2015 Project Thread!

Everything went great after the one hiccup. Had some fun, met some new F/Z enthusiasts, ate some greasy food, haha. Just what a car show should be!

Now we can start looking at some stuff like doing the rear shoulder belts, redoing the rear deck, putting the 3rd brakelight in, and other small things.

it seems whenever there is a car show here in town or nearby, it's always my weekend to work, nobody will swap on those weekends, we had a couple of shows this year, the mustang club does a pretty good one, you will see a lot of documented mustangs, I've only been once and it was mind-game day for me. don't get me wrong, but after 15 mins or so, all the mustangs look the same, its the same at camaro/corvette club show/meets.
I like most general car shows because there is such a mix, I really like the one in douglas AZ, there are some cool people there.
I don't like to go to Tucson, as it is too hot for me in the summer, but I know there are some good rides there, it's just too hot.

If there are shows here for perfect restoration Mustangs, I guess I don't know about them, haha. There's even one early in the season sponsored by the local Shelby club where most Mustangs are more laid back "restomods", like my dad's where people have added some chrome under the hood and generally just have fun with the cars. A club bigwig even races a '65 GT350R. A lot! However, I do know what you mean. I generally skip the rows where the '96 and up Mustangs are. I like to look at the 5.0s just to see what all people do with them. It can be fun to see a nice factory stock one of those, just because so many people modified them immediately, haha. My dad knows a guy with an '05-09 Mustang that he had Shelby stripes painted on when he first got it. I guess he has all these dang trophies and stuff for it. Anyway, he went to a show the other week, and they turned him away because his car was too new. I guess he was really mad! hahahahaha! I love it.

yeah we live in a small town at the higher elevation, so when the local mustang club puts on a show, they usually have a good few cars from out of town, and a lot from out of state like from new mexico & Utah etc.
the guy I work next to at the ford dealer is a big wig with some mustang club and is a special judge, it's nice to see these cars mixed in the restored, the daily drivers and the hot rods. they have so many different classes for the all originals, and it can get really squirrely.
These cars are allowed to have leaks, and this is because they are all original, it gets pretty weird, when he looks at the color of valve cover and says it’s the wrong color shade of gold or blue……these cars even have what appear to be original oil filters, it goes on and on, it’s interesting to me to see to see these cars as they are kind of like time capsules, even the table cloth in the trunk can be identified by the date, factory etc….thats way to technicial for me as it’s too much to remember.
If I had one of thise GT350 R’s, I’d sell it before I had a chance to destroy it. I’d either blow the engine or crash, that’s my luck…
I like all types of cars at these shows, and try to be respectful, as these are people babies, but I have no time for newer cars or brand new cars as there is no “love” or care involved. It’s just about the “look at me” “I own this” types and know nothing about the car they are displaying,
I know a guy with a 14 model Camaro, he said he wanted a 69 model and could never afford it, family school, life etc. when the new style Camaro finally came out , he bought one and he loves it to death, he’s a nice guy and it’s a really pretty color of red. I like to drive behind him when it rains because the skies clear up and the road dries up, even in a thunder storm he may only have one drop of rain on the car…………only joking, but he loves that car and it is all stock, so I’m happy for him to have achieved his goal of having a red Camaro.
It’s kinda like taking a Fairmont that is all stock to a car show, most people wouldn’t even notice it, they’d keep walking, I don’t think they know how important and successful the Fairmont was to ford, I had a fellow parked near me with a fox mustang, and he was making remarks that I could hear, when he finally grew a pair and asked what this wreck was, I told him it was an original Fox mustang, and he believed it! I really pissed him off when I asked him why he doesn’t have rear disc brakes! Mercury always had the higher trim levels, and look a bit better, but like I said, would people really know what one is. I have seen a few F/Z in the hot rod mags lately, and that helps when someone does a good write-up, but I hate all the slang like slugs, bump stick etc.

I was reading this article about how the car show scene is dying. It was mostly about imports, so I didn't really give it much credence, but one of the things they said was, guys put wheels and drop springs on a car and then feel like it belongs in a show. That kind of applies universally though with newer cars. I mean, I know new cars are expensive to own, let alone modify, and I'm glad you're excited about your car, but I'm sure as hell not going to give it a trophy. haha. Although, the way the winds blow, he'll get one way before I do. I don't know much about the import scene though, so it just looks to me like some joker put yellow plug wires and a cold air kit on some random Acura sedan and now fancies himself a "tuner". SIIIGGGGHHHHHHH. It's hard for me to be respectful of someone like that.

I had a guy talking to me in traffic the other day on the way home from the show. He was asking me if my car was stock, then whether it's an LS. No and no. Have I seen those LS swaps? Yes, and I don't like them. Why not? I'm a Ford guy! I would say he pretty clearly knew what the car was though, so that was kind of cool, haha.

you forgot the ever so annoying fart can exhaust............I have a friend with a 77 Toyota celica with a 7MGTE engine, the car is more of a rat rod, but he hasn't gotten around to putting the yellow plug wires on, he still hasn't got my approval, although he has a ford throttle body on the supra engine, he's running a GM fuel pump set up!! bar-steward......
I found my mirror and hooked it up, it only has auto dimming, nothing else, I may still put it in anyway, I was hoping it at least had a compass and the reversing camera would be an extra bonus, oh well, gotta use whatcha have.

Oh yeah, fart can required.

your friend with the Celica sounds resourceful. He should've used a Ford V8 though, or at least a Tundra V8, haha.

Sweet you found the mirror! That'll be nice to have. I'm finally starting to make some progress on my yard project so i'll have some dang room in the garage to store car stuff AND work on cars! Wouldn't that be amazing?!

Met up with Stymee and a new guy at the local show last night. It was fun! He JUST got the car and hasn't done a thing to it yet.

Wowzer, that’s a nice looking gold Fairmont. How do you guys find those nice cars up there were everything is supposed to be rusty????????? It’s nice to see three great looking fairmonts /zephyrs in a row.i’m going to assume it was a 4 or 6 banger because the hood was closed??? I think the Fairmont/Zephyr was the only car to offer the 4 6 8 cylinder options.
When I found mine it was already sunburnt and the dash had some cracks in it. If you remember that far back, all of this b/s with mine started when the heater core started leaking and the dash was coming out in pieces other than by design, I had lost a lot of space when I had to vacate the barn and room at my wife’s friend’s house, the old dear wanted me to dump the 93 red convertible, so once I had cleared the barn, I put the dash and interior into the red car, that when things started to go weird before the wife caught lung cancer.
I’d love to have a ANOTHER 2dr coupe in THAT condition, yeah; fuel injected 5.0, 5 lugs, disc brakes, tubular k-member, mustang dash, but I would use a bit more class in the exterior trim & paint. Don’t get me wrong I love the red one; but when I bought the white 4dr I was up for it, but my wife shit a brick and said no,(and she meant it) so I sold it to a lady at work, she loved it. I fought long & hard to find and get that garaged car, paid too much for it, just to let it go.
So much has happened over the years, and I am glad to have had the red one, it certainly has had a lot of parts swapped, I don’t know much about you friends red 2dr, but you seemed to have had you challenges trying to get things right, like the braided brake lines, trans mounts, headlight shims, drive shaft etc. it would seem it’s not the big mods, but the smaller stuff that is time consuming & frustrating, mine was always the suspension, shit tons of springs, shocks , different sway bars, when I finally realized that this was a pretty big turd to be slamming around, not a pinto; the bigger stuff really seemed to go easier.
I don’t socialize much these days, because the wife really isn’t 100% or even near that, so I rarely go to shows, and if I do, I just blow thru them early in the morning, but maybe one day….I’m still interested, just don’t have the time, but like I said, it's nice to see three in a row, we don't even have 3 in town.

Yeah, the gold car is SUPER nice! He even scored a cloth interior in it. And not an ugly cloth interior, but a decent one! haha. And yeah, it's still got the 6 in it. He's chomping at the bit to start modifying it though, haha.

Stymee didn't have many difficulties building his because he had been down this road before with another car. He made a comprehensive plan and did everything right the first time. But me? yeah, I had all sorts of stupid problems, haha. Some from being cheap, some from being in too big a hurry, some from denying the truth that the Bullitt wheels weren't going to fit... haha. But I guess I should give myself a little more credit than that. A lot of it, I just didn't know at the time and the resources just weren't available that are now.

I can relate to the time thing though too. I brought the kids with me since the wife had to work, and it was really trying having them there. "can we go? can we stop? can we go over there? can we find a train? I'm hungry... " ARGH! Most of the time they're so exhausting I don't want to go anywhere or do anything.

I'm so sorry about your wife. I'm keeping her in my prayers.

whoa!!! that was a few years ago when she caught the cancer, she's had the all clear now....finally, this month, but she is still not 100%, after all the chemo & radiation. she's had her stuff run thru the mangle for sure, but we're still together after 34 yrs and I hope she will get better, maybe she will.
I stopped socializing for time reasons, just don't have any. but I need to get my ass in gear and get some more stuff done on the red one. I'm stuck on this dammed mirror thing now, but I want the compass and would like to have a back up mirror, don't need it just want it...you know the drill.
everybody makes silly decisions for the right reasons at that particular time, but that's what we do.
i often change my mind half way thru the job, that's just the way it is. it aint nothing so fun as bringing all the parts into town to change the lower control arms and leaving the ball joints in the pick-up back at the house, now that's FUN!!
enjoy the kids while you can, they'll soon be off to college and married, and working on their own Zephyrs when they can squeeze it in. if you ever get in a tight spot, ice cream usually works! those baby wipe thingy's are great thing to carry around.
I hope the gold 2dr turns out great.

Oh, I knew it had been a while, I just wanted to make sure you knew you guys are in my thoughts and prayers in case I hadn't said it already.

Hahaha, that's so funny about the mirror. I know exactly what you mean. Almost every project I do goes that way for me. I'm stuck on my yard stuff storage under the deck right now in the same way. Part of it is time, but part of it also is exactly what you describe.

Yeah, my kids are great. I wouldn't trade my time with them for anything. It just wears me out! haha

year mirrors are for combing your hair, except I lost a bit this last few years. now I have this big bald patch on the back of my head where hair used to be, oh well.
I,ve been clearing the yard for a while, I have tons of plants I want to give away, cactus, aloe-Vera and a bunch of terra-cotta pots, my bud at work wants some, so that helps, I like plants and gardening, but it's time for a change.
I have some old iron wagon wheels and a pump, plough, ETC, but I'm going to keep moat of that stuff. the birds ate well this year, and I only had a few potatoes the worms didn't destroy, so i'll try again next year.
need anther set of rear pads and a diff service, hope to get that done soon (along with the mirror).
it's all-go around here, just gotta love-it and find the time to tend to it.

Yeah, I've got that bald spot too.

My mom is a bigtime gardener. She spends SO much of her spring/summer/fall out in the dirt. I have a hard time understanding it. haha.

We're off today and I was hoping to get some yard projects done today, but nope. it's raining. Most of the car projects I have lined up for the rest of the year are by no means as big as the ones I did earlier, but still require at least a weekend, so I don't think I want to tear into the car either...

I drove it to run some errands yesterday, and it behaved perfectly. Besides being uncomfortable without A/C. haha. So, I got to enjoy that.

i'm glad you are finally getting some cruising time under your belt, you've certainly had a lot going on this year, it wont be long and you'll be able to try out your LED's and new headlamps.
Did you ever get your headlamps adjusted? I remember when I first got my car, I could see to the left, to the right and behind me, but not worth a damn in frt! It was tedious as all the bolts were rusted and the headlamp buckets were dirty and stuck with 20 years of dirt. thank goodness for ace hardware. they always have the right stuff.
I hope you have that fan problem sorted now.
does your exhaust sound different now that you have the engine sounding stronger?

Seriously, I lose my posts here as I'm typing them or trying to post them more often... This time, my computer decided it was time to reboot as I was typing it. SIGH

I already feel good about how my lights, turn signals in particular, are brighter during the day. Definitely safer. And I'm reminded that they're there by the brighter dash indicator. That whole operation is a big win, I think. I could do without how much it ended up costing me in the end though. Ouch.

I haven't aimed my headlights yet. I'll get back to car stuff soon. Right now I'm focused on getting the yard/garage storage project done. I think they're probably not too far off, but I'd better make sure. I love Ace Hardware. I'm there practically weekly. You know, if you ever need any of those headlight bucket insulator thingies, I've still got a lifetime supply, so just let me know and i'll send you some.

I think my cooling system is good to go! Although I still need to turn the temp up a bit. I think I've been getting crappy gas mileage because I have it set too low. I need to turn it up to where it's max efficient. I set it low just in case when I first put the new fan in last year.

My exhaust does sound a bit different now. The car sounds a little more like a truck. It doesn't sound like a Camaro or anything, but it's just a little noticeable to me. I don't mind it though. I'm still thinking about quieting it down though.

Same happens here, I’ve lost what I wrote, and the second time round usually isn’t as good, as it is hurried. So I write it on word and paste it.
Reason why I asked is I noticed similar things when I’ve changed engines or did a lot of mods, the exhaust note sounded different. When I did the HEI hybrid ignition modification in the Fairmont years ago, I noticed a change big time from sending 17000 volts to 40000 volts to the plugs and it ran better, no puff of black smoke when you revved it up, and there was a noticeable power increase. As far as I know that engine is and igniton system is still in a town called palominos Arizona.
I know how the money thing goes, I went to change the frt pads once, then ended up doing a shite load of other things because I had the car up in the air, and it was raining, why waste time?????
School starts soon over here; so we’ll have to deal with all the children of NASCAR wannabe’s driving at the speed of light changing lanes like formula 1 driver so they can stop at the traffic lights. I suppose the sale of fart cans and stereos has gone up as all their mom’s old Honda’s have been “modified”.
I found these the other day and it struck my interest : Spec-D® LHP-4X6 - 4x6" Rectangular Chrome Projector Headlights.
It’s just a thought at the moment. Similar to yours I think.

Those might be the same headlights Stymee has on his car. Since you drive yours a lot though, you may want to look for ones that are DOT approved. I might be a little more worried about safety than I need to be though, haha.

I live really close to a high school, so I get the same crap. Now that it doesn't affect me directly, I fully support raising the driving age to like 21, haha.

Yeah, my exhaust might just sound different though because the engine is running better than it has in years, haha. I haven't done a compression test again, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's firing on all cylinders now, whereas it wasn't before. There's a little bit of a lifter tick that wasn't there before, but I imagine that'll be addressed at the rebuild.

I'm still astounded every time I look over and see how glossy the roof and trunk are now. Man, that polisher was a great investment, haha. No paintjob needed!

Good call about using Word.

i had a tick or 2 in mine at times from the lifters when I first fired up the 5.0 and began to drive it, I think it was crap in the lifters, some old folks drove the car and then it sat for a while before I came around, the engine was spotless inside. I emptied out a couple of quarts of oil and added some auto trans oil, as I didn't have any marvel mystery oil; and just let it idle for a while, maybe 1/2 hour, then I drove it to the store nice and easy. dropped the oil & filter, it was definitely better (sludge? it sat for a while) there were never any issues with the engine, and always ran great. truthfully I miss it at times.
The detailer at our shop is amazing, you can polish a turd, it just takes longer and you have to use a good polish or wax to make it last. So once you get some time under your belt with your car and you dads car, they will look like diamonds.
I went to K-mart the other day and I saw a Zephyr 4dr parked in the lot, so I parked nose to nose hoping to meet the guy, turns out he’s actually older than me! He even has a dash mat! It’s as straight as a die, even the seats don’t look to bad, must keep it in the garage.
My bud fired up his dodge truck yesterday, he’s been working on it for quite a while, it’s mostly stock with a couple of gentle-mods, I wanted to go over, but I had ANOTHER migraine yesterday and just couldn’t take the noise, but I’m happy for him, it’s been a long road. It’s the first time he’s done anything like that, so he has to be thrilled.
Reggie at work has got his Chevy trk running. 350 fuel injection conversion, with overdrive trans, now he has to tidy up the wiring and wants to put the PCM inside the cab. I had a loom that somebody dropped off, and it had a strange rather large bolt-on corrugated tubing grommet, so I chopped it out and gave it to him, that was handy….his dad gave him the trk years ago, it had a truly beasty 350 in it, he didn’t get miles per gallon, he got gallons per mile, it was a task to start up in cold weather, no tap dance on the accelerator to start-up it up now, just reach thru the window and twist the key. He wanted “something different” so we all chipped in with parts/tech/advice. He’ll never get rid of that trk, he’ll just continue to make it better. I remember Reggie when he has just a kid and his dad was a salesman, it sucks to get old….

ATF? Really? Never heard of that one. Interesting!

Yeah, I'm wanting to see what I can do with our Focus. It's the older of the two DDs, and we haven't been very good about keeping it clean. I'm thinking clay, polish, and machine wax. Should be cool! Haven't had the time though, so that's frustrating. I saw a picture of a black Mustang notchback today that was like a mirror. Just beautiful, but I'm really glad none of my cars are black. It has to be a ton of work to keep it looking like that! Even before I had polished my Zeph, if you looked at it from 10 yards or so, it still looked pretty good. You couldn't even tell the paint wasn't glossy. haha.

That's cool. I don't really have many real car-guy friends. Besides guys like Stymee, I do have a few, including my brother, that have a mild interest in cars, but none of them have projects.

I've always wanted that "twist of the key" reliability for mine, but I still have a fuel pressure drainback problem, so I have to cycle the key a few times for it to fire right up. I'm hoping that performance fuel pump I got for cheap fixes that problem. I can dream, right? haha

I heard recently that the '93 or '94-5 Cobras had 1.7 roller rockers. I wonder if that's true. I like to say my engine is "Cobra-spec", so if I'm going to back that up, I should probably get those, haha. Do they really make that big of a difference?

You know I think you are right about the rocker arms, but I think the had the mix of 1.5 & 1.7 or is it 1.6 & 1.7…reason why I say that is because the engine builder we used to have at work had to buy two kits to do one engine because the kits only come in one size. If I see him I’ll ask. you might try stangnet for info. They have a good tech reff section.
Yeah if you get some time try the different ways to polish the cars, then you’ll know for sure what works best on what type of oxidation. It would be nice to get all your cars polished an have the experience under your belt for when you get the job at the magazine, you can tell them how to do it better, I hear that you polish the GM products with 36 grit sand paper, I may be wrong, it mat be 20 grit and a brillo pad. The best way to start would be to draw lines separating the car into three parts with a cutting torch!!!!
I spent all day doing house work yesterday, I finally managed to escape to get some shopping done, I did a good job on everything, but wow, where did the time go??? I managed to get the grass done as well, but there is still more to do, I lost a lot of time with the migraine Saturday, I just dint want to hear the washing machine or running water etc. it’s kinda difficult to vacuum when it feels like somebody is trying to drill you eye out with a dull bit. My sister arrives tomorrow for a week, so that will put me back further oh well.

Really? I didn't even know they did that, have different ratio rockers on the same heads.

Yeah, it would be nice if I could do that with my cars. At this point, it would probably take me 6 months to accomplish, and that's if I put it ahead of all my other priorities besides the kids. haha

I've often said when I'm rich I'm going to buy up as many GM cars as I can just to get them off the road, haha. LS engine cars especially. Send 'em straight to the crusher. haha

I made some progress on my yard storage project. But now I have this tennis court screen stuff I need to install new metal grommets in, but I can't figure out how to do it yet, haha. Guess I'll have to look for some online videos.

I've got the itch to put a Marquis front on my car again...

I think somebody all ready came up with the idea of crushing the chevies, if you look along the hiway; you'll see guard rails, signs and fart-cans on rice burners.
don't those brass eyelets have to be hammered together with dies, maybe they are different now.
its getting difficult to find parts now, so you should start looking now to se what you can find. some paint shops are able to match the paint so close now it's crazy, do you have to change the hood also?
Our area has lost 2 recycling centers due to the prices of scrap crashing again. they just shut the doors and put a sign on the gate.

I have a pliers that's supposed to be able to easily install eyelets, but it's a jack of all trades, master of none. It was cheap, can do snaps, denim rivets, and grommets, but does none of them well. I was doing it right all along, that pliers just sucks, haha. I didn't know about the dies until after I'd bought and used the pliers. That would have been way easier, ironically, haha.

I know of a couple of yards on car-part that say they have the Marquis front clip. They are both a pretty good drive from me though. I can't remember if one or both are actually LTDs though. The main differences for a Marquis are the grille, the chrome piece on the leading edge of the hood, and the wraparound turn signals. I would have to jump on the project right away because I don't have anywhere to keep anything that big (which I couldn't do with the remaining yard projects), and I don't know if I could convince the wife we need to spend that much money. I think they want like $600 or more for them.

It would be the hood, fenders, inner structure behind the headlights, all the lights, bumper, air dam, etc, etc. If any of my already purchased LED bulb stuff doesn't fit, you can bet i'll be modifying the housings to make them fit, dammit! haha. If I were to do it right, I'd need the cowl too, which would require cutting and welding, which I can't do. And the fenders don't just bolt right on. You need to do some cutting on the inner structure to get them to line up right, but that's not a big deal. It would just be time consuming.



But, the more I look at the side profile, the more I dislike how high the front bumper sits. I'm sure it was a visual trick by the designers to make the car "look" light weight. I think it would look a lot sleeker and tougher with a lower, sloping front end.

sounds like more than a weekend or 3's work, better sped some time with the wife and kids before you undertake that task....
I like the way it looks as it is, and after all that polishing it looks like a diamond.

Yeah, I'm happy with it, mostly. I do hate the half-assed way a previous owner painted the top of the hood and fenders. They used a tape stripe as the dividing line. I took the tape stripe off, and now the line is really obvious. Some of the clearcoat flaked off when I did that too. My fault, I suppose, but I don't really know how to fix it. A body guy, I am not.