Do Not Try This at Home May 21, 2011, 11:59:24 PM Well, you can if you want...Fishing through the wiring harnesses from three different cars, trying to mate the '95 5.0 HO engine harnesses to my '83 Bird. Whomever said the sn95 harness doesn't mate up very well with the early fox T-Bird was right. My head hurts...On the other hand, the motor itself went in without a hitch. I'm using all the '95 accessories, so I can run the sepentine setup rather than the three belts that were originally on my car. Other advantages were the later model AC and 3g alternator. The engine compartment looks very different with the more modern components - plus I deleted all the emissions. In this lousy picture, you can see I had to move the battery to the other side of the engine compartment and use a later model windshield washer bottle. The duraspark is just sitting up there for right now while I'm wiring. It'll be going away. All in all, things are going well and I think it'll be a nice clean looking install when complete...Sorry for the py iphone pics. Hopefully, I'll have it up and running soon and I'll take some finished pics with a real camera. Like all of my projects, this one's spinning out of control. While I have it apart, I'm doing all new exhaust (x pipe, Flowmaster 40s and new tails), converting to floor shift, doing the undercarriage in POR15 and then UPOL Raptor, throwing up some subframe connectors, a driveshaft loop, etc, etc, etc. Then I have to take the rear window out and fix some rust. Once the window doesn't leak into the trunk anymore, I can install my audio... Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #1 – May 22, 2011, 01:06:12 AM I know the feeling of project creep,that definitely looks like a mess befitting of such a sharp looking car! As they say, "if it was easy..."And that guy that made a comment about the wiring? Yeah, I tried to warn you! Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #2 – May 22, 2011, 06:37:56 AM something i'm looking forward to.Actually glad you put those photos up, the front dress on that motor is extremely similar to the local gear.Is there much room for the aircon lines to bolt up? Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #3 – May 23, 2011, 08:44:05 AM I hate doing electrical stuff. I do it, I swapped harnesses, fuse box, etc, but I hate it. That mess would have me committed to a round padded room somewhere. Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #4 – May 23, 2011, 08:04:54 PM My suggestion after doing some similar madness is to label your wires on each harness, get it laid out on paper first, then start the splicing.Cool project, ivygreen! Good Luck! Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #5 – May 24, 2011, 02:37:52 AM jrad - That was you, wasn't it...Falcon - I threw the AC compressor on there on Thursday, but I haven't run the lines yet. It looks like it'll end up being a combination of my old T-Bird and SN95 stuff. The T-Bird compressor was up high. The SN95 compressor and its lines mount down low, under the PS. Could be interesting. I'll let you know what I had to do to make it work.I thought the SN95 electric fan, fan controller and overflow tank would be a slam dunk. It's anything but. I'm going to need to make brackets to mount the fan and then figure out how to modify the overflow/controller brackets to work on the T Bird core support.Lear - I have the EVTMs for the bird and the SN95. It's actually going better than that photo would suggest...I think. I hope to be back at it tomorrow. Worked on the friggin' Porsche all day today. Fixed two things and two more unrelated things spontaneously broke. It's an ungrateful little Kraut.Vinnie - Your reply made me think of Top Gun after Goose gets killed. Meg Ryan says "He'd have flown anyway... without you. He'd have hated it, but he'd have done it." Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #6 – May 25, 2011, 09:56:46 PM You have a Boxster, yes?I had a 951, and totally was in love. Was and is the best car I ever had. I got a true respect for German engineering after working on that car bringing it back up to top form. I never put a part on it other than OEM spec, because everything was made to work as a unit. What a driving experience it was. Great engine, awesome handling, and even better brakes. It was just nearly perfect in every way. Nice thing was, I bought it for under 7k, put 3k into the resto (including 1k, 3 month long self paint job), drove it for 3 years and sold it for 9k, so it cost me a grand for 3 years of bliss.It did get me hooked on turbo power for sure. Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #7 – May 26, 2011, 03:06:25 PM I had a Boxster. Lost that one in the divorce. Replaced it with a 996 C4 cab. I love it. It's really not that ungrateful. I was just stinging from having a bad day trying to fix the top mechanism. I think what I needed was an engineering degree. The top was obviously much smarter than me.In 1986, I worked at the White House. A guy I worked with bought a brand new '86 951 (first year) - Guards Red with black. God, that thing was beautiful. We used to run around DC and Northern Va - the Porsche and my Mustang GT. We were pretty evenly matched in a straight line. Eventually, he would lure me out into the twisties. When it came to corners, he was gone. I've thought about buying one many times. Honestly, one of my all time favorites is the 928 S4. For some reason I've just never pulled the trigger. One of these days...I have some other Porsche projects too. For some reason, I don't think I'll be as financially successful as you were with yours... Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #8 – May 26, 2011, 06:50:53 PM Beautiful C4 cab. Looks great. My 951 was a 86, red with black. Fuchs alloys. I was hard on rear tires. LOL I burned up a set a year the way I drove it.I agree on the S4's. Very cool. The engines always scared me, if it should ever break. So expensive to maintain.I almost pulled the trigger on a 968 a couple years ago, but decided to fix up the 'bird instead. Now that I have the TR7, I wanted something with a backseat and big trunk. And 400 HP. Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #9 – May 26, 2011, 07:02:54 PM My new wife totally does not understand my love for my 'Bird. Oh well, at least she won't want to drive it... Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #10 – May 26, 2011, 07:07:38 PM Quote from: ivygreen;360697My new wife totally does not understand my love for my 'Bird. Oh well, at least she won't want to drive it... Wait ,,what ??? after all the you went through in a divorce you got married again ?? You sir are a very brave man .Much braver than me . Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #11 – May 26, 2011, 07:48:34 PM I know, right? You don't know the half of it...but I got it right this time. Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #12 – May 27, 2011, 01:30:07 AM Congrats, sir. I am much more with my wife. I hope you found Mrs. Right. Quote Selected
Do Not Try This at Home Reply #13 – May 27, 2011, 08:42:50 PM Haven't touched the car in more than a week. Yesterday, I got the fuel gauge sending unit from Cougarman. Tonight, I'm painting the fuel tank straps. Tomorrow, I'm going to get back to work. Maybe more wiring. Maybe, I'll begin to POR the undercarriage. I'll see how I feel about it in the morning. Only get to work on it for a one day this weekend. Sunday, I drive to the farm to cut grass. Monday, I promised I'd hang out with the bride... Quote Selected
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