85.03 Crown Vic Coupe "CVGT"

[CheeseSteakJim]

I'm pretty sure every manual swapped box has either blown the T5 or 8.8. I've done both already....


The rear end was mostly my fault. Poly bushings and/or boxed in control arms or aftermarket rear controls arms are a necessity of a 5sp swap. Hell even the 98+ guys have problems once they go manual with the flimsy stock rear suspension.

Tell that to the T5-swapped Town Car I dumped the clutch on at 5k rpm nearly daily since I did the swap 2 (3?) years ago before parking it to drive my Challenger. '92 T5 with a billet cluster support and a '94 disc rear with 3.55 and trac-lok running 255/50R17 tires. Scott Bowman watched me do four big donuts with the car outside my shop last Saturday night. Only damage I've done (so far) is twisting the splines in the stock slip yoke - and that was with a 3.08/open rear. T5s are blown up more by missed shifts than they are by being put in Panthers.

[pantera77]

Tell that to the T5-swapped Town Car I dumped the clutch on at 5k rpm nearly daily since I did the swap 2 (3?) years ago before parking it to drive my Challenger. '92 T5 with a billet cluster support and a '94 disc rear with 3.55 and trac-lok running 255/50R17 tires. Scott Bowman watched me do four big donuts with the car outside my shop last Saturday night. Only damage I've done (so far) is twisting the splines in the stock slip yoke - and that was with a 3.08/open rear. T5s are blown up more by missed shifts than they are by being put in Panthers.

So then why have so many T5 boxes blown up either the trans or rear end? Even one's with stock lopo's?

T5's are a weak transmission, and in stock form the rear suspension on these cars is awful.

[MrMarquis]

Tell that to the T5-swapped Town Car I dumped the clutch on at 5k rpm nearly daily since I did the swap 2 (3?) years ago before parking it to drive my Challenger. '92 T5 with a billet cluster support and a '94 disc rear with 3.55 and trac-lok running 255/50R17 tires. Scott Bowman watched me do four big donuts with the car outside my shop last Saturday night. Only damage I've done (so far) is twisting the splines in the stock slip yoke - and that was with a 3.08/open rear. T5s are blown up more by missed shifts than they are by being put in Panthers.

That was a nice way to wake the car up after it had been sitting for so long. Had I thought about it, I would've pulled out the phone and got that on camera.

[Bobcat]

That was a nice way to wake the car up after it had been sitting for so long. Had I thought about it, I would've pulled out the phone and got that on camera.

Ahahahahahahaha and they're still there.

[Bobcat]

Well... Things have been going slow since I have been preparing for SF.

My dad's buddy had some gauges laying around for what he said was the past thirty years. He never knew what they were for and why they were angled and off set how they were. Well come to find out, they were 80s Police Vic gauges and he decided just to give them to me when I didn't even ask. I cleaned them up a bit, painted the bracket for them and cut apart my dash to fit them in. I didn't do the dash how I would've liked to and accidentally cut a little too much out of the top and bottom chrome accents so I'm planning to find another section of dashboard in the future and re-do what I did. My buddy says it looks fine and nothing is noticeable. But I'm pretty dead set on doing it better.

Anyways, I cut the dash panel and the dash to fit these things in, was done quite easily with a hole saw and air cutoff wheel. Looks like wiring them in will be easily done too.
Downside to it all is that the amp gauge is blown and I'm having a hard time finding a exact replacement since I'm very picky that they are all identical. I was also looking into new gauge sets from Sunpro, Autometer and so on. But I don't like the look of any of them. Well that's my rambling, here's some pictures.

Holes for screw still need to be drilled when I find out which style screws I want to use.

[87gtVIC]

Copycat.

[sly]

imitation = flattery?

[87gtVIC]

bromance.

[Bobcat]

bromance.

[Bobcat]

Update, 14-8-20

Whale has a bent rim, now squeaks at low speeds.
Took off drivers side tire today, checked the axle to see if it was bent or the bearings where shot. Everythings all set +Good. Now in the market to buy a new set of rims to use temporarily on the whale then box. So I don't have to buy a replacement rim plus tires on the chrome bullitts (Since I don't want those on the box, they're gawdy). Just a new set with tires.
+ Tires are in good shape on whale, good for another 20,000. After SF14..


Box news...
< Still waiting to have the cam bearings done on the 351.
> Painted and put on the new license plate bucket, going to repaint it eventually since the colors don't match at all. (Clear coat making my white turn to cream.. )
> Changed the gear and set up the 140 speedo I also got from John. Done.
< Still pending more work on my police gauges, waiting for 351 before wiring them all with sending units and whatnot..
> Painted the outer lip of the 85' taillights, like where it's that fine silver pin stripe. I painted that gold. Came out good and gold is always a good 80's gawdy color. I mean classy.

Planning to take the hood and fender off so that I can get to the power antenna and see what's going on with that. Since it doesn't wanna go down..

Also want to get someone to buff the car since it's a nice matte white currently...

[Bobcat]

Update, 14-8-20

Whale has a bent rim, now squeaks at low speeds.
Took off drivers side tire today, checked the axle to see if it was bent or the bearings where shot. Everythings all set +Good. Now in the market to buy a new set of rims to use temporarily on the whale then box. So I don't have to buy a replacement rim plus tires on the chrome bullitts (Since I don't want those on the box, they're gawdy). Just a new set with tires.
+ Tires are in good shape on whale, good for another 20,000. After SF14..


Box news...
< Still waiting to have the cam bearings done on the 351.
> Painted and put on the new license plate bucket, going to repaint it eventually since the colors don't match at all. (Clear coat making my white turn to cream.. )
> Changed the gear and set up the 140 speedo I also got from John. Done.
< Still pending more work on my police gauges, waiting for 351 before wiring them all with sending units and whatnot..
> Painted the outer lip of the 85' taillights, like where it's that fine silver pin stripe. I painted that gold. Came out good and gold is always a good 80's gawdy color. I mean classy.

Planning to take the hood and fender off so that I can get to the power antenna and see what's going on with that. Since it doesn't wanna go down..

Also want to get someone to buff the car since it's a nice matte white currently.... Also wanna tear off the vinyl top.. I keep pulling myself away from doing it since it's not in dire need to be done...

[SVT98t]

Whale has a bent rim?
GTFO!!!!!!!!

Nick was just telling me about the deal you got when your car went on the dyno and someone pointed out yer tire wobbly.


-ryan s.

[Bobcat]

That's from an incident in the rain, with my near bald tires. I've been running those tires for awhile.. I've had them since the rims and they were past due to be replaced when I got the rims..

It's fun to look in my rear view mirror and watch my tire do the wobbly

[Bobcat]

Well things are starting to come along again, I put the car in the garage and started tearing it apart and preparing to do what I would like to get done to have it ready for spring. I took all four wheels off, seeing as I need the fronts off to rebuild the front suspension and the rears to replace the rear suspension. I took off the rotors and calipers, seeing as the rotors have huge grooves in them and I was planning to get drilled rotors anyhow. Both front rubber brake lines were blown and the hard lines were rusted away to no end, I'm planning to replace all front brake lines aswell.. Seeing as the engine will be out anyhow.. Found out one of the studs for one back tire was snapped off (Guessing it was left there from firestone, thats what the records say serviced the car.) One of those idiots in the shop just snapped it off and put the hubcap on, oh well. I took the driveshaft out too, started taking it apart and swapping over the the aluminum one.
Planning to goto the engine shop near me this week and get a quote on having cam bearings put in the new motor, then I commence continuing the motor build.. Pictures.



That's one beautiful oil leak right there. I think the ants are using it as a pool it's so big.

[gadget73]

Brake upgrade with front suspension overhaul, or holy stock rotors ?