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After losing my old 'Bird and driving an '88 Cougar plagued with electrical and engine problems, I picked up my
current T-bird. I found this car on the side of the road with a "For Sale" sign and no price. After checking it
out, I came to find out that it was a sport model; with a smashed in trunk lid and some minor body damage, it didn't look
so bad. With 169k miles on the odometer and a massive sunroof leak, it was a steal at $400. Using the parts that
I had amassed from the previous two cars(well, what wasn't sold anyway), I was able to conjure up something fairly reliable.
I bought this car in December of '07 and drove it as it was for a few weeks. After that, I performed some maintenance
repairs. The hoses were replaced as well as the radiator and a new set of brake pads were slapped on...just to
keep it somewhat reliable. In March/April of '08, that's when I started to have some fun. I installed 11" front
brakes(from an '87-'93 Mustang), new replacement struts in the front(mustang spec also to match the mustang/turbo coupe specific
spindles), 10 hole Mustang LX wheels (from the old 'Bird). Shortly after that, I swapped out the tired old AOD transmission
for a T-5 5-speed which was previously in the troublesome Cougar, as well as a FRPP King Cobra clutch. The car became MUCH
more fun to drive, and could actually get out of it's own way(keep in mind, it still has the stock Standard Output 5.0 in
it).
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Late summer '08...I painted the wheels black while leaving the stainless steel center caps untouched, just like the old
Mustang police package. I also painted the inside of the grille black, so only the face of the grille is faux-chrome
now. Black on black is always a good look and I was finally beginning to take a little pride of ownership. After
a good wash, I used rubbing compound, then polishing compound and finally a good coat of wax and sure enough the faded black
paint looked nearly new. After that I started to get a little bored again; so, off came the stock exhaust and one went
a pair of Mustang HO "headers", off-road H-pipe, and a set of glasspacks. Uncorking the exhaust really did a lot for
this tired old 5.0.
With well worn bearings and rings, as well as multiple minor oil leaks, I decided it was time for a change. In
the beginning of this year('09), I began building up a 351W for the car. I have a low mileage short-block from a '91
E150 as the foundation. I then took a set of GT-40 iron heads to the machine shop for a proper check-over, at which
time they were milled/cleaned/pressure-tested. After that, I gave them a proper port job. The lower intake manifold
was also hogged out. I have a Crane Cams flat-tappet camshaft(I will not divulge specs) and BBK shorty 351W swap headers.
Everything is assembled to a complete long-block and waiting....until May 31, 2009 when the swap begins!
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