Next, I picked up another 8.8 rear end from our very own 87FoxGT which had 3.73s in it. The previous owner gave me a freshly rebuild 8.8 with the car, but that only had 2.73s in it. The rear end that is currently in the car is a 7.5 with 2.43s. yeah, it sucks.
Once I drove the car around for a while and felt comfortable with the new setup , I took a trip to NYIRP for some runs. I was quite disappointed, but considering the gears and that i was getting horrible launches on shitty Perelli tires, I think the basic setup has some room for improvement.
First run:
60’ 2.231
1/8 9.730 @ 76.21 mph
1/4 14.869 @ 94.71 mph
Second run:
60’ 2.542
1/8 9.905 @ 76.40
1/4 15.032 @ 94.95 mph
Third run:
60’ 2.395
1/8 9.851 @ 75.26 mph
1/4 15.036 @ 93.89
Fourth run:
60’ 2.400
1/8 9.998 @ 74.99 mph
1/4 15.077 @ 93.95 mph
Fifth run:
60’ 2.540
1/8 9.830 @ 77.35
1/4 14.904 @ 95.98
next, I decided to get rid of the GT tail lights in favor of a set of LX ones. I also removed the pin stripe
Before winter, I decided to do something about the radio. The previous owner replaced the factory speakers with some low end Pioneers in the front and some WalMart specials in the back. He also had a no-name cd player with a home-made dash kit, and an extremely hacked up wiring job. I was driving around without a radio since i bought the car, because I just ripped the mess out, but solo trip to NYI and back with no tunes made me get a move on getting a radio in there. I put a nice Alpine in and ended up running all new wires to all the speakers. It doesnt sound that great, but its better than dead silence. I will get some new speakers eventually.
I also put in some A-pillar gauges: AutoMeter Sport Comp series Vacuum and trans temp gauges:
Some end of the year photos:
Since the car has been put away, I have been collecting parts and doing some more “stuff.” I upgraded the alternator form the stock one to the Ford 3G one. This one puts out 130 amps as opposed to the stock one which puts out 75 amps. This helped with the under drive pulleys as well as helping provide enough power to run the Lincoln Mark VIII electric fan which I have also installed.
Here you can see that I re-used the old charcoal tank bracket to mount the fuse holder for the alternator and the fan controller
I also picked up all of the parts to do an LX swap on it. I plan on getting the car painted in the spring, and plan on replacing the headlights with some new ones as well as replacing all of the weather stripping and restoring all of the window moldings.
I decided to get rid of the hood, as much as I thought I would like it, I think the cowl is a little too big for my taste, and I dont really have anything under the hood where I would need it. I got a stock hood, which was silver. I painted it with a rattle can (just for the time being) and it actually came out pretty good. this picture looks like it has a lot of shitty spots on the hood, but the car is really dusty. hopefully you can take my word for it that it looks halfway decent.
I also got a T5 for free, and I am working on rebuilding that over the winter as well.
This winter I am mainly going to get the car ready for the LX swap and paint, and get new drums, shoes, hardware, shocks, and urethane bushings for the new 8.8 and get that put in. If funds allow, I am going to continue to work on rebuilding the T5, and get all new gears and synchros for it and a Pro 5.0 shifter. I will also have to get the a clutch (not sure what I will go with), the bell housing and the pedals and flywheel (which I already have sourced). I will prob end up getting an aluminum driveshaft for it too. New tires all the way around are a MUST as well.
So thats it so far, just thought I’d share my project and progress with everyone. I couldnt be happier with the car and cant wait to get it finished and back out for some more cruising in the summer!