Ok I made some measurements the other night and i have about 2.5" of the yoke inserted into the trans. That still leaves a little over 2.5" of yoke outside the trans mostly exposed. So should I even invest in getting this thing lengthened, run it as is, does anybody have any input on driveshaft spacers, the ones that go on the rear axle to the rear driveshaft yoke? Problem with getting it lengthened is there isn't many shops that are performance oriented that i know of in town but I will ask around. I'd hate to have to ship this thing out just for that, even so it'll still be a stock spec driveshaft. i believe a 1 inch spacer should get me going, but I don't know if that would be ideal. I've read that some people run them with some serious power (around 500hp) but I wont be close to that with my setup. From what I've read the only issue is the main problem is that the driveshaft won't fall out of the trans and it should not according to the measurements I made. I also have adjustable upper control arms to clear up any pinion angle issues, at the moment I have them set at stock length. Any input on how I should proceed with this would be greatly appreciated. The car will also not be my main daily driver, maybe just take it out a couple times a week.
Ok I made some measurements the other night and i have about 2.5" of the yoke inserted into the trans. That still leaves a little over 2.5" of yoke outside the trans mostly exposed. So should I even invest in getting this thing lengthened, run it as is, does anybody have any input on driveshaft spacers, the ones that go on the rear axle to the rear driveshaft yoke? Problem with getting it lengthened is there isn't many shops that are performance oriented that i know of in town but I will ask around. I'd hate to have to ship this thing out just for that, even so it'll still be a stock spec driveshaft. i believe a 1 inch spacer should get me going, but I don't know if that would be ideal. I've read that some people run them with some serious power (around 500hp) but I wont be close to that with my setup. From what I've read the only issue is the main problem is that the driveshaft won't fall out of the trans and it should not according to the measurements I made. I also have adjustable upper control arms to clear up any pinion angle issues, at the moment I have them set at stock length. Any input on how I should proceed with this would be greatly appreciated. The car will also not be my main daily driver, maybe just take it out a couple times a week.
Yes, Sorry about the huge delay in updates but with getting a new job, moving, and dealing with family its hard to find time to work on the bird but I have got quite a bit done in the last couple months here and there. Unfortunately my phone doesn't let me sign in so that a downer. Anyways, I got the tranny and motor dropped in, makes it much easier with an engine leveler, didn't have to remove the front clip this time, foxbody pedals are installed, I also installed the rear end from my foxbody because I had already done the sn95 cobra brake conversion and it has a better limited slip unit (eaton i believe), it does still have the fox axle to width but for the time it works great, the 04 cobra wheels are a little sunk in on the rear but i plan to get me some sn95 axles help fix that. That will about bring me back to stock T-bird axle to width and let me install my cobra anti moan brackets which are much needed at low speeds. As far as the fuel lines I was able to reuse the fox fuel rails and hardlines which end at the front passenger side of the car, near the bottom of the block and with some creativity I was able to retrofit them to the t-bird hardlines which were rerouted to the under the passenger side motor mount and able to meet with the fox hardlines. as far as the wiring, with the help of some stock t-bird and foxbody diagrams, I temporarily mended most of the foxbody engine harness, salt shakers and all to the t-bird engine bay wiring. After rearranging some ECU pins, getting the correct relays to switch, and adding some for the extra pins and wires for the injectors I was finally able to get it to fire and idle after much trouble shooting. Just hearing it come alive brought so much relief. So at this point I still have to finish up some wiring, wrap it up to look nice, fix my driveshaft length issue, install the rest of the engine accessories and exhaust, and I should be all set. The swap is easy, getting it all to work and function like its supposed to is the hard part haha. I can't wait to get her finished up though. Its a huge job to get it all to work but it'll definitely be worth it once I'm done.
So I'm getting my 302 swap done on my 87 TC and ive got nearly everything dialed in. One issue i ran into is the amount of yoke shaft i see coming out of the tranny. So to give you guys an idea its a 302 out of my old 89 foxbody, tremec 3550 (stock style T5 input and ouput shafts), bell housing that came along with the tranny, chuck motor mounts, and a rear end out of the same foxbody as well (Had already done the SN95 Cobra brake conversion). Motor lines up great, tranny mounts in the correct spot, shifter is right where it needs to be, I'm almost ready to rock n roll. Rear end was already running great before I started the v8 swap. I installed the stock T5 turbo coupe driveshaft into the car and that was that until later on while under the car i noticed quite a bit of the driveshaft yoke is exposed, more than i remember seeing on my foxbody or my t-bird in stock trim. Only thing i had to measure at the time was a metric ruler and I totally forgot to take a picture, also the the stock TC driveshaft had some type of damper on the yoke which has since came off and was removed but the inner collar is still there, anyways the measurement from the end of the tranny housing to the beginning of the damper mount portion on the yoke is about 40mm or about 1-9/16", the yoke shaft extends into the damper mount portion on the front yoke so the total length of yoke shaft exposed is about 65mm or about 2-9/16", that is the length from the end of the tranny housing to the end of the yoke shaft exposed. Take note that the car is sitting on jack stands but the rear jacks are mounted on the rear axle and the car is level, wheels are in normal ride position. I don't know how much of the driveshaft yoke is actually inside the transmission as i forgot to check but i will pull it soon to check, The car isn't in driving condition yet but I wont test it until I get this issue resolved. From what I'm looking at I'll have to get the driveshaft lengthened, get a different yoke, or maybe use a driveshaft spacer?? Is anybody running this same setup or have some tips to get this taken care of. I know it's an oddball setup with the 3550 and not many people run the 3550 nowadays especially in a t-bird so any input would be helpful. I'll get a picture asap and remove the driveshaft to see how much of the yoke is actually in the trans as soon an I get the chance. I did a bit of research and seen that some front driveshaft yokes are longer than others so i might actually be in the clear if the yoke shaft is long enough but it totally slipped my my mind on double checking, I'm still tackling a couple other things on the car as far as the swap goes but i did get it to fire and idle since the swap was done so I'm closing in on the end of my swap, just a couple more things to get squared sway.
Well looks like I've got most of the swap squared away short of the installation. The tranny is rebuilt and ready to roll, engine is on the stand with some almost new gt40x heads, fresh bearings and gaskets and ready to be installed. I also have all the small odds and ends like the cable style pedal assembly, some chucks motor mounts, all the under the hood harnesses, etc. So before i really tear into it and take my T-bird off Daily driver duties I figure i get everything fully squared away. As far as the wiring, I already have mustang wiring harnesses off the car and have it ready to clean up. Would it not be easier to just swap in the whole mustang harness and ecu and work from there as far as the fuel pump circuit goes. It seems like it would require a whole lot more work to splice in the mustang wiring from the firewall forward into the Tbird harness behind it. From the diagrams I've seen there isn't much wiring that stays behind the firewall except for a couple relays and some of the HVAC wires.
So since I'm driving my TC alot more I thought i would refreshen my headlights. They were in terrible condition to start off with and I did the whole sand and buff process before and got them looking like new a while back.
The car has since been sitting for a while so the headlights kind of went downhill. I experimented with using some Opti-lens and then spar urethane method but which is meant for protecting headlights from yellowing but the end result was still yellow lights from the california sun.
This time the headlights has a yellow oxidation but it wasn't nearly as bad as when i first got these headlights second hand. So I hit them with some 1000 grit sandpaper, cleaned them up real good, and hit them with some aerosol 2k clear coat from Spraymax, its a 2 part clear coat so I'm hoping it will hold up long term just like it would on paint. The end result was excellent and the 6 piece headlights look immaculate. I'm really happy how they turned out and hope they last. I'll definitely update this once I have some more time with these on the car. Keep in mind I live in central california so the sun is just brutal, the car is not garaged, and its a semi daily driver. The car is dirty right now but man those headlights really pop.
Thought I would update this, I bought a good head to get my turbo coupe back on the road and it's running great with the 2.3t that is, it's a semi daily and I happy it's not just sitting As far as the 5.0 swap, I've already got the 5.0 on the stand ready to go through it, tore down the tranny and found out it'll need a new 1-2 slider assembly and some synchros so I went ahead and ordered up that with carbon synchros which should definitely help make it a smoother shifting tranny I'm still tracking down some mounts so if anybody has any stock 5.0 engine mounts or even some Chuck motor mounts let me know, definitely interested in them
Thanks guys this is gold So the engine harnesses should correspond color for color? I'm definitely on the lookout for tbird 5.0 mounts now, your talking about the engine to motor mount pieces right?
And yes I'm definitely hoping the 3550 is salvageable, I know a t5 is a step in the wrong direction and a tko is out if my price range atm. I know 2nd gear synchro is gone for sure, I used to be able to get it in without grinding for a good while but towards the end of it, it was grinding going into 2nd no matter what. Everything else on it was good no pop outs or anything.
Thanks for the tip on getting parts for it, I know parts are getting hard to find for them
As for the fuel pump wiring, would there be supply or just signal voltage coming from the ecu for the fuel pump. I replaced the fuel pump and sender harness on top of the tank on the stang and was actually planning to install relays close to rear end of the car since the battery was mounted inside the hatch on top of the tank essentially and that's probably what I plan to do on the bird.
Also I have an aluminum driveshaft for the mustang but I'm guessing not too many lengthen them?? Would it be worth the trouble or should I just run the stock turbo coupe DS. Thanks for the help, really, I've already started tearing the mustang apart here and there. It's a semi long term project but I'm really stoked to get it done
Been gone for a while but I think I'm ready to get back into my turbo coupe I have my 89 fox mustang that was wrecked but the whole drivetrain is still in good shape, and since the head on my 2.3 is cracked, I'm thinking about just doing the swap I've read a couple of the threads here and know it's a pretty big job so I do need a few tips The teves abs brake system and electronic struts n shocks are removed from the car
The donor car has a tremec 3550 trans with 2nd gear synrcho gone so Im going to tear into it and see if I should invest into it or just get another tranny
From what I've read the best thing to do is get an engine harness from the same year tbird w/5.0 right? Or can I reuse the 89 mustang harness?
From what car driveshaft will drop right in?
Id also like most of the essential accessories to work like the power steering and AC system. I replaced most of the AC components on the mustang and it was fully functional running r134a so it should all swap right over correct?
I have an evtm for my tbird and I'm pretty good with wiring so hopefully it goes smooth
Nice, I had found mine in the junkyard of all places. I was stunned when I seen it. Pulled it off the car and only paid 40 for the whole instrument panel
Yes sir, this came up on my recommended videos and I couldn't click it fast enough This IRS addition is super cool and this just shows these cars have a lot of potential
I'm running 96 gt convertible rears and just the stock 87 turbo coupe spring up front with 5/8 coil cut Has a nice drop but in the future I will probably drop it more Also note that I also have a huge box and sub in my trunk
From what I've heard on the rear sn95 springs, the convertible springs have a higher spring rate
I'm not sure When I did my conversion I pulled everything out of my engine bay and did my best to degrease, pressure wash, prep an paint it before installing my brake MC and BB. IIRC pulling the old unit out took the longest time
