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Messages - gumby

2
User Rides / Re: Work In Progress. '88 TC
Gumby's method of the through-floor SFCs would be what I would do if I was building a fresh car.
That's going waaaaay back!

ScottRod is making the underhood cover for our cars and called me to check on which year I had.  He said the latch location or shape changed depending on the year 83-88. 
http://scottrodfab.com/shop/index.php?id_product=186&controller=product
I'll be keeping an eye out on this thread. I'm anxious to see how well it fits, and how far forward it extends into the header panel. I feel that if it doesn't extend far enough forward, the air flow could still go over top the radiator and support. Even if it's not as long as I would like, it would be a great start for the price.
Be sure you triple-check the location of all of the holes you need to cut. None of them lined up on the cover I bought from them for my '83 (and I specified an '83 when I ordered). I drilled one pilot hole and then thought to check the locations. I would've been pissed had I not done that, as I had to alter all of them to get it to fit. Looked good afterwards, though.
I put the 87-88 version on my car, just haven't taken any pics yet. As Chuck said, don't blindly drill on the ScottRod locations; you will be disappointed.
I had to space the latch forward to hit their pre-cut opening, and drill for the radiator brackets and hood bumpers.
I put no rivets in mine; tucked the outside edge under the fender, and the inside seam is held down by the rad brackets. The front edge extends well into the nose, no worries there.
4
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
TL;DR powertrain review:
Stock 4.6 4v longblock from a mkviii, long tube headers, 2.5" y-pipe to 3" single exhaust, CAI, Cobra intake manifold. T45, 4.10's in an 8.8
5
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
It matched the peak HP number of the 2.3 in my TC, which was the bottom of the acceptable range I set before deciding to move forward with swapping it in. Torque delivery makes for quite a different driving experience and the 4.10’s help cover for the extra weight.

2CE519CD-D6FD-4FDF-986E-B98B9FC1F020.jpeg
7
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
*Makes car run at Christmas time*
"Ok, I can have these loose ends tied off before the roads are clear and the weather turns nice!"
*Ignores car until spring break*

Yeah. So a couple weekends ago I got back on finishing this car.

  • weld up the exhaust and build a tailpipe
  • nut&bolt entire car
  • top off fluids
  • alignment
  • reinstall EEC and misc trim panels in the interior
  • TEST DRIVE!

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After chasing an air pocket out of the cooling system, all subsequent drives have been positive. Ride is good, suspension feels great, engine is running well, no leaks, etc.

Unfortunately, nixing the dual exhaust in favor of keeping the new PHB meant I had to give up the x-pipe. An x-pipe is what makes the modular exhaust note tolerable to my ears. Without it, and without cats, they bark and snarl in obnoxious fashion and I was hating that my beautiful, personal sports coupe sounded like some punk's ragged out Mustang or straight piped F150.

I fixed that today by cramming 20" of glasspack in the space where I had previously fitted the tailpipe.
IMG_3763.JPG

So. Much. Better.

 

Time to schedule a dyno appointment and get the tune dialed in.
8
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
Bluebird runs! Of course INDOT has covered all the roads with salt so no test drives for a bit, but still BEST CHRISTMAS EVAR!!!!
9
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
Taking advantage of the holiday weekend. I reorganized the shop, moved out a pile of parts that do not belong to any the three projects currently inhabiting the building, picked up a bunch of parts strewn about the floor and put them on the freshly cleared shelves, then I got to work!
I began by topping up the battery and plugging in the OBD scan tool to confirm to the best of my ability that there are no issues on my end preventing the car from running. The start-up tune needs another tweak; not looking good for driving it this year...Next up, I wired in the VSS recalibration box so I can work on exhaust without getting in my own way. And then, I started that exhaust stuff

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Since there is no longer room for a passenger side tailpipe with the new rear suspension I have settled for running a 3" single on the left.
2.5" from the headers to the merge. 3" from the merge, out the back. Everything from the headers to the ler is tacked up. Hoping that I can get the tailpipe and hangers configured before the weekend is over.
10
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
I hosed all the bare metal with self-etch, and then brushed on a coat of matte black tractor paint a couple days ago. Today I went after final assembly of the rear suspension.
  • TA cross-member bolted in
  • Front TA mounts drilled thru the diff ears
  • Pinion angle set
  • Lock down all the hardware

Next was cycling the suspension to check for interference. Everything looks good at full bump.

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Then, I took another look at the lower control arm angle. It has been wrong since I lowered the car and I had planned on getting a set of brackets that attach to the axle for correcting the angle. Adding the PHB in the mix however, meant that type of bracket would require heavy re-engineering of the PHB axle mount. This was not enticing.

At the chassis end of the LCAs, there is a large gap between the arm and the body and plenty of drill access without exhaust on the car, so I decided on raising the pick-up point at the chassis end to make the correction.

1B20598D-FF0A-4F1A-BFBF-816546F3D75A.jpeg

I also took the opportunity to cheat the mounting hole rearward a touch, making up some of the length difference when using Mustang control arms.

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12
User Rides / Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.
I think the board notifications are broken, I missed a couple updates in here....

Your 18x9's from the Trans Am are +35, right? Don't make me scroll all the way back to when I was shopping for RAD era billets again. I don't need that thought coming back. Stock K-member/arms? 94-5 spindles or 96+?

I felt the lack of deadline crushing motivation in my soul. When HRPT got postponed, and ultimately cancelled, all urgency on my car evaporated and then scope creep showed up.  :nono:
13
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
Bonus content! My son had a doc appt this morning which took longer than expected and I decided it wasn't worth driving into work afterwards. I will be a much higher functioning human tomorrow after a mental health day, so I locked myself in the garage, cranked up the stereo, and ignored the outside world.

 
T/A cross member brackets. Before, and after some metallic origami. After, pictured with gusseted doublers, ready to be assembled.
IMG_3111.JPG

And welded, ready for installation
IMG_3112.JPG
14
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
It is actually a TC shaft(larger u-joints) with a 31T slip yoke. The aluminum Mustang one I have here is a touch too short still.
15
User Rides / Re: BlueBird
Since it is fixed to the axle, ground clearance is directly determined by tire size.  :dunno: