This truck originally belonged to a close friend of mine, John Sheppard, and over the years I'd helped him do a bunch of regular work on it along with a few upgrades. It's a good work truck with a 302 V8, a 4-speed overdrive "SROD" transmission, and a 9" rear axle. Befitting a good work truck, it has about zero options other than two-tone green and black paint, and a replacement "long block" engine from Schuck's Automotive in the recent history before John bought the truck. John's son Trey was slated to become the eventual recipient of this truck, so we made an effort to keep it going so he'll have something to learn about cars on and take pride in working on when he gets old enough. It was getting a bit run-down and rusty, and that transfer was in question, and then it developed a rod knock. (So much for that high quality rebuilt engine...) I took possession of the truck to fix it, and eventually gave John a 1989 Ford F150 in exchange for me keeping this truck to mess around with.

Pictures

This is the truck as it arrived in my driveway to prepare for the engine replacement (see below). The best part of this is that the Ford purists will be suitably aggravated that a Chevy was used to rescue a Ford. :-) I took some pics of the existing wiring work we had done already, plus the engine and body as they were when it arrived in my driveway. There are a number of small things that need fixing, and I'll handle them along with the engine work.

This is the fuel level sender that was in the original gas tank. I took it out when I dropped the tank in preparation for the EFI conversion. Check out the windings of the resistance wire - they are completely busted at around the half tank location. No wonder the gas gauge never worked properly! I tracked down a replacement sender from a 1979 F150 via Craigslist before I figured out that the EFI tanks and senders are different. I may be able to combine the EFI pickup with the earlier sender and make it all work somehow...

I managed to track down an intact fan shroud from a 1978 F150 with a 351M, and it looked like it would work just fine. Later on I found out otherwise, but it was a cheap experiment. You guessed it - it was yet another Craigslist-sourced part.

Here's the 1987 Mustang engine installed into the truck. These first few pictures show it with a set of fuel rails from a 1989 F150 that I parted out. I was hoping to use the entire fuel system from the 1989 F150 because it would have simplified the plumbing of the high pressure fuel line, but no such luck was to be had. The upper intake from the 1987 Mustang engine hit the pressure regulator on the fuel rails from the 1989 F150 and not even a 1" spacer between the upper and lower intakes looked like it would have cured it, so I was back to using the Mustang fuel rails and trying to combine them with the F150 EFI fuel system I would be installing along the (likely driver's side) frame rail.

As a result of that problem, I installed a set of fuel rails from another Mustang EFI system I had laying around, and then everything cleared just fine. Unfortunately, this means I need to do something different than I had planned for the EFI fuel pumps and lines to mate up the output of the high pressure pump from the 1989 F150 to the fuel rails from the Mustang.

Here's a picture of the serpentine belt system for reference.

This is a picture of a friend of mine who was helping out that day - Trey "Wilson" Sheppard. Thanks for the help, Trey - I appreciated it, even if you were massively camera shy. :-)

Here's the shifter re-installed, complete with a brand new shift boot. That should help out a lot with keeping the noise and fumes out of the cab.

Another good Craigslist deal - I found a set of older BBK 1 5/8 unequal length headers for a 5.0L Mustang really cheap. I may use them here or on my 1964 Ranchero 5.0L EFI swap project.

I got a canopy courtesy of Craigslist - it was free because it has a busted out front window. It was originally slated to be used on the 1989 F150, but I found a better canopy for that truck and decided to use the black one on this truck. It'll help keep stuff from getting stolen out of the bed and keep things sort-of dry.

Here's the heater hose outlet on the intake manifold that came from a 1989 F150. The temp sensor, heater hose, and hookup point for the heated throttle body line are all installed. You can also see the Mustang EFI hard lines that come off the fuel rails and head down the front passenger's side of the motor. They are close to the heater hose, but there should be enough of an air gap to prevent boiling the fuel on hot days.

Here's the radiator and fan shroud reinstalled. Too bad the fan shroud didn't work out - see notes in the Fan Shroud section for more details.

Here's the heater return hose to the water pump installed. You can clearly see how the molded hose was routed, and the union the connects the molded hose to the regular heater hose. I left enough slack in the hoses so that the air intake and MAF sensor could go over them later. I may need to reroute things later on, but for now this is plausibly right and workable, at least well enough for more installation work to progress.

Here's the fan temporarily installed, minus the 351M fan shroud that turned out not to work.

Here's the upper radiator hose installed. I ended up using a Gates 20860 which is the listing for a 1979 F100 with a 302 and AC. It looks nothing like the original hose I had from before, but it works and clears the belt tensioner pretty well. It did need to be bent slightly out of it's natural shape to fit, but not much. It also touches the tensioner and the heater hoses in a couple of places, but it ought to do OK. Time will tell if rubbing-induced hose wear becomes a problem. If so, you can put various protectors over the hoses to help with that. Even a split open piece of old radiator hose wrapped around the new hose will work in some cases.

Here's the heated throttle body hookups. When I filled the engine with coolant, I forgot about the rear coolant port on the intake manifold and since it was the lower than the front coolant port on the manifold, it started dripping first. It was a good reminder that it was there... :-) The second photo is the same as the first, but with the different ports for the heated throttle body hookups highlighted. The two manifold ports are circled in red, the two throttle body ports are circled in blue. When I took the picture, I had a long piece of fuel line on the rear port on the intake manifold in a vain attempt to keep it from dribbling. Also, in the photo above of the upper radiator hose, you can clearly see the F150 heater hose outlet on the intake manifold with the open port for the heated throttle body hose, plus the forward port on the EGR spacer where that hose would go to.

Here's the exhaust headers I had laying around that I tried to use. They are supposedly for an early Mustang, but I tried them here to see if I got lucky and they worked. I wasn't lucky and I'll have to buy new headers for this truck. You can clearly see how the driver's side header has the tubes spread to allow the clutch linkage to go between them. This part actually seemed to fit OK - which is not too surprising since that part of the header would be the same on any 302 Ford engine. Unfortunately, the collector ended up hitting the crossmember that goes under the front of the transmission. Oh well - it was worth a try.

Here's the engine compartment after I installed the vacuum distribution block, BP sensor, and decided on the rough location where the EFI wiring would enter the cab - the yellow tape marks that rough spot in both pictures. It's low and behind some stuff in the second picture, but you can see it just next to the factory wiring harness that goes through the firewall. The entire passenger's side of the firewall is being reserved for a future AC system installation.

Here's the EGR spacer and the throttle body re-installed after having been cleaned. They look much better. The gaskets were Felpro #72543 for the EGR plate to upper intake manifold and #70262 for the throttle body to EGR plate. After bolting everything down, I even remembered to hook up the IAC, TPS, and EGR sensor.

This is a picture of the firewall from the inside taken through the glove box opening - I removed the glove box to help see where the EFI wiring could come through the firewall. The rusty area is the backside of the pinch weld on the front of the firewall - as you can see it's got some rust issues. The second picture shows how bad - the bright spots in the red circle are daylight that you can see from the inside. I'm not doing a full restoration, but I will need to keep this at bay for a while. I think I'll use some Eastwood Rust Encapsulator on it followed by some seam sealer.

Basic Stuff/History

I used to live in the same town as the previous owner of this truck (John), and we helped each other do all sorts of preventative maintenance on each other's vehicles, as well as diagnose and fix the usual list of problems that crop up on older cars.

Most amusing was that his heater never worked for years, and everyone hated riding in John's truck in the winter because it was so darned cold. John never cared to investigate and fix it because he's basically cold blooded. I was sick of freezing my butt off every time I was in his truck, and the first time I was under his dash, I noticed that the heater door control cable had fallen off the arm that protrudes out of the heater box. 30 seconds later, he had a heater again. He rarely used it, but it did work when the passenger demanded some heat.

At one point we added some basic gauges under the dash, as well as a tach on the column so he could keep tabs on things. They're still there and working.

Upgrades

4 bbl intake and carb. Our first major customization project was swapping the original 2bbl carb and cast iron intake manifold to a 4bbl carb on an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold. I had some extra cash, and I found a great deal on the parts on eBay, and bought them as a surprise birthday gift for John - he's helped me on a number of projects and it seemed like a nice thing to do. The picture below was what I sent to him to let him know what I had waiting for him the next time he brought the truck over to my house so we could work on it.

Better rear axle gear ratio. The other major project was swapping the original 9" rear center section for one with a higher gear ratio. The original rear gearing was in the 2.70 range and was very incompatible with the gearing in the original transmission. The truck was hard to to start off from a stop in first gear (burned clutches from slipping the clutch and/or impromptu unintentional burnouts from disengaging the clutch too fast), and it actually had so low of an RPM in 4th gear (overdrive) that the gas mileage was horrible. We stepped up to a 3.91 rear and drivability, mileage and overall performance all jumped up noticeably. Yes, it really is possible to have a rear axle ratio that is "too low" and causes a serious drop-off in gas mileage. Comparing the vacuum gauge at cruise in top gear before and after the rear axle ratio change was enlightening. Before the vacuum was very low and you had to give the engine a lot of gas to keep your speed. After, the vacuum was noticeably higher and you didn't need to give the engine as much gas to keep your speed. It's all about running in a more efficient RPM range so the engine could make the best use of the fuel you gave it.

Closed cooling system conversion by adding a coolant overflow tank. We converted the truck to a closed cool system by adding a coolant overflow tank from a '80s Ford vehicle. Simple, easy, and keeps all of the coolant in the engine even after ongoing hot/cold cycles. When the engine heats up, the coolant expands out of the radiator and into the overflow tank via the small rubber hose attached at the radiator filler neck. When the engine cools back off again, the coolant is sucked back into the radiator for the overflow tank, thus ensuring that the radiator is full at all times. Without this, it's considered "normal" to have the coolant not come up to the top of the radiator when cold, and if you run the engine hotter than "normal", some coolant will drop onto the ground from the small rubber hose attached to the radiator filler neck. This means it's common to have to add some coolant over time - not cool, and messy when it drips.

Engine

The replacement motor from Schuck's (installed just before John bought the truck many years ago) decided to go south. It developed a minor rod knock and the oil pump appears to have basically quit making oil pressure - so it was time for a replacement. At about the same time that the motor developed problems, I happened into a 1985 Mustang with a 5.0L engine, and the original plan was to use that engine to replace the existing and very tired engine in the truck. It needed a basic rebuild, but seemed like it would be a reasonably good rebuild candidate. I also had a decent 1987 Mustang engine laying around, plus a couple of basically complete 1987-1993 5.0L EFI setups laying around. All I really needed to try and swap the truck to EFI along with the new motor was a suitable gas tank out of a later model F-series truck with an EFI in-tank fuel pump. Frankly, it's less hassle for me that rebuilding and tuning the carb would be - wiring and computers make more sense to me than carbs do, at least for tuning purposes. Yes, I am a geek. After I made the decision to go with an EFI setup and started picking up a few odds and ends I still needed, I decided to go with the 1987 Mustang engine for this project.

Transmission

The original transmission is a "SROD" (single rail overdrive) 4 speed manual transmission, with 4th gear being an overdrive gear. Here are three pics of the trans tag that we took a long time ago. Why three pics? Because we are apparently a couple of goobers who can't manage to get a single good picture that is both in focus and not over-exposed with the flash. Between all three you can make out pretty much all of the info on the tag.

The codes on the tag are something like this:

RUG CD  AK17

D8TRMA  1668

The "RUG CD" identifies this as the SROD transmission. It's similar in appearance to the Toploader transmissions, but it's not the same. Unlike the Toploader, this variation has a reputation for being weak in performance applications and is not considered to be a "desirable" transmission for performance use. The "AK17" is the year and date code for when this transmission was built - A is 1979, K is October, and 17 is the day of the month. "D8TRMA" is the "transmission assembly number prefix and suffix" - at least that's what the factory service manual calls it. "1668" is the serial number of the transmission. I'm still trying to sort out the ratios it really has - I really need to do this to sort out any possible transmission swap options for the future. The factory manual only lists "RUG BP" in the transmission tag decoding, and I think that two-letter suffix indicates the ratios. For that one the ratios are listed below.

The plan for now is to leave the existing trans in place with the new motor and use it as-is. I won't be driving the truck very hard or do any drag-race style launches, so the transmission will (hopefully) continue to lead a long and happy life behind the new late-model motor. The only hitch will be that I needed to swap the flywheel to a later model unit to match the "50oz imbalance" of the later model engine. I originally thought this would be no big deal - used Mustang 5.0L flywheels with plenty of service life left in them are readily available around here - but as it turns out, the flywheel in the trucks in larger than the flywheel used in the Mustangs. The F-series manual transmission requires a 164 tooth flywheel with an 11" clutch, while the Mustang manual transmission requires a 157 tooth flywheel with a 10.5" clutch. I learned enough researching this and figuring out what flywheel to buy that I started a tech page about Ford flywheels and flexplates.

Rear Axle

I need to get the tag info from the rear axle and post it here. We decoded it when we installed it, and if my memory is correct it's a Ford 9" with a 3.91:1 ratio, and it's not a traction lock unit.

Air Conditioning and Heater

I'd love to put factory AC on this truck, so I'm keeping an eye out for the right parts. I did find a mostly complete Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater system from a 1978 Bronco that I got cheap, and it's got much of the same firewall pieces as the AC setup, so that'll be a start on the conversion and help me avoid running any of the EFI wires where the AC unit will (hopefully) eventually go.

Note that the Mustang heater hose pipes that run along the intake manifold will not be used in the EFI conversion. The future AC or Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater setup has the heater hose connections along the fender edge and they are about 2/3 of the way forward along the motor (see first picture below for reference), so running the pipes to the back of the motor as they did on the Mustang makes no sense here. I'll be running the heater hoses directly from the intake/water pump to the heater, the same as they were run originally. That left an open question on what to do with the EFI temp sensor, though, because on the Mustang it installs into the heater hard lines along the intake manifold. To solve this, I opted to use the heater hose outlet on the intake manifold from a 1987-1989 F150 with a 5.0L - earlier or later years may work, but I know those years work for this. It has provisions for the temp sensor, has an extension tube for the heater hose outlet to move it over to the edge of the engine, and has a smaller outlet fitting for the heated throttle body (should I choose to go that route). I snagged this one from the original engine in the 1989 F150 I worked on, and that's why I knew about these fittings. I did have to massage the Mustang EFI hard lines that run down the front passengers corner of the motor to make it all fit, but it was mostly pretty minor hand adjustments to the hard lines.

For the heater core hose hookup at the water pump, I ended up using a Gates 18774. It's a 5/8 diameter hose with an S-bend in in it, and one short leg and one longer leg. I trimmed about an inch off the short leg and used that end to connect to the water pump. The long leg then goes up and over the alternator and has a straight union to connect to the regular heater hose going to the heater core. I also looked at a Gates 28467 which has a simple 90 degree bend in it and one short and one long leg. The old engine had a Gates 18800 on it which is roughly P-shaped, but without the back section on the P. This worked well with the old setup to run the heater hose under the alternator, but on the new engine the heater hose would not fit between the alternator and the smog pump (no space between the bracket for the hose), so I ran it up and over the top of the alternator. It's more noticeable, but it'll work.

The upper and lower radiator hoses are stock 1979 F100 pieces for a truck with a 302 and AC. I replaced the top radiator hose, so I know it's a Gates 20860. The bottom radiator hose was in OK shape and was simply reused, so I don't know what the exact "confirmed to fit" part number is. It should be easily available in any parts store, though, and you don't have to remember any special applications.

I looked into keeping or bypassing the heated throttle body system, and I've decided to keep it. These are the small coolant lines that go from the heater hose hookup near the front of the intake, into the EGR spacer, and then back to the rear of the intake manifold. This passes coolant through the EGR spacer and does two things - 1) it warms the EGR spacer and throttle body assembly quickly during cold weather operation, and 2) once up to temperature it acts as a cooler to keep excessive heat from the EGR from causing problems. If I wanted to bypass this, I could simply plug up the passages at each end - the rear coolant port on the intake manifold uses a typical NPT plug and you can put a similar plug in the F150 coolant outlet on the front of the intake as well. I don't know the size offhand, but you get the idea. I'm keeping the system functional, including the EGR and all the other pieces to stay as close to the factory setup as possible - I don't care about ultimate performance in this truck, I just want it all to work as the factory intended without odd problems. And since the heated EGR spacer/throttle body helps with cold weather drivability, I'd like to keep it. The EGR keeps emissions down for relatively no cost in power because it's not in use at WOT, which is nice. I intend to use this truck as a truck and hop in and drive it, even if it's cold and raining out when throttle body icing could be an issue. I did some research on carb icing, and it can happen well above freezing, especially if it's humid out. EFI systems are not as prone to the problem, but it does happen in various cases. Since my area (Seattle) is prone to very damp and fairly cold-but-still-above-freezing winter weather for weeks at a stretch, I'm keeping the heated throttle body system functional. Since the Mustang setup uses 1/4" coolant lines and the F150 outlet uses 3/8" coolant lines, I will need to change out the hose fitting on the F150 coolant output on the front of the intake to be one with a 1/4" hose barbed end on it - a small brass fitting from the local parts house should do nicely. I found that a 90 degree fitting worked quite well and could be installed without removing the temp sensor or the heater hose. Add in two short lengths of 1/4" heater hose to hook everything up, and it's done. The 1/4" heater hose is available from various parts stores, but you may have to order it in. Don't use fuel or vacuum hose as coolant hose - get the right stuff so it lasts a while. Also, be aware that many catalogs specify 3/8" hose for the small coolant hose hookups fittings on the Mustang EGR plate and on the back of the intake manifold, but that the fittings are way smaller than what you should use with 3/8" hose. I found this out the hard way. It is possible to tighten the hose clamps enough to make the 3/8" hose work, but it's far better to just get the right size hose in the first place.

Below are a bunch of pictures of an AC setup on a 1978 Bronco - the guy who sold me the Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater setup had this truck around, but the AC system was already sold to someone else - but he was kind enough to let me take a bunch of pictures of the AC system. The firewall, dash, and core support areas are all functionally identical to my 1979 F100, so these pictures are a handy reference. Of particular note is the sheer size of the AC unit on the firewall, how close it comes to the passenger side of the motor, that the condenser mounts using the same bolts as the radiator, and the fact that there are 4 extra vents in the face of the dash for both the AC and Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater. The receiver/dryer mounts to the condenser out in front of the radiator, the fan is internal to the AC unit on the firewall, and there is a shutoff valve in the heater hose leading to the heater core. Also, the controls are partially vacuum operated, so you need hoses for that and a vacuum canister in the system somewhere. Knowing all this will help me figure out where to run the EFI wiring so that it's out of the way if I ever install AC.

Fan Shroud

Here's the original busted 302 fan shroud from the truck. The first picture shows it like it was installed on the original radiator, the second shows how it was spread (at the helpfully busted areas) so it would fit the wider replacement radiator that was previously installed. Compare the bottom of the fan shroud to the pictures of the 351M shroud below - note how the fan opening/circle protrudes below the bottom line of the shroud on this one, but not on the 351M shroud.

Here's the shroud I found from a 351M equipped truck. It was the right width, but note how the bottom of the fan opening/circle stays at or above the bottom line of the shroud. Compare to the original 302 shroud above to see the differences.

Judging by the measurements I took off the radiator and fan shrouds, the original "narrow" radiator in this truck was something of an oddity. Most truck came with the wider radiator, and thus the wider fan shroud. I guess I need to hunt around on Craigslist some more with some dimensions in hand...

EFI Conversion Information

This is the specific notes for the EFI conversion on this truck. I have a dedicated page for general information about doing a Ford EFI conversion.

I'm using a Mustang MAF-based EFI system for this conversion, circa 1989-1992. It's cobbled together from a variety of pieces I had laying around and that I collected from the local junkyards, eBay, and Craigslist. The computer is program code ???? (I need to go dig up the exact one I will be using here - I have a few laying around).

The fuel tank, lines, and low and high pressure fuel pumps are from a 1989 Ford F150 and a 1987 Ford F150 that I parted out. With the exception of the fuel sender being different, the later model tank is a direct bolt-in.

The later model EFI speed sensor should mount directly in the transmission and use the original speedo gear from the transmission, but I will likely have to swap to a different speedo cable to make that all work.

The wiring is mostly from a Mustang circa 1989-1992, but does have a few late model F150 bits spliced in where needed. The engine wiring is straight up Mustang, the engine compartment harness is a modified Mustang harness, the under-dash wiring is a modified Mustang harness with some later model F150 pieces added, the under-truck wiring to the speed sensor is likely Mustang-based, and the under-truck wiring for the fuel pump is late model F150 with some custom re-work done near the cab and inside the cab.

Exhaust

As part of the EFI conversion, I was originally going to try and use a Mustang exhaust system as my starting point, but it turned out that the Mustang exhaust (specifically, the short headers) try to use the same physical space as the original mechanical clutch linkage on the truck, so a different solution needed to be found. I could try to switch to a hydraulic clutch or go with a custom exhaust system will full length headers designed for this truck. I did some research, and found out that I could use the hydraulic clutch setup from an 84-90 F series with a 5.0L or 4.9L and an external clutch slave cylinder. That was good news - it was possible and folks had done it before, so I knew it would work. If I went that route, I would have needed the proper bellhousing, slave cylinder, hydraulic line, master cylinder, and some or all of the pedal bits to make it all work. And the bellhousing, hydraulic line, and clutch pedal bits are all "used items" that I would have needed to hunt down and get decent ones. The price was also prohibitive - at least $400 by the time I was done, and I would have to pull the trans to replace the bellhousing, plus take out the pedal assembly to do that work. Yuck. I researched the exhaust system, and found out that I could piece together a basic exhaust system that exits in front of the rear axle using Summit brand headers, mufflers, and X-pipe plus some header reducers with O2 sensors built into them for a bit over $300. Since I knew that the Mustang exhaust was going to have to be modified anyway to fit this truck, ~$300 to get legal from a noise perspective was a good place to start, so I ordered the pieces.

Getting the headers installed was an unbelievable chore. The driver's side went in mostly OK from underneath with the front of the truck up on ramps, but one tube hit a small metal heat shield on the engine mount I was using. To remove the shield and allow the header to fit, I had to unbolt the motor mounts from the frame, jack up the motor, unbolt the mount from the engine, remove the shield, and then put it all back together again. I also had to remove the oil dipstick tube from the engine, and even then it was a really tight fit to get the header into place - but I got it in. The passenger's side header was Just Plain Evil, and it eventually went in from the top. I tried doing it form underneath at various stages, but it wouldn't go. First, I had to remove the starter. Then the engine had to be unbolted fro the frame and jacked up as far as it would go to make clearance between the starter bulge on the bellhousing and the frame for the header collector to move into place. Finally, I ended up having to remove the motor mount from the engine to get clearance for one of the header tubes to slide down and have the header sitting roughly in place but not bolted to anything. After all that, I was able to re-install the engine mount to the block and lower the engine back into place, then reinstall the starter, and finally bolt the header to the engine. I also had to remove and re-route the fuel vapor line that goes to the charcoal canister. The original routing came up over the frame and then dove down under the raised pad that the engine mounts to - and it was hitting one the header tubes. I pulled the fuel vapor hard line and re-routed it to stay on top of the frame all the way up to the charcoal canister area and thus avoid the headers entirely. I also had to reroute the starter cable - the original routing followed the frame and then jumped over to the starter - with the headers this would have had the cable passing right between two tubes in a very small space - a bad idea. The new routing will go to the front corner of the engine and then follow the oil pan rail to get back to the starter. Later model F-series trucks used this same routing, so I know it works just fine.

Even after attempting to "adjust the engine" on it's mounts, the header collectors are still uncomfortably close to one of the crossmembers. This truck has three crossmembers around the engine and transmission - the usual front one under the engine and the usual rear one at/for the trans mount - plus a middle one that goes under the front of the transmission. The middle one isn't connected to the transmission, but it is connected to the suspension pieces on each side of the frame and I think it helps prevent the frame from moving around under load. The headers exit just above and behind that crossmember, but there is less that 1/2" of clearance in a couple of places - it looks like about 1/4" on the passenger's side. Not good. I may end up removing and notching that area of the middle crossmember on each side, and I'll get to practice my welding skills if I do that. I I do decide to do this, I would probably just get some 5" diameter steel pipe sections of proper thickness, cut some depressions in the existing crossmember right under the collectors, and then just weld in pieces of the 5" pipe as stiffeners to the original crossmember. Subtle, and helps preserve the stiffness of the original crossmember.

The X-pipe will sit just under the tail of the transmission, behind the transmission mount. The driver's side pipe from the header to the X-pipe will run fairly close to the speedo cable and to the shift linkage - there isn't much room in that area because there was no factory exhaust in that area. Even with factory dual exhaust, both sides of the exhaust ran down the passenger's side of the truck to avoid the second/"forward" fuel tank on the driver's side if the truck was so equipped. This truck is not so equipped, so I'm just running a traditional/basic dual exhaust setup to keep it simple - K.I.S.S. :-) The transmission crossmember will also likely need some form of adjusting/re-working to make it work around the X-pipe. The header collectors appear to exit with the exhaust pipes aimed squarely at the transmission crossmember. If I do this modification, I would probably get/create a U-shaped piece of steel in a thickness roughly matching the original crossmember, then basically cut out the crossmember sections where the exhaust would go through, and then weld in the U-shaped pieces in place of what was cut out to allow the exhaust to go through. As for how to position the U-shaped pieces (ala, is the "open section" on top or on the bottom), it would be based on what fit best with the exhaust mounted in the truck.

Parts Replacement Information

Since I used parts from a couple of years to make this all work, I wanted to keep a note of it all in one place for later servicing.

• The engine is a 1987 Mustang 5.0L.
• The flywheel is originally for a 1985 F150 with a 302/5.0L, or more correctly that's the application I looked up to find the correct one. It's a 164 tooth unit that is drilled for the original 11" clutch for this truck and has a 50oz imbalance to match the later model Mustang motor.
• The molded heater hose at the water pump is a Gates 18774. It's a 5/8" diameter molded hose with a S-bend in it, and one short and one long leg. The short leg needs about 1" trimmed off the end to make it work.
• The radiator has previously been replaced by one from an AC equipped 1979 F100 with a 302, and the radiator hoses have to be from an AC truck as well. I know the upper radiator hose is a Gates 20860, which is the listing for a 1979 F100 with a 302 and AC.
• The heater hose outlet in the front of the intake manifold is from a 1989 F150 with a 302/5.0L, but a few similar years are the same. This is where the temp sensor threads into along with the fitting for the heated throttle body setup, and it has a long horizontal extension for the heater hose outlet. I replaced the outlet fitting for the heated throttle body with a 90 degree fitting that has a 1/8" NPT male fitting on one end and a 1/4" hose fitting on the other. The original heated throttle body fitting was a straight 3/8" hose fitting.

Work Already Done

• Disconnected the battery and prepared to work on the truck.
• Removed the fan shroud and drained the coolant.
• Disconnected the power steering pump from engine and pushed it aside - it's nearly brand new and works well.
• Removed the driveshaft from truck and stored it in the garage.
• Removed the shifter assembly from the transmission and stored it in the garage.
• Removed the clutch linkage and stored it in the garage.
• Removed the transmission and stored it in the garage.
• Removed the bellhousing, pressure plate and clutch, flywheel, and engine plate and stored them in the garage.
• Mounted the new engine on a spare engine stand for easy storage until it's time to install it.
• Installed a working smog pump on new engine - I used a spare one I had in the garage, the one that came on the new engine was seized.
• Removed the exhaust system from the truck and set it aside - it won't be reused.
• Removed the air cleaner and carb from the old engine.
• Tried to install an engine lifting plate onto the old engine and the threads in the intake manifold pulled out on one bolt (*grumble*).
• Installed a lifting chain onto the old engine (with some creativity).
• Removed the radiator and stored it.
• Removed the fan and fan spacer from the old engine.
• Disconnected the heater hoses from the old engine and pushed them aside so they'd be out of the way.
• Disconnected the engine ground strap.
• Disconnected and plugged the fuel line from the gas tank.
• Disconnected the charcoal canister hoses from engine (vacuum hose + vent hose).
• Disconnected the engine wiring from engine and moved it out of the way.
• Disconnected the alternator wiring from alternator and moved it out of the way.
• Hooked up an engine crane to the lifting chain and snugged it up to be sure it would hold.
• Unbolted the engine mounts from underneath.
• Removed the old engine from truck and mounted it on another engine stand.
• Cleaned the engine compartment with degreaser to make future work on the truck a bit easier and a bit less grimy/slimy.
• Removed the EFI gas tank, pump, and lines from the 1989 F150 parts truck and from the 1987 F150 parts truck and set them aside for use here.
• Removed the existing gas tank.
• Verified that the fuel level sender in the existing tank was busted beyond repair - that's why the fuel gauge was not reading correctly. See pictures way up above for details.
• Tore 1987 Mustang engine down to the long block, cleaned it up, and re-assembled it with new gaskets, a new timing chain, and a new water pump.
• Installed front accessories from 1985 Mustang engine onto the new engine, after cleaning them up.
• Installed the original SROD engine plate onto the new engine.
• Cleaned the new flywheel of packing grease and any fingerprints I might have put on it.
• Mounted the new flywheel to the new engine.
• Installed the old clutch and pressure plate onto the new engine - I had replaced them not too long ago for John and they were in good shape.
• Installed the SROD bellhousing onto the new engine.
• Mounted the SROD transmission onto the new engine.
• Installed the original starter onto the new engine/SROD transmission combo - it was working fine so I reused it.
• Tracked down a working fuel sender that was compatible with the existing fuel gauge - Craigslist is an awesome thing.
• Installed the new engine + original transmission assembly into the truck.
• Installed the existing power steering pump that was still in in the truck onto the pump bracket on the new engine.
• Temporarily installed Mustang fuel rails w/injectors and a Mustang upper intake onto new motor. This will seal the motor from any errant water drips from the hood or firewall, or any blowing debris until I can get back to working on this again.
• Installed a new serpentine belt onto new engine.
• Reinstalled the original driveshaft.
• Reinstalled the shifter assembly onto the side of the transmission.
• Hooked up the reverse light switch to shifter assembly from underneath the truck.
• Installed a new shifter boot and reinstalled the original shift knob from inside the cab.
• Stored the truck in my side yard on a trailer while work was focused on the 1989 Ford F150 and other various and unrelated projects.
• Picked up a replacement fan shroud via Craigslist. It came off of a 1978 F150 with a 351M, and it appears to work just fine.
• Mounted the fan shroud to the radiator (which was off the truck at the time). It required light pressure to get the bolt holes to line up, but it worked without too much trauma.
• Sat the radiator roughly in place in the engine compartment to keep it safe from damage until I could get back to this project.
• Picked up some replacement seat belts and some other minor interior bits for the truck.
• Picked up a Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater system to install on this truck. It was advertised as a partial AC system, but it turned out to not be. It's close enough to let me start the AC conversion and to know where I should NOT be running any of the EFI wiring. I also picked up some replacement door panels at the same time.
• Picked up a set of brand new door seals from a fellow on Craigslist who was getting rid of parts he didn't use when restoring a similar truck. They were never installed and still in the original packaging, ad I got them for a fraction of the cost they would be new. Sweet!
• Got working on this project again by getting the truck back into my driveway, up on ramps (front) + jackstands (rear), and by liberally applying both the pressure washer and the air gun to blow off any accumulated junk/moss/dirt/whatever so that it was ready to work on again.
• Installed a new clutch pedal rod to floorpan/firewall seal and in the process managed to break what was left of the plastic pushing that mounts between the clutch pedal rod and the clutch pedal arm.
• Reinstalled the clutch linkage but did not adjust it yet - I need to replace that plastic bushing first. Getting the details sorted out after the truck had sat for so long was a bit of a challenge, but nothing that some studying of the manuals plus some careful thought couldn't overcome.
• Ordered new bushings and clips for the clutch rod. The shipping was more than the parts - but it was worth it to have a smoothly operating clutch linkage. Since the parts were so cheap, I picked up new clips and a second bushing (for the other end of the clutch rod) to replace along the way instead of just the single bushing I broke. For reference, I got the bushings from LMC and they are LMC part #40-4424, or Ford part #7526-B D8TZ.
• Replaced the plastic clutch linkage bushings and adjusted the clutch linkage to something plausible/reasonable.
• Bolted the engine mounts down. Before this the engine was just sitting in the truck via gravity.
• Reinstalled the "original" radiator (with fan shroud already attached to it) into the truck. This radiator was actually a replacement the John had installed a while back, and it was a few inches wider than the original one - and had the driver's side mounting holes custom drilled into the core support. I also reinstalled the overflow hose to the previously installed overflow tank.
• Reinstalled the existing lower radiator hose.
• Installed the heater hose water outlet from a 1989 F150 onto the intake manifold and installed an EFI temp sender into it.
• Reinstalled the inlet heater hose to the output on the intake manifold. For this swap, I elected to run the heater hoses directly to the intake and water pump and bypass the Mustang heater hose pipes that run along the intake manifold to the back of the engine.
• Installed outlet heater core hose with custom molded hose hookup at the water pump. See notes above on the heater and air condition for hose routing details.
• Installed engine fan and fan clutch (reverse rotation style) onto new engine. Out of my stash of spare Ford fans, I found one that's 18" in diameter with 5 blades on it. I also had a 7-blade unit, but it was only 17" in diameter. Out of the need to sort out the different rotation style fans, I created a tech page about it. Unfortunately, I also found out that the Craigslist-sourced fan shroud from a 351M engine won't work on a 302/5.0L because the center of the fan is in a different place on the 351M vs. the 302/5.0L. The 351M is higher, so the fan hits the bottom of the shroud. The opening the 351M shroud was also way too large for any of the fans I had - about 20.5" in diameter. I could not find the original fan from this engine to compare against, but I think it was in the 18" range. The original shroud was split in pieces and was designed to fit the original radiator - about 26" wide on the shroud. The 351M shroud fit the wider radiator perfectly, with the shroud being about 28" wide. Back to the drawing board, I guess...
• Installed an engine dipstick and tube assembly - I used one from a 1985 5.0L out of a Mustang, it ought to be functionally the same as the original.
• Drained whatever residual oil was in the engine from it sitting. There was also a small amount of water (a few tablespoons) that got in through the open dipstick tube hole.
• Filled the engine with oil and attempted to prime the oil system with a pre-lubrication tool and a drill. I quickly found out that I had forgotten to install the oil pressure sender extension and the oil pressure sender when approx 1/2 quart of oil came shooting out of the hole on the block and all over the fame, steering box, and front crossmember. Oops. That was fun to clean up...
• Cleaned up a spare oil pressure sender extension and the oil pressure sender and installed them.
• Hooked up a multimeter to check the resistance of the sender while I was pre-lubing the engine and I fired up the drill again to pre-lube the engine. No leaks this time, and I got a good steady 17.3-17.4 ohms with the drill at full power and an open connection when I stopped the drill. Poking around a bit, I think that equates to around 60 PSI of oil pressure with the drill going full blast, which is plenty good.
• Checked the transmission oil level and it was low, so I topped it off with some gear oil until it reached the filler opening. There was some confusion about what oil to use. Haynes said it needed 140W gear oil (?!) and Chilton's said 85W-90 gear oil (which is more typical for a manual transmission or rear axle). After some searching online, I opted to use the 85W-90 gear oil I had on hand.
• Cleaned a set of 8 fuel injectors using a kit from Mr. Injector and my DIY fuel injector cleaning instructions.
• Installed a new upper radiator hose, after I finally got one that fits. The local parts store originally sold me a Gates 20868 as the "correct" upper radiator hose for a 1979 F150 with a 302 and AC, but it was not anywhere close to correct. RockAuto says that a Gates 21953 (single diameter hose) should work for a non-AC truck, and it listed a Gates 20860 (double diameter hose) for an AC truck - it turned out that the local parts store made an error in picking out the hose, so I had to go back and get the right one. The one they gave me originally was only one digit wrong, with a final 8 instead of a 0. Just my luck. Also, for the double diameter hose that I ended up using, the radiator hose has a larger hose diameter at the radiator end vs. the thermostat housing end. Any replacement hose needs to have the same difference in diameter. The hose for a non-AC truck has the same diameter at both ends, so it wouldn't work with my radiator.
• Did an initial filling of the cooling system, at least until I got up to the open coolant ports on the engine for the heated throttle body system. Other than some dribbling there due to filling the system too fast, there were no other visible leaks, which is good news.
• Installed the PCV hose that goes from the oil fill to the throttle body.
• Installed the new 90 degree fitting for the heated throttle body hose onto the F150 heater hose outlet near the front of the intake manifold. There is a female 1/8" NPT outlet on the F150 heater hose outlet and you can screw the fitting of your choice to into that location - or plug it if you want to go that route.
• Dug up the tubular exhaust manifolds from the 1985 Mustang I parted out so I can use them on this truck. They're basic, cheap, and will hook up to any Mustang exhaust. I'll save the BBK units for the Ranchero where "more power than stock" is one of the long term goals for the vehicle.
• Dug up a spare Mustang 5.0L fuel rail assembly to clean up and install on the engine along with the freshly cleaned injectors. I pulled the pressure regulator off the fuel rail assembly so I can properly clean and flush out the fuel rails without risking having gunk stuck at/in the pressure regulator.
• Attempted to hook up the 3/8" coolant line from the rear port on the intake manifold, and it quickly became apparent that the 3/8" hose was simply way too large to work. The fittings turned out to be right for 1/4" hose, and the NAPA catalog was just flat out wrong on this one. Judging by the fact that the 1993 Mustang 5.0 I have sitting on a stand in the garage has 3/8" hose on it, I'd say this bit of mis-cataloging has been around for a while, applies to other years of Mustang other than the 1987 I looked up, and the error is probably not restricted to NAPA's catalog. Just my luck... :-/
• Removed the front and rear coolant outlet fittings for the heater throttle body system and installed pipe plugs in their place. The front one on the F150 heater hose outlet needed a 1/8" NPT plug and the rear one on the intake needed a 3/8" NPT plug. Luckily I had both laying around in my pile of fittings and spare parts.
• Finished filling the cooling system and pressure tested it to verify there were no leaks. No leaks were spotted, but it did bleed off pressure slowly. This could be my ancient pressure tester leaking at the radiator cap. Since I could not detect and leaks by ear or by eye, I'm cautiously optimistic that there are no leaks in the system and all of the gaskets and hoses - and the heater core - are holding up properly.
• Sandblasted all of the mating surfaces on the 1985 Mustang tubular exhaust manifolds so they are clean and seal well. They had been sitting out back for a bit and were a tad grungy, and the sandblast cabinet made them nice and shiny again. I also cleaned the spacer that takes the place of the exhaust valve in one side of the exhaust on earlier years. This valve was used on carb'ed vehicles to force exhaust to heat the intake up faster, and on the early CFI systems (central fuel injection, TBI for you GM readers out there) it was simply replaced with a spacer in the exhaust.
• Attempted to get the one broken stud out of the passenger's side manifold, and in the process I boogered the threads in the mounting nut that's welded to the lower flange of the exhaust manifold. I'll have to replace it with a bolt and tack weld the bolt head in place if I want to use or sell this pair of manifolds.
• After some thinking about the situation, I decided to use the tubular exhaust manifolds off of the 1993 Mustang 5.0 that I have sitting in the garage - they have all of their mounting studs intact and I needed to snag the exhaust manifold bolts anyway - I can't find the ones from the 1985 Mustang. An interesting note here is that the 1985 Mustang tubular exhaust manifolds have provisions for hooking up a pre-heater tube to run up to a carb system. This makes them slightly more valuable for swap purposes, so I guess I'll try to sell them someday.
• Installed the passenger's side exhaust manifold. I even made sure to use some anti-seize compound on the bolt threads. This will help protect the cylinder heads from debris and water dripping/running around the engine compartment until I get a more complete exhaust system on the truck.
• Dug up the right engine EFI wiring harness from my pile of parts, along with a few other odds and ends needed to get the upper intake on "for real".
• Cleaned up a spare fuel rail and pressure regulator to be ready to install onto the motor.
• Cleaned up/out a spare smog pump crossover tube for the rear of the heads.
• Installed my recently cleaned injectors into the newly cleaned fuel rail.
• Removed the temporarily installed upper intake, fuel rail, and injectors.
• Installed the newly cleaned smog pump crossover tube onto the rear of the heads.
• Installed the newly cleaned fuel rail and injectors onto the lower intake.
• Installed the engine EFI wiring harness and connected the injectors, coolant temp sender for the gauge, the oil pressure sender, and the intake air temp sensor. The coolant temp sender for the EFI computer could not be hooked up because moving to the F150 style heater hose outlet moved it a couple of inches further forward than normal and the harness simply doesn't have enough slack in it. I will need to cut and extend the wires in the harness to be able to hook that up.
• Installed the upper intake and torqued it down. I was one bolt short on the short ones that go at the front + back of the intake, so I left one of the front ones out for now so it's easy to install later.
• Temporarily hooked up the vacuum line for the power brake booster.
• Hooked up up the vacuum line for the fuel pressure regulator.
• Hooked up the vapor canister purge solenoid wiring harness to the main EFI engine harness and hooked up it's vacuum hose to the upper intake.
• Installed the manifold upper trim piece to keep water and debris out of that area. I had one that doesn't say "Mustang", so I used that one.
• Tried to install the driver's side exhaust manifold and found out that it hits the clutch linkage - so much for any wishful thinking of this going together without problems. If it was an automatic, it's be fine, but it's a 4-speed, so it's not fine. I can either convert to a hydraulic clutch from a later F-series truck or use a full length header setup and a custom exhaust system. If the Mustang factory exhaust fits, I will likely try to go the hydraulic clutch conversion route since I have a bunch of Mustang exhaust bits and they are readily available as "stock replacement parts" if something fails down the road. Custom bits are harder to replace if they fail later on.
• Started researching hydraulic clutch conversions and full length headers for this truck.
• Hooked up the PCV hose to the upper intake manifold.
• Temporarily removed the clutch linkage and tried to install a set of Ford 302 headers I had laying around from another project - they didn't fit. The clutch linkage would have been fine,  but the header collector hit the crossmember that goes under the front of the transmission. If I go with headers, they'll have to be a set I go buy specifically for this truck.
• Made a final decision on the exhaust layout - I'm going with headers and a custom exhaust with a X-pipe crossover. I can buy all those pieces and/or have them installed by an exhaust shop quite easily, and the price is pretty reasonable. Hunting and scavenging for the hydraulic clutch bits will take time (some pieces are only available used) and eventually it's likely to cost more, especially considering that I didn't have any Mustang exhaust bits to use from the H-pipe back - no mufflers, etc. - so I would have had to buy those anyway and they would still have needed to be modified to work on the truck. So, a custom exhaust it is.
• Removed the Mustang exhaust manifold that I had previously installed on the passenger's side head.
• Hooked up the starter power wire at the starter.
• Figured out roughly where the EFI wiring needs to enter the firewall to go in to the computer and clear any existing and future things - like a factory AC system. It will be roughly centered on the firewall just under the pinch weld. This was the only reasonable place I could find to go through the firewall that was somewhat close to how the Mustang harness did things. I will still have to customize the Mustang harness, but it shouldn't be too bad.
• Figured out that the Mustang mounting for the various vacuum solenoids will likely not work without some customizing of the vacuum harness - the factory Mustang setup would put the vacuum bits right where the F-series AC system goes.
• Installed a Mustang vacuum distribution block on the firewall, hooked it up to the large manifold vacuum source on the back center of the upper intake, and then ran the existing power brake booster vacuum line to the large outlet on the distribution block marked "B/B" (Brake Booster). I trimmed the hose to fit nice and neat. The vacuum block has marked connections for various things to make if easy to make the hookups - from left to right the connections are labeled "S" (source, input from manifold), one marked "B/R" which I have no idea what it's for and is capped on the various Mustang vacuum diagrams I found, "A/C" (air conditioning/heater controls), "S/C" (speed control), and "B/B" (Brake Booster). The "B/R" fitting happened to be the same size as the existing vacuum gauge hose, so I hooked it up there and capped the A/C hookup for now. When I do hook it up, the A/C connection goes to the check valve, then to a T-valve to hook up the climate controls (for when I convert to AC), and then continues on to the vacuum canister. The cruise control hookup will need to be capped or hooked up to a cruise setup before I start the engine. There is an open T on the vacuum gauge line right now - I used to use it for testing and tuning when working on the truck, it's likely to get used the same way here and be capped most of the time.
• Installed the BP sensor on the firewall right next to the vacuum distribution block.
• Removed and cleaned the throttle body and EGR spacer plate and the four long mounting studs. After sorting through my pile of throttle bodies, I found that the one I had on the intake I stuck on the truck was about 2 3/8" (2.375" or about 60mm) in diameter which is a stock 5.0L unit, but another one I had in my pile of parts was only about 1 15/16" (1.9375" or about 49mm) in diameter - at that small of a size, it's likely a stock 2.3L unit. Apparently somebody scammed me when I was buying various 5.0L parts - so it's a good thing I have a bunch of spares to pick from. After everything was cleaned, I assembled the EGR and throttle cable bracket to the EGR spacer and installed the TPS and the IAC to the throttle body. I cleaned out the threads in the upper intake for the four mounting studs and installed the studs with anti-seize on them. As soon as I get some gaskets, I can install these things back onto the intake and hook them up.
• Ordered the exhaust bits from Summit- headers (#SUM-G9032), Header Reducers with O2 fittings (#WLK-88314), X-pipe kit (#SUM-642122), extra straight exhaust tubing (#SUM-640025), mufflers (#SUM-630225), and some extra hangers (#SUM-630550). This should allow me to build an exhaust system at home that goes from the engine back to the mufflers under the bed and let it exit there. Later I'll have to figure out a way to get the exhaust over the axle and exiting at the rear bumper. It's possible that Mustang LX style tailpipes will work for this - they are pretty straight and about the right length. I also happen to have some spare exhaust bits from the 1985 Mustang I parted out, so I can use them as a template/test fit pieces.
• Re-install the newly cleaned EGR spacer plate and throttle body, and hook up the wiring to the EGR, TPS, and IAB.
• Removed the old smog pump hoses and lines from the passenger's side frame rail.
• Installed the Summit exhaust headers - what a chore! See notes above in the exhaust section for details.
• Temporarily installed header reducers with O2 fittings in them to check O2 sensor locations and prepare to fit the X-pipe assembly.
• Re-installed clutch linkage and rough adjusted it. I had to shorten the clutch adjusting piece (the part with the threads on it) by about 1" at the threaded end because it was hitting one of the header tubes. I just ground it down until it fit with a reasonable amount of clearance. There is still plenty of thread left to adjust the clutch, or at least there appears to be based on the original grime marks in the threads showing what part of the adjuster was never used.

Part Awaiting Installation

• X-pipe kit, and mufflers
• 1/4" heater hose - approx 3 feet - for heated throttle body hookups.
• Four hose clamps for 1/4" heater hose.
• Four brass nuts for the exhaust manifold hookups. Brass nuts don't rust in place quite as badly as steel nuts tend to do over time.
• Spark plugs
• Spark plug wires
• Cap and rotor
• 1987 Mustang EFI system, wiring, and computer.
• Mustang H-pipe (factory unit w/cats) and various Mustang exhaust pieces - use these to piece together a complete and working system on the truck.
• Gas tank for later model F-series truck with EFI. We used a 1989 F150 with a 5.0L EFI engine as the donor. The sender for the gas gauge is wrong, and I still need to solve that somehow.
• New fuel level sender to match original gauge. I may need to try and combine this with the pickup in the EFI tank to get it all to work right.
• EFI fuel lines to mate up with EFI pump and fittings on the motor. I'm starting with the 1989 F150 pieces and going from there. I may have to fabricate something custom to connect the lines along the frame to the lines on the engine - we'll see how it goes.
• Various misc Ford EFI and late model 5.0L pieces. Some are Mustang pieces, some are F-series pieces.
• Delay wiper switch and control box.
• Black seatbelt assemblies. (used)
• Black door panels. (used)

Parts Needed

A reminder of what I need to find, buy, trade for, or otherwise obtain to complete the work on this truck.

• 90 degree fitting, 1/8" NPT male to 1/4" hose barb
• Straight fitting, 3/8" NPT male to 1/4" hose barb
• Speedometer cable the works with original instrument cluster and later model speed sensor at the transmission
• New window seals (vent + roll up windows on each side)

Stuff Left To Do

The ever-present list of things to that need to get done/fixed/accomplished.

• Install the 1/4" coolant hose to the EGR spacer plate. Drain the cooling system a bit, remove the pipe plugs in the intake and in the heater hose outlet, install the correct fittings in each place, hook up the hoses, and refill the cooling system with the antifreeze that was removed.
• Install EFI engine harness ground wire to one of the engine to transmission mounting bolts.
• Install X-pipe assembly and mufflers. Modify and create exhaust mounts as needed so that it stays up and out of the way. If needed (and I expect it will be needed), modify the transmission crossmember to work around the X-pipe exhaust pieces.
• Get new/larger battery cables and hook them up. The starter cable needs to run along the oil pan rail and not follow the original routing due to the exhaust headers.
• See if the 1985 Mustang tailpipes can be adapted to fit the back of the truck and get the exhaust from the mufflers over the axle and to the back bumper.
• Create and hook up smog pump outlet pipe to X-pipe assembly.
• Install smog pump hoses between smog pump and crossover pipe on the back of the heads.
• Install vacuum lines to the EGR valve and smog pump diverter valves.
• Install correct Mustang fuel vapor canister and hook it up to the fuel tank and the purge valve. Re-bend fuel vapor line to fit along the frame as cleanly as possible.
• Extend the EFI coolant temp sensor connector wires and hook up the connector to the sensor.
• Find and install the last bolt on the driver's side front corner of the upper intake manifold.
• Temporarily install distributor to seal up engine and allow installation of the plug wires.
• Install a new cap and rotor to the distributor.
• Replace the existing spark plugs with new ones, properly gapped to 1989 Mustang specs.
• Install new plug wires.
• Install a later model gas pedal and throttle cable and hook it up to throttle body.
• Install a Mustang speed sensor into the transmission
• Run wiring for the speed sensor up into the cab.
• Replace existing speedometer cable with a later model unit of the proper length that has the right hookup on the end for a late model speed sensor.
• Install MAF sensor and air intake hoses onto the throttle body. Create a mount for the MAF sensor.
• Figure out the air cleaner situation - a simple K&N style filter on the front of the MAF sensor may be all that's needed for now, but something more elaborate that uses the original style filter box may be called for. A cold air intake system would be nice to have if possible.
• Install a working fuel sender into the later model EFI tank that is compatible with the existing fuel gauge.
• Install later model EFI gas tank and low pressure fuel pump assembly, and run the later model EFI fuel lines + filter + pump, the fuel sender + fuel pump wires, and the fuel tank vent lines (charcoal canister lines) along the frame rail. Preserve the dual tank aspect of the wiring and EFI fuel lines so that if I find a dual-tank capable bed I can use one of the other EFI tanks to add duel tanks to the truck. I should be able to hook up an EFI fuel filter between the two EFI lines that would go to the second tank so it's still a sealed system. The electrical connector or the second tank can be simply wrapped in plastic and tied up and out of the way for now. The vent line to the second tank can simply be capped off for now. Use the later model plastic clips to hold the various wires and lines in place on the frame rail.
• Connect EFI fuel lines from the pump area up to the Mustang fuel rails on the engine. Some custom work may be required here, but I'm hoping I'll have enough hose length to make something work, namely to connect the F-series pump and return line to the Mustang style hard lines where the come down the front of the motor.
• Add some fuel to the tank.
• Activate the fuel pumps and test the system for leaks or other problems. Make sure both pumps are running and that there is fuel pressure at the fuel rails. I will need to flush out the lines by having the pumps run some gas through the high pressure part of the system and into a container, and also by placing the return line into a container after hooking up the high pressure side. The lines have been sitting outside for quite a while, so they need cleaning to be sure no gunk gets into the system and to make sure the low and high pressure pumps both work properly.
• Modify and extend EFI wiring as needed for wiring around engine compartment and under dash.
• Install coil assembly - this goes onto the driver's side inner fender near the middle. Some kind of custom bracketry will be needed.
• Run coil wire from the distributor to the coil.
• Install emissions vacuum controls (EGR control valve + both smog pump diverter control valves) onto the passenger's side inner fender near the firewall. Some kind of custom bracketry will be needed.
• Run vacuum lines to the emissions devices.
• Run EFI wiring harness into cab and mount computer.
• Run EFI pump wiring into cab and hook up sender wires to the original wiring.
• Connect EFI wiring in the engine compartment (main power, relays, fuses, etc.)
• Wire EFI fuel pump relay and inertia switch in the cab.
• Run and connect all other needed EFI wiring in cab.
• Check all wiring, hoses, smog gear, etc. for proper hookup.
• Redo alternator wiring to work with the later model internally regulated alternator on the new motor.
• Reconnect negative battery cable, check for electrical problems, and correct as needed.
• Verify the fuel gauge is working properly.
• Prime engine using a drill and a pre-lubrication tool to give it some oil all around and allow me to check for leaks.
• Install distributor and hook up wiring to it.
• Test fire the new engine and make sure it's running properly, not making any horrible knocking noises, etc.
• Recheck all hoses for leaks and correct as needed.
• Recheck all wiring for problems and correct as needed.
• Install exhaust mufflers, tailpipes and over-axle pieces to exhaust system, extend and modify as needed to fit. I expect to have to extend the pipes between the factory H-pipe and the mufflers, and possibly again in the rear sections behind the axle. I need to decide if I want a side or rear exit exhaust system for this truck. I will likely end up with a rear exit system.
• Test fire engine again and check for exhaust leaks, suitable noise levels, etc.
• Lower truck off front jack stands.
• Test drive truck around block to check for problems, correct as needed.
• Recheck for leaks and any other problems, correct as needed.
• Test drive truck for progressively longer distances until I'm satisfied that everything is fine and it's going to run correctly.
• Change oil and filter after a suitable number of miles running the engine.
• Enjoy the smile on my face as I realize how much cooler and much better this truck is with EFI and more power.
• Install delay wiper setup and verify operation is correct. The delay control box and wiper switch plug right into the existing wiper wiring.
• Replace driver's side seatbelt. It's frayed to the point of being useless and needs replacement. See pics above.
• Replace weather stripping on both doors. It's half missing, half hanging down into the door opening and is worthless. See pics above.
• Fix ignition switch. It's somehow managed to come loose from the dash and is hanging in place, ready to short out and cause an electrical fire. Hopefully it just needs to be screwed back into place. Hopefully. If not, I'll need to hunt down a replacement.
• Fix gas gauge. It never reads right, the sender in the tank appears to be bad. The factory changed the resistance on the sending unit in later years, so I will need to combine the later EFI style tank with the earlier style sending unit. For 1985 and possibly 1986, you could get an EFI engine as an option and they would have had the right sender in them.
• Move add-on gauges from under the dash to into the dash. The tach on the steering column and the gauges under the dash are functional, but cheesy. Mounting them in the dash directly will make for a much cleaner look and make them easier to read.
• Clean up old wiring work. I've learned a lot since then, and I need to take some time and do things right.
• Replace add-on backup lights. Someone broke one of them, and replacements are readily available for relatively cheap.
• Do headlight relay modification. Brighter headlights would be a good thing.
• Replace interior door panels and door armrests/handles. The ones in there right now are beat to death, cracked, and nasty.
• Fix anything else that I find busted or in need of fixing will be dealt with.
• Install the Deluxe Hi-Lo Heater system as a first step to a later AC conversion. The only major differences in the AC setup are the (obvious) presence of the AC pieces in the same housing on the firewall, but also a slightly different control panel and wiring. The rest of the pieces on or under the dash are the same, so I can get this going now and do the AC work later when I have all those pieces ready to install.
• Install cruise control by using whatever pieces I have from various years. The later model cruise control would be a good starting point since the speed sensor will already be there and ready for use by the cruise control system. I will need to track down a cruise equipped truck from this era to get the proper steering column controls, though.

Parts for sale

• Old 302 motor
• Old flywheel (164 tooth, 28oz imbalance, accepts 11" clutch, recently resurfaced and in good condition)
• AOD flexplate and motor plate (with inspection cover)

Purchasing Order

This was vehicle #32. This vehicle was my first EFI conversion project and the first vehicle I got in trade for another vehicle. It was also the first vehicle that I got that was owned by a friend previously - aka, the first one to move from a Foster Vehicle to one that I owned.

Comments? Kudos? Got some parts you'd like to buy/sell/barter/swap? Nasty comments about my web page so far? You can email Mike or Debbie.

Page last updated 04/26/2008 11:41:08 PM