2014 Projects Thread!

have you considerered GT40p heads? JEGS & probably Summit sell the headers. imagination & curiosity destroy contentment......so many combo's......what are the specs on the 351 heads, are they 351 or 5.8 liter?

Not doing GT40P heads because they don't have the provision for EGR. And I would love to do shorty headers at some point, since I already have the aftermarket H-pipe, but I can't really think about spending money on the car right now. I way over-did it this year, and next year I'm hoping to spend much less. Maybe just get the windows tinted, and put in a smattering of LED lights.

Stymee's heads are from a late '80s Crown Vic, I think. They are rebuilt too. Don't know what the specs are.

yeah; I remember what money is......however I have a set of BBK shorties in the shed, low mileage. I miss my mustang parts, I could have sold an engine and rear end the other day, loads of people asking, we'll have to see what happens before I go investing and disassembling again. most mustangs are worth more in parts than you think....it's the storage issues I have, because I like to go large.

BBK would be perfect too because I'm fairly sure that's what my H-pipe is.... haha

Yeah, if you have room to store parts cars, you can really cash in! I had one for about 9 months. Most things I tried to sell off it just sat and rotted. Even when I tried to sell my mint black dash from the Zeph, I had to practically give it away. I had to get rid of the parts car because I was sick of it taking up one of my stalls in a 2 car garage. Not okay, haha. If you're going to want to really make some money off one, I guess you have to be prepared to store it for a long time. Of course, the online parts market is a lot better now than it was then, 2005.

depending on what year donor car you purchase, you strip it down by category, interior, driveline, suspension, etc. anything of perceived value is stored, some in garbage cans, some indoors, some outside, all by category. the shell/Carcas goes to the crusher. electrical and interior pats are a good yield, for example, a speed control deactivator sw for an sn95,goes for a pretty penny, as they are obsolete. try to let people approach you. however you'll need to get the word out. For the fox mustang upgrade parts, the sn95 alternators are big, 5 lug axle/brake swaps, control arms, parking brake levers, serpentine belt drives, mini starter upgrades etc. tilt wheels & clusters are worth cash also.
The key is to try to sell the labor and the parts for some items at the same time, say for instance; do the alternator or starter upgrades including the wiring, stay away from doing the rear diffs at home.(I damaged my Achilles tendon doing one on the ground) Most people will opt for the new starters and alternators, pay cash and use the customer’s name at AutoZone so they have the lifetime warranty….don't have anyone “hanging around” while you do it, or they’ll draw the courage to do themselves; you'll see, after a while, you’ll want to throw away you cell phone.

A "how-to" from the master! I wouldn't really have to worry about anyone hanging around. Stymee is really my only "Car Guy" friend locally, and he's already got a nice store of parts, haha.

Do you ever save that brake fitting to go from the body to the soft line to the 8.8? It's a standard female to banjo female. Maybe not the best money maker, but it's also obsolete. I've heard of SO many guys swapping an 8.8 into an earlier Fox getting stuck trying to find this fitting. It can't be had in the aftermarket either. If you haven't saved them, maybe something to think about for next time.

Anyway, might spend some time dinking around with my car today, just doing a little assembly of small things and getting ready for storage.

no I'm using the disc brake set up from the 97 mustang, it uses a completely different line routing, however; these SN95 lines will fit the fox chassis perfectly, I just had to add a line from the body to the brake lines.
See; when you get to rocking, you're going to go to your chassis trash can, pull one of those bango fittings out and turn your investment into cash. small parts go into sandwich bags so they don't get lost.
I don't know what it's like in your area, maybe you two should get together & knock some stuff out. swap meets may be a good place to get started.
what do you guys use for rustproofing?

The problem I usually have with swap meets is, first, I don't know where any of the good ones are, and second, the shows they're at usually start at the crack of dawn, and I'm just not an early riser. Good stuff is probably all gone by the time I get there. The ones I've seen sure do look picked over, anyway. A taillight here, a fender there, an engine block I can't identify... haha. One time I went to one and found a bunch of stuff I had given away the previous summer, haha! Needless to say, I did not buy it. As far as selling, I just don't think I have the patience.

I do have a plan that's in the spirit of it though! When/if I go get some GT40 heads at the U-Pull, I'm going to get the intake too and sell it at a tidy profit, since I already have one. It should finance the new valve springs everyone seems to think those heads need.

I don't really use anything for rust proofing. You don't really need to worry about it unless you drive your car when the roads have been salted after it snows. I used some "rust converter" in a few spots on my car though. That seems to work well. I have kind of a big spot on my car's underside by the muffler I need to put that on. It's just surface rust, but might as well stop it if I can.

see; now you've been bitten by the "bug"! who knows I may be looking for a fox .0 throttle cable for my next project, have you considered mail order........
how much is the whole engine VS the heads & intake?? you know where I'm going...PCM, MAF ETC.
I thought you guys all had to rust proof your cars due to the humidity as well as salt.

Haha, well, a whole engine is $256. I don't really have a way to haul one home though, or anywhere to put one. Seriously, you would not believe how tiny my 3 car garage is. It's just barely big enough for 3 cars, and parking one outside is out of the question with winter. And I'm given to understand many Explorer parts aren't any good for Mustang swaps anyway, such as the accessory drive and front cover. It's a nice thought, but probably not the bonanza a Mustang engine would be. I may get greedy and grab more than one intake though, haha. That's where the easy money is.

A good place to sell used stuff is the local Mustang forum though. A lot of stuff seems to move through there. And there's always The Corral's classified section, if I decide I don't mind shipping stuff. Probably not gonna happen though. I just don't like hoarding that much. I moved a lot when I was younger, so I'm not much of an accumulator. It bugs me when I have a bunch of stuff laying around that I'm not using often. I have some friends who used to sell bootlegged music and concert videos on ebay as a way to make extra money. They kept getting kicked off, so they went to old school record shows. That crap looked like it was a LOT of work. My leisure time is very important to me. I don't need extra money that badly, haha. Plus, time I would be tearing down a parts car is time I could be working on the Zeph. I haven't experienced a time when the Zeph doesn't need SOME kind of work done to it. I think that time is coming, but after that, I have a bunch of tinkering projects to do, such as power antenna, proper speaker grilles for the doors, re-upholstering the rear shelf and so on.

Anyway, I don't think my Zeph ever had any kind of rust proofing on it, which is weird because it's in such good shape. The original owner must really never have gone anywhere or something. I don't think he was that old because he replaced it with another car. The underside is just coated in chassis black and oil film from leaking parts, haha. There are about as many disadvantages to rust proofing as advantages, so I personally don't bother.

well I've been looking for that 8.8 brake line fitting, I thought I had one, sorry, I don't have it...

i'm pretty sure you can make some cash off the intakes, especially since you've done one and can guide potential customers how to install them. just make sure you get them cheap so you can make a tidy sum.

Oh, I don't need one, I was able to find one from a guy parting his car out. I only mentioned it because there's a need for them and they are obsolete.

Oh yeah. I'll pay $28 for the intakes. I paid $200 for mine.

W H A T????? 200 Bones and a shite load of work to get it ready……
At least your intake systems will be clean and ready to go. Do a good step by step along with some pix and all the torque specs on the word program to go along with the intakes to get them out there. Hopefully they’ll sell like hotcakes. How good is your supply chain?
Don’t forget to diversify. Hopefully you’ll be able to reinvest, grow and accumulate more profits for your Zephyr parts. You may even enlist your bud Stymee to do it in his area later; kind of a network.
Just remember this, and remember it well, some people will ONLY buy from the catalogs, because they NEED? name brand parts, while the other guys will want their engines to look stock, that’s who you focus on.
Once my wife is doing better, I’m going to start-up again gathering parts/cars; I miss the cash, especially from stupid things that are hard to find, like the silicone rubber licence/park light bulb holders. My bud was looking for a serpentine belt drive system; they want over $300 for it????
The good thing is we know what people are looking for; as we have done the mods and know what’s needed.
I’ve been putting the miles on the Fairmont, and have realized/admitted I need a bigger/better engine; I can’t keep up with the new Camaros or mustangs…..that’s the motivation for selling more parts.

Yeah, I agreed to buy the intake sight unseen. That was a mistake. I was pretty disappointed when I finally saw it. But I had made a 50 mile drive (with the kids, in 20 below zero weather) to meet the guy, and at the time I didn't know how bountiful they are at my local U-Pull. They really are! It's kind of ridiculous how many were there the last time I was there. Live and learn though. And at least I got to meet another local Fairmont guy in person.

I can't say for sure my supply chain will maintain that kind of volume, but there will be a LEAST one I can use, and maybe one from a GT40P, I'll bet, when I go back. I just wish it was closer. It's about an hour round trip, so it's hard to make it over there. Do you happen to know if non-HO 5 liters use the same front accessory drive as the Mustang? There's usually a SEFI Crown Vic or T-bird there I could grab parts from. Never a V8 Mustang, and hardly ever even a non-V8 Mustang.

Yeah, I'm definitely a stock-look guy myself. I've taken some crap from people about it even. "Your money would be much better spent on aftermarket aluminum heads, intake and cam... " and so on. Nope. Not for me, haha.

Yeah, that early SOHC 4.6, while super cool that it's in your Fairmont, was kind of a dog. At least your car is more ready now for a 3-valve or DOHC or something. And the car is nice and reliable to drive a lot. I love the V8 grunt in my Lincoln, but I'm under no delusions that it's fast, haha.

You have the Lincoln rear end in your car don't you. I've got a bud who wants to put a mkVII rear end in his 88 mustang. Is there anything special about them or the install? What about the brakes. He got the rear end for free. I thought the Lincoln's were 5 lug??? I’m wondering if the axles will interchange, if so he’ll probably keep the 4 lug axles as he has a nice set of wheels.
If I get around to it, I may measure the tube lengths to see if they are the same, I just have a lot of things going on right now.
Yesterday I got a load of dirt from a friend in Huachuca city, my poor Toyota's suspension was really strained, it has the overload springs, but I had to keep the speed down low at 45mph. I need the dirt for some Aloe Vera plants that I want to donate to the local Oncology Center. I managed to empty it out into my garden and put some into a bunch of buckets quicker than expected.
Today is transplant day, and get some rest afterwards.

Well, all I know for sure is, I have Mark VII brakes and axle shafts. And yes, they are 5 lug. My housing MAY be from a Fox Mustang, but from what I understand, they are the same. His original axle shafts would swap into an 8.8 without a problem, IF he was using drum brakes, but should not be usable with disc brakes. Disc brake axle shafts are 1.5" longer. A company called North Race Cars makes a bracket so that you can use drum-length axles with SN95 rear calipers, but I have no idea if they would work with the Lincoln brakes. Possibly the later style, if his rear is from a '91 or '92. That's one major thing to know about the Lincoln rear. There were 2 completely different styles of rear brakes: '84-90 and '91-92. Nothing is compatible between them. So, that's good to know when ordering parts.

That 1.5" increase in axle length led to all my problems in the rear with fitting wheels under the fenders. I don't believe Mustangs have as much of an issue with that though. My stance is pretty nicely dialed in with the SVO wheels now though. They do tuck more than I'd like for looks, but they don't rub and that makes it all worth it, haha.

Haha, I've overloaded my fair share of vehicles. Usually not pick-ups though. I'm kind of notorious among my friends for trying to put too much in a car, haha. I've made my passengers sit in a variety of illegal places just to get my purchases home in one trip, haha. That's pretty great you grow those plants for them though!

dude sold the car this weekend, it was a big POS, so I guess it's someone else's problem now. the only good thing about it is that it's gone. it had a lot of problems.
yeah, apparently they use the aloe vera for soothing radiation burns. I'm just glad to be able to give something that helps.
had a bit of good luck yesterday, someone needed a piece that goes on the brake pedal deactivator switch for the cruise control on an sn95,they are obsolete from Ford, BINGO!

Sweet. Where do you find your buyers?

So, my car is up for "Ride of the Month" on Four Eyed Pride. And seems to be doing pretty well! If I win, they'll put a feature on it on the main page! So, I imagine I'll have to try and recall the epic saga of how I've built it so far, haha.

Well done! You should feel honored about being recognized for all you toil & labor. You must try to maintain your ego, don’t let it go to your head and go out and buy a bunch of chrome!!!
I should think you would have to try and remember what the car was like when you purchased it, document all your mods and the obstacles you had to overcome to perform them. Remembering you started out with an automatic, now having manual etc. or you could just say “here it is”. I'm certain they will guide you as to what they require for the magazine. Photos would help if your memory has gone blank!!!
I should imagine they will send a photographer and find a nice background to highlight its strong points; they may even detail it for you.
Does four eyed pride have a magazine; I thought they were only online.
Once you get a few hard to find parts out there, people will find you, let them make offers to you and go from there.
again....well done!!!

Thanks! It's nothing like that though, Four Eyed Pride is a web forum with a home page that has a bunch of resources and features on those cars--'79-86 Mustangs, Fairmonts/Zephyrs, Fox Granada/Cougars, Fox LTD/Marquis, and Fox T-bird/Cougars. There's no magazine. This is just a pretty informal poll. That said though, it is still a really good feeling to get that kind of appreciation from my peers, guys that know what I've done, and what it takes to do it. It's funny, I had already nominated another boxtop on there I like with a SEFI 5.0L, when someone nominated mine, haha. His has a more original style interior with some nice matching cloth T-bird sport seats, and his GT40 conversion is already done on his engine.

If there was a formal photo session for my car, they'd have to tow it, as it has no intake and a broken bolt in the head right now, haha.

There is probably a whole bunch of stuff I've done to it that I've forgotten. Most of it was trial and error type stuff though. When I first put the car together, I just wanted it driveable as quickly as possible, so I cut a few corners. Some of it was just not knowing any better though. My suspension has got through several versions. I'm not even sure how many different sets of springs I've had on it, haha. Thank goodness I can call that done though, finally.

it would be nice if you and your bud stymie could do one together, as he has a coupe and you have the box top.

You mean like this? haha

no-no no, the angle is all wrong, you can hardly see your cars, lose the "390 Galaxy boat" drive yours around facing his (nose to nose) making a "V" and shoot lower, you don't need to see those Chevy's in the background. keep the young scantily-clad girls out of the pix, they just get in the way and pull funny faces.

when will you know if you have been chosen? I may take the day off in honor of "National Fairmont Day"!

will you be selling Tee shirts and coffee mugs?

who knows maybe the TV show "Velocity" will do a series on it......

Haha, that was the best picture I could find with both cars. I'm sure we'll do a cruise together at some point and take some pics though.

I'm not sure when the voting is officially done. I'm still comfortably ahead though, haha. And I actually do have a picture t-shirt with my car on it. Unfortunately there's an ugly '69 Chevelle in the background too, though, so you wouldn't want one.

Velocity SHOULD do a series on it, haha. The only F/Z that's ever been on TV recently is that horrible chrome-wrapped "drift car" they did on Fast 'n Loud. The main guy on that show is a douchebag too.

Yesterday, I finally got some rust neutralizer on that spot under the car where the paint had flaked off and surface rust had made itself at home. I had to loosen the muffler to do it though, so that's why I hadn't done it yet. No more rust on the car now, except little pinhole spots here and there. So that feels good. Also, I had installed a proper manual transmission shifter trim panel that you can attach the boot to with clips. Well when I drove the car after that, 1st, 3rd, and 5th would jump out of gear. There was too much tension from the boot on the shifter, so I scrapped that idea and went back to my automatic trim panel. Problem solved.

I agree about fast & loud, they always try to rip-off the guys selling the cars, so they can make BIG bucks, however the star of the show is the upholsterer, she calls them ass-monkey. I wonder how successful they will be when the series finishes. I think they have damaged their reputation.
There are other ones as well, and it makes it difficult for regular people to buy they cars want. However; on the other hand, some of the buyers are so tight, they want top quality for pennies and that’s not right either, so there is justice. Some people just naturally believe their stuff is worth more than other guys.
Sometimes when you watch the auctions, and the cars sell for considerably less they than they are worth sucks as well. It takes a lot of cash to “RESTORE” a car, considering research, time and effort.
I didn’t figure it out until later; it seems some reality shows are “scripted”.
I hope you win ride of the moth, it would be a fitting reward for you efforts. So many normal guys have their projects they toil away on, and never seem to get any recognition. I know an old guy here in town who bought a 65 comet v-8, he paid 5k for it after the car show back in 2010, you should see it now, he is so proud of it, and has every right to be, but not a lot of people pay little attention to it, it has hub caps and doesn’t have “Ford Racing” valve covers, however it is a real “specimen” of a 60’s car...
I MAY be onto a winner, MAY BE, a friend knows somebody with a lot of OLD iron, they want to have a clear out, I’m going to try to get my foot in the door. There may be something in it, maybe not. I don’t have the available capitol to make a mass purchase, however I do have a little ingenuity. I’d really like to do a rat rod if I have the time, but I don’t generally have good luck, and have never met the lady.
Don’t forget to get some silver duct tape and put a 20 inch tall raised cowl hood on it, and don’t forget the white lettered tires…..are there any burn/heat marks on your chrome headers…..