Since this turned out to be a long"er" term build that a simple HO swap I thought I'd start a build thread with pics and updates. Here's the first posts about removing the stock driveline.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32258-SO-5.0L-and-AOD-are-on-the-ground!&highlight= (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32258-SO-5.0L-and-AOD-are-on-the-ground!&highlight=")
A week or two later I had the engine prepped but decided to start tapping around the shock towers with a body hammer and heard a couple soft spots. Here's what I found....that's when it went from a simple HO swap to a complete engine bay resto!
K-member dropped....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5159.JPG)
Driver side....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5161.JPG)
Pass side....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5162.JPG)
K-member on ground....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5163.JPG)
Outside of pass shock tower....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5166.JPG)
Outside of driver side tower....
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5167.JPG)
Stay tuned..........
Day-um! Sorry you have to deal with that. Keep us updated with your progress.
I guess it's a good thing that you found it now when you can get at everything better.
BTW, How far are you from The Roadster Factory? Or have you even heard of it?
Reminds me of my old '87 XR7, I drove the outa that car for years, it had 350,000 miles on it. The death blow was when the gas tank rusted right off the car one day. When I pulled the motor and trans out, I found out that that was practically the only thing holding the front end to the rest.....lol. Yours is no where near that bad. :D
The rust...yeah...that's a bummer. But, I like to make patches and weld. That's a fact of life when you live in PA and like wrenching on older rides.
Roadster Factory...I can see the barn roof that's next to their warehouse from my front porch...and it's about three miles away. My mom worked there back in the early '90's.
Today's progress........started with the worst part.....the driver side frame rail and shock tower. Thanks to a friends junk fox'stang front clip I have some good patching material. I cut sections out of the donor rails and started fitting them in. My welder is just a cheapo Harbor Freight unit...the $99 one! But it was given to me so I can't complain.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5169.JPG)
Hopefully many of you don't get to see the INSIDE of your frame rails, but where the K-member bolts go through it there are supports to keep from crushing the rail when the bolts are tightened. Well, not suprisingly some my supports were GONE! So I toook a small piece of thin plate to lay in the bottom of the channel and used a piece of pipe to recreate the rail support. The tack isn't real pretty but it worked! I slotted the bottom edge of the frame and rolled it over to slide the pipe in straight and have it fit snug top to bottom....then bent the bottom rail edge back up and stitched it shut.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5171.JPG)
After that I coated the inside of the rail with a rust convertor and started to close up the hole. Could have spent more time fitting the patch but it worked...just took some more time filling the gaps.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5172.JPG)
A bunch of spot weld later it was almost done. Needs some more spots tended to and more clean up with the grinder.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5173.JPG)
Hopefully by Friday I'll have the frame rail and shock tower all done on that side.
I started the same way.... figured I'd do a little body work and paint....lol
4 years later and I'm almost done
Guess who I thought of when he showed us the first post, Jerry?
Nice progress already! Work looks good as new after the repair. I like the pipe used for reinforcing the bolt spots. That's an often overlooked detail.
I've been to Roadster Factory several times in the past. I buy stuff from them all the time.
Update time again......
A friend of mine has been helping about one night a week...that sure helps get all the big stuff knocked out in batches...two air guns running at a time makes quick work of things!! Yesterday I got a new (to me) Lincoln SP100T....bought it from my grandfather....so now with two welders we can really make progress getting patches stitched in.
Driver side inner rail done and undercoated...after I had the two patches put in I ended up cutting out the middle section that was still original and replacing it also. You can still see the welds...since it's not outer body panels I didn't detail it out as well as I am capable. Would rather get them burned in and move to the next one.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5175.JPG)
Then I got digging into the passenger side rail a little deeper and here's what I ended up with. I have a repair plan in place. The "ragged" looking edge is the lower lip of the rail slotted and rolled over with a cresson wrench. I'm going to plate the inside, bottom of the frame with 1/8"x2" flat bar and put new support pipes in like the other side. The outer and top of the rail are in good shape yet.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5178.JPG)
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5180.JPG)
Here's is what remained of the inner frame rail support post that the K-member bolts go through.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5183.JPG)
After all this I ended up with a new pile of t-bird parts for sale if anyone is interested. I could sweep it into a flat rate envelope and send it your direction!
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5186.JPG)
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5186.JPG)[/QUOTE]
HEY !!!! Where did you get this old pic of daminc's car before he started the resto?
I thought some folks may like that pic!!
lol... I got a pic like that... or 2 or 3
Did you do any frame rail reconstruction similar to what I'm digging into?? I've not read your entire build thread.....in the time that would take I could have about all my patches welded in!! ;)
I rebuilt both from the swaybar to the firewall
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?17304-quot-Project-Evolution-quot-....-Today-s-Update...-Oct-2011/page104 (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?17304-quot-Project-Evolution-quot-....-Today-s-Update...-Oct-2011/page104")
Thanks!
Got the passenger side frame rail reconstructed and closed up on Monday night. Used the 1/8" plate I had mentioned to line the inside of the rail and rebuilt the bolt sleeves with 1" pipe. Then got it prepped and painted on Monday and Tuesday night. Now going to start on cleaning up the k-member and swapping on the TC front control arms and brakes. May have it ready to go in by Friday.
K-member back in and the driver side suspension is reassembled w/ TC brake upgrade. Putting those coil springs back in sucks!! Need to finish up the passenger side then will start replumbing the braking system before the motor goes back in.
Good work. You're moving right along finally.LOL.
5 bucks! i can build a daewoo out of that with some bubble gum, a spool of mechanics wire and zip ties!
looking good so far.. i used to have 1 of those $99 harbor freight welders. wanted to set it up for just sheet metal work and leave my miller for the bigger stuff.. it didn't like sheet metal very much!!
Thanks.....I try to hit it hard once a week and dabble in between. Yesterday AM I swapped over the rest of the accessory drive onto the HO motor and cleaned up the garage from working the evening before. Doing all of the "little to no-cost" stuff for now until I have a complete plan for what I want to do with the rest of the parts. Sometime in the next couple weeks I'm going to need a bigger bore MC (likely a 1993 Cobra), new steering rack, an adjustable prop valve and new lines to replumb everything that goes in the engine bay. Then the motor can go in and I can start the SFC's/jacking rails.
After the front end stuff is done I'm going to strip out the back end....drop gas tank and rear, box and re-bush the CA's. Then clean, rustproof everything and hit with epoxy primer and black paint.
I have a plan in mind.....just trying to keep forward motion!!
Mine is loaded with .035" flux core....I've done a LOT of sheetmetal with it, just have to be VERY careful!! It does good on work up to 1/4" plate. The Lincoln has .023" and a bottle so I'll start using it for sheetmetal then leave the HF welder for heavier stuff.
Sounds like a solid plan to me. You are moving right along. I never had to do springs in one of these, but it sounds like no fun at all!
Here's how I see it......if it were something I had to have it up and running for tomorrow, then it would be like work and no fun at all. But since I can peck around at it, do a bunch of no cost tinkering as I go until I have a plan laid for other various improvements then it is more of a hobby project. Plus I like having a clean (top and bottom) old school ride to cruise around in with the wife and kids. Anyone can buy a clean and fast car, I prefer to build mine!!
mini trucker's moto.. BUILT, NOT BOUGHT lol
Weekly progress update.
Started on the pedal swap last night. From the time I opened the driver side door until the automatic pedal assembly was setting on the work bench was about an hour. I removed the few interior trim pieces around the steering column, undid the four column support nuts and dropped it. Popped off the wiring and slid it completely from the car. Next I removed the two bolt from the top of the pedal box. Then with a couple long extensions I had the four firewall nuts removed. Popped off the brake pedal rod and guided the entire pedal assembly out. Couldn't have been easier.
After that Rick, my helper friend, showed up and we started hitting the two person jobs. Finished up the passenger side suspension and strut install. Since I need to order some braking upgrade pieces we were going to wait on doing the engine install to make the brake plumbing easier. But since my toy funds are otherwise obligated to other parts for now, we decided to drop the motor in and start wiring it back up then just deal with plumbing the brakes later. So, the motor is back in with the lower intake assembly completed...injectors, harness, BBK Fuel Pressure Regulator, fuel rail, metal heater core rails, etc. We made pretty good progress last night.
The only snag we hit was when looking at the stick shift pedal assembly. I need some parts and have some questions. Going to post those in another thread.....here's the link.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32490-T5-pedal-swap.......missing-pieces&p=372317#post372317 (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32490-T5-pedal-swap.......missing-pieces&p=372317#post372317")
Went to meet "1bad88tbird" this AM and picked up a pretty clean TC hood. So...one more thing to add to the upgrade list!!
I now have a stick shift V8 Thunderbird!! Last night we stabbed in the T5 onto the motor with a Centerforce clutch an PP sandwiched in between. Everything lined up with a little fiddling and went together fine. Shifter base went right into the stock auto shifter location nicely, put the handle on but did not spend any time really looking that over. Also got my quadrant onto the pedals, just need to put the pedals in then reassemble the interior....YAY!!
Also did some motor work....more wiring, dist and other little stuff.
Progress is a good thing!
sounds like she's coming together.. but what's up with no pics? hahah
I'll get some pics uploaded today. Been meaning to take better pics as we go but just get greasy and forget about it.
Latest pics........please excuse that not all the parts are cleaned and painted. I'm mainly in mock up now to make sure everything is going to work. The springs will also get swapped for SN-95's when I locate a set.
All TC front brake parts installed.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5307.JPG)
Driver side of motor. HEaders are unknown brand. Plugs are old ones installed just to block the holes.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5308.JPG)
Passenger side of motor. Still deciding what to do with the smog pump lines. Eliminate or keep?? If take out, then how are the passages blocked off?
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5309.JPG)
TC hood from Jay.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5311.JPG)
Driver side interior out for pedal swap.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5312.JPG)
Auto shifter out.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5315.JPG)
Stick shift pedals ready to go in.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5317.JPG)
Column and auto pedals out.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5321.JPG)
Shifter through the stock opening without any floor pan tpuppies. The shifter is a B&M short throw that was on the tranny when I got it.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5318.JPG)
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5319.JPG)
Insulation reinstalled.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5313.JPG)
Factory TC boot installed. The boot is kind of crunched up like the shifter hand is too short or something.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5320.JPG)
This is the handle that came on my tranny....thinking I'm going to go with just a white or black ball.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/17encore/danb/thunderbird/websize/100_5323.JPG)
looks good so far! i agree with ditching that handle though.. it's really weird trying to shift with a handle like that
It's alive!! Fired it this evening for the first time. First couple tries we had nothing.....a quick tracking job had me jumping two wires to bypass a neutral safety switch on the AOD wiring harness. I have questions about this that I'll post in another thread and link back over like before so anyone following this later on can get to each topic easier. After installing the jumper it fired right up and rumbled proudly!!
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32599-AOD-to-T5-trans-wiring-harness-questions&p=373599#post373599 (http://"http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32599-AOD-to-T5-trans-wiring-harness-questions&p=373599#post373599")
Also got the steering rack finished, sway bar, end links, swapped in a DA1 computer and some other things. Installed the BBK 2.5" offroad H-pipe.
More later.....tired and have a headache.
Great work Dan. Were you able to use that rack? Man I wish you lived closer!!
Naa....ended up buying a new one. Kept it around for parts though.
Maybe you should move up here.........I'm the one with the 2,500 sqft garage!! j/k ;)
That sucks, I really thought you'd be able to use it. If it weren't for the new job I might be tempted. lol!!
Way behind on an update.....hunting season and holidays got in the way. But back on the bird now. Doing brakes tomorrow, finished welding the DIY SFC's this AM, finished some wiring, etc, etc. Only missing parts are some lines to get the fuel system back together.
Will post more updates later.....just wanted to post something before I forgot.
I remember looking at this back when you started. Never kept up on it though. Good work, glad to see another victim of destroyed front frame has beat it!
Nice work...your interior is a clone of mine, save for the shifter handle lol.
Looks like your boot is on backwards? Just a guess, maybe that's why it looks bunched up?
fine work :)
Thanks. Not a fan of the handle...a friend gave it to me when I bought the tranny. Want to put on a nice black or white ball on there.
The boot only goes in one way.....I probably just didn't unbunch it. Took it all back apart last week and took a torch to the shifter bar. First was centered in the console and fifth was a long reach even with a short throw and long arms. I heated the bar and bent it about 2" toward the driver side. Now third is centered nicely to make the 1-2-3 hammering very comfortable.
Did some more buttoning up of small wiring this afternoon and shortened the O2 harness.
Still have not found new hard lines from the tank to the filter. Going to see a local shop on Monday about making up something that will work. He can make about anything so I'm hopeful.
Got my hands on a Flowmaster catback off a Mustang LX. May get that mocked up and flow tubes extended in a week or two...three. No real hurry since I need to get the fuel system back together. Cleaned up the tank...it was covered with some pretty rough scale on the corners and around the pump but think it will be fine...didn't leak before. Coated it with Permatex Rust Inhibitor (love that stuff!!) and will paint that with black Rustoleum tomorrow. Hopefully I can locate a set of straps too.
Will take some pics of the SFC's on Monday. Ten feet of 1"x2"x.125" wall tubing cost $30. I used 5' on each side...this was enough to go from the rear lower CA to ahead of the tranny cross member. I closed in the ends and spent some time cleaning up the frame rails. Total install time was about three hours start to finish....but I took my time and was poking around. Still may plate the sides since my front rails were not exactly flat on the bottom...previous owner must have jacked the car up off of them a LOT. If anyone within driving distance wanted to do a set, it can be done for less than $50 and you are welcome to come over.