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Messages - TheFoeYouKnow

1951
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Doe the computer have to "relearn" w/ HO swap?
Mass-Air convert it. for real. You've swapped the injectors (which is the biggest deal for SD) and the throttle body, added headers, etc. The SD system relies on assumptions to work.  It has no idea how much air is moving through the engine, it only knows what to expect based on the MAP sensor and the O2s.  The SD system is calibrated to operate with stock or mildly worked parts.  Anything like what you've done is like moving the furniture around in a blind man's house; it can't cope properly.  MAF convert it, so that the PCM can make it's fuel calc based on an actual measurement of the airflow through the engine rather that how much air it THINKS is moving through it.
1952
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
StrokerBird, T-BirdX3's retrofit was with a projector that is made to bolt through the hole that's already in the reflector.  But others do require cutting of the reflector and custom fitting of the projectors, usually with bolts, or my personal favorite, 2 part epoxy.  If you're thinking of doing your own retro, you should use the Morimoto Mini D2S or the Morimoto Mini H1 kits available from TheRetrofitSource.com, It really is the most headache-free way to retrofit HID projector headlights, They have the highest quality parts available, and a retro like that is the only proper way to get HIDs if you didn't get them from the factory (you didn't).  Make sure to give T-BirdX3 a Benjamin for a set of those awesome lenses of his if you do.
1954
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / Post your 2012 Tbird/Cougar TO-DO list
1. Engine swap.  96-97 int EGR Explorer 5.0.  When I picked her up, somebody had already swapped in an 87 LSC motor and H-pipe, BUT, the bottom is burned up and I think I have a cylinder sealing problem. To top it off, a lifter just started ticking.
2. Some fill rate mods.  I had a burnt trans when I picked up the car. My friend and I went through and swapped the AOD stack for a 4R70W stack and added clutches.  She shifts nice, but I get a little slipping on a hard 1-2.
3. 5-lugs from a 96-2004 Mustang.  I've got a good source for Knuckles, brakes, brake master, springs and a 3.27 8.8 LSD rear.  And, I've got some 17" steel P71 wheels that I'm working on putting some 245/45R17's around.

The motor is going to be first. I'm looking for an install date around the first of June.  I've considered stuffing a cam while it's in the wind.  I was debating over a B303 or an E303.  If anyone want's to weigh in on that, I'd appreciate the advice.
I can pretty much tackle the valve body thing any time, but I'll probably get after it when I do the motor.
My suspension project is a little harder to nail down, I have the wheels, and I have some lightly used tires, but the rest is probably going to happen at the end of summer, maybe the early fall.  For 2013, I'm hoping to get the exhaust re-plumbed from port to plastic.  After that, Some nice clean southern sourced salvage steel and local paint.  Satin black.  Smooth.  Stealthy.
1955
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
The reason he has a lot of open space is that he used the Morimoto Mini retrofit kit. this is a small projector which uses small shrouds.  This is a smart kit to use, because it's VERY easy and there is almost NO chance of messing up the cut-off phase.  If you go back and look at my projectors you'll see much less open space.  I used Hella E55 style units, which are a full sized projector, about 3 inches, and I also used the panamera style shrouds which are VERY large.  My shrouds are so large I had to trim them to get them to fit.  The downside is that my retrofit was much more difficult.  It included cutting and shaping of the reflector housing, cutting and shaping the shrouds, bench aligning the projectors and epoxying them into position permanently.  Not to mention grinding out and polishing the inside of the outer lens.  My retro took 4 or 5 hours per side, his should have taken 1 to 2 hours total.  I like the Mini's, I've done several sets, but I usually use the shroud-centric rings and large shrouds.
1956
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
When retrofitting projectors, if you use dual pattern (Bi-Xenon) projectors, there is no reason to have 4.  And you should always do your own retrofit, that helps it be unique, but it would be nice to have a source for clear housing lenses.  If you have a 4 eye setup, you could use these:
http://www.fordmustangheadlight.com/Spyder/Headlight/Universal-Spyder-Projector-Headlights-_-PRO_OP_4X6_BK/832764/
1957
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
The problem with a one-piece is that the side markers bolt on from the side, which would make it next to impossible to get a one-piece through all the bolt holes.
Still, I wouldn't mind seeing some modernized tail lights for 87-88. Maybe with 3 3157 sockets instead of 2 1157's and a 194. With jeweled reflectors and clearer red lenses instead of red fresnel lenses.  I'd try to fab something up if I could find another set of the stockers, but without a set to spare, I'm not willing to risk it.
1958
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
I'll answer that.  Yes. When using a projector, all the optic management is done inside the projector. The factory diffused lenses have in these cases a number of faults: They will block the volume of output even in stock form, they will take the superior clarity, focus and beam quality of the projector and scatter it, they can't shape a beam, only spread it and last but certainly not least, they're dated in appearance.  Having bashed fresnel lenses so badly, I'd like to point out that there is no point in going clear if you're going to stay with your factory light source. With modern clear lensed reflector based lights, optical management is done by a shaped or "jeweled" reflector behind the bulb.  If you were to put clear lenses over the factor smooth reflector and used a factory light source or, even a 9007 upgrade, your lights would still suck and people would flash you, but with projector retrofitting, the lens, or "outer lens" only serves to protect the projector from water, salt and dirt.

I should also point out that drop in "HID" kits don't work with either lens configuration, you will blind people and you will not see better, PERIOD.  I know from experience (on both sides of the headlights).  It's all about the reflector. HID reflectors are shaped to manage that light source, Halogen clear lens reflectors are specifically designed, and smooth reflector lights have fresnel lenses.  All are mutually exclusive.

T-BirdX3 and myself have upgraded our lights the right way, He has nicer lenses. 

And I want some. 

Bad.
1960
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
Red/Yellow red with a yellow tracer stripe, red with a black tracer stripe.  I apologize for shorthanding, I'm the primary electrical tech at a Ford dealer and sometimes I just can't help it. 
You should find those 2 wires on your car near the turn signal switch, but I'd work with them a little bit further away from there, like at the base of the column. That's really all you need to do to not need TRS's relay kit.
1961
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
Don't use their relays, they're not needed on your car.
Power the ballasts directly from the low-beam circuit of the 9004 connector, and wire the shutters to the high-beam circuit at the 9004 connector. After that, how you proceed depends on what lighting system you have. If you have standard (without auto dim and with or without autolamps) you'll want to find the wiring from the multi-function switch and short R/Y and R/Bk together. This way, when you switch to high, the HIDs will stay lit rather that open the shutter and shut off the ballasts.  If you have autolamp and auto dim (you'll have a light sensor hanging in front of the mirror) like I have, you"ll do the same thing except you'll make the mod at the headlight dimming relay.  The way I did it, was to remove about a half an inch of insulation from both circuits where they run side by side and use a single strand of wire to wrap around the two where they're both now bare, then fill the 'splice' with solder and cover with tape. This also works for guys who have regular headlights and just want brighter high beams. 
It just takes a strand of wire and a wire strippers. Easy.
1962
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
How hard would it be to get you to make more of those lenses?  I did mine the hard way, and I don't like how they turned out. 
I removed mine and used 80 grit to grind down the diffusions inside then I used 320, then 500, 800, 1500, a 2000 trizact pad, and then a buffing pad and rubbing compound.  It would have turned out better had the lenses not been 24 years old and filled with little micro cracks.
1963
General Fox T-Bird/Cougar Discussion / (New Goodies)Need Your Opinion on Headlight Color!(Lots of Pics)
XXXXXXI meant clear projector lenses, sourced from TRS, E55 projectors from a wrecked 2010 taurus, and shrouds, ground the diffusions out of the inside of the lenses and polished them til the were clear.  I'm not real happy with the lenses because they seem to have lots of little micro crack in them you can see with the lights on.  In any case the cutoff brings something of a learning curve, both with aiming and driving, but almost anything is better than 9004's inside diffused housings with tarnished chrome buckets. My light pattern is good, but I think my left one is rotated about 2 degrees from flat.  And as you can see from the pics, I have many other issues with the car to address before I get back to the lights.  I have a few more pics though.