I picked up this 86 Mustang on June 23rd 2006. The body had 42,000 miles on it, and the engine is a remanned 88hp 2.3 carbed crate motor with about 300 miles. It'd been sitting since 2003 without plates, and hadn't been driven since 2000.

I was able to piece together the history of the car from various paperwork and items that came with the car, along with the overall condition. The previous owner was a woman, with kids. The car was driven often until the engine died. It sat for several years in the elements until the car was donated to the American Lung Association. It's hard to tell if the remanufactured engine was installed before or after being donated. The American Lung Association sold the car at auction and a buddy of mine got the car for his used car lot. It sat there from 2000, until 2006 when I bought the car. Exposure and dereliction took it's toll. While sitting idle it served as an apt for homeless people, and shelter for insects.

I had to bolt the door back onto the passengers side due to the bolts shearing, and deal with some flat dry rotted tires, faded headlights, bugs, dirt, rusted out tailpipe, burnt bulbs, etc. It has been mechanically sound so far.

After rescuing the car from rotting, I started by repainting all the black/charcoal trim with cheap flat black paint from Walmart.  (2009 Edit : The Walmart paint was a poor choice.  It was cheap and fast, but after a year it looks like it was never repainted)  I also took the car in and had the windows tinted, 5% on the 1/4 windows and rear window, and 20% on the sides.  In an effort to chang the look and cover some peeling paint on the hood, I added the GT style black hood stripe.

Shortly after acquiring the Mustang I traded a Chevy 305 long block for a complete running 86 Thunderbird Turbocoupe. The project now is to install the Garret T-3 turbocharged 2.3L 4cyl with its Borg Warner T5 and 2.73 geared 8.8 posi rear end into the Mustang, replacing its 1bbl carbed 2.3, 4spd manual, and 3:08 geared 7.5" rear end. The TC also came decked out with larger swaybars, a later style quadra shock system, and 10-hole Mustang GT style 15x7" wheels. Another bonus was the 15:1 GT spec steering rack.

A stereo is also planned, but aside from acquiring a mounting kit and piling all the parts in the garage it hasn't happened yet.

Update: 08/06

The turbocoupe has been stripped and scrapped. The engine, trans, etc are in the garage. The 15x7" TC/GT 10 hole aluminum wheels have been installed. I came into a set of used tires cheap from a junkyard and mounted them up in the driveway. I also installed the entire stereo out of the 84 Camaro. It consists of an Eclipse CD head unit, Alpine 5 channel amp, Pioneer 4x6 components, and 4-way 6x9's, with a Stinger stiffening capacitor, and two 10" Eclipse subs in a Camaro box.  Everything is wired with quality wiring, etc.  It's about twice as loud in the Mustang.  I'm still researching my turbo swap... The new clutch set is waiting patiently... The only obstacle now is wiring and money. I'll probably swap the rear end and install the larger TC swaybars next, followed by the T5 transmission and then finally the 2.3 turbo motor.

 

Update: 9/06

In the interest of clearing out the garage, I pulled the 3:08 non-posi 7.5" rear end out of the Mustang, and installed the 2.73 posi, 8.8" rear end from the Turbocoupe. I cleaned up the housing with wire brush and degreaser and gave it a couple 5 healthy coats of semi-gloss black in preparation. I also removed the low mileage brake parts from the Mustang rear and swapped them directly onto the 8.8. The rear in the Turbocoupe supposedly was originally in a late 80's Mustang GT. This would seem to jive, since the TC should have had 3.55 gears. The swap was a direct remove/reinstall, with only minor modifications required to the shocks.

 

 

Update: 10/06

New pics of the hoodscoop... so far it's just cosmetic. I'm not sure how I want to cut the hood. I could cut it to be either functional to match a TC or SVO intercooler I don't have yet, or cut open for cold air... Now I have to add a spoiler to balance the back with the front.

 

 

I moved the electric fuel pump from the engine compartment to the frame rail near the gas tank. This resolved serious fuel cut issues I had been encountering.

Update: 11/20/06

I have had the Mustang quad shock brackets laying around awhile, and finally got around to installing them. The TC shocks worked perfect, but I did have to clean them up and scrub the rust off the piston so it would contract far enough to fit the Mustang. The results are definitely positive. Before the quads a clutch dump would cause massive, violent, wheel hop. After the quads it just burns out smoothly.

Quadshock pics.

 

Update: 11/30/06

Progress is being made, slowly but surely. I finally installed the Turbocoupe's rear sway bar. I was going to install the front as well, but stopped when I noticed the bushings from the donor car were pretty mauled from exposure and age.

I finally broke down a bought an accurate set of "Ford" centercaps to replace the Thunderbird caps I had been using.
While I was spending, I also gave in and bought an Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual off Ebay for the 86 Thunderbird. This book makes dealing with wiring and vacuum lines so much easier. I spent an afternoon laying out the Turbocoupe wiring harness and figuring out what everything connects to. I got to completely strip off several layers of aged, gooey, yellow electrical tape, revealing previous repairs. I then removed a few wires that I won't be needing, mostly headlight wiring. Now the harness is ready to be re-wrapped, I'm going to wait until the engine is in the car and everything is hooked up before I jump into that.

The next day I pulled the T5 transmission off the 2.3T bellhousing. I degreased the transmission and inspected it. It looks ok, but only putting it in the car and trying to drive it, will reveal any problems.

A few days after degreasing the transmission I did the engine. It looks a lot better without an inch of grease on everything. Most of the engine still wears its OEM gray paint, much to my surprise. Without the grease it's a lot easier to deal with.

The next day after degreasing the engine I pulled the bellhousing and clutch assembly. Wow. The clutch disc was in better shape then I expected. However it's very evident that it came apart, due to the large gouges in the inside of the aluminum bellhousing. As was expected the flywheel was pretty hammered also. Normally I'd say it could be salvaged by haveing the surface machined, but the ring gear is chewed up pretty bad also. I'm hoping the existing flywheel on the carbed 2.3 will swap over without a problem. If so I'll use it instead and discard the TC piece. The throw out bearing was also pretty badly abused. The flanges were bent, and the bearing itself was rather noisy. It went in the garbage. The pressure plate is in surprisingly good shape, but since I've got a new clutch set I won't be needing it. Another point of interest was the part number on the throw out bearing. E8, indicating that the bearing was produced in 1988, two years after the TC was originally built. This would seem to indicate that the clutch was out while the car was still fairly young.

I took a few days off, and then went after the bellhousing with scrub brushes and degreasers. It was a serious mess, but easily cleaned.

Rounding up all the parts from the Turbocoupe has been interesting. Between sitting in the garage in Sioux Falls for a few weeks after parting the car, then being moved into a storage unit for a few weeks, and then finally into a truck and a storage unit here in Salina, parts were pretty well scattered and mixed in with Camaro/Firebird parts. It's been a few weeks of random trips to my storage unit digging for this or that, but I've located everything except for the hose that runs from the VAM to the turbocharger inlet.

While inspecting the transmission I discovered that the TC transmission mount was bad, the front bearing retainer was grooved, and that the fill hole plug had been removed and replaced with a 90* elbow and a short length of hose. I'm not sure if the 90* elbow and hose was someones idea of a joke, or what, but I'm not amused. The grooved front bearing retainer is a common Ford T5 issue. Time for a Summit order... I put in my order for a polyurethane transmission mount, Polyurethane front sway bar bushings, and a steel bearing retainer. As always they arrived quickly and correctly. Summit hasn't let me down yet.

The fuel system issues came to a head about a week ago. Since the 86 is carbureted I need a higher pressure fuel system. A fuel tank from a fuel injected Mustang would swap right in, but the 86 has early style gauges. In order for my gas gauge to work, I have to have an 86-older EFI fuel tank or fuel gauge sending unit to run an in tank pump. I priced out the sending unit that I could just swap into any EFI tank 87-93, it's about $100 from the only source I could find. I priced out an external pump, everything would have run about $200. In the end I found a 86 EFI tank on Ebay and got it for $40 + 40 shipping. $80 is sure better then $200. The rest of the system is straight forward. I'll use the TC fuel lines and filter assembly and the efi tank. I'm still waiting on the tank, with any luck it should arrive in the next few days.

Now I'm sitting here putting this write up online because it's cold out and I'm a chicken. The first nice day I plan to swap in the Turbocoupe front sway bar with the new bushings. I've still got to swap the 15:1 steering rack in, and then I'll need to pull the engine/trans to continue. I'm still not positive the TC transmission crossmember is going to work, and I've been told I'll need a different driveshaft with the 5spd. Minor concerns. All the big mysteries are solved and providing the drivetrain from the TC isn't junk, it should haul ass.

I'm facing an internal debate however... My 86 Turbocoupe drivetrain contains many of the 'best' OEM parts offered for this setup. There are a few pieces used on 87-88 models that would be considered upgrades... The E6 exhaust manifold, LA3 EEC, Large VAM, and intercooler. I'm debating if I want to do any of these upgrades now, or wait till the engine is in. I guess more then anything the choice will be dictated by finances and availability.

Anyway, here are a couple new pics of the car as it sits now...

 

 

Update: 12/01/06

 

After posting my last update yesterday, I located and paid for an E6 manifold, and a large VAM. I still need to find a 87-88 TC computer, but that's already in the works.

Today I installed the front sway bar off the TC, along with the Energy Suspension front bushings, and Moog endlinks. I spent more time wire brushing the brackets and painting them then I did actually removing and reinstalling the bar.

While I was under the front end I sprayed the steering rack connections with PB Blaster so that the next nice day I can swap in the 15:1 rack.

I also removed the worn out bearing retainer from the T5 and installed the new Ford Motorsports steel bearing retainer.

I wrapped up the afternoon by snapping some pics of the new modifications and I took a few shots of the car while I was out putting the 33mm bar through it's paces.

Swaybars and bushings

 

Engine

 

T5 transmission with new steel bearing retainer

 

A couple new pics...

 

Update: 12/05/06

In the last couple days I managed to find a few minutes to spend on the car. I removed the front plate, since Kansas only has rear plates. Since the bracket was screwed into the urethane bumper, I broke out the 3M plastic bumper repair and filled the holes. While I was at it I removed the crippled 'Ford' emblem from the front bumper and filled in the recess. The damaged emblem has been an eyesore since day one. I've never understood why Ford felt the need to stamp their logo on the car 7 times. Once, sure that's to be expected. Twice, Ok, brand recognition... Three times, uh what's going on here... Seven would indicate to me that Ford has self confidence issues. The plan from day one has been to remove the emblem, fill in the recess, and eventually add the defacto chrome running horse emblem.

New pics of the recent body work.

 

And a profile shot... It's a rusty mess, but it's MY rusty mess.

 

I'm still waiting for parts to get here. There isn't too much I can do until the big pieces get here, but at least most of the holes in my build have been filled in. Stay tuned!

Update: 12/6/06

My large VAM is here, the E6 manifold is supposed to be here in two days, the gas tank should be here tomorrow, and the LA3 should be here on the 11th. I just put in the winning bid on a fairly large front mount intercooler. We'll see what else I decide to upgrade before this project is finished.
I've got to repin my wiring harness for the new computer, and add wiring for the air charge temperature sender.
I really want to get on to the process of actually switching drivetrains, but I can't see stripping the car until the new drivetrain is ready to go in.

Update: 12/10/06

The E6 showed up on schedule, and the tank showed up. I'm still waiting on the rest of the parts I've ordered. While I am waiting I decided to go ahead and pull the E3 manifold off the engine. I started at the easy part, the O2 sensor. It's been replaced since 1986, but who knows when exactly. At any rate, a 3 foot breaker bar and socket wouldn't do it, and neither would a 1/2" impact wrench. It's going to take heat, lots of heat. I don't have an oxy/acetylene torch. So that's it, I'm dead in the water until I go buy a tool that wasn't in the project budget. Now more misc junk from the stockpile is on Ebay. Hopefully in a few days the pieces I just listed will sell and I can go pickup a torch and get the ball rolling.

In the meantime, I pulled the subs out of the trunk and pulled all the formed carpeted panels. I've never had them out and I was curious about rust and the upper shock bolts. The rust isn't too bad considering my trunk is leaking pretty bad. The uncarpeted parts of the sub box were moldy. I couldn't find the source of the leak, but it's a safe guess that the 20 year old rubber weatherstripping is to blame. The shock bolts are going to be a cakewalk, now just to get some new shocks.

Ok, so I'd never pull all the shit out of the trunk just because... I pulled them to remove the tail lights for the second time since I've owned the car. The first time was to repaint the faded trim. This time I pulled them to give them the SVO/Cobra treatment. From here on out I'll refer to this process as the SVFaux conversion. It took maybe an hour with some cheap ass garbage pinstripe tape from Advance Auto. I say cheap ass garbage because the backing would rather stick to the adhesive then peel off, making the entire process a bit of a pain in the ass. At least it turned out ok. Check out the pics. I'll add some more when I get them back on the car.

Half way there ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ ._ Finished...

 

Update: 12/11/6

Got the tail lights back on the car. Took a few pics for the anxious audience (that's you, in case you weren't sure). Check out the pics at the bottom.

Received my LA3 EEC, and my Mitsubishi Starion front mount intercooler today. The intercooler was the victim of red overspray and had it's share of dead bugs and gravel stuck in the fins. I cleaned it up, removed the paint, and polished the bulk of it. Pics below.

 

Update: 12/14/06

It has begun. Today I took the Mustang to the ATM to validate my new card and on the way home it was either running out of gas or it was being cold blooded. Either way, it was nice out and the stumble was enough motivation to go ahead and tear into it. The radiator and cooling fan are out, the carbed wiring harness is out, the engine is mostly disconnected, etc. I have to unbolt the driveshaft, motor mounts, exhaust, transmission mounts, etc and disconnect the clutch and speedometer cables, and the engine will be ready to pull out.

I'm planning on keeping the engine, for no other reason then to have a low mileage fresh bottom end that I can restuff with forged pistons in the future. The intake, carb, 4spd trans, and pretty much all the related parts will be for sale.

While pulling the harness, I had to remove the inner fender splash guard. That required loosening the fender. While under the fender I got a good look at more rust (joy) and the drivers door hinge. The passengers door was literally falling off when I got the car, and I knew the drivers door wasn't much better. There are maybe 3 or 4 of the 6 bolts still holding the door to the car. While I've got the door off I can rebuild the hinges.

Now that the old harness is out, I can compare the new harness to the old and figure out the connections to allow the Turbo harness to interface with the car.

Update: 12/15/06

Yesterday I pulled the driveshaft and disconnected the exhaust from the catalytic converter. Then I got railroaded into helping out with home improvement projects at my sisters house. Today I got back to the car and got the downpipe disconnected from the exhaust manifold (cut off wheel). I also got the rest of the trans fluid dumped and the crossmember dropped. I followed up by disconnecting the speedometer cable, clutch cable, motor mounts, the last remaining power steering hose, and finally the shifter. The entire assembly pulled out fairly easily and is now sitting in the driveway.

I've still got to pull the carbed fuel tank, and probably the carbed fuel lines. I'm debating whether or not to pull the wiring harness for the headlights and whatnot to seperate the engine wiring. Since the Turbo setup had the starter solenoid and battery on the drivers side I can either extend the wiring to come back to the drivers side, or I can shorten the wires. I'm all about simplicity, and honestly I think it might be easier and better to shorten the wires.

It's just starting to occur to me that by the time I'm finished the only parts of this car that will be original will be the vin tags and the basic body layout. Between changing the drivetrain, and the impending rust repairs that will take care of most of the original panels, and then repainting a different color and switching the blue interior to something less 80's... There won't be much left. I suppose that's why it's a project car.

 

Update: 12/18/06

The other day I went ahead and broke open the wallet and bought a NEW flywheel. The TC flywheel was missing a few teeth on the ring gear and would have required resurfacing anyhow. Figured that the price difference wasn't great enough to justify fooling with the old flywheel.

I hit up all the hardware stores in town and accumulated all the parts I needed to build my boost controller. The finished product came out better then I expected.  I used the instructions from this website... http://www.geocities.com/chmwatson/FAQs/mbc.html

Today I went by the local salvage yard and picked up a T5 driveshaft. It's about an inch different then the 4spd driveshaft I removed. I also took a few minutes to look at the lower shifter boot for the T5 and how it will mate up with the hole in the floor of the Mustang. About the only other related event was a few minutes spent looking at the old 4spd transmission to determine what the two different wiring harnesses were/are for. One is the reverse lights, the second looks to be related to the upshift light in the dash.

Update: 12/22/06

A few days ago I stripped down the front half of the remaining wiring harness in the car. Since the old engine had the starter solenoid on the passengers side, and the new setup has it on the drivers side, I had to choose between either extending the wires back to the drivers side, or shortening the wires. I decided to shorten them up and simplify things a bit. Now all the loom is stripped off and I can get at the wires.

I got down to business and got an Oxygen/Acetylene torch. The O2 sensor in the TC exhaust was seized in place and mice had gnawed through the wire. Without heat it wasn't going to budge, propane wasn't enough heat. With the new torch every fitting in the exhaust manifold came out after about 20 seconds of carefully applied heat.

I pulled the turbocharger off the manifold, and pulled the cracked E3 manifold and replaced it with the new E6 manifold. I also got to replace the manifold/turbo gasket and the oil return line gasket. Woohoo! And yes, I did say the old manifold is cracked. I'm surprised I never noticed the crack before I pulled the manifold. I guess I wasn't expecting it to be nearly sheared in two pieces. While I had the manifold and related nonsense apart, I cleaned the oil feed line. Also replaced the retaining clip on the wastegate arm.

With the manifold off I was able to get at the motor mounts easily, so I went ahead and switched the TC mounts for the original Mustang mounts.

Since most of the minor issues have been dealt with I figured it was safe to bolt on the new flywheel, clutch set, and bellhousing in preparation for dropping the engine back into the car this weekend. I cleaned the flywheel and bolted it on, then aligned the clutch and started a few of the pressure plate bolts. Hmm... Interesting... 2 of the pressure plate bolts won't thread in. After checking the bolts to make sure all 6 were identical, and checking the alignment, I pulled the pressure plate back off the engine and got a good look at the flywheel. Imagine that, two of the holes AREN'T TAPPED!!! I guess that's what I get for using foreign made junk. The holes are drilled, just not tapped. I looked around and figured out that the bolts are metric, 8 x 1.25. Kind of nice since I've got an 8 x 1.25 tap, but honestly when I pay $70 for a new flywheel, I expect it to be finished. I pulled the flywheel back off, and tomorrow I'll take it back and get another one.

That brings us current. Hopefully tomorrow I can go get another flywheel and then weather permitting I can get it all bolted together and maybe get the engine, trans, and driveshaft back in the car. There is still plenty to do, the clutch cable needs to be changed, gas cable has to be changed, lots of wiring needs to be modified... Won't it be fun if I get all this stuff in the car and wired up and the engine, transmission, or turbo are junk?

New pics...

 

Update: 12/23/06

Today got off to a slow start. Getting up early to take the flywheel back for an exchange was virtually pointless, since they only get deliveries from the distribution center once a day at 1pm. Of course by 1pm the family was ready to do Christmas dinner. Had to do that today because that's when everyone was going to be around.

I spent a bit of time working on the wiring. I got the voltage regulator and starter solenoid mounted and the wiring shortened. Also worked on the engine wiring and determined all the connections I need to make for all the gauges and the engine work. It's not quite at a plug-n-play state yet, but it's at a solid cut and solder 10 or so wires and it's finished. All that is really left from a wiring standpoint is running the wires from the Mustang body wiring into the connector from the Turbocoupe so the engine harness will plug in and function as intended.

It took a little work, but I swapped out the throttle cable. Also switched clutch cables.

By then it was time to go pick up the new flywheel. Fortunately the new piece had all six holes threaded. Got it torqued to spec and reassembled the flexplate. Followed that with the bellhousing, clutch fork, throwout bearing, and the transmission. The top rubber dust boot on the shifter was torn up pretty bad, so I salvaged a replacement off a GM T5 from my 84 Camaro.

At this point there isn't much left...

 

Update: 12/25/06

Today I pulled the steering rack out of the Mustang and installed the TC rack. Of course since the Turbocoupe didn't have the exact same dimensions and had led a rough life, the alignment will be off. I went ahead and pulled the tie rods off the original Mustang rack. I'm not sure if I want to swap them onto the TC rack or not. They're lower mileage but I'm not sure if the TC tie rods are excessively worn. At any rate, removing the tie rods from the Mustang rack was a real pain in the butt and I'm really not looking forward to adjusting or switching the tie rods on the rack in the car. I didn't bother to take any pics of the swap, not much to see since both racks are coated in grease and with the exception of the '15:1' ink stamp on the TC rack, they look virtually identical.

While I was in there working with the rack, I routed the clutch cable through the K-member. Other then that I spent some more time going over wiring diagrams. The wiring is effectively stalled since I don't want to modify much of the harness without knowing exactly where it will be laid into the car with the engine installed. After a bit of adjustment to the tie rods to get the steering closer, I'll be ready to drop the engine/trans into the car. I'm looking forward to getting the engine out of the garage and back into the car.

Update: 12/27/06

Didn't spend much time on the car today. I went out and got a 3/8ths pipe tap. I drilled the lower intake, tapped the hole, and threaded the ACT sensor into place with some high temp thread sealer on the threads. The process was quite a bit easier then I expected and took hardly any time at all. 

Rather then remove the intake, I opted to connect my air compressor to the main vacuum port on the intake.  With the intake pressurized with 100+ psi, I drilled the hole and tapped the threads.  The majority of the aluminum filings were blown out as the hole broke through and as they were cut.

ACT sensor...

 

Update: 12/28/06

My friend the Oxy-Acetylene torch, and I, got serious about the tie rod adjustment today. As usual, something I fought with extensively took a matter of seconds to heat up and the problem was solved. While I had the tie rods off, I went ahead and swapped back to the original tie rods from the Mustang rack. The toe isn't exactly perfect, but it's a lot closer then it was before I adjusted it. Close enough to make the drive to the alignment shop.

I'm ready to drop the engine/transmission in the car, except I don't have a workable crossmember at the moment. I either need to get a piece of tube and weld it into the original Mustang crossmember, or I need to acquire another crossmember from the junkyard. I still need to locate a harness pigtail for the new ACT and wire it into my harness, but the remaining harness issues will wait till after the drivetrain is physically bolted into the car.

One new pic, of the 15:1 rack in it's new home...

 

 

Update: 12/30/06

I set out to acquire the few pieces I needed to get this all together the other day. Napa got the ACT harness, and the Ford dealer got the PCV valve, both were here next day.

Tonight I wired in the ACT. The signal return spliced into the existing splice for the TPS and CTS. The other wire got extended with scrap wire salvaged from the TC dash harness. While I had the soldering iron fired up, I made up the harness for the reverse lights. The original 4spd used a different connector for the reverse lights then the T5. However the 4th gear switch on the 4spd used the same type connector. I cut both harnesses and spliced them back together for the new configuration.

I was all set to drop the engine in yesterday, or today, but since I've got two cars stored in the garage and all my maintenence takes place in the driveway, and it's been raining two days straight, it hasn't happened yet.

Update: 1/1/07

After two days of rain, we were blessed with a day of snow fall. Since there is NOTHING else going on, and the temps are warmer today, I decided to take action. I swept the snow off the car, and waited an hour or so for it to dry. Fortunately the Mustang has the 90 degree plus capable hood hinges, facilitating the engine install without removing the hood. I pulled the shift lever off the transmission and lowered the engine/trans into the car. It dropped in surprisingly easy and quickly. The engine/transmission is in, sitting on the mounts. There is still plenty left, but at least the engine is out of the garage and in it's new home. Weather permitting and barring exteme laziness it should be running in a few days.

 

Update: 1/2/7

The snow is still melting, which means that the driveway is still wet. Still, I was able to take car of some of the minor issues. I got the alternator wiring spliced back into the car. With the starter relay and voltage regulator relocation the wires were about 3 feet too long and had a connector in the middle that I eliminated. Now the two leads to the alternator are wired like the Turbocoupe. After that I installed the TC vacuum tree. I could have used the Mustang piece, but the TC piece just seemed like it would be easier. I also cut the TC firewall conduit down to fit the Mustang and bolted it down. The conduit will allow me to route the flexible plastic fuel lines as they were on the TC, as well as giving me a nice clean way to anchor the engine wiring harness up out of the way.

Next, I hooked up the clutch cable to the quadrant and the bellcrank on the bellhousing. While I was under the dash I drilled a couple pilot holes in the dimples for the dead pedal. I bolted it down with a couple screws from my TC leftovers bin.
I also spent a bit of time on the opening for the shifter. Factory T5 cars had larger bump welded to the floor to clear the transmission. Some sources say that the bump should be added if the T5 is swapped in. But since the parts car was long gone before I knew about the hump, I figured there would probably be an easy way to deal with the issue. After removing the 4spd shifter boot and comparing the T5 boot it looked like the two rear most holes were identical. After mounting the transmission in the car I was able to confirm that the T5 boot will be close enough mounted with the existing two rear holes. I drilled two new holes at the front sides to facilitate the T5 boot. The bolts that retain the boot thread into stamped clip nuts that slip over the sheetmetal. The front left side of the opening wasn't wide enough to let the clip slip over and line up with the hole. I resolved that issue by bolting the T5 boot frame in place with the other three bolts, and then marking the inner diameter with a Sharpie, then cutting the floor to match the marking. With the hole cut, the clips positioned and the frame bolted in place I bent the frame down around the tunnel so it will seal tight. I still have to figure out where to mount the clips for the console delete, but that should be pretty simple.

I also disconnected the cable from the cruise control servo. Since it's too short for the EFI setup it's just in the way. I spent a couple minutes setting the battery tray into it's new location on the drivers side. For some reason it rubs against the power steering pressure line, so I'm not sure if that will be a problem.

My boost gauge and pod should be here tomorrow, along with better weather. Hopefully I can get the rest of the drivetrain in tomorrow. Anyway, that's about all to report for today. Have a look at the new pics and stay tuned.

 

Update: 1/3/7

Today started slow. I went by my storage unit and picked up the overflow bottle, downpipe/cat converter, and radiator. I was pretty sure the Turbocoupe catalytic converter was identical to the original 2.3 converter. After setting them side by side it was obvious they're exactly the same converter. The next thing I noticed was that the hangers on the TC converter were damaged. One was missing completely and the other was one spot weld away from failing. Luckily the hangers are welded to the heat shield and the heat shields are identical. It took some doing but I was able to transfer the heat shield from the original converter over to the TC setup.

 

 

With the converter ready to install I was ready to put the transmission crossmember into place. Before fully supporting the transmission I had to fill it with fluid. The easiest method I've found to fill a T5 is through the shifter, and since the hole in the floor is so small the shifter bolts aren't accessable with the transmission crossmember in place. I installed the driveshaft and filled the transmission with 2.5 quarts of Synchromesh fluid. The recommended fluid is ATF, however the Synchromesh is a synthetic fluid intended specifically for manual transmissions and gear boxes. After switching from whatever was in the trans before to the new fluid the shifter slips from gear to gear like warm butter.

With the transmission filled, I was able to bolt up the downpipe and the exhaust support, and finally the polyurethane transmission mount and crossmember. The outlet on the catalytic converter was identical to the old converter, which allowed the existing tailpipes and muffler to bolt up. Granted it's not the best for performance, but it'll keep the car quiet till I can afford to do the exhaust.

 

 

With the transmission fully supported and the exhaust installed, etc I was able to finish up the console installation. The modified boot bolted up exactly to the holes in the floor pan. The original rear mount for the console delete bolted to the rear holes that stayed the same. For the front mount I placed the stamped steel clip in the proper position and retained it with a couple of sheet metal screws. The original shifter boot had a metal ring around the bottom that bolted to the opening in the floorpan originally. I removed the ring and the boot stays in place in the console on it's own.

 

 

UPS brought my package from Summit today with the boost gauge and pillar pod. I went ahead and pulled the pillar from the Mustang and epoxied the pod to the A-pillar. Tomorrow I'll run the vacuum line and the wiring to the ECM for the air/fuel ratio gauge.

The engine project is getting close, just have to install the fuel system, finish the wiring, and bolt up the rest of the parts under the hood. All minor stuff... Will all these parts actually work? Will it run at all? Will it rip shit up? I don't know... Stay tuned.

 

Update: 1/4/7

I started off today by extending the wiring for the gauges and threading the wires and the vacuum hose through the pillar. I had planned to run the TC boost gauge hose and grommet, but since I neglected to drill the firewall before installing the engine, and no drill I own will fit in the space it'd have to to drill the hole through the indentation... I got to use the Autometer supplied tube. Fortunately the grommet for the hood release cable is sloppy enough that there was plenty of clearance for the tube to pass through. Next challenge was connecting the wires. The air/fuel gauge negative lead and the negative lead from the light in the boost gauge both got grounded under the dash. Then I got to tap into 12v switched for power to the A/F gauge, and illumination for the light in the boost gauge. Finally I ran the signal lead for the A/F gauge to the passengers side footwell where I'll tap into the computer eventually.

 

 

After the gauges were installed and the dash was all back together, I turned my attention to the fuel system. The old tank came out fairly quickly, had to cut the mounting bolts since they wouldn't thread out with a 1/2" impact wrench. After cutting off the heads of the bolts I was able to remove the clip nuts. The acetylene torch applied to the clips allowed the stub end of the bolts to turn out so I could reuse the clips. Fortunately I kept the bolts from the Turbocoupe.

The fuel level sending unit on the old tank uses the same style plug as the new EFI tank, and since I didn't want to hack the wiring and cut the floor of the trunk to fit the grommet from the TC, I opted to poke a new hole through the existing grommet and fed the power/ground wires for the electric pump through the hole. The EFI tank, and matching straps bolted in perfectly. The fuel filler tube didn't want to slip in the rubber donut seal, but a little grease applied to the filler tube solved that issue. The carbed gas cap seemed to be a different design then the TC cap, so I switched it also just to be safe. I've still got to figure out where and how the fuel filter mounts to the body in a EFI Mustang, then connect the fuel lines from the engine and the fuel system will be finished.

 

 

Before I ran out of daylight, I spent a few minutes tying up some loose ends under the hood. The battery cable to the starter is installed, as is the negative cable. The power steering pressure line is relocated to clear the new battery tray location.

The list of things that need to be changed yet is getting pretty short. Still no deadline in sight, just taking it slowly and expecting the worst.

 

Update: 1/5/7

It's a cold gloomy one out there today. Definitely the kind of day where you don't want to get out of bed, much less work on the American Muscle-nightmare.

First thing I could think of to do was drop in the fuel lines. Since I'm not planning on running the TC fuel filter (still debating), the lines aren't going to be the right length. Also since I'm using a different setup at the rear I'll have to make changes there anyway. So I started by laying the fuel lines in under the hood. They start at the fuel rail and cut across the firewall in the conduit, and then follow the vent line down the wheel well to the bottom of the car. From there, they extend down the passengers side of the car. The TC fuel filter mounted in the cavity under the passengers side floor pan where it's relieved to clear a second muffler. While I don't have dual exhaust now, I might like to add a second muffler in the future. Since I don't have the details worked out I left the lines hanging out under the car.

Next I took a trip to the local salvage yard and inquired about a fuel filter bracket and overflow tank bracket from a 4cyl 87-93 Mustang 4cyl... The nice guy behind the counter informed me they don't have anything older then 94 on hand. Hmm... Interesting since they sold me a driveshaft a few weeks ago.

With the fuel lines stalled, I addressed the fuel pump wiring. I have a handfull of Ford relays from the dash of the Turbocoupe, however none of them looked like they'd be a good match for the fuel pump. In retrospect I should have pulled the fuel pump relay from the TC. At the time that I scrapped the car, it was hot as hell and the trunk was full of mice and other nastyness. Climbing in the trunk was the last thing I had on my mind. As an alternative I raided my spare parts box and found a hefty relay from a GM product. I made up a new fuel pump relay harness and laid it in the car from the passengers footwell back to the trunk. All the connections were soldered, and sealed with heat shrink tubing. Of course I can't test it till the engine harness is in, but I would expect it to work flawlessly. Now the fuel pump is completely wired in and ready to go. The interior is all back together except for the passengers side kick panel, which will go back in once the engine harness and EEC are installed.

 

Update: 1/6/7

Tied up a few more loose ends today...
Went by the parts store and picked up some replacement split-loom, a pipe plug, and two sizes of vacuum line. I used the split-loom to recover the headlight wiring across the top of the radiator support. Ford used several clips to retain the harness out of the way. They had pulled off of the harness before I ever even owned the car. I removed the clips from the body and taped them to the loom in the proper locations and keyed them back into the body, so the harness won't get in the way.

The pipe plug was used to plug the hole left in the turbo outlet extension pipe, when I deleted the vacuum line to the cruise control. Eventually I hope to make the cruise control functional again, but the line in question will probably never be back since the pipe is going to be gone when the intercooler is installed.

With the harness out of the way, I was able to install the radiator. The VAM and battery tray followed, along with various hoses, aircleaner, etc. I installed and connected the boost controller and ran the vacuum line for the EGR valve.

I finally broke down and stripped a couple pins from the old computer connector from the carbed harness. I needed a few more leads for the LA3 computer. 2 for the vehical speed sensor, one for the premium fuel switch, and one for the brake feed. I got them all in place on the new harness. Ford would have probably run the wires along with the main harness through the engine compartment, then back inside on the drivers side. However, since I'm not modifying the dash harness, it's easier to just run the wires across the inside of the firewall behind the dash. Eventually I'll connect the wires so the computer can perform to it's optimum but for the time being I'll just run them into a salvaged connector from the TC dash harness, and when I get around to it I'll wire the other half of the connector into the car and hook it up. With all the changes to the harness complete, I was able to go ahead and start re-wrapping it with electrical tape. The rest of the harness will have to wait till I have a chance to lay it into the engine compartment so I can ensure that it's wrapped so it will be where it needs to be.

Trips to two more salvage yards in search of misc parts came up empty. As much as I don't like the idea of using the TC fuel filter bracket, it seems like the cheapest, easiest, way to finish the fuel system. The next nice day that comes along, I get to install the filter bracket, and filter, then shorten the lines and attach them to the fuel tank.

All that's left is to install the engine harness, and finish the fuel lines. As long as I've been dragging my feet and as nervous as I am to see the outcome of my efforts, I'm getting anxious to drive the car again.

 

 

Update: 1/9/7

Not much has happened since the last update. I finished wrapping up the wiring harness and got it installed in the car. The fuel pump harness is connected and the interior is all back together.

Yesterday I set out to get heater hoses that would work. The first stop came up with nothing. Advanced Auto's computer didn't show anything close to working regardless of which application we looked under. I tried a local autoparts store and got two hoses that their computer showed for an SVO. Both hoses didn't work out. I ended up with a Gates 18071 for one, and a straight piece of 5/8ths hose for the other.

The fuel lines had a couple of kinks. I tried to relief the stress points by heating the line with a heat gun in hopes that the kinds would relax and return to the original round tube. That resulted in a melted tube. It's possible the line was already burned, they're in pretty bad shape. The only problem keeping me from starting the new engine is the fuel lines.

Also today I removed the last three remaining bolts holding the drivers side door on the car. When I bought the car, there was one bolt retaining the passengers door. The other five had sheared off at the heads. I had unbolted the fender and removed the last bolt and then ground the stubs down to the backing plates, redrilled the holes, and bolted the door back down with grade 8 hardware. Today I finished the job by doing the same on the drivers door. With any luck I'll never have to fear having the door fall off.

With the door bolted back on, I was able to put the inner fender splash guard back in, and bolted the fender back in place. I finished up by realigning the hood.

Now just to finish connecting the fuel system and it should be running. Sounds easy on paper, but the plastic lines have proven to be nothing but a headache.

In the last few days I managed to acquire an SVO gauge cluster and a set of white face gauge overlays. The cluster will donate a 140mph and 8,000RPM tachometer to my cause. The white overlays will cover up the sun faded gauges and give a custom look. While it may be slightly dated, the car needs something and hopefully that will do it. The faded gauges have rubbed me wrong since the test drive, and a 85mph speedometer is a joke in any car.

 

 

Update: 1/12/07

Not much to add today... The search for 2.3L EFI steel fuel lines has come up empty. I'm losing interest in ever seeing the car finished.

 

Update: 1/14/07

Aside from a lack of a solution for the fuel system problems, the weather has changed and left most of the area covered in ice/snow. Short of splicing the OEM garbage plastic lines back together, I don't see the car running anytime in the near future. In fact I'm fairly burned out on the project. The past several days of colder weather and lack of fuel lines has given me plenty of time to look at various other Mustangs people have worked with, and ultimately they're boring cars. The vast majority seem to be cookie-cutter clones of each other. There are some aspects of my own project that I really dislike. I'm not sure that the result is going to be worth the work.

I received the white gauge overlays in the mail yesterday. They look OK, definitely worth the cost. I'm still waiting on the SVO gauge cluster to get here.

Anyway, here are two new pics of the car as it sits rotting in the driveway, and one of the white gauge overlays.

 

 

 

Update: 1/16/07

Made a little progress today. I got the heater control overlay in the mail today, along with a notice that the postman tried to deliver a package that needs to be signed for. I'm assuming it's the SVO cluster I found on Ebay.

After checking the car, I determined that the heater overlay isn't going to work. The overlay is for a non-A/C car, but it doesn't line up right to my car.

With that out of the way I went ahead and pulled the instrument cluster out of the car. Pulling the cluster proved to be a major pain in the ass. For some reason when the cluster is installed it's nearly impossible to get the wiring and the speedometer cable loose. The keeper on the speedometer cable decided to self destruct rather then come unclipped. As tight as everything in the dash fits in place, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to swap the tachometer and speedometer from the SVO cluster into my existing cluster since I don't need or want the factory boost/Turbo gauge. I picked up a small bottle of 'Chevy Orange' model paint to touch up my faded needles. After repainting all the needles it became painfully obvious that 'Chevy Orange' dries nearly red when it needs to be high visibility or flourescent orange/red. The solution was found at the local hobby shop. Flourescent Racing Red paint for Lexan RC car bodies. Before repainting with 'Chevy Orange' the original color was still visible at the base of the needles. The flourescent red was an exact match.

With the needles refinished I went ahead and applied the white overlays to the amp, temp, fuel, and oil gauges. Tomorrow I'll go down to the Post Office and pick up the other cluster. I can then swap the tach and speedometer and apply the overlays.

I have a lead on steel fuel/return lines. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get em and put em in the car, but at least they're located.

New pic... Here's a shot of the original cluster after retouching the needles.

 

 

Update: 1/17/07

This morning I hit the local Post Office and picked up the SVO gauge cluster. The cluster was in good shape, the needles weren't nearly as faded as my old cluster. I pulled the trim off and took a snapshot to document what I started with.

 

 

First I pulled the SVO speedometer and reset the odometer to the mileage of the original 85mph speedometer. This was rediculously easy.

 

 

Next I pulled the tachometer from the SVO cluster and installed both the tach and the speedometer into the original cluster. I could have used the SVO cluster except I didn't need the factory boost gauge and didn't want to give up the fairly useless ammeter. With the new instruments in the cluster I repainted the needle on the tach and applied the white overlays. The next shot shows the new white face cluster and the donor cluster with the old indicators reinstalled.

 

 

Since there isn't much else happening, I went ahead and reinstalled the cluster back into the Mustang dash, then reassembled the dash. The next couple shots show the completed dash and a few angles of the rest of the interior just for fun.

 

Update: 1/18/07

Definite progress was made today. I took a drive to Wilson, KS to Stinger Performance . Shannon just happened to have a NA 2.3L EFI Mustang on hand for parts. I was able to salvage the steel fuel line, and return line, as well as the fuel filter mounting bracket, and overflow bottle mounting bracket. The car also happened to have a early style front bumper, so I was able to obtain a replacement turn signal lense. After the business was out of the way, Shannon took the time to show me his SVO and some of the hardware he produces and sells. Overall I was very impressed with what I saw, and I enjoyed the trip.

The drive home held an additional bonus... Coming down I-70 I couldn't believe my eyes when a strange automobile came into view... Yes, it was the Oscar Meyer Weiner-mobile. This is about the third time I've seen the OMWM, and everytime is unique.

The replacement turn signal lense is already installed in the car. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll install the fuel lines and hopefully get the car running.

Stay tuned.

Update: 1/19/07

Today started off slow. I started by checking the fuel system parts from the Turbocoupe against the fuel lines and whatnot from the Mustangs. The Mustang setup uses a 5/16" feed line, and a 1/4" return line. The TC setup uses the same sizes at the fuel rail, but at the tank it seems to have used a 3/8" feed and 5/16" return. At any rate, the variation left me one 1/4" connector short from having enough to connect the fuel system. We'll come back to this in a minute.

I got the Mustang up on jackstands and started removing the carbed fuel line. To my surprise the carb and FI lines follow the exact same path and use the same mounting points so I didn't need to drill any additional holes in the body. I got the old line disconnected and hanging free, and finished it off by cutting it at the mid-point where it goes up and across the transmission tunnel. Regardless of how the TC engine swap works out, I'll never be returning to the carbed 2.3.

The new lines went in smoothly. I didn't have any problems till I went to bolt the fuel filter bracket to the body. I found one screw in my bolt bin that threaded easily into the boss already in the car. It went in about half way and snapped off flush with the body. A different screw in the other hole ended the same. I'm not sure if the threads were just corroded or what, but the filter support bracket will have to wait till a warmer day when I'm not racing the sun.

With the lines installed, I figured it was a good time to make my (hopefull-optomistic) last trip to the parts store. Unfortunately what I found was that 1/4" fuel connector parts are somewhat hard to find. They didn't have anything that would work. My next stop was the Ford dealership here... The parts guy digs and digs and comes back with the parts being obsolete and discontinued. At that point I'd just about had enough of the stupid bullshit still keeping the project stalled, so I turned to bulk high pressure EFI fuel hose and clamps. I stopped off at a chain autoparts store and picked up 5 feet of 1/4" EFI fuel hose, and 4 clamps, as well as one 1/4" keeper for the return line connection in at the tank. I'd rather have had 5/16" and 1/4" fuel line, but 1/4" is all they had, and the 5 feet I bought cleaned them out. I ended up connecting the flexible lines from the tank to the return line and the filter, and the flexible line from the filter to the feed line. At the front I salvaged two of the 5/16" hairpin type connectors, and the one 1/4" connector, from the TC fuel lines. I greased up the barbs and slipped the 1/4" line over the fittings and clamped them with FI clamps. Since I was one connector short for the return line connection, I just slipped the hose over the line and clamped it in place.

With everything hooked up, I dropped the battery back in the car and hit the key. There was a small clack under the hood and nothing happened. Four tries later resulted in virtually the same thing. The TurboCoupe starter relay was iffy to begin with, so I swapped back to the original Mustang relay. That got the car cranking, but nothing else. I couldn't hear the fuel pump running, so I checked the relay in the trunk. It had power but wasn't clicking on. For the time being I ran a jumper wire across the relay connector to energize the pump. With the pump running, and the engine cranking I was still not getting any fire. I checked the coil for power, and it's getting 12V as it's supposed to, but still nothing at the plugs.

That pretty much brings us current. The sun has gone down and the temp is dropping rapidly. I can breathe a bit better knowing it's all together, I just have to troubleshoot the no-start condition.

Update: 1/20/07

This morning I got up bright and early (before noon) and looked out the window to see a veritable winter wonderland unfolding in front of me. Snow falling at a rapid pace. Oh well, after 12 years in South Dakota, I think I can handle troubleshooting some minor electrical issues in the snow.

I started off by examining the air/fuel gauge wiring. Somehow I managed to hook it up so it was powered constantly. Turns out that when I went to tie the power wire into the 12V switched wire to the radio, I had a momentary lapse and tapped into the constant. In my defense, I had the right color wire, I just didn't keep in mind that I was tapping in at the aftermarket connector where yellow was constant when I wanted red. Easily resolved. I just tapped into the correct wire and moved the quick connect.

Next I pulled the passengers side kick panel and tested the EEC ground. It was fine, so I turned to the EEC power relay. When I installed the computer and harness, I figured that the power relay for the carbed harness was probably identical to the FI harness, and they both plugged in the same. Also the relay is high up under the dash and I was feeling lazy that day. I disconnected the relay harness and connected the Turbocoupe relay and suddenly my fuel pump started responding properly.

So the moment of truth... I turned the key... and... Nothing. Just a series of clicks from the EEC relay and the starter relay. After charging the battery and quadruple checking all the connections and ground at the relay, I cleaned the battery terminals and BAM! Turn key, engine cranks and tries to fire...
Three attempts and the engine wants to start but isn't firing all cylinders.

I pulled the plugs and found all 4 were black, and one was soaked in gas. Also I discovered that the Turbocoupe plug wires were rusty at the terminals. I cleaned the plugs with a wire brush and swapped plug wires with the carbed engine, and tried the key again. Finally the engine cranked, fired, and started running. I gave it a bit of gas and it responded quickly. I let it run for a few minutes to burn the crap out of the cylinders, and then shut it down to fill all the fluids. After topping off the antifreeze and power steering fluid, I let it run in the driveway for a few more minutes.
At this point we had about 2 inches of snow on the ground, but I figured I should at least drive down to the gas station and put a few bucks in the tank. Afterall, I ran the only gas in the tank was the little left in the old tank.

I dragged Dad along for the trip. Figure it never hurts to have someone there to help push if it should die. The car made the two blocks to the gas station without any serious issues. We filled up and pulled out into traffic and proceeded to drive around town a little bit. The first thing I noticed is that the transmission doesn't like going into gears. The clutch cable was questionable when I put the car together, which may be a considerable part of the problem. It could also be that the syncros in the transmission are bad from previous abuse. Also the alignment still is off. It's not horrible but between the minor misalignment and the slightly low tire in back combined with the slushy snow, it was a bit of a handful. Had some problems with a high idle towards the end of the drive also... A quick inspection when we got home revealed that the pressure line to the fuel pressure regulator had blown off, and that the oil cap was loose and leaking oil. I might also have an oil leak at the line into the top of the turbocharger.

All told, it seems to work pretty well. Definitely runs MUCH better then the clunky carbed 2.3 and has a LOT more power. The turbo does build boost and is plenty noisy. It didn't have any problem cruising 45mph. The most boost I saw on the gauge on the test drive was 15psi. More then I wanted for the first drive and far more then I could really enjoy in the snow, but at least I know the turbo works.

Here's a pic of the engine running... Look closely at the accessories and you'll see they're turning.

 

Update: 1/22/07

Today I picked up a Dorman/Motormite clutch cable from Advance Auto Parts. It's a total piece of crap. The anchor bracket in the middle of the cable was crimped on the cable backwards. I had to bend the bracket to get it off the cable, reposition it correctly and bend it back around the cable. Then the ball on the transmission end of the cable was about 1/16" larger in diameter then the stock cable, which required drilling the clevis to accept the cable. The new cable had a brass crimp around the boot at the transmission end. The crimp came off the boot after sliding the cable in the sleeve twice. I had to cut it off the cable with aviation snips to keep it from potentially causing problems. Finally the cable was too long. The quadrant is adjusted full tight and it's still barely tight. Any stretch at all will render the clutch useless.

So I'll bet you're dying to know if the cable fixed any problem? Well, sorta... The new clutch cable improved the pedal feel, and clutch operation. Now it isn't nearly impossible to shift gears. I've still got grinding shifting into 3rd and 4th gear. I'm guessing the synchros for those gears are bad. I've got a pretty consistent whine from the transmission. Plenty of bad vibrations, possibly some are from the engine, but many seem to be transmission related.

On the second drive, I encountered a handful of issues. Once again several oil leaks. One line to the turbo is leaking, the oil cap was leaking and loose again. Also the vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator blew off the intake manifold. A quick examination of the oil cap revealed a rubber seal on the cap itself that wasn't sealing. It seemed more like hard plastic then rubber. I salvaged the still pliable seal off the cap on the original carbureted engine, and swapped it onto the turbo 4cyl oil cap. I also replaced the rubber hose from the fuel pressure regulator line to the nipple on the intake with a smaller diameter hose. After checking the oil line that's leaking, it's tight. I'm not sure why it's leaking and it's hard to tell if that's where the oil is coming from. Once again the idle seemed to surge higher towards the end of the drive. I backed the throttle stop screw off further and it seemed to resolve the high idle while parked.

I went out for the third drive and noticed the idle problem getting worse. It went from 800rpm down at the corner, to 1,700 a few blocks from home, up to nearly 3,000 a few blocks further. I pulled off in a parking lot and unplugged the harness to the IAB/IAC and after reconnecting it the idle returned to normal and stayed normal for the rest of the drive home. The FPR vacuum line stayed connected, the oil cap didn't leak, but I've still got oil all over the place. The Felpro valve cover gasket leaks like a sieve, which is a highly publicized problem. The oil in the engine is... uhh... 7? years old... maybe older. I got an oil filter for it today and assuming it's not rediculously cold tomorrow I'll change the oil and filter. Maybe I'll get ambitious and try to trace a few of the noises down to their sources so I can fix em. I've got plenty to do to get it running right, and even more work ahead to optimize everything.

Update: 1/23/07

Today I pulled the IAC assembly off the intake and sprayed it full of carb/choke cleaner and let it sit while I changed the oil and filter. The old oil came out dark as night and thin as water. Refilled with 5qts 10W40 and a fresh Ford oil filter, suddenly 2/3rds of the engine noise is gone, and I've got oil pressure. Also my idle has finally evened out and it stays where I set it. The transmission is still garbage and the alignment is still off. Still plenty of oil leaks too. This thing is going to need some gears. The 2.73's keep the rpms so low that I never even get close to 5th gear around town. Also noticed today that the top rpm seems to be around 4,500rpm. Tomorrow I'll swap the distributor cap and rotor with the old engine. I pulled the parts off the old engine tonight and they look like new and are quite a bit higher quality parts.
Slow but consistent progress.

Update: 1/24/07

First order of business today was to switch the cheap cap/rotor with the Standard cap/rotor from the old carbed engine. The Standard cap has brass terminals and also has much less time logged.

Upon attempting to start the car with the new cap/rotor, it refused to fire. It tried, but couldn't catch. I pulled the plugs to find all four drenched in gas, and one fouled and bent? Hard to say if it was just manufactured wrong or if it was damaged in service.

I swapped in four fresh NGK TR5's and the no-start issue was resolved, but why did it flood? Well, it didn't start because of my idle issues. I had the throttle stop screw backed out far enough that it wasn't getting enough air to idle.

I also finally set the timing and checked my KOEO codes. 22, 23, 81, 82, and 83. 81 is because I am not using the original boost control solenoid. 82 and 83 are cooling fan codes that are being thrown since I'm using a 87-88 Tbird EEC without the IRCM. 22, and 23 are related to the BAP sensor and throttle position sensor. The BAP is physically damaged, so it's not hard to believe it's malfunctioning. I pulled the TPS and hooked up the DVOM. It responds once every twenty or so times I turn the sensor.

I may be able to use the MAP sensor from the carbed engine, still researching that one. The TPS will have to be replaced.

Update: 1/25/07

Replaced the TPS with a new piece from the parts store, and switched back to the original MAP sensor. Also set the TPS voltage to spec. I just got back from the test drive and I'd say it drives better then it has before. I still need to get it aligned and eventually I'll need to rebuild the transmission and turbocharger or replace them. The transmission has at least a few synchros out and sounds like some bad bearings, while the Turbo has a couple oil leaks and what would seem to be excessive play. Even still it's plenty fast for a daily driver.

Update: 1/26/07

This morning I replaced the oil feed line fitting to the turbocharger. The old fitting was less then finger tight and had a few mangled threads. I never removed it before, so I'm not sure what happened, but the new fitting fixed the oil leak.

On the test drive I noticed my idle was changing again. I checked the TPS sensor, and it had moved. I must not have had the screws tight enough.

Another problem I noticed, the cooling fan seldom comes on. The entire time I've owned the car, the fan has never worked. I pulled the fan relay/controller and noticed the wiring harness connector is melted. If I ground the lead that goes to the fan switch on the engine, sometimes the fan comes on. I've got the harness connector and fan controller off the Turbocoupe that I can swap in, which might fix the issue. The switch in the engine seems to be working, but I'm not sure why the fan doesn't activate at temp. The fan motor itself is rather noisy, probably from sitting for a long time. I've got both the TC and Mustang fan setups, both are the same. One or the other should work.

I didn't want to get too involved with anything, so I picked an easy task of resolving a few dash lights that didn't come back on after reinstalling the instrument cluster. That turned into a nightmare project. The printed circuit on the back of the gauge cluster got damaged in the remove/reinstall process. The gauge cluster had to come out when I first got the car to repair several dead bulbs, then again to access the dash while doing the swap, and finally when I reconfigured the cluster. At any rate, the PC wasn't repairable. I salvaged the circuit off of the SVO cluster I've been robbing parts from. This required removing all the gauges from both clusters. In the process, the temp and amp gauges got damaged. I was able to repair the amp gauge and salvaged the temp gauge from the parts cluster. That left me with one gauge that didn't match the rest (black face vs white). To make everything match, I removed the overlays from all the gauges.

After today, I really don't want anything to do with this car.

Update: 2/02/07

I reset the throttle position sensor, and reset the computer the other day. It seems to run better. The transmission is still annoying and the toe still needs to be corrected, but it's better. I was curious and the temps are stupid cold today, so I hotwired the premium fuel switch and disconnected the knock sensor. The results were surprising. Not only does the car run MUCH stronger, it runs better all around. I expected a little difference between the two settings, but nothing like this.

After driving the car with the 5spd transmission, I'm really starting to hate the 2.73 gears. 4th gear is nearly useless, and 5th might as well not be there at all. Add gears to the to-do list.

Update: 3/05/07

Well I gave selling the car a shot. Had a lot of interest, but no serious offers close enough to my asking price. I decided to go ahead and stick with it a while longer.

I took it in and had the toe set back to spec. I also isolated my braking issue and determined that one of the rear wheel cylinders was leaking. I replaced the wheel cylinder and bled the brakes last week.

When I put the car together the first go round I opted to omit the front mount intercooler in order to get the car running sooner. I pulled the radiator to get a good look at how the intercooler will fit. Also I acquired a DSM blow off/bypass valve to use with the intercooler.

The performance has never quite seemed right. Last week I determined that the ignition system wasn't up to the task. Every part was new except for the plug wires, and they were actually really junk. The turboford community says that the best plug wires are the stock Motorcraft wires. I picked up a set along with a new valve cover gasket.

The other day I installed the new wires, and the new valve cover gasket. With everything back together I took the car for a test drive. Everything seemed to be working better, the ignition problem was noticably better. As the tach came up to redline in 1st gear I heard and felt something suddenly go wrong. I pushed in the clutch and turned back to the house. I was expecting to find a very obvious problem under the hood, but the only obvious evidence of a problem was a pool of gas on top of the lower intake manifold. It would seem that one of the injector O-ring seals failed. I was working near the injectors while I had the valve cover removed. Aside from the gas, the only other symptom was unusual noises in the exhaust, and a lot of smoke out the tailpipe and under the hood.

The cause of all the problems is the turbocharger. It has always leaked oil, and apparently it finally gave out completely. Today I pulled the turbo and tore it down. I picked up a remanufactured center housing off of Ebay tonight. When the parts get here I'll combine them with the existing housings and have a rebuilt turbo. I also picked up intake gaskets and new injector O-rings. It seems like the time and money is just a repair rather then an improvement, but I suspect that the car will work better as a whole with a fresh turbo and good gaskets. I still have to address the transmission that's complete trash, and a laundry list of items I want to upgrade, but at least it should be a little more dependable. I'm tempted to stop keeping track of the expenses involved with this car. It's a love/hate relationship at this point. I love to hate this car.

Update: 3/25/07

It's been a while since my last update. The new CHRA got here a few weeks ago now. The turbine housing turned out to be more junk then I wanted to deal with, so I went ahead and bought another turbocharger that is supposedly rebuilt, and has a like new turbine housing. Hopefully another week or so of waiting and I'll have the parts to get the car going again. I still haven't figured out an easy solution to the transmission issues, but I am putting it off till the turbo issue is resolved.

Here are some pics of the new CHRA. I'm not sure if I'll use it on this car or not, since honestly it's too nice for the rest of the car.

 

Update: 4/21/07

I haven't updated this in a while. I ended up buying a rebuilt T3 off Ebay. I considered using the new CHRA, but the rebuilt turbo seems virtually identical, so I figured it was worth a shot. The new turbo resulted in improved performance and now I no longer have oil in the intake.

While I had the turbo apart, I ordered up a universal K&N style airfilter and clamped it on the end of the VAM. It's definitely louder, and feels better then the stock airbox.

I've been running without an overflow tank on the radiator since the beginning. I didn't salvage the bracket from the Turbocoupe, and the bracket I salvaged from a Mustang earlier wouldn't fit the Turbocoupe bottle. I compromised by hanging the bottle with a zip tie from the radiator support. It works even though it's not as clean.

 

Update: 2/16/08

So it's been nearly a year since the last update. You're probably wondering whatever happened with this project, where is it now, or maybe you don't care. The truth is I got burned out, lost any interest in the car, and let it sit for 6 months with expired plates and flat tires, rotting in the driveway. The search for a good used transmission turned up nothing affordable. While I'm sure there are good transmissions out there somewhere I haven't been able to find one. In addition to the transmission problem, there still seems to be problem preventing the engine from developing the power it should be capable of. I haven't had the money or motivation to throw at troubleshooting the mystery problem and it's irrelevant anyway since the transmission is bad. It does run and it drives fine as long as I don't shift into 3rd gear. I'm stalled, stuck debating between parting the car, selling the car, or fixing it. Anyone with $3,500 could drive it away. We'll see what happens next.

Update: 3/04/08

So the other day, I checked the codes from the computer. I was getting 81, 82, 83, 18, 27, 41, and 64. I searched for the codes online and found that 81, 82, and 83, were related to the boost control solenoid, and the cooling fans, both of which aren't relevant to my car since I'm using the 86 fan control and a manual boost controller. 27 has something to do with the vehical speed sensor, which hasn't been connected to the computer. 18 is an ignition problem. 41 is a lean condition, and 64 relates to the intake ait temp sensor. I got to thinking and the codes hadn't been cleared since the injectors went bad, or the original turbo blew up, etc. I cleared the codes, and drove the car around town to see what the computer would find. 18 came back. It's a well known fact that the TFI ignition modules in these cars (and virtually every other Ford EFI application of the time period) are problematic. The code points to the wiring, so I started there, doublechecking the connections at the spout. Next I pulled the distributor from the original carbed 2.3, and verified it was the same part number, then installed it in the turbo motor. It didn't take long to see that this one piece had been causing all the problems with the engine. Since day one the engine has NEVER liked reving over 3000rpm, like hitting a brick wall, and falling flat on it's face. Now it pulls hard all the way past 5,000rpm. Now I just need to replace the transmission and it'll be 100%.

Update: 3/06/08

I took a short drive to Edgar, NE today and brought back another T5. This one is from a 87 Turbocoupe with 62,000 miles. Add another $200 to the budget. I still need to finish stripping all the TC specific parts and do the swap. This transmission definitely looks better then the one that's in there now. It's still got the ID tag, and the drain plug is still there, and the bearing retainer isn't worn to destruction. Looks like the weather tomorrow is going to be nasty, but it's supposed to be nice this weekend or early next week. This should be the last of the repairs. From here on out it should be upgrades only... Till I blow something up.

 

Update: 3/08/08

Got off to a late start today. It was chilly this morning and didn't peak till about 2pm. I started on the car at 4pm, and by 5:30 I had the transmission out of the car and sitting next to the new one. It wasn't too bad since it's all been out of the car recently. Some parts like the driveshaft and the downpipe to the exhaust have been removed and reinstalled several times. The sun is hanging low in the sky and it's supposed to be nice tomorrow. It shouldn't take more then an hour or two to get the trans back in. I find it interesting that the steel bearing retainer I installed when I put the car together, has almost as much wear on it as the aluminum retainer on the new transmission. The steel piece doesn't have much mileage on it since the car has only been driven around town since the swap. Just one pic for today, of the two transmissions side by side.

 

 

Update: 3/10/08

Had to take a slight detour yesterday. I decided to change the pilot bearing. When I installed the clutch, the old bearing looked ok. After looking at the input shaft on the old transmission, I decided it'd be a good idea to change the bearing for the new transmission. I found a post on the www.turboford.net message board, suggesting the bearing could be pulled with a long 1/4" bolt and a flanged nut. Thread the nut on the bolt, slide it through the pilot bearing and let the flange drop behind the bearing, and turn the bolt tightening the nut till the bearing pulls out. It worked pretty well, but the pilot bearing fell between the pressure plate and the clutch, so I ended up pulling the starter, bellhousing, and clutch set anyway. Got the new bearing installed, and got the clutch set back together last night. I had the transmission up in the bellhousing but it didn't want to slide in, dinner was getting cold, and the sun was going down, so I pulled it back out and called it a night.

Today I got the transmission back in the bellhousing, all but maybe 1/2" from seated, and had my helper hit the clutch once. With the clutch pushed in, it all fell into place. It took about an hour to get everything else hooked up and reinstalled. I decided to open up the hole in the transmission tunnel some more. The T5 boot from the Turbocoupe extends pretty far forward but I hadn't cut out the hole at the front the first go round. To make it easier to pull the shifter with the transmission installed, I went ahead and cut about 3/4" out of the front of the cutout. Finished up by dumping 2.5qts of ATF into the trans, and reinstalled the shifter.

Results: No more whining noises. All gears work. Car drives 1,000 times better. It no longer sounds like the world is ending in 5th gear. Everything works better. I put about 40 miles on the car after getting the transmission in place. I'm definitely happy with the outcome. I'm glad I didn't swap back to the 4spd, and it's hard not to notice the car drives much better as a 2.3T with a good T5 then it did as a 2.3 4spd.

New Pics! Through the miracles of modern technology, you too can see what it's like to spend a weekend under a Mustang! Check it out! It's a flywheel after 500 miles... and a clutch set!!! WOW! No pictures of it finished. It looks like every other Mustang on the planet.

 

 

Update: 12/29/08

A few weeks ago, I drove the car to Topeka to visit a friend.  His driveway is on a steep incline, and when I went to leave I noticed the e-brake was sticking.  The drums in the back on one side of the other were sticking or stuck.  After making a few stops I decided to go ahead and make the drive home and deal with the problem there.  

I finally got around to pulling the drums, and found that the linings had completely separated from the backing plates on the drivers side.  Whether it was the cause or the effect of the sticking brakes is anyones guess.  I got a set of mid-grade pads from Advance Auto and rebuilt the back brakes.  The self adjuster tab on the passengers side was also damaged, so it got replaced too.

It stops better then it did before, and the E-brake seems to be working fine again now.

Update: 4/13/09

Things have slowed down lately.  I've been driving the car as a daily driver/beater.  Everything works well, dependable to the point of being boring.  The car has been on several 300 mile road trips, without any problems.  I've been plotting the next upgrade for awhile, and watching for deals.  This weekend I picked up a slightly used Flowmaster catback for a price I couldn't pass up.  Chambered mufflers might be less then ideal for a turbocharged car, but I'm sure they'll flow better then the stock 1986 Turbocoupe catalytic converter, and 2.3 Mustang stock catback.  Dual exhaust on a 4cyl is a little silly, but then these cars just don't look right with a single exhaust pipe.  So now that the explaination and excuses are out of the way... New pics of parts waiting to go on the car.  I'll have to relocate the brake hardlines on the rear axle to clear the passengers side tail pipe and I'll have to track down a passengers side muffler hanger, and tail pipe hanger.  Once the Flowmaster system is installed, a Y pipe will have to be sourced, and connected to join the duals to the single down pipe.  As soon as those details are worked out, I'll have pictures of the completed project.

 

Update: 5/29/09

 

Today I finally installed the exhaust.  All the details will end up on page 3 when I have time to type it all out.  For the sake of the project log I'm doing here, I'm making this entry...  Some of the information will be duplicates, but I figure the exhaust conversion was nearly as in depth as the engine conversion, so it's worthy of it's own page.  This is a lengthy update, but please remember this is several days worth of updates crammed into one entry. Over the last month and a half I've been getting all the parts together to hang the dual exhaust under the car.  I was able to locate the hangers on the www.corral.net classifieds. 

The brake lines on the 8.8" rear axle are different from the stock 7.5" rear axle, the difference is necessary to move the rubber brake line far enough way from the exhaust pipes to keep heat from damaging the line.  In reality, the brake line for the rear brakes is different all the way from the front of the car to the back.  My car already had an 8.8" rear axle that I swapped from the 86 Turbocoupe donor car, however, the TC originally should have had a 7.5" rear.  As the story from the previous owner goes, there was a c-clip failure, and an axle came out of the housing.  They resolved the problem by swapping in the 8.8.  When I swapped the axle, the lines were identical to my stock 7.5" brake lines, but now it's apparent, that the lines from the TC's stock 7.5" rear were swapped onto the 8.8" rear during that previous swap.  So, I had an 8.8" rear, with 7.5" brake lines that positioned the rubber hose right next to the new passengers side tail pipe.  Also, the brake line hanger for the 7.5" rear end, just happens to bolt up to the same holes as the passengers side muffler hanger.  Ok, so if you've been following this far, you know that the brake lines on my 8.8" probably aren't in the best spot for a dual exhaust.  So, you'll understand when I say that I located and purchased replacement 8.8" brake lines, and the appropriate 8.8" dual exhaust brake line hanger, and the matching hose, and banjo bolt.  The lines and hanger came from the classifieds at www.foureyedpride.com.  The new rubber hose came from the local Autozone, as it was several dollars cheaper then their competitors.  Finally the 3/8 - 24 banjo bolt came from NAPA.  Actually I had to drive to the next town to get one, but since it wasn't available anywhere else, it was worth the trouble.  As it worked out, I ended up leaving the brake lines alone for the time being.  The clearance is close, but should be sufficient for a few days, and I'll come back to this later when I've had a chance to order the new hardline from the front of the car to the hanger at the axle.

On the 23rd, I drove over to Wilson, KS again, to visit with Shannon at Stinger Performance.  I bartered into a 3" downpipe and a dual exhaust mid-pipe.  Shortly after returning home I started installing the new cat-back and Stinger parts.  This lead to a week long crusade of visiting with every exhaust shop in town, and a few autoparts stores to acquire the parts and services necessary to mate the two aftermarket systems together.  Fortunately, my local Midas was able to form the ball flanges onto the Stinger Y-pipe, however they didn't have the 2-bolt flanges in stock.  I located a part number on the NAPA website, and verified the details on www.summitracing.com that they were correct for a 5.0 Mustang.  The local Advance Auto was able to order the flanges and had them in stock the next day.  It took another 3 trips back to Midas having pipes cut, expanded, etc.  Finally today I had the last cut and expansion done, and got it all bolted in place. 

Pictures of the old exhaust, new exhaust, side by side comparisons, as well as before and after videos with sound clips are on page 3.  The difference between the two is very obvious.  Beyond the cosmetic improvement, the Flowmaster/Stinger exhaust sounds very different.  It's louder, but not obnoxious.  It definitely sounds unique.  I almost expected import thunder, but thankfully it doesn't sound like the usual fart cannons.  I was also worried about the dreaded Flowmaster drone at cruising speeds, but if there's a drone I can't hear it with the windows down.  It almost sorta sounds like a V8 at idle. With the old exhaust complete with 'kitty' I could hear the air rushing into the air filter, and the compressor side of the turbocharger making a lot of noise.  And of course the heat shield on the converter made this really annoying ringing noise.  Now I can hear the exhaust side of the turbo as the turbine spools up and slows down.  The exhaust is louder, but all the noise comes from behind the car.  All around the performance is better.  Boost comes on sooner, and the engine runs much better and spins to higher RPM faster then it used to.  It'll take a bit of time to get used to the louder pipes, but all told, I'm happy with it.

 

 

 

Update: 6/01/09

With the new exhaust on the car, I've been driving it more often.  Since parting out the Turbocoupe donor, I've had a 5 speed gas pedal laying around.  The original 4 speed gas pedal is the same as the automatic pedal.  The 5spd pedal is larger, and also more positive.  Today I finally got around to swapping the pedals out.  Aside from being cosmetically different, the car is also easier to drive now.  Throttle response comes in a bit sooner, and the transition from brake to gas pedal is easier.  Also adjusted the exhaust pipes a little.

Before and after pics of the pedals.  Note how the 5spd pedal is larger and much closer to the brake pedal.

 

Some more exhaust pics... Ignore the rust, I'll get to it eventually.

 

 

Update: 6/02/09

 

It's been awhile since I replaced the spark plugs, and things are going pretty good, so I figured it was time for a new set.  While I was at the autoparts store, I went ahead and picked up a new oil pressure sending unit.  I've had an annoying oil leak on the drivers side of the engine since the first day with the turbocharged 2.3.  I eliminated several leaks with new gaskets, etc.  But I also suspected the oil pressure sending unit was leaking.  I swapped in the unit from the old carbed 2.3, but the leaks continued.  I assumed it couldn't be the sending unit.  However, since then I've had a flaky oil pressure gauge.  At cruising rpm, the gauge reads normal.  At idle it dropped way down.  So anyway, I swapped in the new sending unit from the parts store ($13) and now I don't have oil showering everything on the drivers side of the engine.  Also the oil pressure gauge now reads correctly.  I have good solid pressure at idle, and at higher rpm.  I should have spent the $13 two years ago.  I could have saved the mess on my driveway, and kept the entire drivers side of the car clean.

As a sidenote, the new exhaust kicks ass.  I can't really say enough about how much better the car works with a free flowing exhaust.

No new pics in this installment.  The oil sending unit is virtually impossible to see installed on the car, and the old part isn't all that impressive either... Sorry.

 

Update: 6/04/09

My home made manual boost controller (http://www.geocities.com/chmwatson/FAQs/mbc.html ) has done a pretty good job, for being $15 worth of brass fittings.  However, it's a bit moody.  At different times over the last several months, I've either wanted more or less boost, and I haven't been able to find the setting I want on my controller.  So, since the vast majority of 2.3L T owners run the Gillis valve, I decided maybe I should follow along and see if it's any easier to deal with.

Rather then spend $50, I ordered the parts from McMaster-Carr and did the heavy lifting myself.  A couple of cuts with a Dremel/cut-off tool, a minute or so drilling two holes, and about 30 seconds with the torch/solder...  The finished product looks just like the real thing, and works great.  You can read all about the various Grainger valves and the Gillis valve at the following links.

http://www.gusmahon.org/html/boostcontrol.htm

http://www.badassperformance.com/mtech/boost.html

http://www.boostvalve.com/product.html

 

 

Update: 6/28/09

The stock shifter has been bugging me since I did the T5 swap. It's fine from 1st to 2nd, but it can be hard to reach 3rd sometimes.  I didn't want to spend the money on an aftermarket shifter, since the stock piece worked ok, and money is always tight.  However, it's an easy enough modification to be worth the trouble.  I saved money by buying a used shifter.  I started looking for a used Pro-5.0 shifter about a month ago.  After missing out on several by only minutes, I broke down and bought a used Hurst Competition plus with positive stops.  A few days later, I came across a Steeda Triax priced reasonable, so I bought it also.  Then the next day I finally got a Pro-5.0.  As it worked out the Pro-5.0 got here first, and was the one I was most interested in anyway, so I went ahead and installed it.  The other two shifters will be re-sold.

A little dirty, but the price was right, and no one is ever going to see it installed anyway.

 

Since the Pro-5.0 base is thicker then the stock shifter, I had to get longer bolts.  Since it was used and came without the handle, I needed to adapt my stock handle.  The rubber isolator on the stock shifter handle wouldn't fit without hitting the collar on the Pro-5.0, requiring that it be removed.  There are aftermarket bushings intended to do the job, but on a Friday night with no time to wait for deliveries things have to be improvised.  I clamped the shifter handle base against a scrap of hard wood, then centered the steel bushings from the old rubber isolator in the openings of the handle.  When everything was positioned correctly, I used a propane torch to flow molten solder into the space between the steel sleeves and the shifter handle.  After the assembly had cooled, I trimmed the sleeves and the overflowed solder down to match the flat surface of the handle.  I also cut a piece of scrap steel into a plate to sandwich the handle and the new lead bushings against the shifter itself.  Even if the solder should seperate from the shifter handle, nothing can go anywhere since it's all clamped in place.  It was either this, or spend between $10 (aftermarket bushings) to $30 (aftermarket handle) plus shipping.  So far I'm happy with the result.

Stock 87 Turbocoupe shifter handle on the left, modified stock 86 Turbocoupe shifter handle on the right.

The install wasn't too bad.  However, since the Pro-5.0 shifter base is thicker, the hole in my transmission tunnel wasn't large enough... Again.  So for the third time now, I trimmed the hole a bit larger.  Also with the thicker base, the bolts that anchor the shifter to the transmission are now pressed against the rubber boot that seals the floor around the shifter.  It looks like I'll finally have to give in and find a T5 transmission tunnel bulge to get the clearance I need.  While working with the new shifter, I noticed my transmission is moving around quite a bit while I'm driving.  Since I've already installed a polyurethane transmission mount, I'm blaming the transmission crossmember to body bushings or the motor mounts for allowing the drivetrain to move around.  I went ahead and ordered Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings for the crossmember from Summit.  I'll install them when they get here and hopefully that will stop the unwanted movement. 

I'm happy with the shifter.  Now it's much easier to hit the right gear.  The positive stops are a nice bit of insurance that I won't end up bending shift forks.  The Pro-5.0 shifter is almost good enough to make me wish I'd spent full price much earlier.  I wouldn't hesitate to make the switch again.

 

Update: 7/01/09

Fedex brought a package from Summit today.  The new polyurethane crossmember bushings are significantly more confidence inspiring.  The bushings are stiffer, the steel bushing sleeves are thicker, etc.  The install was almost too easy.  Almost, because the downpipe off the turbocharger crosses under the crossmember on the passengers side.  But this worked out to be a good thing since while I had the downpipe loosened I noticed that the wastegate housing/downpipe elbow is loose.  I was in a rush so I didn't get a chance to tighten the elbow.  The next day I have some free time it shouldn't take much to snug them up.  The rest of the install was very straight forward, support the transmission with a jack under the crossmember, remove the crossmember to body bolts, lower the transmission crossmember.  Pull the old bushings out and discard, slide the new poly bushings in, slide in the bushing sleeve.  Then jack the crossmember back up and reinstall the bolts.

Impressions so far:  They helped make the transmission mounting more rigid.  There might be a little more noise/vibration, but next to the rattles of a 23 year old Mustang, the pro's outweigh the con's.  The feel is definitely improved.  Theoretically I'm putting more power to the ground rather then into deflecting the shitty rubber bushings.  Take a look at the comparison pictures below, and it's easy to see the difference.  Sometimes Ford really disappoints me, this is a prime example.

 

 

Update: 7/02/09

I went to tighten the exhaust downpipe elbow and I found that one bolt was completely gone, and the other four were very loose. It's hard to imagine I didn't notice any symptoms earlier.  A new bolt was obtained from the local ACE hardware, and the others were torqued down... Again... 

It's a bit quieter, smoother, and boost comes on a bit sooner and it's making a couple more pounds at max boost.  Not bad for a few minutes with a wrench, I just hope they stay tight this time...

 

Update: 7/22/09

This weekend I took a trip back to my hometown.  While I was there I went to visit with a friend from highschool.  Several years ago he'd had a very similar Mustang, and had bought various parts to upgrade it.  The car was sold a few years back and some parts remained.  He made me a deal I couldn't refuse and I brought home a set of 87-up front disc brakes, and a Maximum Motorsports panhard bar setup.  The brakes will go on the car asap, since I've been feeling the limitation of the smaller 86 brakes.  I'm not sure about the panhard bar.  Without a torque arm setup I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.  It's definitely not where I would have spent the money first, but then it was really priced right.  It might end up on the car, or it might be sold to fund other projects.  Either way it's a neat piece even if I never do anything with it.

Stay tuned for more updates on the brake upgrade.  The intermediate brake line I ordered back in the beginning of June finally showed up this weekend.  I've already started acquiring parts I'll need to install the new brakes.  I had Autozone send off for the front brake hoses yesterday.  Today when I went to pick them up, they'd ordered me two for the drivers side.  They said it'd be another 3 days before they could have the passengers side.  I ended up having Advance Auto price match Autozone, and they had both hoses (the correct right + left set this time) in under an hour. 

The brake rotors had a thin layer of surface rust from sitting.  Most of it came off pretty easily with a 3M surface refinishing pad.  They could just be turned but they aren't grooved and I'm going to use the used pads anyway.

 

Update: 8/01/09

The last couple days I've been working on my brother-in-law's 92 Mustang, changing fluids mostly since it's been in storage most of it's life.  Having drained the ATF and filled his transmission with Synchromesh, I was reminded how much better it feels then ATF.  When I installed the T5 I'm running now, I wasn't sure if it'd work at all or what I'd be doing with the car, so I just used ATF.  Now that the transmission has been proven solid, I don't mind the added expense of synthetic fluid.  I drained the ATF, and refilled the transmission with Synchromesh.  With the synthetic fluid the transmission shifts much smoother.

 

Update: 8/13/09

Yesterday I drove to Kansas City and picked up a set of 16" pony wheels for the Mustang.  I've been looking for awhile and finally found a set that looked decent for what I wanted to spend.  Two of the tires were worn unevenly from a previous owners neglect.  I obtained a set of used 16" tires from my brother-in-law's 92 Mustang, and had two of the tires mounted on the wheels in place of the worn tires.  The tires on the ten holes were very weathered and weren't great tires to begin with, so the 16's are a nice upgrade.  Aside from a cosmetic modification, the car drives better and holds tighter in corners. 

After I got the new wheels on the car, I turned my attention back to the 87-93 V8 brakes.  Since the calipers will be clearly visible behind the open 5 spoke Pony wheels, I decided to paint them.  They were gold when I got them, but two different shades of gold.  I degreased, scrubbed, washed, and dried the calipers.  Next I taped off the pistons and bleeders, and sprayed a couple coats of Sunrise Red.  The red is a bit bright, but if nothing else they'll match my swaybars. 

 

I also ordered new shocks and struts, along with the correct banjo bolts for the V8 spindles/brakes, from Rock Auto.  After pricing out the entry level shocks and struts from the local discount stores, and reeling in sticker shock while pricing out Konis or Bilsteins, I decided heavily discounted entry level Monroes would get the job done.  At less then $100 for all four corners, how can I go wrong?  At some point I'm going to need to address the body problems, cause this car is hideously ugly, but at least it's fun to drive.

Update: 8/14/09

Today I sprayed another coat of Sunrise Red on the calipers, and took a few minutes to degrease the used brake pads and guide pins.  By the time the shocks and struts get here, the paint should be fully cured and I can put the parts on the car.

 

Update: 8/17/09

Today the first half of my Rock Auto order arrived.  I ordered brake caliper banjo bolts and shocks/struts.  Today's package was the bolts. Immediately upon opening the box I had a bad feeling.  I noticed that the two packages didn't match.  They had the same part number, but one had been opened and taped closed again.  Even before getting the bolts out of their packages it was obvious they were different.  Of course the one in the sealed package was correct and the other doesn't fit.  The incorrect bolt is not only a different size (diameter & length) but also a different thread pitch...  I called Rock Auto and they quickly offered to send a replacement.  It'll set me back a few days if I wait for the replacement, and honestly any idiot should have noticed the problem when they packed the order, but I really can't do anything but wait or go buy a bolt locally. 

I guess I must be some kind of super genious to see these two banjo bolts don't match?

 

Update: 8/19/09

Fedex delivered my shocks and struts today.

I still don't have the replacement, correct, banjo bolt.  But, I figured I could at least get the shocks done today.  I got the car in the air and started by adjusting one of the tail pipes, again.  While I was under the car I noticed that the rubber brake hose had finally rubbed through and was leaking.  It was only a matter of time since the clearance was pretty close.  It only took a month and a half for the exhaust to kill the hose.  It's a bit hard to make out in the pic, but the hose itself ruptured and the crimped end was mangled from rubbing up against eh tail pipe. 

Fortunately I had already ordered the parts to convert all the brake lines for the rear of the car to 86-93 V8 specs.  My plan was to install the new rear brake parts while I had the front apart.  The new intermediate brake hard line came from CJ Pony Parts a few weeks back, and had a couple "shipping bends" in it to make it fit in the box.  I laid it out and took a pic of the pretzel, and a couple others next to the old 4cyl brake line after I'd straightened the bends.  I also took a few pictures comparing the 7.5" axle hard lines next to the new 8.8" axle lines.

Getting the old line off required pulling the passengers side fender liner, unbolting some clips, and drilling out some rivets anchoring the line to the floorpan.  With the old line off, I started fishing the new line into place.  The exhaust and driveshaft didn't have to come down, but I did need to unbolt a few clips on the fuel lines to get the new brake line in place.  Also the passengers side e-brake cable had to be disconnected.  Technically the vapor vent line from the gas tank was in the way, but I let it go since I was able to get the line where I needed it without moving it.  I might address the vent line at a later date.  After the new line was snaked roughly into position, I transfered the clips from the old line and pop riveted them to the floor pan, and reinstalled the clips.  Everything was going pretty smoothly up until I got to the bracket between the intermediate line and the rubber hose to the axle.  I didn't have any rivets large enough to fit the holes in the bracket/floor.  I'll have to go pick some up tomorrow.  All told, the new lines didn't fit for sour owl shit.  Both the axle lines from Mustangs Unlimited, and the intermediate line from CJ Pony Parts, needed to be convinced to fit and even after being installed I'm not too happy with how they look.  I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure both of the lines were produced by Classic Tube as the tags and part numbers were the same, but the bends just didn't seem to line up right.  For the expense I expected better.  Still it's probably better then bending the lines by hand.  The axle lines also didn't have any of the spring wrap like the old lines, and as a result the anchor clips didn't fit right.  Overall, just disappointing for restoration parts.

Since I have to wait till tomorrow to get rivits to finish the rear brake lines, I went back to work on the shocks.  The old shocks came off easily, and don't seem to be leaking but you can tell they've been on the car for a long time.  Also since they're off the original 7.5" rear end they didn't fit the 8.8" shock mounts very well.  The mounts on the axle had to be opened up before the new shocks would slip into place.  Most likely this was because the 7.5" shocks were narrower, and when I'd tightened the bolts the mounts bent in around the wrong shocks.  The rest of the install was uneventful. 

Tomorrow I'll try to find some rivets so I can finish the rear brake lines, and maybe I'll start on the front struts/brakes.

 

Update: 8/21/09

After all this time I've had these rear brake parts sitting here, I finally go to put them on the car and two rivets costs me the better part of two days.  Worse yet I still don't have a solid solution. 

Yesterday morning I went hunting for a couple 1/4" rivets.  After a few dead ends I hit the local auto body supply store and obtained a small pack of rivets for much more then they were worth.  Now the only problem is that 1/4" rivets require a different tool then 3/16" and smaller rivets.  I ran a few searches online and found rivet tools that can handle 1/4" rivets, ranging in price from $20-150 and higher.  At the low end is Harbor Freight.  Unfortunately my local store didn't have the heavy duty rivet tool in stock. 

In the interests of my own sanity, I came up with a workaround that I'm not sure I'd recommend but it got the job done.  I got a piece of 7/32" and a piece of 1/4" aluminum K&S tubing from the hardware store, and cut sleeves from them to bush the 3/16" rivets my old rivet tool can handle, to fit in a 1/4" hole.  The improvised rivets seemed to work OK and should hold me over till the larger rivet tool gets here. 

With the bracket in place, I gave the new intermediate hardline another look.  I wasn't convinced that the vent line to the gas tank wasn't interfering with the brake line.  The line is anchored to the body with about five clips, two of which are riveted and the others bolted in place.  I drilled the rivets and unbolted the clips to reposition the line, and then reset new rivets, etc.  It made a little difference, but the reproduction line still fits like a saddle on a sow. 

The rest of the evening was spent tightening fittings, and bleeding the back brakes.  Which reminds me, the Mityvac brake bleeding kit I've had for five years, failed once again today to actually assist me in bleeding brakes.  Oh sure, it's a great idea, one person can open a bleeder, pump that piece of sh!t a gazillion f***ing times and just close the bleeder when clean fluid comes out.  But of course it doesn't work that way.  Either the stupid thing leaks air, or it sucks air through the threads of the bleeder, or whatever, but it simply doesn't work.  Over the years I've tried this Mityvac at least a dozen times, and I always end up blaming it on user error or a bad end fitting, etc but now I can say with authority that it's simply a piece of junk.  Anyway, after bleeding the brakes, I took an attempt at unbolting the old strut bolts.  However, they're solidly stuck.  I guess tomorrow I'll go look for a cheater bar. 

I apologize for odd camera angles, but here are the bulk of the new parts.  The Rustoleum I used on the axle and sway bars has actually held up really well, it's just hard to see in the pics since I drive the car all the time and gravel dust tends to cling to the painted surfaces. 

 

 

Update: 8/22/09

These projects always have a way of taking three times as long as I expect.  This brake swap is no exception.  In my own defense, I'm only working on it in the evenings and I'm not too 'Gung ho' about getting it done.  But anyway...  I went to the home improvement labyrinth and checked out a nice piece of steel pipe.  Something just didn't feel right, so I stopped at air tools and looked at impact wrenches before leaving.  I stopped at Harbor Freight on the way home and looked over their selection of impact wrenches, and didn't see anything too promising.  I ended up back at home without any new tool to get the job done.  After a bit I went out and put my longest breaker bar on one of the strut bolts and wailed on it about three times with my favorite hard rubber mallet, and like magic after the third strike there was a cracking noise and the nut started to turn.  The drivers side went even easier, just lifting hard on the breaker bar was enough to crack the nuts loose. 

Once I had the new struts out, it was easy to tell they were due for replacement.  Any gas charge they once had is long gone as the cylinders collapse into the strut under their own weight.  Also the front brake lines were obviously on their way out.  The rubber hoses were so rotten they left dark black crap all over my hands.  Not to mention the splits at both ends.  The rest of the brakes and related pieces were in good condition.  I managed to strip the passengers side tie-rod nut, but a replacement was as close as the local hardware store. 

I got both V8 spindles and rotors, as well as the new struts installed, but didn't install the calipers or new front hoses.  The old brake line brackets that anchor the flexible lines to the body don't fit the new hoses.  I'll have to modify the brackets a bit, then the calipers and hoses should install easily.  After it's all back together I'll have to take it in to be aligned.  I'm anxious to see how much difference the larger brakes and good shocks/struts make. 

Here are a couple pics of one old strut with a new strut, and a shot comparing the old vs new brakes.  When the job is finished I'll have before and after pics. 

 

Update: 8/23/09

Today went well.  I stopped yesterday with the spindles and struts installed but didn't install the calipers since the brackets for the rubber lines needed to be modified to fit the new hoses.  After looking at the brackets and the new hoses a few times, I decided to start with a file and see if I could open up the old star pattern to fit the new hoses.  It didn't take too long to figure out a file wasn't cutting it.  I ended up using the Dremel with a sanding drum to open the star pattern to a round hole.  From there I used a grinding stone on the Dremel to cut reliefs to fit the points of the hex pattern on the new hoses.  With the clearances kept tight at the points of the hex, the hoses lock in tight when the clips are slipped in place. 

With the clips modified to fit the hoses, I was able to install the hoses, calipers, etc.  I got the fender and liner bolted back on the car, and bled the brakes.  Amazingly I tried the Mityvac again.  For some reason it's always worth the gamble that it might work since it's not easy to find a helper to run the brake pedal.  More amazingly, the Mityvac actually worked on the drivers front!!!  However, 30 seconds later on the passengers side it just sat there and sucked air through the threads of the bleeder screw.  I finished up by manually bleeding the passengers front and got the car back on the ground.  In the course of the changes, the car picked up a serious toe in condition.  I adjusted the tie rods several turns out and got it to a point where hopefully it won't kill the front tires on the way to the alignment shop.  Hopefully I can get it aligned tomorrow and go find out if the new parts were worth the trouble.

 

Before/After

 

Update: 8/24/09

I took the car in to be aligned today.  $60 later I'm not sure if it was worth the effort and expense to upgrade the brakes.  On one hand, the braking is great.  It stops with much more authority.  However there seems to be a random left/right pull that comes and goes and switches from a left to a right pull at will.  I'd noticed the problem before switching the brakes, after switching to the 16" wheels, so the problem was probably there before, it just wasn't as obvious with narrow tires.  I didn't notice a problem in the ball joints or tie rod ends, but I wasn't really looking for problems either.

Update: 9/02/09

After driving the car for a week or so with the new brakes, it was definitely worth the trouble.  The braking is vastly improved, and overall handling has gotten better also. I've noticed it tends to pull into ruts around town, but it's not that bad. 

Today I got another package in the mail.  This time it's the 5-spd hump stamping I need to finish properly converting the car to a 5 speed.  Simply enlarging the hole in the floor pan and installing the T5 boot worked OK, but the hole wasn't really large enough to remove the shifter easily.  Even after opening the hole farther the front shifter bolts rubbed on the edges of the cutout.  After installing the Pro 5.0 shifter, the thicker shifter base was above the level of the floor and subsequently the boot didn't fit flush against the floor.  I searched a few of the Mustang forum classifieds, and posted a 'wanted' ad or two.  I was told by several people that I'd never find one for less then $80-100.  A few forum members sent me offers to cut sections of floor from parts cars.  The third offer finally came through.  $25 and an hour of work later I have a stamped bulge ready to be installed in the car.  It'll get installed the next time I decide to tear into the car. 

Out of the box, the bulge was spot welded to the donor cars floor, sealed with seam sealer, and finally all the joints were covered in sound deadener.  I used a propane torch to heat up the old sound deadener and scraped it off with a putty knife.  Then I followed up by heating the seam sealer and scraping it off of the joints.  Next I drilled half way through the spot welds from the bottom side with a 3/8" bit.  I bent the old floor skin away from the stamping, and used a flat blade screwdriver to pry around the spot welds till they broke free.  After the parts were separated, I used a cut off wheel as a grinder to take the sharp edges off the old spot welds.  I used a wire wheel in my die grinder to strip the old seam sealer and surface rust off the stamping.

 

Update: 10/15/09

Recently I've noticed the occasional scent of antifreeze, and yesterday setting my vents to defrost resulted in more fog on the windshield then with it off.  Today I looked under the passengers side of the dash, and saw a few drips of shiny green antifreeze on the carpet.  I traced the drips to the bottom of the heater box.  I've smelled antifreeze from time to time over the last couple months, and I've been avoiding replacing the heater core, but it's easier to replace it now when the weather is decent, and before it fills the heater box with antifreeze. 

I got a replacement heater core from Advance Auto, and swapped them out.  It all went pretty fast thanks to being a non-A/C car from the factory.  The only real annoyance was finding another heater hose.  The 18071 had a defect, so I replaced it with a shorter 3/4-5/8" 90* hose.  It worked but a hose molded with another bend would work better.

Update: 10/25/09

The car is for sale.  $3,200 o.b.o.  Send me an email if interested.  replace the -at- with @.  predatorman-at-hotmail.com

Index

Page 1 - History, Modifications, and Turbo swap

Page 2 - Budget/Expenses / Parts for sale!

Page 3 - Dual exhaust conversion