Standalone engine management system foxbody

Robinson

Member
Apr 6, 2023
18
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13
TENNESSEE
Trying to make a daunting decision on which system to purchase for the first time and me being new and a beginner. I really want simplicity and not even considering track needs as my car will be mainly street and town strip. I think I should mention, I am doing a complete transfer to 5.0 in my 1993 4cyl coupe auto , I have the same year foxbody 5.0 convertible as a donor, the car has a carb on it but all the efi is laid to the side absent injector harness and it is a auto, also has converted gas tank to Holley blue racing fuel pump,braided fuel line from tank to carb. As I mentioned wiring is there but really shows its age being crumbly etc but it starts and runs. Has full 5-lug conversion but my 4cylinder notch has brand new tires and rims, so I plan to just swap over the front v8 spindles and purchase the better 4-lug rotors ( if there is the option to fro so ), on the rear I plan to pull v8 differential because has provisions for quad shocks on it and then slide out the axles on my 4cyl and slide them in where I pulled five lug axles out of v8 housing if possible and I do realize my 4cyl is 7.5 but from my research they should go right in the 8.8… Now that I’ve tried to explain my endeavor, what say you on the ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? And I guess I should mention I want my a/c to be without flaw if there is such a thing.. I have read on a forum that the iat had a issue (pimpxs) once a/c kicked in but this assume can easily be accommodated, … need to get what is not so pricey and I know there is really NO such thing…

1. Pimpxs and the m-76 harness hopefully has ford connectors?
2. Terminator x
3. Msqpnp2 and I don’t know if I can get a harness?
4. Pro M.. but not realistic Entirely out of Budget!
HELP!! Thanks for even reading this headache…Sincerely Robinson
 
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Keep in mind that whatever you do there is a brown 8 pin plug by the brake booster in your 4 cylinder and in the 5.0 that is the connection between the dash harness and the ECU harness. Found this pinout to give you an idea as to what wires are in it.

harness03-gif.138369
 
Keep in mind that whatever you do there is a brown 8 pin plug by the brake booster in your 4 cylinder and in the 5.0 that is the connection between the dash harness and the ECU harness. Found this pinout to give you an idea as to what wires are in it.

harness03-gif.138369
Yes I see this plug right here by the booster, so whatever kit I go with, should plug into this for instance the pm-76 harness offered by pimp xs? Although I can keep cost down by using my own harness,I’m just not confident about this30yr old harness but the car does run with it and headlights work.
 
I went the Pro-M route. Almost all systems function as OEM or better. Anything that isn't OEM level of good is due to my own (lack) of ability.

As with any system, there will be a learning curve and your ability to assemble engine systems correctly matters (IE - do you know how a PCV system is supposed to work....little things like that). I find the Pro-M software to be pretty good compared to others I have used in the past. The harness is OEM quality and everything fit right. My time and frustration factors into overall cost, and I found the Pro-M to be pretty low on the frustration scale overall.
 
If I was starting over from basically scratch, I would go Termi X. Probably the most cost effective solution and everything is brand new.
I understand that because I was looking at the pimpxs system for my swap but when I finished adding in everything needed (pm-76 wiring , flex fuel sensor , o2 pig tail etc.) close to $1,800 .. I have almost decided to just do the Holley system , simply because it’s more widely used, only thing I don’t like about Holley is from my understanding Holley leans more ls to me and pimpxs is more ford to me.. all of it is costly and somewhat of a headache when dealing with a 30 year old platform.. I just don’t think I can swing the Pro-M system which seems to be less of the headache it’s just to dang expensive..
 
With the stuff you mention I'd do Fitech or Holley sniper. No need for all the harnesses and will bolt up where that carburetor resides. You'll need to use the 4 banger stock fuel pump or upgrade it. Seems like the easiest option. Easy translates to time....and time is money. If you had a good factory complete harness I'd say mspnp2 or a microsquirt. All of them have a learning curve but with a factory NA set up it shouldn't be too bad.
 
The Fitech and Holley sniper aren’t what I am aiming for, I’m wanting to use a gt40 upper/lower just as Matt did on here 4 swap to v8… not to mention Fitech system and Holley sniper a bit on the high side but I I appreciate the suggestion
 
On my old 5.0 setup I used the MS2PNP from DIY Autotune and it plugged directly into the factory harness. I only needed to run a vacuum line to the engine and I think add a ground. I also had to install a wideband O2 and gauge but it was pretty easy and was all under $1k I think at the time. There's plenty of support for them here on this forum and there are a few guys that go way out of their way to help here!

That said my new build will be using a 4.6 4V engine and will have the Holley Term X setup.
 
Any reason not to go with Holley HP? I had a conversation with my engine guy, and he keeps trying to talk me into upgrading from the big stuff 3.
Hp is the better ecu over the term x

It’s a dominator with no trans control and only 4 i/o . I have had one since 2018.

The newest gen big stuff looks like it’s a real nice unit but I have only seen so many guys using it
 
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I like the support that I see out there for them. I may also go take a class under the guise that I'm an employee of his shop. That would give me some familiarity.
On which unit ? Either will be super valuable and helpful . The Holley is very user friendly and you can teach yourself around It with all of the online stuff .

If you want a Holley specific course - check out Joe Simpson Tune the trilogy
 
Yeah, I was referring to the Holley. Apparently, they put on classes to pros & shop personnel for their distributors.
They do , the outside classes from what I hear seem to be a bit more helpful . I wanted to get in on a Devin Vanderhoof class as he was doing them with some others . He is one of the main go to guys
 
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If you don’t have a good factory harness I’d probably go the terminator x route.

If you have a good 5.0 engine harness, I like the pimpxs. Done a few of them and they work great.
 
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