"Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Topic: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post) (Read 15699 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #15 – April 27, 2005, 12:47:24 PM

Quote

Yeah, I know about that pic. I wasn't thinking of something quite so involved, though

You've got a couple of cars sitting around the yard...get crackin'.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #16 – April 27, 2005, 12:47:28 PM

bird351.. tha'ts not a wagon.. that's more like a hearse

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #17 – April 27, 2005, 12:50:44 PM

Quote from: EricCoolCats

You've got a couple of cars sitting around the yard...get crackin'.

Still haven't changed from yesterday, huh?

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #18 – April 27, 2005, 12:51:29 PM

Quote from: baXo

bird351.. tha'ts not a wagon.. that's more like a hearse

It's a '77.. no gas tank problems.

But seeing as I drove a -brown '78 Pinto back in high school, I'm used to such comments. :p

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #19 – April 27, 2005, 01:38:47 PM

Mine i wanted to get neons on the bottom and find a neon that was like 2-3 inches and put it behind my cougar head in the grill. I also wanted to rip off the 20th anny badges and make them Clear but keep the head and scipture and backlight those. oh and the 3rd i wanted a body kit for it, if i get another cougar / tbird i might do the GFX.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #20 – April 27, 2005, 01:55:43 PM

Hey guys,
I don't know if I'd use the term "stupid" for my wish list, unless you count how stupid I'd be for spending the money I don't seem to have to put all this stuff in my car. Here goes (this is for my '84 LS V6 Cougar, by the way):

1a) either a complete intercooled 2.3T drivetrain, including the TC hood, 8.8 rear w/ 3.73 and quad shocks, 5-speed, heck, even the electronic ride control

or

1b) a HO 5.0, again with a TC rear end, 5-speed

2) complete Mark VII LSC heated leather interior treatment (according to Eric, all the seats are a direct swap)

3) vent-window doors (I just love those)

4) if I have to keep the 3.8, I still plan to put an AOD floor-shifter in it and can the column-shift column (it'll have a floor shift regardless of the drivetrain)

5) put a non-column-shift column in with my '88 TC wheel, complete with Cougar horn button

6) dual TC electric fans

7) '83 TC gage cluster with tach (don't you just love the '83/'84 dashes?)

8) (already got these) TC 16" snowflake wheels with 225/55R16 Cooper Z-rated tires (you never know, that 3.8 might actually need them!!!)

9) a honkin' sound system, which I mostly have, but it's just not all assembled into one cohesive unit; I plan to use the factory Premium Sound switch in the dash to turn my own amp on/off (run the blue Amp On/Off wire from the head unit thru the dash switch)

I basically want a "stealth" luxury Cougar (souped up, but with all the buttons, gadgets, and leather). An LS(C)/XR7, you might say. Of course, a fresh paint job would be in order, and repair of all the 21-year old rust. Not a bad list for somebody totally broke, huh?

Fordman3

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #21 – April 27, 2005, 06:41:09 PM

Quote

Don't feel too bad about that one. I'm sure Carmen might have something to say about this.

Ahh, the silly things one comes up with in high school - I would still love to do that someday (the roof would be removable).

One of the other foolish things I'd like to do is a complete 4wd/awd setup. In a few years, when the Exploders with the independent rears become cheap and plentiful in junkyards, I'd like to mount a Thunderbird/Cougar body onto the 4X4 chassis. I'd channel it so the car didn't sit up too high, but it'd still be much higher than a stock Bird/Cat and sit on 31" tires. The drivetrain would be stock Explorer (4.6, 5-speed auto, electronic 4WD) - That way I could still have my T-Bird in the winter :D

I've also always considered a modern interpretation of the Ranchero. The wheelbase would have to be lengthened and all, but it'd be cool. Maybe with a set of tandem rear axles... hell, amybe on that aforementioned 4X4 chassis. I even thought it'd be cool to retain the Bird's quarter windows as a set of "flying buttresses"...

And then there's the no-holds-barred, fmoney-is-no-object, build-the-perfect-Fox dream:

1987-88 Cougar
Complete AWD setup w/ Lightning supercharged 5.4 and 6-speed manual tranny
Complete custom floorpan and chassis to allow for the AWD and independent rear

This one would sit lower than stock and would perform like a supercar. Remember, spare no expenses. I'd see to it that it outperformed an Enzo :D

And back to your original post, Bird351: The 84-90 Corvette had a "4+3" standard tranny that was a four-speed with an overdrive unit. Overdrive could only be accessed in 2nd, 3rd and 4th - hence the "4+3" - they kept this system until they got the T56 (No Vette ever had a 5-speed)

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #22 – April 27, 2005, 06:47:35 PM

Now I have something that would probably make some people mad. Ok first off let me tell you the condition of my Bird, the gas tank strap mount came off in a big chunk of rust about the size of my fist so now I cant put a new strap on there, I also had a jack stand go through a spot that it shouldnt have(right behind the lower control arm for the rear axle), big rust holes in the trunk, door, fender, and other various places plus I think the cars trying to tell me to kill it since its starting run like .

Ok now for the weird part. I had been talking about sping the car seeing how would have trouble getting $150 out of it just trying to sell it. A freind of mine told me to take it out to the woods and run the piss out of it. I considered it. Then I remembered seeing a picture of a Bird sitting on a truck frame with a set of 38in tires. I'm actually thinking about doing this since I can get a hold of a truck frame rather easily and dont really want to get rid of the car(my first car).

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #23 – April 29, 2005, 01:01:58 PM

Quote from: baXo

I"ve been toying with the idea of turning my GS into a Truck.

Isnt it a ford version of an El Cami-Bird?

That would be original......
The worst part to admit is, it looks good..... :D

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #24 – April 29, 2005, 05:16:29 PM

lsc front grill/panel. Twin inline 6's with Twin superchargers.(if one could fit, why not two? :D ) cherry bomb lers so ricers will race me. Painting everything on the inside either a deep blood red or black leather. Most would be black, the red would accent it. Painting the mirriors and the outside black, and replaceing all of the chrome with red. dropping it down a couple of inches. The biggest fattest assed tires that I could find for the back, and 13's really skinny in the front. front and side skirts for a 87 tbird. Custom back bumper to match the 87 tbird rear end. sheilded tesla coil with a frequency thingy to specify certain objects. light up cougar emblems all around with a dark red glow. and leave the engine compleately stock so I dont wreck it.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #25 – April 29, 2005, 07:19:23 PM

OK, time for my next "stupid" idea:

I confess, this idea came to me just before Oldraven and I stopped talking, and the idea is partially his fault. :p You'll see why.

I gave some serious consideration to converting my '88 to propane/LPG.

I actually did a ton of reading on this.. everything I could get my hands on, via dozens of Google searches. Unfortunately, most propane info is A) for vehicles outside the US, B) for truck conversions, and C) for (older) carbed engines. I had intended to leave the 5.0 EFI for this. Worse, there seems to be a lack of clarity when it comes to terminology. "Bi-fuel" and "dual fuel" are often switched in usage. Really confusing when you're trying to research the details of running one fuel or the other, (but being able to run either on the same car) or running (mixing) both fuels at once.

I did learn a few interesting things, like that MSD also makes stuff specifically for alternative-fuel setups. (and not just multi-spark boxes, apparently) Also found toroidal- (doughnut-) shaped tanks that would seem to be a better fit for car use than most cylinders. (if nothing else, you can put a toroidal tank in the spare tire location) Even ran across a twin-turbo Corvette on propane, somewhere. Crazy.. but that got me to thinkin'..

Started thinking about the possibility of mixing propane and gasoline on a (centrifugal) supercharged EFI engine.. hoping to take advantage of the propane's low temperatures in the process, by injecting the propane as close to the outlet of the supercharger as possible. (giving it a little time to cool the air) I've even seen other discussions on it elsewhere, if I recall.. but I think their main concern was having all that fuel in the intake if there was a backfire.

Anyway, I don't know that anything would ever come of all my reading. It would be nice to have a car that ran on either and/or both at once.. just to do something unusual.. but it seems like I need a lot more info. (and some disposable income)

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #26 – April 29, 2005, 09:57:58 PM

My stepfather 2001 f 250 runs on propane

its not an easy conversion

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #27 – April 30, 2005, 09:18:20 AM

Quote from: Haystack

sheilded tesla coil with a frequency thingy to specify certain objects.

Awesome.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #28 – April 30, 2005, 03:57:51 PM

That's true. The plug and play setups, (fuel system plus a carb) are for non FI systems. There are a lot of FI systems for trucks, though, since they are most commonly used on fleet vehicles and work trucks. They can be expensive, but they are out there, and plentiful. I'm not running a dual fuel, just liquid propane. Although the lower fuel temps and super high octane can let you get away with leaded fuel compression ratios and up to 14* of timing advance, there is still a loss of power.

That's why I too thought about using a gasoline injection setup. Not continuous, though, just for quick bursts to get the full power out of the compression and timing. I'd have to find out what kind of effect this has, though. I don't actually know of any vehicles running liquid propane with gasoline injection.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #29 – April 30, 2005, 05:03:39 PM

imagine running a car with a carb, and running a tesla set to the ford computer setting. Could you imagine running from the cops like that? They would get close and their car would shut off.