"Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

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"Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

April 26, 2005, 11:14:48 PM

It's so slow tonight, I figure I'll start a time-killer. This is gonna be long, but most decent time-killers are. Feel free to be equally as verbose.

Ever start down a line of unusual thinking, to have it lead to something completely bizarre?

Of course, "stupid" is highly subjective. You might think it's a silly idea, but someone else might think it's genius.. or vice versa. It could be an idea that's entirely do-able.. or it could be something that would probably, in reality, turn your car into a twisted pile of s metal faster than you can say: "here goes nothing.." It could be something you're planning on trying but know it could be a mess, or it could be something you thought of but will probably never do. It could be within your current budget, or it could make NASA jealous. Whatever it is, if you're willing to admit to it, here's the place! I'll go first just to get the laughs going.

-- I admit, I'm near obsessed with these gear-splitters I've found. (overdrive or underdrive) I think it's pretty kool that you can essentially fabricate an 8-speed transmission out of an AOD + a splitter, for example. Ford even appears to be following that path with this new TorqShift "5-speed" (actually it's 6, computer chooses the 6th over another gear in certain conditions) transmission, since it has separated OD from the rest and basically goes: 1st/1st-over, 2nd/2nd-over, 3rd/3rd-over.

Here's the two sites I get info from on them:
http://www.usgear.com/dual_range.htm 1.25:1/1:1 UD unit, 1:1/0.8:1 OD unit
http://www.gearvendors.com/ 1:1/0.78:1 OD only

These are not cheap.. we're talking $2000-3000 here.

Anyway.. I've been toolin' around the Net for weeks, looking up transmission ratios for all sorts of transmissions. AOD/AOD-E, 4R70W, C4/C6.. all have a pretty bland set of ratios. I even have a little spreadsheet where I can plug in all the gear ratios twice, plug in each over/under ratio, plug in the rear gear, and it'll tell me final drive ratios for everything. Can do some decent stuff with a 25% underdrive splitter, but nothing that most of you would probably think of as truly mind-boggling. We're talking about the equivalent of turning a 4.10 rear into a 3.27, etc. (rough estimate, please don't flip on the math.. I picked the closest rear gears I knew of)

Anyway, I still like the idea of making an 8-speed out of an AOD.. I like the idea even more of getting maybe a 4R70W with an aftermarket control unit like Baumann's and then splitting that. But I took the idea a bit past that.

I started to look into manual transmissions. T5? Meh, 10 possible speeds.. that's getting into bicycle and/or semi territory there. Too much. (they even attach them to ZF 6-speeds.. talk about sick) So then I had an old school moment, and thought about the good old 4-speed stick. Toploader? Not on the list. So what IS on the list?

The T19. A freakin' truck transmission. Three versions I could find, one having a 6.32:1 1st gear, and a 3.09:1 2nd. With a 2.73 rear and that 6.32:1 1st, we're talking a 17.2536 final in 1st. Putting in the numbers for an '87 TC w/ T5 (3.97:1 1st) and 3.55s, (thanks Shawn) :p I get a 14.0935. Hell, even a T5 1st going into 4.10s yields a final drive of 16.277. Now it's entirely possible that my math is on crack here.. I haven't set foot in a school since the late '80s, and that kind of thing does deteriorate over time..

Yes, I was actually researching ways this beast could be shoved into a Fox-body.. but I'm past the point of "I wanna do this" and into the realm of "what the hell".. seeing how far I can push this. It has gone into the realm of comedy, at least for me.

If I ever did a semi-crazy manual swap, I think I'd want to try for a T56. FordMuscle just did a write-up on putting one into an older Mustang. Don't know how well it would go, but what the hell.. :evilgrin:

(and for those of you thinking, "Didn't he say he was tired of manuals? Well, yes I am, mostly. Ten years of floggin' gears in a '94 Escort LX might do it to you, too. But now I have three cars with AODs in them.. I might allow myself one stick. The thought also occured to me because my fiance doesn't know how to drive a stick.. and I jokingly threatened to turn the Mark into a 6-speed so she could't drive it.. heh)

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #1 – April 26, 2005, 11:26:37 PM

BTW, for extra-credit silliness:

The T19 apparently has two PTO ports. Feel free to indulge yourself thinking of bizarre shiznit you could do with a power take-off on a car. In reality, I would guess "not much".. but this is bordering on sheer unreality here. :p

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #2 – April 26, 2005, 11:46:30 PM

my turn now...i could come up with stuff for hours

#1-Building a 3.8L

#2-i wanted a pair of these exhaust tips on the car:
http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/tcn-t809_w.jpg

#3-at one point, i actually wanted to put a small aluminum wing on my car

#4-around the same point in time, i wanted to put dual fart cans on the car, not large ones, some small ones, but fart cans none-the-less

#5-Building a 3.8L

#6-i wanted to pull out the back seat, pretty much guy the car, run two fiberglass bucket seats, and make a pretty much race ready car...for the street...with a 3.8L

thats it for now

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #3 – April 26, 2005, 11:51:49 PM

You forgot "building a 3.8".. :p

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #4 – April 27, 2005, 12:26:30 AM

The T5 swap....without changing the rear gears (2.73). I dont know but im 51% sure that the car can pull his heavy ass at 1500 rpms at higway speeds (60mph)......i never seen a Fox body car with a T5 and the 3.8....

EDIT:
Ups. i forget...drop the Top and make a conv.....

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #5 – April 27, 2005, 02:20:17 AM

1: lime green

2: hydraulics

3: 429 thunderjet

4: Chrome Chrome Chrome

And thats not even the 'bad' stuff!

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #6 – April 27, 2005, 02:21:39 AM

I have been toying with the idea of removing the 10 disc cd changer from the trunk and replacing it with a mac-mini, using a mini touch screen flush mounted where the window switches are in the center console. Relocating the window switches to the doors, using my current factory mach 460 sound system and radio but with the itunes operating in "cd"mode. Using my bluetooth nokia 6620 as a remote, and as a gprs modem for getting online.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #7 – April 27, 2005, 03:20:12 AM

Quote

The T5 swap....without changing the rear gears (2.73). I dont know but im 51% sure that the car can pull his heavy ass at 1500 rpms at higway speeds (60mph)......

works well with the SO actually.....

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #8 – April 27, 2005, 08:20:09 AM

I"ve been toying with the idea of turning my GS into a Truck.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #9 – April 27, 2005, 09:27:52 AM

Quote from: baXo

I"ve been toying with the idea of turning my GS into a Truck.

DO IT!!!!!!!

Pick up an old Ranger bed/tailgate and have at it. I've been contemplating building a replica of the '81 Ford Durango....but I need another project like I need a hole in the head.

The stupidest thing I contecmplated for the Tbird was painting it bright yellow......glad I came to my senses... :crazy:
Speaking of which, if the weather holds off I might have the 83 back from paint as early as tomorrow :hick:

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #10 – April 27, 2005, 09:39:22 AM

Ummm, I always wanted to put a 5.0 into a Turbo Coupe..... OH wait, I've done that.

How bout a 351 stroked to 406?? (I'm actually havin doubts about it).

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #11 – April 27, 2005, 10:20:56 AM

A parallel twin turbo setup on the TC. :shakehead

This is before I learned such things as, 'minimum required exhaust preasure'.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #12 – April 27, 2005, 11:20:55 AM

Quote from: baXo

I"ve been toying with the idea of turning my GS into a Truck.

My thoughts went in the opposite direction..

That's right, a wagon. *hangs head in shame*

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #13 – April 27, 2005, 12:39:18 PM

Don't feel too bad about that one. I'm sure Carmen might have something to say about this.

Re: "Stupid" stuff you admit to considering for your Bird/Cat/Mark/etc. (LONG post)

Reply #14 – April 27, 2005, 12:42:16 PM

Yeah, I know about that pic. I wasn't thinking of something quite so involved, though. (like in the rear side windows, etc.) Something like this would be my inspiration: