My 29 page build post got locked at my request, since it was up for sale. But the car is no longer for sale and will continue to be built with a new "theme". I am waiting for the Saleen to sell before I buy too many parts, but some here know what's going on....
Awesome.
O.K.,share a little more.............................
Great I love it!!!!
I'd like to keep it a little bit of a secret until I acquire some more parts, but it will stay an 8 cyl with a power adder!
[SIZE="5"]wooohooo........[/SIZE]..
good to hear you are continueing with the build.
You're going to have two Turbo Coupe engines side by side aren't you? C'mon,tell the truth........You are aren't you.
Yesss!!!
finally you decide not to sell the turbo coupe and decide to finish it.
Yea, there were a few weeks that I probably would have taken alot less money than I was asking.
time for a sig change huh ;)
I knew God was a Ford man!
Glad to hear that you FINALLY changed your mind................
Sweet, my guess is Big block and a turbo
I am going for dependable and fun.
Good to here Jim. You aren't keeping that Saleen long. Did you get tired of it?
The Saleen is a great car and it's the nicest car I have owned. I can't justify having that and the 'bird.
Never driven one!
Hopefully more dependable than what I have had.
Oh I can't wait for more details!!
Good to see that you're keeping the Bird.
I throw my vote for a supercharged 5.0-based engine...
Can't beat that for dependability...fun too :D
They're both VERY cool cars and in the long run, you probably couldn't have made a wrong decision. I'm glad the bird is being worked on again though. That thing just drips awesomeness.
What saleen do you have? I was thinking bout buying your roller too darn!
I knew you weren't going to sell the whole thing.
If he wasn't , I was goin to take it. If he would make the price right , but we didn't get to that. I'm glad he's keeping it, He knows it well.
Yeah I glad he kept it he's got alot if money in it wouldn't have made sense to sell it for so cheap
Thanks everyone...Kitz, if you would have come down here, you would have got the deal of a lifetime!
Teaser pics:
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a242/thundr306/parts%20for%20sale/DSC01653.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a242/thundr306/parts%20for%20sale/DSC01654.jpg)
i bet he is going to put a 5.4 supercharged engine from a gt500 with a 6 speed tranny or the new 5.0 engine with a 6 speed tranny.
I considered it, but they are asking crazy prices for them. Used gt500 setups were anywhere between $10k-14k. A new crate motor is $16k. Plus you need to spend another $2k for the wiring harness.
Terminator setup?
No sense in making everyone keep guessing...
I'm going with a 3v and a TKO 5 speed. Nothing too crazy, just something reliable, fun and different.
I looked at alot of small blocks that were just a drop in to my existing setup in excess of 700rwhp. I was serious on a few, but I just want to have fun and don't want to be working on it every weekend.
Hmm so we're going to have a 3v 4.6 Thunderbird and Cougar, nice!
That's gonna make a nice driver...and should be quick enough too.
It would be cool if you could wait and grab up one of the first drivelines from a wrecked 2011 5.0.
Who is doing the Cougar? We may need to swap info....
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=18403
3v stuff starts at post #89
drive by wire? yea, have fun with that.
Thanks, I'll read through it.
I'm not going to do it the hard way. FRPP has a nice install kit.
Nice to see you're keeping the Bird. It's a shame you're not keeping the Stang, it's a nice ride too.
All my friends think I'm crazy. It would be great to keep both, just can't.
Hey Jim, glad your keeping the bird.. I can't wait to see some posts about your project ( I can really use some motivation over here ;) )
Your friends will change thier minds when they see the finished project. I'm sure thier thinking the Mustang is new and can be enjoyed now and the Bird still needs to be worked on before you can enjoy. I think you'll enjoy the Bird more since you'll have built it your way. I want to do an engine for mine some day if I can ever afford to. Hopefully I'll get a job soon, that'll help.
I can't imagine not driving a Thunderbird.There's just something ....."wrong" if I'm ever driving something else.Everything else is just a car.
I'm doing a 5.0L to 3v conversion and this is the best forum I've found for converting modulars in any combination.
http://www.modularfords.com/forums/f...splay.php?f=30
Also, Late Model Restoration did a 3v conversion of an old Fox body. It's got a lot of good tips, including the Logan adapters mentioned before. This will be your biggest issue. With your setup, its probably the easiest conversion since the K member and brake booster is already right for the 3v.
I'm looking for a way to get 4v long tube headers with 3v s. Although Kooks has already claimed they can't do this, some guys have already done this.
This 3v conversion blog has a lot of good info. Be sure to read all five parts.
http://www.mylrs.com/blogs/lrs/archi...ap-Part-1.aspx
And here are the dyno numbers:
http://www.mylrs.com/blogs/lrs/archi...-the-dyno.aspx
Finding an SN95 modular k member and brake hydroboost (if you want power brakes) are almost requirments. For headers, ideally you'd get 2v or 4v modular headers with 3v s. Logan makes adapter pieces but that makes a tight squeeze wider. There is no great header solution unless you weld the 3v header s onto the 2v headers yourself.
Lots of good info, Jeff. I did alot of research before I decided to start.
I already have a manual rack, just need to decide if I want to go with manual brakes or not.
I need to find a K-member, so I have a starting point. I don't want to change my wheelbase, so leaves alot of them out. I really wanted a MM or GMS copy, but they move the wheels forward 3/4". I may be stuck getting a UPR.
I need to get the motor installed, so I can actually see the exhaust situation. I am probably going to have the chassis shop that did my rollbar/subframes take a look at the situation. I don't like how far out the adapters push the headers.
Where have you been? I sent a pm awhile back, but never heard from you....
Smart move and me too. Let me know what solutions you come up with. A group buy for headers would take about 20 I think, but there are some others on modularfords.com. I'm surprised this hasn't been developed yet. I'm speedracer6 on that forum.
All your friends will be shocked when the T-bird is done and it gathers the crowd at the car show. I love my S197 Mustang, but if I had to get rid of a car I could never part ways with my T-bird.
I figured that and canceled a few email I had started to you about buying it....;)
If I had a bit more time and space it would have been heading north a little ways!
Glad to hear you're back on it. I'm sure it will turn out great and you'll be glad you kept it.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Rod
ok you lost me. you are talking about a ford ? i have had alot of them, from brand new to barn find's over the last 30+ years and i have yet to have one that was dependable and reliable. they all broke down, some time, some where.
good luck on the fun ,you plan to have on the engine swap. keep us updated.
Okay, so maybe cirspoogestances forced a different play than you envisioned. My thought is somewhere between 30 seconds and 30 days after you signed off the title you'd be kicking yourself in the butt, banging your head against the fridge, crying in your pillow, and wistfully flipping through the local ads looking for something to fill the gaping 'Bird-shaped hole in your life. I'm glad you didn't lose on such a sweet project on which you'd obviously spent so much time and effort.
and .. the ModMotors rev nicely and sound great - good choice.
I think the nice thing about this swap is its going to be pretty unique and you won't see loads of people running around with 3v 4.6 Fox Thunderbirds. Keep us upddated!
Thanks all. Right now my spending is on hold until the Saleen sells. It's a bad time of year in this area to sell a sports car. I'm hoping by the end of March. There isn't much I can do in the meantime. I could pull the 5.0 harness out, but something tells me not to until it's a definite go. I have the 3v, trans, and clutch setup here. I will probably just put those parts together and wait.
Pull the harness and sell it.Obligate yourself.
I got dibs on the harness!
That's what I did. Sold the whole drivetrain before I even pulled it.
My drivetrain has been gone for awhile now. It just has the wiring harness and D&D tubular k-member. I may just have to buy another k-member so I can start playing around.
You know how to get ahold of me. Make an offer.
It's whatever you ask for it, If I don't take it someone else will. If I wasn't so busy I would take one out somewhere.
Jim-I cant' wait until you do this swap. I'm really looking forward to the end result.
Well, Saleen was at the dealership for five weeks without a sale. I just brought it home and will have to figure something out.
You can always try again when the weather breaks. Spring and summer are the best times to sell something like that.
Yea, I know it's a hard sell when it's 15 degrees and freezing rain. I just can proceed with the 'bird until something happens.
My Cougars have been as reliable as anything I've driven (mazda, nissan, etc). Probably more so. Everything needs fixin'
x2 on that, the only real unreliable Ford I owned was my Gen III SHO. That 3.4 V8 was a complete PITA!!!
All other makes I have owned have been full of probs.
Very nice!
Update.
I'm still here, but work has been way to busy to make any progress. We officially have had the most snow in recorded history for the area. Add in another 6" that they are calling for tomorrow night :punchballs: I used to love the snow!
Yeah its starting to get old real quick with this weather
If the car doesn't sell, here are some of the goodies I have for it:
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a242/thundr306/87%20turbo%20coupe/DSC01671.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a242/thundr306/87%20turbo%20coupe/DSC01672.jpg)
My favorite!!!
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a242/thundr306/parts%20for%20sale/DSC01559.jpg)
Philly got dumped on with this snow. I was still moving it around two nights ago.
I'm still dealing with it. Jim your getting me confused what the hell are you doing? One time your redoing it, another?, So what's up?
Oh yeh!! Your getting Me real curious.
I wish I had a direction. Right now I have two cars, each with a pile of parts waiting to be installed. Question/problem is which one will stay here. I can't build both and so far neither one has sold.
Is your 3v going in a TC or a Sport?
It's an 87 TC, that was already converted to a v8. That is if it even happens now.
Don't talk like that. You can't sell cars during this season. April is the best time to start. Be patient.
I know. I just want to "finish" one of them.
Well, throw this plan out the window too....
I just sold my 3valve and tko.
Should I ignore the pm you sent me?
Nope, going to reply now.
If it's any consolation, I'm in real deep right now.
Lets have some details.....
Who'd you sell your 3v to? I met up with someone else that bought a 3v for a fox and they bailed on it for a new Mustang too.
Sold it to BackDraft Racing in Fl. They dropped it in a Cobra kit car with 6lbs of boost from a Roush SC.