My 1989 Grand Marquis GS sedan "Ebyt"

[sly]

except for the ports are all on the wrong sides (you need the mirror image of that radiator).

[Hearsesrock427]

@sly: Ruh roh. Good thing I run (nearly) all my parts purchases through GMN!

This one should have the ports lined up properly: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-381431/overview/

With your blessing, I'll order it tonight!

[Hearsesrock427]

Shoot, sorry for double post. What should I do T-stat wise? Motorcraft replacement from RockAuto?

[slack]

@sly: Ruh roh. Good thing I run (nearly) all my parts purchases through GMN!

This one should have the ports lined up properly: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-381431/overview/

With your blessing, I'll order it tonight!

These are the specs that RockAuto has for it's replacements. I noticed the size was a little different than the Summit one as well as the outlet size. I don't know if that's an issue though just wanted to give you a heads up.

Core Depth 1"
Core Height 27 5/8"
Core Width 18 3/8"
Inlet Connection 1 1/2"
Inlet Header 1 13/16" x 18 1/2"
Outlet Connection 1 1/2"
Outlet Header 3 1/16" x 18 1/2"
Mount Type Channel
Engine Oil Cooler N/A
Trans Oil Cooler 8"

[Hearsesrock427]

@slack: I compared the radiator dimensions. We should be okay. The Summit Racing unit is a bit larger, it's not by much. Might hang a wee bit lower than the POS stock radiator, but that's fine. The car's got some more ground clearance than stock thanks to the 16 inch CVPI wheels. Also checked the inlet and outlet connection line thingies. The Summit Racing line specs definitely don't match the stock specs, but that's not a problem in this case. I'm having all the cooling lines replaced. I told the shop I was getting a bigger, better, radiator from Summit Racing, and he was fine with it. We're not re-using the stock cooling lines either- not only will they not fit the new radiator, but they're probably all kinds of awful after 72,000 miles sans a flush. Haha.

I'll place the order later today! Also will order the Motorcraft T-stat. Read some not-so-great things about the other manufacturers (namely MotoRad).

[sly]

you will need another driver side radiator bracket for the thickness on the passenger side. You should have the clearance for the extra 3 inches long. You may have to bend up totally new top radiator brackets to account for the inch rise, but it should fit. Some finagling will be required.

[Hearsesrock427]

you will need another driver side radiator bracket for the thickness on the passenger side.

Ah, shoot. RockAuto doesn't have those.... perhaps there's something from LMR I could use? Or should I just get the bracket specs, and take it to Home Depot and see if they have a bracket that matches them? Ideas?

[sly]

ask someone on here to send you one. There's usually someone who's got extra ones.

[Hearsesrock427]

DERP. I didn't even see that Summit Racing sells the brackets made specifically for that line of radiator: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-380100/overview/

I'm a dumbass. I knew I saw something about "We offer a mounting kit for this line of radiator." in the description when I first looked into a new radiator..... Ugha. So stupid. No likey.

[sly]

nice. you're not the only one that didn't see that.

you will want some rubber to isolate the brackets from the radiator, though.

[Hearsesrock427]

Got her back from the first shop (Wade's Automotive) today. They did great! The fluid flush trifecta worked wonders. Ebyt's running a LOT better now. Seriously people, flush the coolant, steering, and brake fluid if you don't know the last time it got done. You'll improve performance, prolong parts life, and make your car love you. How can anyone argue with that?

Fluid flush notes:
-Most obvious improvement is with the brakes. They engage with less pedal travel, and bite a LOT harder. There was definitely some air in the system.
-Steering feels faster, more linear, and generally smoother now. It was great before, but it's even better now.
-Overheating is no longer an issue. I HAMMERED on her earlier, scaling hills at WOT. Also idled in traffic a fair bit. Cooling system didn't miss a beat. I'm very proud. The stock cooling system, when properly maintained (as it is now and will be forever) is great for most applications.

Now, onto the good stuff. Should've posted this in this thread, but I got distracted. Short attention span FTW!

Near-term plans for Ebyt's build:
-Transmission work! I bring her in early tomorrow. Stacked plate tranny cooler, B&M racing converter, and a sticky valve fix are all on the agenda. Sticky valve issue seems to be getting better on its own, but I'd rather just get it fixed fast and permanently now while my transmission guy's there, so to speak.

-Major performance work! It begins on the 29th, and EVERYTHING (Digidash, Kenwood head unit, BBK long tubes, Denso 02 sensors, H-piped true duals) is going on.

-3G 130a install! I'm gonna need it now, thanks to the new headunit with the built-in CD player. I'll kill an afternoon with an electrician friend of mine and get it done. The sooner the go-fast parts go on, the better.

-Get a quote to finish the slicktop conversion. By this point, I'll have all but drained my finances set aside for Ebyt's build. I need to leave some money around for petrol, Sta-Bil, and jack stands in the meantime!

NEXT SUMMER:
-Get the slicktop conversion finished.
-Fix the not-quite-properly aligned passenger side front door.
-Convert to sequential tail lights.
-Brighten the headlights, the reverse lights, and the parking lights.
-Acquire+affix some GMN stickers.
-Acquire more CVPI center caps.
-Re-mount 16 inch wheels, this time with collared lugnuts AND CVPI center caps. For that NARC look! This will complete the look-good part of Ebyt's build for now.
-Acquire new valve springs.
-Acquire an Exploder intake plenum (upper AND lower, with internal EGR)
-Acquire a D9S computer.
-Acquire the new Comp Cams camshaft.
-Acquire the Crane 1.7 roller rocker arms.
-Get all that go-fast stuff installed. I'll likely to turn Scott for this. This will complete the go-fast part of Ebyt's build for now.
-Acquire the Trak-Lok differential from LincolnLarry.
-Rebuild the trak-lok.
-Acquire an aero rear end.
-Swap in poly suspension bushings, replace the body mounts, get the Big Brake Swap done. Will turn to Scott for this work. This will complete the grip-well and stop-fast part of Ebyt's build for now.
-Drive the piss out of Ebyt, and reap the rewards of a tricked-out box panther!
-Buy another project! As of 9/19/2014, 88Vic's wonderfully rust-free 1988 Town Car Base is set to be my second panther.

[87gtVIC]

Cool man. Looking forward to the upcoming progress.

[Hearsesrock427]

Cool man. Looking forward to the upcoming progress.

Thanks! Love your '87 BTW. She's got the perfect mix of old (early box front fascia+LTD script tail bezels) and new (HPP wheels!) panther styling. I'm super jealous.

In other news, got some more work done on my beloved '89!
-Stacked plate tranny cooler is in, as is the new 2000 RPM stall torque converter. I'm pleased with the performance of both- especially that tranny cooler! Despite numerous back-to-back WOT runs and hard downshifts, I couldn't get the tranny fluid to cook. Sticky valve issue is gone too. No more rev-rev-revving from a standstill after the first shift into a forward gear either!

-Dropped her off at The Little Speed Shop, loaded with tons of parts. I fit literally EVERYTHING inside, with a lot of room to spare. Hope to hear from the speed shop with a quote and/or progress thus far by Wednesday this week. If all goes well (ie: I don't completely break the bank), she'll be rip-roaring muscle sedan by next monday, the 6th.

Also, seems like I ran over a huge fucking nail. Driver side rear tire had zero PSI. Didn't notice it until earlier, when I was giving Ebyt a once-over. I saw the obviously deflated tire, and then ran my hand along the tire. Sure enough, I felt a nice six-star headed nail. Must've hit it when I got her back from the tranny work on Friday- had to drive over a gravelly road and some old train tracks. It's the only way to get to the tranny shop. I should've seen this coming- she felt like she was leaning a TINY bit to the left. I knew that was something. I just thought it was ancient suspension. I figured that'd be more likely to fail than brand new 600 treadwear summer tires. Haha. Oh well, you live and learn. Next time, I'll just have my car flat-bedded to and from the tranny shop. I'm not risking brand new tires for a simple fluid change.

Anyway, you're probably wondering how I got to the the speed shop, with that leaky tire. That was a misadventure in and of itself.

-My friend Matt brought an air compressor- we were gonna covony out to the speed shop anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. We pumped the nail-impaled tire up to 26 PSI, and hauled ass to the nearest gas station. We pumped the tire up to 39, and hit up another gas station on the way to the speed shop. Filled her up with straight 87, and got the sad left rear tire pumped up to 45 PSI for the long-ish trip to the speed shop. It felt weird at first, to say the least. Felt like the car was jacked up on one corner, haha. As time went on (and PSI was lost), she felt better, and then worse.

She probably had ~20 PSI when I parked her at the speed shop. The left-rear wasn't a total flatty, but it definitely wasn't happy. We'll see if they can patch the hole. If not, I'll just throw on a new tire. Ugha. I fucking hate nails. Oh well, at least I know what an under-inflated and an over-inflated tire feels like.

[Hearsesrock427]

Small updates. Discussed progress with the speed shop. Mostly good news:

-Ebyt will be long tubed and true dualed by Tuesday the 7th, at the absolute latest. Probably will be done sometime on Monday the 6th. Right on schedule.
-Tire repair went fine.
-Shop doesn't do dashboard cluster swaps. (Meh. Might just have pantera or Scott do it next summer.)
-Shop doesn't do head unit swaps. (Found a good place that does stereos and stuff, so we're set there.)
-Got installation notes for my headers. See below if interested.

BBK Long tube installation notes: As expected, they hit the frame. They also hit the transmission bellhousing. Oh well, nothing a BFH can't fix! They cleared all the other stuff- the steering shaft, the shift linkage and the dipsticks. These are probably the best fitting long tubes for a box. Just know that they WILL require some love (ie: a BFH) to fit.

Just goes to show, running long tubes on a box is nowhere near as scary or difficult as people make it out to be- you just need to buy the right parts. I doubled-down and took a gamble on these: http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...-Header-Automa

And it paid off. For the little bit extra work needed to make them work, it's well worth it. You get more power compared to stock headers and aftermarket short tube headers. The power gains are also lower in the RPM range. You can't argue with that. More power + more USABLE power = profit.

[gadget73]

Most of the reason that people don't bother with long tubes is they don't give much gain on a stock or mild motor. That, and if you've ever had a set, you'll have gotten tired of the flanges getting scraped off from too-steep driveways and things. They also tend to burn starters out, and make it much more fun to replace the starter at the same time. Lots of joy with those things.