_{This is my 1979 Mercury Capri. Basically the same as a Mustang (at least from '79-'86).  I built this car in the fall of 1993 when my '86 Mustang GT got totaled by a little old lady. The Mustang got hit on April Fool's Day the same day Alan Kulwicki was killed. After moping around for a while and finishing my engineering degree from the University of Arizona (BSME), I built this Capri using the totaled '86 Mustang, the settlement (about $6000), and parts that I gathered in trade for labor. The labor involved rebuilding T-5 transmissions, installing clutches, headers, cylinder heads, etc. The hood, bumper reinforcements, bubble hatch all came from trades. Being cash short but time rich, I gladly would work for parts.
The original '79 Capri started as a brown 4 cylinder / 4 speed with carburetor, no A/C. Serious P.O.S.
I gutted the '86 Mustang and began the process of converting the Capri to EFI 5.0 / 5 speed standards.}

_{This can be done but will require lots of space, a bunch of stupid little tools only to be used once, a lot of patience, and a reliable ride to the parts store. Don't skimp on the reliable ride part. Multiple trips per day become the norm with this project. Feel free to email me with any questions about undertaking this and I will offer my meager experience. Having a donor car readily availible is very convienent. It's astounding how many silly things reveal themselves during the course of this project. For example, the bracket to mount the fuel filter, computer location, inertia switch location, etc.}

_{Begin the project by admitting that damn near every part of the car will come off. Once that premise is accepted, frustration will be minimized every time something has to come out. Some highlights are as follows:}
 

•       _{Electrical- Virtually the entire harness must be swapped from the donor car to the recipient car. On my '79, many of the places where the EFI harness had to go had no provisions to allow the harness to pass through or attach to. In particular, the stock location to mount the computer has a brace in the footwell that prevents the computer from fitting. My computer now rests on the floor at the passenger's feet in a super trick pocket created using a plastic bag and the expanding crack filling foam available from the hardware store. With carpet over it, it's invisible and possibly safer than the factory location. Also, the wiring to the fuel pump must be routed to under the driver's seat and then to the back of the vehicle. An advantage to all this is being able to route the wires where desired for a cleaner appearance ( particularly under the hood ). The battery has been moved to the back using a Moroso box and Flaming River Big Switch. I used #0 cable purchased from a local welding supply store and have had no charging problems. The car also has 2 12" Hayden electric fans which work fine here in Phoenix. NOTE: Do not skimp on the wiring. Many things will not be easily accessible once the car is together and a bad connection can haunt the car in the textbook example of electrical ghosts. Use solder whenever possible and use heat shrink instead of vinyl tape.}
•         _{Fuel - Because of the different requirements of the EFI, the fuel tank was swapped along with the fuel lines to the front including the return line and line to the charcoal canister that sits under the passenger frame rail under the hood. Here in AZ, the emissions folks pressurize the tank and look for the canister. My car failed once because the car didn't have the canister. Mine's not really hooked up, the lines have bolts siliconed into them where they can't be seen, thus "sealing" the system for testing. Also needed are the tools for disassembling the factory EFI fuel lines. These are a must to prevent damage to the fittings and are readily available from most parts stores. I got mine from Checker.}
•         _{Suspension - Assuming the car is starting as a 4 cyl (like mine did), all the suspension gets swapped to the recipient car to deal with the increased power and weight. While swapping the suspension, I installed Southside lift bars and a Suspension Techniques rear sway bar. I bolted the Southsides in which was a HUGE mistake. I had to weld them later. They wiggle worse than a bowl of Jello. We also installed through the floor frame connectors. These are seriously stiff. Made them from 2"x3" steel tubing cut to length and then notched to fit over the front and rear subframes. They are tacked into place and then the floor is welded full length to them.}
•         _{Engine / trans - The basic swap is a piece of cake. My biggest problem was the car had just returned from the body shop where we painted the engine bay, door jambs, around the hatch, etc. So, I was paranoid about scratching something I'd just spent a lot of time on. No clearance problems. ONE SNAG was the flanges welded to the floorpan to mount the trans crossmember are different on the '79 Capri. I wound up cutting the up the original x-member from the '79 and welding the bushing ends onto the '86 double hump x-member. Not tough but a nasty surprise when trying to bolt the trans into place. I also had to notch the floor pan where the shifter comes through to access the shifter bolts better.}
•         _{Interior - I used the dash and doors from the '86 because I was putting the A/C into the Capri and I had just spent a few days installing stereo components into the '86 Mustang when it got totaled. Many thanks to Tim Hawley for his labors installing the stuff in a car that got crunched just a day later. Tim has an '86 GT with a lot of juice. He's shooting for 10's. Tim also gets the nod for getting the back seat re-covered in material to match the new Flofit seats. Flofit seats have a serious quality control problem. I would NOT recommend buying them.}
•         _{Brakes / 5 lug - This was done using the now-extinct Ford Motorsport M-2300-F kit. This fit replaces the rear setup with new 5 lug axles and 10.5" rotors. The front gets 5 lug 11" rotors. It comes with a new master cylinder, adjustable proportioning valve, and parking brake cables. Pretty nifty but requires the use of a flaring tool and at least a gallon of brake fluid by the time everything is bled.}
•    _{Body / exterior - The hatch is from an '86 bubble back Capri. Obviously the "make it / break it" item for most people. I happened to like the way it looked because it wasn't another flippin' Mustang. Then I found out that bubble back Capris won the IMSA championship in '85-'86. This was largely due to the reduced drag of the bubble hatch which supposedly took the Cd from .47 for a Mustang to .38 for the Capri. I also used sail panels from an Mustang SVO for a cleaner appearance. The hood is from Bill Maier at Maier Racing in Hayward, CA. Bill's a good guy to deal with and makes a helluva nice hood. He offered choices in weight based on need. The hood required only slight clean-up to remove some waves but fits very squarely and has no warps. The doors came from the wrecked '86. Much thanks also go to Seth and Chris at Photofinish in Tucson, AZ for the killer shine. They are truly awesome to deal with.}

_{That's about it. Some dumb stuff was:}
 

•         _{No hole in the firewall for the EFI harness above the climate control box. I had to make this hole using a hole saw and Dremel.}
•         _{The trans x-member requiring cutting the ends off the '79 x-member and welding them to the '86 double hump x-member. The flanges welded to the floorpan that the x-member mounts to are only about 3" apart instead of the 6" on the '86 floorpan.}
•         _{The bubble back hatch required cutting the catch post from the '86 Mustang and welding it to the '79 for the new bubble hatch to operate.}
•         _{There's no holes in the transmission tunnel to feed the harness to the trans for the overdrive switch, cruise control sensor, and reverse switch.}