I recently Purchased an 88 Mercury Cougar Blue Max Edition. I am in the early planning phases of a custom buildup on that car. I want to retain its classy style but give it some BIG balls and a little edge. I want to do thinks like go to 20 inch rims and tires, put big brakes on, put in a power moonroof, convert it to a manual transmission, etc. Any help tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated
This is my daily driver so nothing too exotic or anyhting that would put it out of comission for more than one week plz
what do you want us to tell you? you can do anything from a mid-HO conversion to a 351W swap, just depends on how much $$ you want to spend.
I wouldn't use 20's on anything considered a "daily-driver".....esp in North Dakota...Save the 20's for the trucks....
yeah I haven't seen any car that looks good with 20s. that, and it adds quite a bit of weight and stress to the suspension. my uncle (has worked at my grandpa's tire shop for years) says he's seen a ton of cars and trucks come in with f'd up suspension/drivetrain parts cuz they have these huge, heavyass wheels on them. they also add to parasitic loss, as it takes more power to spin the big wheels than some lightweight aluminum sport ones.
I think that some of the MN-12's look good with 20's. As long as it is a nice wheel.
This is an example of a nice 20 inch wheel.
(http://members.aol.com/igetmadim/new20.jpg)
This is an example of a 20 inch wheel that does not look good.
(http://www.baggedbirds.com/images/wayne/wayne-main.jpg)
what in god's name was that guy thinking painting a car LAVENDER??? (http://fresnoracing.ipbhost.com/html/emoticons/gay.gif)
I wouldnt play with anything bigger then 18". I have heard that 18" will rub alittle bit on the back. :grinno: but with the engine part, It depends more on how much moneis you want to throw at it. If I was a bottomless money pit, My car would have a 351, possibly 460. But no matter what you do dont throw on a ricer ler, just look at some of the exhausts here, they actually sound mean, not like a spinning top.
can't be any worse then hacking a big hole in the hood :brick:
come now holes are the shiznitz... happy birthday
It is there for a reason. If you read the license plate it says FORCED8. Any yeah the color is a little odd.
the license plate is FORCED8 cuz whenever somebody sees the car, what they ate gets forced back up
it's late, shutup
i was wondering if anybody else saw that... i mean realy, a $2,000 paint job and a rusty hole in the hood. :slap:
It also has a cougar front end on a t-bird.
:screwy:
If he was really any good he would have found a way to not cut the hole in the hood or accomidate it some other way. The car and the wheels look like ass.....
thanks Haystack
i have a 85 XR-7 and 91 SC and would never dream of hacking my hood.like Chuck said "If he was really any good he would have found a way to not cut the hole in the hood or accomidate it some other way" thats what CAI's and FMIC's are for
Are you guys serious! I love that car, color and all!!!
Yep... 20's are an ok size on MN-12's but that design isn't the best. The color rocks, and the hood "scoop" seems like something you'd do to a beater-street-racer car or a derby car.
Hard to tell...it may be light blue, which sometimes photographs funny. But if it is lavender, dayum....that's just plain odd.
Back to the subject at hand:
I am unsure if 20's would fit. The February Cat of the Month has 19's and that's really pushing it. Not to mention, with that much rim and tire weight, the brakes really should be upgraded along with the springs at the same time the new rims go on (or beforehand if possible). It's alright to say you're rollin' on dubs but you have to think within reason. These cars were never made to handle even 16" rims, much less anything bigger. It's tricky to do it correctly.
That picture shows the color well. There used to be a 94 Tbird V8 around me that was the same color. It may have been a factory color, but I'm not sure. As far as that hole in the hood that screams "Snow on me and Make me Rust!" That is just not something I would even consider doing to an automobile. A 2 inch cowl hood looks like it would have solved any clearance issues.
That's probably a lady driver.. that's the only way i can explain the lavender.
Speaking of FMIC.. i just recently won an auction for this:
Spearco/Thunderbird intercooler w/Turbo (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7951615928&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT)
:grinno: :ies:
How big of a power increase is it supposed to have from a stock turbo? only thing left is to paint it to match your engine bay.
Chuck can correct me if i'm wrong.. but it's somewhere around a 10% to 15% increase
For something like that..yeah...give or take. What it does allow you to do is run a higher amount of boost, which will increase power.
If you clean up and paint the I/C..DO NOT paint the core. If you must, use radiator paint..not normal enamel or the like. It is too thick and will screw up the heat transfer ability
Exactly. You want 20s, you need an SUV.
Yeah I wasn't planning on touching the core.. however from the pics it looks like it should be touched, heh thanks for the top about the radiator paint.
My god those were some NASTY looking MN-12's! I guess the Coug/bird could have been worse somehow, but ugh!
Here I thought this one looked bad
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/frizzen/Thunderbirds/MN_2.jpg)
i like them all....
True i like it but i dont have an mn12 and 20's might be pushing it since i started this thread ive cooled down a bit first on the block a t-5, then paint and body, then maybe a twin turbo setup, for now i will look for a set of 2000 cougar wheels, no brake upgrade needed. If i do go big then the brakes will be erics setup i dont like to copy but there isnt much a DIYer like me can do about it, so follow the beaten path
how old are you by the way, and what do you do for a living.. geesh.
21 and im a bartender but im looking for another job
its also a tbird with a couger grill
now thats sweet.. lowrider with player rim... sweet...
Is that a photo shop tho???
Yes, it's a photoshop, I've seen it on cardomain. It's awful and ugly. It should be burned.
its nice in it's own way tho.... I wouldn't mine cruisin around in that
Arrrrrgh.. my eyes.. burning.. make it go away!
That poor Fox Bird. The MN-12s above looked bad enough, but that poor thing got beat with the f'ugly stick. Good thing it's only a photochop. I can't even finish this post 'cause I keep scrolling up, looking at it, and shakin' my head in disbelief.
He had to do something to make those wheels look good.... :disappoin :disappoin
I think if the trim was painted the same color as the car and that chrome door trim was not on there that it would look pretty sweet! I have always loved lowriders though, im mexican and it makes it easier for tomato pick'n! LMAO!!!
Disclaimer: I really am mexican/american and that was refered to me and only me and to nobody else! If you feel like throwin a crack in there about me and only me feel free. I have a great sense of humor! "HIT THE GOOOONG!!!"