Guess what I did? September 16, 2010, 07:44:32 PM Took some time and work but here's my cat in all it's new daily commuter glory. Questions, comments?Bill Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #1 – September 16, 2010, 08:58:45 PM Looks nice I love those Mark VII wheels Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #2 – September 16, 2010, 10:43:32 PM Great looking car,and as stated above,great looking wheels.They look "right". Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #3 – September 17, 2010, 05:30:46 AM Isn't anyone going to ask me about the 5lug conversion.:D Which is actually a full Lincoln Mark VII axle and brake swap. That's right, the whole diff from a Mark VII is under there along with the spindles and rotors up front. While I was at it I replaced all the bushings with Energy Suspension bits, New KYB GR2 struts and shocks, Moog ball joints, and outer tie rods. For good measure I also used the Mark's whole dual exhaust system. Shorty headers, H-pipe, and lers. All the exhaust stuff bolted right in. It even used the same mounting points. Only mod needed was to shorten the mid pipes between the cats and lers. Marks had a longer wheel base. I used the marks h-pipe hanger, the transmission mount was already double hump. Even the smog tube bolted right in. Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #4 – September 17, 2010, 07:03:46 AM Good job. Nice looking XR-7. Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #5 – September 17, 2010, 07:27:43 AM Quote from: Gearjamer;335859Isn't anyone going to ask me about the 5lug conversion.:D Which is actually a full Lincoln Mark VII axle and brake swap. That's right, the whole diff from a Mark VII is under there along with the spindles and rotors up front. While I was at it I replaced all the bushings with Energy Suspension bits, New KYB GR2 struts and shocks, Moog ball joints, and outer tie rods. For good measure I also used the Mark's whole dual exhaust system. Shorty headers, H-pipe, and lers. All the exhaust stuff bolted right in. It even used the same mounting points. Only mod needed was to shorten the mid pipes between the cats and lers. Marks had a longer wheel base. I used the marks h-pipe hanger, the transmission mount was already double hump. Even the smog tube bolted right in.I assumed the brake swap was what you did to put on the Mark VII wheels , thats why i didnt specify Good work on the exhaust swap too :D Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #6 – September 17, 2010, 08:51:39 AM Gearjamer, I really like the swap! Well done. Did you use the whole Mark VII 8.8 rear end? I assume the gears are 3.27 trac-loc?The Mark VII had a different rear swaybar setup than the tbird/cougar - did you use that? What about the parking brake cables on the disc brake rear - do they fit to the existing cougar setup? Also, did you have to upgrade your brake master cylinder to a bigger one for the 73mm front calipers and the 11" disc brakes in the rear?I bet the car drives nice and handles nice with the ES poly suspension parts!Great Work! Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #7 – September 18, 2010, 04:23:54 AM I used the whole Mark VII diff out of an '88 LSC. If you’re going to do this pull the e-brake cables from the keyed link in front of the rear tire under the trailing edge of the doors. The e-brake cables will hook right back up on the Tbird/Cougar in the same place. Also you will use the existing control arms on the Tbird/Cougar but you will lose the quad shocks, no provision on the Lincoln axle. The diff I used is 3.27 open. I will transfer the Tlock from my old axle later. The whole operation is a bolt in affair. Even the brake hose will fit right in. I did put Ford Motorsport bushings in the upper axle. The ES would have been too firm. Since you are using the original LCA you will use the original sway bar. A Mustang rear sway is the same. In fact I measured my old Mustang GT convertible rear sway and it was exactly the same.For the master cylinder I used a Lincoln Mark VII NON-ABS unit. I got it new from Napa 75.00. You will need to use a T-fitting in your front brake lines because the new MC has one port out for the fronts when the old MC had two. You will also need to remove the stock proportioning valve. In its place you can put an adjustable one. Maximum Motorsports has the valve and adapter kits. MM also makes the ball joint cone spacer to fit the Lincoln spindles to the stock Mustang/ T-bird / Cougar ball joint. It would be a good idea to get a GOOD brake line cutting and flaring tool. You will need to put new fittings on both brake lines where the Lincoln caliper hoses will attach as well as adapt the lines from the new MC to t-fittings and adjustable rear PV.For the front struts use 87+ Mustang GT units. Cougar units will work but you will need .115 think spacers x2 for each side due to the new spindles having thinner strut mounting bosses. The Cougar struts will also require you to oval out the lower hole. The outer tie rods will fit fine. I also had a set of left over caster camber plates from Global West for my Mustang. These will fit but you will have to oval out the front mounting hole on the shock tower. The brake and exhaust swap took me 6 weekends to do and I have a fair bit of experience. Go slow and pay attention to details. You’re working on the brakes of your car. Your physical being depends on doing a good job. Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #8 – September 18, 2010, 11:41:53 PM Great Job! The Mark wheels look nice! Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #9 – September 19, 2010, 06:40:03 AM Quote from: Watchdevil;336006Great Job! The Mark wheels look nice!Thanks! the wheels are temp. I have a set of 17" chrome split spokes off of a '98 gt I want to put on. The Mark wheels are marked for my 1969 Triumph TR6 that I'm putting a '95 SHO motor in. I'm going to call it SHOoTR6. A pun on 6 shooter. That's down the road. I have a 1968 Ranchero that needs some love and My 1985 GT Convertible is getting a custom ported GT40p (ala Explorer) intake with megasquirt fuel injection set up. When all those are done I might actually get to my 1962 Thunderbird convertible. Here are some pics of my addiction. Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #10 – September 19, 2010, 09:03:41 PM Very nice Mustang convertible! I like your other projects too!Here is my 1992 Convertible Mustang and the 1988 Cougar I picked up for DD duty...We have similar tastes in vehicles. :) Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #11 – September 19, 2010, 11:24:24 PM Sweet! Your Cougar looks just like mine before the brake swap. I like the polished look of the split spokes on your '92. I have chromed splits for the Cougar. I like the polished a little better than the chrome but I only spent 200 for the wheels. I have the old wheels from the Cougar to give away for anyone who want to come and get them. Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #12 – September 20, 2010, 09:08:07 AM Yeah, I think the 5 split-spoke wheels on the Mustang are the best looking factory wheels of all the SN95 mustangs. They really set off the rest of the car.Please share more pictures when you get the chrome ones on! Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #13 – September 20, 2010, 04:48:07 PM Just a note on the CC plates. I am not 100% sure if the Mustang units should be used for our cars but if people have and they work then that is great. If you don't have a set of Mustang units lying around then you can get Thunderbird specific units from Maximum Motorsports for the exact same cost as their Mustang units. I have them on my T-Bird and my Coupe, I think they are the best money can buy. Griggs Racing also thinks they are pretty good as they recommended them when I bought my Griggs setup for the Bird. That is pretty good advertising when one of you major competitors recommends a part you make.http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_77&products_id=258Also, I thought your project turned out really nice and you did a great job on the details!Darren Quote Selected
Guess what I did? Reply #14 – September 22, 2010, 02:25:37 AM Quote from: Aerocoupe;336165Just a note on the CC plates. I am not 100% sure if the Mustang units should be used for our cars but if people have and they work then that is great. If you don't have a set of Mustang units lying around then you can get Thunderbird specific units from Maximum Motorsports for the exact same cost as their Mustang units. I have them on my T-Bird and my Coupe, I think they are the best money can buy. Griggs Racing also thinks they are pretty good as they recommended them when I bought my Griggs setup for the Bird. That is pretty good advertising when one of you major competitors recommends a part you make.http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_77&products_id=258Also, I thought your project turned out really nice and you did a great job on the details!DarrenI would agree with you 100% on the CC plates. The one I had are left overs from the first suspension upgrade I did. If it were not so easy to MAKE them fit I would not have used them. One note is on the passenger side I get -.94 to -1.5 deg. on the driver side I get +1.2 to -.35 deg adjustments. So to get the Driver side to match the passenger I had to grind out the shock tower holes some more. Not much but just enough to get -1 deg to match the passenger. The car is a cruiser and will never see track time. I just wanted a little more than OEM when I was done. I have a left over Global West Track link I've been toying with modifing to fit the Cougar but that will come after I install the GT40p heads and intake I have waiting on the bench.-Bill Quote Selected
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