1988 Mustang Coupe LS/T56 Swap
10-06-2015, 12:04 PM
#1
1988 Mustang Coupe LS/T56 Swap 1988 Mustang Coupe
Color: Several
I bought this car with a clear blue title for $100. I was itching to build an LS fox so how could I say no? It already had Lakewood struts and some unknown brand of springs, but that was about all it had. No driveline and no interior.
Here's how it looked when I bought it:
I'm not much of a drag racer anymore, so I wanted to build this car with more emphasis on handling. The Mustang rear suspension is ok for drag racing, but it's pretty bad for making hard turns with sticky tires. The car is ironically going to be converted to a rear suspension setup like a 4th gen f-body with a torque arm and panhard bar. Here's where I'm at so far.
Suspension:
Koni SA shocks & struts
Maximum Motorsports Coilovers front and rear
Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates
Maximum Motorsports Panhard Bar Conversion
AJE K-member w/ LS Swap Mounts
AJE T56 Transmission Crossmember
SN95 Hubs & Spindles
Cobra/PBR Front Brakes
The Rear Coilover Kit comes with a shock mount for the passenger side and the Panhard Bar conversion has a provision for the shock to mount on the driver side:
Most recent photo w/ mock up engine:
Since that last photo, I've put the 4 lug Cobra wheels on the back and converted the front to 5 lug, added Cobra front brakes and new 5 lug Cobra replica wheels. Front bumper and hood are on and the ride height is lower as well, so it doesn't look like it has a lift kit.
Even after starting over with a different engine, the goal is still to fire it up in the next year. It may not be completely finish, but I want to at least have it running. Obviously I still have a long ways to go as the car has almost no wiring at all and it still needs an entire fuel system.
The rest of the year will be focused on getting the engine finished and in the car with the T56. I haven't been able to find much info on getting the T56 swapped into a fox and converting the clutch, but I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and provide some detail in doing the swap.
Color: Several
I bought this car with a clear blue title for $100. I was itching to build an LS fox so how could I say no? It already had Lakewood struts and some unknown brand of springs, but that was about all it had. No driveline and no interior.
Here's how it looked when I bought it:
I'm not much of a drag racer anymore, so I wanted to build this car with more emphasis on handling. The Mustang rear suspension is ok for drag racing, but it's pretty bad for making hard turns with sticky tires. The car is ironically going to be converted to a rear suspension setup like a 4th gen f-body with a torque arm and panhard bar. Here's where I'm at so far.
Suspension:
Koni SA shocks & struts
Maximum Motorsports Coilovers front and rear
Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber Plates
Maximum Motorsports Panhard Bar Conversion
AJE K-member w/ LS Swap Mounts
AJE T56 Transmission Crossmember
SN95 Hubs & Spindles
Cobra/PBR Front Brakes
The Rear Coilover Kit comes with a shock mount for the passenger side and the Panhard Bar conversion has a provision for the shock to mount on the driver side:
Most recent photo w/ mock up engine:
Since that last photo, I've put the 4 lug Cobra wheels on the back and converted the front to 5 lug, added Cobra front brakes and new 5 lug Cobra replica wheels. Front bumper and hood are on and the ride height is lower as well, so it doesn't look like it has a lift kit.
Even after starting over with a different engine, the goal is still to fire it up in the next year. It may not be completely finish, but I want to at least have it running. Obviously I still have a long ways to go as the car has almost no wiring at all and it still needs an entire fuel system.
The rest of the year will be focused on getting the engine finished and in the car with the T56. I haven't been able to find much info on getting the T56 swapped into a fox and converting the clutch, but I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and provide some detail in doing the swap.
Last edited by KCS; 09-13-2016 at 01:39 AM.
07-25-2016, 08:29 AM
#6
Getting back to work on the car, I started working on converting the clutch to hydraulic to work with the F-body T56. There are lots of ways to do it, but I went with the McLeod kit since I needed to buy everything anyways. The conversion basically includes a new quadrant, master cylinder, reservoir, hoses, and adapter.
Starting with the adapter, it goes in the firewall where the old clutch cable grommet would go. It's a tight fit so it took some persuasion with a rubber mallet to go in. Then I drilled the 4 holes and put in the 4 self tapping screws.
The new quadrant took a little extra effort. The way McLeod shows to put it in with the Teflon spacer on the outside of the quadrant:
The problem is that the quadrant doesn't bottom out on the pins, instead it hits the bracket in the middle of the quadrant:
And with the spacer to the inside, the other side is free to move and bind. Again, not the greatest fit IMO:
Took a trip to Lowe's and grabbed some nylon spacers and washers and it fits perfectly:
Before I put it all together, I'm going to order a slave cylinder and bench bleed the whole system.
Starting with the adapter, it goes in the firewall where the old clutch cable grommet would go. It's a tight fit so it took some persuasion with a rubber mallet to go in. Then I drilled the 4 holes and put in the 4 self tapping screws.
The new quadrant took a little extra effort. The way McLeod shows to put it in with the Teflon spacer on the outside of the quadrant:
The problem is that the quadrant doesn't bottom out on the pins, instead it hits the bracket in the middle of the quadrant:
And with the spacer to the inside, the other side is free to move and bind. Again, not the greatest fit IMO:
Took a trip to Lowe's and grabbed some nylon spacers and washers and it fits perfectly:
Before I put it all together, I'm going to order a slave cylinder and bench bleed the whole system.
Last edited by KCS; 09-13-2016 at 01:40 AM.
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07-29-2016, 07:45 PM
#9
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iTrader: (5)
[QUOTE=smitty2919;19342116]May have been less work and money to buy a Fbody! LOL Can stuff 18's with 315's on all corners easy
Except his swapper car cost $100, weighs 500 lbs less, has a bigger easier, engine room and the motor can be removed or installed with the hood on with only a hoist....
Except his swapper car cost $100, weighs 500 lbs less, has a bigger easier, engine room and the motor can be removed or installed with the hood on with only a hoist....
Last edited by 64post; 08-02-2016 at 08:03 PM.
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Spankyyyy (02-07-2023)
07-30-2016, 01:55 PM
#10
McLeod hydraulics I have never heard anything good about that hydraulic setup for Fox Mustangs, I personally would have gone with MDL. Do a google search on McLeod hydraulics for Fox Mustangs....
09-13-2016, 01:36 AM
#11
I have an Fbody already and this car is already over 25 years old. In Texas, that means I can pretty much do whatever engine swaps or modifications that I wants, and as long as it basically has lights and the brakes work, I can get tags on it.
04-16-2017, 07:10 PM
#14
Yessir! Got the engine in and the McLeod setup installed too.
This is the third engine I built to put in here, each one was sold to build the next one which was bigger and like they say, third time is a charm. This is a 4.060" bore by 4.250" stroke iron block, which gives me 440ci. The cam duration is 243/251 @ .050" with about .64x" lift (HUC lobes). On top are stock L92 heads with a valve job and milled to 65cc chambers for 11.2:1 compression.
I originally ordered the car style FAST intake with the shorter runner, but there was some sort of miscommunication and I was sent the LSXRT manifold with the shorter runners instead. I didn't even know they existed but I'm glad it happened. Just gotta decide if I should get a new cowl hood or just cut an opening in the one I have.
I'm disappointed in the McLeod so far. First was the poor fitment of the clutch quadrant and now the master cylinder. It fits like a ball and socket on the firewall adapter, then you pull the cable and hook it onto the clutch quadrant. The problem I see is that it's not as stable as I had expected. It is really close to the Pro Form valve covers, and because of the ball and socket fit, it's free to wiggle around and bang on the valve cover.
I bought a set of lower profile valve covers from Eddie's Motorsports. They're out getting powder coated too, but they should fix the clearance problem. I'm hoping once I hook up the hoses and maybe adjust the adapter a few clicks, it may stabilize the master cylinder a little better.
Any suggestions for headers and exhaust? I'm thinking 1-7/8" at a minimum but my main concern is routing it around the trans cross member now. I have the AJE which I bought with the k-member, but it looks like it would get in the way of any decent diameter exhaust tubing.
This is the third engine I built to put in here, each one was sold to build the next one which was bigger and like they say, third time is a charm. This is a 4.060" bore by 4.250" stroke iron block, which gives me 440ci. The cam duration is 243/251 @ .050" with about .64x" lift (HUC lobes). On top are stock L92 heads with a valve job and milled to 65cc chambers for 11.2:1 compression.
I originally ordered the car style FAST intake with the shorter runner, but there was some sort of miscommunication and I was sent the LSXRT manifold with the shorter runners instead. I didn't even know they existed but I'm glad it happened. Just gotta decide if I should get a new cowl hood or just cut an opening in the one I have.
I'm disappointed in the McLeod so far. First was the poor fitment of the clutch quadrant and now the master cylinder. It fits like a ball and socket on the firewall adapter, then you pull the cable and hook it onto the clutch quadrant. The problem I see is that it's not as stable as I had expected. It is really close to the Pro Form valve covers, and because of the ball and socket fit, it's free to wiggle around and bang on the valve cover.
I bought a set of lower profile valve covers from Eddie's Motorsports. They're out getting powder coated too, but they should fix the clearance problem. I'm hoping once I hook up the hoses and maybe adjust the adapter a few clicks, it may stabilize the master cylinder a little better.
Any suggestions for headers and exhaust? I'm thinking 1-7/8" at a minimum but my main concern is routing it around the trans cross member now. I have the AJE which I bought with the k-member, but it looks like it would get in the way of any decent diameter exhaust tubing.
