Dash Harness: They are the same. Mine still has the 2.3L dash harness. All the plugs for the clutch pedal box are there. They simply have a removable jumper wire in the auto harness that you remove when swapping to a manual.
Driveshaft: The yokes are different.
What year is your 5.0L stuff from? Some have fuel pump relays in different locations that make it a little difficult to get running quickly.
5.0 stuff is from an '89 mustang. Does the 5.0 computer plug into the 2.3 main harness? And how do I wire in the injector harness? I have a complete wiring harness from a 5.0 but I hate wiring and only want to do as much wiring as is necessary. Also how does the 2.3 ignition compare to the 5.0?
the main 5.0 harness that goes through the firewall replaces the 2.3 harness. it should be plug and play. the easiest thing to do would be to remove every harness from the 89 and swap it over to the 87. the dash harness can stay, but all the underhood stuff should go. if you label everything it shouldnt be that hard, just tedious. it sounds like a lot, but it's a hell of a lot easier than splicing in old 2.3stuff. the car I own now has spliced 2.3 harnesses all over it and it's a bitcj. this winter I am ripping all of that out and replacing it with factory v8 wiring.
.....winter sucks.
