dash install

Haha. I do the same thing. I'll be wandering through the junkyard and I'll wonder to myself "how hard would it be to add automatic temperature control to my car?" meanwhile the gas tank will be out or something. Finish the first project! hahaha!

Today was a good day, sorted out some junk and stored it away, tested out the fuel flap opener solenoid and it worked, tested out another fuel level gauge for a fox tank and it worked also! I even found the gaskets and rings for the fuel level sender and fuel pumps. I replaced the trunk seal because it was getting old & stiff. Then i pulled the right frt fender off so i can cut some holes for the new wiring, i was getting tired so i just hung it back on.
I’m hoping to get more done next weekend, but i have to work next Saturday as it is my normal rotation. I would really like to put some miles on the old girl, and just see what it’s going to drive like. I’m going to go backwards i think with the tires and try some 65 or 70 series 16in tires, it should ride pretty smooth. This all comes at a bad time, I’ve got tons of ideas but nothing to apply them to, i still haven’t found a flapless fuel filler neck yet, but it makes no difference at this time, because i don’t know if I’m going to use a 16 or 20 gallon tank.
Anyway, at least i got out there for a while today and it didn’t rain yet. I guess you got to look at like it wasn’t a lot of work, but progress is progress.

well after having a good look at the 08 mustang dash and a/c plenum on the ground, there is no way I want to tackle putting that in my car.....well maybe not today.
the plenum gets its air from the firewall hole, just what I need another big hole to cut in the car, don't know if I could merge the 08 dash and sn95 plenum together, I don't really want to that.as I would really like to have all electrical temp blend and actuator doors/motors with dual eatc. maybe I could find another plenum with eatc that would fit.
just a bit of info, if you guys are hurting for space to add/hide things, there is a lot of room not being utilized behind the fenders for modules etc.
I came up with another idea, adding a washer bottle in the trunk for burn-outs.......

Nice. Yeah, I remember seeing that a guy swapped out an entire S197 floor pan into his Fox body in order to use the S197 dash. That seemed REALLY unnecessary to me, but all in all it seems like more trouble than its worth.

Although, the '87-93 dash does seem to be a similar shape to the S197. You could maybe try using the plenum out of there, or even an earlier Fox. You wouldn't get your electric actuators though... Or hey, maybe you could make your own out of sheet metal. or those flexible dryer vent hoses... Just thinking "out loud", haha.

Maybe I'll see if I can get my PCM out behind the fender without cutting the wires.

I like your washer bottle idea!!

another bit of good luck on the fuel pump issue. When I got the 97 mustang, the pump was dead, it only sat for 7 yrs…..as i need a quick fix, i fitted a later model town car returnless style pump to the mustangs pump return style housing to allow the car to pressure-up. I got the pressure i needed, however the later town car pump has no pressure hold valve in the pump itself, it is a separate component in the town car pump housing, and this causes a long crank in the mustang.

I am using the 97 sn95 mustang tank in my car, which is the same tank as the fox body mustang tank.

There are different ways to solve the pump to tank and tank to body problems.
1) Use the 5.0 pump & Use the 5.0 nylon lines from the pump to the body lines.
2) Swap the 5.0 fuel pump over to the 4.6 pump housing, and you can use the braided sn95 fuel lines.
3) Use the 4.6 pump assy and braided lines.

The actual fuel pump brass outlet pipe diameter for the 5.0 & 4.6 are the same.
The crooked fuel pump hose is the same for 5.0 & 4.6.
Both the 5.0 & 4.6 pump housings/frames are physically the same length and have the same diameter sealing areas and will interchange.
The main difference between the pump housings is the 5.0 has a 5/16 outlet fitting and the 4.6 has a 3/8 outlet fitting.

I hate spending cash to solve simple problems that can be overcome with a little thinking/trying and this worked for me, so i thought i would share the info.

The good thing is, when the fuel pump does take a dump in the furture, everything will work just fine if i replace the fuel pump from a 97 mustang, no additional fiddling around.

The pumps themselves are fairly cheap at $70 bucks or so, however the complete assembly can be very expensive.

I managed to repair the fuel sender by a complete disassembly and cleaning the card and copper contacts, it works just fine.

You should start a website with the wealth of knowledge you have on this stuff!

I went out to play with the car on Sunday for a while, got the driveshaft in, replaced the pwr strg reservoir ,hooked up the power steering cooler, added the oils to the engine, transmission and power steering, fitted an F150 air filter housing to the air intake system and a few other bits & pieces,
THEN i decided to try my new pats key that is matched to the existing ignition lock cyl. YEAH!!!, PATS works fine.
Next step, check the 361 circuit, YEAH!!!! Now it’s time to give it a twirl, well the left coil fires, but the right coil is dead, i figured so much, the coil was damaged before i bought it, but it still worked, and i suppose that more damage was caused when i put the engine in…that sucks.
Gotta find another coil before the weekend…..no luck so far, i may have to actually buy one, I can’t imagine that, ME buying a coil, spending money??????

got a used coil from a 4.0 6 cylinder engine with a dead tower. I only need 4 plugs to fire up the 4.6 after I fill the radiator, getting close to burning a little gasoline, however there is still plenty of things to do.

I had to go to town to grab some tools and decided to stop by the Crappa store to get some Scrappa Know How tubing and light bulbs, i just don’t Know-How i can get out of the store with only what i came in for. Somehow i walked out with a new coil and felt good about it…….those guys should know that i suffer from buyer’s remorse on this dammed red car. I should get a vaccination or something……

I chose to vacuum- bleed the power steering and the hydro-boost, as it’s too easy to burn the pump out when everything has been disassembled, there’s a hell of a lot of piping to trap air in the lines not to mention the pwr strg cooler and it’s a lot cleaner and faster than just letting it run .
Did some last minute check-ups, made sure that everything was up to temperature, so i decided to use the lame excuse to drive the car just so i could see if the speedo and odometer were going to work. The speedo & odo worked just fine, bummer.
I'm still going to try the 4.0 liter coil, I found out the different types of Ford coils and how they are wired, the coil I have is a common coil also fits a ton of different cars.at least I have a tester! maybe I can "test" the 4.0 liter coil out on Sunday so long as I stay way from the NAPA store.

You drove 'er! That's gotta feel good!

You know, you remind me a lot of this other guy I know who would much rather cobble something together than buy any new parts, haha. He does it with turbo 2.3s though. Recently, he even had one in a mid '90s BMW M3 that he got for nothing because the motor was blown. hahaha.

well it's not just about saving cash, it about accomplishing something against the odds or just a bit differently, I call it fun. I don't scrimp & save on the wife's cars or my truck, I've shelled-out quite a lot this past month on the Taurus and the Paseo, the Camry I did back in the spring. I need these cars to be reliable as they go 110 miles each day my wife goes to work, the Fairmont is just a toy for now. I absolutely refuse to sacrifice safety or reliability on those cars, safety first, reliability second. I don't like the Idea of having to worry when we go somewhere, unless it's about filling the tank and getting fresh coffee for the trip. I have been using nitrogen in the tires for years, it seems to keep the pressures consistent and provides maximum tire life regardless of ambient or road temps. I don't believe in crimp fittings using tape for insulation, I always use good brake pads, but I must admit I do like to cobble together a radio or amp or alarm or remote start for a good pass time, or add disc brakes, home-made ignition systems, serpentine belt drive alternator upgrades, repairing power seats etc.
if I had a BMW given to me, I would probably throw a Lexus engine in it, just for grins and giggles, I love the sound of a Lexus V-8 screaming its guts out, it's truly a nice note and vibration-free. I don't particularly like BMW, to me they are high maintenance vehicles, however free is free and what an opportunity!
It's getting very near the time to put the Fairmont back into service, and I intend to test the hell out of it as much as necessary until I am confident all is well before I put the carpet and passenger seat in. after I get the steering geometry sorted then the new tires will go on, and then after a short period of time boredom will creep in and more decisions must be made. as I said it is a toy, however it brings pleasure and satisfaction at the moment. I will miss the stiff ride, but it was my decision to go with a smother feel, my biggest goal at the moment is testing out the burn-out jug and then hitting the cruise control switch......

Oh, I wasn't saying you're cheap. Hell, if I'd used your approach on some of my trial and error mistakes, I would have saved myself a LOT of money!

But my friend does the same thing. Scours the forums and other resources for different ways, or comes up with his own ways to make things work, whether it be Ford or not, haha. It's definitely a talent!

I refer to my car as "cobbled together" all the time. But I'm way too impatient to come up with the wizardry you do.

I find it absolutely necessary to understand how things work; it makes it easier to diagnose components, especially electrical components. I kind of do it with a curious mind. when you break down an automobile into systems, sub-systems and components it makes it easier to work on, for example sake, a 2001 Ford Taurus ABS system, you try to forget about what vehicle it is on, consider the year model, and just concentrate on the symptom, then try to realize which component could cause the concern, the system is still rather primitive, this makes it easier, however on the same car, trying to figure out why the dash light are intermittently inop, is driving me nuts as the system is very simple and basic and should therefore be reliable, why it only happens when I am away from home is beyond belief.....oh well.
trying to figure out the coil issue was a relaxing bit of research, it seems they all have about the same voltage, fire 2 coils at once, once on compression stroke and once on the exhaust stroke, however they do fire positive then negative, and can be made to work on a variety of cars therefore having a tester around can be a treat, I do the same thing with blend door motors and a variety of other components etc to quicken diagnosis and verify wiring repairs.
when we modify these cars, we have to do a lot of planning, and research, for instance you have the Lincoln rear disc brakes and I have the Mustang rear disc set-up, both are done correctly, both work just fine, you used steel braided lines, I used rubber lines. now the two set ups are functional which would you recommend, I really don't know, I would use what I have, and if I don't like it I would change it,,,,,again and again & again and again....I went 5.0 about the same time or a little after you did, we both came out pretty similar, now that I went 4.6, i noticed an immediate difference in torque, however I’m certain the 5.0 would piss all over the 4.6, was it the right move-i don’t know, bhowever i did enjoy doing the 4.6 install.
There is a lot of info out there now for doing a lot of different mods, some info is better than others, we’ll just leave it at that. But it will make things easier for a lot of first timers to at least get an idea where to start, or maybe an idea of IF they want to start.
You have really shown some nice pix of your car and should be proud of it, you have the same sort of problems like myself, which would have expected. The explanations, procedures and photographs display evidence of research/plan/execute/trial and error/ rectification. Every time we embark on another modification, we have to assume/realize that there may be consequences, and i suppose in a way we are prepared for it.
I would love to have an opportunity to have something like these guys on TV on Fast & Loud or Stacey David Gears, unlimited resources, loads of help and sponsorship but that aint gonna happen, so i continue on and try to enjoy it.
Funny how yesterday i went to have my exhaust installed, i had shite loads of exhaust parts, mufflers pipes ETC., and a young fellow offered to do it for free. He said he wanted to do it because it was different…..and there was nothing going on in his stall. hey go for it. 1hour later, my car was so quiet i wasn’t sure it was mine. So i put 2 tires on the rear, i should have done all 4, but i have work to do on the frt end. The frt tires have flat spots, so they vibrate a bit, oh well all in time…
I’m using a 97 mustang 2v engine rated at 215 horsepower, there seems to be a definite loss in power, however the low end torque seems higher.
i need more road time to make sure it’s not my “memory”. I really like the 5.0, it was a great engine, ran well, had a good exhaust note, i hope Mike gets it in his car soon.
i’m going to have to replace the frt springs again, the 97 mustang springs are just a bit too soggy, i didn’t research the frt coils before i put them in, here’s a bone, the SN 95 frt coils have a smaller wire diameter, less load rate and less extended length, although they do give a smoother ride. Maybe I’ll leave them for a while.
Matching ignition and door lock cylinders, new speed control switches, power lock actuators and glass runs are next. The newer style 8 cut ford lock cylinders will fit the lock rods, you just have to do a little filing in the doors. So now that i have 2 keys with the same patterns, I’ll just go to my lock kit and “COBBLE” together a complete lock set. I would have preferred to “match” the lock cylinders to the keys, but “COBBLE” sounds cooler..Ha Ha!!

I was out driving the car when my front u joint failed…. This is the one that i used to swap the 4R70W yoke onto the C4 drive shaft. The C4 u-joint uses a 1310 type u joint and the a4R70W uses the 1330 type u joint. at first I thought a clip came out.
It seems the u joint was mis-boxed. When i put it in i did not notice any concerns, however it seems the joint was just a tad short on the longer axis allowing the joint to go off-center, making it vibrate. It would appear that the bearing plastic cups made the joint feel tight in the yoke during assembly with no loose fit.
I did all the research myself on Sunday afternoon to find this was the correct u-joint by part # . The parts store was willing to swap it out for a replacement, but made no remarks as to the liability for any transmission damage. So i put it in yesterday and all is fine now.
I never have a vibration like that before, i thought a wheel was coming off, it even made the steering wheel vibrate.

Smoother ride, you say? Shorter extended length? Hmm, sounds like a winner. I may end up going with a standard setup instead of coilovers now because of money issues. Are yours used or new? If used, how many miles?

That's a bummer about your u-joint. And something mis-boxed is about the hardest thing to diagnose! I'm glad it's all solved though.

I am proud of my car. I'm really looking forward to driving it more. I've learned to often expect the worst when I modify something, haha. It's safer for my pride that way.

Yeah I actually found the specs for the springs on the SCRAPA site, it was interesting info to know, however i was used to a pretty stiff ride, now I’m going the other way, and I’m not sure i like it just yet, although it is a goal.
As i am using the AJE k-member, i have no data to bounce around using the stock k-member so the only info i do have that i can verify, is the springs do definitely feel softer and rides smoother.
Currently i have the 97 springs in the car, they have 27k on them & sat for years, however they were out of the car for about 4 mos, so they were a bear to get in.
I found no difference between the 80 Fairmont frt springs and the 93 GT frt springs, if there was any difference, it was slight and un noticeable.
It wasn’t until the next morning that i measured the cross sections, they were spot on for the c4 cross, and the cross for the 4r70 side was spot-on!!??, it turned out that one of the cups had different depth.
I’m still hoping that the tail shaft bearing is going to be ok, so far so good. dude…..you never want to go thru something like that.
Just gotta keep the road time down for a while till i get more finished, hey it runs great, except the check engine light is on, looks like all 4 o2 sensors are flat lined except under heavy acceleration, oh well, at least they’re cheap. Oh well….

Yeah, I can imagine it's pretty scary to have that u-joint go out.

how are you getting on with the fuel filling issue? I tried to fit the cap less filler neck, but I have to do more work on it. I just used the old stuff and it worked fine.

I wonder if mike "FOX "81" has started his project yet. he had his hands full with school & work and the move. he said he was going to keep the 4 lug and drum brakes and the 7.5 rear axle. I think the 7.5 axle is pretty tough, I kept mine for a long time trouble free. yeah he's lucky, lives close to a boneyard.

Well, the car's on jackstands, and the battery's out. Sold my wheels today. It was 12 degrees when I went out to take them off. Probably won't touch the car until spring again. Depends on how warm it is in the late winter and how motivated I am to work on it. Pretty much positive now I won't have money for coilovers next spring, so that means wrestling different original-style springs into the thing if I want a better ride. F***, I hate that job!   So, long story short, I guess, I won't be putting gas in it for a long time.  

w o w 12f, that's c o l d. here I am moaning about some rain.....I did so much wiring, worrying about this and that, and then forgot to do the wipers!!!! I'd rather have a bit of rain than 12f.
I guess when I put the loom in, the wires went down behind something and I neglected to hook them up.
you may want to try the boneyards and see if they have any springs, they will most likely install easier than the originals,I used the same upper and lower isolators that came with the springs and it all fit just fine. as I said, it made a difference in the ride, and for me I did want a smoother ride, I hate to say it but I kind of like it but like usual, I'm certain that will change.. I'm considering trying to fit the original 22mm anti-roll bar, that may be another dumb idea, but I have to try it. don't forget to support the lower control arms when you loosen the ball joints. I've heard of people using the coil overs, there's some buyers remorse, however some are well satisfied, its hard to get a straight answer unless you know someone personally and can ride in their car and form you own opinion. some people just spit out specs and data and have a confused look on their face like they have memorized a little schpiele, however I do like the way you can load them up. I have no idea how the geometry or handling is affected or how long they will last pro's cons etc.
which wheels have you chosen, are you still going with the ES wheels or the others.
I'd really like to have a set of rallye wheels like the 69 Mustang had, with the trim rings and GT hub caps, but Wheel Vintiques doesn't sell them in 16in wheels, or maybe the black steel ones off the Fusion, they do those in a 17 in with low profile tires.
anyway, gotta split, more dreaming to do....

Yep, I've got that set of SVO wheels i'm going to use. I can't find a spec for what the offset is on them, but I can measure it myself when I get around to it. The main convincing factor was how they were intended to make the disc brake rear fit in the Fox Mustang, so by deduction there must be a more favorable offset for my car than the Bullitts (30mm).

Man, pulling springs in a boneyard, I think i'd have to buy a cordless sawzall first, so I can just cut through the stupid swaybar links rather than messing with rusty nuts. I usually don't have the patience to do an involved job like that in a boneyard, and I NEVER bring enough tools. I do see your point though.

Stymee has them in his car, and he lives pretty close. He says he's not necessarily satisfied with the springs he chose, but pretty much likes them. I would like the ride height adjustment with coilovers, I know that much. With regular springs it's more of a gamble. you get what you get, unless you want to keep pulling them out (I DON'T!) and cutting them until you get it where you want. But, the more my money situation tightens up, the less I can justify how much more coilovers cost.

Today it was raining again…..hell it doesn’t rain in the desert, and it’s always warm????? This morning it was 40f, my neck was so stiff i couldn’t bend it, and a nice headache to go with it, arthritis is a bummer. The sun came out a few times just to play with my mind, i wanted to change the door glass run on the driver door, however after i removed the old brittle seal in a million pieces, when i opened the box up, i had ordered the wrong part, it was for a 97 F250, (it has the same part# and style as the Fairchild stuff except for a dash) i wanted the same design but in a bulk strip, oh well; i managed to get it in, and it rolls up, so i’ll order the correct one later. While i had the door apart i did the power door lock for the left side and fitted a door lock cylinder to save some time. After that fiasco, i decided to rewire the wipers as they weren’t done during the refit, it was nice to get that done, but a bummer to find the fastest intermittent speed is a bit fiddly, it may just need to be used more, all that sitting around didn’t do it any good. the low/fast and all other speeds work fine. 2-marro I will part with some wedge and get some wiper blades.

The only time i’ve seen people truly happy with coil overs is on 4 whl drives, if one person was to seem happy about them, i would be interested, perhaps the guys are having installation and or alignment issues, or ride issues, i can’t believe any company would sell something that would be junk. Are the coil overs mainly for racing??? Do they give a harsh ride, i thought the fine tuning capabilities would be infinite……

I saw some special tools on maximum motorsports site to aid in fitting the frt springs, they claim it is only for fitting lowering springs; which is really weird, especially as lowering springs go in way easier that the OEM springs.

I cut ½ coil of my springs once way back to lower the car, a guy from discount tire told me to try it ½ coil at a time and it did make some difference, i guess the main thing is don’t go cut a coil & ½ like i did….way too low. Its best to cut the spring with a die grinder or angle grinder instead of a torch or sawzall. I’ll post a photo of my car when i cut a coil & 1.2 off if i get some time!!!

Hopefully Thanksgiving Day i will install the other lock cylinder & lock actuator, then i can start stowing the wiring away and get the carpet in after i get it cleaned.

Back in the day i had a 69 GTO, got married, then the family came along, it became a low priority. i managed to hang on to it for 10 years before i sold it to a guy who couldn’t do without it. yeah…. she hated that one too……

I wish you guys were closer, maybe we could all learn from each other.

Does your garage stay fairly warm?

Yeah, I think the walls are insulated at least, though the ceiling isn't. Plus I inherited a pretty big tube heater thing from my father in law this year if I want to try to get something done.

There will be no cutting things "at a time", because that implies I would be taking them out and putting them back in several times, and THAT AIN'T HAPPENIN'. I've been told cutting springs makes the ride harsher. I used to have some '03 Cobra springs in the front when I was thinking of swapping in an IRS (you might remember, my screen name on here used to be ZephyrIRS years ago), and those gave a pretty nice stance. I'll see if I can find some Cobra springs, probably '93-95 because those were the 5.0L years. I'm guessing the 4.6 is heavier, so springs designed to work with the 4.6 in the later cars would probably not jive as well with my car.

A GTO, huh? You're lucky. I'll probably never get to own a real muscle car. They're all seen as "investments" now thanks to all those damned auctions, so regular guys like us can't afford them anymore.

What type of power lock actuators did you use? Were they from a Mustang? Did we already talk about this? haha

not 100 % certain, but I think they came out of a 98 explorer, they have the short rods. if you look at the bottom of the door on the curved part, you will see a small dimple where you can drill a hole and rivet or bolt the actuator to the door.

I'll see if there is a part# on the other actuator and get a run down on which vehicle it fits.

I reckon the mustang ones would work, I just don't like the screw type actuators.

if you go to the Napa online parts site, you can look up info on the springs you need. click on the part name. then click on buyers information, all the info is there, you may find that the 5.0 springs are different than the 4.6 springs. 94-95 had the 5.0 and the 5.0 cobra engines. you may find there is a difference, maybe not, only research will tell. I think the AutoZone site has the same info, I believe you have to click on details.

Yesterday was very slow, in fact it was dead….so i went home at lunch time to grab the red one. It’s very unusual that the boss lets any personal cars in during the daytime. I did some testing to find both front O2 sensors were dead as the inputs were all there.
$60 later i had 2 brand new NGK O2 sensors delivered with a smile. I’m glad our Ford store also owns the local CRAPA store. Once i got good patterns from the frt O2 sensors, one of the rear sensors woke-up, so the guy next to me said he had one off his truck in his tool box, we went to look for it and somehow it was waiting to jump out and onto my car, it works great!
I finished soldering the wiring for the wiper motor & replaced the wiper blades. All works well.
I reckon I’ve gone nuts, or nuttier….i put the original 1980 frt anti roll bar back on the car. I kinda liked it for a change, because i have been running around without one lately.
as you know there is a hell of a difference between the original 22mm roll bar and the 33mm mustang frt anti roll bar, not only the diameter, but the shape. It is not a “perfect” fit onto the SN97 lower control arms, but its close-enough to do the job, for now….i said i wanted a cruiser.
Still haven’t done the alignment, but it doesn’t pull and drives straight, not bad for an eyeball alignment, but i don’t think it was worth the time involved….
I had a good look for leaks or any gremlins waiting to jump out, none noted, but them damn gremlins kin be sneaky and jump out when you don’t expect it.
If the weather holds out, i hope to get a few things done today. I’m going to clean out the inside and the trunk, i’ve got tools and parts all over the place, once that is cleared out, i can start getting on with other things, like a dry fit of the passenger seat and measure the clearance for the pcm, i still haven’t located a power right frt seat, so i guess the regular seat will do for now.