As it finally stopped raining this weekend I found a couple hours to install my prototype Thunderbird shaker. It's a fully functional unit. I still have some mods to make to get the scoop height correct but I think it looks good. Too bad the paint looks like hell. Any thoughts, opinions or comments ?
I like it. How'd you get the red stripe on the bumper? lol
looks pretty good. never liked the "cut a hole in the hood" kits though. they never look right. the height looks good up front. i wouldn't go higher than that but id bring it up a hair in the back.
Looks really good. I actually like the "cut the hood" kit, as it's pretty much impossible to have a "shaker" without one. Nothing like having that shaker rocking back and forth to a nice lopey idle. Almost brings me back to my '78 Trans Am...
Well, its much, much easier to do it that way in a cat/bird but with a fiberglass hood and an 03-04 mach 1 hood, damaged or whatever, or some fabbing it could be done "the right way". Could probably be done with the stock metal hood as well with the right tools/skills.
I like it. Been looking for something to do to my hood.
How can you have a shaker without a hole in the hood? A shaker is supposed to be bolted to the engine and "shake". Having it bolted to the engine and also as a solid part of the hood it'd tear the hood right off the car the first time you revved it.
Without the shaking it's just a hood scoop.
I too have been thinking about doing this to mine at some point in time. I have an extra hood I might need to expirement on...
I like it a lot.A whole lot.I wanted one for my car for a long time while I was building it,but could never afford one (there was a kit for Fox Stangs that was almost $700.00).I can't remember the company,but I think they folded anyway.I'd still install one if I could find one that I can afford.
Man I sooooo want one but it would ruin the originality look I'm going for with my T-bird. ......
O.K.,here are my questions.....
How much for a kit?
What kind of filter does it require?
How will it work for a Mass Air car (like mine)?
That is the stock metal hood and this is the right way to install a shaker on this car. What do you mean ?
Its the easy way to install the shaker on that car. same kit for the SN95 mustangs without a mach 1 hood and same way for the S197s. The mach 1 hood is fiberglass and finishes off the shaker a little better. Didnt mean to strike anybody's chord. I just think it looks like someone just cut a hole and either made some trim for the hole or slit a tube and wrapped it into the cut. Dont get me wrong, the shaker looks GREAT. I had planned on doing one to my bird with the 4 valve. just my opinion. for me, it doesnt look right.
Like this...
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/shame302/IMG_0247.jpg)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/shame302/IMG_0246.jpg)
Where did you get this kit man? It looks awesome!
It's been done before...
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=8252&highlight=shaker
Not exactly. The ofther is an aftermarket scoop which is mounted to the upper intake. There's no filter box or any way to make it functional. It is a very nice hood scoop though.
Thanks, it's my own brand. I might put it into production if I can generate enough interest.
I'm pretty sure when CDC designed the 2003 Mach 1 shaker hood the used a fiberglass buldge on the hood because the hood had a recess that worked with the factory hood scoop that all GT's wore. I guess I show my age as the original shaker was is what I patterened my install from. The 2003 had to mod the hood to make the shaker. Tbirds don't have that handicap.
I'm still working on a price. I might use the 2003 MCh1 scoop if I can get a discount on a bulk purchase. I'm waiting on my friend to supply me with the hoses for mass air so I can mock it up. Maybe next weekend. Uses a cone filter insiedd the air box.
I dig. Did you use a sn95 Shaker kit?
That's Awesome!! :burnout:
No, I coundn't as the engine & chassis are completely different. The scoop mount for the mod engine doesn't come close to fitting the 5.0. This is a unit I came up with at the request of the Fox Mustang crowd. I'll admit it was slow to come around but since I don't have a fox mustang it had to wait. I took pocession of moms T-Bird a few months ago and that gave me a basis for the project.
What scoop do you think would look better, the squared off 2003 Mach1 or the vintage shaker scoop ?
That company was Banshee. They were big for a bit and were the rave in all the 5.0 mags for a good while. I feel their demise was due to a couple factors. First, they didn't use a mustang scoop. They used their own desing that looked too far from what we know as a mustang shaker. Second the entire assy was made from plastic. I don't use plastic because it can warp & bend under extreme condtions. I don't expect I'll do much better with this as it it more costly than I'd like. Mainly the scoop & seal. I understand why they cheaped out on those two parts.
The buldge isnt my issue. Ford recessed the hole in the hood with a return rather than cutting a hole in a flat panel. It looks better that way.
The "vintage" mach 1 scoop and the 03-04 mach scoop are the same.
You do realize that unless that fender plenum isn't open to the fender like a cold air kit the "functionality" to the shaker will be a functional restriction. Other than the "cool" factor no real benefits would be had. You did the same thing as that guy, you just used a different scoop. Yours isnt any more "functional" untill its hooked up to the air box which as of yet, isn't. Don't discount what that other user did, they did the same thing you did but before you ;0)
I'm pretty sure the 03-04 mach 1 airbox would fit on the fox fender. Mounts for the shaker and its base would be easy enough to fab up. Only hard part would feeding the airbox as the mach 1 unit looks like it would hit the distributer, so that junction would have to be changed. I wouldnt bother joining them as stated before, no benefit to do so. i removed mine as the SC is going in that location anyway.
Oh, and pardon me, apparently im in a mood...
Well it looks great. The view from the dash really puts it in the "must have" category. +10 points!
Wow, a mood huhh ? Couldn't tell. Don't think I'm putting any one elses work down because I'm not. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to bring a product to market. :punchballs: There are lots of hard parts and very few easy ones. The fender plenum isn't in play because my air box is closed except for the inlet from the scoop and outlet to the engine. The scoop & air box are connected by a 3" hose which I neglected to install as I left it home. I apologise for that being too mcuh to visualize.
You're right about there being no real benifit to the shaker EXCEPT the cool factor. The factory did a good job by bringing the air through the fenderwell, no boubt. No argument. Shaker is just cool. Plenty of what we do to our cars is more for cool and function. This is no different.
The 2003 Mach1 and vintage scoop are not the same. They share the same dimensions externally but the face and mounting is different. The 2003 has a flat edge on the front of the scoop and the grille is flat & much much fatter than the original. I thought the same until I bought a 2003 scoop and compared it side by side to an original. They also differ in the the vintage scoop requires a lower half called the seal retainer ( also mounts the scoop) where the 2003 doesn't use a seal and mounts directly to the bracket assy.
The 2003 Mach1 scoop is a very nice peice and looks kick ass on the newer mustangs. I'm just a touch older than the original mustang and as such grew up with what are now vintage cars. This is the look I was after and the look I got. I confess to not having the metal work skills to making a finished d egde like on the 2003 but the trim ring finishes it off nicely in my opinion. :D
Thank God for America where we can disagree but still have fun :D
Keep me posted,I am interested.
So you used a "vintage" shaker instead of a readily available one and plan to market it?
I'd probably re-think that. Tough to sell a product that will hurt performance in the name of looks. Easy fix though.
I can think of a few things that worked out quite well that hurt performance (Not to mention make you look stupid)
1. outrageous body kits
2. Gigantic metal wings that serve NO purpose.
3. Stick on hood scoops.
4. 6" S**t can lers
Just a few off the top of my head. :rollin:
Still doin that mood thing ehh ? I used the scoop I like to mod my car. Yes, I confess. I never said anything about supplying others with vintage scoops though I can supply reproductions of the vintage scoop to those who like as well as the 2003 Mach1 scoop.
I'm sure if you think harder you'll find lots of other issues to re-think, life is like that. As for being tough to sell this is a product that I've been asked by Fox mustang guys to do for years. I didn't come to me in a dream or through the "Force" . When I'm finished with it if they like it , which I'm sure they will that'll be great. If not, oh well, can't please everyone.
A little history lesson.
Back before the second coming of muscles cars, before EFI became the norm and when multi-carbs were the induction for high horse power steer cars there were lots of mods regular working guys did in that actually hurt performance. In the early 80's average jobs didn't pay like they do now and only "Grown people" had credit cards. I brought home about $110/week. Had to pay rent, car insurance, buy gas, eat and maybe date. There was never much left over. There was nothing on the show room floor that made more than 150hp. Building a car was done in many steps and took years to finish. Most of us couldn't afford to take our puny 2V engine down to the speed shop for a performance rebuild. Even a budget rebuild kit was two weeks pay. I can't count the guys ( including me) who did headers first. Hooker Super Comps cause we WOULD have the big engine to back it up when we found the money. Car got loud and actually slowed down. Next was a cam and 4V intake. A big cam and carb with a stock converter and 2:73 rear. Sounded great prowling the street but didn't go much faster due to low compression smog pistons. Stainles steel flex fan was a must even though it made the engine run hot on the street. Giant Pro-Trac & Mickey Thompson tires for the pro street look. Not enough gear to turn em. Skinny tires up front. Looked cool as long as you made your turns at idle. A modern example is the K & N Extreme air filter top. While it seems like a great idea it was proven by 5 different magazine dyno tests that it hurt performance but people still buy them in droves. Reason why is while it may inhibit high end engines that breath hard it has no noticable effect on the average performance engine. Who turns 5000 rpm on the street let alone 6500+ ?
Now 500+ hp is just a check book away. Imports run in the 11's on street tires and a/c. The mustang is back in the game after almost a 15 year nap and most all performance cars run great right out the box with few restrictions. A shaker on the average car isn't going to hurt performance. Put on on a high power, high reving engine and that's a different story.
No fix required. Life fixes itself :rollin:
I agree totally. Fart can exhaust is one I find most annoying. Your exhaust tip should never be bigger than your cylinders.
Sounds dangerously close to an "old school" version of "rice" to me.
Seriously though,I think it looks cool so mission accomplished. If i were putting it on for the cool look, id delete its "functionality" as specially in this case where it would impact the car negatively. Obviously that would be up to the end user anyway. You may say it wouldn't noticeably hurt performance and you very well may be right but ford engineers designed them a certain way for a reason. It's one of the first basic things you learn about modding a car for more power. reduce the restrictions. Perfect example is the S.O. 5.0 vs. the HO 5.0
Hey, it looks good and i hope you sell lots of them.
Thanks a trunk load. I enjoyed the exchange. There was old school long before there were any ricers. From my experience ricers were the young kids who couldn't afford vintage muscle cars, the fuel to feed em or the insurance. the pattern repeats just the cars change. I never imagined these fox Tbirds & Cougars had this kind of following. As a old timer they were just another 20 year old car.
Now that this issue has been put to bed , how many can I put you down for ? :D
Id be totally in line for one depending on price.
I'd be interested on price if its out of my range I'll do one on my own. ;)