Vicky II - 1981 Ford LTD

[87gtVIC]

Andrew, I have a WeatherShield HP Custom Fit Tue-Toned Car Cover.

[hemihotrod402]

Did some work on the car today, I installed the fender and frame braces, rear sway bar, and my blacked out grille and headlight bezels, along with the clear turn signals. The grille and bezels will have to be reshot in black once it warms up, as my paint work is beginning to fail after 3 years. As soon as I can get the wheels dug out from the garage those will go on as well, and you'll get updated pictures. I'm currently looking for a set of NOS clear lenses so I can replace the faded and cracked ones, but we'll see how long that takes. Something is up with the transmission though, whenever I go higher than 20 mph it shakes and sounds like it wants to fall out into the road right then and there.

[87gtVIC]

There are a couple clear lenses on ebay right now. Only a two or so of the corners.

[hemihotrod402]

There are a couple clear lenses on ebay right now. Only a two or so of the corners.

I was looking at those, I'm trying to talk Pete out of his set lol

[hemihotrod402]

Update Time! Sorry for the delay.

I was home for the weekend so I got some work done on it, mainly getting the wheels on and removal of all of the granny trim. There was some very slight surface rust hiding under the piece in the driver's rear quarter, but also easily fixed. All of the body work is going to get started as soon as I'm on summer break, all of the rust is going to get taken care of, and the trim mounts fully removed. But for now, Pics of the work in progress:



And the finished product, I love how those wheels look with the paint, makes it more bearable:









I have been throwing some ideas around in AutoCAD (thank you Purdue Engineering) and I am working on a design for a coilover setup, as I am going to go towards the Grand Touring approach with this. I am still coming up with a plan for an engine, but I have narrowed it down to two options. The interior will be mostly stock, and of course everything will be blue like my old car. I have acquired 3/4 of a set of NOS clear turn signals, and I am eyeing a slotted front bumper. Stay tuned for more!

[marquisman]

Looking good mang. Its amazing what some subtle touches and rims will do, for looks. What are you going to do with all the plastic clips? Are you keeping them?

[hemihotrod402]

Looking good mang. Its amazing what some subtle touches and rims will do, for looks. What are you going to do with all the plastic clips? Are you keeping them?

I still have them with all of the trim in a box in our garage. All of them are perfect (I somehow got them off without breaking them) and if they are hard to find (are they?) I'd sell for fairly cheap. At this point I have no use for them.

[marquisman]

Dont know if I need them all. Looking for the rear quarter ones and maybe a dozen of the type from the doors.

[Mainemantom]

Is that your Crosley wagon next to your car ?
Did you rechrome or replace those CV bumpers ? Nice !

[hemihotrod402]

That's actually a parts car for a different Crosley wagon my dad and I are restoring for a friend, we have quite the number of projects going on at once. And nope, those bumpers are original.

[hemihotrod402]

Update of the day. I pulled down the sagging headliner along with the hood liner. Next on the list of things to do is the small rust repair, and smoothing out the lower body where the granny trim was. Sorry, no pics as they seemed kinda insignificant.

[hemihotrod402]

I've been drafting up a plan for the car, and I think I came up with a winner, as involved and expensive as it may be. My plan that I was going to implement on the original car (Grand Touring/occasional AutoX) is being transferred over, so here it goes.

Engine/Drivetrain

Ford Racing 427w, EZ EFI, Custom headers (?), custom bent 2.5 inch dual exhaust
Lentech 650hp capable 4R70W
Aluminum Driveshaft
3.73:1 Rear end, Eaton limited slip

Exterior

Trim Delete, slicktop conversion
Stripless bumpers, vented front bumper, tucked into fenders
Blacked out front end mod, NOS Clear turn signals (3/4 of the way there)
Light Window tint
Blue Paint

Interior

Restored to near original, blue
Rewired stereo
PI Gauge panel, autometer gauges, clock delete, 140 mph speedometer
Vent Windows (hopefully)

Suspension/Brakes (This is the fun/hard part)

Custom coilover suspension (hopefully), ideally 1.5"-2" lower
Updated brakes (98-02 on all 4 corners, then REAL big brakes [ie Wilwood]; obviously custom)
Police LCAs (acquired), PI rear swaybar (acquired), Addco front bar, urethane bushings everywhere

Wheels/Tires
Billet Specialties Mag G (http://www.wheelsforless.com/assets/...llet/magg2.jpg), 18x8 Front, 18x10 rear
Continental Tires Extreme Contact DW 245/45-18 Front; 285/40-18 Rear


Obviously this is going to be a long term project, and some of the major modifications won't be started until at least a year and a half from now. The brakes and suspension are going to be handled by a Hot Rod shop near my hometown who specializes in Pro-Touring cars, and has had 2 cars in the Great 8 at the Detroit Autorama, so they know their shit:
http://www.smittyscustomauto.com/

I love the wheels I have, but they feel kind of cheap (they are, but hey) so I'm going for the upgrade. The rear tire size is a real oddball, I only have 2 feasible options for a matching set, the continentals and Nitto NT555. I have also been considering 275/40 -18 which are the exact same diameter as the fronts, which are about half an inch shorter than the 285s (which are the same height as the ones I currently have). I need to find the right side NOS clear corner lens yet, as well as a near NOS factory blue steering wheel. I have a front bumper found, I just need to pay for it, and the rear bumper I'll just smooth as opposed to hunting for a factory stripless/guardless bumper. I also need to find a pair of vent windows with all neccesary hardware. If you hear anything about any of the parts I'm missing let me know.

[hemihotrod402]

Update time: October break has brought new goodies. Yesterday I went yard crawling and came back with a 140 mph speedometer out of an 88 PI, and a relatively flawless air dam (FINALLY) for a grand total of: $23. I also found an 89 CV that has both vent windows I'm looking for, although I didn't have the 100 bucks needed to get both doors, hopefully they will still be there in the spring. Pics will be posted once I get dressed and make my way to the garage.

[johnunit]

Nice scores! What was the air dam from?

[hemihotrod402]

Nice scores! What was the air dam from?

The same 88 police car the speedo came from. Pictures are uploading as we speak, including pics of the nice new/old dual exhaust.