Chuck's '83 TBird

Topic: Chuck's '83 TBird (Read 76009 times) previous topic - next topic

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #135 – July 09, 2011, 08:58:55 AM

Quote from: daminc;363067

chuck, how do you keep the front wheels from rubbing when you turn the wheel all the way?

I don't. :hick:

Honestly, I don't remember the last time I had it at full lock one way or the other. There are no limiters on it, and it may rub a bit, but it's such a rare occasion, that I'm not really concerned.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #136 – July 09, 2011, 09:04:19 AM

Quote from: Chuck W;363083

I don't. :hick:

Honestly, I don't remember the last time I had it at full lock one way or the other. There are no limiters on it, and it may rub a bit, but it's such a rare occasion, that I'm not really concerned.

LOL....Ok, It only happens to me when I forget about it.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #137 – July 09, 2011, 01:47:45 PM

Awesome. All good news. I don't really like the mystery springs I have on there now. Need to see if I can find a pair. Good to know I can run a taller tire on the front.

Quote from: Chuck W;363066

245/45 front, 255/45 rear. Still C Kits in the front. Haven't gotten around to doing the whole coil-over thing yet.

As far as stance goes, it was the same when the car was a 302/AOD, and the two other's I've lowered this way have been the same. You might need a 1/8"-1/4" of spacer on the front springs with the heavier combo, but you can never really tell until it's all on the ground. I might have some old ride height measurements in one of the log books, but we're talking about 15 years worth of notes.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #138 – August 03, 2011, 10:12:17 AM

OK, well the webhost is sorted and I'm working on getting pics uploaded again and links fixed. Organizing things better this time so I don't have the same issues again.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #139 – August 14, 2011, 10:58:47 AM

Quote from: glocklimited9;361941

ive seen this car for years, always been one of my favorite

+1 :)

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #140 – August 15, 2011, 07:40:56 AM

Looking good, Chuck. How's she running?

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #141 – August 15, 2011, 08:31:20 AM

Quote from: flylear45;365169

Looking good, Chuck. How's she running?

Not too bad. Been driving it once a week or so, depending on the weather. I still have yet to get the time to take it out for some revised tuning after the injector and IC install. It grunts down low (boost starts to come on at about 1800rpm), but it runs out of steam up top. I've got a new laptop, and once I get a new USB-serial cable, I'm going to let the Tunerstudio auto tune have at it a bit.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #142 – August 15, 2011, 04:24:28 PM

Quote from: Chuck W;365174

Not too bad. Been driving it once a week or so, depending on the weather. I still have yet to get the time to take it out for some revised tuning after the injector and IC install. It grunts down low (boost starts to come on at about 1800rpm), but it runs out of steam up top. I've got a new laptop, and once I get a new USB-serial cable, I'm going to let the Tunerstudio auto tune have at it a bit.

I have been over riding TS autotune under 1300 and in boost. It's paranoid I know, but I think I do a better job in those areas of the curve.

IMHO, I think anything over (richer than) 12.5 -1 under boost is gonna fall on it's face at higher R's. Just sayin'. That's the way my TR7 acts. I was too rich at first and was killing the acceleration. A dyno session got me revving the way I should.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #143 – August 16, 2011, 07:19:18 AM

Yeah, I'm thinking it's a bit rich. Not too rich to blow nasty smoke, but rich enough to kill the power.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #144 – October 16, 2011, 07:23:12 PM

really love the look of this, gives me a few ideas for mine.

I was really surprised to see you were considering an I6 conversion originally!

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #145 – October 16, 2011, 07:45:02 PM

Quote from: EFFalcon;370291

I was really surprised to see you were considering an I6 conversion originally!

The stuff for that conversion is still in the garage, as is another option. :p

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #146 – January 19, 2015, 12:48:29 PM

Dragging this thing out of the past. Loooong time since last posting here. Not even sure where the time goes.

I've been a bad owner, and other than a few drives last season, this old beast hasn't seen much of my attention as of late. Time for that to change!

There are a couple projects that I just haven't addressed, either due to not enough time, not enough money, or just not enough motivation. More of the later, really.

Short list of smaller projects include:

- Rear suspension upgrades, including panhard bar and revised 4-link set-up.
- 8.8 rear with 3.55's
- Coil-overs on the front and perhaps (well, most likely) some different strut mounts.

I've had this old Steeda 5-link stuff for ages. Time to get it modded/beefed and in place. I've never been happy with the 3.73's I installed in the 7.5, and they've seen better days anyway. I've been wanting to do coil-overs up front for a while now. My Koni's aren't "ideal", but I'm also not planning on going bonkers on spring rates. The strut mounts I made over 15 years ago are probably well past their prime. They were cheap to build, and served their purpose, but they won't work for what I want to do.

The big project is an engine swap. The 2.3T is fine, but it's starting to lose it's appeal to me. Mainly because I've had several cars with them.

I have 2 choices in my garage, and I'm trying to figure out what direction I want to go.

A. SHO V6
B. 200 ci US I6 block with Aussie XF AL EFI head.

Both have the appeal of being "relatively" different, and both would have some sort of turbo attached to them in the end. Option A has the appeal of just being plain shagy. Opening the hood and being able to showcase one of the best-looking engines (IMO) would be sweet. The downside is some serious work is needed to get it into the car. Option B is still unique, and would be cool in its own right. More work needed on the engine itself, mating the head to the block, but it would require very little work to get it into the car.

Seeing as Option A would require more downtime of the car, just to get things together, Option B is slowly winning out. The SHO motor is going to need serious oil pan and K-member work. Even a tubular K-member is probably not going to help things just slide right in. Again, not a huge deal, but means the car is down for a LONG time, while I work out fitment. The option here would be to find a front clip off of a TBird/Cougar and put it on a rolling frame and do mock-ups in the garage. Still kind of tedious.

Anyway, going to get the car situated and get to messing with the rear susp stuff and try and hunt down a 3.55 8.8. That is stuff that's going to be done, regardless of what engine winds up in the bay.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #147 – January 19, 2015, 01:15:38 PM

When you get the Steeda 5-link installed I would love to see some pics.

Darren

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #148 – January 19, 2015, 10:24:51 PM

While the SHO V6 is cool that turbo I6 sounds like it would be cool. A turbo Aussie I6 can make some wicked power.

Why are you considering going from 3.73s to 3.55s? I would think the difference wouldn't be that great between the two.

Chuck's '83 TBird

Reply #149 – January 19, 2015, 10:47:31 PM

Well, it wouldn't be a "full" Aussie I6 (Getting a Barra 4.0 turbo would be hot, though). Still looking into the sum of parts needed to mate the head and block together and make it turbo-ready.

The 3.55's are primarily to stretch the legs a bit. I've never been really happy with the 3.73's. Not much of a change, I know. However, since I'm pulling out what's there, it's a chance to make the change.