why would you even consider looking in a factory service manual? you said you work at a body shop right? you should have all-data, if not you are a car guy, no? you know people that work at other shops? use all data. it makes no sense to even look in a manual. with all-data you can just hit print for whatever you need and even zoom in on stuff instead of haveing to write things down.

and im confused as to why you keep asking about "comparing" wiring between the cars as if you are going to splice them together. one has nothing to do with the other. engine is hots, grounds, and 12v switched. plus like 3 wires for gauges. thats it ,nothing else. there just is o such thing as gm to ford harness. you gotta sit down and make some stuff work.

 

thank you for clearing that up for me.

Im going to be using a pre-wired cluster from florida50.com with autometer phantom II gauges in it, so that all should just plug right in if what they said on their website is correct. As far as the engine, i guess i mis-worded my original question for that, I didnt realize it was just 12v Ground and Sw12v stuff, yes i can get stuff off alldata real easily, same shop that helps with AC has let me come in and use their computers before. I was unsure if the Mustang harnesses and Chevy harnesses were pretty much seprate. thanks again!

im now 4cyl stang coupe hunting (figured they would be the least ragged out and cheapest to find) and a good LS1 Engine set as well as a Cobra IRS

 

bump for curiosity about where to find the motorset and rear ends at a lesser price than e-gay

 

found some engines at greenleaf and LKQ, decent prices. IRS seems to be elusive as of yet lol

 

IRS will ride better, but a torque arm/ panhard bar setup will handle better and ride just fine if you get the right springs.

 

Yep. Even a mildy set up live axle setup will run with most IRS setups. You should be able to get everything much cheaper live axle, and not have traction problems. As for the steering rack, I'd stick with a fox rack as all of the 4.6 cars have hydraboost and might not play nice with a conventional power steering pump thats not boosting the brake. You can just run a quick ratio power flaming river rack or something and it'll work well with the power steering. I'm also unsure as to why you're getting a 4.6 k-member when you can order one with LSX mounts directly from AJE. As for the spindle/5 lug setup I'd just get the car running and on the ground and then worry about the suspension geometry and all that stuff. If you bite off more than you can chew at the first shot your project will take forever.

As for suspension, live axle can be made to be very good, and the 99-01 cobra IRS is pretty sorry, the 03-04 cobra IRS is expensive. Live axle is cheap to buy and easy to make handle. Check out people like maximum motorsports for proof.


I'd seriously consider truck motors. They're so much cheaper and not that much heavier. I got my 5.3 for $300 and a v8 t5 transmission (I know, I know, t56 is better) for $300 also.

 

actually i did find the AJE LSX mount xmember, i mentioned hte part number in the thread just never changed my initial post. Ill probably use a stock fox rack, and run all the lines to LSx Pump.

my concern with a truck motor is i really dont want to tear the engine apart. I want to put a MS3 cam in or Trex cam in and do valvetrain and leave the rest of the motor alone, that will probably be my only engine modifications for a long time, couple buddies of mine made 398whp (auto) and 412whp 6speed) in their LS1 fbodies, and that kind of power in a 2800lb car is gonna be a blast, my 240 use ot make less than that and it weighed 2780 and it was an absolute blast to drive.

The IRS choice is a personal thing, ride comfort is more important since this will be a family car aswell, i dont mind spending the extra money and taking the extra time to do the 03 04 Cobra IRS Swap, guy i know up north has told me alot abotu it and i can get a shop discount through LKQ and Greenleaf on one (if i can find one) which would put its cost right around 1000$ if what ive seen is correct, Ive already got all the front spindals and such ive been saving off a totaled SN95 we had at the body shop and ive got a full set of 03 Cobra Calipers and rotors for all 4 corners brand spankin new from 50resto.

the biggest problem i could see with the suspension is getting springs that will let the car sit properly, Im probably gonna have to order 2 sets of springs according to my friend brian who just completed the irs swap, but i have not looked into it completely.

the thing im really worried most about is wiring, ive got the cluster deal figured out altho itll cost me 1100 bux (itll be worth it to have a nice gague setup with the gauges i want) from florida50.com but im not very good with wiring so its gonna be alot of long nights.

this project isnt meant to be an overnight thing. i expect it to take a year or more, its really something for me to just do to have fun since the 240 project is pretty much done. LoL

the main focus will be the engine at first, and getting it to fire up and run properly, but then will come the suspension before it even sees the road. I see no reason to make 2 driveshafts and i honestly hate the feel of a live axle car on the street.

 

This is what I used for my car and I couldn't be more happy. Fits perfect, all the lights are there for the turn signals ect, and I can stick the clear plastic back over all the gauges.

http://mc-machine.com/mcm_joom/content/view/13/27/

 

but then you have to assemble and wire that yourself. florida50s kit is pre wired read to plug into your factory harness. Im not much for wiring and i usually pay someone to do any wiring i have to do it right and make sure it doesnt fail, so...

if i got that panel for 150, got the Electric phantom II gauges for 150 (rough) a piece and paid someone 150 to do the wiring.. its actually 60 bux cheaper to buy the pre-wired kit from florida50.com

**actually just sat and added it up, the florida50 pre-wiried ready to plug in cluster is 1140 bux. If i diy the cluster and buy all the gauges separate and pay someone to do the wiring and such for me, its $1145...

and the florida50 kit comes wired for signals, high beam indicator, etc

 

i cant wait to sell my import and get away from its issue, the thing has been driving me nuts!!!!!!! i cant wait to get back into a real car haha

 

Don't take this as a slam, but if you can't wire up gauges yourself, you may want to reconsider building a hybrid car.

 

never said i cant wire up gauges, I wire and build guitars for a side buisness. Been doing it for 5 years now. Its just a matter of, why spend the money to have someone do it, if you can already buy it pre wired? its simple logic man, get what im saying? I have done some sort of wiring on every car ive ever build with 0 issues i just prefer to let pro's handle it so i KNOW its right the first time, and i plan to do the wiring on this since its apparently not much, its just a matter of finidng the proper info, i will cross that bridge when i come to it, i have access to alldata and other programs.

I understand what your saying, im not very good with wiring, but i can do it, It just takes me alot of time. Guitars i can whip out in 20 minutes, ive got diagrams for them blasted into my head from doing them so much. But every car project ive done has been different. This is no exception but like i said, if i can spend 1000 bux to do it myself, or 1140 to buy it pre wired, Hmmmm

id rather save myself the extra headache, spend the extra cash to have it pre wired and done up nice and neat by a company that backs their work.

 

Most mustang springs are linear and places like maximum motorsports can easily provide/suggest springs that will work without buying several sets.

As for your "feel of live axle on the street" comment. I agree with you on stock live axle, but with good lowers and a panhard bar it changes significantly.

 

id just rather the experience and the fell of doing the IRS Swap, this car is something ive tossed around in my head for a long time but its always come to mind while im in the midst of another car. im most likely going to have to get a 4cyl car cause i see no point in wasting money on a 5.0 car if im just gonna tear it apart. save the good 5.0 cars for people who like them

 

It's a good point. When you do the IRS you should do some upgraded bushings and a diff brace too. I have some 03-04 cobra owner friends and they noticed a pretty big difference from the small upgrdes. While the car is apart consider running some through the floor subframes, chassis ftw.

 

ive got plans for new bushings on the entire car as well as subframe connectors for sure. I remember from my buddys red fox coupe how big a difference the connectors made, and in my 240, when i put the bushing kit in the car (128 annoying pieces!) as well as solid subframe collars, the difference was amazing, the feel of the car and its stability was so greatly improved, i couldnt believe that little things like that make such a big difference. I really dont expect the car to be done within a year.. i think this is gonna be a long term as the money rolls in project as well as making sure everything is 100% perfect. All the way down to planning out where the battery will be mounted, if it stays in front, goes to the rear, which side it sits on for weight distribution etc.... yeah, im **** lol

 

well right now i gotta take car of some other ****, the 240 is almost ready for a tune but it has to wait till july. Then i can think about getting myself a coupe and getting this ball rolling! i may keep both cars haha

 

Alot of good info in this thread. I'm actually thinking of doing this swap now that 2 good deals have fell into my lap. Them being a 5.3 shortblock for $50 and a mustang coupe roller 4cyl for $250. I've got alot of stuff to finish the engine except heads. Only thing I'm still a lil confused about is the whole steering rack deal? I saw one thread where a guy used a pinto rack. Now you guys are talking about using sn95 stuff.

I'm going for a budget build so it would seem the sn95 stuff would be cheaper and work just fine.

As for wiring I guess I'll cross that bridge when i get there. I would like everything like the fans and ignition to work like factory. So I dont have to wire everything to toggle switches. I'll be running Phantom gauges also bc I have a whole set .

I guess for fueling we would use a corvette setup? I haven't seen exactly how these work, but I've read that just about everyone uses this setup in their swaps.

 

If you really want to go baller, check out Griggs Racing. My buddy runs a drift car (driftpatrol) with all griggs ****. Pricey, but very very high quality products.

 

as i go im gonna try and make this as informative as possible. Maybe if i get a wild hair up my *** later, i will go ahead and edit my first post with links to parts, manufactures and parts numbers for everything, that way people no longer have to search.

Further back in this thread i was told to just use the fox rack, so i guess go for that.

I will check out that website, im all about baller stuff, im gonna try and do this car as clean and perfect as possible. its gonna take lots of time tho.