Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

General => User Rides => Topic started by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 03:59:53 PM

Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 03:59:53 PM
Today I removed the rear end and started to sandblast it. after that I am going to paint it,replace the seals,wheel cylinders and axle shafts (5 lug).
 I also posted a few pics..................man this is fun,I sure am glad I got off my butt and started to do somthing with this bird.
Title: a little update
Post by: blu84302 on November 05, 2006, 05:55:51 PM
GD!!!!  That is a beautiful interior!!!!!!!!!!!  That by far has to be the nicest i've ever seen.  The white paint job doesn't do it justice though.  I think silver like my 86 was would be an awesome color.  But then again white is cool.  But seriously, i love you car.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 06:19:36 PM
I have to agree with you on the white paint. I really want to go silver with it, but thats a long way off. for now I want to get some nice wheels and tires on it so I can drive it again.It looks like a old mans ride rite now...................thx for the comments.
Title: a little update
Post by: 32VFoxBird on November 05, 2006, 06:48:50 PM
are you drilling the drums for the 5 lug axles?
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 06:52:11 PM
Quote from: 5ohbird;111741
are you drilling the drums for the 5 lug axles?



No I will be buying new 9" 5 lug drums.
Title: a little update
Post by: 32VFoxBird on November 05, 2006, 07:05:42 PM
Quote from: Chooglin;111743
No I will be buying new 9" 5 lug drums.


ah, i just realized you have a fox width rear end. you're buying the ranger drums?
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 07:22:43 PM
Quote from: 5ohbird;111748
ah, i just realized you have a fox width rear end. you're buying the ranger drums?



Roger that !!!! I will need to open up the center dia. on the drums to match the axle shafts and that should be it.
Title: a little update
Post by: Clayton on November 05, 2006, 07:27:14 PM
 guy, that car is BY FAR the cleanest (and most optioned car ive ever seen (sarcasm)

its a carb isnt it?

Cool beans man
Title: a little update
Post by: Thunder Chicken on November 05, 2006, 07:36:32 PM
Is that vynil? Whatever it is it's in fine shape! I like the lack of options, too. Nice and light :hick:

So how 'bout some more info - what engine?
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 07:37:02 PM
Quote from: 87thunderbirdBlackJack;111754
guy, that car is BY FAR the cleanest (and most optioned car ive ever seen (sarcasm)

its a carb isnt it?

Cool beans man


Yepper on the carb.

its a base T-Bird (am radio only......lol) no extras on this bird.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 07:43:09 PM
Quote from: Thunder Chicken;111758
Is that vynil? Whatever it is it's in fine shape! I like the lack of options, too. Nice and light :hick:

So how 'bout some more info - what engine?


Its the v6, 29,000 original miles (it even has the original tires on it) can you say dry rott?...lol.

 I bought it from a little old lady (orignal owner) I offered her $3,000.00 for it and she told me that that was to much and let me have it for $2,000.00 (true story).

I was going to sell it about a month ago,until i came across cool cats and this forum. All the info that is on this forum is incredible. So I decided to go ahead and start doing things to it to make it the way I want it.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 05, 2006, 07:52:30 PM
a couple more pics. I will get some of the engine area when I get time.
Title: a little update
Post by: blueovalford on November 05, 2006, 09:17:31 PM
Nice car, it's in great shape. I don't see any rust on those doors either. Nice garage to.
Title: a little update
Post by: Thunder Chicken on November 05, 2006, 09:43:02 PM
Very, very nice. That thing is just begging for a carbed 302 or 351 :D You've still got more options than my first Bird had, though - I didn't even have a passenger mirror. And is that A/C I see? Mine didn't have that either - the only options it had were metallic paint and a full size spare :hick: It had the carbed 3.8 as well (most 86 and older Canadian Birds and Cougs had the carbed 3.8). It wasn't nearly as nice as yours though - in fact, it was a rusty POS with 270k km on it (and this was thirteen years ago).

Then again, I keep scrolling back and looking at how nice that car is, and I keep thinking it'd be a shame to molest it. Not that it stopped me with my 62k mile '88...
Title: a little update
Post by: thunderjet302 on November 05, 2006, 09:51:34 PM
Looking good :cool:
Title: a little update
Post by: 46Tbird on November 06, 2006, 02:23:39 PM
PLEASE leave that car white.

I love it.  Man that thing is in GREAT shape.  Hope you make a badass hot rod out of it, there aren't many of these cars left in that kind of condition.  Have fun with it.  Here are some wheel ideas I did a long while back...
Title: a little update
Post by: kingcars on November 06, 2006, 02:32:57 PM
^Thats a bit TOO low for my tastes, but yeah, that car is a great project car.

Funny thing, my Tbird came from the original owner for $1500 (also an old lady) and the interior is in great shape.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/kingcars/tbirdinterior.jpg)

I think we've come across something here.  Buy cars from old ladies.  Because, my dad's 85 Trans Am, on the other hand, wasn't treated so well.  The interior smelled like smoke for a month.  Lots of stupid things were done to it.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 06, 2006, 03:58:03 PM
very nice kingcars!!!!!. It looks like that car is loaded.

I have the wheels picked out that I want http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=WLD%2D93%2D56346&N=700+4294923107+4294923106+115&autoview=sku I was actually looking at the wheels in the top right pic. you posted.

If I do decide to change the color,it wont be any time soon. I have alot of other things I want to do to it first.
Title: a little update
Post by: 5.0willgo on November 06, 2006, 05:56:19 PM
Very Nice Bird. Nothing is wrong with white. ;)
Title: a little update
Post by: DVP on November 06, 2006, 09:53:36 PM
theres nothing wrong with white:grinno: Black is better! thats whays wrong with it:beatyoass: :beatyoass:

i got mine from an old lady's dauter only because she passed away god bless her, and it only had 53 but thats alot compored to yours!
Title: a little update
Post by: Ifixyawata on November 07, 2006, 01:16:58 AM
What?!?!

Ravenna?!  How the hell do I miss all the people who are near me. You're only about 27 miles away, so sayeth google maps.  I'm right down rt. 14 from you. 

 That car looks incredible.  Reminds me sort of, of my '84 cougar, only it's much cleaner!  (And mine came from the factory with no passenger's side mirror.)  I'm betting the low miles made rather easy work of taking the rear end out.  Keep us updated.

PS - I'm stealing your doors.
Title: a little update
Post by: 84 Fila on November 07, 2006, 07:00:02 AM
No way, doors are mine
Title: a little update
Post by: vinnietbird on November 07, 2006, 08:22:47 AM
Come to Oklahoma and bring your truck.We don't have rust here.Just nice solid cars.There are 4 T-Birds about 2 miles from me at the salvage yard,one is an '87/'88 Turbo coupe.The others are '84-'86 cars.
Title: a little update
Post by: TurboCoupe50 on November 07, 2006, 09:07:25 AM
White Birds rule!!!  :shakeass:

BTW thats a very nice Bird you have there... Time grandma had some fun... Mod the Hell out of it...

I'd ditch that rear though, especially if it is a 2.47... Go find a 3.73 from a automatic '87-'88 TC... The 3.55 from a 5 speed TC is a good choice as well. In '87-'88 all TCs had the 8.8" rear with disc brakes. All the '86-earlier TCs had 7.5" 3.45s with drum brakes..

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;111805
And is that A/C I see? Mine didn't have that either .

I believe A/C was std on the US Birds/Cougs, but optional on Canadian units..
Title: a little update
Post by: shorangerbird on November 07, 2006, 09:07:58 AM
-choog
nice car!  check the manual windows and the highly sought after option:  AM radio!!!!
Title: a little update
Post by: nirvanagod on November 07, 2006, 09:20:54 AM
Quote from: Ifixyawata;112080
You're only about 27 miles away, so sayeth google maps.


He's only like 3 away from me, so i'm closer :raspberry!!!
Title: a little update
Post by: EricCoolCats on November 07, 2006, 09:27:00 AM
So....no p/w, p/m, or p/seats, BUT power door locks...AM radio...a/c...and digital clock...with leather seats. Yep, must have been 1983. That's a strange options list. ;)

Very clean car, bro...nice to see you're taking care of it. What I'd like to know is why the console color doesn't match the rest of the interior...
Title: a little update
Post by: 88turbo on November 07, 2006, 01:34:16 PM
Quote from: vinnietbird;112092
Come to Oklahoma and bring your truck.We don't have rust here.Just nice solid cars.There are 4 T-Birds about 2 miles from me at the salvage yard,one is an '87/'88 Turbo coupe.The others are '84-'86 cars.


I'll be making a trip down there this spring....  I need some rust free doors :(
Title: a little update
Post by: vinnietbird on November 07, 2006, 02:27:01 PM
When you come down here,let me know and I'll show you where the cars are.The guy told me $50.00 for the Turbo Coupe hood.I may go get it.I'm thinking about it.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 07, 2006, 04:17:12 PM
Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions guys. I wish I had a bigger bank account,I would love to do alot of what you are all suggesting,but I need to do a little at a time.

 The car is in great shape, but it does have things that need fixing.they are all pretty minor though.

A/C needs fixed
new headliner (I am going to atempt this myself)
right side valve cover gasket leaks
very minor body work (stone chips)
 

Its great to see some locals on hear.
Title: a little update
Post by: 46Tbird on November 07, 2006, 04:30:09 PM
Just a heads-up, it is easy to recover the headliner.

Just be sure you don't mess up the factory cardboard.  You can carefully peel off the fabric, sand the glue off, and start over.  An interior shop can get you pointed in the right direction as far as a new adhesive and fabric to use.  Good luck.  It may take more than one try though.  ;)
Title: a little update
Post by: Thunder Chicken on November 07, 2006, 09:36:45 PM
Quote from: Chooglin;112175
very minor body work (stone chips)
 

That "very minor body work" has a way of becoming a big job. My car has extremely little rust (driver's fender, which is being replaced, and some flaking paint in the wheel openings and at the rocker/1/4 seam), but it is absolutely covered with small dents and dings. 19 years worth of parking lot dings and road abrasion add up to a lot of minor fixes (and you car is even older, though with lower mileage). I had originally hoped to paint only the TC parts I install, to try to maintin the original paint, but it would be impossible to do so and rid the car of minor dents & dings. There are even some scratches and dings on the roof, fer chrissake! The entire car needs a going over and paint...
Title: a little update
Post by: CougarSE on November 07, 2006, 10:20:43 PM
Your car is about as odd as my 83 in options..


And I think us Ohioans (logan ohio myself) are outnumbering any other state!
Title: a little update
Post by: thunderjet302 on November 07, 2006, 11:55:28 PM
Quote from: Thunder Chicken;112254
That "very minor body work" has a way of becoming a big job. My car has extremely little rust (driver's fender, which is being replaced, and some flaking paint in the wheel openings and at the rocker/1/4 seam), but it is absolutely covered with small dents and dings. 19 years worth of parking lot dings and road abrasion add up to a lot of minor fixes (and you car is even older, though with lower mileage). I had originally hoped to paint only the TC parts I install, to try to maintin the original paint, but it would be impossible to do so and rid the car of minor dents & dings. There are even some scratches and dings on the roof, fer chrissake! The entire car needs a going over and paint...


Mine is the same way. 19 years of little dings and scratches will drive ya nuts. It's easier to just have the body gone over and repainted. That's what I'm going to do when I get mine painted after I finish college.
Title: a little update
Post by: Ifixyawata on November 08, 2006, 01:00:27 AM
I feel like a broken record bringing this up, but I think my '84 Cougar was the wierdest optioned car I've ever seen.

5.0, vinyl seats, A/C, factory pop-up/pull-out sunroof, passenger mirror DELETE!  Oh, and no power options in the center console.  I still have the blank switch plate.
Title: a little update
Post by: ipsd on November 08, 2006, 02:45:39 AM
That kinda sounds like my 84 T/c power locks outside keypad, power windows, auto on/off headlights, power dirver seat,power mirros, factory A/c, No Rear window defroster? Oh yeah it even has a power antenna. And according to carfax it is an Iowa car and I'm the 3rd owner.
Title: a little update
Post by: Chuck W on November 08, 2006, 11:23:22 AM
The headliner was covered pretty well HERE (http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=10867)
Title: a little update
Post by: DVP on November 08, 2006, 04:44:12 PM
Quote from: Chuck W;112336
The headliner was covered pretty well HERE (http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=10867)


What he said.:cool:

i was just thinking that
Title: a little update
Post by: Chooglin on November 08, 2006, 05:21:05 PM
Wow !!!! thx again guys.