So me and Mr.Howie got the coil conversion done so that they fit under the stock cover. You use the stock LS boot, the spring that comes with the accel coils, and you modify the coil so that the connector lays flat instead of at an angle. The coil on top of the LS boot basically gets pushed down by the covers about 1/8" so that the covers act as a retainer plate. That also allowed us to spin the coil around so that the cover faces the same way as the stock one. This meant we didn't have to split open the factory harness and only had to swap the pin polarity. The stock mounting point on the Accel coil also comes down and rests on the ledge in the valve cover. So we put a dab of RTV silicone on the coil to hold it on the ledge as well as a dab on top of the coil to push against the cover. Car seems to be running great.
Here is how we did it:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-to-make.jpg
First thing was we made three cuts on the coil connector. One above the connector, and two below the connector in a V-shape to provide a relief. The picture shows three white lines where we made the cuts. the little v-shaped slice you make below the connector needs to be removed. This allows you to gently bend the connector down so that it lays flat with the top of the coil. The cut above is just to weaken the connector so that it will bend easier. You also might have to cut the sides of the connector a little so that it will move without pulling the pins or breaking. Go very slow when cutting, if you don't cut deep enough you will crack the connector or pull the pins our or break the pins going into the coil. If you cut too deep you run the chance of cutting into the connector pins. Slow and steady was the name of the game. We used a air-powered jigsaw to make the cuts. I imagine a dremel would work as well if you had a decent plastic cutting wheel on it.
Here is how it looks during and after the cuts:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-markup.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-made.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-made2.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-removed-under-relief.jpg
Next we took some black hard epoxy and filled the cut area with it to re-enforce the connector's new position. Make sure you use a hard somewhat oozing epoxy so that it will flow and work it's way down into the cracks well. We used "Jet Black CE-JB" two part epoxy and treated the area first with 3M 05907 adhesion promoter.
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-1.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-2.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-close1.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-close2.jpg
http://crestauto.com/?p=1409 (the epoxy we used is the one at the top of the page, has the fighter pilot on it)
http://www.amazon.com/3M-05907-Polyolefin-Adhesion-Promoter/dp/B000PEPBW8 (clean area, spray with this, then use epoxy)
Last step is to disassemble the connector from the wiring harness and reverse the pins. The mustang coils (accel plugs) use a reverse polarity compared to the LS coil. There are numerous write-ups and pictures already on disassembling them. But in theory you pop the red plastic retainer, take a pick or really small screwdriver and push in the pin detent from the front, and the pin releases and slides out the back. In practice on my car all but 1 of the red plastic retainers exploded into pieces during disassembly and 3 or 4 of the connectors themselves cracked somewhere. Was overall not impressed with the connectors on the Gen2. The harness laying around from a Gen1 the connectors popped right apart with no problem.
Here are some pics of the final fitment in the LS:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-lsboot-plug.jpg (fits like a charm)
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-installed-plugs.jpg (installed and orientation, the plug faces the same as the OEM coils)
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-installed-with-cover.jpg (they fit under the cover. you can see the dab of RTV silicone on the top of the coil plus the foam piece on the connector. These actually rest against the cover and the cover ends up being a big retaining plate, similar to how 4.6L 4V plugs are retained with a plate)
So, that's how we did it. Car looks completely stock with the hood up now.
Here are the parts needed:
x8 - Accel 140032 Coil on Plug (Cheaper if you buy them in packs of 8)
x8 - Lincoln LS Coil Boots (use old ones if they are good, I re-used all of mine)
x8 - NGK BKR5EIX Iridium Plugs (What I used, but substitute for your plug of choice).
x1 - 3M 05097 Adhesion Promoter or whatever your epoxy likes
x1 - Hard curing sticky mildly runny epoxy to fill in all the cuts and crevices, we used Jet Black JE-CB (link above)
Here is how we did it:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-to-make.jpg
First thing was we made three cuts on the coil connector. One above the connector, and two below the connector in a V-shape to provide a relief. The picture shows three white lines where we made the cuts. the little v-shaped slice you make below the connector needs to be removed. This allows you to gently bend the connector down so that it lays flat with the top of the coil. The cut above is just to weaken the connector so that it will bend easier. You also might have to cut the sides of the connector a little so that it will move without pulling the pins or breaking. Go very slow when cutting, if you don't cut deep enough you will crack the connector or pull the pins our or break the pins going into the coil. If you cut too deep you run the chance of cutting into the connector pins. Slow and steady was the name of the game. We used a air-powered jigsaw to make the cuts. I imagine a dremel would work as well if you had a decent plastic cutting wheel on it.
Here is how it looks during and after the cuts:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-markup.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-made.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-made2.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-cuts-removed-under-relief.jpg
Next we took some black hard epoxy and filled the cut area with it to re-enforce the connector's new position. Make sure you use a hard somewhat oozing epoxy so that it will flow and work it's way down into the cracks well. We used "Jet Black CE-JB" two part epoxy and treated the area first with 3M 05907 adhesion promoter.
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-1.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-2.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-close1.jpg
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-close2.jpg
http://crestauto.com/?p=1409 (the epoxy we used is the one at the top of the page, has the fighter pilot on it)
http://www.amazon.com/3M-05907-Polyolefin-Adhesion-Promoter/dp/B000PEPBW8 (clean area, spray with this, then use epoxy)
Last step is to disassemble the connector from the wiring harness and reverse the pins. The mustang coils (accel plugs) use a reverse polarity compared to the LS coil. There are numerous write-ups and pictures already on disassembling them. But in theory you pop the red plastic retainer, take a pick or really small screwdriver and push in the pin detent from the front, and the pin releases and slides out the back. In practice on my car all but 1 of the red plastic retainers exploded into pieces during disassembly and 3 or 4 of the connectors themselves cracked somewhere. Was overall not impressed with the connectors on the Gen2. The harness laying around from a Gen1 the connectors popped right apart with no problem.
Here are some pics of the final fitment in the LS:
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-epoxy-lsboot-plug.jpg (fits like a charm)
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-installed-plugs.jpg (installed and orientation, the plug faces the same as the OEM coils)
http://azrael.crashsys.com/ls-cops/cops-installed-with-cover.jpg (they fit under the cover. you can see the dab of RTV silicone on the top of the coil plus the foam piece on the connector. These actually rest against the cover and the cover ends up being a big retaining plate, similar to how 4.6L 4V plugs are retained with a plate)
So, that's how we did it. Car looks completely stock with the hood up now.
Here are the parts needed:
x8 - Accel 140032 Coil on Plug (Cheaper if you buy them in packs of 8)
x8 - Lincoln LS Coil Boots (use old ones if they are good, I re-used all of mine)
x8 - NGK BKR5EIX Iridium Plugs (What I used, but substitute for your plug of choice).
x1 - 3M 05097 Adhesion Promoter or whatever your epoxy likes
x1 - Hard curing sticky mildly runny epoxy to fill in all the cuts and crevices, we used Jet Black JE-CB (link above)
