The wiring took me a while. There are loads of internet diagrams and information on the Fox Mustang wiring harness and that helps a lot. I just took my time with it, and made a boatload of notes in case I had to back track. The Mustang setup is pretty self-contained but there are still about 15 connections that need to get made over to the chassis wiring.
Speedo worked just fine off the T5/Mustang VSS speed to the Ford ECU. I used a tach converter SIG-8 E and that's good too. The EEC-IV on-distributor ignition module pin # 6 sends an RPM squarewave signal out of the distributor, and it can be connected directly to the stock tach, but it will read high, like 6000 RMPs on the 302 will show as 7980 on the dash. I preferred to feed the RPM signal through the Dakota Digital SIG-8 E and get a true reading.
Patching the BMW coolant sensor into the 302 intake so I could use the panel gauge was a waste of time. The BMW gauge is buffered and it would read "normal" all the way to boilover when I was trying to get the radiator fan thermostat adjusted right.
I was making mine a track car, and I was really glad I did temp gauges for water and oil, as well as an oil pressure gauge. I have seen all 3 factors get to levels of concern at various times on the track while we were shaking out the bugs. Dorman 69015 is a M20 x 1.5 threaded metal plug that fits in the stock hole in the side of the oil pan where the Ford oil level sensor goes. With a crush washer, it was a leak-free seal. So I just drilled and tapped that Dorman plug in the right threading for an aftermarket oil temp gauge. Engine coolant and oil pressure sensors can be screwed into the stock locations on the 302.
It was s worth the hassle in my book to retain the ABS. I did it as my first step with the engine bay cleaned out so I had lots of room to work on bending the new lines and getting them joined up tight. This $30 flaring tool, and this Eastwood deburring tool, gave me beautiful bubble flares with no misfires. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .
I solved my steering problems by using two passenger side shorty headers, front-dumping the one on the drivers side. I stuck with the stock shaft no prob, but I did use the Flaming River conversion joint on the bottom for the connection to the rack. The stock rubber unit was too close to the header collector for my taste. Front-dumping the passenger-side header would've let me get by with one set of headers, but it's more work fabricating the collector than I wanted to mess with. It's easier to dump it out the rear so I only had to fabricate one goofy wrap-around header collector for the driver's side. There is plenty of room for dual 2.5" exhaust all the way back.
The other big hassle was making a bracket to mount the BMW power steering pump, getting the PS hoses fabricated, and getting the right size serpentine belt.
It's a fun track car. Gobs more torque than stock-motored BMWs. The 5th gear in the T5 is USELESS with the stock 3.2x diff ratio on the M3 but with tallish tires (24.5" or better) I still have so much TQ that I just blast around in 3rd and 4th gears and I run out of front straight before I run out of RPMs. Overall mine is a little faster than a well-maintained E36 M3 but not a ton faster. The stock-ish 302 needs a top end upgrade to breathe, and I'll reserve final judgment until I have that installed and sorted.
Last edited by JBasham; 02-20-2018 at 05:33 PM.
If God meant for man to motor-swap LS engines into track cars, He wouldn't have created Corvettes.
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