Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Now that my personal is out of it's tail-spin, I can focus on my car. Long story short, my rebuilt bottom end needs to come out for some rear main seal work and a known head problem. Since 1. I really don't have the $$$ to go all-out and 2. I don't want to do that with Layla anyways, I've come up with a new plan. I have a 100% bone-stock long block sitting on the engine stand. It has 98K miles and is in decent shape. The bores and pistons all look nice. Here's the idea, new bearings/rings/seals/gaskets, throw in a new stock oil pump, and maybe replace the rod bolts with ARP's. All nice and standard sizes, stock Ford stuff. Throw the stock head back on after some match porting. Keep the SC50, ported intakes, Kirban AFPR, 3" CAI, 14" K&N cone, BBK 255lph, etc, etc and basically see how far a 99% stock long block will go. I already own all of the parts, she should still kick out 13's (with the CHE rear bars and what not for traction), and she'll stay a reliable street car. I still have an optionless 87 5-Speed with no motor I need to do something with, so while I'm ENJOYING my stock-ish TC I can button up the bullet-proof bottom end, have Bo do me up a Stage III solid roller head, and go play with the big boys next year. That way I can have my cake (FAST 2.3T) and eat it too (reliable DD style 13-sec TC). What do you think? The most important part is that Portland International opens on March 2nd and 3rd and I really don't want to be dragging an 18 second truck :D

Here's what's staying:
BBK 255lph hi-pressure fuel pump
Kirban AFPR with gauge
Cruzin rebuilt 35# injectors
14" K&N Cone on a 3" solid CAI
2.5" downpipe and single exhaust with turbo ler and downturn
A/C delete
225/60/16 Toyo IceBear Traction tires
FMS shocks
3-row copper radiator
180* t-stat
Dex-Cool Gen II coolant
Royal Purple 5W30 oil
Royal Purple Synchromax T5 fluid
Royal Purple 80W90 with Trac-Loc additive in the rear (stock 3.55's)
RAM Powergrip HD 6-puck clutch and Street/Strip Kevlar pressure plate
Gillis @22ish psi
Precision SC50 turbo, .60 A/R cold - .63 A/R hot Stage III wheels, water-cooled, ball bearings
Rebuilt dizzy with Motorcraft PIP and DynoMod hot TFI
MSD Blaster II coil
Taylor plug wires, NGK TR5's

What I still have on the shelf:
B&M Line-Loc
CHE upper and lower rear control arms
ranger roller (used)
Gutted Upper
Ported Lower
Ported E6

With all of the above except the cam on a stock 98K long-block she should go 13's easy. I do need to drop the tank sooner or later for a new sending unit, so that would be a good time to step up on the pump or reconfigure it. I also figure I should replace the exhaust with a 3" and a Dynomax Ultra-Flo for now. Think I can swap motors and get her running in 5 weeks with school full-time plus work and ABM? Anybody want to help? ;)

That sounds like a good plan.  So How fast is the other TC going to be when you are done with it?

It's pretty funny, seeing as how you do what a lot of people your age couldn't ever thing of doing, I've always pictured you as being in your 30's (no offense)  But now you mentioned school, and I check your profile, and realize you're only 23.  I'm going to have to say that is amazing, and kudos to you.  The same thing happened with SleeperTbird87.  When he brought up that ticket thing, and said the cop targeted him for his age, I was like WTF a married grown man being targeted for that?  Then I checked his, and realized he's really young too.  I guess you just find people in the world that really have their shiznit together, and over the net, without ever meeting a person, they just come across as being a lot older.  Haha, sorry for being off topic, but I just kinda thought it was cool that we have so many people here that are "wise beyond their years"  if you will.

3 years active duty overseas and 7 years restoring and racing cars has given me some "wisdom". That and owning a successful legit business at 20. :D

I've had 5 cars go 15's and 1 go 14's already, and I feel a 13 second one is long overdue. As in Layla should have done it last year.

I like your plan, I would add one thing though...

You could always spray it at the track. Turbos love that nice cool juice! A 50 shot wouldn't hurt anything and then Layla would probably see mid to low 13's... Dare I say maybe even a high 12... And it will still be a reliable 13 sec DD off the juice. Now that's having your cake and eating it too!

Methanol is cheap alternative but Nitrous Oxide will always be the best intercooler in a bottle!

Believe me, I've thought of that often. If she goes 13's I may try to spray into 12's over the summer.

 
WOW! i thought the same thing until this post!!! :giggle: :eek:
 
 
and here i am all proud of my HO conversion, which was very overwhelming at first, and especially when i got her all torn down. walking back out into that garage was scary, looking at the mess of parts and the ripped-up engine bay. im just really happy its back together and running. thats nothin compared to your endeavors!
 
and im 18, hmmm wonder where i'll be in 5 years? thanks for being a good role model, id like to think id be somewhere similar (most likely minus the sucessful business :D )
 
congrats! :cheers:

I suggest buying a JY motor and rebuilding it. Even if you never run it, it gets you to buy the tools and learn the methods. I rebuilt my first engine (AMC 360) at the age of 12 and I can't count the # I've done since. Be proud of the HO conversion though, 99% of 23 year olds couldn't do it let alone 18 year olds. You ever want to sell that Coug, give me a call.

as much as i would totally do that for you, NO ONE will ever own my cougar. it WILL be with me forever. due to the lack of snow this winter it hasnt seen any salt at all. i vowed to stop that after last winter, senior year of HS, so i drove it to school practically every day. freshmen at my college arent allowed to bring cars. no parking space. so next year, when im allowed to, if i cant get a beater by then i just wont drive. ive decided recently that i dont have a problem with that. so far in my time driving it, i have put it through one winter. in my entire lifetime I will have put it through one winter.
 
and lets face it, what worse place is there for a car you love dearly to be than a college campus? :shoothead
 
besides, then when my friends ask me why i dont have my car with me, ill have a really stupid/impractical (but COOL in my eyes) reason. "yeeeahhh...shes special alright, so she's a fair weather car now".

Sweet. I have a "plan" of cars ABM will own for a musuem one day and the 20th Anny is on that list. Take care of it.

i love seeing other younger people like me into this stuff, ive rebuilt engines, swaped them, done more stuff then i can remember, and im just turning 16 in april, working on cars, to me is fun, and the joy i get after wards of seeing what i did, work and look good i think is the best feeling in the world. shiznit after me and my dad got that 351w in my stang firing that thing up, omg i was in heaven. Now next comes a 408w small block from hell, n/a no power adders all motor. Then hopefully taking my poor dead tc's motor and building me a ranger

Hey mike, is a FILA on that list;)

 
wow you're gonna make a museum??? amazing. that would be awesome, ill bet you're the first to come up with the idea. just wow. a museum for our cars, and you'll be the guy that started it.
 
ill have to stop by sometime :D
 
@ Mike (84Fila) -- come on! hello!!! its a CAR museum not a SHOE museum.:flip:

LOL. Here's the "list" I want to own of LOW mileage, 100% perfect cars one day, all loaded to the hilt:
1983 TC, 1984 FILA, 1985 30th Anny, 1986 TC, 1987 TC, 1988 Sport for the Birds and a undecided 83 5.0 Coug, 84 XR7, 85 Convertible, 86 XR7, 87 20th Anny XR7, undecided 88 Coug 5.0, for the street cars anyways :D I'm saving my pennies.