Fox Wagon Acquired - 1986 LTD

[massacre]

Hahahhaha

[Chuck W]

After getting the junk drivetrain out of the way, I did a quick testfit of something else for another project.

Once that was done, I pulled the old ECU and harness. I needed to gut the ECU to get its connector and wanted to save the harness in case I needed bits for the LTS when I do the MS /port injection swap.

Rechecking a few measurements, it looks like I'm going to need to at least swap to a 96-04 Mustang K-member. Having the engine/rack a little lower is going to help with clearances, I think.
I'm wanting to keep the 3.7 under the stock hood, and I think with the K-member drop and the shorter '15-'17 intake I can make that happen.

The weather is kind of sloppy around here today, but I wanted to get something else accomplished, so I decided to drop the tank. I know I'm going to replace it anyway (have a new one) and wanted to see if I was going to have to get super creative for a pump/sender assy. (If the old one was corroded beyond use)

Aside from fighting with a strap fastener that wanted to spin in the frame a bit, everything came out pretty easily. I was covered in Missouri dirt though.




Surprisingly, the pump assy came out pretty easily.


That hose off the pump is no longer anything resembling rubber, but everything doesn't look too bad, really. I can probably clean this one up and reuse it for the bigger pump. I don't think I'll need to get crazy with the fuel system, outside of a 255hp pump.
It kind of looks like the tank/pump was replaced at some point before it was parked. The tank is kind of clean (on the outside), and the very clean connector and red tag up top also hint towards that.

Currently trying to source a K-member, and once I have that, I can mess with the new drivetrain test-fit and get motor mounts sorted.

[Chuck W]

Well, after the sloppy weather, everything froze solid here for about a week, and then it was rainy and wet after that. (Still rainy this weekend)

I had a couple of hours today to make a stab at a test-fit of the 3.7.

The end result is confirmation that I'm not going to be able to do it with the stock LTD K-member.





I need it to drop down a bit more to be able to raise the tail up a bit. It's basically snug on the steering rack and the trans tunnel at the moment.

Seeing as I still want to try and make it happen without an AM K-member, I'm going to try a 96-04 one, seeing as those had more room for clearance of the Mod motor.

[Chuck W]

Seeing as most of the weight in the in the car at the moment, it's a good chance to eyeball the "stock" stance with the new drivetrain.



The suspension is going to get redone anyway, but it was good to get an idea.

Also grabbed a mod motor K-member today from an '01 Bullitt.

[Chuck W]

Well, for those still following along at home. Today was the day to see if I can get this to work with the stock modular K-Member.

I grabbed my engine cradle to support the engine while I dropped the front suspension and K-member out of the car.


After a little work, the LTD K-member was out.


A quick check showed that the stock engine pads weren't going to be usable, so I got them out of the way.


Then it was back and forth with putting the K-Member in, checking what interfered and removed that part.


There were a couple more iterations after this, but I basically needed to clearance the top and back of the K-member. Burnt up all of the cut-off wheels and toasted the last of the saw-zall blades.

However, after getting the engine to finally rotate the bit it needed to to set level side-to-side.


From there I set some rack clearance with a spacer under the pan.



It's not 100% there yet, but I need to clearance a couple more things and I'm out of implements to do said work at the moment. The oil pan is at the level of the K-member, so that is ideal. It also looks like I can get it under the stock hood with that lower '14-'17 intake on it.

It needs to come forward 1/2"-1". Mainly to give heater core/hose clearance at the back.


I'll probably need to get rid of the stock steering shaft to clear the exhaust on the DS, but that's not insurmaountable.



The rack position on the mod motor K-Member is 1" lower than on the 79-95 ones, which is where I got the room I needed. This also drops the control arm mounting just about 1".

This will probably affect my decision to make the move to 5-lug. While I could probably make it work with the Fox spindle, etc, I have to buy new stuff anyway, might as well update a bit.
The current 10-holes would need tires anyway, so not out any money there, and I'm maybe $100 into the wheels themselves.
It would also require something be done with the rear brakes, etc, but that's not really a stresser.

Next steps are to make the tweaks to get it into its final location and build motor mounts. I'm just going to do the Stiffler's transmission x-member for the 6/10R80 which will make that part easy.

[qikgts]

Coming along nicely!

What vehicle did the 3.7/6r80 come out of?

[Chuck W]

The engine and trans are from a 2011 Mustang. The intake that is sitting on the engine is from a 2015-2017 Mustang.

[massacre]

Looking great nice job!

[qikgts]

The engine and trans are from a 2011 Mustang. The intake that is sitting on the engine is from a 2015-2017 Mustang.

10-4! Should get down the road nice!

[Chuck W]

I got my cut-off wheels and blades over the weekend, but didn't have much time to tackle that portion of things.

Since the fuel pump hanger assy was sitting on the bench in the way, and leaving rusty dust all over, I decided to clean it up a bit. I removed the pump and tossed it in the ultrasonic cleaner.





I still need to deal with a little rust on the top, but it cleaned up pretty well. This was a replacement pump that was done at the same time the tank was replaced, it looks like.

The rest of my time on this has been spent looking at wiring diagrams and seeing what connections I need to make to the "body" connector on the PCM, as my engine and transmission harness is complete. Also been making a list of other parts I'm going to need, like the accel pedal, FPCM, MAF sensor, etc.

I've also come up with a preliminary plan on the basic scope of what's gonig to be done this time around.


ENGINE-
Other than things like exhaust and air intake, it's going to be stock. Once I know it's working properly, then I can experiment a bit. Debating on the tailpipes on whether they're going to turn out behind the wheels, or go to the bumper.

TRANSMISSION-
Again, stock. Need to decide on the shifter set-up. I've found I can potentially use a stock AOD floor shifter, which I'm going to investigate. I have a stock 2011 Mustang shifter, but I'm not too keen on trying to adapt it into the older interior.
Need one of the Stiffler's transmission crossmembers, as well.

FUEL SYSTEM-
Going to try and do return-less and a 255hp pump. Wiring the FPCM isn't going to be an issue. Just need to see what other things I might need to do to make it work.

BRAKES-
Since I'm using the 96-04 K-member, I'm just going to use 96-04 spindles. Probably stick with 99-04 11" brakes for now on the front. On the rear, it has 10" drums, like the LTS. On that car, which came with some Fox-length Moser 5-lug axles, I just redrilled the drums for now.
On this car, I'm up in the air on what I want to do.

SUSPENSION-
It's going to get new Fox LCAs for the front, and I might spring for the MM adjustable RLCAs like I used on the LTS. I'd like to lower it a bit, but I don't know where I'm going to it with ride height yet with the new drivetrain. I'll probably use the "cargo coils" in the back, but I want more rate up front than the stock springs are going to give me. Still mulling that.
It'll run whatever sway bars I have currently, unless I get a good deal on something bigger. Struts/shocks will be easy.
Since my plan is for the smaller brakes at the moment up front, I may find a set of the 16" "waffle-stars" for it.
Seeing as the 2011 Mustang uses an EAPS rack, that I can't use, and I can't fit the bracketry for the belt-driven hydraulic pump from the Transit, I'm going to use one of the Volvo EPS pumps with just a manual controller for the time being.

INTERIOR-
Nothing fancy planned, but I would love for it to be blue, instead of beige (blah). It needs new carpet and headliner, so those will probably be blue.

Anyway, lots of things to think about and get done, but I think it's going to be a fun car.

[82GTforME]

Great work Chuck. I am amazed at the work you do! Can you show off your ultrasonic cleaner? I am not familiar with it so I'd like to see your set up because the results are great!

[Blainer]

Nothing like breathing life back into a car.

Sent from my motorola one 5G ace using Tapatalk

[Chuck W]

Great work Chuck. I am amazed at the work you do! Can you show off your ultrasonic cleaner? I am not familiar with it so I'd like to see your set up because the results are great!

The US cleaner itself isn't anything too fancy. It has a decent capacity in it and I got it for free (it was going to be tossed at work!)



I just use a SimpleGreen mixture in mine, but even distilled water or such would work. The controller is on the shelf behind it, and this one is heated as well.

(If you're not familiar with how they work in general, see HERE)

I've used it to clean carbs and other car and bike parts.

Nothing like breathing life back into a car.

It is very satisfying, that's for sure.

[85GTGuy]

I just use a SimpleGreen mixture in mine....

At what mixture/percentage? With water?

Have you tried any other cleaning solutions?

[Chuck W]

Yeah, just SG in water. Unsure of the ratio. Somewhere between 1:5 and 1:10 SG to water.

I haven't tried any others, as SG is cheap and easy to get. We had a much larger one at a bike shop I worked at for a bit. It was serviced by an outside company, but they also used some sort of mild solution in it as well.
Water does work just fine for some things though, as it's more the action of the bubbles than the cleaning solution itself that does the work.

[Chuck W]

Well, it's been a busy week with everything but working on this. At least wrench-turning-wise.

I have been ordering parts though.

The Stifflers trans x-member showed up today, so I have that in hand for getting the drivetrain position sorted.



I've also picked up the MAF sensor and the accelerator pedal.


I've also been researching things like the return-less fuel system and the ever so exciting EVAP set-up. Seeing as I'm running a stock PCM, there really isn't any reason to NOT go return-less. Add the FPCM to modulate the fuel pump and cap off the return connection at the tank. Ding. Fries are done. If I can't handle wiring all of it up, I shouldn't be doing this swap.

The EVAP system, while probably not needed, will be just as much work to defeat it as it will be to use it. I can add a sensor in the current vent line out of the tank and run the newer charcoal canister that has all of the proper connections to all of the needed bits. the purge valve, etc are already on the engine.

More details on things as I get into the weeds of wiring, etc.

[massacre]

Stifflers is a nice piece, it worked great for me. Lots of adjustment. I also went with their driveshaft loop, which is also a nice piece.

[Chuck W]

Stifflers is a nice piece, it worked great for me. Lots of adjustment. I also went with their driveshaft loop, which is also a nice piece.

We probably won't need a driveshaft loop on this thing.

I meant to ask you. On your swap, is your speedo still cable-driven, or have you done some sort of converter? (Looking at a couple)

[massacre]

We probably won't need a driveshaft loop on this thing.

I meant to ask you. On your swap, is your speedo still cable-driven, or have you done some sort of converter? (Looking at a couple)

Still cable driven. I bought the wrong speedo gear, but it works fine.

[Chuck W]

Finally was able to get back to this today. I think I finally have placement where I want it and can move forward on locking things in place.

A little more chopping on the KMember.


A little side view


Sitting pretty


Still have the 1/4" of clearance over the rack.


Trans tail up in proper location with no issues on the tunnel

I did notice that the trans pan has gotten bumped at some point along the way. I'll knock that dent back out and reseal the pan when I pull things for some final assembly and welding up of the K-member.

Plenty of room at the firewall now for heater hoses, etc


Hidden under the hood. I may have to trim a tiny bit of the support structure over the throttle body, but it currently doesn't contact.


Still have to deal with the steering shaft/exhaust contact, but with a better u-joint set-up and final shifting of the drivetrain a bit to the pass side (about 3/4" off-center currently), it should work out OK.


I 3D-printed a couple motor plates to start scoping out motor mounts.


I need to pull the AC compressor to give myself some working room on the pass side, but I should be able to get something together. Not 100% set on the style of mounts I'm going to do.


Going to go back through the project list to fine tune the details on various systems and get a more involved check-list going.

[massacre]

Engine fits in there nice, great job!

[Chuck W]

Engine fits in there nice, great job!

Yeah, everything looks pretty good , aside from the steering/exhaust issue. Gonna need to spend some money there, to get a nice new steering shaft, it looks like.

[massacre]

Yeah, everything looks pretty good , aside from the steering/exhaust issue. Gonna need to spend some money there, to get a nice new steering shaft, it looks like.

You'll appreciate the improved steering feel anyways

[qikgts]

Fantastic progress! Lovin' this thread!

[ITdude87]

Fantastic progress! Lovin' this thread!

Same. It’s fun following along. Super impressive so far Chuck I gotta hand it to ya - definitely playing on a much higher difficulty level than me.