Fixing A Fixer UpperI recently found a 2000 Mustang GT that was in a front-end accident. The fenders, the hood, bumper, and radiator were all wrecked. The engine is good. The car is loaded and only has 6,000 miles on it. I have not bought it yet. I would like to price out the parts I mentioned to see how much a restoration would cost. Can you recommend someone who deals in late model Mustang parts? Thanks for a great magazine.Hal SeiderOostburg, WI
I'd contact Mustang Parts Specialties about fixing a wrecked SN-95. Call (770) 867-2644 or check out www.stangparts.com.
Two Going From 2.3 to 5.0I just picked up a '93 Mustang LX convertible. It has an automatic transmission and a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine. Can I put a 5.0 in this car? What would have to be changed to do this? Thanks for any help you can give me.Scott NewtonVia the internet
I have an '88 Mustang with a four-cylinder. I am trying to transplant a '91 GT 5.0 motor into it. I especially want to know all of the wiring I have to change and how to do it. It would really help. Thanks.ChrisVia the internet
Both Scott and Chris ask a good question since four-cylinder Fox-body Mustangs are so cheap they're practically being given away. The short answer to this question is yes, of course; you can convert a four-cylinder Fox Mustang into a V-8 car. People have been doing it for years-especially those who are building a race car. Turning a four-cylinder Fox into a 5.0 would make a nice street car, too.
The longer answer is that this conversion will take some effort. First, try to have a complete (assuming wrecked) donor car. This includes the engine and all its ancillary pieces. You'll also want the transmission and rearend as well. Additionally, if your four-cylinder body is an automatic and the donor car is a 5.0 with a five-speed, you'll want the pedals, clutch parts, and many other bits to complete the swap. Swap the rearend because the V-8 cars ('86 and newer) come with an 8.8-inch rearend that's considerably stronger than the four-cylinder's 7.5-inch axle. You could run the 7.5 with a 5.0 (since all the '79-'85 5.0s have 7.5s), but why not swap it anyway? As for the transmission, you need the V-8 trans (manual or automatic) to go with the V-8 engine. You'll need several wiring harness pieces from the V-8 donor car for the four-cylinder car, such as the injector wiring harness. I'm not up on all wiring issues, but the entire wiring harness from the donor car would be used for your project.
There are also suspension issues to consider, since V-8 Fox Mustangs had different springs and shocks, as well as other pieces to install on the project car. Of course, if these items aren't damaged, they could be procured from the donor car as well.
One company that could be of help to you (especially for setting up wiring harnesses and the like) is Windsor-Fox Performance Engineering. Although Ed Marsh specializes in 5.0 EFI conversions for early Mustangs and other Fords, he's done plenty of EFI conversions on late model cars, too, as well as some 2.3-liter turbo to 5.0 Fox-body Thunderbird ('82-'88) swaps. He does turnkey complete conversions, too. Check out the Web site at www.windsorfox.com or call (760) 946-FUEL (3835).