new 87 bird.

Topic: new 87 bird. (Read 11985 times) previous topic - next topic

Reply #15 – October 03, 2013, 12:43:58 AM

thanks man. kind words are appreciated. were gonna have to meet up one of these days.

new 87 bird.

Reply #16 – October 13, 2013, 11:09:15 PM

so, timing chain cover is leaking antifreeze. thought it was just the thermostat housing, but its not.

I swaped the thermostat to a 192 ° and replaced the smog pump. it locked up on me and stretched the belt. plan is to get ruby running and park the tbird. it needs a power steering rack and a timing chain cover re-done. the cost and time involved almost make it necessary to park it for now. $55 rack, new tie rods, alignment, plusall the time involved.

gonna fix a few small things and have it up and running again before winter is over

new 87 bird.

Reply #17 – October 21, 2013, 12:06:18 AM

car is really starting to fall apart. needs rear shocks, exhaust hangers/exhaust work, motor mounts (3rd time since the t-5 swap) and all the other little things I need to park it for. probably gonna end up parking this car all winter and then start.working on the cougar once its fixed. I'm leaning towards getting dual exhaust done with stock stand parts and then getting a larger 3& system for the cougar. choices.

new 87 bird.

Reply #18 – October 22, 2013, 10:00:06 PM

I've changed my mind again!

I've decided the tbird will be getting the h.o. upgrade parts, plus the explorer upper and lower. haven't decided for sure on gt-40 heads or not yet.

new, and hopefully final to do list over the winter.

chuckw mounts.
dual exhaust/h.o. upgrade
hopefully sorce a 164 tooth engine block plate.
really tempted to do sn-95 springs with air shocks out back.
power steering rack and new tie rods while I'm at it.
3g upgrade and electric taurus fan.
get a real shift and shifter boot for the car. maybe get a 85-98 t-5 tail shaft/5th gear cluster so that I can run the factory speedo.

should have it all buttoned up and driving good again before the snow melts.

new 87 bird.

Reply #19 – October 22, 2013, 10:00:30 PM

new 87 bird.

Reply #20 – October 27, 2013, 10:22:19 PM

think I'm going to go with g-40 heads as well.

h.o. upgrade, as the stock pump has been replaced, its really not going to be much more work then a timing chain. do I want to use my other block though, or keep the 235k mile pig? decisions.
chuck w motor mounts.
gt-40 heads.
order either stang or mark7 tails, stock replacement parts.
new power steering rack/pump.
new waterpump/timing chain cover.
tempted for a 3g alt upgrade and electric fan for both cheapness and dependability.

gonna be a long and expensive winter.

new 87 bird.

Reply #21 – October 27, 2013, 10:26:06 PM

oh, I like the f-150 clutch kit so much, I'm thinking about doing the 5.8 f-250 clutch instead. its rated either over or under 8500gvwr depending on which one I go with. I want to eventually tow with this car (a 3500lb car trailer would be nice) and I think a heavy duty clutch would fit right in. I don't just want to make it faster, I want to enable it to be over built and much more reliable for how I beat on it. hence the h.o. cam.

new 87 bird.

Reply #22 – April 02, 2014, 01:10:15 AM

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d82/bosenKevin_02/Mobile%20Uploads/0401141702.jpg

Quick update.

sho shift nob, super coupe shift handle and boot. best part, the whole setup was free. i frequent the closest junkyard on tuesdays right before they close. the cashier person is so lazy they didn't ring me up for any of it.

all i need to do is polish the boot up a bit with some saddle soap, then figure out a good way to attach it to the shifter plate

new 87 bird.

Reply #23 – April 03, 2014, 05:36:00 PM

Going to pick up some 11" brake stuff, complete setup off a 91 stang. aldo getting brake hardware and shorter stang axles( he wants it all gone, sold his fox).

best part, $20.

I'm gonna pull my stand out of the garage and put it in the work shop, start adding the h.o. stuff and explorer upper

new 87 bird.

Reply #24 – April 03, 2014, 05:38:05 PM

Oops, i lied, i need the gt40 heads to mock up to see if I'm using them, or e7 heads first.

thinking about 3.8 v-6 rockers for cheap and stock looking 1.7's.

new 87 bird.

Reply #25 – April 11, 2014, 05:31:33 PM

Still going with 3.8 rockers i think. my snag is finding actual gt-40's as i learned recently the "p" style do not have emissons provisions. this car will very likely need to pass emissions for another 3-5 years.

plan is 11" brakes
Explorer upper/lower
gt cam
19# injectors
h.o. sd computer
3.8 rockers

i have also decided i will need to keep the a/c and power steering. disasembly and parts swapping will be starting tomorrow afternoon. i am also going to pull the motor and trans and start swapping parts onto the new block.

new 87 bird.

Reply #26 – April 24, 2014, 11:43:55 PM

Electric fan, 3g alt and chuck mounts have been decided on. i also plan to run some torque limiters in addition to chuck w mounts. not sure exactly when this will happen though. money has been a bit tight.

this weekend i will be pulling some 3 bar gt-40's and probably start some prep work on the nee.block. it will probably mainly.be cleaning up parts and what not.

i am also considering picking up another sn-95 t-5 either for a spare, or to throw in the cougar when the time comes.

new 87 bird.

Reply #27 – April 25, 2014, 06:42:03 AM

If you have access to the Explorer lower intake, how much do those run at your yards up there?

As far as torque limiters, I am assuming you mean to hold the motor down tight. You don't need those. ChuckW mounts hold extremely well, and never even flinch with the Sport current engine. I have a couple of 3G's here at the house. If you can get a lower, I'd be glad to do a trade or make some kind of deal for one.

new 87 bird.

Reply #28 – April 25, 2014, 10:25:09 AM

With Chuck's mounts, there's no worry of something breaking like with the stock mounts. Solid stuff. I've beat on my car with the HO and T5 for 5 years, and his mounts just flat work.

With that said, I'd rather have his mounts than any other aftermarket stuff. Need to get some for my Mustang, things are moving right along with it's donor 5.0.

new 87 bird.

Reply #29 – April 25, 2014, 11:57:52 AM

I still don't know how you keep breaking mounts. My Thunderbird has more than double the power yours does and the stock mounts and replacement isolators from NAPA are fine after seven years