You know you're a ricer when your wheels cost more than the car. :D But not by much.. ;)
The rear springs are SN95 convertible-spec Eibachs. I don't like them at all, they are a LOT softer than my cut stock springs.
I had to trim about 3/8" off the inside lip of the rear wheelwells. And I'm running a 5/16" spacer to make more clearance for the tires to the inner wheelhouse. :( I don't like how little thread that leaves me on the lugs so I'll probably do some beating with a hammer this week.
The tie rods need about an inch of adjustment to reach the spindles correctly - currently both front wheels are pointing at each other. It's crosseyed. :D I hope the SN95 spindles don't have my ackerman all fowled up. Guess we'll see.
Here's a couple of pics.
thats it?? two pics??? you took a half dozen when they were on the ranger.....:nkhk:
longer studs could help in the rear, but i cant see how close you are to the outside.:pbb:
*edit, oh yeah. looks good!
Very nice !!! Those look great on that car.Pat on the back for you.
lmao. I took those Ranger pics with the "work camera" that we have at the office. I can't find my Fuji. Eh, it was only 3.2mp anyway. I'll get my gf to get me a 6.0 for Christmas. :D
I'll take pictures of the inner wheelhouse clearance and outside lip clearance when I get a camera that can do a good job.
FYI - plenty of room to the outside, just want to be sure not to cut into the tires. Think I'll go with some 275/40s next time, these pooge out more than I'd like.
Forgot to mention, this was with $35 worth of Bronco II axles and 9" drums, I was surprised how smooth it went. I guess 315s on 9" brakes is pretty ricer, huh? :D
Thanks gumby and Vinnie, I appreciate it.
i was wonderin if you used shorter axles to fit the 315's, cool.
That's a hot 4-eye! I always wondered what they would look like on my 85. Now I just wish I did it first. :D Nice job.
That looks friggin sweet!
, those wheels really transform that car. Very nice!
dayum.. that makes me wanna swap to the 5-lug system now.. but i have to wait..
That is badass. I want a four-eyed bird
looks great, I'm wishing I would have went with a 5 lug conversion. Again, it looks great.
Wow, those really look great on there !
When you get the tie rods straightened out and are taking pictures, could you get one sighting down the side of the car from the front corner or maybe one from the front fender looking stright down?
I would like to know how far out the tire is in the front.
I'll bet it looks pretty mean from the rear with all that tire under there.
Great work.
Lookin Great.
Need more PIC's
looks awesome :banana:
Badass
4 eyes kick ass, i'mma need to get one of the good types.
Scott
Nice. The wheels definitely work on that car.
Cool :cool:
gumby, since you seem concerned about the rear fitment, here's a few pics of that.
I still haven't beaten in the inner wheelhouses so this will give you an idea of how much room is on the inside. It's about 1/2" right now which is not enough. The opposite tire makes contact on the inside when one side of the car is jacked up.
Also, you can see where I trimmed the outside fender opening by about 3/8" for additional clearance (although it doesn't really seem to need it).
This picture shows just how much the wheels point in toward each other. Adjusting the tie rod won't bring the tire in or out any more than this, so this shot shows how much they stick out of the front (both straight and turned halfway). It's more than I'd like, I wish I could run an 8" front, but ah well...
I think it does. :D
And here's a couple of walkaround pictures.
I'm embarrassed about its condition, it's pretty beat up, but it's getting some TLC. Slowly but surely.
Last ones. I'm sure you guys are sick of seeing this piece of . :D
If you've noticed pictures of the driver's side conspicuously missing, it's because of this big ugly dent in the quarter panel. :( Plus all the moulding looks like hell (I think it's Cougar anyway?) and it just generally needs a lot of work. Here it is. I'm going to bed.
!!!
Thats the look I wanted to go for down the road. It look f'in sweet. Not that I have seen it on another white 4 eye, I know this is the road I wana take
Actually that is Tbird molding. It's the "special" wide side molding that was included in the Exterior Accent group on the base model (Std on the TC's and Heritage). Both my non-TC 83's had it.
Alright. Well it's coming off this car, so if anyone wants it, they are welcome to it for the cost of shipping. It's not in great shape but I know this stuff is hard to find nowadays.
I appreciate everyone's comments. :) It's amazing what a set of springs and wheels can do. Even my grandmother said "that's a cute car" when she drove up for Thanksgiving. :D lmao...
46Tbird,that car is not in bad shape at all (from what ive seen) like you said "it needs a little TLC".......you will get it there,looks good
looks all close and snuggly back there! nice work gettin em in there, i was mostly interested in how you got all that meat under the fenders back there.
in the front, you might look into an 87-88 k-member. would help tuck those wheels in jus a tad more. keep an eye on the camber adjustment though. im sure you would need a set of CC plates to get any amount of neg camber after a swap to a 87-88 k-member w/your current shorter LCAs.
looks great. nice work!
..
No way...keep the pictures and info coming...Sweet! I might have missed the spec's on the wheels. Are they 18's? They look great in the wheel opening. I can see a side exhaust exiting just in front of the rear tires!
Nice job...
Hmm. Now this is interesting.
So the '87-88 cars had the same front track width as the '83-86 cars, they just used a narrower K-member, wider control arms, and essentially the same spindle? I guess this was to tune the camber curve?
I guess I was thinking the '87-88 cars actually had a wider track, as my big block '87 TC seemed to; the "standard" 15x3.5" wheels were right at the edge of the fender lips.
I'm probably just going to try some CC plates for now along with a massaging of the fender lips. But my brother wants my stock CFI 302 in his Fairmont and it sure would be easy to do a K-member swap. I'll sleep on it.
Hey CougarSE - thanks for cleaning up a lot of the junk on my car, but I'm not painting it perrywinkle. :D
46Tbird,
Thanks for the pics, that helps me a lot with my decision. The wheels I am planning on using have a just over an 1/8” more backspacing than your wheels, so judging by your pics I can live with the tire that close to the edge.
Those are 245/45-17's on the front, correct?
Chuck W & I did a quick measurement of the two K-members last week and there is a significant difference in the width of the A-arm mounting points.
The ’87-’88 K-member is roughly it’s about 1-1/2”-1-3/4” narrower.
Here is the post over on NATO.
http://natomessageboard.com/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=018318
Brent
I need to verify that front measurement again on the 87-88 K-member. I haven't had a chance to get back to it, but yes, it is narrower.
The issue with the later K-members is the different motor mounts that are hard to find....but I think I know someone who offers a HD alternative ;)
Wow, an inch and a half would make a big difference for me.
So, does anyone know if stock '83-86 control arms are able to bolt up to an '87-88 V8 crossmember? I.E, do the attaching points mate up?
I think that is a good solution. A horrendous pain in the ass but everything would line up better. Thanks fellas...
im glad you guys are here to cover my hind end. i was havin a helluva time dredgin up actual numbers on the width difference :grinno:
Great.
That means I can make it even lower. :D
It does, I did the shorter control arms on my lowered 87 TC using SN95 spindles and the 87 K-member. I modded the K-member to allow the engine to sit slightly lower too.
As Chuck stated, yes, they'll bolt up fine. One thing though to remember is that with 9" wide wheels they will rub the control arms on sharp turns. I clearanced mine before the wheels did it on their own.
Yea, it is a little work but if u get the engine out for whatever reason its not as much a bitch. It does require aftmkt caster camber plates and fairly aggressive inboard elongation of the strut plate slots and the large holes for the upper strut mounts on top of the strut towers to correct the positive camber and allow for a degree or 2 of neg.
Hey SN, got any pictures of your setup? I'd just like to see how tucked the tire is in the wheelwell, to see if all this is worthwhile.
Danny
Sorry, I dont have pics of it, guess I should get on that one day. As far as it bein worth your time, the front wheels are tucked very good inside on mine with no rub whatsover and mine has been lowered farly tight to the tire. My front wheel/tire combo is 275/35/18's on Steeda UltraLight I rims that are 18x9's. This is probably close to as wide as you can go without rubbing on the struts, mine has fine clearance with what it has now. Good luck with yours, lookin good so far.
mind if I sag one of these pics for the calendar?
Hey Sumthin Nuu:
What shorter a-arms did you use? From an earlier 'bird? Do you know if there is also a tubular equivilant?
Also, by "I clearanced mine before the wheels did it on their own," did you mean you modded the a-arms? And how?
And btw, I totally agree... get some pics up!
Anyone interested in buying this car?
Found another car I have to have, I need to make some garage space for it though.
I'll make someone a sweet deal, first $1900 takes it. That's with brand new wheels and tires and SN95 front brakes, clean title.
It's not a mint car but it isn't too bad. I know I'll regret it later, but I'll have to find its replacement when garage space is available again.
I guess it could sit outside but I really don't want to do that to this car...
what you find? not another bird cause you caould swap the wheels and brakes so what is it?
that car looks like it could take some corners,big wheels and all,but overall it looks fornicateing sweet. 18's to come next on my bird!!!!!!!!!!!
You couldnt have decided this two weeks ago when I was in Dallas? I bought a truck when I was down there, I woulda gladly bought that car..... .
i wish i livd nere there id love to have a bird
i want to know what you found!
Hahahaaa
Has NOTHING to do with the Fox cars at all.
I've always been into the '50s Mopars, they are pure Americana. I've had feelers out for a few YEARS looking for a 1957 DeSoto 2dr hardtop. Well I finally found one worth salvaging. Only thing is I need the garage space to seperate the body and frame. My neighborhood frowns on cars left in the driveway so the Tbird has to go.
If no one buys it, I'm going to give it to my dad; his only car is a 1987 Corvette convertible. lmao.
Anyway, here's the hunk of shiznit I'm getting... lol. And what it's going to look like in about three years.
That's a great project.
I've always wanted to find a '57 or '58 Fury and turn it into a "Christine" clone.
I know I never will, though. It's just too much work.
Them rims look sharp on there, esp with the white.
wish i had the money to buy it from you cause i would! but seeing as i dont even have my car running its not posibly right now.
Seriously, if anyone's interested, I'd trade it for a good TIG welder too. I need one...