Boot's Bird Build

Topic: Boot's Bird Build (Read 2923 times) previous topic - next topic

Boot's Bird Build

July 02, 2018, 01:02:04 AM

Hello Everyone!

I'm Bootlegger's Deluxe, but everyone calls me Boot. This is my build thread.

I'll start out by saying I've always been one who has always loves Thunderbirds. My first car wasa 78, a car I still own to this day. I've owned over 30 Tbirds over the years, but this is my first fox body T. I had plans of what I wanted to build long before I found the car.

Here is my 1987 Tbird, the day I bought it.

Note the fact the right front wheel is missing. The strut had sheared itself off of the spindle.

So i towed it home, tossed a pair of struts under it to get it driving, and then fought with the car trying to get the 3.8 to run properly, and ultimately, finding out the rear axle bearings were complete trash.

The car got sidelined, waiting for me to gather parts.

I've been lurking on this forum since i got the car, learning info, and over the time, i ended up getting a 5.0 87 cougar that i parted out, and also a very big lot of parts from a member on here, Lodema.

So, today, I finally wheeled the car out of it's hibernating spot, and into the goodie stall, to begin it's transformation.

Step one is removal of the 3.8 and auto.

Plans for the car will be a budget oriented build, I plan on having the car street driven but also ready to hit an autocross curse at a moment's notice. I plan to do a 5 lug swap, 4 wheel discs, subframe connectors and other stiffening devices, I plan to trim out some interior things ( converting to manual seats and manual windows, deleting rear seat) while maintaining some creature comforts ( cruise, ac), and the drivetrain will involve a 302 based engine, a 5 speed manual trans, and an 8.8 rear.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #1 – July 02, 2018, 09:05:22 AM

Cool project.

My first car was a '79 Tbird. It is long gone now.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #2 – July 02, 2018, 06:04:11 PM

Nice shop. Looks like a good project. I've been modifying mine, 87 TC, since I bought it in 10/2003. Wife got T-boned in the 87 Sport Coupe I bought new. Had to have a replacement because I love these cars. It's been a slowwwwwwww process.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #3 – July 04, 2018, 01:36:30 AM

Quote from: tommym;466315

Nice shop.

It's definitely not as nice as the old shop. Old shop had concrete, a 2 post lift, a bunch of tools, 7 hot rods... all of it burnt to the ground. Insurance paid enough for us to put up a new building, but not enough to put concrete in. so I currently work on cow mats...

Tonight i kept disassembling stuff on the T. I'm labeling all the wiring connections as i remove them, for ease of deleting out and unpinning wires when i swap the carbed v8 in. can anyone tell me what this sensor is, that im pointing to?

My guess is a coolant temp sensor, but it boggles me that they would have two of them so close together.

Also, all the vacuum lines all head to the drivers side to this monstrosity.

It has a whole lot of " this is gonna go" written all over it, but what all is it?

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #4 – July 05, 2018, 12:51:30 AM

Well, today was a fairly successful 4th of July, i think...

Now that all of that is out of the way ( and not going back in, mind you) It's time to see just how bad 30 years in Northern Iowa have been to this car.

I was hoping for better, but expecting worse. Mind you, this is after i hit it with a small ball peen hammer for a good 20 minutes, making absolutely sure I had found all good steel.

Time for disassembly, and to get out the welder and sandblaster!

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #5 – July 05, 2018, 01:05:58 AM

It's always that spot. The holes in the area just let salt and water just sit and rot the metal from the inside out. When you fix it try and weld as many of the holes around where the strut tower and frame rails meet as you can.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #6 – July 05, 2018, 09:15:25 PM

Yeah, I think i'm going to clean it all out, end up rebuilding the whole frame rail, and then making a plate that goes along the strut tower, to the new frame rail, and back to the subframe connectors. I'll do this on both sides. Plenty of time, plenty of plug welds, but it should be even stronger than the factory made it.

And i will plug some of the factory holes, and also create drainage holes so i can wash the frame rails out regularly.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #7 – July 05, 2018, 11:32:40 PM

If you don't want to fab rails these are an option, albeit not a cheap one: https://lmr.com/Product/Search?vehicle=1979-93-Mustang&q=Frame+rail

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #8 – July 06, 2018, 01:21:46 AM

I figured someone, somewhere made them. I'm thinking my plan of overbuilding them and gusseting everything is a better move, i will end up with a stronger and nearly bulletproof setup.

And really, with my plans of autocrossing this car, I can use all the stiffness I can get.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #9 – July 06, 2018, 07:32:42 PM

Be careful about overbuilding the frame rails. They are part of the crumple zone.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #10 – July 08, 2018, 12:15:35 AM

So yesterday, I gassed up Stay Puft, my trusty 4 door longbox truck, and went for a nice 300 mile cruise to go get a stack of goods for the car. Here's the haul.

Got an 8.8 out of a 94 Mustang, as well as the front spindles out the same 94 mustang, a T5 thats supposedly a world class unit, a bunch of 99+ mustang calipers and master cylinders, three 98 spindles... yeah, thats the main haul.

This rear end has a few goodies....

...and 4.10 gears!

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #11 – July 08, 2018, 12:03:30 PM

NICE!!!! Send me that traction lock unit fast!!!

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #12 – July 08, 2018, 05:37:06 PM

Is that a Detroit Trutrac differential?

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #13 – July 08, 2018, 10:52:06 PM

i'm actually having a hard time identifying it, but it sure as heck aint stock!! i'm gonna tug the axles, do a spline count ( i'm told it was 31 spline, but the number 35 came up in conversation) and i'll toss a new pair of axle seals in before buttoning it up. I have an axle girdle cover somewhere i got from Lodema...

Here's a shot of me, in my natural habitat.

Boot's Bird Build

Reply #14 – July 08, 2018, 11:08:42 PM

Today, i spent some time working on getting the T ready for it's front end surgery.

a more cleaned up view of the damages

Wiring tagged and sorted

I decided to stop before i dropped the K member. i may still need to roll this pig in and out before we are ready to weld.