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Messages - Chuck W

31
Lounge / Re: Hot Wheels TBird
My wife brought this home for me today.



(That's a movie I haven't seen in a LONG while)
32
Other Vehicles / Re: Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
Yeah, my main towing will be probably a 5x8 utility trailer, but I may stick a tow dolly behind it occasionally.

I'll have some SFCs under it and will probably just add a trans cooler by default. I have one sitting in the garage that I thought I was going to use on the LTS.

I also have clips for a set of Yakima roof-top load bars, which will be available for install, incase I need to throw something up top that's a bit much for that factory roof rack. We also have a Thule rooftop cargo pod that we use occasionally for trips.
34
Other Vehicles / Re: Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
Quote from: Mikey97D – on
This will be a fun project for you.  Will you be keeping the LTD sedan or will it become a parts donor?
This wagon is begging for a modern interior.  Heated and Cooled seats out of a newer Mustang.........  Forget added weight and just enjoy.........Can you yell I am getting old?  LOL
A 3.5 EB would make an exceptional tow machine out of it.  Well, as much as a unibody can be a tow machine from that era.   And YES, frame connectors STAT!!!

I drove an '80 4dr Fairmont with a progressive 2 barrel 2.3l.  Still stands as the worst car I have driven today.  The frame flex was so bad you could feel it flex between the front and rear axles twisting.

There's some videos online of a guy in NJ with a wagon Fairmont with an independent rear, 351W, and T5 plus 5 lug conversion.  Thing is pretty slick,

The LTS isn't going anywhere. It's 1 of 134 built. It was going to donate it's 5.0/AOD to the wagon, but I opted to drop the 3.7/6R80 in instead. The 5.0 won't remain in the LTS forever, though.

As long as the AC works and the stereo is good, that's enough of interior upgrades for me. Just wish it wasn't light tan. There's an '83 LTD wagon for sale in FL with a "nice" light blue interior, but that's too far away to deal with, and the rest of the car is kind of rotten. If it was closer, I'd grab it for the interior and s the rest.

I have a spare console for the LTD, so I may swap seats and install the console in it, but I'm not really a fan of all of the new "space car" interiors.

The 3.7 will handle the towing I'll need to do just fine, honestly. I'll probably be building my own hitch, though. I'm also looking at some sort of air helper or just air springs in the back, mainly for load leveling. Not going to bag the entire car. Not really a fan, and the car won't be slammed.

Quote from: Mikey97D – on
Quote from: Thunder Chicken – on
I'd love to see a 3.5 Ecoboost T-Bird...
Here you go!  Not mine but on YT.


I figured they were out there. I might contact that guy for any more info on the build, though. So far I've only come across a 3.7 swap into a New Edge Mustang.
35
Other Vehicles / Re: Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
Quote from: Thunder Chicken – on
That 3.7 swap should be cool. My brother has a 2012 3.7 Mustang and as much as I bug him for buying a 6 cylinder Mustang I will admit (only because he won't see this) that it works well.

I'd love to see a 3.5 Ecoboost T-Bird...

It should move along just fine in a platform that weighs about 3-400# less. It's going to be over twice what this thing had stock...and better mileage.

This will also be a test fit for the engine platform. I too also have an interest in a 3.5 EB in a Fox car.
36
Other Vehicles / Re: Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
I was pleasantly surprised that it was so solid. I was prepared to just leave it there if it was a rotten mess (or we couldn't come to a deal under my price limit), but it made the long day worth it.

I'm itching to get it here, but it would just be in the way at the moment. It can simmer for a couple months while I tend to other projects and plot and scheme the build.
37
Other Vehicles / Oops, I did it again. I bought a new car. (1986 Ford LTD wagon)
As if I needed another project, but here we are.

I've been wanting to get rid of the F150 but wanted to replace it with a Fox wagon (which will eventually get a hitch). I've never been much of a truck guy, no matter how hard I've tried.

Found this thing on Marketplace a couple months ago, but wasn't in a place to do anything about it at the time.


After some talks with the owner and working out some logistics on my end, my buddy and I made the 6 hour trip to southern MO to check it out.

It has been sitting under a group of trees since '05-'06, when it was parked for what looks to be a HG issue.

The interior could best be described as "moist", due to a bad door latch striker leaving a minor door gap, and a window slightly cracked.




.

Checklist was-
- Check strut towers/frame
- Check underneath
- Check cowl

Popped the hood. Towers and frame were clean.  Got a jack underneath it. Greeted by perfectly straight pinch welds and a surprisingly rust-free floorpan. Pulled up the front carpets. No evidence of standing water, so the cowl is good. There may be some rust inside in the rear floors, but nothing was evident from below and it seemed solid. It's definitely in nicer shape, body-wise, than the LTS was.

I struck a deal with the owner and we pulled it out of its resting spot and got it ready to travel.


The first stop before a quick bite to eat was a carwash



Still needs more scrubbing, but there is no body damage, no body rust, and only a couple small spots on the hood where the paint has given up.

Right now it is tucked away in a relative's pole-barn until I get it moved to the house. Hopefully that will help dry the interior out a bit. It's not getting touched until after I finish up a couple of house projects that MUST get done before tearing into this.



The plan right now for it, aside from getting the interior sorted, is pretty basic for the time being.

It will get the '11 3.7/6R80 combo I have in the garage. Will stay 4-lug for the short-term, but will get at the very least 11" Fox brakes. Tow hitch. General refresh to get it road-worthy.

More details and pictures when the car is at the house and I'm tearing into it. For now, it's just planning and organizing when I'm not tending to my other needed projects.
38
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars WANTED / Re: Looking for stock 5.0 EFI parts
Let me know. I'm eyeing a couple things on ebay as well.

I'm just looking for basic STOCK stuff. Just wanting to rid the LTS of the TBI set-up for the time being, as it's 3.7/6R80 is going into another project. (Like I NEED yet ANOTHER project). :crazy:
39
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars WANTED / Looking for stock 5.0 EFI parts
Hey all.

I'm looking for some EFI port injection stuff, like from an 86-93 Mustang.

Interested in stock items. Not looking for anything fancy.

The list:
- Upper and lower intakes (Don't have to be Mustang or Fox, so Tbird, SN-95, etc would be OK)
- Throttle body
- fuel rail and injectors (19#ers would be fine)
- set of stock factory Mustang tubular exhaust manifolds.

Let me know

Thanks!
Chuck
40
User Rides / Re: 84 Tbird project
I think I'd rather have the wipe full length, personally. Good job at making those work, though.

When I did the dew wipes on the LTS, I wound up using a piece that was originally the outer piece for the rear window of a Full-size Bronco. Discovered it in a Google search. PN for the outer is D8TZ-9841610-A. (A lot of places sell both the inner and outer as a kit) I think mine came from Dennis Carpenter.

They are roughly 4' long and use the stock-style clips.


The clips are removable/usable though.  While most of the clips on the new piece lined up with the originals, a few didn't. To relocate them, you just pry the two little tabs open on the back side and remove the clip from the strip. Then I just drilled 2 small holes, big enough for those tabs to go through at the new location. Then install the clip and bend the tabs back into place. They're a little shorter than the TBird stuff below the window line, but the same elsewhere.

One of the Bronco pieces was enough to do one side of the LTS, and should be more than enough for a TBird.

My TBird needs new dew wipes as well, and I was going to investigate this route when I get around to doing them.
41
User Rides / Re: Chuck's '83 TBird
Drive went well. Fans worked as they should and the clutch felt fine. Still have to be mindful of the 2-1 shift, but that's no biggie. I can rebuild the trans later.

As long as it dries up, I'm probably going to drive it to work tomorrow. I'll be able to test the clutch for slippage in 5th on the way there.
43
User Rides / Re: Chuck's '83 TBird
The fans are fixed. The transistor in my MS fan circuit had died. Swapped that out and we're good to go.

I have the fans running on LO speed, as the 2.3 doesn't need both at full speed AND it totally pulls down the 130A alternator and bogs the engine when both run on HI.

Planning on driving it a bit tomorrow to meet up with some buddies. It will also be the first time the kiddos get to ride in it.
44
Misc Tech / Re: A Few A/C Part Questions
Unless you find an original NOS one, you're probably not going to find a match to your old one. The newer ones are more efficient and better suited to r134A anyway.
45
Misc Tech / Re: A Few A/C Part Questions
You can get an orifice "repair" kit that splices into the existing hose, or a whole new hose that has one in it.

Also, just grab a universal o-ring kit of some sort if you're unsure. They're not that expensive.