Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

1BadBird
Nice project!! Looks somewhat familiar although not as powerful....... LOL.... I likey

ThunderbirdSport302
Nice! Can't wait to see it all done up!

BTW....also the Cobra front control arms are better than the originals...I'm sure you're aware of that though 

I checked out your photos, very nice, thats gonna be one clean engine bay. I had to trim my k member lower mount and relocate the holes , you can just see the front of the orginal holes, didn't look like you had to trim yours.
(http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t456/bodymann/DSC00124.jpg)

Ya, I have to trim mine the same as you did yours. I got ahead of myself and painted the k-member before tpuppies it. I had marked it but ........  I'm liking your progress. Very nice work!!

John

Nice work Bodyman
i have a question are you gonna keep your original cluster?
i was wondering how to deal with the t 56 digital signal of the vss in order to make the original speedometer work
id like to do a coyote swap in the future but want to retain to stock cluster

STANG8U
Very nice

I have a buddy that has done this swap on his 4 eye mustang and another buddy with a notch

Lots of work

Yea it's a bitchin car drivin it a few times one time was at the track it broke lose in 3rd and I almost smacked the wall thank god I saved it

http://www.carcraft.com/featuredvehi...g/viewall.html

i am however going to try to be satisfied with the 400 hp from the factory. For a while anyway.

83TB


Very nice build your doing, I think all the hard work your putting in will pay off, looks great. How is the cluster coming?

Also sent my dash pad off to Just Dashes. They said 6-8 week turn around.

What was the cost of the Just Dashes service?

Drewstang
Nice work so far, keep it up and get this thing done.

I have high hopes of driving it this summer. It comes down to funding and ambition. Back when I had all kinds of ambition, I didn't have the funding. Now that funds are not so hard to come up with, I have half the ambition, I am not sure where, or when I lost it, but if anybody runs across it let me know.

347Thunder
 you are bad ass

There are many builds on this site that keep me motivated, I am still drooling over 86-Tbirds latest photos.

With my lack of employee situation it probably won't see the road this summer

Big B
If you have access to a mandrel bender, I'd send their  back, and build something I could be proud of...

Stainless pipe is fairly cheap to buy in straight 8ft lengths.

87thunderbirdBlackJack
Planning on keeping it the same colors?

Big B


 I'd send their  back

Aerocoupe
Not sure how the hell I missed this build thread but wow, what a challenging build and super clean!

Darren

 

I have high hopes of driving it this summer. It comes down to funding and ambition. Back when I had all kinds of ambition, I didn't have the funding. Now that funds are not so hard to come up with, I have half the ambition, I am not sure where, or when I lost it, but if anybody runs across it let me know.

Unfortunately nobody has missed anything since the last update. Have not been able to touch it since early spring. Hopefully I can get back to it after the first of the year. Have not lost interest, just have not had the time to work on it after my employee moved on this spring, it took a couple of months for me to find a new employee and am still trying to catch up.  Now that I have all my wood cut and in for the shop, the deer hits are rolling in and will keep me really busy for a couple of months.



Thanks!

STANG8U


Very cool .... Lol

MechanicMatt


Thats like mechanic paper-mache, I love it.

JeremyB

First time to see this. Very nice build!

phils88gt

I also am in the same boat and it very certain I have almost no droop travel on my 88. What is your ride height from some static point and I can compare to mine.

Jack Hidley

 I think you are going to have one problem with the hydroboost installation. All of the 1987-88 T-Birds have a 3.5:1 pedal ratio. That is the pedal pad moves 3.5 units for each unit that it pushes the m/c pushrod. I do not have the data for your 1985 2.3l turbo, but I assume it is the same. You can check you pedal ratio be measuring the physical brake pedal dimensions and dividing one by the other.

 The Mustang that you pulled the hydroboost unit from has a pedal ratio of 4.75:1.

 Since you appear to have connected the hydroboost unit pushrod to the 3.5:1 pedal pin, the required pedal effort and travel is going to be quite a bit different than what Ford designed. The brake pedal effort is going to be 36% (4.75/3.5) higher. The travel at the pedal pad is going to be reduced by the same amount.

 To correctly fix this, the pin on the brake pedal should be moved upwards slightly less than 1" (0.97") and the hydroboost unit should be raised on the firewall to correctly align the pushrod so it is straight.

 On second thought, since your rear brake calipers have 60% more piston area than the Mustang rear calipers the hydroboost system was designed around, I would only raise the pin on the brake pedal 0.75".

Aerocoupe

I would think that the pinch in the two primaries will affect those cylinders performance. For the pain in the ass long tubes are I would try and reroute the primary do that the flow is not restricted.

 Darren

I moved the holes in the mounting plate upward 1 inch, this moved the booster down so that it was more in line with the brake pedal rod mount and lined up with the hole in the firewall. Could have moved it down a little farther so that the rod was better lined up with the pedal mount, but it did hook up.

Aerocoupe


Are you going to solid mount the motor? I would worry that there is not enough clearance between the blower case and the 1-1/4" rod for when you have the motor wound up and trying to tear out the driver side motor mount. Other than that the brace looks fantastic!

 Darren

Could you rework it to be more like what they install on the Cameros? By running the bar to the back of the motor it may give you more clearance and be easier to work on things but I am just guessing here.

Attachment 35711

 Darren

Aerocoupe


If the shock towers ever push in towards each other it may kink it but I say in your case it's worth a shot. If it was me and my no welding ass then I would persue the other option just because it would take me a week to get my buddy to weld up another one plus he doesn't work for free. He doesn't charge me full boat but it just sucks I cannot weld. Anyhow, give it a shot and see what happens. Maybe don't paint it until it proves out?

 Darren

I can't give out numbers, but I can tell you what the general deflections are like.

The most extreme strut tower deflection occurs under hard braking. The strut towers move towards the firewall. There is some deflection outwards, but not much. Most people seem to get overly concerned about STBs keeping the camber from changing dynamically. We've seen no evidence that they have any positive effect on this.

From a handling standpoint, I think the main benefits are this: When the strut towers move rearwards or outwards, the toe changes quite a bit. This is going to occur primarily under braking or trail braking, times when you want a stable front end. Is the difference going to drop your lap times 0.5 seconds? I seriously doubt it, but good handling has as much to do with predictability as it does with grip.

From an NVH standpoint, there is definitely an improvement as the center of the firewall is triangulated to the strut towers, which reduces cowl shake. In my opinion, the car also becomes more response during high rates of steering yaw.

Obviously, all of these comments only apply to an STB design that is good enough to actually brace the nodes that it is attached to. I've used STBs that had no effect because they weren't well designed.

I know there are plenty of people on this board that are skeptical. For them, I have one piece of evidence that I think is too difficult to refute. Why would Ford add a $20 part (STB) to the SN95 Mustang if it had no positive benefit to the car? If it didn't have some significant positive benefit, Ford would view this as throwing away $20 of profit in each Mustang made. Why did they stop putting them on? I don't know, but my guess is someone did a cost/benefit buttstuffysis where the increased build and warranty cost of having to work around the STB was weighed against the increased sales volume of Mustangs due to the improved driving experience, and the STB lost. I'm intentionally making this comparison as simple as possible.
__________________
Jack Hidley
Maximum Motorsports Tech Support 

1BadBird

Nice work on the air box and headers. May I suggest some Lizard skin thermal barrier on the inside of the box, that way you can paint the outside to match.

Thanks. Was thinking about a heat barrier on the inside, will have to check into the Lizard skin, never heard of it.

Did you get back up north yet for that Bird? I am gaining on ya. lol.

thunderjet302

Post lift. Fork lift. What ever works .

1BadBird

Hey Joe, That Lizzard skin is some great stuff. Check out this demo on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f9z_XlP4dY
 Here's a link http://www.eastwood.com/lizard-skin-...llon-pail.html you might find it cheaper somewhere else though

 Haven't made it up there yet but I'm working on it. You'll probably pass me up at this rate. lol

87thunderbirdBlackJack

Any updates on this project?

Aerocoupe
So its been 2-1/2 years since an update on this. Did you start another thread or did it die on a vine at some point? I hope not as this was shaping up to be one hell of a car.

86caprirs
Great build. Nice to see a Terminator in a Thunderbird. Looks like home in there.

Gydyup
The Coyote fit in there without notching the towers?

Drewstang
How thin is the material on the bumpers where it meets the fenders and quarters? I've always wanted to shave them like you did.

Gydyup
Did you fab up and weld the UCA tabs onto the 9 inch? Ive got the housing I took out of my Mustang when I shortened it some more. Its 50 3/8  to , would like to put it in the bird, and mini tub it. I am not sure about geometry and location for the UCA mounts though, any help on that would be awesome!

thunderjet302
Well that's fancy.

Not worried about the exhaust staining the paint?

bootleggers deluxe
. Looks like i need to take a road trip up to Monona. You['re just over an hour north of me.

Drewstang

Wow, very nice work on those. I need to pickup one of those older plastic welders. My Harbor Freight is not very good for this type of work. Do you have any tips for working with wavy covers? My 03 Marauder has the yellow urethane and the rear cover is wavy on the sides and the paint has spider web cracks. I tried to redo the front using some Metal Kote filler but now the paint is popping off the filler.

Heating them up and pushing out and in where needed is about the only way. I use a couple of body dollies and spoons to "work" the plastic around when its warm, then hold it there until it cools down. I wouldn't attempt to do this unless you plan on repainting the cover, more than likely to get things hot enough to move you are going to burn the paint. I rarely fix bumper covers here at the shop, it has to have just very minor damage or it gets replaced. More often than not you end up with more labor in fixing and prepping than the cost of a new one. Your Marauder rear cover is about $1350 though, so it may be worth putting some time into. 

By no means are my covers going to be what I would call straight, maybe it's possible to get them there, but to me would be an exercise in futility. 

This is the heat gun I use at the shop.

http://www.autobodydepot.com/MRA-HG501A.html#.WqST7bmWy5g

Tbird232ci
So, seeing as you're from Iowa, I would choose Vermillion Red, but that's just me.

So, seeing as you're from Iowa, I would choose Vermillion Red, but that's just me.

It's a Slipknot reference. They're from Iowa and have a song called Vermillion.

Sadly, it's the only thing I know about Iowa.

Part 1 or 2? ;) :mullet:

Iowa had a battleship class named after it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa-class_battleship

Now you know 2 things about Iowa.

AMTbird232ci
Quote Originally Posted by EricCoolCats  View Post
Part 1 or 2? 
<3

Quote Originally Posted by thunderjet302  View Post
Iowa had a battleship class named after it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa-class_battleship (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa-class_battleship)

Now you know 2 things about Iowa.
I think my fact about Slipknot was more fascinating.

:bowdown:   Nice work!  I almost hate to ask, but how many labor hours would you estimate you have in stripping and prepping so far?  I guess throw the disassemble time in with it, or not.

Looks great.  Thank you for the updates

Goofy had to go
(http://i68.tinypic.com/6t0cc6.jpg)

Have you got the doors, fenders, header panel, and bumper wraps all ready for paint or will those be done after the body, hood and trunk lid?

Nice work.
Have you considered putting a 45° fitting on the rear diff connection?

Oof! That is messy overhead work.

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

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.

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.

So I looked through all my  (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

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

Stop Torque-box Damage
Torque-box damage is often blamed on "too much power". Wrong! It is usually the result of metal fatigue caused by a poor rear lower control arm bushing design.

I really should consider some of these through-floor SFC's and take the cage out of the car.

The wife gives me a nasty look every time I suggest it, though. :giggle:

Awesome man! Love what you're doing here

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!

Please post a video when you get that Terminator motor fired up.

I still wish it were Vermilion red...for my own reasons.

That paint laid down so  nicely.

Did you get an NOS washer tank? That has to be the nicest washer tank I've ever seen.