Well, rather than clutter the Longest Thread Evarrrr with my constant ramblings and blog-ish details, I figured I'd hop on the bandwagon and start a project progress thread of my own here. So, here's the tale thus far:
Traded a morbidly obese dude my '86 AOD GT 'vert (with 195k miles) for this: an '84 5.0 LX hatch, AOD with shift kit, CFI ( ), black with porno red interior, with 89k documented ORIGINAL miles on it.
View attachment 312085
View attachment 312086
Interior's been done a bit here and there. Driver's seat was swapped out with a second passenger-side seat, paintjob was switched from factory silver to black with some metal-flake in it (not the best paintjob, but better than my Rustoleum finishes thus far), a couple of interior panels were painted to match or to be touched-up for wear, dash pad is white (and still cracked), and so on. Car was left sitting in this dude's driveway for about a year because he couldn't seem to figure out why it was overheating; the fact that it has a fixed flex fan with absolutely no fan shroud probably wasn't helping things, at all. Further PO mayhem includes some wires here and there underhood that've been hacked and crimp-connected, vacuum lines disconnected and/or rotted everywhere, a short belt routed to bypass the smog pump and A/C compressor, missing top to the overflow/washer reservoir, almost straight water being run in the coolant system, ghetto-rigged battery terminals, and a frickin' Honda battery used to crank it over. Wow. I have my work cut out for me.
View attachment 312087
View attachment 312088
Things that I've thus far fixed/replaced:
1. Radiator fan belt (weird shorter non-stock length, too ... 88.2")
2. Metal fan w/clutch (too small - need to swap to a bigger fan to fit the shroud better)
3. Fan shroud (from a Mark VII, I believe - was too wide, had to hack to fit, need a proper one in better shape)
4. Thermostat (195*)
5. Full coolant flush/refill (block, radiator, and heater core)
6. Window handle reattached on passenger's side
7. Driver's side door lock actuator rod reattached
8. Ignition switch replaced (contacts were worn - would immediately shut off if you let off the key too quickly when starting, or if you bumped it)
9. Scraped paint overspray and crap from windows (thanks, Frankenstang! )
10. Capped off loose vacuum lines that went nowhere and were sucking air straight into the manifold
11. Rigged up a crankcase breather tube to the air cleaner with new hose, an elbow, and a fresh filter
Other than a planned CFI-to-Carb Conversion and a swap to true duals in the future, my list of near-future needs:
1. Driver's front parking lens (missing) and bulb
2. Scrape/sand/whatever remove paint sprayed over license plate light lenses
3. Replace burned-out bulbs everywhere (headlamps, backup lights, etc.)
4. Get the stoplight switch working properly (I'm thinking it just needs a washer to hold it properly in place with tension)
5. Vacuum/clean the holy hell out of it, MAYBE give it a bath
6. Remove faded-out and warped/bubbly window tint from hatch glass
7. Either buy hatch lift struts or get a better prop rod to hold it up
8. Get a proper fan and fan shroud on there (busted-arse incorrect shroud on there now, with an undersized fan)
9. Heat riser connections for intake (stupid smog nazis will fail it for it, I'm sure)
10. Air cleaner-to-fender connections (not so much a need as a want)
11. Patch exhaust leak(s) that make it sound like a friggin' pickup truck
12. Change fuel filter
13. Total Seafoam douche treatment
14. Oil change
15. Throw in some kinda radio/speakers
16. Fix idle speeds and/or clean IAC valve
17. Clean out EGR valve
18. Proper battery with new terminals and tie-down
19. Paint headliner (or lack thereof) to match
20. Replace/Fix horns
Traded a morbidly obese dude my '86 AOD GT 'vert (with 195k miles) for this: an '84 5.0 LX hatch, AOD with shift kit, CFI ( ), black with porno red interior, with 89k documented ORIGINAL miles on it.
View attachment 312085
View attachment 312086
Interior's been done a bit here and there. Driver's seat was swapped out with a second passenger-side seat, paintjob was switched from factory silver to black with some metal-flake in it (not the best paintjob, but better than my Rustoleum finishes thus far), a couple of interior panels were painted to match or to be touched-up for wear, dash pad is white (and still cracked), and so on. Car was left sitting in this dude's driveway for about a year because he couldn't seem to figure out why it was overheating; the fact that it has a fixed flex fan with absolutely no fan shroud probably wasn't helping things, at all. Further PO mayhem includes some wires here and there underhood that've been hacked and crimp-connected, vacuum lines disconnected and/or rotted everywhere, a short belt routed to bypass the smog pump and A/C compressor, missing top to the overflow/washer reservoir, almost straight water being run in the coolant system, ghetto-rigged battery terminals, and a frickin' Honda battery used to crank it over. Wow. I have my work cut out for me.
View attachment 312087
View attachment 312088
Things that I've thus far fixed/replaced:
1. Radiator fan belt (weird shorter non-stock length, too ... 88.2")
2. Metal fan w/clutch (too small - need to swap to a bigger fan to fit the shroud better)
3. Fan shroud (from a Mark VII, I believe - was too wide, had to hack to fit, need a proper one in better shape)
4. Thermostat (195*)
5. Full coolant flush/refill (block, radiator, and heater core)
6. Window handle reattached on passenger's side
7. Driver's side door lock actuator rod reattached
8. Ignition switch replaced (contacts were worn - would immediately shut off if you let off the key too quickly when starting, or if you bumped it)
9. Scraped paint overspray and crap from windows (thanks, Frankenstang! )
10. Capped off loose vacuum lines that went nowhere and were sucking air straight into the manifold
11. Rigged up a crankcase breather tube to the air cleaner with new hose, an elbow, and a fresh filter
Other than a planned CFI-to-Carb Conversion and a swap to true duals in the future, my list of near-future needs:
1. Driver's front parking lens (missing) and bulb
2. Scrape/sand/whatever remove paint sprayed over license plate light lenses
3. Replace burned-out bulbs everywhere (headlamps, backup lights, etc.)
4. Get the stoplight switch working properly (I'm thinking it just needs a washer to hold it properly in place with tension)
5. Vacuum/clean the holy hell out of it, MAYBE give it a bath
6. Remove faded-out and warped/bubbly window tint from hatch glass
7. Either buy hatch lift struts or get a better prop rod to hold it up
8. Get a proper fan and fan shroud on there (busted-arse incorrect shroud on there now, with an undersized fan)
9. Heat riser connections for intake (stupid smog nazis will fail it for it, I'm sure)
10. Air cleaner-to-fender connections (not so much a need as a want)
11. Patch exhaust leak(s) that make it sound like a friggin' pickup truck
12. Change fuel filter
13. Total Seafoam douche treatment
14. Oil change
15. Throw in some kinda radio/speakers
16. Fix idle speeds and/or clean IAC valve
17. Clean out EGR valve
18. Proper battery with new terminals and tie-down
19. Paint headliner (or lack thereof) to match
20. Replace/Fix horns