1991 Mustang LX L33/MN12 in the works
06-05-2012, 04:38 PM
#1
1991 Mustang LX L33/MN12 in the works I wanted to put together a build thread on the project I am currently working on. This will not be a super fast pace swap, but none the less I hope it becomes an informative and a helpful reference to others going the LSx route. With that being said, here is what I am working with:
The Car:
1991 Wild Strawberry LX Coupe
Originally a 5.0 AT car (converted to T5 by previous owner)
All the power options, AC and Cruise
The Story:
My brother traded a kid in Worcester MA his Honda 450r ATV for this car with blown head gaskets back in October of 2011. He sat on the car for a while and never did anything with it. March of this year, I picked it up from him and tore the top end down and put it back together. I just wanted to have a nice summer cruiser, and the car fit the bill perfect for this year. I have never been a mustang guy, but I fell in love with the style of the notch, the red gut, and just how fun the car is to cruise around in....but the 5.0 leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. I started looking into swaps, and racking my brain about the best way to go about the swap cost effectively....
As fate would have it, my good friend purchased a L33/ MN12 swapped third gen locally that was a driver, but decided to part it out (not really what he was looking for, and the car needed a lot of attention in general). This was an absolute god send for me. Literally everything I needed for the conversion was right in front of me, and being that the car was a running driving donor, I was able to take it around the block and test everything out (no surprises!).
The Plan
I am basically looking to set this car up as a really nice summer time daily driver. I am looking to fully integrate all the mustang OEM equipment with the 0411 PCM. I am looking to retain cruise control and re-install the AC which came factory on my coupe. Basically....I would like to turn the key, drive to Florida and still run respectable numbers at the track when need be. This will not be a max effort track car or anything to that effect. I am building it to be used as often as possible and turn a few heads.
The Drivetrain
2006 L33 Engine (aluminum 5.3 with 799 casting heads 9.9:1)
-F-Body Oil Pan
-F-Body front Accessory Drive
-LS1 Intake Manifold and Cable Throttle Body
-Third Gen Swap Harness (I will re work for the mustang swap)
-Tuned PCM for Swap
2004 GTO MN12 T56
_________________________________________
I am hoping by the end of the week to have the complete drive-train out of the donor car and ready some clean up work before installation into the mustang. I will be retaining the stock front k-frame and building my own mounts and trans cross-member. Please check back often for updates, and I would love some input from all who care to participate as the build progresses. I know I am light on the photos at the moment, but I will update very soon.
The Car:
1991 Wild Strawberry LX Coupe
Originally a 5.0 AT car (converted to T5 by previous owner)
All the power options, AC and Cruise
The Story:
My brother traded a kid in Worcester MA his Honda 450r ATV for this car with blown head gaskets back in October of 2011. He sat on the car for a while and never did anything with it. March of this year, I picked it up from him and tore the top end down and put it back together. I just wanted to have a nice summer cruiser, and the car fit the bill perfect for this year. I have never been a mustang guy, but I fell in love with the style of the notch, the red gut, and just how fun the car is to cruise around in....but the 5.0 leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. I started looking into swaps, and racking my brain about the best way to go about the swap cost effectively....
As fate would have it, my good friend purchased a L33/ MN12 swapped third gen locally that was a driver, but decided to part it out (not really what he was looking for, and the car needed a lot of attention in general). This was an absolute god send for me. Literally everything I needed for the conversion was right in front of me, and being that the car was a running driving donor, I was able to take it around the block and test everything out (no surprises!).
The Plan
I am basically looking to set this car up as a really nice summer time daily driver. I am looking to fully integrate all the mustang OEM equipment with the 0411 PCM. I am looking to retain cruise control and re-install the AC which came factory on my coupe. Basically....I would like to turn the key, drive to Florida and still run respectable numbers at the track when need be. This will not be a max effort track car or anything to that effect. I am building it to be used as often as possible and turn a few heads.
The Drivetrain
2006 L33 Engine (aluminum 5.3 with 799 casting heads 9.9:1)
-F-Body Oil Pan
-F-Body front Accessory Drive
-LS1 Intake Manifold and Cable Throttle Body
-Third Gen Swap Harness (I will re work for the mustang swap)
-Tuned PCM for Swap
2004 GTO MN12 T56
_________________________________________
I am hoping by the end of the week to have the complete drive-train out of the donor car and ready some clean up work before installation into the mustang. I will be retaining the stock front k-frame and building my own mounts and trans cross-member. Please check back often for updates, and I would love some input from all who care to participate as the build progresses. I know I am light on the photos at the moment, but I will update very soon.
06-05-2012, 09:10 PM
#2
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I just got mine done 2 weeks ago, check my build. I have all the stock gauges and interior. If you want to talk, call me at home. 1-815-439-8138 my build is very similar to yours, I have a 6.0 with 799 heads, base tune gave me 430 rwhp. Very happy with the swap. If you have any questions, feel free to call,
Tim
Tim
06-06-2012, 07:35 PM
#4
I just got mine done 2 weeks ago, check my build. I have all the stock gauges and interior. If you want to talk, call me at home. 1-815-439-8138 my build is very similar to yours, I have a 6.0 with 799 heads, base tune gave me 430 rwhp. Very happy with the swap. If you have any questions, feel free to call,
Tim
Tim
You are pretty far away my friend. I live in Western MA...and supposedly I have someone interested in the package...sorry.
06-08-2012, 04:44 PM
#5
Some small updates...
My schedual has been a little hectic this week, so I have not been able to devote a bunch of time. None the less, I did manage to make a little progress.
I stripped the complete swap harness and pcm from the car. To my surprise every connector was still intact lol. The PCM appears to be an 0411 that was tune by some mail order company (there sticker is on it). The setup is also running the 06 GTO mass air flow sensor.
I alos have a set of headers from another project. These are Doug's f-body shorty headers. I removed all the emissions garbage, had them welded up, and then had a set of 2.5" stainless v-bands welded in place of the bulky flange. I believe I can make them work in the fox chassis. I am going to coat them over the weekend if time permits.
Here is the motor. It is patiently waiting for it's new home!
__________________________________________________ __________
More updates to come this weekend! Motor and Transmission should be on the ground by Sunday!
My schedual has been a little hectic this week, so I have not been able to devote a bunch of time. None the less, I did manage to make a little progress.
I stripped the complete swap harness and pcm from the car. To my surprise every connector was still intact lol. The PCM appears to be an 0411 that was tune by some mail order company (there sticker is on it). The setup is also running the 06 GTO mass air flow sensor.
I alos have a set of headers from another project. These are Doug's f-body shorty headers. I removed all the emissions garbage, had them welded up, and then had a set of 2.5" stainless v-bands welded in place of the bulky flange. I believe I can make them work in the fox chassis. I am going to coat them over the weekend if time permits.
Here is the motor. It is patiently waiting for it's new home!
__________________________________________________ __________
More updates to come this weekend! Motor and Transmission should be on the ground by Sunday!
06-16-2012, 09:12 PM
#6
Made some progress...
I have been absolutely swamped with projects (home, work and play), so I have been slacking on the Mustang, however today I made some pretty decent progress.
First off....the MN12 T56 from the donor car is now on the ground. I retained the third gen f-body clutch master, and I am just going to modify my stock pedals with a peg to operate the unit.
Once I had the transmission out and on the ground, I really started to weigh my options as far as mounting the motor.
I really didnt want to go the common AJE k-frame way, and I couldn't bring myself to spend nearly 300.00 alone on BRP mounts (especially because they dont work with my fbody pan).
Instead, I chose to locate a oem 96-04 4.6 k-frame. I sourced one locally for 100.00 with lower control arms, sway bar, coil springs, struts, and 5 lug spindles (may come in handy down the road if I choose to switch).
Now I know a lot of guys just cut and weld the stock 4.6 mounts with the aluminum block, but I am not a fan of that method. Instead, I machined some aluminum adapters from scrap 3/8 plate I had and utilized a pair of modified 4.6 poly mounts.
Here is what I came up with...
I know I am biased because it's my work....but I think the mounts came out awesome and they saved me a ton of coin. The offer plenty of clearance down low. I couldn't be happier.
________________________________________
The motor is 4 coolant lines, and 2 bolts away from being pulled. So maybe I can get off my but tomorrow and get that done as well.
I have been absolutely swamped with projects (home, work and play), so I have been slacking on the Mustang, however today I made some pretty decent progress.
First off....the MN12 T56 from the donor car is now on the ground. I retained the third gen f-body clutch master, and I am just going to modify my stock pedals with a peg to operate the unit.
Once I had the transmission out and on the ground, I really started to weigh my options as far as mounting the motor.
I really didnt want to go the common AJE k-frame way, and I couldn't bring myself to spend nearly 300.00 alone on BRP mounts (especially because they dont work with my fbody pan).
Instead, I chose to locate a oem 96-04 4.6 k-frame. I sourced one locally for 100.00 with lower control arms, sway bar, coil springs, struts, and 5 lug spindles (may come in handy down the road if I choose to switch).
Now I know a lot of guys just cut and weld the stock 4.6 mounts with the aluminum block, but I am not a fan of that method. Instead, I machined some aluminum adapters from scrap 3/8 plate I had and utilized a pair of modified 4.6 poly mounts.
Here is what I came up with...
I know I am biased because it's my work....but I think the mounts came out awesome and they saved me a ton of coin. The offer plenty of clearance down low. I couldn't be happier.
________________________________________
The motor is 4 coolant lines, and 2 bolts away from being pulled. So maybe I can get off my but tomorrow and get that done as well.
06-17-2012, 07:08 PM
#7
Made some progress sooner then I anticipated. My brother was nice enough to stop by today and give me a hand ripping the motor out of the donor car and getting it setup on the stand.
That should have been enough for the day right there...but I couldn't help myself. I ended up getting anxious and decided to put my headers, swap mounts and k-frame up to check for clearance. Man...I couldn't be happier! Here are a few pics of the clearance...
Now I have to take everything back apart. k frame needs to be cleaned up and painted along with all the accessories, oil pan and etc on the motor. I want to coat the headers too.
That should have been enough for the day right there...but I couldn't help myself. I ended up getting anxious and decided to put my headers, swap mounts and k-frame up to check for clearance. Man...I couldn't be happier! Here are a few pics of the clearance...
Now I have to take everything back apart. k frame needs to be cleaned up and painted along with all the accessories, oil pan and etc on the motor. I want to coat the headers too.
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06-18-2012, 05:24 PM
#10
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Looks good, if those adapter plates work, make a bunch and sell them. My oil pan is very close to the cross member. I hope yours does not sit to high. My engine looks to be 1/2 inch or so further back.(going by the pics) keep it up, looking good!
