I call it the Monolith. I have plans for it.

[sly]

96 for more exhaust options (gt40 heads) 97 to whenever they put the 4.6 in it... I think 99 or 2000 when the body changed again for the GT40p heads that require certain heads and wires. They both work well though.

[ootdega]

Alright, thanks. So if possible the Ford Explorer would be a better option for parts, then? What years?

[gadget73]

Difference is basically better flowing heads, better flowing intake, and a different camshaft. Gain is about 65 horsepower and 20 ft/lb of torque. Not an insignificant amount of that is the heads and intake though. They aren't by any stretch a radical engine, and in stock form are much better suited to a supercharger. The stock engine pistons are a cast dished piston that will not be happy about the heat from boost. The HO pistons are forged with valve reliefs, and you can abuse the BS out of them. The HO heads are better than stock, but not amazing. There are better factory castings out there. Same with the intake. Intake and heads from an Explorer would actually be an improvement for an HO. HO motors can be found in fox body Mustangs and the Mark VII, some Thunderbird an Couger as well. There is also the 5.0 Explorer motor that has hypereutectic pistons and the better heads and intake.

[ootdega]

6MPG increase with a supercharger?? Where did you read that? I hate to disappoint you but even with a small amount of boost you will not see better fuel economy, and i'd bet more on a 6mpg Decrease rather than increase. There are a lot of cheaper things you can do that will increase power and fuel economy first anyway, like a HO swap/conversion. THEN if you wanted to do a supercharger it would be far better equipped for one.

Plus rear gears...Do you know what you have stock?

Rear brush guard would be cool, I don't think i've seen one on a box panther, but I fully support making one into a tank lol.

Why thank you.

I read it in just about every place I looked. Question sites, mechanic boards, videos, and they all have a pretty clear consensus. Under normal driving conditions, a supercharger increases fuel economy significantly. Under harsh driving, it decreases significantly, but that's the price you pay for ridiculous horsepower. They're also very robust machines, so I won't have to worry about it breaking.

I don't really know if I want to bother with an HO engine. My concerns would be reliability, economy, cost, and availability. I haven't done any research on it though, since I've never heard of it before I got here. What's the difference?

I have no idea what my rear gears are. I'm still learning about all this. I'm researching all I can, but there are only so many hours in the day and I can only look up things I know about.

[Brown_Muscle]

6MPG increase with a supercharger?? Where did you read that? I hate to disappoint you but even with a small amount of boost you will not see better fuel economy, and i'd bet more on a 6mpg Decrease rather than increase. There are a lot of cheaper things you can do that will increase power and fuel economy first anyway, like a HO swap/conversion. THEN if you wanted to do a supercharger it would be far better equipped for one.

Plus rear gears...Do you know what you have stock?

Rear brush guard would be cool, I don't think i've seen one on a box panther, but I fully support making one into a tank lol.

[ootdega]

After a lot of research, I've decided to add a supercharger at some point in the future, since it would increase my mileage by at least 6 under normal driving and I'd have a lot more power if I ever needed it for whatever reason. I don't think the engine or cam will be a problem in that respect, but I could be wrong. I'd rather not change anything I don't have to.

On that note, I've also decided that I'm going to just go with headers on the exhaust and use resonators to deal with the noise. I'll need custom pipes, but if I'm going to do it I might as well do it right. I'll go with something similar in shape to the factory bent pipes, to reduce noise and make them less pronounced. Probably 2.5 diameter.

My research has also alerted me of the existence of rear brush guards. I want one. They look cool. I'm not sure how they mount though, so I don't know if they'll interfere with installing a tow hitch.

After taking a look at it last night, I've decided to replace the peripheral lights with LED. Things like the dome lights, keyhole lights, and "courtesy lamps" as the manual calls them

In the realm of EXTREME modifications, I've entertained the thought of reinforcing the doors and the pillars of the frame with carbon fiber or something. Because why the hell not.

It's...pretty much going to be a tank. It's already nigh-indestructible, why not make it hilariously so?

[ootdega]

Well, I went to take a look at the driver-side Lincoln manifold I planned to buy and it's exactly the same cast-iron one I already have, so this month the budget will be going to fixing the A/C leak.

Shoot a PM over to lincolnmania (Scott) and ask about the push bar on Donalds wagon. He will see if Ivan is up for doing another one. Work out the details with Scott and tell him I sent ya.

Alright, thanks. And thank you for cleaning this up, it was obnoxious.

[87gtVIC]

Shoot a PM over to lincolnmania (Scott) and ask about the push bar on Donalds wagon. He will see if Ivan is up for doing another one. Work out the details with Scott and tell him I sent ya.

[Midnight Drifter]

Until you find out how many tens of thousands that have been spent on that car to complete all those mods and he's just finally getting around to possibly upgrading the engine.

You can't put a price on perfection.

[ootdega]

Until you find out how many tens of thousands that have been spent on that car to complete all those mods and he's just finally getting around to possibly upgrading the engine.

Good point.

[sly]

Well shit, now I'm jealous.

Until you find out how many tens of thousands that have been spent on that car to complete all those mods and he's just finally getting around to possibly upgrading the engine.

[ootdega]

Nice. Pretty impressive.

I don't think I want to go for speed, but I'll probably do anything that'll increase power without negatively affecting mileage or reliability.

Yeah Nick is going to fab up some pushbar brackets for my pushbar, I imagine he wouldn't mind fabricating a pushbar but you'd have to ask him. John's Vicky is quite impressive, and a lot of fun to drive.

Ootdega, do you have any junkyards near you?

Feel free to call me stupid, but how would I go about asking him?

I have one junkyard that I know of, that's where I'm getting one of the manifolds tomorrow. There are probably more.

[Brown_Muscle]

Yeah Nick is going to fab up some pushbar brackets for my pushbar, I imagine he wouldn't mind fabricating a pushbar but you'd have to ask him. John's Vicky is quite impressive, and a lot of fun to drive.

Ootdega, do you have any junkyards near you?

[Midnight Drifter]

I haven't been fortunate enough to drive John's insane '86, but I can testify from the passenger's seat that even with "shitty" Cornell 1000 tires, it's a real Beast from the East. And, a 5.0 EFI @ 6,500 RPM is just...

Fukken love his Vic. OMG, is it fast.

[ootdega]

My brother Nick "CheeseSteakJim" on the forum can most likely fab you up a pushbar much of the same, I believe he's modifying one for Brown Muscle too.

Oh and the 1" spacers will do wonders, that tucked in wheel look annoys me aswell

If you could find out about that I'd really appreciate it. I'll give whatever info you need to the best of my ability.

The one on dmccaig's wagon was made by lincolnmania and Ivan. I believe it started life as a part from a truck, but it was modified to fit the Grand Marquis properly. That wagon is actually a pretty crazy piece of machinery if you find the threads on it. It might be listed under either Boulevard Cruiser or Shooting Brake. As far as I know, it is one of two boxes with ABS. The other is owned by John the photobomber. Its got big brakes, rear discs, dual exhaust, electric fans, a rear wiper, auto-dim rearview and side view mirrors, and probably a dozen other things I'm forgetting now. I've driven it a couple times myself, its pretty freakin cool.

Well shit, now I'm jealous.