Jumping into a Termi swap blind...

[CAMD FOX]

Hello guys and gals, my name is Chris and I'm going to be doing a Termi swap on my '85 GT. I bought the fox as my first car and modified it the last 5 or so years I've owned it. Two years ago I got the bite and really wanted a Termi. I ended up going through 2 SN Cobras, an SVO and a 2nd gen Lightning(which I still have) and none of them could satisfy my itch for a Termi. Unfortunately for me, getting rid of my fox was not an option due to the sentimental value and also the money that I would never come close to getting back out of it if I sold it. I also couldn't come to sell my Lightning as its just too good of a daily driver and comfortably accommodates my large stature. With that being said, the money was not there for another vehicle. I decided that if I'm not going to be able to buy a Termi, I might as well do the next best thing and put the heart of one in my Fox. Pipe dream right?

Fast forward to last weekend and a friend of mine gives me a lead on a donor car. 2003 Termi, front end collision, local and cheap. To make a long story short, I now have a running donor car and I'm happy as can be. I'll spare the details of my swap for a build thread, but it looks like my dream is becoming a reality. I've done some research here and there but I don't have a rock solid plan in place just yet. I'm anxious to check out the site here and get some ideas on the specifics of my swap.

 

[CAMD FOX]

Since I know most threads are useless without pics, here ya go.

 

[cpearson1342]

Very nice, can't wait to see it in your car. I'd definitely get a plan in place for how much you want to spend because you really don't need very much to do the swap, but if you want to go all out and don't already have things such as a tubular k-member/A-arms, coilovers, or anything else you may want to upgrade it can add up very fast.

 

[CAMD FOX]

Very nice, can't wait to see it in your car. I'd definitely get a plan in place for how much you want to spend because you really don't need very much to do the swap, but if you want to go all out and don't already have things such as a tubular k-member/A-arms, coilovers, or anything else you may want to upgrade it can add up very fast.

My biggest concern so far is the wiring. I want to keep my '85 interior in the car, and I also want the HVAC and heater to work. I've read that the 03/04 dash harness is a very easy swap into the 87+ cars and only requires repinning of the ignition and headlight switches, however I'm not sure how much the 85 differs.

 

[cpearson1342]

How good are you with wiring? I can provide pretty much any wiring pinouts you will need. You do not need to mess with any of the stock wiring for the most part. On our cars there are separate harnesses for the body and the computer, so you can just take out the computer harness and replace it with the new one that comes with the cobra, using the engine harness, and computer that link to it. The only thing you will need to do it either make a new, additional harness for behind the dash which will control turning the computer on, hook up your reverse lights, cruise control if you decide to do that, and depending on what you do for the gauge cluster. I suggest taking un-needed wires out of the engine bay harness, but that depends on your wiring abilities.

 

[CAMD FOX]

How good are you with wiring? I can provide pretty much any wiring pinouts you will need. You do not need to mess with any of the stock wiring for the most part. On our cars there are separate harnesses for the body and the computer, so you can just take out the computer harness and replace it with the new one that comes with the cobra, using the engine harness, and computer that link to it. The only thing you will need to do it either make a new, additional harness for behind the dash which will control turning the computer on, hook up your reverse lights, cruise control if you decide to do that, and depending on what you do for the gauge cluster. I suggest taking un-needed wires out of the engine bay harness, but that depends on your wiring abilities.

Novice, but like anything else, you can't learn until you get some practice. One of my goals is to make sure that the swap is California SMOG legal when it is all said and done. Some of the ways I looked at doing the wiring wont accomplish this. Since my car is an 85, I'm carbed, so the wiring is going to be a little different than yours. I dont even have an electric fuel pump.

 

[cpearson1342]

You shouldn't have too many issues with keeping it smog legal, just as long as you have cats. The dash harness I was talking about will also give power to the 02 sensors, so you have to make sure that is hooked up. The newer cars such as the terminators pretty much have a standalone harness, with a few exceptions of a few things that go on with the ignition. You shouldn't have too much trouble with the carb setup, like I said we have an 82 project that is on the verge of running. I would suggest running a new fuel line or using the one from the cobra in the fox, as many people do because the carb line comes out on the driver's side of the car, and the new engine has the connector on the passenger side. You will very likely want to use the cobra's fuel tank in your car, which will need modification to the filler neck, or you can get a glenn's tank like I did, which you can use the stock 85/86 neck for. You'll also need to run a few wires to go to the fuel pump, and disconnect where it goes to ground in the rear trunk harness, as the FPDM controls it through the ground.