i'm thinking about turning my stock 86 t-bird
in to a 4x4 i think i could use a ranger 4x4 truck
frame and drive train to do this but not sure
let me know what all of yall think
buggmann
most will say "no"...But,I think it's your car and you need to do what you want to do with it.Not my thing at all.If you do go through with this,I'd like to see the process......so....take a lot of pics,and plan it out well.
well my wife thinks i should leave it like it is
im not sure if i want to do it i mean i like the car
it is just hard to find parts for i have had the car
about 2 years and still cant find a door glass for it
due to it having a vent window in the door and i
was also told when i got the car it was #12
of about 500 made that year dont know how true and
not sure how to find out but the 4x4 thing was a idea just
not sure about it yet
I think everyone's personal vision of what their fox should be is acceptable. I'd like to see it done.
I love how it tends to be on this site, that someone comes in here with a "crazy" idea like this and this is pretty much the popular reaction. I think the fact that we are inherently off the beaten path for after these cars no one else wants makes us more open-minded. Just a thought.
Agreed! Make it what YOU want it, make it something that brings a smile to your face every time you hop in. As far as parts go, you might do well to stay tuned here and check around, they are certainly hard to find but we still find em ;) :D
Wouldn't trading a set of standard doors for your vent window doors work?
Discussions of using an Audi Quattro set up was discussed before, and this is something I would be more interested in doing. But a standard 4x4 set up would be interesting as well, I just wouldn't do it myself. Not to tell you not to, but when these ideas come about, I often think about the end result....such as when it comes time to sell. Would it be easier to sell as a 4x4, or as a regular car?
well yes it would be easy to trade the doors out but
you don't see many like mine that often out here
and i like the vents as far as the 4x4 thing just not sure
about it yet i still have to find a donor car or truck and
as far as what to call it well its a car as it will not have
a bed
You could also swap the internals of a non vent window setup into your vent doors.
In fact... I bet you could just take the vent window out, Then install the full size glass onto the existing slider setup~Add "reg size" wipes and what not and be good to go.
i might be able to do that but that is not how the car was made
i would just like to find the glass that goes in that door that is
just to much work to put a full size door glass in that door
if worried about keeping it original for any reason id buy an extra set of doors..... non vent and swap em out and hang on to your vent doors if need be
IMO this would be the best thing to do, that way you can use it. Then when you do find the correct glass you can swap them back.
There's a salvage yard I go to that has one Fox Thunderbird with the vent windows.All glass is present.If you want to pay for the glass and shipping,we could probably work something out.
My opinion would be a "no" on the 4x4 thing. My opinion means nothing though because its your car and you have to do what you think is cool, not what the rest of us think. Why don't you find a 3rd gen Camaro to do this to? Those cars seem more worthy of that sort of transformation! j/k :mullet: Mullett FTW!
Nope, leave the 3rd gen Camaros alone too, find a Firebird ;)
the 3rd gen Camaros and Firebird well that might make a good
4x4 might look in to that and keep the bird the way it is but i would like to drop in a v8 i need more power
lol...or even better a 80's Monte Carlo! I have nothing against 3rd gen F-bodies (actually like them), its just that it seems the only time you see them around these days they are being drivin by a mullet dude.
so true so true :rollin:
Back to the 4X4 thing: I have long thought about doing just this to a fox 'Bird or cat, but if I did I wouldn't go that "sit the unibody on the ladder frame with hockey pucks for body mounts, jack it up with blocks & shackles and, stick 44's on it" approach. What I would like to do is channel the body over a newer Explorer frame. That would give me a V8, all wheel drive with true 4WD capabilities, and if I went new enough, an independent rear end. If I lifted it at all, it would be just enough to fit some 31" tall tires under. I would want it to appear no higher than those old AMC Eagles were (which I have always loved, BTW)....
There is an El camino and a 67 or 68 Camaro at a local antique/muscle car dealer that are lifted and are 4 wheel drive. They look insane. I think a bird/cat 4x4 would be awesome. If you have the skills and a place to do it, I say go for it.
i know i can do it the thing is the only car i have right now is
the bird and the 53 chevy 210 i have but the bird is the one
the family rides in so i would need to find a rid for the wife and
kids then on to the 4x4
Let me get this straight.... You are worried about not modifying your vent windows because "that is not how the car was made", but yet, you want to turn it into a 4x4? :D
Someone was blowing smoke up yours... There are no official records of how many were built with vent windows, and surely not what number yours was...
If Marti Auto Works gets the records as he has with earlier models, possible he could tell us how many were built with vent windows, you'll never know what number it is...
Most 83 and 84's i've seen (In the junkyard no less) have had vent windows.
Thought this fit the topic:
(http://media.youdrivewhat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/funny_Car_107.jpg)
First off, if your car was #12 of 500 made, why would you even ask about doing this...? You should have the thing in a bubble in a shop stored away somewhere.
Secondly...#12 of 500? Yeah right. If there was a run of 500 of these cars, we'd have known of them long ago.
Thirdly, leave the 4x4 Mustangs, Camaros, and such to the true rednecks...
Also, the comment about keeping the doors stock, but doing the lift thing...X2 on that.
I'm not one to tell another person what to do, but if it's pretty much your only daily transpo, then you need to rethink your priorities. Daily drivers are not very mod-friendly...even more-so when it's the ONLY daily ride. ;)
Just my thoughts..
ok to start the stang is bad a@@ i love it
as far as the 12 of 500 well the guy i got it from well
to be nice about it i know he was full of sh!@ i know
you dont see a lot of them but 12 of 500 just had to
find out now as far as the 4x4 it is a idea i had and i
was just asking for some insight on how and if it could
be done well did not mean to make all the people mad
thanks buggmann
As posted above, there are alot of 83-84 vent window T-Birds in salvage yards.
I feel confident that the parts interchange with an 86.
You don't want to hear my opinion on the 4x4 idea......
Couldn't you get a local auto glass place to cut a full window to fit your vent-window door? With cutting and sanding the edges down, I can't see how it would take more than an hour of work. I'd at least make a call and ask if anyone can do it.
Wow what a way to ruin a beautiful Mustang body! So sad!
I couldn't imagine driving something like that. I'm sure you couldn't see anything 20 feet in front of you. And forget the back window, you'd never see anything behind you. Now a Ranchero of Elcamino wouldn't be bad because they already have a truck look.
i had called some of the glass shops around here
and man they love that glass they start out at 200
and up i know one that i called asked 350 for the
glass and to put it in i will find one soon
as far as the 4x4 it will have to be put up for now
as i just dont have the time and the money to do it
now
are you realted to "quicksilver"??
:rollin:
if you do it dont coochfoot around(as in cat) make it a V8
hell i would love to make my car a v8
as it is even if i dont make it a 4x4
if i were going to make a 4x4 thundercat, i would use a dana 30 high pinion front end out of a jeep cherokee and swap the rearend out for a sn95 mustang rearend to gain 5 lug and disk brakes on the back.
i would probably remove the front subframe completely and build a new frame section from 2x3 3/16 tubing from the rear subframe to the front bumper. you could run a t5 transmission with the tailhousing and output shaft off a mid 80's jeep cherokee that came with a t5 and use the jeep np207 or np231 transfer case.
as you can tell, i too have put some thought into this....
I've been in the planning stages of using the driveline from my '95 Jeep ZJ for a retro 4x4 of some sort, myself.
i was just going to drop the bird on a 4x4 frame
that way i did not have to build anything see i
was looking at like a s10 or a ranger something
with a v8 strip the bird and then drop the body
on that frame and go from their
s10's or rangers never came with v8's in them from the factory. and i'm sorry but theres no way you could just slap a t-bird body on a truck frame and it not look like hammered et.
you would have to BUILD it. no way around it
Drop it on a late 60's to early 70's Bronco. I owned one with a D44 in the front and a 9" in the rear with 4;88 gears and 40" super swampers. That was a fun ride. Very basic truck and very easy wiring on that too. Plus it has a narrow frame and narrow diffs that would fit the bird better.
that is what i was thinking just
get a frame and then find a way to drop
the t-bird body down on it
will a 88 bronco work i found about 5 of them cheap
and all of them run
nothing is going to just "work". it'll take alot of fabrication, wiring, cables, etc. you need to take measurements of width on frames and such. there is no easy way to make it look good.
hey just to let you all know i think i found a 1988 ford bronco 2
that i might buy and use to make my 4x4 t-bird the bronco has
a good runing fi v6 with a auto trans not sure about the 4x4 if
it does not have a 4x4 it is a easy fix im going to look at it later
in the week will keep all of ya updated
oh and to let of of you know ahead of time all the parts i take off
the t-bird will be put up on here for sale
Might want to measure the wheelbase, I'm thinking a Bronco II will be too short.
IIRC, it's something like 94.5" I had one that I put a '66 Bronco driveline under. I wouldn't use the BII. IMO
well i have been looking but the 1988 ford bronco 2 i found
is the only thing in my price range i have have look for a bronco
60-70 but the ones i have found well people love them even if
they are junk and have not seen day light in 30 years but im still
looking but what is wrong with the 88 b2 are they that bad
There's no such thing as a '60 Bronco, nor any Bronco until '66 for that matter. If you can find one worth buying, expect to pay more than you can imagine, as they're mighty uncommon, and most of what's left are in the hands of people who won't come off of them easily or cheaply.
Best thing I can think of is to measure your wheelbase, and then goggle or search of your choice and compare wheelbases of vehicles such as reg. cab shortbed rangers, s-10's, and such.
I really doubt you'll find anything that will be a direct "fit" in regards to wheelbase though. There'll most likely be some sort of frame shortening or lengthening for a perfect match.
That's the easy work.
Then you've got to fab (or have someone do it for you) the body mounts and all that that entails.
Sort out the wiring, throttle cable, shifter mechanism, and hoses, etc.
First off, what size tires do you want to run under this...thing?
Anything much over 31's will probably require either a suspension lift, or some sort of body lift.
Nobody makes body lift kits for a Tbird on a ranger frame, so you'll have to make that yourself. Got a welder, and steel stock? ;)
Don't take this the wrong way, in NO way am I trying to put out your fire...but if you're gonna do it, do it right, and do it safely.
And start off with a good, solid plan from the git-go.
If I was you, i'd keep the Tbird you have now, leave it as-is, and find another Tbird or Cougar to do this with. Preferably one that doesn't run, or is missing the driveline. Odds are, all of that will need to be yanked anyway.
On other thing, assume you have a 4x4 Ranger frame, and you "swap" a 5.0 into it.
You'll probably also have to mount the engine/trans/trans-case further back in the frame so the engine will sit in the right location in the Tbird, yet still keep the front wheels/tires in their necessary place.
BTW, there's kits for swapping an efi 5.0 into a Ranger/B2/Explorer....if you want to go the V8 route (still assuming you use a Ranger/B2 frame...)
Do a lot of searching on the subject, see if it's been done...learn everything you can before you start, and a painful lesson I learned I'll share with you right now as far as tools...the...i mean THE first tool you should ever pick up before a project like this is a good ole fire extinguisher.
Trust me when I say they're like shag or air....it ain't important until you need it and don't have it! ;):rollin:
Good luck, and keep us in the loop.
as of now i don't think i'm going to do this as of now i just think it is going to be a big pain in the a$$ and i still have to find a car for the wife to drive so i think i'm going to put it on hold for now but i'm still am going to keep looking i might just go with the v8 swap and do some body work on the car and that will be it for now
Now that sounds like a plan. You should only be considering taking on a major project IF your daily driver situation is fine. It's tough to justify spending any money on a fun project if your wife has to ride the bus. If I tried that, my wife would be throwing me under the bus. lol. Good luck!
ok here we go again on the door glass but i need to know if
a 86 cat door glass w the vent will fit my 86 bird w the vent
i had some one on here pm me and they have a 86 cat w the
same doors as my bird and ask if it would fit i think it will but
not sure does any one know if it will fit
The Cougar doors should fit fine. The only thing that might be off is I think Cougars usually had the thin trim on the doors and Tbirds had thick moldings. Here is a parts inerchange list http://www.coolcats.net/tech/reference/parts.html
hey thanks man that helped out a lot
The Tbird doors are identical to the Cougar doors. There would be a misaligment and mismatch of trim and moldings if you mix 1983-86 doors with 1987-88 doors. For 1987-88, the door and rear quarter panel glass was made flusher to the surface of the bodysides therfore all the glass mouldings are thinner and different. The door skins were also revised to be smoother where the bodyside moulding is attached. The perimeter body side moldings and bumper strips were raised slightly so this accounts for moulding misaligments when mixing doors, fenders and front header panels between 83-86 cars and 87-88 cars.