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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

Put a 2.3 into a 5.0 chassis?

  • Thread starter Thread starter vristang
  • Start date Start date Feb 18, 2022
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vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 14, 2022
#41
  • Mar 14, 2022
  • #41
Clearanced the alternator bracket tonight, and it clears nicely.
Also installed the block off plate for the egr, but that the plate is embarrassing, so no pics
Also attached is the egr delete circuit I’ll use. Resistors should be here tomorrow, in packs of 100

Don’t want to jinx it, but if things go well, I could have the engine in the car by Friday…
 
Reactions: 90sickfox

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 16, 2022
#42
  • Mar 16, 2022
  • #42
I had to swap out the top cover between the 2.3 and 5.0 t5’s. The 2.3 cover didn’t have a mounting provision for the neutral switch.
Pic is of the 2.3, ready for installation…

Test fit the eBay contour fan on the eBay radiator. Will play around with mounting it later. For now I will be bench testing the variable speed controller using an arduino…. Hopefully more to come soon on that side project.

I put the wheels on tonight, and they no longer sit evenly spaced in the wheel well. Will send Team Z an email, most likely I have a parts mismatch somewhere…






 
Reactions: 90sickfox and Monkeybutt2000

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 21, 2022
#43
  • Mar 21, 2022
  • #43
Been slow lately, but finally going forward again…
Still haven’t sorted out why the new suspension sits an inch or so forward in the wheel well. I assume it is the control arms, but it could be in the kmember as well. I’m waiting for Dave at TeamZ to review some photos…

I found a ranger thermostat housing on last junkyard trip. Had to oversized the (2) bolt holes in it, as the bolt threads in the head were larger. I should find a smaller water pump pulley too. It clears, but not by much, lol

The flywheel to pressure plate dowel pins didn’t come with the flywheel or the clutch set. Took several days to locate those.
But they came in today, and I was able to get the transmission bolted up, then engine in the car.
Was trying to get the driveline in, but those (4) bolts are a bitch, so I’ll finish that tomorrow…
 

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vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 27, 2022
#44
  • Mar 27, 2022
  • #44
Finally done scrapping the exhaust together. It looks horrible, but it fits high, and is very secure. I’m probably going to try welding all the scraps together, then I can remove the clamps, lol…

I used a ranger header and the Mac 2.5” passenger muffler that was on the car with my 408w. I added a resonator then filled the rest with scraps and connectors that were laying around.
Hopefully it won’t be obnoxiously loud…
 

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 27, 2022
#45
  • Mar 27, 2022
  • #45
Decided to use smoked headlights, and other than not sitting completely even, hey look nice. LED bulbs are installed, just need to plug them all in…


Had to replace the side mirrors, which meant digging into the absurd dynomat on both of the doors…

Doctored up the map pockets with some zip ties, lol
 

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 27, 2022
#46
  • Mar 27, 2022
  • #46
Didn’t get many pics, but I had to replace the carpet. This had been stored since 2006, and the carpet was trashed. All the speaker wire is a little crazy.
Still a ton of interior work to do, but should have it wrapped up after another day or 2…
 
Reactions: General karthief and 90sickfox

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 25, 2016
27,896
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polk county florida
Mar 28, 2022
#47
  • Mar 28, 2022
  • #47
You can drop 2-3 lbs welding the exhaust, ebay those clamps as rare fox body pieces.
hit me up (is that how they say it?) if you can't find that trunk lock retainer clip.
I have stuff, most apparently useless
 
Reactions: vristang

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Mar 30, 2022
#48
  • Mar 30, 2022
  • #48
Speaking of dropping a couple pounds….

I’m going to be removing the subs.
Back in the day, the full system was pretty nice. Wish I had some decent pics of it in all its glory.
(2) 15’s
(2) 8’s
(3) amps
(2) 50 disc changers
Kickpanel speakers

I sold off and partially removed some of the system years ago. It’s time to streamline the rest…

I’ll relocate the chrome amp on the right, to under the passenger seat (if it fits). The sub box will come out.
The hatch needs some serious cleanup work still…
 
G

GOvert

15 Year Member
Jan 27, 2007
488
99
48
north central Tennessee Valley
Apr 1, 2022
#49
  • Apr 1, 2022
  • #49
Your 4-post lift looks almost identical to mine. Triumph ? I installed many a 5.0 into a 4 cyl car so I know the crossmember essentially the same. You have the 7.5 diffy that you need in your parts car to have a usable gear ratio. Are they 3:73's. Right now a fuel mileage car is a good idea. Follow through with what you are doing!
EDITED: I posted after reading page 1 then I realized there was two more pages. What does the top of your aftermarket front crossmember look like? does it sitting forward throw off your transmission crossmember and make the drive shaft too short?
A 2 quart kit of catalyzed pick up truck bed liner sprayed on the inside floor board will weigh a lot less than the carpet and padding that you pulled out.
I like the fit of the Contour fan.
would a Contour radiator fit and solve the fan mounting issue ? Otherwise use those plastic zip tie type things that come with aftermarket fan and go through the radiator.
I'll purchase a few of the resistors from you. 10 of the 390 ohm and 20 of the 3.9Ks. PM me.
On my '93 engine I chopped off the EGR and had someone heliarc weld the hole closed.
 
Last edited: Apr 2, 2022

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Apr 5, 2022
#50
  • Apr 5, 2022
  • #50
GOvert said:
Your 4-post lift looks almost identical to mine. Triumph ? I installed many a 5.0 into a 4 cyl car so I know the crossmember essentially the same. You have the 7.5 diffy that you need in your parts car to have a usable gear ratio. Are they 3:73's. Right now a fuel mileage car is a good idea. Follow through with what you are doing!
EDITED: I posted after reading page 1 then I realized there was two more pages. What does the top of your aftermarket front crossmember look like? does it sitting forward throw off your transmission crossmember and make the drive shaft too short?
A 2 quart kit of catalyzed pick up truck bed liner sprayed on the inside floor board will weigh a lot less than the carpet and padding that you pulled out.
I like the fit of the Contour fan.
would a Contour radiator fit and solve the fan mounting issue ? Otherwise use those plastic zip tie type things that come with aftermarket fan and go through the radiator.
I'll purchase a few of the resistors from you. 10 of the 390 ohm and 20 of the 3.9Ks. PM me.
On my '93 engine I chopped off the EGR and had someone heliarc weld the hole closed.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I built my 8.8 back in the day. Auburn limited slip 31spline, disc brakes, and pretty sure 3.27 gears. I should try to confirm that though...
From what I can tell, the cross-member didn't move the engine forward. If it did, it wasn't much. I was able to get the driveline in just fine.
I finished the carpet install over the weekend. I'm not so desperate to remove weight that I'll go with bed liner inside the car, lol.
That box that had the 2 15" Solo-barics and both amps, was pretty damn heavy though!

I would like to avoid the through radiator style mounts for the fan. Haven't gotten that far into the cooling system yet though. I've been working on the Arduino fan controller, but don't have that sorted out just yet either...

Ya, drop me a pm with an address, and I'll send a few your way...
 

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Apr 5, 2022
#51
  • Apr 5, 2022
  • #51
So, the interior is almost done. Had to replace the carpet. Since most of the old sound system came out, there were a ton of wires to pull. Replaced the 5.0 tach with a 2.3 tach. Broke a connector for the defogger switch. Once that replacement is here, the interior will be done.

Cleaned out the hatch and installed the amp. Not real happy with the way it’s sitting, but it will work just fine.
Just need tail light bulbs, and the hatch will be done.
Managed to find the right retainer clip for the hatch lock latch, and installed that…

The issue with the wheels not being centered in the wheel well should now be resolved. Apparently I didn’t have the right control arms. TeamZ built and sent a set of their auto cross control arms, and they arrived yesterday.

The clutch and throttle body cable issues should now be resolved, just waiting on parts in the next couple days…

Some pics for the record…
 
Reactions: General karthief
G

GOvert

15 Year Member
Jan 27, 2007
488
99
48
north central Tennessee Valley
Apr 6, 2022
#52
  • Apr 6, 2022
  • #52
After I made the comment about the bed liner material, I saw that you had replaced the carpet. I read your thread backwards, LOL. PM sent
 

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Apr 27, 2022
#53
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #53
Been a while since I've updated... progress has been slow, but still plugging along...

I was not able to sort out the wheel spacing issue with the aftermarket k-member/control arm/coil over, so the stock hardware went back on.
Details here... https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/team-z-setup-in-1990-mustang-gt.923414/

I swapped out the stock 5.0 TB cable for a 2.3 TB cable.
Need to install Heater Core hoses, fuel line connectors (braided AN, to stock rail), blah, blah, blah...
 

vristang

15 Year Member
Mar 31, 2005
4,933
101
124
Seattle
Apr 27, 2022
#54
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #54
Mocked up the clutch cable setup.
Aluminum quadrant under the dash, firewall adjuster, 5.0 adjustable cable, mated to the 2.3 clutch linkage…
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
Mod Dude
Feb 18, 2001
43,242
17,924
224
Massachusetts
Apr 27, 2022
#55
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #55
You work fast.
 
Reactions: vristang

Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor
Admin Dude
Jan 4, 1985
43,015
21,198
234
Box behind Walmart
Apr 27, 2022
#56
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #56
He never said [which] Monday
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
Mod Dude
Feb 18, 2001
43,242
17,924
224
Massachusetts
Apr 27, 2022
#57
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #57
Well you gotta remember my work ethic.


Screw one bolt in, take some pics, come post a few posts on how fancy my bolt is, then not look at the car for another 2-3 days.


Sometimes I wish I could just bang out like others can on here.
 
Reactions: Noobz347

Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor
Admin Dude
Jan 4, 1985
43,015
21,198
234
Box behind Walmart
Apr 27, 2022
#58
  • Apr 27, 2022
  • #58
Mustang5L5 said:
Well you gotta remember my work ethic.


Screw one bolt in, take some pics, come post a few posts on how fancy my bolt is, then not look at the car for another 2-3 days.


Sometimes I wish I could just bang out like others can on here.
Click to expand...

It took years of indoctrination to get you to this point.
 

manicmechanic007

5 Year Member
Sep 26, 2017
2,531
713
143
Roy, Utah
Apr 28, 2022
#59
  • Apr 28, 2022
  • #59
I get a kick out of reading thru this post as...
The first line from the OP said
"Doing this out of necessity... as I need a car to get to work Monday"
Sounds like the appointments that I spare for Democrats
Monday the 32nd of JuVember
 
Reactions: Gs1987GT

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 25, 2016
27,896
10,553
203
polk county florida
Apr 28, 2022
#60
  • Apr 28, 2022
  • #60
vristang said:
Mocked up the clutch cable setup.
Aluminum quadrant under the dash, firewall adjuster, 5.0 adjustable cable, mated to the 2.3 clutch linkage…
Click to expand...
Man, that sht just begs for a hydraulic throw out bearing.
That is a lot of moving parts
 
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