Fox to sn95 questions

[Chgammer]

first I'll start off I am getting a fox roller delivered Sunday it's original 4cyl believe it's a 89 but it's around that year getting on trade basically free picked up a 95 gt for 800 getting this fox and 850 cash for the 95 so don't cost me anything so like to keep it that way.car has 5 lug swap rear from a 95 gt and spindal And everything from same car on front. Interior is gutted but all the interior comes with car.with it all out its a no brainier not to do the sn95 interior swap i have a completed crashed 98 mustang gt 4.6 with t45 car only has 23k original miles picked up for 450 sold enough of un needed parts so that's free as well plus thousand of other parts from other cars I parted out so have everything I'll need to do a modular swap and interior swap.as far as interior looking to do complete motor and body harness from the sn95.ill only do the sn95 dash seats front and hopefully backs and the center console rest I'll keep foxbody. For the mean time I read mostly all the posts and have most of what I need to do ,but have few questions.
First drive shaft some say yes some say no will the drive shaft from the 98 work or will it be to long or shorter.
Second the steering rack from the 98 was damaged in crash so have one from fox and one from a 95 mustang there any difference from 98s
Taking whole k frame from 98 to put into the fox taking fox lower control arms with 95 spindals should work right?
Third with 4.6 motor in the fox will the steering linkage work without hitting motors all stock no mods or headers going in car
Also seen a guy cut fire wall out of sn95 and weld it into the fox will I need to do that or no.The sn95 column go through same hole as the fox?
I'm using the 98 gas tank hopefully the stock 4cly fuel lines if they line up if not do the sn95s fit without having to mod or re bend them?
Those are the only ? I had so far wondering on
As far as trans mount I'll look when I get to that point and see if I can use factory stuff if not I'll just by the conversation trans mount.

 

[Bill]

Welcome to the party. Good questions all...

1. Your 98 drive shaft will fit just fine. I always have used the SN95 shafts.
2. If you are doing the dash and steering column from the 98, you will want to use the rack from the 95 so they bolt up.
3. The column goes through the same hole, but is slightly different. The SN95 column has a support bearing at the fire wall. Drill the rivets our of the plate on the 98 and attach it to the Fox in the right location. There are several examples on here of ways that can be done.
4. The steering linkage will be fine with the stock 4.6 manifolds or most short and mid-length headers. Long tubes tend to be a minor problem.
5. Us the 98 fuel lines if they are in reasonable condition. They will lay right against your fox chassis almost perfectly.
6. I prefer the SN95 trans mount if you have any welding ability at all. If not, Stifflers makes a nice conversion mount that will bolt your T45 right up to the fox brackets.
7. You will not need to cut the firewall and weld it in. There are some firewall mods you can do depending on your choices in HVAC, but no need to do a complete firewall.
8. Your 98 K-member will work perfectly once you trim it. There are great pictures on here for how to do that. If you mix and match on the control arms, it will work, but it changes your tie rod choices, as the track width from fox to SN95 are different. Its not a problem, just a thing to do. Also don't forget that steering geometry changed over the years. Yes the 95 spindles will work. Not all spindles and control arms are created equal.

Something you didn't talk about is what you plan to use the car for. Will it be a daily driver? Will you drag or autocross it? Your planned uses should dictate your choices.

 

[Chgammer]

Welcome to the party. Good questions all...

1. Your 98 drive shaft will fit just fine. I always have used the SN95 shafts.
2. If you are doing the dash and steering column from the 98, you will want to use the rack from the 95 so they bolt up.
3. The column goes through the same hole, but is slightly different. The SN95 column has a support bearing at the fire wall. Drill the rivets our of the plate on the 98 and attach it to the Fox in the right location. There are several examples on here of ways that can be done.
4. The steering linkage will be fine with the stock 4.6 manifolds or most short and mid-length headers. Long tubes tend to be a minor problem.
5. Us the 98 fuel lines if they are in reasonable condition. They will lay right against your fox chassis almost perfectly.
6. I prefer the SN95 trans mount if you have any welding ability at all. If not, Stifflers makes a nice conversion mount that will bolt your T45 right up to the fox brackets.
7. You will not need to cut the firewall and weld it in. There are some firewall mods you can do depending on your choices in HVAC, but no need to do a complete firewall.
8. Your 98 K-member will work perfectly once you trim it. There are great pictures on here for how to do that. If you mix and match on the control arms, it will work, but it changes your tie rod choices, as the track width from fox to SN95 are different. Its not a problem, just a thing to do. Also don't forget that steering geometry changed over the years. Yes the 95 spindles will work. Not all spindles and control arms are created equal.

Something you didn't talk about is what you plan to use the car for. Will it be a daily driver? Will you drag or autocross it? Your planned uses should dictate your choices.

Thank you very much this is very helpfull probly will have few more question when I start getting into doing the swap this will be the first site I come to.this is the best forum I have seen and it deserves it.I have been on a lot of online or Facebook sites you ask a question you get a lot of comments a-relevant to the question or backlash and you never really find the answer so thank you very much again.I'm doing the swap more for just a driver and to have something that no one has and at moment with what I have makes Sence I'm not going out and getting/searching for all these partsto do the swap or I would not think of doing it.
I have it all I have a freshly rebuilt 306 and t5 waiting to drop in but I'm not a person that stays attached to vehicles.a year or so and I want somethings different lol with basic 302 it's only worth what it's worth 3-4500 range excluding high dollar builds a basic driver. if I mod swap I can get a little more not crazy numbers but more so I will enjoy the car and sell and not lose anything then next owner can use and enjoy.

 

[Bill]

You are correct that the mod-swapped Fox will bring a bit better price. Feel free to ask all the questions you need to. Look at the builds and see the different ways there are to do things. It sounds to be like you have all/most of the parts you'll need. They are fun cars to drive. And, I'm sure you know there is no shortage of modifications you can make to get more power and better handling out of them.

 

[Chgammer]

I have few more questions my rad was damaged in accedent so I'm going to get a new one.should I get a fox rad for a 5.0 or order one for a sn95 with 4.6 is there a huge difference.
do they mount the same on a fox? have never had them side by side I just know the 4.6 rads where real thin that's why I was looking to go to 5.0 rad. Thicker the rad better the cooling right. Cars getting dropped off tomorrow I'll post pics when I get a chance

 

[Bill]

I always use the 4.6 radiators. They do not mount the same way, but the mounts aren't terribly hard to change. There are plenty of guys who use the Fox radiators, but I have not done that. Looking forward to seeing pictures.

 

[Chgammer]

 

[Bill]

The car looks like a great place to start. The frost looks F***in' cold!

 

[cpearson1342]

Way too cold for me, anyway I'd personally go with the 4.6 radiator for a few reasons. To start, it's pretty easy to mount and I would even suggest just welding in the mounts from the 4.6 car which is what I'll be doing soon, instead of cutting off the dowels at the bottom. Another problem is that the fox inlet/outlet ports are 1/4" different, meaning you will most likely need a rubber adapter. It's also convenient that the 4.6 radiator already has a fan/mounting for the stock fan on it, which cools very well. (Mine never gotten to 200 with stock radiator/fan, and usually tops out around 190 unless I'm doing something really strenuous on the car) So if your fan is still good, or you can get one for cheap I would go 4.6 radiator.

Also if you're using the stock k-member most people, such as myself, notch the mount pad on it to move it forward a bit. On our 2nd swap car that's currently in progress, we decided to take the mount apart, fill in the old holes, weld in some bolts and move it back 5/8" to move the engine forward. Looks great/stock and I personally like it better than the notching, especially since we just bought a $400 tubular k-member that was not going to get notched. I'll try to get some finished pics, didn't have any on hand.

 

[cpearson1342]

Also I have a stifflers mount for tr-3650 and I love the quality/design of them so I would opt for that if you've got the cash

 

[myers407]

Great starting point. Look at my thread on the swap I did. I used a 2002 for the parts car that had front end damage. You are correct that you will see some have cut drive shafts and some have not. It comes down to the placement of the K member. I had to cut mine down 1 inch but the second car I did not have to be cut. You will have to use the fuel lines form the SN they will lay in just fine but the fuel system is a bit different on the SN cars. I built mine as a daily driver and have had very little problems out of it.
As for the cooling system I did use the Fox radiator for the ease of mounting and used a 2002 degas bottle. I am running the factory cooling fans and have had great luck with it. If you do go this route just be sure that you get all the air out of the system or it will run hot. (found that one the hard way)
The steering is a bit more labor intensive. There is a support bearing located at the firewall that will have to be used. You can use the full steering plate as seen in some builds or some have cut the bearing out and used a small section of steel to rivet it back in place. Placement of the bearing is somewhat important so for the best results use the full plate. Its a bit more work but will guarantee that it is in the right place.
No worries of being ridiculed on this sight. We are here to help because we all love the cars and we have all made mistakes during the builds. But that is haw we learn. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to ask questions and post pictures.

 

[cpearson1342]

Here are the finished motor mounts, this will most likely only work if you're using the stock ones and want to move it forward. I'm told the poly ones are really stuck to the plate and most likely won't come off without breaking them.