I know this may not be something I can get a complete rundown on here on the forums, I'm just looking for advice and resources on where I can get the information I need. Here's the situation. My stepfather recently came across a pair of Mavericks, both skinny bumpers, one V8/manual trans grabber with blown engine. I haven't had the chance to inspect them myself, but the Grabber sounds like it could be driveable with a new engine and the other is more suitable for a parts car. So here's my question. If I wanted to put an EFI 5.0L engine in this Maverick and had a large junkyard with an ample supply of vehicles to choose from. What would I need to know to do the swap? The goal is to make this a daily driver vehicle for a fairly low budget. I have enough electrical skills to modify a wiring harness as needed. A skilled welder is available if needed. Basically I'm just looking for some wisdom from others who have done this before and may know some tips or tricks to make it go smoother. The whole EFI system is a bit intimidating. Thanks EDIT: What other things would you do to this car if it was yours and you had the engine/trans out of the car???
The first thing I'd ask is "Why do you want to go EFI?" If you're dead set on it, do you have access to a '89-'93 (edited) Mustang harness (and possibly roller motor)? That'd be the best bang for the buck (IMO). I do not profess to be a wiz at anything automotive, especially electronics. I had to have someone else finish my project. There's really too many items to get into in one post. You can do a search here on this site for "EFI" and other keywords to help you out, but it's mainly taking the entire harness out, removing what you don't need and putting it into the Maverick. One blurb of advice: MARK EVERY WIRE THAT YOU CAN PRIOR TO REMOVAL FROM DONOR CAR. But I'd seriously consider the reason of 'why' you are doing it and reconsider going carb. Mine is a strip-only car. I hate chasing jets on a carb to find out what works best for that particular weather. I'd much rather have the computer do the adjusting for me. Basically, I'm lazy. I also already had a donor EFI car and 347 engine for the project (1990 Mustang). Good luck, Rick
Reasons I do realize that this will not be a small undertaking by any means, but here are my reasons. My stepfather has extended the offer of garage space and use of the welding equipment as he seems to be fairly excited about the project as well. (he knows I've been kicking myself since the day I sold my first Maverick.) This conversion has been done countless times before and should be fairly well documented, (if not in maverick form, classic mustangs or street rods.) I like the idea of having more horsepower from a stock motor with better gas mileage. While it may not be a lot better, every bit helps with gas prices the way they are. Sure I could go L4 or V6, but we all know that's not as much fun. There's also the fact that summer/winter starts are less of a hassle. But mostly, I just think that I'm ready for a challenge like this. I realize there are downsides and difficulties to this project as well. I'm in a position where this is no longer my primary mode of transportation as was the case with my original Maverick and I'd like to take advantage of that. I gather from your post though that you would recommend getting a complete donor car for the project as opposed to gathering the needed parts? And I completely agree with the labeling thing. I'll never do a job like this again without markers/masking tape/ziploc bags/etc.
re: donor car You mentoined you had access to a large junkyard. I assumed this was going to be a budget-build. You can buy all the parts new, but if you have them available to you, why would you? It'll definetly be a challenge (from the fuel pump, to the gas tank, both fuel lines, to welding of the O2' bungs, mounting of the EEC, etc., etc., etc.,). I'm glad my EFI install is over - I won't do another one. I'd stick with carb and deal with chasing the mixture at the track. However, I understand your want for a daily driver to be EFI. It's definetly less of a hassle than carbs. Good luck and please keep us updated with your progress.
Since I done mine back in 1996 I can give you enough to get a handle on the project. 1. Get a copy of the Ford Fuel Injection book by Probst. 2. Overall you need to place a double fuel line assembly out of the fuel tank or do the an intank pump assemly of some sort. 3. Go with the late alternator and a larger battery. The battery may have to go to the trunk. This provides room to mount the full stock FI air intake. 4. The spring tower braces may have to be built for clearence over the upper plenum on the drivers side. 5. The rest is becoming familuar with all parts of the FI so you can troubleshoot for problems after it's done and in the future. Other notes: If you don't want to go Mass Air then consider an 89-92 Lincoln Mark 7 system. These setups run very strong in a 3900 + lb car stock. Trans is open to the AOD, Manuel, or C4 auto. Exhaust can be done with Heddmon shorties and putting the Ox sensors in the head pipes close to the header outlets. You can fab your own H or X pipe assemnly and tuck the mufflers to the rear up close to the floor pan each side of the drive shaft. A good shop can form the over axle pipes and get the pipes out the back as long as you don't go over 2" to make it easy. External fuel pump is from an 85-87 pickup mounted at the front of the tank up high out of the way with a short run to the tank. Advised to install a tank sump to place the pick in or you run out of fuel with a low fuel level under acceleration. A useful website to start with would be fordfuelinjection.com Good luck.
Yes, it is quite a project and takes guts to do it. It'll be worth it in the end tho. Off of what Rick posted you'd want to look for 89-93 and not 94 or 5 because they went a different route with the computers.Find you a wrecked mustang and use all the goods from it. Get you the Fuel Injection Manual or just a haynes manual. I used the haynes.
Thezule, be sure to do a search on this forum for "efi swap" and "efi conversion". There are many threads that reference this topic. Bascially, do your homework before you start and you should be fine. It has been long enough now that I have forgotten most of what I did. If I recall the most difficult part was determining where to integrate the efi harness to the maverick electrical system. Also, the fuel return line was the other "bigger" issue to deal with. I used the starter solenoid for alot of the connections needed for the efi harness. I'm not sure how many times I actually spliced into the mav harness but it wasn't very many! Once you study the wiring diagrams and read a little about conversions it really isn't that complicated. You basically have an ECM with about a dozen sensors (O2, ACT, ECT, TFI etc) that need to be on at the appropriate time. If I can do this conversion with absolutely no formal training in automotvie mechanics and electronics than you can certainly do it with your level of knowledge and experience. One other thought, many folks forget to connect the inertia switch to their fuel pump. If you relocate the battery to the trunk this is very simple. I mention this because it is a very important safety issue. In the event of an accident this switch will turn off the fuel pump. You don't want that thing running while trapped in a car that is upside down and throwing sparks around!! Ok, it may run out of fuel fairly soon if it is upside down but you get my point. When I did my conversion Bluegrass and Sam M where very helpful. Since this time, several others have performed the swap including Rick B and others. Can't remember who has the blue and white sprint with EFI. Very nice car!!! Good luck. Just read Ricks post and I have to agree that I'm not sure I would do this swap again. It sure takes up a lot of room in the engine bay and is not as clean under the hood. I also don't think there is much of an HP gain over a well tuned roller motor with a carb. If I ever go with a 393 stroker I'll probably go back to the good ole carb! Although, peforming this swap did enhance my understanding about how injected cars operate and this knowledge has been useful when repairing my daily drivers.
AMEN on this. Stay VERY far away from the '94/'95 Mustang computers. They are nothing but problems. I have been fighting one for 3 years...
I think I would look at using the Painless Performance EFI harness rather than mess with the factory one.
Definitely go with an aftermarket system. It is money well spent. The EEC modules ford used aren't the best either. The holley commander is pretty nice, plus they have pretty good support on their website. There are a ton of different aftermarket EFI suppliers. You'll have to do comparing to find the one that is best for you. I think Car Craft or Hot Rod did a EFI compare a while back.
