The 4.6L Three-Valve Control...
The 4.6L Three-Valve Control Pack, shown here, includes a custom-calibrated PCM, a chassis side harness (you reuse your engine side harness), Ford Racing cold air induction kit, ETC throttle pedal, Ford Racing mini power distribution block (PDB), a mass-air meter, and new oxygen sensors. The 5.4L Four-Valve kit also adds supercharger-specific cooling hoses and fittings as well.
For those of us who've been around the block a few times I'm sure you remember hearing about the first 5.0L EFI Mustang engine swap into a classic Mustang. Maybe it was in your favorite magazine, or perhaps you walked by a nice Mustang at a show and had to do a double take when you looked to see what was under the hood. Regardless of where or when you first saw this swap, probably the first question you had in your mind was "how hard was it to do?", followed quickly by "I wonder how much it cost?" Well, depending upon when you saw your first 5.0L EFI engine swap the answers could be "it was a pain in the butt" or "it was as simple as plugging in a few wires." Reason being, early adopters always have it rougher. These fanatics go on a fact-finding mission, tearing into the project with abandon, buying up wiring diagrams and learning how every little subsystem works. So if you saw your first 5.0 EFI swap 15 years ago, it meant it took that owner a lot of trial and error, custom wiring, and fabrication of parts. Today it's mostly a matter of which company do you want to buy your conversion wiring harness from (there are at least four that we know of) and how you'll setup your fuel system. Yes, it has become that easy to install a 5.0L EFI engine into your Mustang or other classic Ford. Hell, there are whole companies that survive off of manufacturing swap parts and doing the conversions.
One of the largest parts of...
One of the largest parts of the kit is also one of the most critical. The air induction tube (not shown), mass airflow elbow, and filter element were all used in the dyno tuning and calibration of the Control Pack system. What this means is any deviation from using these three induction parts will require custom calibration and tuning of the PCM. We did verify however that the cold air kit's plastic housing can be trimmed for fitment in a custom application (it's designed for the '05 and up Mustang engine compartment) or removed all together.
While the small-block Ford and its EFI dress are still popular, the latest engine swap to gain momentum is the Ford modular engine family. We started seeing these swaps ourselves about six years or so ago and just like the previous early adopters of the 5.0L EFI swap, the modular swappers have had to deal with all sorts of conversion issues, not just the actual fuel injection. Today, once again, there are several companies that offer front suspension kits, engine mounts, and more to fit the modular engine family into a classic chassis. The wiring though has still been pretty much a black art, requiring "dieting" of the late-model donor's harness, flashing the PCM to remove anti-theft and other modern brick walls just to get the engine to start.
There are but a couple of companies that offer conversion wiring or pre-dieted wiring harnesses, mostly for the earlier modular engines with standard throttle bodies. If you wanted to run the newer 4.6L Three-Valve found in the '05 and up Mustang or the supercharged 5.4L Four-Valve found in the current GT500, both with electronic throttle control (ETC), you were pretty much out of luck. Fortunately, Ford Racing has developed just such a wiring kit for those looking for the latest and greatest for their next engine swap.
Ford Racing's two new wiring kits are called Control Packs and were designed, initially, to be offered along with Ford's modular crate engine offerings to provide kit car, street rod, and muscle car builders an easy way to wire these complex engines. Available under PN M-6017-463V ($1,350) for the 4.6L Three-Valve "Hot Rod" crate engine (and '07-'09 production engines as well) and PN M-6017-54SC ($1,999) for the 5.4L Four-Valve crate engine and production '07-'09 GT500 engines, these two harness kits eliminate the hassle of trying to figure out what wire does what and how to connect it all. With a clearly labeled wiring harness and a 15-page instruction manual with color codes, wiring pinouts, and illustrations it allows easy installation and you know your engine will start on the first try. We recently took delivery of the 4.6L Three-Valve Control Pack kit for our '68 Mustang project, which will be powered by an '06 Mustang GT engine. While the actual installation is a few months off, we wanted to tear into the Control Pack kit and get acquainted with it. Check out what's included and know that if you decide to "go modular" Ford Racing has what you need.
As we just noted, the mass-air...
As we just noted, the mass-air meter housing is integral to the induction system. Unlike 5.0L EFI swaps where the mass-air is in a separate housing, the '05 and up Mustang uses a slot-load meter assembly. The meter is provided in the Control Pack kit, as are the fasteners. Verify the airflow arrow is pointing the right direction and slide the meter into the tube and secure with the provided fasteners.
The PCM included in the Control...
The PCM included in the Control Pack kit is a brand-new Ford part and is already flashed with a custom calibration that removes Ford's Passive Anti-Theft and other non-critical OE sub-systems and adds the proper tuning for the included Ford Racing cold air kit. The PCM is also designed to work with standard return-style fuel systems as well (pump, pressure line, regulator, return line).
The PCM has three different...
The PCM has three different wiring connections, but each one is keyed in a specific manner so there's no worry about plugging it in wrong. The Control Pack's chassis harness plugs into the middle port and the existing engine harness will plug into the two outer connections. Of importance to note here is the Control Pack is designed for '07-'09 Mustang GT engines and the Ford Racing crate engine, so if you happen to come across a steal of an engine that's from an '05 or '06 (like we did) you'll have to give Ford Racing a call for the optional '07-spec engine harness.
The Control Pack chassis harness...
The Control Pack chassis harness has but a few hard wire connections to deal with; each one labeled as to their connection point. Plus, the instruction manual gives more detail as to what each wire does too. Elsewhere on the harness are hard wire connections for cooling fan and fuel pump with enough wire to route to their intended hardware locations.
The Control Pack harness features...
The Control Pack harness features a fully operational OBD-II port, which is routed inside the car for mounting under the driver side of the dash. Any OBD-II scan tool can read trouble codes from this port, plus any OBD-II ready device, like a fuel economy gauge, can be connected to it as well. Most importantly, for horsepower upgrades the PCM can be flashed through this port.
Another wiring connection...
Another wiring connection that is routed inside the car will be for the ETC throttle pedal. This is the production pedal from the '05 and up Mustang. Mounting it requires three fastening points and you'll most likely need to fabricate a small mounting bracket. Be sure to use the proper gauge metal, as this baby is going to see some heavy right foot action.
This is the mini PDB with...
This is the mini PDB with its lid removed. The circuit board inside is coated, but we'd still suggest keeping the PDB out of the elements, meaning don't mount it low or right behind a front tire. The large PDB connector from the engine harness and the small Molex connector from the Control Pack chassis harness are both connected here. You'll also see the relays for cooling fan, fuel pump, air-conditioning, and more, with everything fuse protected.
The large PDB connector from...
The large PDB connector from the crate engine or donor engine's harness is connected next. There's a small access hole on the back of the PDB where you'll find a Phillips head screw that is turned to secure the threaded electrical connector to the PDB itself. That's all there is to wiring up your modular engine in a classic Ford! Stay tuned for more detailed info when we start wiring our '68 Mustang project.
The Control Pack chassis harness...
The Control Pack chassis harness simply plugs into the PDB as shown. Note the large red wire coming from the PDB; this must be connected to a hot-at-all-times battery connection.