Thinking of buying an 89 Country Squire

[Kodachrome Wolf]

What can be done about that?

You can swap the CFI for either Sequential Fuel Injection (SEFI) which came on the '86-'91 302s or you can go backwards and get a carburetor like the '79-'81 302s. I'd say go for a SEFI swap personally, since in stock form the 302 SEFI cars made more power than the carb'd or CFI 302 cars.

I think there's few threads floating around that have done both swaps.

[pantera77]

What can be done about that?

SEFI + HO/Explorer swap

[Master Shake]

Sweet. So HO swap it is then.

I'm going to be making a new thread soon. Detailing my adventures aboard the USS Drift Wood.

[DrHax]

Or depending on your buddies. If you have an expert hotrodder in your amongst your midst who knows carbs and combos.. You could easily carb that and get some nice power.. However, thats emphasis on Expert.. and not OH YEAH we lob a carb on it. I'd only consider doing it since your car is in that in-between area. Where as my car is EFI so it'd be a pain to go backwards. You not so much. Me very much. Fuel pump's different, etc,etc. Thats just my opinion. I do like fuel injection, but jesus from a "simplicity" standpoint there is quite a lot to the systems.

USS Drift Wood. I like that. I wanted to call mine the USS LTD, but mine was made in Canada. So I have a tendency to start screaming "Blame CANADA!" when ever I find an issue that seems to be OEM factory rather then PO fuckery.

[pantera77]

SEFI EEC IV is one of the simplest and most reliable factory fuel injection systems there is. Hell even the EEC IV CFI cars run good when all is happy, they just don't make any power and you can't mod them at all. The EEC III CFI cars on the other hand are legitimate garbage.

[sly]

Just a heads up... Unless the timing set has been changed on this car, it's probably got the plastic timing gear. do your best to not beat on it until you know for sure or HO swap it.

[87gtVIC]

Looks like a great car. Jealous over here.

[jaywish]

I really like the color.

[Master Shake]

Thanks fellas. Yeah the color looks freaking sweet up close in person. It looks like it has been repainted before, but seems to be the original color. I don't mind, like I said it looks sweet.

[Master Shake]

Alright guys, it's been a few days and a few more points of interest discovered.

So the rear is an 8.8 and has a trac lock unit. It seems weak, you can turn the wheels in park with some effort. Can't read the tag, I have to wire wheel it.

Also the parking brake cable is rubbing on driver's-side rear floor pan. And the brake light is on because the parking brake switch doesn't align with the pedal itself.

Already broken a plastic vacuum line and had to repair it with few pieces of hose. I do not like vacuum lines. Are there less vacuum lines with SEFI conversion?

The blower resistor is shot (only works on highest setting). It's located in the engine bay, on the firewall right?

And last but not least, the driver's window motor is shot and right rear door luck motor is just spinning. Driver's door has the holes drilled out already. Are the window motors rebuildable?

[sly]

the window motors are rebuildable... to a point. If it's locked up... it could be the nylon bushings have shattered and bits are blocking gear movement. you can replace with 7/16 bearings, #10 nuts (1/4 nuts are sometimes just a hair too big), 7/16 bushings, or 7/16 rod cut to 7/16 length. 6 nuts or 3 bearings/bushings. Clean the teeth of the big plastic gear completely to remove all bits. do your best to clean the worm gear on the motor as well. Slather back up with grease (petroleum jelly works, I use red and tacky Lucus mucus as I've found it to be safe on plastics). put it back together and see if it goes. If the motor is just spinning in the door and nothing happens... it's definitely the shattered bushings. The other issue is that the magnets in the motor may not be stuck to the casing any more. You'd have to re-stick those and maybe replace motor brushes as well. You can pull the motor out, take the big gear out of the housing (there's one screw holding that cover on - just take it out and pull the cover plate off), and plug it back into the wiring harness and see if the motor spins. If it doesn't spin with no load, rebuild/replace the motor.

The blower motor resistor is on the firewall... passenger side, just inside of the heater core.

[Master Shake]

Alright.

Another question. What is easier/better, convert my TBI to SEFI or simply drop in a later gen Fox mustang 5.0? Plot twist, I have access to a fully equipped shop and a lift, plus general knowledge of engine removal and such if that makes any difference.

[sly]

Going HO is going SEFI but with a different cam and computer. You can swap the cam and computer and do the SEFI swap and have an 86 HO and not have to remove the engine. Though, swapping the engine requires less bolts, but an engine hoist. If you can find a Mark VII to steal the HO from (later models for the E7 heads... I think they used the E6 heads up to 88 or 89?) or happen along one that's not beat to hell in a mustang... that would be preferred. If you are going to go ahead and convert to mass air (3 wires added to the loom and a few pins moved in the ECM harness IIRC), you can use a 5.0L from explorers too for even more go.

Easier would be SEFI swap (but change the timing set too just to make sure there's actual metal gears). Better would be explorer swap with better cam and new valve springs. Though easier would really be to pay someone else to do it.

[pantera77]

Alright.

Another question. What is easier/better, convert my TBI to SEFI or simply drop in a later gen Fox mustang 5.0? Plot twist, I have access to a fully equipped shop and a lift, plus general knowledge of engine removal and such if that makes any difference.

A HO swap requires a SEFI swap (unless you want to go carb).

Personally, I think a HO swap is a waste of time, and that's coming from someone who's done more than one conversion.
Get yourself a decent explorer/mountaineer engine, throw in some valve springs, a decent cam, supporting mods, and have fun, either way your going to be going a lot of work. There's a million threads on this, grab your drink of choice and get reading.

Of course don't forget supporting mods. You have an 84 which has an extra weak, extra terrible AOD. Not to mention all the other things that need to be changed .

[Master Shake]

Well here's what I think. I really don't like to have down time in my cars' driveability. (The fact that the Mustang is in hibernation, waiting for a frame rail transplant, is killing me). So I figured, I could find a Mustang HO engine, tear it down, have it machined and so on, new bearings and rings, etc. All the while my Wagon is puttering about on the roads. Then over a weekend, swap the motors and by monday be doing burnouts in the walmart parking lot. From there on, just simple bolt ons down the line.

Because other than that EGR spacer there is no physical difference between the engines right?

Really thinking of making a reliable daily that can still haul ass if need be. That's way down the line of course, I need it running right first.