Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: 87 "coug" resto winter project (Read 85219 times) previous topic - next topic

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #330 –
here is the plug.
a simple bolt, lock washer, stainless steel captive washer then an old fuel injector o-ring.

should be fine, this works on my 20th real well for many many miles now.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #331 –
moving on to transmission floor shift linkages. reading up on eric's info and came to an interesting conclusion.

in most instructions when converting your aod from column shift to floor shift, its said you can flip your shift bracket from pointing "UP" (column) to pointing "DOWN" for floor shift.

I am not sure if i totally agree or not, im not an expert but i do see a problem in doing so. 
the column shift bracket is bent offset inboard towards the transmission.
if you flip your existing bracket down for floor shift, it will still remain offset bent inboard but now "wraps" under your transmission pan.

i cant say it wont work but what i do know is that if you reuse your shift bracket and flip it down, the transmission pan will be harder to take off because the shift linkage is in the way.  the last resort solution i could have done is band saw off the offset of my existing bracket, flip the chunk of metal 180deg then weld it.  doing this will offset your column shift bracket outboard **BUT** the distance will not be as generous as the oem style.  you could easily just fabricate up a new offset and then drill a hole to match the plastic bushing diameter then weld.  either way just a thought.

the correct bracket for floor shift is bent offset "outboard" and so to that point i will swap in the correct part....

note- the metal on a proper floor shift bracket is about one more gauge thicker than a column shift bracket,, !!  not sure why.

i will try to show this in some following pictures while i change out this part.
Everything was easy to do, all you have to do is shift your trans to all the way down to "1" and you can get your wrench in there easy.
i had to hold the shift lever with another tool to loosen the nut.
took maybe 30 minutes to swap this out.
the keeper pin is really the hardest part but side cutters used as a pry bar so to speak and gentle pry technique works fine.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #332 –
and more, hope pics speak for themselves.

the first picture in this post should illustrate the final product result.

not shown is a very important bracket that attaches your TV cable to the transmission bell housing.  Mine is attached to my cable right now and i dont see a reason to install it on the trans until the cable is attached later.

~speculation only~ if you are a CFI 5.0 then i think from what the shop manual is saying, you keep your "Column shift TV LINK".

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #333 –
added my plug and high power magnets near the drain plug.
put some wheels on the transmission so when i flip it over i can roll it into place.  I'm working by myself.

added my double hump cross member the also added a thick chunk of metal "uni-strut splice bar" to span under the two nuts that bolt to the member.
I never really like how small of a surface area the nuts made to the cross member and thougth adding this would help spread the load better.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #334 –
decided to go with a full length center console and stepping through the fitment of the aod floor shifter.

i asked a few questions a couple years ago about the post eric has on coolcats.net under modifying, there is a pdf to download which is a template to cut out your opening. 
the template illustrates somewhat of a plus sign you cut out.  I printed it out on 8 1/2'' x 11'' paper and laid it out.  i called my son and asked him for some measurements.  The start point of where you measure on the template does not state if its "with" or without the dash trim installed..... this seemed to matter a lot so i started from scratch but the template has served to be a perfect tool to use anyway.

i discovered the only reason to have the top and bottome "cut outs" of the plus sign is so that you can slip on your clips to integrate an oval hole so these clips can move left to right. 
I confirmed this by taking off the rubber gasket from the bottom of the shifter.  the indent that was left behind in the gasket spoke to me and told me about how it lived most of its life.

I cut out the Plus sign out of erics template and laid it on the gasket which normally would be on the transmission tunnel.  The oddly shaped plus sign matches the indent on the gasket perfectly.  This also told me the exact orientation of the four tunnel bolt clips and thier orientation.

I also learned that the most imporant part of erics modifying post on coolcats.net is the one picture showing clip placement.  Up near the dash there are two clips.  the person who cut out the oval holes for the two front clips landed them directly in two factory creases.

these two creases are all that matters if you plan to put in a floor shifter.  If you locate these two detents in the tunnel, that tells you exactly "where you start".
Next you lay the template on the tunnel and follow the instructions. 
what is in error on my car is the distance from the plus sign down to the side impact brace referenced as the "hump".  these distances dont match but who cares.
the front two detents on your tunnel will tell you where to "start".

Second thing..........
If your an AOD or a stick,,, you really dont need to cut out a plus sign at all. the hole can be much smaller if you fab up a way to omit the tunel mount clips for a bracket that allows your bolt to slip left to right.
for an AOD, the hole can be a simple 1/2'' side by 2'' long "slot" and enough room to allow for the cable bracket as well.  I would say if this option is chosen, the opening would be "L shaped to allow the shifter to just drop in. 
for the sake of nothing more than staying in line with oem design, i am cutting out the plus sign shape.

I am not going to use the oem floor shifter cover.  I am going to use the "tray" type part and let the shifter indicator cover pertured out of the cover.  this give my youngest boy chance a place to put small things in the tray.

another thing i noticed which i will not do on this car cause its his,,, but what i found interesting is.........
you could omit the ash tray and the front piece of plastic brace.
you could then slide your shifter back all the way "into" the opening that used to occupy the ash tray.
what this does is allow you to omit the dash cig lighter area and either add a storage cubby or the pop out drink holder like in the tarus. 

chance says he doesnt want the shifter moved back to allow for a drink holder but does want a tray up front with the shifter sitting in it so to speak.

here is the rear tunnel bracket we had to make that allows the rear of the console to bolt in.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #335 –
here is the full length console we are going with

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #336 –
here is the plus sign i cut out and saved, compared it to the shifter gasket that had an impression on it of being bolted into another floor shift car from the factory.
the paper cut out matched the profile of the factory opening nearly perfectly.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #337 –
here in the left you can see my fit testing the shifter indicator down into a tray.  it fits nice.
i will ultimatly end up cutting out a hole in the tray to allow chance to have both the tray and the shifter indicator to occupy the same space.

i am thinking i want the shifter to pertured out into the tray by about 1/2''.

since our cars with column shift did not come with a transmission tunnel adapator for a floor shifter, i am useing my lower mounting profile to my advantage to integrate a storage tray instead of shimming upwards the shifter assembly.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #338 –
here i show the center console mocked up where it needs to be then the shift indicator sits atop erics template.

the shifter indicator has four mouting holes  so i use a wire to pop holes into erics template passing through the shift indicator mounting points.

this tells me the orientation of the shifter indicator as related to the shifter opening under it.
all seems well so far.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #339 –
more shifter indicator to template orientation.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #340 –
see, once i orient the shifter indicator to the template, then the template to the metal bottom plate, this confirmed that the two forward most "thumb" sized detents in the transmission tunnel were infact the correct location to install transmission tunnel adjustable clips.

again, all you need to know is where to place the two front clilps and the rest just falls into place.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #341 –
here are the forward most transmissioin tunnel detents i spoke of that match up perfectly to where you install two front tunnel mounting clips.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #342 –
again, the only purpuse the upper and lower part of the plus sign serve is to give you the ablity to insert tunnel mounting clips.
i have a plan that i was going to do to reduce the actual hole size need then it occured to me that my idea is  not compatible with a 5speed upgrade if chance wants to do that later... so i stay with the oem plan and begin cutting now.

87 "coug" resto winter project

Reply #344 –
they did, posting up the hole i cut in a few.
when the slotted holes are made for the clips, only make the hole just large enough for the bolt only.
i believe in the photo you have in your site, the slotted holes are awfully big and the clip may not grab correctly.

i am going to determine later if i want to re-enforce the tunnel or not.  its not all that strong of metal to be honest.