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Topics - MY83T

17
Lounge / Some new family photos
These are from my son Evan's Bar Mitzvah this past weekend..... amazing kid, and i am super proud of him. 






18
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Saying goodbye to my XR-7 tomorrow......
So my 87 Cougar sold less than 12 hours after posting, and in the oddest way possible.  Quick story.......  I play a dumb strategy game on Facebook called Battle Pirates.  Its good for the boredom of 3AM when i can't sleep.  In any case, i made a pal there, and there is a real time chat room while you play, and Wally became a FaceBook pal as well.  He is a car guy and loves all the Iron from the 80's, and had a soft spot for Fox Bodies.  So we were both on-line playing while i was working on a CL ad in addition to the forum ads, and mentioned the car was up for sale.  He thought i was messing with him because the car is so clean.  He dropped out of chat for a minute, and then came back and announced his plane ticket was purchased for Wed night to fly into JFK to take the car and drive it home.  He asked me at least 5 times if i really wanted to sell.  He will be joining the Thunderbird/Cougar cult, and i think will be a regular poster here. I will introduce him once he gets back to Orlando and things settle down.
19
Lounge / Car Photography basic tutorial Mods (Sticky)?
Hey guys... i have a number of requests over the last few years for some advice and tips on properly photographing cars for best effect.  I would like to share a few ideas and suggestions for those who might like to improve their skills.  There are several things that are very easy and low cost that will greatly change the look of photos, and it has nothing to do with what camera you are using.  Megapixels matter when you are making huge enlargements to print and frame, or for magazine covers and such.  For web and forum, FB, instagram etc, your iPhone or smart phone is just as effective. 

1. Lighting, lighting, lighting..........  oh, yeah, lighting. I can't emphasize this enough.  Time of day matters tremendously for showing off or hiding flaws, defects in paint, swirl marks etc.  The best time to photograph the car is dawn, or dusk.  No full sun in the sky.  When the sun slips over the horizon line, you have about 1/2 hour of perfection handed to you from your higher power. Free of charge.  This will make your car look like a advertisp00get most of the time.  Straight camera flash is never great unless you diffuse it with some material over the flash or bounce it off something.  A soft fill light is nice if aimed right and not causing multiple reflections on the car.

2. Car Placement.    Move the car as far away from the background that you are shooting, unless the background is super clean and free of vertical objects growing from behind.  (trees, utility poles, houses)
By doing that, in combination with the next suggestion on lens choice, will make a very big difference.

3. Lens choice.  Try and place a good amount of distance between you and the car.  Then use a longer focal length lens, or zoom to compress your background.  You will have less distortion on the car as opposed to a wider lens in close, and your background will "separate' from your foreground as well giving a more 3-D effect.

4. Exposure.  Shoot in manual mode if you can.  Use a wider aperture (lets in more light) but gives a softer depth of field, which is simple terms means the background in conjunction with a longer focal length lens becomes shallow and more unfocused, thereby making the car jump out from its background.

5. ASA/ISO setting will control light sensitivity on your camera, and if you shoot at the times i laid out, if you work at 800-1200 ASA, and manually open your aperture to F2.8 or F4, you can adjust exposure with your shutter speed setting as well.

6. invest in a tripod and cable release/remote for triggering your camera.  Even with a very steady hand and a faster shutter speed, you will always get some shake when you hit the trigger.  This will remove any shake or vibrations, and definitely give you sharper images.

7. A few other small details. Turn the front wheel closest to the lens hard to the side that shows off the rim, not the wheel well and tire. Try changing your perspective when snapping to lower angles to get rid of unwanted things growing from behind.

I hope this helps some of you, and would love to see a thread devoted to seeing the results of your efforts using these ideas and techniques to see what you have done.

Best,

David
20
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars FOR SALE / 1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7 For Sale (Forum Member Car)
I really would like this car to end up with someone from here, so here goes the info:

Car is located in Long Island NY

72K miles when i purchased, at about 80K now. (original mile car)
 Paint is 100% original and intact, clear coat as well.  Needs a very good clay bar detail to get down past some of the surface oxidation, and should shine up very nicely.  I may have this done prior to selling, and will affect the price if do.
Shifts tightly and perfectly.
Heat is awesome, AC worked fine last summer, i suspect it needs a recharge though. Compressor should be fine.
Stereo is all stock and sounds perfect with the cassette adapter for my iPod.
Power everything works perfectly.
Leather is perfect, near flawless, lumbars work perfectly.
Gauges are spot on, speedo was in perfect sync with the speed on my GPS.
Very quiet with regard to squeaks and rattles.
Doors opened and close perfectly
All weather strip is perfect,  window sweeps, felts etc. no dry rot
Belt line moldings were flawless and the chrome strips were perfect, no oxidation anywhere.
Rims are super clean, no rash.
Alignment is good, with good Cooper tires all around
Brand new battery with 6 year warranty
Cruise Control is perfect
Trunk is mint, has rubber mat also! :-)
Console plate is perfect and intact, no lifting and no screws through it to make it flat.
Perfect Headliner, carpet, floor mats, and vanity mirrors. Dash looks like showroom new, door pulls are tight and perfect, and rear package tray is perfect. Interior has almost no discernible fading.

The bad (very Minor)
Rearview Mirror needs to be re-silvered
Black Trim around the front and rear windshields could use some touching up, just never had the time to do it.
One tiny nickel sized rust spot, (no rot) on the passenger rear quarter just above the moldings.
One touched up scratch on passenger door, with the wrong color silver touch up paint pen.
i added the the stock EQ to fill the useless hole in the dash.  I have a EQ compatible radio to go with the car and is probably a 15 minute swap if you feel motivated to do so.

I am looking to get $2500 Firm if i sell the car this month.  If i don't i will clean up and fix the minor issues and the price will go up and will wait as long as needed to get my asking.
Any questions: Davidconn1@mac.com  or call/text anytime 516-978-5988 

Thanks for looking.


Here is the stats on this car:

1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7 
here is the Marti Report:

X
The Photos:


























23
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Thinking of putting the Cougar up for sale
Hey all, just putting out there before i do anything official or drastic that i am considering parting with the 1987 Cougar XR-7.  I really want to replace my lost Bird, and i have the minty LSC too now, so 3 cars is too much given the lack of garage storage and insurance cost.  I needed to ask in general what the consensus for a fair asking price for this car should be. Also to see if anyone from here might have interest in this car before i create a sales ad here and Craigslist.

Mods, please don't move to classifieds as its not certain i am selling yet.  Thanks for that courtesy in advance.
Car is located in Long Island NY

72K miles when i purchased, at about 80K now. (original mile car)
 Paint is 100% original and intact, clear coat as well.  Needs a very good clay bar detail to get down past some of the surface oxidation, and should shine up very nicely.  I may have this done prior to selling, and will affect the price if do.
Shifts tightly and perfectly.
Heat was awesome, AC worked fine last summer, i suspect it needs a recharge though. Compressor should be fine.
Stereo is all stock and sounds perfect with the cassette adapter for my iPod.
Power everything works perfectly.
Leather is perfect, near flawless, lumbars work perfectly.
Gauges are spot on, speedo was in perfect sync with the speed on my GPS.
Very quiet with regard to squeaks and rattles.
Doors opened and close perfectly
All weather strip is perfect,  window sweeps, felts etc. no dry rot
Belt line moldings were flawless and the chrome strips were perfect, no oxidation anywhere.
Rims are super clean, no rash.
Alignment is good, with good Cooper tires all around
Cruise Control is perfect
Trunk is mint, has rubber mat also! :-)
Console plate is perfect and intact, no lifting and no screws through it to make it flat.
Perfect Headliner, carpet, floor mats, and vanity mirrors. Dash looks like showroom new, door pulls are tight and perfect, and rear package tray is perfect. Interior has almost no discernible fading.


Rearview Mirror needs to be re-silvered
One tiny nickel sized rust spot, (no rot) on the passenger rear quarter just above the moldings.
One touched up scratch on passenger door, with the wrong color silver touch up paint pen.



Here is the stats on this car:

1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7 
here is the Marti Report:

X
The Photos:


























24
Lounge / Seems Legit, Trade a 86 Fila Bird for teeth
So just for clarity here we have a 1986 10 Cylinder Fila Bird with a off road set up and hybrid fuel set up and a salvage title for sale to buy his wife teeth.  I have no words.......




http://wyoming.craigslist.org/cto/4896396212.html


Wife needs new teeth - $5000 (wyoming)

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap
(google map) (yahoo map)

1986 Fila Edition Thunderbird odometer: 102000 paint color : custom size : full-size type : offroad drive : rwd fuel : hybrid transmission : automatic title status : salvage cylinders : 10 cylinders

condition: excellent

safety tips
prohibited items
product recalls
avoiding scams
Hey guys need to sell my truck to get my wife some new teeth. Hate to sell it, but you know how it goes.

Interesting trades considered
25
Events & Shows / Carlisle PA Ford Nationals (Who is going this year?)
Maybe we can jump start some official forum gathering since many of us might be attending Carlisle anyway?  I think i am going to do the trip this year with the LSC, as i think i have a solid shot at competing with it.  Who else is coming down?
26
Lounge / Peaceful protest thread
I have enjoyed membership in this wonderful forum since 2009.  I have some really wonderful friends, learned a tremendous amount of tech and at times been able to contribute back here as well.  There has always been for the most part, a certain harmony, respect and decorum shown here, which has made this a bit of an oasis in a desert of bullshiznit and drama so prevalent in automotive related forums.

All of that being said, there has been a recurring problem and instrument of discord, that has largely and inexplicably been ignored.  Far be it from me to tell the Mods, and Admins how to run their site and message board, but i have had enough of it, and several other non trouble making regulars here have as well.  I am now along with Paul (V8Demon) going to take a break here and see what happens moving forward.  I can be reached by any and all at davidconn1@mac.com or 516-978-5988 if anyone needs to contact.  I will be on all the Facebook pages, so its not a farewell, just a moving on to places with no BS and drama, at least for now until this situation hits some kind of critical mass and resolves.  I will be checking PM's so again reach out any way you can. 

Here is the link to the discussion that has pushed it to the limit:  Scroll to bottom

http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?37686-For-my-next-trick/page2
28
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Heads Up.......several new members might be joining
There were a bunch of guys from Mexico all with Cougars and Birds that just joined the Forums Facebook page.  They were directed here to join up, so please give them a warm welcome, and be patient as not all of them have the same command of english.  All seem to be pretty cool guys, and there are some interesting Mexican made Foxes, including a 88 Thunderbird SVO V6 car that has a TC front clip and hood.  I want to hear more about this car.
29
User Rides / Drumroll please..... 1989 Lincoln LSC Mark VII (New Car in the stable)
Ok, so i drove her home last night from NJ.  Initial thoughts are wow, pretty comfortable and near flawless ride.  I will list the good and the bits and bobs that need to be fixed or obtained.


The car is a Crystal Blue original near flawless paint with less than 36K pampered miles.  Interior is a exact color match to my 87 Cougar in Blue Leather.  I cannot find any flaw in color, fading or even a scratch on the inside. Mechanically all the big stuff is operating as it should.  Air ride is perfect, with all airbags original and working.  Power antenna, power trunk latch, ABS brakes all working as they should.  All buttons, s and switches are good.

Here are the interior issues i have found:

Factory original cassette deck is working well.  Sound only on right side front and back.  Light sound out of the front left if i turn all the way up, nothing from rear left.  I am puzzled about this. 

The inside trim above the doors is flopping down a bit, not sure if i need a tab or fastener, or if they had adhesive that held them there. Cosmetically perfect though. 

Headliner is amazing, floor matts look new.  Need a glove box kit with manuals etc.


Exterior is pretty amazing too.

Here is what i discovered in daylight.  Foglight's are missing.  supports are there, no damage and the switch lights up and works, just need a clean set with mounts.  The crazy overpriced fog light covers were in the trunk, so that was lucky.  They sell for more than the fogs themselves.
Paint shows as new with 2 small exceptions.

Driver side rear quarter has a small dent, i think it can massaged out by a good PDR guy.  The front right lower fender has a small rub mark down to the primer from a badly judged u-turn or parking job.  The small belt line moulding there is coming up, just needs new double sided tape.
One small circular crack in windshield, can be resin filled and is mercifully located out of my sight behind the brights sensor on the rearview mirror.

Engine needs a gentle cleaning, all original, no mods of any kind.  Stock exhaust, tranny and rear, all appear to be solid.  Not a pin hole of rust to be found.
Rims are flawless, tires are really solid, just a hint of dry rot here and there, but look solid.
Trunk looks like it was opened for the first time by me.  Everything that should be there is. 

Wheel lock is MIA, not sure what to do there.  I wonder if McGaurd or whomever made these can still create a copy with the vin?  Anyone know about this?

All in all its not far from being a serious show car. 

Here are some initial pics i took late today before sundown, many more to follow after i clean and detail her this weekend.