Preparing the 5.0L for installation

I started my swap by changing out the oil pan and installing the new dipstick on my donor engine. It's an 89 5.0L with AOD out of a Mustang LX convertible.

I bought the car from the owner of a reputable local shop, who told me the engine had about 20K miles on a rebuild and the transmission had less than a thousand miles. But to look at it, this thing looks like it's been leaking oil from every gasket since 1989. At least it ran OK.

The donor engine had the stock rear sump oil pan and the dipstick on the side of the engine block. The 69 Mustang needs a front sump oil pan on the engine. The dipstick should be moved because it needs to go down into the oil pan sump and the hole in the side of the block is not located over the sump of the pan needed for the 69 Mustang.

I drilled the hole for the dipstick tube, freehand, without removing the oil pan or timing cover. I then drilled the alternator/smog pump/tensioner bracket, put the tube where it needed to go and gave it a few taps with my trusty brass hammer. It's solidly pressed in and reads correctly (I compared it to the factory dipstick's reading). To plug the factory dipstick hole in the side of the block, I removed the old tube, cut it short, crimped the opening, soldered it closed and put it back in the block.



I also pressure washed the engine. Of course, there were a few metal shavings on the inside lip of the bottom of the timing cover from drilling the dipstick hole. I cleaned them out and thoroughly washed the entire area with a can of spray carb cleaner.



It is pretty obvious where to drill once you get in there. You can see the dipstick peeking out behind the alternator.


Here's JamesW's page on the subject: http://www.midnightdsigns.com/Mustang/Engine.htm (cache)
Here's another one: http://www.mustangandfords.com/howto/16159_engine_aod_transmission_swap/ (cache)

If the drilling is not something you want to do, Jegs has a kit to take care of the conversion. It has a new oil pan, timing cover, dipstick, etc.


Here's another pic of the dipstick on the 5.0:





I took the smog parts off because they provided no fuel economy or performance benefit and would have made the installation more complicated. Extra plumbing is just more work. Plus I'm not sure how effective the system would be without the catalytic converters installed and they definitely were not part of the plan.

The smog pump was removed and a Ford Racing idler pulley was put in its place. The pulley isn't necessary if you're willing to find the correct length belt.

There are two smog lines that go to the back of the cylinder head. Removing the lines results in an exhaust leak that needs to be pluged. I found a couple of allen plugs for the holes at a local fastener supply store. For the record, they are 5/8-11. Trick-Flow? also sells the plugs and you can buy them through Summit for under $4. My problem with them is that they are about an inch long and hard to thread into the carbon-encrusted port.


For the exhaust was hoping I could get away with the 89 Mustang exhaust manifolds so I could save the expense of real headers for now. However, the donor exahust manifolds will not work in the 69 chassis, they are too wide. Here are some pics:






There is a tiny bit of clearance on the passenger side but the driver's side is barely touching the steering box. If the manifolds were 1/4 inch narrower on both sides everything would be great.

I went with some Heddman shorty headers from Summit. These headers were $150 and all the prices I was finding for some longtubes that would fit with the AOD were around $700.







These fit much better than the stock 5.0 headers. It would have been easier to install them when the engine was out of the car.


I'll be getting these collectors for the shorty headers: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=HED%2D21127&FROM=MG
The collectors that came with the headers were 2" and I'd rather go a little larger. Plus these have the O2 sensor bungs already installed.