Son Rob is a Mustang lover. He wants to build a 1980-89 5L from the ground up. The problem: 5L bodies/running gear from the 80's are hard to find. BUT 4 cyl version are a 'dime a dozen'. would you advise attempting the conversion. Ps He already has started rebuild on a 5L engine. Please comment on front clip swap.
I'm working a buddy of mine on the nose swap. It looks like I will give him the parts to get a how-to article out of it. I will ask him tonight.
As far as the 5.0L swap. I have done a couple of these and we have been looking for a 4 banger convertible to do the swap. (right Scott!) Can't say when at this point, but it is coming
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Tony Berger
91 LX 337 Incon Twin Turbo
D&D Viper T-56 6 speed
Maximum Motorsports front to rear
94 Cobra
99 Lightning
and it's JUST-N-LX
I'm sure Tony will agree, if you are going to convert a 4 cylinder to a 5.0, it would be best to find a 5.0 donar car cheap and use all of the parts you need from it to do the conversion. This is a really popluar conversion because you can often pick up a 4 cylinder stang in great shape for low $$. The trick is finding a wrecked, scrapped or abused 5.0 cheap for parts to do the conversion. Tony and I are looking for a 4 cylinder convertible to do this exact conversion and document the entire process for an upcoming tech article. I f you or Rob have any questions concerning it, fire away. Both Tony and Jesse's stangs are converted 4 cylinders so Tony has become our onsite expert at it Good to see you back on the forums.
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Scott Halliday
Site Administrator
1992 Red 347 Automatic Limited Edition Convertible
1991 Red 5.0L 5-Speed Hatchback
1989 Black 5.0L 5-Speed Coupe
Thanks for the prompt answer. Rob will sure check out Tonys and Jessies rides. I know he will look forward to any and all tech articles on 4 cyl to 5L conversion.
I just received it today. It is an old article. It has been printed before. Still it gives you the basics.
What it doesn't tell you is starting in 91 Ford switched where C-109 & C110 connectors are. Ford put C-109 in the p/s kick panel with the cpu. So what this tells you is that if you have a 91-93 banger you need a main wire harness from a 91-93 5.0. Or you can do what I did, and believe me this was a major pain in the a@#, change out the dash wire harness with a 89 Mustang.
As far as the 79-86 are concerned, you will need a wire diagram to trace down which wires go where anyway. so it does not matter what year donor you have.
The 87-89 are by far the easiest to convert. A 88-90 (88 Calif. was mass-air) donor car will work just fine. The wires from the dash harness will plug right in.
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Tony Berger
91 LX 337 Incon Twin Turbo
D&D Viper T-56 6 speed
Maximum Motorsports front to rear
94 Cobra
99 Lightning
and it's JUST-N-LX
Hey guys, my friend loves the great 5.0, but he doesn't have 5 grand to drop on one right now. Is there any way that we could buy a 4 banger(we can find those all day long w/a blown trnasmission for $400) and put a 302 in it? i talked to a local used car dealer(great source of info, right?) and he said that it's not too hard. we would just have to pull the engine, drivetrain, wiring harness and ecu and put it into the little car. I don't really believe much of anything this guys says( I was just looking at some nice cars he had for sale) so is there anyone on this board that has actually done this swap? or anyone know where I can get some info on it?
from what Ive heard its not too bad, I believe one of the moderators has done it before, Nic. I actually tried to buy one of his cars that was transformed from a 4cyl.
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92 Coupe, Light blue, w/ Saleen package, GT-40 ALuminum Headed crate motor, E-303, Chrome ponies, Short Shifter, jet hot shorties, H pipe, Cervini Ram Air hood, 3.73's.
Well the best thing is to find a wrecked 89-93 v8 car. From this car you will need the engine and trans, motor mounts, crossmember, computer wiring harness with computer (A9L computer 5spd & A9P auto), alt. wiring harness,radiator, mass air meter, fuel lines, rearend, brake lines unless you run turndowns from the mufflers, brakes are not a must but you will be able to stop better, and possible a drive shaft depending on whether you use a auto 4cyl or a 5spd. The 5spd 4cyl drive shaft will work with both auto and five spd V8. This will give you a good start. If there is no donor car, then most of these can be bought at your local junk yard.
I am trying to figure out if there is a kit for swaping out a 4 cylinder for a 5.0 in a 91 mustang lx? If so who has it? Also will the 5 speed trans hold up to a 5.0 or will I have to replace it?
I've done the swap w/ a 351W in an 86 LX vert...I went carburated being the easiest and cheapest and IMO easier to tune...You can find some really good carbed info here as well as about 15 people who've done this swap themselves...I'd hate to post a link for another board but here it is
the site's run by Jason Fletcher it has tons of great tech articles and the message board (also run by Fletch and BrentW) has a no bs attitude and straight answers that helped me in my swap. Answers are fast and accurate. However it's mostly just for carbed vehicles but the basic of getting the engine in there regardless of your induction/fuel system are the same....
I am new to the mustang world. I have always loved them. Now I finally have one I am planning on new mods for it. For starters it is a 1991 stang lx, with a 4 cyl. engine. I want to drop in a 5.0 into the car. I am trying to figure out if there is a kit for the car for this? What will be needed? Will the trans hold up?( it's a 5 speed). I already know the rearednd will have to be replaced. I am looking forward to this project and hoping for some good info.
Thanks for the advise. By the way you can call me Tony. I still need to figure out whether or not the stock four cyl tranny will hold up to the 5.0? I am also trying to figure out a good site to download a wiring diagram for the 91 stang. My windows won't go down, I checked for power but nothing on the left side, and power on the right side but nothing works. Any ideas here. Thanks for any help.
Hi, I'm new to the "late Model" mustang world. I guess its better late than never. I just recently purchased a 1989 LX coupe with a four-cylinder in it. I'm planning on dropping a 5.0 (302 for us older guys) with a five speed in it someday. I read the article in the June issue of 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords on the subject of doing just this and found it quite interesting and informative. One of the things that has me concerned is the issue of the computer and the air bag. I guess 89 Mustangs are unique in that they are the first cars with mass air and a non air bag steering wheel. Now to my question. Can I use a computer from a later model stang and just leave the air bag part of it unhooked or can I swap out the steering column and steering wheel from a later model and take care of the problem. Like I said earlier I'm new to the late model Mustang world. I know next to nothing about electronics so please keep everything in simple easy (old guy) terms. Is their anyplace that I can get info on the wiring of late model mustangs and help on how to read the thing?
4 Cylinder to 5.0L Engine Swap 
Good to see you back on the forums.
engine swap 
