Gkitchens1

Hi, I'm BRAND new to this forum, in fact, looking for answers brought me here. I'm just about to take on swapping my 1988 mustang 5.0 H.O. (efi) into my 83 f-100 that currently have a carbed v6. I already know that wiring, fuel pump, and engine mounts.etc needs to be swapped, but as I have never tackled a newer engine swap, I thought I would ask for suggestions or known issues. Thanks for your time everyone!

Gkitchens1

Ahh, see, I'm new to forums, I didn't realize until a Few moments ago that this thread was so old. Ever fix the battery draw?

fabfordtech

Just because it is an older thread doesn't mean we kill it... lol.... This was my first carb to EFI swap as well, however I am a NTI grad, spent about 5 years as a Ford tech at a dealer, and own several of them so needless to say I know automotive and wiring very well and have a ton of experience on Ford powertrain managment. With this said it was still a very time comsuming and tedious job that took about 2 to 3 months... was it worth it??.... Hell yea it was, truck is awesome, plenty of power, starts up everytime, runs like its brand new, and really makes people that know about cars scratch they're head when they hear that electronic fuel pump cut on in a 1977... lol .... Only attempt this swap if you know wiring and understand how and why it works, and will not give up and abort when frustrated, cause believe me it will be... I also recommend to purchase an entire vehicle for the swap, I used soooo much off that 1994 .. and it was so nice to have it in the yard to pull from at an instant. I could not even imagine having to search all over that place for connectors and fuse boxes etc....

Gkitchens1

Hey thanks for the help. I know wiring, at least. I've been an electrician for years, and I've done a lot of wiring on fords I guess, mostly due to because something didn't work but anyway... The donor car is a 1988 mustang with a 5.0 H.O. Running and driving. I bought the car for a grand and it was pretty ragged out, I didn't help that point. Anyway the proud recipient is a equally ragged out (aforementioned 83 f-100) with a carbed v6. The motor in the truck is ready to come out in the morning, and the v8 will most likely be in it's place by wends day. I've got two guys that have done a similar conversion before, and one is a master electrician to boot. They've both been professional mechanics at one point or another and shade tree all there lives. I'm happy at this point that I'm putting an auto tranny in place of the 4 speed mostly for alignments sake, but my biggest concern is the AOD tranny won't hold up in the heavier truck, since I don't intend to shine it up and take it to shows, I intend to run it into the ground as a work truck should be. They seem to think we could have the engine running within the month (not done, just turning over and starting) I'm skeptical.

fabfordtech

The AOD will be fine unless youre hauling or pulling loads. If you want something to hold up and not to mess with electronic trans controls look for a C4 or a C6... The C6 will be harder to find and more expensive and is probably overkill because it is a 1 ton transmission. If youre swapping from a Mustang you will likely only need the engine harness however you will need a fuel tank, lines and pump from a 1989 and newer F150, the Mustang has the required supply and return lines but they are no where near long enough and the tank will not work. The rear fuel tank I pulled from the 1994 donor truck was the exact size and bolted right in using the 1977 gas tank straps (same as the 1994). I used the factory 1994 fuel lines which was challanging because the donor truck was a long bed and I had to rebend the hard lines to compensate for the extra 2 feet off length fitting in the 1977 frame rails. It was a slight pita but it saved a ton of time & money and trips to the store, and looks factory, fit and function are perfect.

Gkitchens1

Being that's it's a 1/4 ton truck I wont be doing much in the way of Pulling heavy loads. It occurred to me that lots of trucks have aod so that wont be a problem. Also now that I've pulled the engine, I'm starting to suspect that this engine is not original, and that it might have a tank already suitable for an electric pump. At any rate, I'll probably be running new fuel lines altogether. I'll get a tank if I have to. Apparently, we'll be able to transplant the whole harness from the mustang, again, I'm skeptical, but looking at it, I can see that it might work, just a pain. I don't see the double headlights going to single headlights and similar issues working well but I'll tackle that when we get that far. I'm having a bit of trouble identifying the engine that came out of the truck, so I'll post a few pictures as soon as possible. Mustang will be stripped of its heart and muscles tomorrow and by week's end it should be sitting in the truck. I think I'll save some trouble because there are no emission requirements on the truck being that it is more than 24 years old.

fabfordtech

Just dont forget that you will need 40-50 psi fuel pressure and the system will have to have a return line. The only portion of harness you will need is for the engine, dont even bother with the headlight or other electrical harness's. Take the entire powertrain harness out of the mustang, get a good wiring diagram and start removing everything you dont need. I ended up removing about 75% of the 1994 harness even with the 1994 engine fuse box. All of the 1977 lighting and turn signals is still in tact, just the harness and brain box to run the engine is whats used from the 94. Make sure you have more than enough grounds for the harness after you start removing what you dont need. The 5.0 block to body ground is at the rear of the drivers side head, make sure you have this connected well as well as the battery to engine block ground even before trying to crank it once in. If you dont have enough ground connections you will melt wires. You should be able to take the Mustang computer and harness from the passenger side kick panle and fit it right into the F150 passenger side kick panel. In 1977 there were no interior trim panels other than door panels, so my PCM (computer) is behind the drivers side headlight on the fenderwell in a trick one off stainless steel water proof box my friend made. If you dont want the female to male connectors and pigtails you cut out of the harness and plan on trashing them please let me get them from you. I build enough Mustangs and other custom stuff that I can never have enough....

Gkitchens1

I learned the hard way that an engine ground on a 5.0 can be a hard issue to diagnose. Friend had a 92 cougar that would start and run and even drive for about 6 minutes and die. The guy sold it before I had pegged it (or two days later in other words) and the guy he sold it to said he was looking through the manual and it hit him. He bolted it on, and had no issues after that. I also learned working on that car that when there is no proper ground the residual coil puts out a lot of juice (ha!) yeah, anything I don't use I could probably send your way, depending on how far you are from here. I'm in east Texas, just east of Dallas.

georgiaboy6279

Hey buddy i been looking for a set of headers for my 1993 4.9. Where did you get these from?

derk001

Hey have you figure out the fuel gauge problem. With the swap? I have a 78 f100 with a carbed 6 and found a guy selling a 1990 f150 with the efi and i might take him up on the offer.