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Messages - Wingnutt

18
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars FOR SALE / One owner ’88 LS in SW VA for sale
As much as I hate to do it, I am putting my one owner ’88 LS up for sale. I’m sure that one day I will kick myself for selling it, but right now I can’t stand to see the effects of her just sitting slowly taking effect. I have always wanted to restore her, but for the foreseeable future I will neither have the money or a facility in which to do so. I would rather sale her and see somebody use her and fix her up than to watch the ravages of time work on her.

Like I said, I bought her new in ’88 and have driven her until we moved in 2008. Since then she has been sitting in my brother’s garage until recently and now she is sitting out behind his garage in southwest VA.

The car is still solid and runs good, but as with any well used (and maintained) vehicle, she isn’t perfect. For some reason, I have had a hard time getting the O-ring on the tranny dipstick to seal after replacing the flex plate, so there is a leak there. There are small dents ahead and behind the doors from my daughters, the driver’s seat frame broke a few years ago (on the left side of the backrest) but the seat is still functional and just leans back a little on the left side. The paint was peeling, so I sanded it down to the factory primer and painted flat black over it for protection, so she needs a paint job too and lastly she needs a set of tires. Fix the tranny leak, throw a new set of tires on her and you could probably drive it anywhere.

Low retail according to NADA is $1600, so let’s start out asking $1000 and see what happens.
19
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Post your 2012 Tbird/Cougar TO-DO list
Scour the local bone yards for a 3.7 eco boost, computer and wiring harness.
Find someone to modify the truck tranny for car use.
Find a programmer to do their magic on the combo.

2013-2014
Install said engine...funds pending
Build early 80s IMSA style body work and install 4 eye front clip.

2015
Finish body work and interior
20
Lounge / I'm out for a while
I haven't posted much here for a couple of years since I retired my Cat, but so far everybody is correct. I've seen this happen to a few of my friends over the years and here's my advice: Change all the locks, lock the windows, lawyer up first thing tomorrow morning and don't give any more info out here. Sounds hard, but if the soon to be ex finds this thread, she will find a way to twist it around to use against you. Also dospoogeent EVERYTHING, no matter how trivial. It sounds like she's gonna try to rake you over the coals to get anything she wants.

She has made it plain that she's gonna play hardball, so mentally prepare yourself for a war, 'cause that what she's gonna do. Once you have a GOOD divorce lawyer, call her or have your lawyer call her and tell her that ANY AND ALL correspondence between the two of you MUST go through your lawyer, then DON'T speak to her, don't answer her calls or e-mails, forward everything to your lawyer. She may even try to play nice and offer to settle out of court, DON'T FALL FOR THIS! Believe me, I've seen it happen too many times and seen my friends lose EVERYTHING because they thought she had a change of heart.

She made her choice, now its time for you to do the same. You seem to realize that the relationship is over, and that's a good thing. No matter what you are going through inside, appear firm and inflexible to her. Give her nothing! To quote an old negotiation saying: "what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable". Give out NO information and do nothing to or for her unless ordered to by the courts. Never forget, she's made this into a war and unless you want to lose everything including your kids, you had better do the same.

Now, (as I take off my Mr.hard-ass jacket) I feel for ya. I've been married 29 years (yes to the same woman :)), but as I've said before I have had many friends go through the same thing over the years. It's rough, but you've been given some good advice as far a s keeping yourself and your mind busy. I hope things work out for the best as far as you are concerned.
21
Lounge / It's finally over!
A long round about getting rid of them has sorta been touched on. Buy that house for back taxes, then either 1) call the cops on them for trespassing and squatting or 2) raise the rent high enough so that there is no way they can afford it along with about $1g security deposit all due within 30 days...one month later when they haven't paid, start the eviction process. Then sale the house for enough to pay off the loan for the taxes + a bit for your trouble.
22
T-Bird/Cougar Parts & Cars FOR SALE / Parting out 88 Cougar LS 5.0
Sorry for not reading through 7 pages of requests, but do you have the ECU and complete under hood wiring harness?

Edit:
Read through the entire thread, if the other two interested parties don't work out, I'll take 'em!
23
Lounge / 86 289, bird - VS. - 68 440, cuda?
IMHO, the main problem with a big block in a lightweight car is traction. Combine the amount of off-idle torque a big block makes with the narrow wheel wells of the era and you get HUGE amounts of tire smoke. :D That is unless the owner has knowledge of what it takes to launch a big block car or babies it off the line. :burnout:

Many moons ago, I owned a built 429 Super Cobra Jet Mustang that could run very low 11's at the track with slicks; but with street tires a small block anything could hand my butt to me in most street racing situations. So unless he knows what it take to make a big block hook up, don't automatically assume that he is gonna run away from you.
24
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / I'm not feeling "the love" for my car anymore...
Quote
I just feel dissatisfied with this car. Despite all the work I've put into it, it still looks like a 22 year old beater....Blah...I just don't know. I just don't "feel it" with this car anymore.

I know exactly how you feel. I haven't driven my cat since last spring. When we visited my brother at Christmas, I went out to the barn pulled the cover off of it and blah. All I saw was an all but worn out old beater. Complete with faded paint, 280k miles on the clock, two caved in door skins (thanks daughter #2 :disappoin  ), a broken driver's seat and a puddle of tranny fluid that I have no idea where it came from.

However, I do have a strong sentimental attachment to the poor old thing. It was the first new car that I ever bought. Not only that, but I brought both of my daughters home from the hospital in it after they were born, then years later they both learned to drive in it. It has hauled us all over the country, been SCCA parking lot raced, daily driven for years and years and was slowly relegated from our main car to the secondary car, to the spare care, and now retired sitting in a barn under a cover patiently waiting for me to "feel the love" again.

No I'm not going to sell it. I do have plans to restore it, complete with a V-8 stroker, IMSA style body mods and a four eye conversion. Don't ask me when though, I will need to "feel the love" again so that the mods will be more than just slapping parts on an old car.
25
Events & Shows / Philly area meet?
Since the Philly area is my new stomping grounds, I can probably make it. The cat is still sitting in my bro's barn though.
27
Lounge / Thought I would drop by and say hi
You're not kidding, I've been reading back-posts for an hour, but I see that cougar2go still hasn't reveled his secret to those lights on the front of his '88! :D
28
Lounge / Thought I would drop by and say hi
Haven't posted for quite a while although I still stop by often. We moved to NoVa and may be moving to SoCal if a job prospect goes through. Now SoCal ain't exactly on my top one hundred places to live (no offense intended to those who like it there :p ) but this job opportunity will be to dang good to pass up! Anyway I can transfer after a year. :D 

Got the cat parked in my little bro's barn and I am still seriously considering putting a "four eye" clip on it. Shoot, with gas at $4+ a gallon, I might just put it back on the road again before the restoration begins. :D
29
Lounge / LS1 heads on SBF!
Ya never know what's possible when a hot rodder gets a wild hair. :burnout:  His project reminds me of those guys who are putting a twin cam, 4 valve Volvo head on their turbo coupes.