Hi all, I'm new here, first post since the 20th attempt at creating a friggin' account here! damn! Anyways, I'm a member of 460.com and felt THIS project should go to you all. My brother in law just bought a second 89' lx stang for his wife with a pissy 2.3L four with a T-5 in it. We had an idea after a local junkyard expedition of swapping in a 3.8L V6, could be standard or auto don't know yet.(whatever we can find) How hard of a task is this going to be and what all is going to be involved? I figured for sure the injector harness and o2 sensor harness, but what about the ECM/ECU? Does it have to come with it? if so, where is it located at in the donor car? Please list everything you can think of We will need for this swap if its possible. (sorry my car is from the 70's! 545c.i. and no o2 sensors, injectors, or ECU's!) Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

If your going to swap, at least make it worth while. Going from the 2.3T to the 3.8L is like going from slow to slow. Drop in a 4.6, 5.4, 5.8, etc.
If your taking the ECU out of a donor 3.8L, check the passenger side kick panel. Located directly down and right from the glovebox. It's under a small piece of plastic interior.

Good luck man!

 

It's a good swap. The 3.8L is an awesome motor to tinker with.

You'll want the whole wiring harness (under hood and underdash) and the ECU - as mentioned.

The hardest part is wiring up the dash gauges to work. I had it all drawn out someplace for a 5.0L to V6 swap at one point, but I'm not sure I have it still due to a move.
Easiest way to figure it out is to get the layout for both cars, and look to see which wire is which in relation to the various harnesses behind the dash cluster.