Engine Swap Leessons Learned, Do's, Don'ts & Wished I Would Haves

[Gary Lewis]

...tell us more about how you put the ECA in the kick panel on your '82.

I saw that's where it belonged on later trucks, so I tried to cram it in there from inside. But the e-brake was too close to the lower A-pillar/kick, so I slotted its firewall holes & slid it over. Then I cut the firewall near the A-pillar, and folded the steel back to make the size & shape hole to fit the EEC. Then I cut the bent steel flush with the firewall & slathered it with fiberglass (or Bondo - whatever) to seal it, and to give the EEC seal something to seal against. Hose it down with paint, and stick the EEC in.

Was the '95 EEC-IV or V?

EEC-V (OBD-II) started in '96 for these trucks.

http://supermotors.net/getfile/731920/thumbnail/eec95way1.jpg

Did you have to dimple or cut into the kick panel?

Not the steel A-pillar/kick, but I cut the plastic kick trim.

http://supermotors.net/getfile/71661/thumbnail/pcm-inside-text.jpg

Did you have to lengthen the later wiring

No, the truck is the same size, and I put the EEC where it was supposed to be, so the wiring fit fine.

Cool! So you didn't have to cut the cab's kick panel, just the trim panel. I'm fine with that.

As for cutting the firewall and slathering it with fiberglass or Bondo, that was because the firewall wasn't smooth at that point? You needed to get it smooth for a seal?

I'm going with EEC-V in both Big Blue and Dad's truck to get OBD-II so my kids can have them maintained when I pass them down, so have been looking for how to do this. Thanks!

[Steve83]

...the firewall wasn't smooth at that point? You needed to get it smooth for a seal?

Yes. The e-brake attaches to a blister on the firewall (dimple viewed from the engine side), so the folded metal is perpendicular to the FW so it comes back out to flush. That's where I cut it off, and then FG'ed the notch closed & flat so the foam seal of the EEC retainer plate would have a flat surface.

I'm going with EEC-V in both Big Blue and Dad's truck to get OBD-II...

Then I'd recommend a 5.0L MAF EDIS OBD-II Explorer/Mountaineer as your donor since it's the highest technology on a smallblock engine. It's a common swap among early Broncos, so you can find more details on http://classicbroncos.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42 , but lots of people have problems because they try to "clean up" (eliminate necessary components from) the wiring. Or they try to bolt the EFI hardware onto their old worn-out 302ci blocks. Or they do other crazy hacks that cause ongoing problems, instead of just letting it all work the way it's designed to (including all the emissions systems).

[Gary Lewis]

...the firewall wasn't smooth at that point? You needed to get it smooth for a seal?

Yes. The e-brake attaches to a blister on the firewall (dimple viewed from the engine side), so the folded metal is perpendicular to the FW so it comes back out to flush. That's where I cut it off, and then FG'ed the notch closed & flat so the foam seal of the EEC retainer plate would have a flat surface.

I'm going with EEC-V in both Big Blue and Dad's truck to get OBD-II...

Then I'd recommend a 5.0L MAF EDIS OBD-II Explorer/Mountaineer as your donor since it's the highest technology on a smallblock engine. It's a common swap among early Broncos, so you can find more details on http://classicbroncos.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42 , but lots of people have problems because they try to "clean up" (eliminate necessary components from) the wiring. Or they try to bolt the EFI hardware onto their old worn-out 302ci blocks. Or they do other crazy hacks that cause ongoing problems, instead of just letting it all work the way it's designed to (including all the emissions systems).

Ok, I think I understand on moving the e-brake. But you used a later model one. Why? I have a '90 unit - would that work? (I'll have to lay the two side by side and see what the differences are.)

And I'll work the mounting out for the computer, now that I know it can be done there. But essentially the computer is all I'm missing. Big Blue is a 460 and I have a 1996 CA-spec 460 harness, mass air flow meter, air cleaner housing & hoses, etc. Unfortunately, Mark/Dyn Blin didn't find the computer at that salvage, so I'll use one from a small-block and change the parameters using Core Tuning's package.

Bill/85lebaront2 has already been down this road on Darth and I'm hoping to use his setup as my starting point. But, I'll need to tell the computer that I have a manual tranny and no EGR, which means my timing map will have to be different than his.

Anyway, that's the plan. Thoughts?