Hey everyone! I'm still kicking.

Holy crap its been a while! Well i figured I'd post up and let everyone know I am still around but haven't been very active with the F/Z crowd in a while. So here is what I've been up to. School is almost done for me, I have completed enough to get a Certificate in business and 8 credits away from my Associates of Gen Ed. I picked up another car a couple summers ago and that pretty much put a hiatus on my Zephyr (still got it!). But with said car I crossed over, it's a 1977 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. I got it for free from my Grandpa and have brought it back from the dead.

Since my time and the little funds I've had were directed at the Olds my Zephyr moved to the back burner and pretty much neglected. Then one morning I went out to start it and it just cranked and cranked and didn't fire I said heck with it and pushed it off to the side. With the transmission slipping and a few other things wrong I lost motivation with it.

But now the Olds is pretty much "done" I will be focusing on my Zephyr again. I want it mechanically sound and painted by the end of the year. At least that's what the plan is. So I hope to catch up around here and reacquaint my self with all you F/Z guys!!

Here are a couple shots of the Cruiser and how the Zephyr currently sits.

Cool wagon! looks to be in great shape! Look forward to seeing progress on the Zeph!

damn dude, I tried to call you, I had a truck load of parts & stuff to dump on you, I'm getting rid of all the 5.0 stuff, and for some reason I keep getting more!!! I'll give you a call later, do you need a tranny??? glad to see you still have the Zephyr. glad to hear you are almost done with school.

ZephyrEFI wrote:

Cool wagon! looks to be in great shape! Look forward to seeing progress on the Zeph!

Thanks! It's almost got 63K original miles. I love the feel of the V8!

fangar150-ex wrote:

damn dude, I tried to call you, I had a truck load of parts & stuff to dump on you, I'm getting rid of all the 5.0 stuff, and for some reason I keep getting more!!! I'll give you a call later, do you need a tranny??? glad to see you still have the Zephyr. glad to hear you are almost done with school.

Damn, well what else ya got that you want to get rid of? I saw you have that 89 5.0 HO for sale. Glad to see you are still around these parts. Still have the Futura? But yeah, just give me a ring when you can.

It lives!! Put a charger to it and after a few cranks it fired up. But it was soon back to it's old tricks. The transmission was shifting fine, but kinda slow to engage. Then there was plenty of blue smoke. More than usual, and some could have been from sitting, but I'm sure the rings have finally given up.

Now do I rebuild the 2.3 and C3 combo or ditch it and go 5.0?

V8 swap. Fangar, don't you have one you want to unload?

Sorry for not calling you mike, i had had my balls run thru thru the meat grinder the past few months, we now work every other weekend, we have already lost 3 people due to this schedule, but my old tired ass is hanging around, as I’m not rich. i have to do most of the work around the house. The wife is still kicking, (but not very high), she is cancer-free so far, but all the radiation & chemo knocked the stuffing out of her. Basically she has very little stamina. I wish she was back to normal; i haven’t had a decent heated debate in a long time!!!

I had to clear all the cars from work, i had 8 cars, now I’m down to one which is used for storage, never got a penny for any of the parts we used off of them either, but i paid no storage fees.
Yeah was are you looking for:

I have the following ready and waiting for you.

5.0 with injection , complete with starter and emissions stuff
Fuel tanks
Downpipe with gutted cats
Fuel lines frt to rear
8.8 posi with 3.27 gears or 3.08 gears
Pcm for manual
Pcm for auto
Complete wiring loom from frt to rear that is modified to fit your Zephyr, (headlamp to tailamp)
Fuel filter mounts
Red carpet from mustang
Red mustang dash
Radiaitor
Mustang alloy wheels
Frt spindles for sn 95 mustang
Driveshaft
Gray dash board
140 mph speedo
160 mph speedo
shifters
And a shit load of other stuff

you will need your dads truck!

I will try to call you this week.

ZephyrEFI wrote:

V8 swap. Fangar, don't you have one you want to unload?

It's the one from his Futura!! Told me he is going 4.6. He wants an empty garage and clean slate. Plus you can see the list he posted. The wheels are a turning in this crazy mind of mine.

plug & play, if you want to know how it goes together, you can help me strip the inside.

I can use my work camera for photos.

AND a free c-4 leaking transmission. it's a good transmission, it held-up for the burnout fandango we did at work, that was about 30-40 second burn-out, however my tires were pretty well shagged. front seal leaks when it gets cold, and it sweats a bit, but it is SOLID. transmission is out & on the floor, so you can remove the torque convertor & put a pump seal in it.

sorry I don't have any manual transmissions

Do it.

ZephyrEFI wrote:

Do it.

I'm leaning that way.

John, I have a few things that I have to sort out first. But I'm seriously thinking about it all.

not a problemo mike, I forgot to tell you about the other stuff that comes with the engine. I've got more stuff that comes with it.

I don't want you to have to go looking for any other parts, I hated it paying top note for the silly stuff that I didn't already have.

i'd prefer if you had everything in one go, to include the A/C.

fangar150-ex wrote:

not a problemo mike, I forgot to tell you about the other stuff that comes with the engine. I've got more stuff that comes with it.

I don't want you to have to go looking for any other parts, I hated it paying top note for the silly stuff that I didn't already have.

i'd prefer if you had everything in one go, to include the A/C.

Holy shit! There's more?!

Yes mike, there is more stuff, i like to ensure people get what they need to do the job quick & easy. I hate hunting around for the little stuff, not only time consuming, but it can get expensive real quick.
That’s why the running complete engines come with their own brand new A/C Delco engine stands, (I like them best as they have nice big wheels &move around easier).
Stuff like the fan, starter, alternator wiring, motor mounts, tranny lines, fan shroud, emissions parts, condenser, dryer, compressor, all the A/C lines, shifter etc all parts fit the 93 dash make it easier for you to do the job and hopefully get it on the road quicker, making it an enjoyable experience. I can’t remember what the shifter cable costs, but i believe it was around 60 bones.
I don’t know what kind of wheels you’ll be wanting, but i have a stack of 4 lug 10 hole wheels early and late for off-sets with hub caps.
Some guys get discouraged when they begin a project, they get the engine and they are over thrilled to get started, then find out they need more & more parts, and the job drags on, and the bills pile-up. Just get a quote from the junk yard for a serpentine belt drive system or fuel lines.
Another bonus you will have is the directional indicator system has been modified to work with the Fairmont, the original mustang loom was wired for separate turn & brake lights, it just didn’t look right, and you’ll have a 130 amp 3G alternator already wired into the loom, just hook main wire up to the starter relay connect the lt grn wire with a red stipe and it will charge it’s ass off.
For brakes i have another 2000? v-6 booster (nice & powerfull) 93 GT booster, and a 95 cobra master cylinder.
We’ll talk more on the phone later, because even after you do this swap, you’ll probably want to do more mods, as it becomes addictive, not that i have any experience with addictions, i just couldn’t find a better choice of word.
I'm not a 100 percent on this one, but I think you k-member is the same as the V-8, I cant remember, but i'm almost certain. 99.8%....perhaps somebody else can advise us on this one.

fangar150-ex wrote:

I'm not a 100 percent on this one, but I think you k-member is the same as the V-8, I cant remember, but i'm almost certain. 99.8%....perhaps somebody else can advise us on this one.

I've been doing some reading and the 2.3 k-member is the same as the 5.0. So it "should" drop in. But knowing my luck...!

I actually had a set of the 10 holes. Then some asshole stole the two I had in the carport. Seriously. Probably some crack head looking for quick cash. But now I need two more to make the set.

I'm pretty sure I want to go ahead and do this swap, I really don't want to sink any more money than I have to into it. It didn't want to start for 8 months, charged the battery. It cranked and fired. It sat for an hour and no crank, just clicking. Put the charger back on, does the same thing. So I'm guessing bad battery. Well at least I hope so cause, like I said if I have to change that damn starter the whole thing is coming out!!

So if you want to give me a call later on in the week, we can talk some prices and getting the logistics of it all figured out.

not a problem, I haven't even started to disassemble it since I got it home. too hot & too many hours at work, when i'm off, I act like a little girl & stay inside, I guess I could go out early in the mornings and do some work on the car, but I also have to take care of the house & yard, we are hoping to go to 1 in every three weekends instead of every other.
this summer has been absolutely brutal so far, and we're just getting started, I even shaved my beard off and i'm going to get a haircut here pretty soon.
i'll give you a call soon.

Hey John, got your call yesterday. The job has me working evenings, I'll give you a call back as soon as I can. We'll figure out a day here real soon when I can come down and get a load of parts and the such. Talk to you soon!

Mikeal

coolamundo. let me know which 8.8  posi rear you want 3.08 0r 3.27. I've got new seals, oil & slip additive to go in as well, or you may want  to keep the 7.5 axle in there until you get an AOD.
I assume you are aware that the 3.8 v-6 transmission from the mustangs will fit 5.0 engine, but you will need a controller & manual valve body, pretty cool eh!! it ill handle the 5.0 just fine for normal/street, or you can add an additional friction plate and a steel and it can handle a shit-load of hp.

Picked up the first load of parts today. The car was loaded! I'm sure if there was more room John would have kept piling it in! I can't wait till I have the time to start working on it all. But first..reading, some more reading then a little more.

Dash, console, seats, wiring, a/c lines, transmission lines, carpet and then some more wiring. It all fit though!



The 5.0!

Very nice ! Get busy !! this is when it gets fun and self motivating

yeah and one good thing about doing this mod is that you don't need a lot of special tools, jig saw, jack stands, drill & shears and a rented engine hoist, I was in deep water when I did mine and was thinking I needed a lot of special tools, its amazing how little you actually need. the hardest part was drilling out the spot welds on the spare tire sump, there's a lot of spot-welds, and some are under the car. I I think used a 3/8 or 1/2 drill bit.

hey mike, I got some new style flat socket type rear tail & brake light sockets the other day from the rear half of a 88 mustang. I put this style of bulbs in my Fairmont years ago, as it is easier to these bulbs than the old 1157 style, you are welcome to them if you want them.

As usual, been busier than busy and haven't even touched the car yet. Plus moving is such a pain, I have the Vista Cruiser loaded will all my parts and tools and really not sure where I'm gunna put it all. I should be getting the Zephyr over to my new place this weekend. I'm just hoping a new battery and a few gallons of gas will get it across town. So much to do and no time to do it...

But in the little bit of time that I do have, I've been trying to figure out the fuel lines. John, what did you end up doing for yours? I've read people have made a full custom job to adding some length to the stock Mustang lines.

Yeah i know what you mean, i have been stuck doing a partial resto on a 93 mustang convertible for some time now, i thought it was done on Monday, but i just released it yesterday. The guy bought it brand-new in 93; he knows the day/date/time……..175k with fresh paint and you can see thru the trunk pan, or see the spare tire from under the car!! friend of the owner of the company, his kid works for the company…….
I lost my ass and almost destroyed my confidence, i felt like my thing was sent thru the meat-grinder TWICE. Wrong parts, can’t find parts, shipping, wrong steering rack, bad parts, leaking fuel tanks, (changed it 3 times, finally took the one out of the green fox out back, cleaned the outside so it looked almost new, problem solved) ignition lock cyl broke on the service drive, new pwr strg pump took a dump,i had to pry the clutch plate off of the flywheel with a BIG prybar, somebody messed up the drive shaft for the u/joints, i didn’t have any driveshafts, and on and on and on…. i missed the release date by exactly a week and not a single angry word exchanged!!!
I like big jobs as they usually go pretty smooth once you work the sequence out.
I was hoping to work on my car this weekend, then they asked me in for today with an overheating issue, recalls, engine knock on cold start, door lock actuators etc, however it was a good day to see 4 different cars for a change!!!
Don’t worry about the fuel lines, we’ll grab a jack and some stands and remove the entire hardlines from the green one. That way you can have the fuel pump hoses, fuel filter and mount, all the lines, clips and evap line & stuff including the charcoal canister and you can see how it fits.
It will fit your car pretty much like a glove if you run it from front to rear, you may have to bend the lines a bit at the rear, however I’m certain you will be satisfied.
Fuel lines were being made back in the day just by using the nylon lines, they were available from checkers/o’rieliys, but the last time i did a repair on fuel lines, the fittings were getting difficult to find, however i hear that Dorman still makes them, i have the tool to insert the fittings into the lines, or you can just heat up a pot of boiling water and soften up the hose and push the fitting in, it kind of acts like heat shrink, i still prefer the hard lines. I probably have some used ones if you like.
We’ll figure it out when we meet next time.

Sounds good on the fuel lines! I have been doing some reading on how others have done them and I have no real interest in making them all new from front to back. Plus I' think I have found a way to use a different fuel tank that won't require me to cut my spare tire well. It's the F2C tank used in the fox LTD. All I have to do is use the LTD sender and put in a high flow fuel pump. The sender should mate up to the Mustang fuel lines. I'm still researching this so I'm still not 100% sure.