Hi all, I finaly decided to post some pictures here and use this thread as information thread for me.
Here are some new pics:
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_01233m4g.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0124cjxe.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_01257n7o.jpg)
Yesterday I worked on taillights, because our laws don't accept red turn lights and 15 years ago some technician changed whole electrical system for europe. And he made a lot of mistakes. So I rebuilt it back to red and made a switch for technical control station. When I'll go there I just swap the lights and turn the switch to europe lighting.
And here are some questions.
My friend told me, that there are some canadian tail lights with orange turn signal lamps. How do they look like?
Does anyone have one more pair of front turn signal lamps?
Canadian cars have the same tail lamps as American cars. The only ones I've seen with amber turn signals are ones that were modified by some of our other European members.
Trinom,
Turn signals must be amber? Brake lights must be red? Are reverse lights mandatory?
If the reverse lights are not mandatory, perhaps you could could convert them to the turn signals?
Your car looks good! I believe that color TC is pretty rare. I've only seen one that color in person. I'm almost afraid to ask, what is the brown thing below the license plate? Are the correct Marchal fog lights available there?
Our cars must have amber turn signals, red brake and fog lights and white reverse light. Now I'm using illegal configuration
I don't have front fog lights on the car. One is OK, second has broken glass. If you have some extra I'll buy it from you.
The color isn't original, the car was from syard and had broken passenger door. Original color was dark grey metallic.
I really like the Bird.I rarely see the 4 eyes in red.Nice car.
Thanks :hick:
Can you convert the reverse lights to signal lights and mount new reverse lights (maybe under the bumper)?
What's broken on the passenger door?
The Marchal lenses are difficult to find here also. I'll check my supply.
could you modify the reverse light to hold and amber bulb and the white reverse light so both are hidden? this is what I would do since your only using the reverse lights while in reverse obviously and you wont be using the turn signals while in reverse anyways.
What's the brownish thing sticking up from under the bumper ? Looks kinda like a tail ;D
Tail :D Do you like my trailer towing device with the hedgehog looking cap? And a bit left is fog light.
I don't want to convert it back to european lights by myself, I just asked you if canadian tail lights are diferent. If not, I keep red turn signal lamps. Our cops like american cars and don't penalise red tail lights. Only technical control station don't like them, so I have one more pair of tail lights with orange square next to the reverse light (it's horrible).
Door is OK now, they have been repaired before painting (15 years ago).
Marshal fog lights? I have some french fog lights and they fits perfectly, but one has broken glass. I thought that those are original.
And last question, I'm still solving problem with rear axle howl. I changed rear axle oil, but without change (I was woried if the rear axle isn't dry). In this thread (http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=23912&page=2) CougarXLS told me something with rear end bearings. I couldn't see it now, becouse I'm still using this car and don't have access to big garage or hall. Someone told me, that a lot of people change whole rear axle. Is it standard practise?
I had a look on the fog lights and they are SEV MARCHAL, so you are right. I need just the glass.
That's a nice car, I agree red looks great on those...
Is the rear noise a whine??? Does it change pitch when you are accelerating vs coasting???
Yes it does and it whines while I press the gas pedal, when I relase it, it mutes. I made a video with this, look here (http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showpost.php?p=275222&postcount=13). This whine is most annoying between 50 - 80 km/h (real speed, not those nonsenses on speedometer). In lower speed it isn't hearable, in higher it's a part of the noise from rear. My friend told me on friday, that I have probably bad left rear wheel bearing, so when I will repair brakes (very soon) I will check it. I remember this noise for all time we had this car. Another friend thinks it might be noise from differential. When I was changing the oil there (last week after probably 23 years) I didn't see anythyng wrong, but if some sprocket is little damaged I can't see it.
You CAN faintly hear it whining at certain speeds in the video, mainly the one where he counts the tranny shifts
Yes, I know, those are my videos ;).
Two more questions: Where can I find this clock http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPEKJOvr8KU&feature=related (1:26)? How many teeth speedogear have stock t-bird turbocoupe with C3 tranny (7,5 rear axle, 3,45 diff.)?
A noise that changes with throttle increase/decrease isn't a wheel bearing, those make a steady noise... Most likely a worn ring & pinion gear set inside the rear, guessing it'll need a major overhaul to repair the problem... Good news is there is seldom a sudden failure, the noise usually gets louder and louder, till you really can't tolerate it...
With this in mind you can either look for another rear(I know probably a impossibility), or plan on having someone you trust rebuild the one currently in the car...
BTW usually bad wheel bearings ruin the surface on the axle where the bearings mate, which probably means new axle(s)... There are axle saver bearings, but I don't have any idea if they are available in your part of the world...
That clock is called a "Tripminder" around here.
Kinda rare, And highly wanted~They pop up for sale once and awhile on the for sale section.
They came as an option on 83-88's (Without the Digi Dash).
I can buy quite cheap '83 cougar without engine and AOD transmition, but I'm not sure, if it has the same differential as my TC (I don't think so).
Here are some photos of the differential (click for full size):
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00352bgh.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0035dae6.jpg")
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_003989kn.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0039la4j.jpg")
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0044ux50.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0044tzb1.jpg")
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00455yiu.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0045dy4i.jpg")
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00460xpe.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0046wah0.jpg")
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0042al8o.jpg) (http://"http://www.abload.de/img/img_0042e9xm.jpg")
The '83 -'86 Turbo Coupes use a lower ratio 3:45 rear than did the V6 or V8 models... Would likely work, but you'd kill the low speed acceleration...
The rear looks good inside, possibly has too much contact at the base of the ring gear hard to tell in the pict... Not something you could adjust anyway, would need to be dissembled and setup again... Only way I'd go that far, was using new gears...
BTW I forgot the TC will have a Traction Lock rear usually not found on other models...
Depends on the person, was one in a '86 TC I saw at the junk yard a couple years ago... Was still there when I left... Dunno if anyone got it, car is long gone now...
I think that other rear would be a one wheel wonder (Non-Trac Lok). But it WOULD work as a replacement. You could always keep your rear and get it rebuilt in the meantime and drive it with the other differential. If that would help.....
The oil remaining in there looks like it's been contaminated over the years. I didn't notice any unusual wear on the gear set though. Just my .02 but I would bet on the carrier and pinion bearings being bad. In my 2000' Durango the pinion bearings went bad and the sound would change pitch when I played with the throttle.
I'm not sure with translation, so I'll use a picture :D The pinion bearing you are speeking about is behind the small sprocket which is connected to cardan. Is it right?
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00455yiu.jpg)
yes that is correct. and the carrier bearings are on either side of the ring gear, the big sprocket.
OK, I will check it soon.
I have again one request. Can anybody make a short video of Bird at night with lamps on? I'm interested in front turn signals if they are still lighting or not...
...and if some bulb dies, it stops blinking or blinks faster? European cars blink faster, but my Ford stops blinking.
If you are worried about the flashers you probably need the flasher module that plugs into the fuse panel, esp if it's the original one.
I think that's what the thermal flashers are supposed to do. If a bulb goes out, there is less current draw so it's not enough to trip the flasher.
OK, thanks. I wasn't sure if my idea is true. It is.
Hi, I had to swap water pump yesterday, because it started leaking. I didn't know, that the water pump axial gasket was dead for years. There is an overflow hole on the bottom and it was confined, so finaly the cooling fluid goes along the axis. Fortunately I've had a new one in trunk since last friday. And in the evening we've had (cca 20 US cars) a night cruise in our city. It was nice. Here (http://"http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Brno_-_Friday_Night_Ride/index.php") are some pictures.
On monday we're going to work on timing and V belts.
What an odd collection of American cars, not that they are bad or anything. I thought it was weird seeing the long european plates on the back of that Camaro. Its nice to see some Europeans enjoy some American cars, I've talked to quite a few Europeans who always claim all American cars are good for is going in a straight line and cannot corner AT ALL.
We can choose from three different sizes of licence plates - long narrow, square and US size. It's just about a question in the bureau.
It's nonsense. Your cars are very good on our poor roads (only the highest class is OK) because of their soft suspension.
----
[size=12]Nobody can't find those front turn signal lamps for me, please? Can by from junkyard ;)[/size]
The ones that go next the the headlamps? I have an extra set if that would help? Or the ones in the bumper?
Those in bumper.
Sorry man, I don't have another set of those. If I did they'd be yours. I just looked and there is a Salvage yard by me that has a right side marker light for $15 about 36 miles away from me. I couldn't find a left side though.
So, I've bought a fog lamp (glass and reflector) for 22$ with shipping. I'm very happy, because I will be able to put both fog lights on car.
And I will have turn signals from Chuck W, so I would like to thank him very much.
Here is one small panorama from our meeting in Hrochův Týnec from this weekend. Here is link to whole gallery (http://"http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Hrochuv_Tynec/index.php").
(http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Hrochuv_Tynec/previews/xpanorama.JPG) (http://"http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Hrochuv_Tynec/images/panorama.JPG")
Hi, I'd like to ask you, what are the differences between 83-86 and 87/88 TurboCoupe. I know somethink about intercooler, but nothing else.
Bodywise the 87/88 TC had the aero nose and flush glass. Suspension wise it had the electronic shocks, the 8.8" rear end with disc brakes, larger front disc brakes, and anti-lock. Enginewise they had the intercooler, a smaller turbocharger (the IHI instead of your T3) and a better ECU including a premium fuel selection that allowed the engine to make 190 horsepower (in 5-speed models) even with the smaller turbo. Transmissionwise, the automatic TC's had the 4-speed A4LD transmission instead of the C3 in older ones (and also had the engine detuned to 155 horsepower because the A4LD was weak).
I'm not definately sure, but I think that I have IHI Turbo.
A simple way to tell: If your turbo has the "ears" that the output tube bolts to it's a T3. Unless somebody swapped it at some point that's what it should be, since all 83-86 TC's came with the T3. The T3 is reportedly a better turbo, BTW, bcause it's larger and more efficient. Lots of 87-88 TC owners swap a T3 in...
Heh, next thing to check :D. I don't have that small camera I obviously bring everywhere with me, my mum have it on vacation, of course with all photos of engine bay and a lot of another pics of car. I'm quite lazy to check it tomorrow personally, so I'll check it probably next week when I have planned changing belts, thermostat and some other stuff (I don't have car here).
PS: I hope that the fog light arrives in few days, maybe tomorrow. It would be only reason to go to the car earlier :hick:.
The fog light still doesn't arrive :punchballs:
But why I'm writing now: I heard about factory 5.0 TurboCoupe, some limited serie (about thousand cars). Do you know something about it? My friend told me, that he had this car in the end of 80s, but he sold it in '89 or 90'. The new owner wrecked it (just the rear end). Probably the engine was OK. Then that owner bought two more birds for parts from Germany. Here it is unusual to send cars to cruher (especially US cars), so they might be still by that owner or somewhere on the salvage yard.
If Petr doesn't lie, that car must be amazing.
Sorry, but to the best of my knowledge, no factory 5.0L Turbo Coupes.
there was a sport thunderbird in 87-88. Has more or less the turbo coupe handling upgrades, but does not have the larger disks.
I'd bet the Sports are the rarest of them all.
Hi, can anyone send me complete scan of registration book of your 85-86 TurboCoupe. I'm interrested in sizes and engine informations, but I would like to also compare your registration book to ours. I think PM is enough. It will be only for my personal purposes.
Thanks, Trinom
What you call "registration book", might that equal "owner's manual" ? The Owner's Manual isn't too big (maybe 50-100 pages?). There are the repair ("shop") manuals (several books), and then there's another how-to book for simple/common repairs (~50 pages).
If you only need the info, and it's not already available, it might be easier to take pictures and send you those.
Do you have access to a Chilton's or Hayes repair manual?
I think that paper where are written all informations about the car and its owner. I don't know the exact word of this document.
We have two versions, "small" and "big". In small are written most important informations about the owner and car. I have to keep this card by me when I am driving this car. The "big" I have at home, there is complete info about the car and history of owners. But I have it full of incorrect informations. This document is necessary for technical control station. Until first January of this year it might be a problem, because of incorrect informations.
Hi guys, I had a problem yesterday. I was boiling water. Today I changed thermostat, because I had the old one working strange. It was still full opened, but when I was taking it out, it was closed. It probably was dead and I went through city in rush hour.
But today I found one more strange thing. Is it normal, that A/C compressor is working in heat mode? It shut off only in OFF and VENT mode. I think it should work only in A/C mode, not in HEAT. And fan wasn't working too although it was connected properly.
Documentation -
if no one else has any pics, maybe I can get some this weekend for you to identify.
Boiling water -
is the radiator cap good?
A/C -
there is a separate temperature select which works all the time. So it's possible to choose 'max a/c' and 'hot' temperature and get hot air.
Does the fan work if you directly connect it to a 12V electric source? If your engine fan isn't working when the a/c is 'on', the relay may be bad. Or the a/c could be low on freon (that could also explain hot air in a/c mode).
I changed thermostat and today found and fixed one small problem with fan wiring. This was the main problem I think. I found it, because fan didn't work in A/C mode. I will see tomorrow, we have Friday night ride again. It's in the city, so it will be hard test.
BTW radiator cap works well.
(http://resize.like.cz/images/1252354312night_ride_2_GTO_final_komprim_web.jpg)
Friday Night Ride was perfect, car worked well. I think that problem with overheating was successfuly solved :burnout:
Hi, can somebody make a photo of the strap over the battery used in TurboCoupe, please? I need to make a copy, because I don't have it and my battery isn't fixed on it's place (it's just sitting in the tray). I would like to make the copy of original.
Thanks
No strap over the top, just a clamp on the battery box as show in the picture.
Nice T-Bird! It's nice to see there are fans of these cars around the world.
Hi, thanks. I know about one or two Birds around, but all 87/88.
Rodsterh, Can you measure sizes and position of the hole in the clamp, please? Thanks.
I visited on Friday evening one guy, who wrecked an '88 bird. He had a lot of parts from that car, so i finaly found complete battery bay with the clamp and screw. And Rodsterh, thanks for help.
I also bought an autolamp dimmer, but as I found in EVTM, without controler. I will test it out of car and after tests I would like to install it into the car (with found or home made controler).
Does someone have one more electronic day-night mirror?
I hope to have a few of those mirrors as soon as I get to the salvage yard.I'm going to start grabbing all of them I see.
Ok, I'll send you a PM, probably tomorrow. And you can add one more part from salvage yard to list for me - front right position light (that next to headlamps) - I tried to use black chrome on light bezel. The disassembling was OK, but it cracked when I was putting it back to the bezel. It was cracked a bit from past and I finished it :mad:.
Hi, the fog lamp, I was waiting since August FINALY arrived (that guy sent it last thursday). So I've taken the broken glass out and put the new one to the bezel.
Here are both fog lamps :)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0003xvzz.jpg)
I'm going to install them on car in short future :burnout:
I might have some black cats you can glue on the glass. I always save them when the glass breaks.
Not now, but if you have some access to the scanner, you can scan one for me (600 dpi without any postprocessing). I think it will be cheaper to make some new cat heads here. Send me a PM, please.
Can somebody scan it?, please?
I'll scan one when I get a chance. Another 'quick fix' is to use a good quality black tape, apply it over the indent in the lens and simply cut around it with an exact-o knife.
I have some friends - CNC operators, so I can have how many cat heads I want :D. I only need the sizes (from picture) to make them.
Thanks
Hi guys, I've bought today complete wiring harness from '88 V6 Bird quite cheaply. I would like to know the differences between my '86 TC and this '88 V6 wiring harness. The car was well equiped, so only things I'm still looking for is the electronic day - night mirror (with the holder for automatic dimming sensor) and the speedogear. I asked in the past, which speedogear is used on the stock C3 transmission for TurboCoupes, but I only received link to some pages with calculator. I don't know the number of teeth on driven gear, so I can't calculate the number of the teeth on speedogear. Can someone help me with this, please?
Nobody can help me with the speedogear? :confused: PLS
I don't have the mirror,but as soon as the weather clears up,I'll hopefully have a bunch of them.
OK, and what about the right park light lens? Can you tell me something more about the speedogear please?
I did some progress on my car this weekend. I reconected all the wires to original state, so the lamps work as they should :hick:
During the summer holliday I have to create the central switch for the lights to allow me easily change between european and US lighting.
Here are some photos:
The beginning
(http://trinom.org/stazene/Ford/svetla/sIMAG0118.jpg)
First test
(http://trinom.org/stazene/Ford/svetla/sIMAG0121.jpg)
We also tried to renew the paint :)
(http://trinom.org/stazene/Ford/svetla/sIMAG0122.jpg)
And finally the result
(http://trinom.org/stazene/Ford/svetla/sIMAG0125.jpg)
(http://trinom.org/stazene/Ford/svetla/sIMAG0128.jpg)
So now, all wiring is completely original I think.
I've bought the Day - Night mirror from ebay, but it didn't work, so I decided to fix it. It had burnt motor. After the mail to Mabuchi Motor Company (they can send at least ten thousand motors:beatyoass:) I decided to rewire the motor coils. After about half day playing with the coils it finaly WORKS.
Here is the video (in czech language, but I think it doesn't matter).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x31_jTTPpL8 (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x31_jTTPpL8")
That's a cool mirror! I might have to replace mine sometime in the future. The reflective part is wearing away and looks awful. I put a cover over it a long time and ran it like that for years but it looked tacky (though I had almost no blind spot with that thing!).
Could you describe how you rewired the motor coils? I imagine they were pretty small? Great job on the fix!
Car looks great! Good work fixing that mirror. I have one laying around somewhere that is broken too.
I have an 86 EVTM from my car. Let me know if you need any pages scanned to complete your lighting.
I'm looking for one more this mirror, to my daily driver. It has automatic dimming too, but it can't be repaired.
I think I have all documentation for this car, except one volume of Shop manual (http://pctforum.tyden.cz/images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif) (H).
(http://www.abload.de/img/p5230045158i.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/p52300464uq6.jpg)
I put all wires off the rotor. It's 0,05 mm (0.002") enamelled wire and it has 350 turns. First two were damaged almost at the end, but the third was in three or four pieces and the worst problem was to reconect this wire together with the soldering iron. I didn't count how many turns I did, but I used the original wires, so resistance is the same as it was before.
Here are two photos from rewiring
(http://www.abload.de/img/p5200039u6co.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/p5210040nuw8.jpg)
Last three days we worked on my Bird and our result are:
- Completely rebuilt rear axle (all bearings changed, new wheel cylinders & brake shoes)
- New engine oil, new transmission oil
- New fuel pressure regulator
And tomorrow we're going to control oil pressure and I'll try to repair the alternator (bad bearing & probably partialy dead diode block) - I have one other for parts.
Guys, I need a small help. Do you have 4 eyed TurboCoupe with an automatic transmission? Look here and help me please! (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=28380")
Hi guys. I have some news for you :hick:. Now I know all czech 4 eyed Birds. There are only three in our country. When I was on last (biggest) czech US cars meeting in Luštěnice, I've met the third bird. It's from our capital city Prague. Here are some photos. It's an '86 5 liter.
(http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Lustenice_2010/images/sIMG_0336.JPG)
(http://trinom.org/galerie/sraz_amerik_Lustenice_2010/images/sIMG_0337.JPG)
Amazing , we have people here who complain about parts availability ...I imagine it must be next to impossible for you
Why? I have found every part I needed. And parts for Bird are obviously cheaper, than parts for other european cars. Only problem is the shipping delay. It's about three weeks, when I use USPS. PPL or Fedex is much faster, but also much more expensive.
Then maybe people here are just whiny :rollin:
It's great that you are able to get everything you need
I've finally found cheap yellow fog lamps for my bird. They are with covers.
BTW, on french eBay, there are few pieces with reasonable price :).
(http://www.abload.de/img/zlute_mlhy_birdrdp9.jpg)
They arrived (http://planetsmilies.net/party-smiley-551.gif).
(http://www.abload.de/img/p1010085foci.jpg)
As you might notice in other section, I fixed the transmission during Christmas holiday and now it's back in the car. Here is the video:
[video=youtube;mvwURbado4Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvwURbado4Q[/video]
The squeal in the beginning is probably insufficiently tightened high-reverse belt. I'll check it once again.
Very nice !!! I really like those lights. I have the Hellas, The Marchalls won't fit. What did you do with the stock lights?Keep us posted on the car.
Clear Marchals are still in the trunk. I'm going to assembly front end tomorow evening. If I don't forget my camera or camcorder I'll make some video with the lights on.
Here are few more photos from the last weekend
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0093v9h0.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0104dx8u.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0106txid.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0108wx8w.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_01108lcq.jpg)
And of course, there are few new toys for my car from Hcor and Jangus.
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0123no0m.jpg)
please tell me thats a mousepad on the upper right of the picture haha! and awesome car trinom!
Yes, it is :D
(http://www.czechcomputer.cz/uploadimg/USR.402275/8D0096AF956814C1C125728E004E0730/K1012112335338596014941310687868.jpg)
I made only a photo yesterday, because battery was dead. I don't know why - it was disconnected.
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0128l77f.jpg)
It looks much better with the covers on the fog lamps.
I like the new lights too especially with the covers. I just watched your video, man your parking area is tight! You really have to watch what you're doing getting it in and out of there.
It's my buddy's garage here in Brno. It's quite big for his Nissan 200SX. I have only a small garage by my granny one hour far from Brno. It's really difficult to find some garage here for a reasonable price.
Here is the promised "walk around" video with the fog lamps on.
[video=youtube;TcYorQl7tRs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcYorQl7tRs[/video]
I had only my mobile phone, not camera or camcorder :(
Nice 4-eye. Glad to see you keepin the faith!
I don't know, if I mentioned about my bachelor thesis - The drive assistant. The first part was only with character display, but now, I'm modifying it for touch screen color display which fits perfectly in the place, where is originaly the tripminder. Here is the startup sequence.
[video=youtube;InLc0XIbmKI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InLc0XIbmKI[/video]
I'm going to continue with gauges and other stuff at the weekend.
If you want to see the older version, look at my youtube's chanel (or this link (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDyH1JcPung")). The comments are in the czech language, but I think it doesn't matter.
Here is the small dictionary :D
Teplota vody ... Water temperature
Teplota ATF ... ATF temperature
Plnicí tlak ... Intake manifold pressure (AKA turbo boost)
Tlak oleje ... Oil pressure
Množství paliva ... Fuel amount
Napětí palubní sítě ... Battery voltage
It's also possible to change language (czech - english), units (metric - english) and few other things. Only problem is, that I made this video before creating the menu. Newer video of this older version wasn't made.
Great project and very nice execution. Does it connect to the factory harness or use stock sensors?
Yes, it uses factory sensors, except the ATF temperature sensor and boost sensor. The ATF temp sensor will be probably used the same as the water temp (if the temperature will be lower, than 150°C). The vacuum - boost sensor is this Prosport sensor (http://"http://prosportgauges.com/electric-boost-sender.aspx").
The new things like GPS, parking sensors, wideband lambda, etc won't be factory original as well.
I was forced to prepare the orange turn signal lamps for the tail lights. There were some changes here and the cops began the hunt against the cars with incorrect lamp type (color, type,...).
I don't want to pay any stupid penalty, so I designed the whole circuitry for orange rear turnlamps and white front side markers. The best thing is, that it has the switch, which changes european or american lighting standard.
I can't cut any hole to the tail lamp (it's forbidden set-up), so I decided to make orange stripe around the emblem in the tail light. Here is a photo of the circuit board printed on a paper with emblem on it (I have one spare from the old lights).
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0015_cropmppj.jpg)
Here is a render of the result.
(http://www.abload.de/img/blinkr5uiv.png)
And a photo of making the circuit board.
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0021zubb.jpg)
Man, that is awesome project.
I think it's great you know how to do this stuff.
Nice!!
Thanks.
I'm going to test it in few days. Then I will wait for power LEDs. I have lots of standard yellow LEDs (about five hundred), but they are too dim for this purpose.
Small update :-)
Today I drilled the holes and cut the circuit board.
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00275ml6.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00288mhb.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00292moa.jpg)
I'm going use the same LEDs as shown on these photos. Only difference will be the color. These LEDs are warm white, they are prepared for another project, so they aren't soldered, only put into the holes. I'm going to use 0,5W* yellow LEDs. They are on the way.
*They are called 0,5W, but actually they are only 0,2W.
Some new progress :)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00498s3p.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0047prx5.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00537ql5.jpg)
It shines like hell! The second photo is with full power flash from very short distance.
That is awsome!!!
(http://www.abload.de/img/pict010859tweuau.jpg)
Lower deck of double bridge. On higher deck is the D1 highway.
Nice pic!
Hey, did you still need that speedo gear info you asked me for a while back?
Nice! Is there a lot of interest in your car over there?
I just had to bring this back up, it's too awesome! I have that same mouse by the way, I loved it when it worked properly.. :(
I used one from old A4LDe from V6 Scorpio and it's much better. One or two teeth are still missing to accurate reading, but it's not important now.
Yes, it is. This photo was taken after US cars meeting in spoogebice (first big meeting in this year). We were returning to Brno and GPS led us through the country. It preferes narrow roads with tons of curves and beautiful views. I really don't know why, but it does it sometimes. We went in three cars - 86 Bird, 78 Olds Delta Diesel and 2010 V6 Stang. Here is the picture.
(http://www.abload.de/img/spol_fotohuz3.jpg)
PS: American cars are still quite rare here, so lots of people like to see them next to standard german, french and asian production.
My trackball works well. It has 5 year warranty, so I hope it will work great for long time :)
Thanks for mentioning it, I had no idea consumer electronics these days had such a warranty. My new mouse is on the way, no receipts or returning mine needed. :D
Here is a short clip from the meeting I mentioned.
[video=youtube;HfBDlRuVkyM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfBDlRuVkyM[/video]
Nice video! You guys have alot of American iron over there!! That's awsome man!!
Thanks nice video. I'm guessing from the activity at 3:02 that marijuana is legal over there?
Nice vid for sure!
I think it isn't marijuana, it's normal water pipe with tobacco.
This meeting was one of the biggest in the season.
Yesterday, we had our small Friday Night Ride* and I took this photo of my bird :)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00788uzv.jpg)
Here (http://"http://picasaweb.google.com/ttryska/20110422VIIIFNRTexasRanch#") is the gallery from yesterday's ride.
*These are small local meetings typicaly every second friday from april to october. Sometimes it's beeing substitued with Saturday Reuninons, which are bigger and we go out of city.
That is a real nice looking Bird you have............you should be proud.
Those srt-10 trucks are so bad ass. I can only imagine what kind of looks they get over there...
the activity at 3:02 looks like hookah...
Thanks. I did a lot of progress this and last year. I polished whole car before trip to spoogebice. It looks really nice now.
I have one question. What's your avarage fuel consumption out of city (but not on highway)? I can't go lower, than 13 l/100 km (18 MPG). Few years ago I had less than 10 l/100km (23,5 MPG) on long track. I think I'm driving easy. Car is obviously fully loaded (3 or 4 people + lugage). Is this normal, or should I inspect the engine?
That SRT truck is really hell on earth. It doesn't have any electronic gremlins like ASR, ESP,...
And the last thing. Someone wrote the letter to Ford and they sent him all infos about his car. It was about year or two ago. Is someone able to do this for me? European Ford dealers aren't. I can send VIN through PM.
I went for a trip yesterday. The third czech 4-eyed bird is for sale. Unfortunately, it's in quite bad state and will need somebody to save it. I won't be that person probably.
It's '85 TC with manual transmission.
(http://www.chrom-plameny.cz/images/bazar/2011051609483869.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_00699sjq.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0070xr2i.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0071frkq.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/img/img_0068bt6f.jpg)
I'll take the dash and shifter .....stat!!!!
The dash is horrible. Every single piece of wood is peeling. It isn't a foil, it's the real wood.
PS: What does "stat" mean?
I've seen far worse, Just needs some lovin' ;-)
Stat = ASAP = As Soon As Possible
To TRINOM, I cannot believe you're actually towing with your Turbo Coupe. I know you do not have your manuals but it even says under the hood not to tow. You can kiss your turbo charger goodbye, and have a thermostat 'meltdown', not to mention the terrible heat caused my such stress will wipe your engine out. The GVWR on TC's is very low because of this... You should read up.
Smurf
I like it.... just like brand new compared to mine (before)
I don't want that ugly wood stuff, I want the actual dash board.
This is in a "bad state"? Looks better than some of the cars on here.
Nonsense. It tows very well. We europeans use much smaller cars to tow big trailers without any problem. This one doesn't have any problem with towing even with the automatic transmission. I don't use the tow bar, but I keep it on the car. It does'n tow any trailer for years, but I'm planning to tow a small caravan. They have about 400 kg, so it's similar to a fully loaded trunk :hick:.
If I buy the silver one, I'm going to buy a tow bar for it too.
And problem with a turbo? I haven't ever hear about any problem connected with towing. When the turbo is properly cooled down after the trip, there shouldn't be any problem.
I have the manuals. I see the warning, that I shouldn't use it for towing, but as I wrote. It's a nonsense.
But this isn't the reason, why I'm wrinting here.
During this week we opened the transmission again and replaced all necessary parts. The snap ring fell again, but now it didn't make that terrible noise. Then I found a problem with one friction plate in high/reverse clutch. One side was grinded off and it was the reason of the squeek after shifting reverse in the video from winter. It wasn't wrong adjusted band.
I changed all plates in both clutches, the snap ring, springs, springs retainer and few thrust washers.
After we put the tranny back on the car, it doesn't make any strange noise. I'm going to do a test drive tomorrow.
Some "new" snapshots from winter. Hope you will like it.
http://picasaweb.google.com/116504312330534460153/FoceniBird
Still a great looking car.
Very nice....cool to think there is a TC running around over there. :D
There are only three four-eyed Thunderbirds in our country. Two TCs and one V8. The second TC is on the previous page and the black V8 is few pages back (or here (http://"http://h10.abload.de/img/img_03360onu.jpg")). The silver one is for sale more than a year, so if I save some money on summer, I will buy it. It has a nice low price and it seems to be a solid project car.
I visited the owner of the silver TC yesterday again. I finally decided to buy it and give it another chance to live. The car isn't mine yet, but I'm going to buy it after this, or next pay day. He asks for 10 000 CZK (~ $500) which is a good price for me. It requires some minor body repairs, interior cleaning, but it's in suprisingly good state. It looks like the car didn't have any major crash in the past, just some minor parking lot damage on the left rear fender.
The rear amber turn signals makes me crazy, because I know the PUR bumper can't be repaired easily.
Here are some new photos. The complete gallery is on my picasa account. (http://"https://picasaweb.google.com/116504312330534460153/StribrnejBird?authkey=Gv1sRgCM7CkKuC2JuXrgE")
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8mfuQUkz66s/T8IL41v24bI/AAAAAAAACkI/CaacK7Gk74A/s640/P1010181.JPG)
(http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-frLNUfc4n2s/T8IL_IT_7SI/AAAAAAAACkU/lgtyXOuwysY/s640/P1010190.JPG)
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f7DIvWBg7RY/T8IL8pjsvRI/AAAAAAAACho/cWs-SXBIScA/s640/P1010186.JPG)
(http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OPL_B4vTEeA/T8IMBt63glI/AAAAAAAACiY/zMC0qMxN4ik/s640/P1010191.JPG)
(http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1IMF5OVgkRo/T8IMEmSQGyI/AAAAAAAACi0/KbC8LEBCkhQ/s640/P1010195.JPG)
Doesn't look to bad, looks like a solid car. I really like the real woodgrain dash haha. Seems to not have much rust which is good.
It has some rust (for example on the trunk lid), but most of the rust spots are repaired. The chassis looks well too. My '86 looks worse, even after so many years in the dry garage. This one stays outside.
Well, I've bought it today finaly. A lot of work is waiting for me. Maybe I make a new thread for the silver '85 TC...
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/l4pr_P7140015.JPG)
Congrats on the purchase, and good luck with the restoration.
Congrats on the purchase. What the heck are you pulling the TC with?
Travis
Kinda looks like a subaru loyale
So you now all the TC's in your country? :hick:
Congrats!
Yes, I have both (all) czech four-eyed TCs. There are few '87 and '88 Birds here, but I don't know the owners.
The pulling car is Nissan Bluebird. Bluebird and Thunderbird - nice combo :hick:
It looks good from the front but other angles are much worse :(
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/gsnx_P7200051c.jpg)
It has just some minor rust, but the paint is in very bad state. I'm thinking about complete paint job, or even vinyl wrap (brushed aluminium look). What do you think?
Here (http://"https://picasaweb.google.com/116504312330534460153/StribrnejBird?authkey=Gv1sRgCM7CkKuC2JuXrgE") is the complete photo gallery of this car.
It runs!
[video=youtube;yBqBcOUbBoo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBqBcOUbBoo[/video]
I've finaly repaired the starter motor and cranked the bird. It runs fine, but doesn't keep idle. I have to control the vacuum hoses and idle valve solenoid as well. I might have a used piece from the red one. And in the future I probably replace spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap and rotor.
The interior is clean now, almost all wooden stuff is gone, except turn signal lever and steering wheel position lever. I don't have any spare part for these.
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/dgzt_P8160011.JPG)
The light switch bezel isn't missing, I have it at home for a repair.
beautiful creature!!!
ACCEPT
Nice !!! Time to get in back in to shape.
Finally, it's time to rebuild the transmission for the red one...
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/155u_PA210072.JPG)
and do few minor repairs on the silver one (like brakes for example :hick:). On the picture bellow there are parts for both red and silver bird and couple spare lamps and flashers (for friends with another american cars).
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/uqvl_PA210073.JPG)
I'm going to rebuild the tranny during this week and prepare the red one for the roadworthiness inspection.
I'm slowly moving forward with my silver bird. About two weeks ago, I've changed thermostat, thermostat housing, cooling fluid and few minor things in the interior. Today, I've installed new front brakes and brake pads and let repaired the rusted rear brake line. I was quite surprised, that somebody did the rearend overhaul recently, so everything on rear brakes work like new, including bleeders. The last thing I've changed today were the stabilizer bar links.
Only few things remaining - I have to change oil in the engine and transmission, replace valve cover gasket (this one is in pieces) and make a gasket between turbocharger and the intake elbow (I'm not able to find it anywhere, so I have to make it from gasket paper).
Looking good! Now, slap a 101mm turbo on that baby! :hick:
I think T3 is still good for me. The turbo has zero shaft play, it's quite surpricing for me.
Silver bird is long distance run with low budget, so the progress is slow. And my free time isn't (unfortunatelly) infinite either.
I went 12.9's with a stock T3 with lots of boost and supporting mods. The T3 is plenty for a street powered turboford.
Travis
Would you be so kind and write more about your mods, pls?
Today, I've decided to change the leaking valve cover gasket. As it was off, I've noticed, that the camshaft has few worn cams. How big deal is it? I'm not technician and I have no experiences with engine repairs. Is someone able to predict, how much worn may be the crankshaft, or is it a common problem of these engines to have problem with camshaft lubrication?
(http://www.abload.de/img/imag0730f7s9k.jpg)
Photo is from my silver bird.
Very bad. And that cam is TOAST.,This is very common and you need a roller cam. Reason this happens is ford 2.3 engines have a nasty habit of sliding friction loads. A roller cam is the only FIX. It is only going to get worse. Sorry time for a cam change!!!
^^^ This +1
Ok, so where can I get the correct camshaft and roller stuff around? I was looking on rockauto, but it seems to be all stock, no improvements.
And what about crankshaft? Is there any possible problem, or is it only camshaft's bad habbit?
EDIT: I've found some info about a Ranger cam. Is it a good direction?
I honestly couldn't say, since I bought my new head complete. The Stock Ranger roller cam seems to work well with my stock TC setup, However, if you are going to look for a hotter roller cam for use in a turbo application, might I suggest giving comp cams tech line a call.
My goal about this car isn't any 1000 HP street monster. I'd like to use it as a daily driver, so I'd be happy, with 250 - 300 HP max. I've read, that this is possible with only few mods, like higher boost, larger fuel injectors, larger VAM and programable ECU.
Great car!
Sorry about the cam failure.
Hope it's up and running quickly.
Browse the TurboFord forum classifieds and you can find a used Ranger cam and followers for pretty cheap. It isn't a performance upgrade, but it'll get you going.
I'm still thinking what will be better for me. I want some power upgrade, but nothing big. I've found some info about Bo-Port cams, especialy Stage 1.5 and 1.9 and about Ranger cam. The question is, if the Ranger cam is good enough for power up to 250 - 300 HP, or should I save some money and buy Bo-Port. I don't need the car running immediately, spring or summer 2013 is good enough.
I've had the bo 1.5 and 1.9 in my burgundy tbird with a holset on it. The 1.9 is pretty doggy down low but pulls like crazy till 7000+. For a street car with few mods, the 1.5 is what I would recommend because the holset spooled quicker with it, and before it got put in that engine, it was in my autox car with a .48 T3 and calculated out to 250whp on 22psi on an unported head and intake. I have not run a ranger roller.
Snow, snow, snow...
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/3o6p_Fotografie0974.jpg)
One more winter photo :)
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/pszx_Fotografie0975.jpg)
What's the snow doing on the car? Get the snow off the car and get out on the streets and go sideways!
I can't (even if I'd like to). My car is about 100 km away from me. My friend is going to do some bureaucratic stuff, like vanishing the stupid ecologic fee and few more things. I hope I will be able to drive it back home after the Christmas holidays.
Red bird is back on the road. And we did a photoshoot with my buddy in his town.
(http://obrazky.trinom.org/obrazky/xx4i_CRW_0242_male.JPG)
Nice cemetery lol
great pics, turn the front wheels the other way next time so you see the rims not the tires...........
I know. I noticed it too late (at the computer).