Well.
I said it would be a couple of weeks before I started on the car, but that doesn't mean I'll have to wait two weeks to start buying some junk.
And boy did I buy some junk .
It started out promptly at 9:00AM,....when my first online purchase netted me a set of KYB gas-a-just struts. 140.00 for the set shipped
*ching!
Intrigued by how easy it was to spend my money,... I Googled "caster
camber plates,... made an offer less than advertised on eBay,... and boom! I own Aluminum UPR CC plates for 129.00 shipped.
* ching!
UPR coil over kit w/175# springs, 189.00; UPR Bumpsteer kit for 119.00 shipped; Griggs torque arm hardware kit for 59.00 shipped.
* ching, ching, ching.
I then left the house to find my 8.8 rear.
I've never been to pull-a-part. (mostly because I don't wanna sweat my ass off under a junk car in the blazing Sun unbolting something w/o the benefit of an air compressor)
After speaking w/a friend that has been there before, however,.. I was all foamy at the notion that I could buy an 8.8 for 170.00 as long as I did the grunt work.
So I rounded up all of the tools I coil think of that would facilitate removal of said unit, and headed off. Once there,.. I pay my 2.00, and wade in.
Acres and acres of dead cars on gravel.
After walking all of those acres, however....it quickly became apparent to me that all of the parts worth pulling,... had already been pulled.
No 8.8's to be found. ( at least not on a Mustang)
So,... dejected,.. I leave. I stop by one of the old yards I used to frequent and ask Dane if he had a GT that still had an 8.8 in it.
"Nope,... but let me call around,.. and see what I can find".
2 minutes later,...he informs me that Frankie had one already pulled,... that he wanted 350.00 for.
"But he'll take less of you got cash".
30 minutes later I got a complete 3.73 geared 8.8 out of a 95 GT w/great rotors, calipers,... and e brake cables for the cash price of 300.00.
By now I'm pretty proud of myself,... and I'm heading for home.
But I think,...maybe I'll see if I can stop by Astro (another yard) and see if they have one of the 3.3 L 6 cylinders that I can scrounge the head off of so I can have a Guinea pig head to do all of the modification on and keep my "monty" running as long as I can till the time comes to change it over to turbo.
I stop and ask Carl if he has one, to which he replies,.."I might have one,...you'll have to walk out way yonder and see if that ole maverick has what you're looking for."
I have to control myself.
"Maverick? What year Maverick?" I ask. "I think It's a like a 79 or 80." Carl replies.
I tell him I'll check,...and I'll be back in if it does to discuss his price.
It does. It runs. AND it's a 250,...NOT a 200.
Now I'm stoked.
I return to Carl and ask how much for the whole engine top to bottom,...front to back. Carl says 300.00. I almost throw the money at Carl.
*CHA CHING!!!
"When can I have it?" I ask. "Hows Monday sound"?? Carl replies.
Great.
Why am I so excited about another anemic little 6 banger, albeit 50 cubic inches bigger than the one I currently own?
Well silly,....if you'd can that line chatter,...and deploy a little recon,...you'd know that 250's have forged rods,....7 main caps,...and are capable of with standing the same 500 HP that a 5.0 can stand.
The most important characteristic of a 250 for me is:
It comes w/ a SBF bell housing pattern.
Unlike the little 200 that I have,..the 250 will mate to any trans I choose w/o the need for an adapter. I will have to modify the pan to fit my fox,...but that is by far the least of my worries.
My future ugly little banger:
I rubbed the grease off for you,...top line confirms the C.I.
This should leave you with no doubt that this engine is truly a high performance piece,...just check out the exotic factory ram air setup.
So that concludes my Saturday spending spree. My budget is shot. but I'm happy as hell w/ what I got, and what I got coming. Now all I gotta do is figure how to hide the greasy assed 250 in the garage so the wife wont see it.