What do I need to get a Turbocoupe drivetrain into an SVO?

[gregpro50]

'88 Turbo coupe- smashed with good running engine and 5sp tranny

'86 SVO- no motor or tranny.

From the looks of things, the bellhousing, tranny mounts, and motor mounts are different. Is there anything else different that I am going to need to find before I complete this swap? I plan on just using the IHI turbo for now unless there is a good reason to change it.

I was able to find wiring that goes from the computer to the engine from another SVO so I wont have to modify the TC harness now.

[mfpmax]

Bell will work, but only with the hydro pedals....so if you have no plans to swap to a hydro system you need a N/A or any other T5 equipped bell.

Tranny mount...find a Mustang one(I put a a poly one), motor mounts you just remove and use Mustang mounts.

The placement of "some" sensors may be different, other than that I don't know.

[Shopteach]

Check over at Turboford.org. Those guys can answer question better than I can. I'd hate to steer you wrong.

[83rsturbo]

well futurexdesign is helping put one into a capri this weekend Maybe he can help you . This is his 2nd one

[gregpro50]

Can I use the serpantine belt setup or should I switch it to the V-belts like on the SVOs? I noticed the power steering pump is different.

I am going to try to find another bell too. I dont want to use the hydrolic pedals.

[83rsturbo]

You can use the serpantine belt setup iyou'll have to change the power steering pump pulley. that way you don't have to change the crank pulley

[JTurbo]

Hey Greg,

Ninjaboy (Roger) over at SVOCA is the process of doing this swap into his 84 project white trash SVO. Send him a PM. Part 1 of the swap was in the last newsletter. And he doesn't live that far from you....

JT

[mfpmax]

Yeah I swapped the power steering pump over to the snake belt as well. I forgot to swap over my A/C though and was too lazy to put the correct one on my car.

Oh, and there may be something with the fuel lines I think, at least at the engine bay section since I "think" the fuel lines goto different areas since the rails are different.

If need be(if you don't have them on the engine), you can get the engine to frame lines off any 87-90 2.3 Mustang. But I think the Turbocoupe lines will work as well.

[Travis T]

If you happen to have the bellhousing from a 79 or so 2.3 Mustang with the RAD bellhousing, you can use that. It's a direct fit, and will eliminate the dogbone cable that is prone to breaking.

[Chuck W]

The fuel line fittings will be different.

However, you should be able to cut the fittings out of the TC and press them into the SVO lines. I had to something similar with a Ranger swap I did.

[gregpro50]

OK, Ninjaboy wrote me back. Funny, I actually met him earlier this year, I just forgot his name. :oops: Anyway, there is alot of good info in his response so I thought I would post it in case anyone else had questions regarding this swap.

As far as the TC swap goes, the motors are quite the same as the SVO's, but the little bits are different. The TC motor mounts won't work, the tranny crossmember will, but the hangers for the cat and the vibration dampers need to be removed. If you're keeping the cat, you'll need the SVO hanger. The TC downpipe is a bit longer than the SVO's but may be salvaged if it's cut and re-welded to fit. The later TC ran small, IHI turbo's which utilize a larger flange at the downpipe (2 1/2 inches wide as opposed to 2 1/4 inches on a stock T3 turbo). A stock SVO downpipe can be made to fit if the flange is cut at the ends to clear a little extra room for the wider bolt location. The TC's used a wider flange and a 2 1/2 inch downpipe. The serpentine belt system can be retained, and is a popular upgrade for many SVO's. The TC used a hydraulic clutch slave cylinder, but the SVO's run cable operated clutches. I swapped the bellhousings to keep the simpler cable system intact. You'll find that the TC tranny uses an electronic speedo sensor, but you can just pull that off, and put in the analog cable from the svo.

If you're using the SVO wiring harness, then you'll need to pay attention to the sensors and how they plug into each other. I'm using the TC harness, because my SVO harness was completely missing, so I'm retaining all of the TC sensors. For the most part, all of the sensor locations are the same, but the TC has an additional heat sensor on the intake, and some of the plugs may be different. You can just ignore the second sensor for your application because your computer won't be looking for it.

The TC runs a more torquey cam, as it is designed for use on a much heavier car than the SVO, and the turbo is smaller, but can push up to 18 psi of boost. This means a car that should spool up faster, and feel alot stronger on the bottom end. If you're after a nice driver/autocrosser, this is a nice set-up. If you're after a high horsepower, great mid-top end car, then you'll want to make some changes in cam and turbo set-up.

I hope this is useful to you. I learned most of this the hard way. Good luck!

[mfpmax]

I used the Turbocoupe exhaust(cat) hanger on mine with the Turbocoupe downpipe. I'd assume the info he mentions is for if you have the SVO's exhaust as well, as I had the Turbocoupe exhaust, but didn't use the mufflers.

[gregpro50]

Any ideas on how to cope with the fuel lines? The TC fuel lines connect to some hard lines underneath the motor. Whereas the SVO has soft lines that connect to the fuel rail on the motor.

[mfpmax]

The 86 not have fuel lines on the body at all?

[gregpro50]

The 86 not have fuel lines on the body at all?

Yes but the hard lines stop by the passenger side fenderwell.

The connections are all in the wrong places to make it a bolt-n-go swap. I'm thinkin I might have to switch the fuel rail.

[AT6svo]

From my archives:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone know if there is an adapter to go from the later TC style fuel line ends (metal spring load type) to the push on SVO type fuel rails?

http://www.ronmorrisperformance.com/04fuel/fittings.htm

Make your own. Look at the link I posted above and check out items 9141 and 9142. Use a short (3-10 inch_ piece of tube and the faul rail fittings at the other end. They also have the male ends of the spring-loc fittings (9143 & 9144).

Note that hte 87/88 TC fuel rail points the fuel line connections straight down, kinda towards the dip stick tube hole in the bloc

[mfpmax]

The 86 not have fuel lines on the body at all?

Yes but the hard lines stop by the passenger side fenderwell.

The connections are all in the wrong places to make it a bolt-n-go swap. I'm thinkin I might have to switch the fuel rail.

Like the V8s and V6s ah...then yeah, my solution is totally out the winder.

And yeah as AT6svo mentions, the 87 lines are like the 87-90 2.3 N/A EFI lines which is what I have on my car.

[gregpro50]

Oh I see now.

The soft lines on the TC connect to the fuel rail with the spring-style metal fittings and they also connect to the hard lines underneath the motor with the plastic duck-bill type connectors.

I suppose all I would have to do is cut the duckbull connectors off the SVO soft lines and put the metal spring-style connectors on. Hopefully there will be enough room to connect the lines since the TC fuel rail points straight down on the back of the motor whereas the SVO fuel rail points towards the drivers side fender.