how much of a pain was it? compared to say, an engine bay smooth and wire tuck? what parts did you need? i am thinking over the idea of a black 87-93 lx with a 85-86 front clip. im assuming you would need the entire nose off a 4 eye donor car?
has anyone here swapped a 4 eye nose on an aero car?
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skunk21
Active Member
you need the headlight wiring from the 4 eyed. the aero lights are set up different or at the very least you will have to change the aero's healight harness to get it to work. also for the fender extensions don't forget the '91-'93's had wider wheel openings so the area where the 4eyeds extension would bolt up to will not fit, since it's skinnier. probally have to change out the fog light bracket also, that's all I can think off of the top of my head but I'm sure you will get replies 
. If you could swing it an '82 GT nose would be sick 
. If you could swing it an '82 GT nose would be sick 
1987LXragtop
Member
you need the matching rub strips and a matching rear bumper cover.
thought about doing it myself once
thought about doing it myself once
I'm only giving you advice under the pretense that you don't butcher a good 4 eye to do it. Salvage a wreck, and you have my blessing.
The fog light bracket can be avoided just to get the front end on the car. My car does not currently have the bracket in it. You can bolt it up without, but you won't have fog lights, but I imagine you could fabricate brackets to mount fogs. The bumper itself can be held in place without the fog light bracket. You just have to pin up the bottom of the bumper cover so it doesn't sag.
Like said above, you'll have to use 4-eye wiring, or hack aero wiring.
I'd tell you to just find a 4 eye to start with, but being the owner of a 4-eye myself, Christ, I'll tell you it would be easier to start with an aero car and just make it look like a 4 eye. 4 eyes are SO mechanically inferior to the aero cars it's not funny. That, and, EVERYTHING aftermarket is meant for 87+ cars. There is SO much crap that you need to modify to get to work on anything '86 and older.
The fog light bracket can be avoided just to get the front end on the car. My car does not currently have the bracket in it. You can bolt it up without, but you won't have fog lights, but I imagine you could fabricate brackets to mount fogs. The bumper itself can be held in place without the fog light bracket. You just have to pin up the bottom of the bumper cover so it doesn't sag.
Like said above, you'll have to use 4-eye wiring, or hack aero wiring.
I'd tell you to just find a 4 eye to start with, but being the owner of a 4-eye myself, Christ, I'll tell you it would be easier to start with an aero car and just make it look like a 4 eye. 4 eyes are SO mechanically inferior to the aero cars it's not funny. That, and, EVERYTHING aftermarket is meant for 87+ cars. There is SO much crap that you need to modify to get to work on anything '86 and older.
and wreck the value of your car
Sorry but that statement is just ridiculous!
I certainly did not devalue my 93 when I swapped in the 80 Capri nose.
you need the headlight wiring from the 4 eyed. the aero lights are set up different or at the very least you will have to change the aero's healight harness to get it to work. also for the fender extensions don't forget the '91-'93's had wider wheel openings so the area where the 4eyeds extension would bolt up to will not fit, since it's skinnier. probally have to change out the fog light bracket also, that's all I can think off of the top of my head but I'm sure you will get replies
You don't actually have to swap the whole headlight harness if you don't have access to a 4-eye harness. It would be easier if your 4-eye nose had headlights in it with plugs attached, all fox-body light wiring is color coded the same. If you don't have the ford plugs for the lights you should be able to get generics at your local auto parts store. Either Chiltons or Haynes manuals have electrical diagrams in their Mustang manuals, I forget which one. If you do have to cut your harness, either solder and shrinkwrap all connections, or use Posi-Lock electrical connectors.
The wheel openings being an issue depends on what you car is, and what nose you are using, but matching a fender extension should not be a big deal.
Everything NikwoaC said is correct, especially...
Another thing not mentioned yet. Your aero bumper is longer than the 4-eye bumpers so you can't just swap the bumper covers, you also have to swap the actual bumper undernieth. This is not difficult, the bumpers are 8 bolts I believe after removing the bumper cover which will have 6 bolts on each side at the fender plus two brackets on the radiator support.
If your aero is a GT, now would be a good time to get rid of that giant ass steel plate Ford installed to hold the 1-1/2 lbs of fog lights!
And most importantly, if your car has air-bags, the sensors in the front end will be in the way most likely. You should cut/clearance the header panel of the 4-eye nose you are installing. Do not remove the sensors! You should be able to make clearance for them without weaking the header panel at all. Only remove enough material to fit around the sensors closely.
The one place you may have a little issue is matching the belt-line moldings around the car. None of the 4-eye belt-lines matched the aero LX or GT. If you also get the front fender extensions with the 4-eye nose, it is not always a completely bad thing if they dont match the rest of the car, if everything else is done correctly you will not lose a bunch of style/coolness points for that. If your fender extensions are different, you will have to get creative cuz you definitely don't want to have a big mismatch right at the bumper/fender. Another thing you can do if you are running an LX with no ground effects is remove the side moldings. That is normally a nice clean look too.
Hope this helps.
BTW, future projects start like this...
I always thought to myself of in ever hit the front pf my car, I am putting an 85-86 gt nose on it.
85-86 gt nose is the most aggressive front end on a fox IMHO.....I just prefer to own a car based mechanically on an 87+
85-86 gt nose is the most aggressive front end on a fox IMHO.....I just prefer to own a car based mechanically on an 87+
Cobra912
Active Member
thanks for all the great responses guys, im seriously considering it depending on what i run into for a car, i really think a black 87-93 lx hatch with a 85-86 nose would be a bad looking rig, with some pro stars, and a small cowl hood... we'll see what happens. i dont think it would devalue the car at all, if it was done right i think it'd make it MORE valuable, how many aero nose foxes are out there? TONS, and most of them all look the same. whats wrong with thinking a little different? i think with my attention to detail and commitment to perfection, i could make this work. haha
Jax Rhapsody
Member
LOL Fox bodies are pretty worthless compared to other mustangs especially 78-86(not just mustangs), it won't be more valuable with a 4i nose on it. There are more Aero cars around, sadly nose swaps aren't gonna never help this. Especially because the ¼windows do not match. 85/6 have similar belt moldings as aero cars. Only 92's ans 93's have wider whell arches.
I really don't get what Mustang5l5 is talking about. Especially when all fox chassis parts are interchangable. That means 78-04(not just mustangs) model years.
I really don't get what Mustang5l5 is talking about. Especially when all fox chassis parts are interchangable. That means 78-04(not just mustangs) model years.
ide take a pink 78 mustang with ghey **** interior over a 2011 gt500, and ide take an 85 notch over pretty much anything ford ever made, so to each his own. im not gonna do it to make it more valuable, but to make it not look like every other aero nose out there, i want the mass air performance and the mean 85-86 nose. im not planning on building it and then trying to sell it to some fool at barrett jackson for 10 million haha
somebody beat me to it... i should just buy this cuz thats exactly what i had in mind
YouTube - bottle baby
wish there was more video/pics
YouTube - bottle baby
wish there was more video/pics
Cobra912
Active Member
nice looking car but I wonder if it's an original 4 eye with newer mirrors, quarter windows etc? I like the look of it........
probably is, i was looking through all kinds of stuff and randomly found that. ide like the idea of using an aero donor car and swapping into an 86 but thats way more work and im really not too fond of the pre 87 interiors...
there are some pretty big differences mechanically through the fox years.. theres more of a difference between 4 eye cars and aero cars than a set of headlights and bumper covers...
smokin joe
Founding Member
I say go for it.
When I bought the 88 t-top I had the intention of converting it to look like an 85-86 GT. I got the nose, fenders, and doors off of an 85 GT that was actually nicer than my 86. I only bought the fenders and doors because they would not sell me just the mouldings. I could not believe that the owner traded this car in during cash for clunkers.
However plans change and now the car and parts are for sale. I bought another car and have too many projects and not enough space.
When I bought the 88 t-top I had the intention of converting it to look like an 85-86 GT. I got the nose, fenders, and doors off of an 85 GT that was actually nicer than my 86. I only bought the fenders and doors because they would not sell me just the mouldings. I could not believe that the owner traded this car in during cash for clunkers.
However plans change and now the car and parts are for sale. I bought another car and have too many projects and not enough space.
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