88 TC 2.3T into my 86 coupe Wiring nightmare or ??

Demented4.6

Founding Member
Mar 14, 2001
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DAYTON, OHIO
well i originally choose to put the motor in my 91 auto coupe and do a 4.6 in the 86. I don't think the 91 is worth the trouble anymore due to the fact it has been wrecked 3 times in the front and has a fair amount of rust on the rear fender wells and lower rocker panels. I plan on continuing to use the 91 as my daily driver and build the shiot out of the 86. Mainly because i love the 4 eye and its a t-top coupe. I am completely gutting the car of everything and starting over as new. I have a complete 96 gt interior going in and want to slap the 2.3t in as well. The car is originally a 2.3 carbed 4spd.

so now to my question. what should i do about the wiring. when i stripped the TC down i was planning on using the 91's wiring so i didn't get the wiring from it.

thanks
 
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Been on stingers site a million times and yes it is a wealth of knowledge but all 87 and up unless there is something i am missing. I know how to do the swap but my question is basicly what is the best way to do with my 86 carbed wiring,
1, swap in a 87 up engine harnes ( and will it plug in to anything)
2. swap in a 88 TC harness
 
after looking all over turboford thats the conclusion i came too. Thanks stinger. Im also going to have to do all fuel lines and fuel tank as well arent i. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. means id have to find a trashed 4 banger 87 up to strip it of everything i need.

Still curious as to what this LB2 computer is. and is it worth using
 
Shouldn't be hard to find a wrecked '87+ 2.3 to get parts from, they're in the yards all the time where I live. There are a few people here and on TF with EFI-swapped 2.3T, Mike SVOR comes to mind with his '86 notch. Do some searching on TF and I bet you'll find some good info.

Ash
 
Been There, Done That

I have done this swap before. I swapped an '88 TC powertrain (Engine, Trans, Rearend) into an '85 4 cyl 4speed. It wasn't that difficult, really. I used a fuel tank and pump from a '91 GT, used the Turbocoupe's nylon/seel fuel lines. Although they are longer, you can route them so that they work and still look good, it's just a PITA not kink them in the process. The wiring, ahh, what fun. First off, i grabbed COMPLETE wiring diagrams for both cars. Found out what needed power on the TC's ECU harness and grafted it into the '85 harness, using O.E. style connectors. Looking under the hood, it's like the car was that way from the factory. If you use a harness from an '87 and up mustang, then you run into a problem with wiring up the guages, as they are different. Basically, either way you go you are going to have to graft two wiring harnesses together, no matter which way you go. But it's so EASY, just get COMPLETE wiring diagrams for the two years of vehicles you have and go to town, splice + to +, switched power to switched power, ect. easy, and everything will still be fuly functional. you can purchase them here, and have access for 1 year. \

http://www.alldatadiy.com

I used the TC's fan assembly, and had the "nostrils" from the TC's hood grafted into the Mustang's hood so that the intecooler was functional, I would post a pic but i'm not on my home pc right now. The only other problem I ran into was the fuel guage not working. Ford changed the resistance of the sending units in 1987, so since we are using a '91 tank, the fuel guage in the dash of the '85 reads awkward. I can fix it by adding a resistor in the circuit to the fuel guage, but haven't had time.

With the TC motor in the '85, with fuel pressure at 55 PSI, and boost turned to 18 PSI, the car cranked out [email protected] last time out, this is before the intercooler was functional, other then the boost controller and fuel pressure regulator, the TC motor is completely stock with 158,197 miles on the clock.

The whole process took about 5 days working 8 hour days with 2 people working on it.
 
sounds easy enough. i found some more usefull stuff on turboford.org so i think i have it all planned out.. Im not too worried about any gauges working due to the fact i am using a complete 96 gt interior. So thats a whole nother story. I just want it to start and run. I'll figure the dash wiring out later