DOH.........WHAT DO I DO NOW?!
Yes, project Thunderstang has begun! Both the Mustang and TC are stripped and I'm in the midst of cleaning parts....alot of parts! I'll be ordering a PST front suspension rebuild kit, new struts, 11" rotors and 73mm calipers next week to slap onto the TC spindles. Plans call to do the front end first, then swap in the 8.8, paint the engine compartment, then drop in the motor. Wish me luck!
BTW, if anyone has any specific questions regarding the swap, feel free to ask.
The front brake swap and suspension upgrade is almost complete. The upper left photo is what I had to start with. 10" rotors, 58mm calipers and a front suspension with 140k. In the upper right are all the parts that are going on. Fat 5.0 sway bar, polyurethane bushings, TC spindles, new struts, 11" rotors, 73mm calipers, new hoses, bearings and such.
Here's the finished product. Still have to mount the swaybar and some other small things, but all the big stuff is done. I elected not to go with the PST kit or ball joints. After careful inspection, I deemed them unnecessary. Besides, it would have added several hundred dollars to the total. Here's a tip: Don't remove the coil springs unless absolutely necessary! They're a bitch to get back in, especially with the motor out! I'll put mine back after I drop the motor in. Below is a list and prices of parts used to perform the swap and upgrade.
11" rotors ('93 Mustang 5.0).................................................Kragen Auto Parts..................$90.28
Loaded 73mm calipers ('86 Lincoln Mark VII)..................Kragen Auto Parts..................$116.09
Sway bar links ('88 TC)...........................................................www.turboford.org.................$10
Brake hoses ('87 Mustang GT 5.0)......................................Kragen Auto Parts...................$43.68
Inner & outer wheel bearings ('93 Mustang 5.0).............Kragen Auto Parts...................$51.52
Grease seals ('93 Mustang 5.0)...........................................Kragen Auto Parts...................$11.66
Monroe struts ('93 Mustang 5.0).........................................Kragen Auto Parts...................$94.57
Mustang 5.0 swaybar....................................................................Pick-n-Pull..........................$15
TC spindles ('87 TC)........................................................................donor car............................Free
Brake rotor dust shields ('87 TC).................................................donor car............................Free
Softline to hardline brake line brackets ('87 TC)......................donor car............................Free
Yeah, it ain't cheap! But ya know what they say, 'if you're gonna spend $$$ to make it go fast, spend at least 1/4 of that budget to make it stop!' I think it's money well spent. These binders along with the 8.8 w/rear discs and the master cylinder upgrade will make Thunderstang whoa in a hurry! Note, I stayed with the 4-lug setup for the sleeper look. Stay tuned. There's much more to come!
Here's the Wildwood proportioning valve mounted behind the right shock tower. I had to gut and cap the stock prop valve and add a 3 to 2 port adapter 'cause the new M/C is a 4-wheel disc brake unit out of a '95 GT. I also fabbed all new front brake lines. The old lines used to run above the lip/seam on the firewall. Just plain gaudy! I ran the new lines under the lip. Damn near invisible!
Here's the fuel tank cleaned up and Walbro 255lph hi-pressure fuel pump installed and ready to slap back in. Today I pressure washed the entire undercarriage and covered the whole thing in rubberized undercoating. I'm finishing up the 8.8 as we speak and that should be installed in the next week or two. Keep checking back as I'll be updating after the completion of each sub-assembly. Believe it or not, I'm actually right on track on my 6 month schedule!
While waiting for the paint to dry on my 8.8, I decided to mock up my cooling system.
That outta pull some air! Grabbed this monster fan off an '89 T-bird SuperCoupe. $12.50 at Pick-n-Pull (my Toys-R-Us)! If it'll cool a supercharged motor, I think it can handle a warmed over 2.3 turbo. Gotta love wire ties!
I'll eventually go with an NPR intercooler, but for now I'm using the Volvo unit and matching radiator from an '89 850 Turbo. The radiator has a 3-row core that looks to be brand new! I peered inside and there's absolutely no corrosion or scaling! It's a closed system. Again, Volvo engineers designed it to cool a turbocharged motor, I think it'll be fine for me. I'm gonna fab up a small plate to cover the opening (arrow) so the fan unit is sealed to the radiator. Next up, 8.8 rearend installation!
Here's the rearend out of the TC. It's got 175,000 miles on it but all the gears have a normal wear pattern and look good. I installed a new pinion seal and set the bearing preload, new axle bearings and seals and new c-clips. I'm using the axles from the Mustang so I have stock track width. Yes, they fit perfectly! Now I have a much stronger rearend, rear disc brakes and as an added bonus, I've got 3.55:1 trac-loc (that's posi for you GM dudes)!
Here's all the new and refurbished brake stuff ready to go. Also, the North Race Car offset caliper brackets bolted on. I first had to unbolt the original brackets and slice off the bracing with a Sawzall. Then I ground just a smidge off the housing flange to get the new brackets to fit properly. Typical with aftermarket parts.
The completed product! Note the highly cool FMS aluminum driveshaft! Everything was pretty much bolt on. I used the TC housing, swaybar, dust shields, brakes and brakelines. Mustang axles, control arms and shocks. I used an adapter from www.svo73mm.cjb.net to mate the TC center softline to the Mustang hardlines, offset caliper brackets from www.northracecars.com and 2 FMS emergency brake cables, part # M-2809-A. Minor trimming of the dust shields and aforementioned grinding of the axle flange along with fabbing up a small section of brakeline were the only mods necessary. Pretty straightforward. Here's a breakdown of parts and prices.
Rebuilt unloaded TC calipers (pair)............Kragen Auto Parts............$126.99
Lifetime warranty brake pads.....................Kragen Auto Parts............$18.99
Have rotors turned..........................................local shop...........................$30
Gabriel gas shocks.........................................Autozone.............................$39.99
Caliper brackets & FMS cables...................North Racecars.................$210
Bearings & seals.............................................Autozone.............................$32
3 brake flexlines..............................................Kragen Auto Parts............$66
Bolts, paint, etc................................................various sources................$25
8.8 housing, differential, rotors...................TC donor car.......................FREE
Swaybar, dust shields, brakelines.............TC donor car.......................FREE
