1986 cougar. "ruby"

Topic: 1986 cougar. "ruby" (Read 6230 times) previous topic - next topic

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #15 – October 27, 2013, 10:31:02 PM

the plan was big tires and 3.73 gears with a stick. now I'm not so sure. I assumed there was a .50 od ratio for the t-5. closest I can get is .59 with a 2.95 gearset. that basically requires a aftermarket t-5z trans. for the cost, it really wouldn't be much more to go with a t-56 .50 od ratio, although I don't like the 2nd and 3rd gear ratios anywhere near as much. but with a .50 od ratio, 4.11-4.33 final drive ratios without giving in on freeway rpms and therefore gas mileage is very tempting.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #16 – October 27, 2013, 10:36:23 PM

after doing some maths, 3.73:1 final drive with a .5 od would be almost exactly the same freeway rpms as the stock 2.73:1 and .68 od ratio. this would also give the .74 of the double overdrive a good between gear when crusing at 45-50 mph without being too high or low.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #17 – October 27, 2013, 10:49:41 PM

looking like about 4k for the complete swap, minus whatever yoke/drive shaft modifications that will be needed. gonna have to see how tax season goes...

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #18 – February 11, 2014, 04:59:37 PM

Well, my taxes didn't work out, but I am driving the car.

Got it through safety and emissions, failed me on a tail pipe and emissions were just a wee bit high at idle. did a quick tune up and ran codes. bad 02 sensor on passenger side. $40 and I should have it fly through emissions.

Exhaust bits are ordered. just going to throw stock junk on it for now. temp tag expires tomorrow, and its the same day my exhaust should come in. if all goes well, I should have it registered Thursday.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #19 – February 14, 2014, 12:55:07 AM

Tail pipe didn't come in until today. I fought the o2 sensor for a couple hours. it was cross threaded, which took another hour or so to get back in. ran codes, pulled a number 11 and 77 (wot during test error). I've never had a car that didn't pull any codes before.

I did 0-60 using gps before and after. went from 17.9-12.9. Wasn't the best run, but the car has a lot more low end. it spins the tire okay from a stop now. ill bring it in on emissions tomorrow and hopefully get plates.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #20 – February 14, 2014, 11:15:11 PM

Failed emissions. I got it fixed though. timing was 20* advanced. I can't believe it wasn't pinging. dropped from 223 hc (220 is passing), to 75 on the idle test. numbers almost seem too good to be true.

When I retimed it, I had a very hard time making out the markings. I figure its somewhere between 0-10* right now. car was gutless on the way home. when I get a chance ill fix the timing. just didn't want to lay down in a muddy dirt parking lot so I could clean it up nice.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #21 – February 15, 2014, 12:25:42 PM

You think the timing chain is stretched? I'm still surprised how much difference a bump in timing can make. Are you running 93 octane?

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #22 – February 15, 2014, 11:38:10 PM

Nope. 87 octane. due to my 4500ft elevation. 91 is highest available here. I'm not sure honestly. car had 191k on it when I drove it home. bulbs are burned out in the dash. haven't gotten around to fixing it.

On my tbird I have always left the dist loose and played with it until I got it where I like it. id I remember its usually around 16* or so. we also have 10% ethonal in our gas, which should raise octane at the expense of power. bumping up the timing gives some of it back.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #23 – February 16, 2014, 11:55:03 AM

I didn't check mine for slop since the engine was supposed to only have 80k on it. I still wonder if it is stretched because I ran 18 degrees advanced at the track with no ping. 191k. Rode hard and put up wet lol.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #24 – February 16, 2014, 03:41:40 PM

My old bird with 180k on it, I could actually touch the timing.chain together it has so much slop.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #25 – March 31, 2014, 03:17:34 PM

Been driving the cat a bit, fixing little things here and there.

i fixed the gas guage, it was a small wire that was melted so it wasn't making contact on the ignition switch. crimped for now. ill solder it when i have time and some good weather.

i also replaced the dash bulbs to the speedo. made a huge differance always knowing how fast your going.

my wiper motor died, swapped in a new one. i also found a console lid. its grey instead of red, but it doesn't look too out of place.

i have a problem after visiting the junkyard. 83 tbird with nice sport style seats, and a 83_84 cougar. it has decent same color red doors, manual everything. I'm gonna have to pick these up. there was also a 2001 v-6 manual mustang in there. I'm going to have to try to get the trans for a spare, or if the aod starts to go in the cougar.

i gotta come up with about $200 in the next week or two to make sure i can get at least the doors. the v-6 stang.t-5's are all over out here, but this car looked like it was well taken care of. good interior, good body minus being rear ended. my guess is its probably south of 100k.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #26 – April 02, 2014, 11:25:38 PM

Car has been running cold above 45mph. i decided the thermostat must be stuck, takes longer then normal to warm up. went to the parts store, they gave me a 180° instead of 192°. I told them i wanted a 192° and the guy was sure i wanted one that would make it run too hot. oh well. gonna try to swap it in tomorrow.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #27 – April 03, 2014, 12:31:03 AM

my 85 Cougar seemed like it took quite a while to warm up, my current Ranger, and the last one I had, both 2.3's, heat up real quick! Do TC's heat up quickly too?

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #28 – April 03, 2014, 01:49:58 AM

No idea. never even sat in one.

1986 cougar. "ruby"

Reply #29 – April 03, 2014, 03:41:49 PM

Got it swapped in. took about an hour. had to redo the gasket, it slid. i was trying to be cleaver by leaving the bypass hose hooked up. Makes it hard to seat right. getting it up to operating temps, lock down dist and do a freeway run to see if i can get higher temps freeway.