http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Fairmont-LX-SEDAN-78-AUTOMATIC-4DR-BLUE-LOW-MILES-LOW-RESERVE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6231QQihZ018QQitemZ280011517406QQrdZ1
I would SO go out and bring that back home to Florida.
I expect most here won't understand why I'd want one of these. :p
It started today, for me. With that '83 Cougar in the FS section. Then 'Bird here got me looking at 'monts again. THey reminded me of my old LTD. it all to hell!
I wonder what ever happened to this car? http://stuartscustoms.freeyellow.com/postcards/PCFuturaForce0.jpg
I drove by that this morning coming home from Colorado. Wierd. I wish I would have saw it.
Oh the things I'd do to a car like that.. assuming I won the lotto.. heh
Engine not included?
Or are they afraid to open the hood and take a pic?
It's a dealer selling it. Why would they want to take a picture of a plain old dirty 28 year old engine bay when most of the other pictures look pretty good? (except for that front seat, which wouldn't be staying for long)
As long as the engine was OK enough to get the car home, I'd be fine with it. It would not be staying a V8 for too long. Yep, I'm thinking TC engine.. light engine for the lightest Fox body. :p
I think I would even give up my '86 T-bird for one of these.
Oh, here's a look at where all our Foxes began: http://fzliterature.150m.com/CarnDriverSept7701.html
This one's funny.. check out the CB and the 2" TV: http://fzliterature.150m.com/CarnDriverJuly7901.html
Oh dear, another spiffy-looking one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-Ford-Fairmont-Sedan-very-clean-46-000-orig-miles_W0QQitemZ290012198919QQihZ019QQcategoryZ6231QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I would prefer a four-door for my plans if I ever went through with it.. but that one would do. It is the correct engine and trans for what I had in mind, though.
I saw a 302 'Mont wagon in the wreakers once. It was tan with no rust. I wanted it bad but the yard won't sell cars once they've entered the yard:mad:
A 'Mont wagon would also do nicely. I don't think they're too much heavier than the standard 'Monts. Lost the page I had with the weights of the different Fox bodies, or I'd look it up again. The 302 would have to go, though, if I found one with a 302.
The wagon would be a plus on the don't-notice-me end of things. More so than the 4-door. That's a big part of the idea.
That's why I liked it/wanted it for the sleeper thing. I would have kept the 302 because I'm partial to 5.0s but a 2.3 Turbo Wagon would be cool. That wagon had zero options except for the 302. It had manual windows and locks and I think just an am/fm radio. Hell it probably weighed less than my loaded 5.0 T-bird.
It most likely weighed a good deal less.
2700-3000 lbs. for Fairmonts, if I recall. I'm still trying to dig up a site I lost the bookmark to, that has all the curb weights of all the fox bodies.
EDIT: OK, maybe not ALL fox-bodies, but it did have the early box cars.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050316031917/http://www.yonderway.com/sleepers/foxspecs.shtml
Site's gone now.. had to dig it up at archive.org.
Well it was an '80 wagon so it weighed about 800lbs less than my T-bird :eek: . my car is a tank.
I'd lighten one even more than they already are.. but some of the weight would go back on with other changes. I really want to learn to work with carbon fiber/fiberglass for body panels and what not, so I think eventually I'd make a replacement hood, trunk lid, and front fenders out of a mix of the two. (don't worry, I'm not into the "carbon fiber look", so I'd be wanting to paint over them) I'd also be looking for an aluminum driveshaft, and ideally (WAY in the future) putting in an all-aluminum Esslinger block. Supposedly the entire engine only weighs 210 lbs. Tubular A-arms and a tubular K-member might also be called for.
Unfortunately some of the weight would be gained back by my desire to adapt my '88 LSC's seats to go into the 'Mont, for a bit more driving comfort than a nearly 30 year old bench seat.. and I'm sure the desired structural reinforcements aren't exactly lightweight. Also I'd desire to adapt a T56 to the 2.3, (I've been told its been done before) and probably Cobra IRS and bigger brakes as well. I also would not be losing the sound insulation. (although if I could find something that worked as well as or better than nearly 30 year old sound deadener and weighed a bit less, I'd consider using that instead) It all adds up.
Yeah, it's all just a bunch of talk right now.. I don't even have a 'Mont to start with.. but it's motivation. I've started asking friends to keep an eye out for a good 'Mont or Zephyr to start with, and I'll figure something out financially. Tired of being poor all the time.. but I can't just rush into another job like my last one that ran me into the ground. (fibromyalgia and manual labor don't mix too well in near-full-time doses)
Heh.. I thought of one thing I could do to it (assuming it would work) if I wanted to go a little freak-show with it instead of 100% sleeper.. try to fit a 4-eyed Bird or Cougar front clip to it, with a Mark VII hood. A little more aerodynamic than that boxcar front end, I think. No idea if it would work, though. I've seen a Mustang front clip on a 'Mont wagon, but not a Bird/Cougar one. Although I suppose if I were to reach the point where I could fab my own body panels, anything would be possible then.
No, I'm not on drugs at the moment.. :p