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 how easy do these subrames tweak

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fangar150-ex




Posts : 853
Join date : 2008-11-10
Location : AZ

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PostSubject: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeSat Aug 01, 2009 11:37 am

how easy do these subframes tweak? i went to put the clutch-fan back into to car to try to cool the a/c condensor down so i could throw ice cubes out of the a/c. first i tried a 88 mustang shroud, it was hitting the 18" fan blade, so i tried and original fan shoud, still hits the fan blade- so i shaved it to fit-or fit-ish. got new motor mounts, still dont fit properly. took more material off, tried mustang radiator and mounting block/pads, still not right, but it's better & i now have a 1/4 " clearance at the bottom between the fan blade and shroud. then i noticed what appears to be seperation at the seams of the subframe on both sides under the car. i dont know this may be normal? (there is no rust on the car other than a shitty 30 yr old paint job and half-assed start to sanding the car down by the prevous owner's daughter)and finally "OOPS"the driver side frt fender is out about 1/4 " or more proud of the door. now i'm rolling turds outa my pants, i havent put it on the alignment rack yet, and dont know for sure if it will show-up on the print-out unless the caster or setback is way off. i suppose the only other thing to check is ride-hieght. has anybody had this crap happen? i suppose if it's tweaked i could weld it and brace it up, and add some shims to the frt shock towers or go back to the electric fan. i just thought these litlle shitters could take a lot more abuse.
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Stymees'mont

Stymees'mont


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Age : 51
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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeSun Aug 02, 2009 2:57 am

Find a body shop who staight'ns frames. They should be able to tell you if there is an issue with your car. If there is..they can pull it back to shape. then weld. Sub frame connectors would be a good idea.
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http://fast-fairmonts.weebly.com/index.html
fangar150-ex




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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeSun Aug 02, 2009 10:47 am

cool, thanx a lot, didn't think of putting it on the jig.
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jnorth8




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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeSun Aug 02, 2009 11:45 am

The '89 Mustang fan and shroud I used would not fit either without modifications. I think the Fairmont rad support might sit a little higher than on the Mustang. I modified the Mustang shroud (cutting, filing, redrilling) to lower it. There is still only 1/4" clearance on the lower side of the fan.

There's an article in the Car Craft Tech section (online) on swapping in a twin fan electric unit from a '96-'00 V6 Contour into Fox Mustangs. Looks like it might work fairly well.
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Futurama

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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeSun Aug 02, 2009 7:05 pm

why bother, get an electric fan, all ihave is a lil cheapy one from orielys hooked up to a manual switch and its good enough for my daily driven 408w futura.



as far as the subframes, they can tweak alot easier that a mustang since we are on a stretched chassis. get you some good weld on full length connectors and it will ride better too. i plan on doing that to my wagon i just aquired soon
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Aug


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Location : Altoona, PA, USA

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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeMon Aug 03, 2009 2:01 pm

Fairmonts are noodles. They were the original Fox, and weren't built to be anything but cheap and light. Later foxes got stronger as Ford realized how crappy the original ones were. Absolutely, get that thing on a frame machine. Welded in, full length subframe connectors are a must. Installing square tube through the floor is even better, but that can interfere with interior space, so it depends on your intended use to know if that's the best route for you.

Another thing to realize is that the entire structure of the car is just a bunch of thin plates spot welded together, and that each of those plates could be placed in the wrong location. The build quality is absolutely horrible, when you start to really look at it. I don't know what the tolerances were in those days, but I've found where stuff is obviously off by at least a quarter inch in places on my car. But, anyway...I have started the job of welding all of the little plates in the front end together. Before I put the K-member back in, I welded up everything that I wouldn't be able to reach without taking it back out. Then, over the winter, I plan to take the engine back out and weld up a bunch more stuff. My old car had major seperation anxiety regarding the area forward of the strut towers. I don't want that to happen to the new car. I don't care if I put a hundred pounds of welding wire in this damn thing, I just want it to hold up.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Mike.
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fangar150-ex




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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeTue Aug 04, 2009 9:53 am

yeah, my area of concern is under the car where the frt is welded to the back, but i'm gonna have a good look at whole thing. i didnt want to chop the mustang fan shroud because i only have this one left, but i did chop the fairmont shroud and have about 1/4 in clearance. i like and prefer electric fans, i just thought the standard fan would pull more air thru the condensor, maybe not. thanx jb....
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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeTue Aug 04, 2009 1:47 pm

It all really depends on what electric fan you use. Sure, if you use one Mr Gasket electric fan, then it probably won't pull enough air for the condenser and the rad. I've been doing some research on these lately, since my old one got jammed under that little rod that holds the two end plates together, and I've found that I can use the 16" fan that I already have, and add a 10" fan to the outside of the rad as a pusher, and have more CFM than two 12" fans with less amp draw. If you use a Taurus fan, then that's the only fan you'd need. It flows tons of air, but draws tons of amps. I've seen one of those burn up 12 ga wire.

If I had air conditioning, I'd go with a MrGasket 16" puller on the inside of the rad, and one set up for pusher on the outside of the condenser. Put in a relay to switch the outside one on when the AC compressor kicks on, or if your compressor cycles a lot, have it come on when you select AC or defrost and stay on. That will save your relay. Have the inside one on a temperature switch on the engine. Mr Gasket sells a kit for that, too. Two seperate circuits, two seperate fuses, and it should be just fine. You could even put an auxillary switch on the AC one so that you could turn it on to help with engine cooling on a really hot day/high load conditions such as drag racing/autocross, where you could turn it on between runs. That would take an extra relay and some trickery.

You might need to upgrade your alternator, though.

If you have any questions about exactly how the wiring would need to go, just let me know, and I could probably work up a wiring diagram for you.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Mike.
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fangar150-ex




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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeTue Aug 04, 2009 9:36 pm

i can see the benifit of electric fans all day long as far as the eye can see, i just thought that this new fan blade i got from Dorman would be pretty aggressive and as i like to experiment by trial & error, i tried this fan, unfortunately there was little gain.
i have access to shit-loads of fans. right now i want to get rid of the fan blade, and will probably go back to a taurus fan. there is a couple of sensor pipes that fit in the cooling system radiator hoses in summit, but im sure i saw a thermostat housing thet had holes for temp switches from checkers or autozone (which is what i prefer).
next i want to lose the battery, i'm thinking about a Lincoln LS battery, 750 cca should be more than enough, especially with the mini ford starter, it draws a hell of a lot less amps than the original. i just use the old starter relay for the soleniod on the mini starter.
i can still run the batt cable up to the stock starter relay, using the relay as a buss. i want to run another wire from the battery side of the starter relay for the alternator, and accesories like the fans, amp windows etc using the 140 or 175 amp fuse and cover from a 2000 cougar.
there are loads of heavy amp fuses and fuse covers on the f150, expedition, cougar, and they all have covers.
being im using the stock lincoln serpentine set-up, i can use a 95 windstar alternator or some of the taurus/sable alternators, (they are 130 amp). its all a "gas" i wish i had a week to work on the thing with out being bothered. anyway thanx for the ideas. later jb
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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeTue Aug 04, 2009 10:39 pm

Sounds like you pretty much got it handled.
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fangar150-ex




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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeWed Aug 05, 2009 8:34 am

thanks, i am always willing to listen to good info that may be of assistance. sometimes you just need a spark to get the creativity flowing. sometimes while listening to totally unrelated topics, you suddenly get the inspiration or answers to some difficult questions.
the problem with some info is that it is corrupted, incorrect, incomplete or untested, or flawed.
right now the car is not needed or relied on, so now is the time to work all the bugs out of it, and get ti right.
it was great (in a way) to hear somebody else had a similar concern with the mustang fan shroud, i was relieved to hear it wasnt just mine.
i still need to get it down on the jig just for peace of mind, then get the welder out and sew-up some seams. i'll see what the chassis guy has to say first. he's pretty good.
thanx for the input and time. later jb....
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PostSubject: Re: how easy do these subrames tweak   how easy do these subrames tweak Icon_minitimeWed Aug 05, 2009 12:26 pm

Yes, it's much easier to stiffen a straight car than it is to straighten a stiff car.
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