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Topic: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal. (Read 30600 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #195
Progress was slow this weekend. I had higher hopes, but life does it's own things.

Now that I'm in my mid 30's, the things that excite me have changed. Here is a prime example of the things that excite me at my older age.



It's a Hollands 24.5 vise. My coworkers father sold his house, and told him to keep or junk whatever was left behind. My coworker already had a vise, so he gave me this one. It's pre-WW2, so it's legit American iron. I did wire wheel off the jaws and gave it a rub down with penetrating oil since the picture was taken.

The other hint of progress was that I finally found a reasonably priced 85-86 TC cluster. My ride control is disabled, so I didn't want the tach with the Firm Ride light.



I knew the 87-88 TC cluster was different than the rest, but I never realized how stupid it was. It has a little secondary harness for the Check Engine, Check ABS and Firm Ride light. I had to unpin the Ride Control light and had to unpin and cut the wires for the ABS light.

At least it looks good next to the 140mph speedo.



While I have it out, I'm also trying to refine the lighting. I've never liked how the white LEDs washed out the green on the gauges, but didn't like how the green LED's lit the needles and windows green. I'll have a few pics once I get my idea kinda dialed in.

Now for a little bit of a rant.

I have the full cam gear set from Race Engineering. Since I'm changing the belt and all of the gears, I wanted a nice billet tensioner. CheapHP.com made one and when I was ready to order, they went out of stock. I check at Speedway Motors and the tensioner was on backorder. I get around to Stinger-Performance, and they said to have 12+ in stock. I order it, and then get the e-mail that it's back ordered. I e-mailed CheapHP and ask about an ETA and have gotten no response. At this point, I said to hell with it, and emailed Esslinger to see if they had theirs in stock. Once again, no response.

I have NO idea how companies can't do something as simple as communicate with their customers. If the 2.3L wasn't such a small market, all of these vendors would lose 100% of my business. I know I will do as little business with them as possible now.
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #196
Captive market. When they have little competition there is no reason for them to have great customer service. They know you'll have to come to them either way.

Cluster looks nice. I've wondered how it would look if an electroluminescent sheet was used to light it. Bring a little modern look to it. Plus no hot spots from bulbs/LEDs.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.


Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #198
Looks good man. Its a whole different ballgame this time around than it was 10+ years ago not having to daily a project car. Now you don't have to rush to get it done in time to get you to work the next day.

I'm digging the TA wheels on it too.

The lack of urgency is part of my lack of motivation. I'm glad I don't have to rush, but I do wish it was easier for me to get off of my ass and hammer out work.

Part of the reason I was optimistic with stuffing he 18x9's on the car was that they actually fit on your car. I was under the impression that a 9" wheel was much harder to fit up front. I'll find out for certain whenever I get to that part of the project.



They're actually 18x10 all the way around.

I feel ya on the motivation factor. In my mind I had to make up for 10 years of doing literally nothing to my car. I had a good goal set up in mind for this year til the virus pretty much closed all the events I was interested in going to. That's okay though I get more seat time in it this year and finish up some odds and ends then come out swinging next year. I just want to enjoy the car now. Next year I wont have to fiddle with stupid stuff just get in and drive since this year is pretty much a wash.

Next year I want to run it at the track a few times and see what she does with and without nitrous. I also want to chase down some cones in some scca style runs just for kicks even though I can't see the right front corner I'm gonna giv'r hell

You just gotta make your own deadlines in times like these man


Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #199
Captive market. When they have little competition there is no reason for them to have great customer service. They know you'll have to come to them either way.

Cluster looks nice. I've wondered how it would look if an electroluminescent sheet was used to light it. Bring a little modern look to it. Plus no hot spots from bulbs/LEDs.

I figure that these companies must not need money. With the way everything is going, you would think that they would be doing everything they can to keep business flowing.

I've thought about the EL sheets before. The "indiglo" gauges were a HUGE trend in the early 2000's. Most were that blue-teal color and I was never really a fan. I don't really want to change the color or go too crazy. The hot spots aren't noticeable at all, I just want to add a little "saturation" to the green without making everything green.


Yessir. There's a bunch of telltale signs that pretty much every assembly in this thing has been rebuilt or replaced, but the body has certainly seen 226K.

They're actually 18x10 all the way around.

I feel ya on the motivation factor. In my mind I had to make up for 10 years of doing literally nothing to my car. I had a good goal set up in mind for this year til the virus pretty much closed all the events I was interested in going to. That's okay though I get more seat time in it this year and finish up some odds and ends then come out swinging next year. I just want to enjoy the car now. Next year I wont have to fiddle with stupid stuff just get in and drive since this year is pretty much a wash.

Next year I want to run it at the track a few times and see what she does with and without nitrous. I also want to chase down some cones in some scca style runs just for kicks even though I can't see the right front corner I'm gonna giv'r hell

You just gotta make your own deadlines in times like these man

I didn't think a 10" wheel would fit up front. What size tires are you running? I have 275/35/18 on mine and it's close to the spring.

I've been trying to go out and do small tasks lately to keep myself moving a little bit. I've mostly given up on trying to get it rolling for any of the summer events for obvious reasons. At this point, I'd like to get it going for boost weather. It won't make a whole lot of power, but it'll still be fun to run around in and make whooshy noises.

I have been ordering little bits of stuff here and there as well. I go through phases where I will dump a ton of money, and then I'll be frugal as hell and spend hours looking to save 3 bucks. That hasn't been helping much either.
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #200
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:
gumby - beauty may fade, but stupid is forever!

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #201
275/40s and they're  close

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #202
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:

Yes, they are +35. Stock K-member, stock length arms and 94-95 spindles. They probably wouldn't *really* fit if I had the 96+ spindles.

Scope creep had been getting me a bit too. Luckily, not nearly as badly as you have been hit. I wouldn't be upset if things worked out and I landed a bunch of cool stuff the way you did though.


Do yours poke out of the fender? How much negative camber are you running?


Something that has been frustrating is that I have to buy a lot of the random supplies you take for granted. When I lived in my apartment, I couldn't store things like wire, wire loom, grease guns, chemicals, boxes of bolts and brackets and whatever else. I just didn't have the room. I've had to go out and buy a grease gun just for a few fittings where as when I lived with my parents, I just hijacked my dads. Needed some wire loom? Go and grab a foot. I just recently bought an assortment of wire loom. I've never had to buy it before in my life. Next, I'll be buying wire assortments.
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #203


I've thought about the EL sheets before. The "indiglo" gauges were a HUGE trend in the early 2000's. Most were that blue-teal color and I was never really a fan. I don't really want to change the color or go too crazy. The hot spots aren't noticeable at all, I just want to add a little "saturation" to the green without making everything green.



I believe there is a green color that's pretty close to the factory color. I think it would look pretty neat. Not factory but neat.

I'm waiting for the "pop a screen in and make what ever you want" aftermarket cluster, so we can have something like newer cars. I figure someone will make it for a Fox Mustang and we can just adapt it. Something with 0-60 and quarter mile times built in.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #204
-1.25* is all I could get without longer lower control arms or modifying the top of the tower. And I believe 4* of caster maxed out the cc plates. On 98+ spindles. And they do poke out about 1/4"

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #205
It's time for the Semi-Annual update!

Since the last update, not a lot has changed. With the pandemic, work has been brutally busy. In September, we had two guys quit, and then in November another go out for hernia surgery. UPS being the way they are, no one has been replaced and the efforts to stay afloat has been left up to the remaining employees. Needless to say, I didn't have much free time for a while and if I did, I was too tired to enjoy it. More recently, 8 coworkers and I all got the Covid. We were all out for 2 weeks other than one guy who was out 3 and one who was out 4.

My hobby ADD also kicks in full force and my funding goes elsewhere. I can't remember the exact sequence, but I've certainly dumped a good bit of time in my 3d printing, RC and computer hobbies. I ended up buying an RC car in kit form, and an assload of various upgrade parts. At this point, I realized that I didn't feel like setting up the folding table to build my kit so I embarked on a journey to set up my "hobby space" in the house. Katy and I both have some form of "crafting" hobbies. I bought her a Cricut for Christmas and she also had a sewing setup. I have my 3d printers (oh yeah, I somehow adopted a second one), my RC hobby and a lot of electronics projects. Our spare spare bedroom has become the craft room. She has about 2/3 of it for all of her stuff, and I have the remaining third.



That was my initial setup. Excuse the poor lighting. That is on the list of things to do in there. The desk was from my apartment, and the shelving units are some generic China junk that I 3d printed some spacers so I could bolt together. It was insanely cramped and mostly useless.

I decided to measure out the space and purchase a larger workbench ordeal. Rather than the 48x24 glass desk, I picked up a 60x30 work bench. While I was at it, I utilized Katy's Cricut abilities.



My entire concept now is to not have anything that actually stays on the bench. I want as much space and as little clutter as possible. I picked up a monitor arm and I absolutely love it.



I'm currently between two projects in there. One is doing a spare parts PC build and the other is fixing one of my 3d printers.





I am going to be adding some shelving above the bench and adding a shelf under the bench so I can keep things less cluttered. I'm also going to make all of the shelves with the printers white and work on lighting for the printers and my workbench.

Now, for automotive updates. I haven't done much of anything. I got into an old school audio kick. I picked up a new radio bezel kit which fits very nicely.





I also picked up an Alpine 6-disc CD changer that can be controlled by the head unit, and an RF adapter that I can use to add an auxiliary input to which is also Alpine. Everything is from the late 90's and blends in with the dash lighting very well.

I spent a few hours in the garage getting it cleaned up and organized. Now that the weather is breaking, I'll be able to start cleaning and painting things and getting them ready for assembly.



It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #206
Once again, my ADD has gotten the best of me over the past few months.

I got the itch to build a new computer as mine is dated and had to turn a bunch of game settings down to get decent frame rates. Unfortunately, the current state of computer components is absolutely insane. I decided that rather than build a computer; I'll just do new peripherals. I ended up going with a 49" ultrawide monitor, new keyboard, mouse pad, and painted some stuff to make it look a little nicer. I then pulled the case apart and cut out all of the mesh and honeycomb that was blocking the fans airflow. With that, I RGB'd the hell out of the computer. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the completed setup. That'll be for another day.

One of the other things I've gotten around to is starting my aquarium. I put in S.Repends and some Anubias Nana Petite so far. I've been battling some algae as the tank cycles, but I think I'm getting it under control now. I'll be adding some Red Root Floaters, an Anubias Golden Coin and maybe some Pearl Weed. I'll probably break it down and change the substrate at some point once I get the plants established. I made a poor choice of substrate and nothing likes to stay planted.



Now, to more of the automotive stuff.

Carlisle came and went. This time, I got a room and spent the weekend up there. It was a good time, and it was nice to not have to rush to find friends and be able to actually see the cars. I took the Mustang and with as hot as it was, it was nice to have A/C. I didn't take many pictures, and only took one of my own car with V8Demons mustang.



The car was clean until I drove up through a battlefield of cicadas.

After Carlisle, my sleep pattern has shifted, so I've had more time during the day to get work done. I have stuffed the upgraded water pump on the car, and have painted some other . I haven't taken pictures. I did get the exhaust mostly wrapped up.

I made a turn down out of a 90 degree bend using just a sawzall. I was quite proud.



A buddy of mine did all of the welding on the exhaust for me and it came out quite nicely. The hangers should be in today, so it may get installed tomorrow.



One of the other things I'm stupidly happy with is how the alternator bracket is coming out. I had to grind a nub off to give myself room to the thermostat housing bolt. I hate the idea of making maintenance difficult on myself. When I ground the nub off, I also ground down a casting seam and smoothed it out a bit. I found out that my buddy has a bead blaster at his shop so I bead blasted the bracket and I'm pretty happy with it thus far.



This week will hopefully will be decent enough weather wise so I can get off of my ass and finish painting a bunch of parts to install.









 
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #207
Nice!

Are you moving the alternator to the passenger side?  Maybe I am remembering where the thermostat housing is located incorrectly.
1988 Thunderbird TC, 5spd
Stinger 3" single exhaust, Cone Filter, Adjustable Cam Pulley, Schneider roller cam, Walbro 255 lph, AEM Wideband O2
'93 Mustang Cobra replica wheels on 235/50R17

'21 F150 Powerboost
'17 Husqvarna TX300

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #208
Yes, I am using the 92-94 Ranger alternator and bracket to move it to the passenger side. It uses a bolt hole that It right by the thermostat housing. I went through my pictures and realized that I didn't take one of when I mocked up the bracket and alternator. It was close to the thermostat housing bolt, and its tight around the coolant tube off of the water pump.

I did manage to go out and paint a few more things today. I still have to paint the radiator, sort the hoses and finish painting a few more small items. I'm really dreading the radiator. That's a lot of masking.

I also learned that VHT Chassis and Roll Bar paint is pure garbage. I used it to paint my control arms, and brake fluid peeled the paint right off. I thought that maybe it was because the paint didn't have a lot of time to cure. When I installed the double hump crossmember, I had to tack weld the bushing sleeves in place. I reached under the car and kinda sprayed the welds with the VHT. Today, I wanted to pull the crossmember and give it a more official paint job. I splashed some acetone on a rag, and the VHT wiped right off. I've been using Krylon Industrial on some other stuff and it is far more durable and about the same price.
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #209
I painted a double hump years ago with krylon and though it's been in 3 cars now, it's held up fairly well. I did also prime it too.

The F body still got an LT1 (or is lucky enough to have the LS)?

'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6