I have a 1987 reg cab short bed 22R pickup, no p/s, and have a few questions regarding this swap. I have been on advance adapters and northwest but most of the info is for 4wd vehicles. The motor will be coming out of a mustang. First, Is a body/suspension lift or aftermarket torsion bars necessary? Will I need a different oil pan? I want a manual transmission but not a toyota one and was wondering what manual transmissions fit the best with the least or no body mods? Does the T5 fit easy? Should I swap the rear end? I heard the 8.8 out of the explorers is a good fit but not sure. I plan on videoing and detailing the entire swap when I start to help others so I'm trying to make it go as smooth as possible. I'm not trolling. I'm serious about it and yes I've been searching but I'm asking direct questions wanting direct answers. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
BTW I just copied and pasted this thread from another forum. I found the 8.8 swap. As long as its the same on an 87.
i have been thinking of doing the same swap and I am curious about major mod to the truck also any body has done this swap to a 2wd ????
I remember someone saying a 1 inch body lift is helpful in clearing the oem oil pan from the cross brace on 2wd trucks < don't no how that works unless the motor mounts have a height adjustment I would think using a mustang trans would be much better and getting it to clear the tunnel might need some fab work . < or the body lift might help that and custom drive shaft and I would add some sort of suspension upgrade for the front
Well it started. I have the motor pulled and prepped the engine bay for paint today. I installed new shocks, sway-a-way torsion bars (which by the way greatly improved handling), and am working on a way to use my hydraulic clutch on the t-5. I purchased a 3.73 geared trac loc rear end. If all goes well I should have it all installed by the end of next week.
Nice i was looking up way and instructions on these swaps with minor fab work well good luck with the swaps will start mine soon thinking of trying the ls 5.3 swap who know well good luck
Here's a link for converting a t5 to hydraulic clutch. I'm going to see how this works. FORD MUSTANG T5 HYDRAULIC CONVERSION on the cheap DANGER ZONE - YouTube
Heavy Duty Toyota Motor Mounts, Ford, Chevy, GM Bolt-In Engine Mounts, Transfer Case Alignment Shims, Power Steering Kit, T-Case Mounting Plate
No. I ran across it searching. I'm hoping that it works because that would be awesome. Looks like it should. I'm removing the axle tomorrow and going to start the 8.8 install as well as picking up my 17in mustang wheels.
I can't believe how perfectly the 8.8 fits in our trucks. Now just hooking the brakes up and e brake cable. Btw I used the stock u bolt plates, I just bought 3 3/8 u bolts and used channel lock pliers to squeeze the ends together so that it fit in the plates. They are just barely to big and tighten down perfectly fine. I'm going to finish the brakes tomorrow, then hopefully get the motor in this weekend.
Btw there is an adapter to mate the metric/standard brake lines, and I just made my own e brake cables by going to lowes and getting cable and crimps for under $15. I'm sure it won't last forever but its working for now and you cant buy any e brake cable for less than that.
