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Messages - Aerocoupe

1
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
Please post a video when you get that Terminator motor fired up.
2
User Rides / Re: Starting fresh
What's the reasoning for the 1" spacer under the FiTech?  If you could ditch that and use a 1" drop cleaner you might be able to use a stock hood.  May have to do some metal work on the underside of the hood but others have fit 351W under a stock hood in these cars.

Making some hella progress!
3
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
DAAAAAAAMN!!!!  Now you are gonna have a feeding frenzy with all of us wanting to see the whole body with color. Looks fantastic man, you have to be stoked!
4
Engine Tech / Re: 83 v8 thunderbird efi swap
So I would highly suggest going aftermarket like Painless like one of these two:

https://www.painlessperformance.com/wc/p.php?s=fefi

or Ron Francis like this one:

https://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=COBRA%2D75

The reason I say this is I stripped the EEC completely out of my '83 to put the carbed 351W in it and everything works as it should.  You can take this same approach and then put an aftermarket harness in the car which will avoid stuffing at best a 27 year old harness EEC-IV from a Mustang or at best a 32 year old EEC-IV harness from a T-Bird or Cougar in it.  With the EEC-IV cars the engine harness integrates into the dash harness so everything plays better with factory harnesses.  You are not in that category so why put an old harness in the car and risk electrical issues which make a project like this a bummer.

However, if you are a wiring guru then play on with the factory harness.

As for the fuel lines there are two ways you can do this that I know of.  One is to modify the stock sending unit / fuel pump hanger assembly to accept a high pressure fuel pump like a Walbro 225 lph unit.  The pump that is currently on it is a low pressure unit that moves fuel to the high pressure pump mounted on the passenger rear subframe.  Then you will need to either find factory 5.0 fuel lines for the high pressure and return lines to the motor.  Another option would be to remove the low pressure fuel pump from the stock sending unit / fuel pump hanger assembly and weld up the holes from the fuel lines that pass through the stock sending unit / fuel pump hanger assembly and reinstall into the tank.  From here you will need to build a high pressure fuel system with a fuel filter, regulator, and return line and a way to get the fuel out of the tank like a sump.  Lots of ways to do this as the Fox Mustang guys have been doing this for years with Aeromotive pumps and the like.  You can score a set of factory Mustang fuel injector rails and install a good regulator on that. From there Aeroquip and Russell both make fittings that will connect to the stock fuel rails and allow a guy to run the Teflon lined braided fuel lines back to the tank.  So lots of ways to get fuel from the tank to the motor.

The aftermarket harnesses will have a fuel pump turn on wire or possibly even include a relay then all you have to do is wire that up to the fuel pump.

Things like a clutch switch to interrupt the start circuit so you cannot start the car unless it is in neutral is up to you.  My '83 does not have this as I just did not wire it in.

If you need the Factory wiring diagram for your car I have one scanned up and can email it to you.
5
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
I can only imagine how that overhead work sucked and then combine it with sandblasting. Looks really good and you will be happy you went the extra mile.

That is the one thing I regret not doing when I had my car painted in ‘98 was doing the underside. Wasn’t an issue then but now I’m seeing very small areas of surface rust. Only a few but that’s how it starts. Having the car in the shop year around and not driving it in wet weather has helped.
6
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
Would you hurry up and get that damn motor started already????  That is just engine bay candy right there...who doesn't love a Terminator motor?
8
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
So Jack is a very smart guy but I’m running a full MM setup with panhard bar and torque arm in my Coupe and do you think any of it is bolted in? The answer is no sir. It literally takes an hour per side to weld up the torque boxes. The USF and LSF connectors do nothing to strengthen these areas. With the stiffening of the chassis more power will he directed to the place of least strength so my suggestion would be to weld ‘em up and then not have to deal with it later. Good insurance if you ask me.

The uppers look great man!! Keep pushing through as they are so worth it.
9
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
So I looked through all my crap (electronic and physical copies) and cannot locate that article in MM&FF where they welded up the torque boxes.  I followed the article on welding them up on my Bird but for the Coupe I just welded everything up that was a seam.  The Coupe was welded up back in 2000 has seen waaaay more torture than the Bird ever has and to this day zero issues.

I would just weld up everything where the parts were spot welded together and if I would have know these existed I would have put them on my Coupe:

https://www.ebay.com/i/191676321000?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=191676321000&targetid=474173633709&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1024240&poi=&campaignid=6469750549&mkgroupid=79220335322&rlsatarget=pla-474173633709&abcId=1141176&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuNm3_s385gIVs41bCh2tTAbQEAQYBCABEgKi7PD_BwE
10
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
I would say it would be tight to a no go but I’m not sure where things hang down and where on a power seat.

Grigg’s website does say that on ‘94+ street driven Mustangs you will have to run a manual seat track on the driver side or modify the upper subframe tube to clear the power track. Might suggest the Fox style will clear it. I do know the lower seat frame just about touches the upper subframe tube when all the way back with the seat track bolted to the rear seat of holes on the lower seat frame of a Fox Mustang seat on a manual 83 Bird seat track.
12
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
The difference is huge. I had the Global West Units in my car for several years before I added the uppers. Added the uppers and ran the car with them for a couple of years. The car is so stiff chassis wise you can jack the car up on the driver front corner and pick that tire up along with the passenger front and the driver rear and the doors will open and close. For reference it did not feel like the car got any stiffer with the welded in six point cage.  Realize I also have the torque boxes welded up and tied into the rear bulk head with additional plate.  Saw this in an old MM&FF magazine article years ago and did it. I think I have that article scanned and can send that to you.

On a side note the ride improved with the subframe connectors installed.
13
User Rides / Re: Chuck's '83 TBird
So I believe the original 87-88 TC fog lights were Hella and the part number on the lens is 301-960-515.  Appears it was used on multiple vehicles but I would bet the mounting brackets for the 87-88 TC's will be vehicle specific.  Some guy has a set of the87-88 TC specific ones on ebay for $175 but one of the lenses is gone.  A person might be able to offer him less to get the brackets and then seek out some good lenses.

I have a full set of the Marchal's for my '83 that I spent many an hour restoring brackets and all.  Brackets and housings are powder coated and the lenses have been polished.  So yes, I am going to put a TC bumper cover on the car as I really liked the nose of the '85 TC that I owned way back in the day.
14
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
You bet.  My thinking is it just keeps the subframe connector from deflecting thus stiffening the car a little more by tying it to the rear of the front subframe.

Did you give any thought to putting in upper subframes like the ones Griggs Racing has?  I have them in both my Fox body cars and that is all the black paint you see on the bottom of the floor pan along the front subframe and around the bulk heads of the rear subframes from the welding burning the paint off.  I have the drawings for those as well.
15
User Rides / Re: My 85 TBird
Before you get crazy on the undercoating I would suggest that you tie the rear of the front subframe into the subframe connector.  This is how my Global West units are which those look very similar to.  Believe it was just angle iron 1/8" thick and the width was what was close to the width of the subframes by about 4" long.

https://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/index.php?action=dlattach;sa=tmpattach;attach=post_tmp_1511_998bcc970ca2d1be625b73b9033cbaf2;topic=33763