Hey to everybody ! I started this thread beside daminc-s project because sometimes I need Your advice or help and same time to show You what I have done :) My overview is not so thorough as daminc-s, but at least something :) At first I am sorry if my english grammar is not correct. It is not my native language and frequently I use dictionary. Here is my project Cougar LS 1986 V6 3,8ltr. I started it already a year ago. Project progress is very slow, because I dont have much time for it. My working schedule enables working with my project only two weeks in month. During those duty free weeks also the family and other thousands things demainds time also. In last summer I started disassemble of car, then I built car body rotisserie and then new room for car and oops!!, summer was ended :( My garage dont have heating and in winter I did inside room works. I rebuilded engine and transmission.
In this spring.
During disassembling I understood that car needs much more body work then I hoped :mad: Some samples:
Floor (seems on pictures better then in reallity)
Fuel tank supporting
Driver side rocker panel
Wheel well openings
Lower parts of rear fenders. Both sides.
Air suction of heater-conditioner blower
Rear subframes
And hundreds little places more :) :(
So, for using body rotisserie, I must at first repair boby framework. Here I repaired part of left rear subframe. To get better access I removed rear panel.
Some pictures about repairing.
After removing all floor isolation (pitch?) mats, I found a lot of work is waiting me Left side trunk and subframe
Same story on right side plus trunk bottom.
Floor under rear passengers.
Now the body is almost empty. Glasses, steering and so on are removed, except front and rear suspension components and crossmembers, brake calipers, lines and hoses. For example about progress slow. I expend 3 hours to remove 2 (from 4) rear seatbelts fixing bolts. One week I wet every day the bolts and trying lose them. Nothing. Then heating and beating, heating and beating again and again. Result here:
Now my questions starts :) About rear left subframe. Inside are two connections (another is hidden on pic) between subframe walls, it also going on bottom of frame and it has two nuts connected to nowhere. It is like double frame inside. For what is it ?? At first I thought that it is for strengthing frame. But this "inside frame" was welded to "main frame" only with some buttweldings and was removed rather easely. Must I restore this "inside frame" or not ???
Does somebody have pictures with explanations, how to repair wheel well openings, like in those pictures.
My general problem is that impossible to get spare body panels parts in my country and if I order them from US, then I must order full size fenders. And shipping them to oversea is madly expensive. I need only lower parts of fenders, upper sides are ok. Second problem is that I dont have special tools for bending sheet metal to make curves properly. I must try make this by handtools.
The engine is Ford 1986 232CID (3,8ltr) V6 Can I use on this engine hydraulic roller lifters and pushrods from 1990 Ford engine ? From SummitRacing webpage I found that lifters have same diameter. I guess that roller lifters must be longer by lenght but I will use shorter pushrods from newer engine also. But how about oil holes and channels? Will they fit together ? What You guess ??
I have 1986 3,8ltr V6 engine. Can I use in this engine pistons for 3,8ltr V6 1988-95 ? Pistons heads (top) are visually same design. Ring grooves of new pistons are smaller, but I also will use rings for new type pistons (88-95). Piston pin is by measurements same size. Piston skirt is little bit different design (shorter). But in my opinion, it will be not matter so much. The only difference, what I found, is distance from pin to top of piston. New type piston are about 0,016 inch (0,4mm) shorter. It will probably decrease compression ratio. But how much? Does anybody had experience with new type pistons in old type engine?
Hello! I am new here. I am from Estonia, sorry if my english is not correct. My car is: Mercury Cougar 86, 3,8ltr, N/A, CFI. I planning to do engine overhaul with some little mods: port matching, multi angle valve job, wintage tray, headers. The engine is not disassembled yet and I wish your recommendations about some parts. I suspect that engine need to be overbored and have new pistons. What pistons you recommend? I cant find from internet "low range perfomance camshaft" for this engine. Exist this at all or is better to use original camshaft? Can I use hydraulic roller lifters and must I also use new pushrods and rocker arms with them? What other parts you recommend change during overhaul, where are weaked points of this engine? Already I have mac headers, low and upper end Fel-Pro gasket kits.
