86 Mustang 2.3 carb to 2.3 turbo, parts interchange...

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

I've been reading for a couple days now and I haven't been able to answer a couple questions... hopefully I'm posting this in the right place.

I picked up a 86 Mustang, 2.3L 4spd notchback a few weeks ago, and happened into a 86 Turbocoupe parts car a few days later. There seems to be plenty of info for 87-up conversions, but not much for 86-older. I've already scrapped the Turbocoupe but I saved just about everything I should need. Is there detailed info on a carb to efi-turbo swap that I just haven't found yet? I plan to use the TC wiring harness, but I need to find out what I need to remove from the harness before installing in the Mustang, and I need to know if the engine harness will connect to the interior harness or how to make the guages function.

Will the TC fuel tank bolt in the Mustang? Can I put the EFI pump assembly in the existing Mustang tank? Or do I need a EFI Mustang tank?

Will the TC swaybars work in the Mustang? How about the steering rack?

Are 4spd and 5spd pedal assemblies the same? Or do I need to install the pedals from the TC?

The Mustang has a cable driven speedometer and the TC was electic, will the Mustang speedometer cable/sending unit swap into the TC T5?

I'm going to swap the 8.8 from the TC into the Mustang. Should I use the quad shock setup or what? Does the Mustang have the provisions for the quad shock to bolt up?

It looks like the downpipe on the turbo motor will bolt right up to the existing 2.3 carbed cat converter and exhaust, will it? I can upgrade it later but it would save me some headaches.

I'm new to the Mustang and could use any advice available. Thanks!

[mfpmax]

I plan to use the TC wiring harness, but I need to find out what I need to remove from the harness before installing in the Mustang, and I need to know if the engine harness will connect to the interior harness or how to make the guages function.


The gauges will function regardless of the engine harness since they are connected to sensors on the engine block via separate wiring. Oil and Water temp are single wire connections you just disconnect from the old engine and connect on the new engine.
http://www.futurexdesign.com/index.php?subpageID=2
Here is info on wiring as well.


Will the TC fuel tank bolt in the Mustang? Can I put the EFI pump assembly in the existing Mustang tank? Or do I need a EFI Mustang tank?


No, you'll need an EFI tank from either the Turbo 4 cylinder EFI Mustang/Capris, the V6 CFI Mustangs, or the V8 EFI cars. If you want a functioning fuel gauge you'll need 83-86 EFI/CFI tank/sender, but the 87-93 tanks will work but the gauge sender has to be replaced with the proper year range I just mentioned.


Will the TC swaybars work in the Mustang? How about the steering rack?


Sway bar I believe should fit. No clue about the steering rack. Is yours damaged because I'm not sure if there is any major differences between the racks.


Are 4spd and 5spd pedal assemblies the same? Or do I need to install the pedals from the TC?


The 4 speed pedals already are good enough. What I used for my conversion.


The Mustang has a cable driven speedometer and the TC was electic, will the Mustang speedometer cable/sending unit swap into the TC T5?


You can use the speedometer unit from the 4 speed transmission but you' ll probably have to change the gear itself.


I'm going to swap the 8.8 from the TC into the Mustang. Should I use the quad shock setup or what? Does the Mustang have the provisions for the quad shock to bolt up?


Now is this 8.8 from the car you've gotten the engine from? Because the 87/88 Turbocoupes had 8.8s but the previous models had Trac-lok 7.5s. Your Mustang does have provisions for quad shocks as long as you have the body mount plate. Not certain on the differences between the Turbocoupe and Mustang setups though.

[ashley roachclip]

You need to go to www.turboford.com and you will find everythiing you need to know about the conversion you are doing.
GT350R has all the wiring diagrams you need .
Any efii tank will fit , just upgrade the pump ,and you may have to modify the sender values ......
The racks will interchange, the ratio will be different....
speedo will plug into the TC trans ....
Sway bars will fit , I have done that swap ....
Pedals will work as is .....
86 TC has the 7.5 as stated , but does have lower gears , I believe 3:45's ......direct bolt in sans the quads., but you can fab these very easily .
You will need to swap to the turbo engine , as the compression ratio , and the valve train will not handle the preasure nor the heat of the forced induction.
Turbo head has better valves , the short block has forged pistons , just the better foundation to start with .

[mfpmax]

You need to go to www.turboford.com and you will find everythiing you need to know about the conversion you are doing.
GT350R has all the wiring diagrams you need .
Any efii tank will fit , just upgrade the pump ,and you may have to modify the sender values ......


GT350R's website unfortuantely is currently down at the moment.

Only Mustang and Capri tanks will fit just to make that clear. The Thunderbird tanks are larger and different shaped. But upgrading the pump while its out is a good idea. Not sure how you'd modify sender resistance without replacing the sender unit with the correct one.

[futurexdesign]

You need to go to www.turboford.com and you will find everythiing you need to know about the conversion you are doing.


Or he could just stay here where there are at least three people here who have done this swap including myself. Considering I used the exact harness setup in my swap, I would imagine he would be able to get all the information he wanted right here without having to search for it in the turboford archives. It will be far easier to just stay here and ask us directly than to search for our old posts on turboford.

Back on topic,

Wiring information can be found on my website (As linked by MfpMax), although I am aware of the poor nature of it as a source of information. If you have any questions about the wiring procedures, please feel free to ask me. I used an 86 XR7 harness which is identical to the TC harness you will be using. As for stripping the harness down, that is entirely up to you. I used it as is and haven't had any problems other than a few connectors for nothing. Your main taps for the wiring will be done at the main connector plug on the TC harness located near the brake booster (when installed) its a large rectangular plug. This is by far the easiest place to pass in the Start Run signals, and pick up a tach signal. After that its fairly straight forward wiring.

watch out for the phrase "any EFI tank will fit" as they wont. the tanks in thunderbirds and cougars are a different shape due to the trunk design and will not fit. You need something out of a mustang/capri. regardless you would be wise to heed mfpmax's warning about senders, as it is very true. However, a tank swap is not your only option as you can always run an external pump, and tap your existing tank for a return line.

[Travis T]

The quad shock brackets on the Tbird rear will have to be modified, as they are longer than the ones on a Mustang axle. The quad mounting hole will have to be lowered some.

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

Thanks for all the replies... I've gotten more questions answered here in 8 hours then after two weeks of late night research.

The steering rack is a fast ratio 15:1 unit, I'm looking to swap it for the increased performance. The 4cyl LX suspension and 14" wheels are a far cry from the WS6 Firebird this Mustang replaced.

Are the 4spd pedals exactly the same, or would there be an advantage to using the 5spd pedals from the TC? I think I read somewhere that some of the cars had a better pedal configuration....

The 8.8 rear I have came out of the TC, but according to the guy I got it from its out of a late 80's 5.0 GT. It's a 2.73 posi with drums and the quad shock. I have no idea how to determine exactly what it's out of, but its definitely a 8.8. I kept all the brackets and control arms etc off the TC to install the quad shock as long as the Mustang frame has the provisions. Is the quad shock worth installing? Anyone adapted the q-shock into a 86 Mustang that didn't have it originally? Curious if I'll have to drill and cut, or just weld the frame side brackets in place... Also what will I need to change to make the speedometer read correctly after swapping from the 3.08 7.5 to the 2.73 8.8?

The Turboford website has a lot of info, but not much on a basically stock swap. I'm guessing that once its running I'll find that site more useful, otherwise its just too difficult to find the pertenant information I need. I've also followed about 15 links to GT350R's website and I always get a message that the site couldn't be found.

I've read about using the Turbo block, and that's what I'll do. It's a bit of a shame though since the current carbed 2.3 is a remanned crate motor with about 500 miles on it.

Will the fuel pump and hanger from the TC tank drop in the Mustang tank? I salvaged the plastic fuel lines off the TC, if the hanger will drop in that would solve my fuel system issues. Good to know the TC tank won't fit, I can go ahead and toss it now.

Thanks again, so far this has been a fairly easy project.

Edit: added snapshot
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/2426000-2426999/2426022_1_full.jpg

[mfpmax]

If the 8.8 is out of a Mustang than it will work fine with quads. Quads are there to eliminiate or reduce wheel hop. Wheel hop...destroys torque boxes. So its your choice. No drilling is required, there are 4 bolt holes I think or two something in place where the frame mount bracket is supposed to go all you need is the proper bolts.

SVOs have a better pedal configuration, I don't think the Thundebird got that setup. But you can check if you want.

Speedo change is as simple as one small gear to swap. You'll see that gear at the end of the speedometer unit when you do the swap.

If the Turbocoupe fuel pump system works, you won't have a fuel gauge. But I'm not sure of how the older setup is.

[loutheplumber]

just my 2 cents but we just did this swap what around a month ago right kevin in my capri except we used a 87-88 harness

[StangBoy]

im doing this exact same thing currently (see my other recent posts) and its been an uphill battle as so much has to be changed. this is the 3rd car i have converted to fuel injection but my first turbo 4 car so its been interesting. here is what i am using:

wiring harness/fuel tank/fuel lines from a 1989 mustang LX
motor/vam/injectors from a 1984 SVO

transmission is also from the svo but as the car was a auto i also had to change pedals (had a set laying around) and driveshaft as the c3 auto one uses different yoke on the trans end.

I cut the plugs off the old engine harness and grafted them onto the 89 harness. since you started with a whole car it will be easier for you as you wont have to find all the little parts.

You will have to repin the ecu. it will vary depending on what one you use. the LA series ecu swaps are pretty common and are well documented. however the earlier ones such as the one i am using will require oyu to manually go through and figure out what has to be swapped.


for what its worth, FEP has been alot more helpful than turboford in doing this. but if you sift through it TF does have some good info!

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

I took a trip to the salvage yard yesterday and looked at a few newer Mustangs... The quad shock questions were answered pretty quickly... Tbird and Mustangs use different frame side brackets.

I was going to throw in the sway bars from the Tbird today but the parts stores here don't have the bushings and endlinks on the shelf. Guess I'll have to order them.

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

I'm getting closer to making this project happen and I'm still running into some obstacals. I want to make this a plug and play swap so that it will drop in quickly. I'm getting ready to sell this house and can't have the car disabled for 6 months. The TC is now crushed, the 10-hole wheels have made it onto the stang, the rest is going on slowly. I plan to swap to the 8.8 and install the TC swaybars next, then when all the details are worked out I'll pull the carbed 2.3/4spd and drop in the efi 2.3/5spd.

Wiring: I've got the entire engine harness from the TC, along with the interior dash harness. I saved the harness for the fuel pump/sender and the hanger/pump assembly from the TC tank. I could really use a 86 Mustang 2.3 4spd wiring diagram and a 86 TC 2.3T 5spd wiring diagram so I can see what I need to do to install the TC harness in the Mustang. Also is there anything from the TC dash harness I need to install in the Mustang?

Fuel: Will the TC EFI fuel lines fit the Mustang chassis? I'm guessing they will, but I'd like to know for sure before its all torn apart in the driveway. Also does anyone have a pic of a 86 2.3 Mustang carbed gas tank out of the car? I'm wondering if I can just drop the fuel pump hanger assembly into the Mustang tank to avoid a gas guage sender issue? Options for a tank that will install in the car and work with EFI and the gas guage are limited since the junkyards here have been crushing everything more than a few years old.

Exhaust: It looks to me like the exhaust from the cat back on the Mustang will bolt up to the TC cat, but I'd like to hear from someone with first hand knowledge.

Misc: Motor mounts, will the existing mustang mounts work with the TC motor? Pro's vs con's? Brackets, the T5 has a couple brackets for the exhaust and some bracket that extends around and below the driveshaft like a U... Also I think the tranny crossmember has some brackets mounted to it... Do I need any of these other then the exhaust hangers? Driveshaft, will the existing Mustang driveshaft work? or do I need to use the TC driveshaft, or a different shaft all-together? Pros vs cons?


Thanks again!

[mfpmax]

The Mustang 2.3 engine mounts will swap over.
Not sure about the brackets on the tranny crossmember, I can only assume they are the ones that hold the exhaust up, and if so those should be transfer over if possible or the exhaust will want to hang low. I want to say the "U" bracket is a vibration damnper part but can't say for sure as i've never encountered it on my cars.

I'm hoping someone knows the info you need for the driveshaft, otherwise you'll need a T5 driveshaft from a Mustang as the output spline or length is different on the 4 speed driveshaft.

There really is no easy way around the fuel tank issue unless you happen upon all the correct parts all at once. You can put the EFI hanger pump assembly in the Mustang carb tank, but it won't have a fuel sender at all unless by some chance the EFI sender you have has BOTH the pump and fuel level sender on it, otherwise you'll be without a fuel gauge until you changed tanks, along with the fact that you won't be able to let the tank run low or you'll have pump starvation issues.

http://www.ezekial.net/mfpmax/fueltanks.jpg
http://www.ezekial.net/mfpmax/fueltankparts.jpg

[StangBoy]

The drive shaft will not work, i found out the hard way. You will need an AOD/T5 one from a 5.0 or a t5 4cyl one.

[loutheplumber]

the drive shaft lenght is 45.5 center to center of the yokes and 5.0 resto has the correct fuel level sender to work in the efi tank with 79-86 gauges