The 1997 V6 to Terminator swap

[cheebs127]

I just picked up some export mirrors today.They will be part of my winter plans which is to finish up the exterior with some additional touches to complete the look of a Terminator as if it were made in 94-98 body style. Ill be posting updates each of the following as they happen!

-Export Mirrors. These need the bases and mirror housings resprayed
-Rear Bumper. My mother in law backed into it while I had the car in MA. It needs to be repainted and Im going to have the "Mustang" letters filled in and smoothed
-Custom side skirts. These are going to be cleaner/sleeker and styled after Terminator skirts
-Custom front bumper. I'd like to make the opening for the heat exchanger larger, similar to the 03/04
-Aero parts. This is still in the air but I'm considering a front lip/splitter, side splitters and a diffuser. Mostly for an aggressive look but I do have interests of tracking it someday
-Aerolatches - replacing my conventional hoodpins
-Heat extractor hood vents- not sold on this idea yet either but would help complete the 03/04 influence I'm after

 

[g36 monkey]

That would make this thing even more sick!!

 

[ChronicFox]

Good God man! Peanut butter and Jealous! What a spectacular build! Just covered all 15 pages from front to back! I'm wanting to tackle this swap on the the same car but a 96, but not nearly in depth as you have. My big question is about wiring. Did you swap the main chassis harness as well? I'm referring to the harness for taillights and headlights complete followed by cutting off plugs for your 97 lights and reattaching them to the terminator harness? I was hoping I could pull the dash and swap the dash harness along with the engine harness and be done. I feel I'm sadly mistaken.

 

[cheebs127]

Good God man! Peanut butter and Jealous! What a spectacular build! Just covered all 15 pages from front to back! I'm wanting to tackle this swap on the the same car but a 96, but not nearly in depth as you have. My big question is about wiring. Did you swap the main chassis harness as well? I'm referring to the harness for taillights and headlights complete followed by cutting off plugs for your 97 lights and reattaching them to the terminator harness? I was hoping I could pull the dash and swap the dash harness along with the engine harness and be done. I feel I'm sadly mistaken.

I swapped almost everything mostly because I had it right there and going from a V6 car to a V8 I figured there would be differences. From what I remember these were the big differences that still might be a problem for you or not depending on what else you're using.

-I used the 03 fuel tank so I needed the FPDM and wiring in the trunk. The 03's evap system is also mounted next to the tank on these years v.s. inside the passenger fender on 94-98
-Tail light harness plugged right into the 03 harness so that is easy
-It uses the same headlight bulb connector so those plug right in to the 03 harness. Cant speak for the fog lights though

I'm not an expert but I know people have done swaps with the wiring harnesses you mentioned so I'd think you could just upgrade your fuel system and be good to go

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

Where’s my brake bracket Curtis?!??

 

[ChronicFox]

I swapped almost everything mostly because I had it right there and going from a V6 car to a V8 I figured there would be differences. From what I remember these were the big differences that still might be a problem for you or not depending on what else you're using.

-I used the 03 fuel tank so I needed the FPDM and wiring in the trunk. The 03's evap system is also mounted next to the tank on these years v.s. inside the passenger fender on 94-98
-Tail light harness plugged right into the 03 harness so that is easy
-It uses the same headlight bulb connector so those plug right in to the 03 harness. Cant speak for the fog lights though

I'm not an expert but I know people have done swaps with the wiring harnesses you mentioned so I'd think you could just upgrade your fuel system and be good to go

I think you may be partially correct, but I bet it is a major wiring headache re pinning connectors. I've read that the sn95 is 33 circuits total and the terminators are 57. Is the fuse panel directly connected to the chassis harness? I'm thinking the least amount of headache would be to do the same as you have and just swap the whole works. I'm also curious to know if the power door harnesses plug right in or if they need to be swapped out also. It would be sweet if they just plugged right in and worked. By swapping out the body harness that makes the fuel system wiring and transmission wiring way less headache also. What did you do for connections to hvac in the sn95 with the cobra dash wiring? Did they just plug in also? Also curious about the sound system.

Sorry for being a pain in your neck Cheebs! A guy can only learn by asking questions!!!

 

[cheebs127]

I think you may be partially correct, but I bet it is a major wiring headache re pinning connectors. I've read that the sn95 is 33 circuits total and the terminators are 57. Is the fuse panel directly connected to the chassis harness? I'm thinking the least amount of headache would be to do the same as you have and just swap the whole works. I'm also curious to know if the power door harnesses plug right in or if they need to be swapped out also. It would be sweet if they just plugged right in and worked. By swapping out the body harness that makes the fuel system wiring and transmission wiring way less headache also. What did you do for connections to hvac in the sn95 with the cobra dash wiring? Did they just plug in also? Also curious about the sound system.

Sorry for being a pain in your neck Cheebs! A guy can only learn by asking questions!!!

No worries, ask away!

Thanks for reminding me about the door harnesses. I went from a convertible Terminator to my coupe so there was that. Either way the 99+ use different conncectors and the biggest difference is the lock actuators so I ended up getting two coupe door harnesses and actuators from the junk yard and installed them in my doors. I then re-pinned a coupe connector to the chassis side of the harness and capped off the extra wires. Worked like a charm

The fuse panel is connected the the chassis harness under the dash.

For HVAC I had swapped the entire air box and everything over but they didnt look any different so those should be compatible

The sound system I removed the whole Mach system that was in the convertible and just used the basic power,ground,ignition for an aftermarket head unit and I ran my own speaker wire to the four speakers because I dont have the mach system amps anymore. Went real basic with my stereo!

 

[cheebs127]

Where’s my brake bracket Curtis?!??

The mail man must have lost them!

 

[ChronicFox]

The power train package I got didn't come with the main body harness so I'm looking to buy one so there is no repinning required. Why did you have to repinn on the chassis side if you used cobra door harnesses? I'm assuming the con ector on the actuator is different neccitating the swap? I'm also assuming the wiring you capped off was for the drop top?

From what I know, the air boxes for the Hvac are identical. Not sure about the wirING for them though. As well as the heater control panel/switch.

Another question about the main fuse panel for under the dash, if I buy this chassis harness is the fuse panel hard wired to it or is it a separate entity? I'm in Alberta and the harness is coming from Georgia, it would be sad to open the box and not see it with the harness lol!

 

[cheebs127]

The power train package I got didn't come with the main body harness so I'm looking to buy one so there is no repinning required. Why did you have to repinn on the chassis side if you used cobra door harnesses? I'm assuming the con ector on the actuator is different neccitating the swap? I'm also assuming the wiring you capped off was for the drop top?

From what I know, the air boxes for the Hvac are identical. Not sure about the wirING for them though. As well as the heater control panel/switch.

Another question about the main fuse panel for under the dash, if I buy this chassis harness is the fuse panel hard wired to it or is it a separate entity? I'm in Alberta and the harness is coming from Georgia, it would be sad to open the box and not see it with the harness lol!

I only had to repin on the driver side because it had a connector with more pins in it for the rear convertible windows. Donor was a vert and my car is a coupe. The passenger side was plug and play.

Ill have to peek under there and see if the fuse box is removable from the harness. I didnt have to myself because I just took the entire dash frame and wiring and put my black 97 dash cover on it.

 

[cheebs127]

Weighed the car today. Came in at 3560 with a full tank of gas and no driver. I’ve been curious since I finished it and I brought an old battery to the metal yard and they let me drive on the scale to see. It’s about a hundred pounds lighter than a stock 03/04 coupe stock


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[g36 monkey]

Not bad!

 

[white95]

More! Appease me with pictures!

 

[cheebs127]

Not a whole lot of pictures lately. It’s tucked away in the garage for the winter now. I got a new banner for the garage though and a white board that will be filled with a list of winter projects soon!

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[cheebs127]

Installed some sound deadening in the cabin. It’s really light weight and easy to install. I was trying to cut down on some of the drivetrain noise I created by installed all the stiffer bushings and mounts. I’m waiting to get a new diff cover and mount for the IRS Installed and then I’ll see if the combo of the two helped at all.

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[Barner1]

What a great build! I enjoy this thread a lot :thumbsup:

 

[white95]

Fixed by oldawgnewtrikz, on Flickr

 

[evilcw311]

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[cheebs127]

New diff cover and mount came in the mail so I got right to work. Got it removed and the new cover on and sealed. Have to bring it somewhere to get the bearing and seals replaces though

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[evilcw311]

Which diff cover is that?


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