1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Topic: 1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build (Read 19509 times) previous topic - next topic

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #15 – January 23, 2014, 12:08:41 PM

Quote from: Drewstang;427791

Just got an alert that the local Pull A Part got a 87 T-bird in. The SN95 dash might be put on hold if the dash in that car is decent. I did get out to the garage last night with my boys and start pulling up the old sound underlayment. It was cracked and broken in spots and I'm sure is way past the useful life date.

Just thought you might be interested, the interior of that car is from a 83/84 Elan/Heritage. Thats the deluxe interior with the T-Bird logos in the seat backs. That was 83/84 only. I wonder if your car is not a 84, as the steering wheel and emblem appear to be from a 84 as well.

Although.....the turn signal stalk on the left of the wheel is a from a 85/86.....hmmmm....

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #16 – January 23, 2014, 02:58:44 PM

Quote from: ZondaC12;427795

What are the wheels in the 1997 pic? Looks good. Or looked good haha. And surely will again! :)

Boyd Coddington Billet Wheels on Goodyear Aquatread tires. The car I'm building now is not the same car in the pic, that one was sold and long gone according to a VIN search.

Quote from: MY83T;427801

Just thought you might be interested, the interior of that car is from a 83/84 Elan/Heritage. Thats the deluxe interior with the T-Bird logos in the seat backs. That was 83/84 only. I wonder if your car is not a 84, as the steering wheel and emblem appear to be from a 84 as well.

Although.....the turn signal stalk on the left of the wheel is a from a 85/86.....hmmmm....

The VIN and title show 86. Its possible they were swapped at some point as I don't know the history of the car. I will most likey not be using the seats and if I can find black interior panels I will gladly make someone a deal on all of it.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #17 – January 23, 2014, 10:01:01 PM

Pulled out some more underlayment and all the insulation on the firewall. Still a little ways to go but making progress on this step.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #18 – January 24, 2014, 01:29:48 PM

NICE !! go w the SN95, just my opinion.... i would like to "update" my interior with something new... but no time space n the big one "$'
Good Luck ...... be watchin for updates :)

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #19 – January 24, 2014, 06:55:19 PM

I'm going Sunday to the Pull A Part and I'll make the final decision while I'm there. If the 87 Dash looks ok, then I'll go with it. If not I'll be pulling everything from a SN95 to do the swap.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #20 – January 26, 2014, 07:14:27 PM

Well I got to PAP this morning, walking through the isles looking for a 87 Thunderbird. I found it, and I'm kinda pissed it was there.

Someone got the trans out but was otherwise untouched. I got the dash, frame, cluster, and a few small parts I was needing. On my way out I passed a 99 GMC Sierra with this under the hood:

Thats a 5.3 LS1 engine. If I had more time, I would have pulled it but I was on my way to go look at this:

Its a 86 GT with T-tops, needs a decent amount of work but fairly good condition. This will be my driver while the T-bird is rebuilt.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #21 – January 26, 2014, 08:13:50 PM

Sweet stang

And that's a mighty sad TC :(

It's worth it to pull those 5.3's to just sell ...... People eat them up

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #22 – January 26, 2014, 08:42:54 PM

I'm hoping to go back this coming weekend to grab it. I also passed up a few SN95's that I'd like to grab the spindles and rear brakes from. The stang is going to need some work as its basically a roller with a carb'd engine that runs. I'm going back to EFI and swapping to an AOD so the wife can enjoy it too.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #23 – January 28, 2014, 09:41:24 AM

Forgot to post a pic of my score from the yard.

Some of the stuff is okay, the tabs on the system sentury are broken. I did get the storage cup and the column trim along with a bin that drops into the console under the arm rest.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #24 – January 29, 2014, 08:28:19 AM

I'm going to attempt to save the 86 dash / underhood harness so I got it pulled out.

I also started tearing down the dash to repair the pad or ad a cap:

Took all this stuff out:

I pulled apart the column shifter, looks like I'm going to need a turn signal switch as mine is broken. The plan is to sit down and go through the dash harness and figure out what I'm going to use. I want to strip it down to the bare minimum; lights, wipers, horn, HVAC, entertainment, stuff like that. No need for the system sentury wiring or auto lights or any other luxury add ons. Once I get that all figured out then I can start the repair process.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #25 – January 29, 2014, 01:13:58 PM

Coming along

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #26 – January 31, 2014, 10:22:41 AM

You guys ever wonder what your dash looks like naked. I did to so I stripped it down.

And done.

I'm going to repair the foam and recover the dash in black vinyl. I have to fix a few places that were cracked and a couple of edges I messed up while removing the old covering. Now is the time to decide if I want any custom touches to the dash, like removing the hole for the light sensor, or adding a gauge pod, etc. Any ideas?

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #27 – February 01, 2014, 11:33:02 PM

Pulled out the ECU and wiring since it won't be reused.

Went by the junk yards today and picked up a few things.

And did some trading for this, should make cleaning up all these parts much easier and safer.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #28 – February 02, 2014, 05:36:16 PM

Did some running this morning to pick up supplies for today's work. I also picked up the caliper brackets for the front 5 lug swap. I'm going to fill the holes and damage in the pad on the dash with great stuff expanding foam, then sand and mold it down to the right level.

Started filling:

I have to let it cure for 8 hours so I started pulling the rest of the interior.

1997 Called, they want their car back...... my 1986 T-bird build

Reply #29 – February 03, 2014, 03:45:22 AM

Hey Drew, don't know if this is even close to you or not, but might not be a bad idea for you to check out. Sounds like he'd take as little as $300 for the complete car. No pics are there but thought of you when I saw this.

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/4313726522.html