Just bought a 1988 TC rust free. The motor was blown and I have seen TC's with 5.0's but I can't find the kits to do the swap. Does anyone know what I need or where I can buy the kit to do the swap.
There's really no kit. Check http://www.coolcats.net under the Tech/Mod sections and read on 5.0 swap. Turbocoupe50 on this board has done it to his car, so he should be able to provide that information. I will say, though, as with most engine swaps, it's best to find a complete donor car. (i.e. - Wrecked Mustang).
I think it also depends on what functions of the TC you'd like to keep (ride control, ABS, etc.). It becomes very complicated to keep a lot of things plus add a 5.0. Tom (turbocoupe50) will have all the answers you'll ever need.
Hey 88tc i've been waiting for a thread like this to share my knowledge with someone,i just did this to my black 87 TC and ran into a few problems that no one could provide answers for even turbocoupe50(no offense to tc50 but he did his swap many years ago and forgot some stuff).
Let's start with the obvious
5.0HO engine complete
Trans, your choice of auto or stick(i did the auto as my car was an auto).
87-88 5.0l tbird drive shaft, 7.5 or 8.8 rear does not matter either will fit
Mustang 5.0HO computer.
Now for the not so obvious.
87-88 tbird 5.0 fuel lines to the fuel filter.The rear lines from the tank to the filter are the same so you can keep those.
Dual hump trans cross member out of 5.0 bird or mustang.
Trans cross member bolts,unique tc dose not have these.
Motor mounts for 5.0 tbird,must be for a bird,mustang won't work.
5.0l evap canister for fuel tank vapors,tc ones are different.
You can use your TC rad as long as it's in good shape.
If your going to run A/C you'll need the reciever dryer at the firewall and the 2 lines that go from the dryer to the to the conderser in the front,your evap core in the dash and tc condensor out front can be reused.
Engine harness from the computer from an 87-88 5.0l tbird(the mustang harness is totally different and a nightmare,don't even bother with it,it must be bird or cougar)
Injector harness on engine(this can be bird or stang,doesn't matter)
5.0l fan and shroud
5.0l air box,mounting studs and air inlet tubes.
Tad and tab sensors from pass rea side of strut tower(these control egr and thermactor air opening/closing)
Vac balls and lines from inside pass fenderwell under splash shield.
your baro sensor will work as a map on the 5.0l(sensor #s are the same for 4 or 8 cyl, i checked).
Reuse the TC vac tree.
All rad/heater hoses for 5.0l mustang or bird.
coolant overflow tank for bird or stang
Ign coil is the same so it can be reused
Batt mount is also the same
Mustang or LSC exauste H-PIPE and intermediates(these have to be made to fit,for the rear exaste after the h-pipe it's best to go custom and get one built,there is no direct fit for this,not true duals anyways).
For the shifter it depends stick or auto,if auto you need a 5.0l bird or cougar floor shifter(impossible to find)I went with a mustang one and i had to modify it severly to fit,used the TC leather handle and bezel though.
If stick,well i'm not sure as i don't have one.
5.0l throttle and cruise cables,tc won't work.
Aod tv pressure cable if going auto.
Thermactor air pipe from a stang for the h-pipe.
Fuel pump wiring harness from the computer to the rear form an 87-88 bird or cougar,with relay(TC's don't have these wires as the relays for the fuel pump and fans are in a box on the pass strut tower and you will be removing them).
5.0l o2 sensors(the sensor wires may need to be extended,mine did)
Your abs and ride control will stay intact without any mods if you don't touch there harnesses.The eng harness and the abs/ ridecontrol harness run into the firewall together and must be seperated at this point,i cut the rubber groment and some factorry tape and that seperated the harnesses, you can now pull the eng harness out of the dash into the eng bay leaving the abs and ride control intact,forgot to mention there is a gray rectangle connector under the dash/carpet near the firewall pass side that must be disconnected before removal of the eng harness.It is not used for the 5.0l it's just a bunch of computer sense wires for the 4 banger.
The only loss you'll have is that the riude control will not sense hard accel and braking and automatically switch to firm,(irrelevant really as i like firm ride anyways,and the auto mode acts as soft like in the SC t-bird)
Wheh that's alot of writing,forgot how much work it was :grinno:
Now comes the fun part,the wiring! :shakehead
All the wiring from the computer to eng is plug and play
On the drs side there is 2 connectors that go to the dash,one gray and one black, both 8 pin connectors.
These control all the gauges a/c,ign switch,etc
The connectors are the same on the 5.0l bird/cougar harness but some wires are in the right spot and some are in the wrong spot.
This is preey easy just remove the red pin hold downs in the eng harness connectors and change the pins around to match color code for color code.
You will be left with 3 poss 4 wires that don't match the connector colors on the eng harness(don't worry about open pins in the connectors coming from the dash,they where for things such as turbo overboost and such)
The colors of the wires you'll be left with are
Black-A/C clutch ground(cut the pin off,install an eyelet and ground it tothe wiper ground bolt,without this the A/C clutch won't come on)worked for me.
GreenPuple-A/C low pressure cut out switch(this one's tricky,the original a/c compressor was on the pass side(5.0drs side) so stranglely enough you will find the car's greenpurple wire in a grey 4 pin connector near the pass headlamp assy.What i did here was cut the greenpurple at the switch and soldered in a new wire and ran it down the pass side to the grey 4 pin,then i stole the connector from my 4 banger harness and inserted the pin and soldered it.
GreyYellow-o2 sensor heaterwire,i have yet to really connect this wire.It's supposed to go to the greyyellow in the grey rectangular
connector i spoke of in the begining but any switched 12v source will do(mines connect to the hot in run wiper motor wire.
RedGreen i think,not necessary
trans will have extra wiring if you have an auto,as the A4LD was electronic and the Aod is hydraulic,But speed sensor and neautral safety switch plug right in.
Fuel pump wiring is a different story it must be cut and spliced at the rear color for color and the pinkblack must be looped(this is the only part i'm not 100% on,can't remember how we got mine to work)
Now if all was done according to plan iot should fire pretty quickly if not check for fuel,that was my first problem.
If it fires SWEET!
The next few months will be spent working out the bugs,believe me.
Once everything is rightthough you'll enjoy it alot more than the 4 banger,even with a setting of 18psi boost like i had.
The fastest guy on turbocoupe.org is the moderator glenn88tc and even he is only running a 12.5 quarter.
With all the money he spent (and it's alot) he could be going 11s with a 5.0l and it would be 100 times more reliable, (no blown head gasket etc).
Don't get me wrong i love ford's and i think the 2.3l turbo is an awsome engine for what it is( a 4 banger on steroids),but the 5.0l is much more reliable and way easier and cheaper to add performance to.
Anyway's i hope this helps anybody and everybody that wants to do this swap, i took me 3 days of 12 hour days to get it in and running and i'm a liscensed tech,with all the necessary tools+ i had an 88 5.0l doner t-bird that already had all the parts pulled(by me). :grinno:
This swap is very time consuming and can have you cursing and swearing, but it's worth the pain.
There's nothing like mashing the gas and eating every little ricer you come upon.:evilgrin:
Hell of a write up Dominator, :bowdown: but I gotta call you on one thing...
The red/green is the power from the ign sw to the EEC(at least on mine and my diagrams). Also I connected the R/G and Grey/Yel wires in to the TC harness at the fuse links near the battery box...
Actually it's a lot easier to keep the ABS and ride controll than delete them. Connecting a few wires is definatly easier than ripping out the original systems, and replacing with a vacspooge booster and matching hard lines.
In two words... PARTS CAR !!!! You'll need hard parts like, motor mounts, drive shaft(if the TC is automatic), crossmember, throttle cable, all the engine brackets/accesseries, wiring(see below), and of course the engine and tranny.
I believe Windsor Fox still markets a wiring harness for this swap(expensive), with instructions which would make it fairly easy. Or you could do as I did and graft in a 5.0 harness from a 5.0 Tbird/Cougar or Mustang(not as easy, but has been used many times in this swap). I don't reccomend these swaps for anyone who is not good with wiring(definatly have to be able to read diagrams), so if you're not good with wiring, or know someone who is it will be a nightmare.
Is the car Auto or 5spd?? At any rate you'll need a tranny for the 5.0, as the 4 cyl 5 speed is a bit weak and the gears are way too deep for for the 5.0(and the A4LD TC automatic will not bolt to a 5.0, anyway it gives lots of problems behind the 1/2 motor).
Wow! What a write-up, dominator! That's archive quality.
:banana:
Thanks dude.
After months of searching, emailing tom a few times and my electrical wiz tech buddy at work helping me with the wiring i think it was high time that someone did a complete wrightup on doing this.
Just to make it easier on the not so experiencd and experienced guys alike out there. :)
P.S. This wrightup just goes to show how dyehard a t-bird and cougar fan i am,also my pics are up in the users rides section if anybody wants a peak. :tg:
One more word of advice, while you've got the motor out, go ahead and swap out k-members from a stang or put in a tubular. You don't have to do this, but it will save you money in the long run as stang motor mounts are much cheaper and better quality, plus there are no other options for bird mounts other than stock, unless you build your own. Stang parts are plentiful and a stock k-member goes for around $100. if you have trouble finding one let me know, I know where at least 50 of em are.
To much work and not necessary man.
I've had my ho in 2 different birds now and have had no problems.
Also i think TC50 is running the stock k-frame as well.
This is why i liked carbed cars better.
Yea having both i kinda know the feeling.
However injected is definetly the way to go for reliabilty and not having to constantly adjust things.
Overall the old saying goes "you get out what you put in"
I played with carbed motors from the time I was 15, till I bought my first fuelie in '93(then 43)... Still have my carbed 428CJ Fairlane, but otherwise its EFI all the way for me....
well that's just my personal opinion, I've used the bird k-members before and for no more trouble than it is to change k-members, I won't use a bird member again, but I build mine to take em to the track and personally can't stand the t-bird motor mounts, especially at twice the price of a Mustang/Mark VII mount.
you know, I still need THOSE MOTR MOUNT BRACKETS(goes from the engine to the motor mount) for the cleveland..... ggrrrrrrrrrrr....... can't find any of those things anywhere...
Methos
I know a guy that swaped a Mustang K-Member onto his '87 Sport and found that he had to fabricate a spacer to get the rear part of the K-member to bolt up to the body because the Mustang K-Member is shorter than the T-Bird's, it also lowers the motor from what he said.
You are right about it lowering the eng,not sure about the width but i think it is a little thiner.
So the 5.0 bird harness is the easiest way? Cause I used a stang harness but still have some bugs that I can't trace to the wiring or the motor (was sold a very mixed up motor, different years, parts, sensors, etc..) and I'm going to redo my swap. Also, can the mustang mass air conversion kit be used with the 5.0 bird stuff? Cause I don't want to revert back to speed density...
Yes the bird or cougar 5.0 harness is the best way,the stang harness has to many differences.
oh, and does anyone have any more info on the mod to fit a mustang (stock or tubular) k-member into the 87-88 bird? I don't quite understand what the problem is or the fabbed part to fix it...
The Mustang K member will have approx 3/4" gap at the rearward mounting points. Also those bolt holes will have to be enlarged to line up properly. If you want a K member that uses Mustang Type mounts and is a direct fit, grab one from a '83-'85 Bird/Coug.
Bolt holes on the car or on the k-member?
Anyone on the bolt holes thing?
Also still wondering about the mass air conversion kit being used on the 88 5.0 bird harness...
And one more add on:
Where is the best place to find the 5.0 bird harness? The cars are hard to find in junkyards and I hate to got that route anyway cause I've seen serious bugs caused by bad harnesses.
The bolt holes on the K member need to be enlarged slightly.
The MA conv kits are sold on ebay all the time....
You're on your own on finding a harness... I usually just buy a parts car.
mass air (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7951845647&category=33553&sspagename=WDVW)
Here's a mass air conversion on ebay right now. :)
Thx cougarman... I didn't have time to look when I posted...
BTW... anybody noticed the originator of this thread has not posted again since he made the original first and only post???
Yea he got scared by my massive write up on the swap!
LOL
So I take it that means Ford doesn't make the harnesses anymore....
They don't just sell just the harness.... But you can buy a complete kit..
Better have deep pockets for this one...
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=30
No, I'm talking about the 5.0 'bird harness. Does Ford still sell that?
A few more questions that came up:
Is the evap canister necessary for emissions? Easy to hook up in the TC? Do I need special hoses from the 5.0 bird for this too?
Does the new fuel pump wiring have to go all the way to the back? I currently have mine wired with a relay (which I could never make computer controlled, so its triggered by the ign switch - thats right, it doesnt cycle the pump and shut off) and it is spliced in by the passenger kick panel....??
And dominator, can you explain the pink/black wire needs to loop for me? Thanks!
Dude i'll have to ponder it for the next few days,otherwise i gotta pull my rear seats and try to remember what i did back there.
The wiring for the fuel pump goes from a 4 pin connector near the eec all the way to the rear of the car and the pump relay is in the rear attached to the pass cross rails behind the rear seat.Also it grounds with an orange wire to just in front of the pass front seat under the carpet.
I ran my harness to the rear and cut the wires in the trunk where they enter the car then i spliced the wires color for color to each other.
Then i tried it, no fuel.
My buddie and i sat down in the back of my car with my evtm and tried to figure it out.
The loop i'm referimg to has to due with the inertia switch wires that are part of the tc.
The way i had it wired it was not powering the intertia switch(pink/black)I had to supply power to these wires from the power wire off of the fuel pump harness,once done it worked.
It kinda looked like a loop due to the fact that there were 2 wires for the inertia switch that had to be cut,then they had to be "looped"(attached to the power wire in the fuel pump harness from the 5.0l).
Now the inertia switch functions just as it should(tested it) and all works as it should.
Hope that helps man, sorry i can't be more direct but it was right at the end of my 72hr swap and i was pretty freakin tired.
O and not that ford will carry that harness anymore but if they did it would cost you around 500.00 to 800.00 dollars i'm sure.
From a wreckers,50.00 maybe.
I wouldn't worry about bugs,you can tell weather a harness has been hacked by lookin at it,the 5.0l harness is pretty staright forward.
Yes the evap canister is required for emissions and if you don't have it you'll smell fuel near the pass fender,you can use the tc one,but you will need to run the canister purge valve into the outlet that went to your old airfilter box because they are not exactly the same.
The hose that goes to your airfilter is about 1/2" and the canister purge hose is about 1/8".
I just shoved mine inside the 1/2" hose and it works but to be propper get the 5.0l one.
Honestly i had a parts car(my previous bird,may she RIP!) and it is definetly advised that you find a rotted out 5.0l bird or cat,it will have every part you need and it will be way cheaper and less time consuming than buying the 6 million small parts you'll need seperatley.
oi, ive done it too. i went from v6 to v8. i used a bumper jack as a tranny crossmember, and it kicks ass. also, the wiring harness can actually almost be reused. if u change the computer, and run wires from the ingectors, some throttle stuff, and some other stuff, u can completely reuse it. also, with your local parts store, u can get around getting those fuel lines, and other junk. be creative! i saved alot of money by being creative. i pulled my 5.0 standard output from an 89 grand marquis. it took 3 weeks and about $100 on top of the $140 grand marquis. just a suggestion! best of luck
You went through all that for a 5.0 SO swap,DAM!
Wow........I think...............
dominator
Im not sure why i read all that, i was sort of in a trance with all that detail that i just could not stop. Great write up !!! I thought i was long winded. :giggle:
copy/past now :bowdown:
thanks, very useful info but tom's points should be combined as well.
Thanks.
The way i figured it is,when i went to do this stuff,it was hard to find all the info on it so,when i did it i wanted to share with anyone who wanted to know.
I'm all for the preservation and restoration of these cars(i can't believe i just said that,i remember seeing these at the dealers when they were new,man i'm only 28 and already i feel old)and anybody that needs a hand on a swap or body resto ,just give me a shout.
Also i don't know if anybodies interested in swaping all the ho parts onto their so but i will soon have all of the stock ho eng parts(exc cam,still gonna use that) and the sd eec up for sale as soon as i swap all my perfomance parts listed in my "track times" post onto my ho.
I'll let you guys know when it's all off and for sale.
I'd prolly be intrested in that old HO stuff - if I had it, it would take away my excuse for not doing the HO upgrade :D
I also put a HO 5.0 in a 88 TC. It was a lot of fun. The wiring was the only hard part, but went to the ford dealer and got a wiring book on the motor and the car and it went very well. I also used the front member from the Lincoln the motor came out of. It sure makes a hell of a runner. Love that car!!!!!!!!!!!!
You used the k-member out of the Lincoln? Does that mean you swapped over to airbags since there are no spring perches on the Lincoln K-member, or did you weld some round tubing in to use that k-member? Now I really feel redneck for just using a toggle switch and aftermarket relay for the fuel pump on the conversions I've done.
I am in the middle of puting a 5.0 from a Tbird sport into a TC. after maping out everything with the wiring diagrams i'm left with a few unanswered questions. But to continue i need these two answered first. 1. The coil wires,do i splice in the 5.0 harness into the existing plug for the TC. not plug the 5.0 in, or unplug the TC plug and plug in the 5.0 one? 2. The O/y wire for the ride control at the engine computer plug #35, will running this wire from the 5.0 computer the the PRCM just like the TC set up work? or is there some other way to make the ride control get this signal if the 5.0 computer wont provide it?
You need to use the 5.0 plug, it is connected back through the harness to the TFI module on the dist... The 2.3 used a God awful arrangement that run foward, wraped around the radiator support, back to the EEC plug and around to the dist... My 2.3 plug and all it's wiring dissapeared when I did my swap...
You will loose the automatic firm activation on heavy throttle with a 5.0 swap, there are no electronics in the EEC to support this operation. It may be possible to use the A/C cutout function to trigger it, but since mine stays in firm I've never tried.
I;m bored so i will post here.
460 into a TC with 2 T4s and a mega squrt.
What do i need ?
Big hammer and a welder
Thanks for the help, as soon as the rain and snow stop up here i'll try to finish up. :bowdown:
Used the Lincoln k-member, it had springs on it. Just used the struts of the TC, to eliminate the air bags.
I installed the hood on the TC today and with the 5.0 in it hit the left vent at the AC bracket. Has anyone cured this problem and still used the intercooler vents with the 5.0, or do i need to blank off the holes in the hood. I also am wondering if after curing the clearance issue if anyone had any problems with water blowing in directly onto the motor? We are on our 25th straight day of rain up here so this might be an issue i need to know about.
i left the scoops open, removed the rubber ducting from the hood. no clearance issues at all.
Mine doesn't hit the hood. Dunno why, just lucky I guess...
Fixed clearance issue, I trimmed the AC mount bracket and re-routed the compressor wire. Now all i'm worried about is the water on the motor.
I am using mustang dual exhaust for this project, the car has an automatic (Don’t ask why). My problem is that the exhaust hangar at the transmission mount only has one mount point, and the y pipe has two pr0ngs. Ford no longer makes the dual exhaust bracket for the automatic. Will I have issues if i leave the drivers side pr0ng in mid air (or cut it off) and use only the passenger side mount at the tranny? Or is there a better idea out there?
Pick up a hanger assembly from a mustang..
mine has a 429 and has no issues with the scoops, My 88 5.0 didnt either.
Does ALL of this info work for the 86 turbo coupe also? If not, what is different.
Also, will the stock 1986 turbo coupe 5 speed pedals/clutch cable work a v8 t5 behind a 5.0? I decided to sell my 86's turbo motor to put in a 5.0. (check in the f/s section to see the ad.)
ttt
the 86 used a cable clutch so yes it will work, even the existing cable.
Doubtful on the cable(possibly with modification... all the 4cyl cables I've seen are different on the bellhousing end) OK on the pedal assly.
ok just got my new motor the other day so I will be starting the swap very shortly. If anyone knows any differences between the 86s to 87s-88s that will affect the swap please let me know.
Ok, so there is one thing I never fully nailed and it's those two connectors on the drivers side, one black and one grey. The problem I had was I used the mustang harness, so I don't think many of the colors matched! I did a couple things over there like oil pressure signal wire, but that's about it.
Now it's time to tackle the A/C on this car and I need to figure the wiring out over there. Can anyone offer any insight on repinning the conectors?
Anyone? I don't have my diagrams available, so I'm in the dark right now...
I don't think the connectors have anything to do with the A/C. The gage connections are in the grey I believe. Don't remember what the black does, but its totally disconnected on my TC and EVERYTHING WORKS, A/C included(I may have it reversed, maybe my grey one is disconnected). I used the 5.0 body and the 2.3 engine harness to build an adaptor to mate the 5.0 engine harness into the TC. I'll check colors when it's daylight.
Ok, well...I thought someone said something about A/C stuff running through there. I know I tapped into a wire there when I connected my oil pressure gauge (grey connector I believe). So that gauge works, but some other things don't... like my low oil and check engine lights.
I just figure the A/C is down in that rectangular connector in the kick panel (the one that goes from the chassis harness to the ECU harness). Do you have any info on that? How did you wire your A/C up?
Also, I can't help but wonder what isn't connected in those black and grey connectors (or what is working imporperly due to wrong pinning - because I do in fact have them connected)
Well it's my grey plug that is disconnected, black is connected. Besides gages I don't reall remember what else is in it(did my swap in '99). I'll need to pull out the main wiring diagram to see what's actually in them. The EVTM does not show ALL the connections in any one one plug.
The A/C connections are in the main engine harness(I used one from a '87 Bird), a Stang harness may be different. The Bird has the A/C cutout relay mounted near the passenger strut tower, you may want to check for that first. It is fed from the low pressure s/w mounted on the acculimator. The wire that feeds voltage to the compressor is a black/yellow and as I already stated is in the main harness. Ground side of the compressor is a black wire(I have it grounded at a starter relaymounting bolt. I believe the colors and circuits are 95% the same from Stang to Bird. BTW the supression diode across the A/C clutch coil is very important, without it the A/C cutout relay contacts will burn.
Hmmm, well ok, guess I have a lot of research and work to do. I actually think did my swap around 99 also, maybe 00... This project was me teaching myself cars. Before that, all I ever did was an oil change on a buick! hahaha, so yeah... I am just now getting back to fine tuning it and I don't remember all that I had figured out back then.
Anyway, I have the WOT cut-out relay. It was all there on my harness when I got it. So I'm pretty sure I have all I need. I think if I just get all my plumbing and make the proper connections between the dash and the Mustang harness, it'll all be working fine. I mean, I know my harness has the plug for the compressor, the plug for the drier and the relay. Could there be anything that would for some reason be outside of my 'bird or 'stang harness that I'm missing?
And btw, if I didn't mention it before, I really appreciate the help. I am living in CA and I am driving back to WI to get the car in 3 weeks. I have just barely a week there to pull the current motor and trans, strip and paint the engine compartment, clean-up/refresh and paint a different motor to put in, add in all the emissions stuff I never put on in the first place, put a new emissions legal exhaust on and get tail-pipes made, reinstall my 13" cobra brakes, fix all the A/C wiring (including Taurus panel to 'bird harness and 'bird harness to 'stang harness wiring) and do all the plumbing, troubleshoot and fix my cruise and a few other things before driving it all the way back to CA! hahah, I can't wait!!! :D
I know this is a few years late... but ... search is a wonderful thing.
Will the MarkVII K-member work?
I have a donor MKVII ... wondering how much of it I can use. The bird is an automatic... but I want to switch to a standard.
But hoping that I can use the engine and wiring from the MKVII.
I'm guessing you can. I'm 95% sure it would bolt up, but there may be differences (the airbag system?). The 'which factory K' thing is really a preference thing. I'm totally fine with my Thunderbird K and Chuck W makes poly mounts for the 5.0 with this K (i believe), but also, you can get stock rubber mounts, more expensive or not, and be fine.
Anyway, i'm kinda off topic. If you WANT to use the Mark VII engine/wiring you should be fine with it's K-member. Hopefully someone else can chime in, but if you already have the car, compare them, measure them, etc... Maybe even post some pictures up for us to see the differences.
NO NO NO on the wiring... The Lincoln includes the level control and ABS system into the EEC harness... Instead of mostly running across the firewall, it runs down the driver side across the radiator support and back up the passenger side to the firewall... Its your worst nightmare and five bushel of snakes all rolled into one...
I too had a LSC donor, but wound up buying a 5.0 Bird and used it's harness, engine brackets/pulleys, AOD shifter, driveshaft, fuel lines, etc, etc, etc...
ARGH!
I am going to do this.... (laughs) :punchballs:
Is there any specifc reason that the engine wouldn't work?
Also, does the Bird harness support Mass Air? My Lincoln was already converted before I bought it.
Thanks in advance fellows.... I will have a bunch of questions over the coming year.
The engine itself will work, but you should use a bird or cat harness, and you will need a mass air converter kit. I beleive its the same as a mustang.
No reason you can't use the LSC engine, it's basically the same as a Stang...
The Bird harness can be converted to mass air same as earlier Stang harness, but Mass Air is totally unnecessary on a stock engine though... In any event, there is no factory 5.0 harness that is a direct swap into a '87-'88 TC... It's wiring is unique to the Birds... Still if you're not afraid of reading a few wiring diagrams and repining connectors, it ain't a big deal...
Thanks for the input. The LSC has a KenneBell 1.5 Supercharger on it. It does run, but the transmission is cooked. My intent is to tear the engine down and see what I have and then build from there. Probably stroke to a 331 or 347. The LSC is already converted to Mass Air so I suppose I can use the related Mass Air parts for the swap?
The gentleman in the following link is getting ready to do a swap into a TC and he dospoogeents everything in a DVD. He is looking at using an 89 LSC EEC IV setup as a possible means to do it.
http://www.badshoeproductions.com/
Time is on my side... I will pick up the TC on Friday and have a better idea of what I am working with on that end. The LSC I have sitting in the yard now. (figure the 5 lug conversion is just begging to be done)
Again... thanks very much for your input and I will be bothering you guys (repeatedly) over the next year.
No reason not to I can think of... I used the MAF plug from a '89 Stang harness I hacked up to convert a '86 Stang(which I later de-converted)... in '95 everybody was saying just swap the harness, so I bought one... Later found the '86 Stang uses a totally unique harness, and is nothing at all like the '87-'93 versions...
BTW my harness is from a '87 Bird... Not the best choice, but it's what I had, converted it on the workbench prior to install... Once in the car, I connected all sensors and scanned it for codes before installing the engine...Tootin' my own horn, It's given me zero problems since it was installed in late '99...
(http://mysite.verizon.net/turbocoupe50/kenmoregt40.jpg)
That looks SUHWEET!
Leave in a few hours to pick up the TC and bring it home.
Will post up some pictures this weekend of what I have to start with.
I am about to start my swap this weekend and trying to get some last minute parts when I found this forum. finally. 87 tc to a 351 carbed with a c4. I was just wondering if anyone has tried any 76 ford maveric motor mounts. I found a picture of some on advance auto parts website and it looks like they will work. I am going to go to the parts store tomorrow to see if they work. I would use the 87 tbird v8 mounts if i could find the bracket that goes from the motor to the top of the motor mount. No junk yards around here seem to have it or are to lazy to go look.
Buy a set of chuckw mounts,best bet.
where can you buy these I have looked everwhere.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?p=230840#post230840