I have had my bird in primer for 8 years now so december of 07' I decided to finish her. I have run into unexpected problems like MONEY and dents that were not present 8 years ago lol. But finally I have gotten to the point that it is finally ready for paint, but now the money part the paint has gone up a lot. These are some pictures but most are on 35mm but these will do. I also put the car on a diet I have dropped 91lbs from the car by new bumpers and sound deadening stuff. Tell me what you think sorry for the link to many pictures to shrink and post.
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/
that's looking great man, keep it up!
looking real nice......................now get errrrrr done.
Awsome!!!
Custom fab gauge brace in the EQ pod?
was... now I am going to make the pannel out of stainless that covers the entire pannel, also the instrument cluster
lookin good.
Are you using that shifter with the stock bird console?
Do you just use the shifter boot with it?
the funny thing is that it has been that way since I did it 9 years ago. I will make a new console or make the original one fit but I am having trouble with the back seat being red and not being able to find any door run seals
looking good keep the pics coming!
A few more pics, I just finished up my custom bumper reinforcement with 1x1 aluminum square tubing now weighing 7lbs. I added 12lbs with the compressor and horns I needed a little something to keep people from hitting me when it's painted.:shakeass:
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thats sweet!!
air horns HAHAHAHa
This is my other money pit
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/Tahoe/?action=view¤t=MVI_1473.flv
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/Tahoe/?action=view¤t=MVI_1281.flv
This is only at 150psi now it's running at 180psi big difference
holy shiznit lol
How hard is it to put one on and wire it up? I really really want one and have for a while but I didnt want to get one and it sound like ass or mess it up hooking it up
It is very easy to hook up, the only two connections are the pos/neg for the compressor turn key 12v and the horn valve you can put on a switch or hook to the pre-existing horn wire (like I have) The horn I have in the Bird sounds like a boat horn.
Well finally got some paint on the front end next weekend painting the rear shell, trunk and bumper. The parts came out wicked flat better then I thought I know py place to paint but it was prepared well so the nibs were minimal but wet sanding anyway enjoy.My wife is going to kill me for painting the washer
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/
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I'd paint the whole freaking garage if I could get results like that! very nice! Do you paint cars for a living?
use to, but now I only do it as side work and when I need to paint something I F up. lol
Really like that color red. Dude, train horn! Bad a$$!!!!!
The red is a ford red FL paint code toreador red, same color that comes on the excursions and other ford trucks
looking very good.any idea when you think it will be complete?
that color does look god btw.
looking very good.any idea when you think it will be complete?
that color does look good btw.
I would like to finish it by the end of the year, but you never know what might happen crossing my fingers.
Looks great!! When you finish I'll run my '88 down to you..I live in Vero....
Here are some more pictures can't wait to finish it
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My wife is already teasing me that she will be driving it to work YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what size hood is that? nice work on the painting.
wow looking great!
i usualy dont likfe 4 eye birds.. but i'd be an idiot not to appreciate your work. the car isnt just a stock 4 eye; if you get what im saying. plus i like watching 4 eyes race more than a aero headlight style.
I hear you on that, I think the 4 eye's look better with skinnies up front and fats on the back.
http://www.carhoods.com/
3" dominator hood the hood came in pretty bad shape but the owner has incredible customer service and he did everything to make me happy, other then that it has a finished bottom and that was my only choice. The price was high but all and all I was very happy with the way it turned out after all MY hard work.lol
Nice. I really like it. That's giving me a good idea of what my color will look like when it's finally on all of the car.
This is a little vid of the 347. The sound was quality was bad, I think because it was in the garage when I break in the gears I will get some tire smoking vid's:burnout:
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/?action=view¤t=MOV01279.flv
Good work, I can only imagine it must be some sort of advantage to be able to paint pieces yourself.
here are some more pictures
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/
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AMAZING! keep the pics coming
Can't wait to see it in the sunlight!
I got a question for you 347thunder, whats your process with getting results like that? What I mean is how would a handy guy like myself take on a paint project like your doing and pull it off with good results.
I would love to paint my car myself, I wouldn't mind spending the money on quality tools etc.. where do you suggest I get started?
Any chance of seeing it at CJ09?
Nice job with the painting. I hope to be in the same place next summer.
It takes a lot of time and work you need special water separators for spraying, multiple paint guns, supplies and the cost of paint is very high. I probably have $1,500 to $2,000 in my paint job between sand paper,primers,sealers,color and clear it adds up quick but in the end totally worth it. I was going to have someone else paint it but, I would not of been able to say everything done to my car was done by me, the only thing I did not do was the alignment. I am happy the car is finally one color for the first time in 7 1/2 years.
Wow $1500-$2000 plus the cost of tools.. sounds like I'll be bringing it somewhere to get done :)
don't let me discourage you it can be done for less with a cheaper paint I used all dupont
your not I'm still looking into it. I think I know someone that I can borrow some tools to do it. When I'm feeling brave I might paint my hood. If I like how it comes out I might keep going. Anyway back to your thread :)
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nothing is adjusted to final just wanted to get parts mounted
car looks great...................hurry up and finish it,I want to right click and save as wallpaper. :D
more pics updated
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/
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What a huge pile of !!! (Actually,I only say that out of spite and jealousy.I love the car).
it is getting close......
that is one nice looking azz on that car. :D.........its time for that wallpaper now !!!!!
Lookin very nice..... in, out , and under!
very nice! I like it alot. I always liked the look of the 4 eyed birds
What do you guys think looks better black or polished
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I think polished...goes with the headlight bezels, grille, etc. But thats my opinion. nice work by the way. I love the big n' little tire/wheel combo.
Your paint job looks incredible man-I prefer the black then again polished does match everything else. I understand your confusion.
I like the black, great job btw! perfect!
Are you going chrome or black handles?
I say go black and spray the inside of the grill black. Especially if those covers for the lights are going to be smoked or black outs
Whats going on with the hood to fender gaps? Im guessing its just
not all tightened down and lined up yet.
Looks great though
Have chrome handles now but just bought black to see if they look better. I am going to paint the grill red like the car to see if I like that these are my head light covers
I think Red with the middle black and those would look bad ass. Did you make those? They look amazing!
yes, I was going to race and I wanted something more aerodynamic.lol
I like both myself. the black gives it that mean look, but the chrome classes it up.
What are you planning with the side windows? They would need to match the other trim
Those are my exact thoughts, I would have all the trim the same color. I think I want to look mean to match the hood.
what do I do now!!!! still need to black out the inside of the red grill
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/?action=view¤t=DSC01375.jpg
This picture is too big
I still say polished looks better than black...
I like the black. I was going to change mine to black when I got the new doors, but I'd have to change the 1/4 windows over. and painting over it wouldn't look right compared to the factory blacked out trim.
The black looks great with the red.
Agreed,the black trim.
red grill
or
chrome grille definitly
I like the chrome. It stands out more with the black trim.
I like the red grille.The chrome grille looks too distracting.....like an after thought.
What if you blacked out the grille and headlight trim?
red grille.
I can't take this ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
I think I like the red grill better also but I need to wet sand and buff before I put all the trim on so more torcher for me waiting
red grill
if you wanna change later, black center, red outside
would match the black window trim
thats what I would do
red grill,,black trim----that is looking SWWWEEEEET !!!!
what do you guys think about the black trim on the tail lights
just made this to cover up the py underside
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Red grille black center, like the tail light trim
the black on the taillights looks good!
what do you mean red grill black center, do you have any pictures I could go by
I went black trim on my 86 cougar. grille headlight bezels and all. Beautiful paint work!!
All black trim.
tail lights, headlights, grille, window
little clip of the car's idle pretty lumpy. Still waiting for $$$$ for any more progress sucks waiting when it is so close.
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/?action=view¤t=MOV01452.flv
That thing looks awesome! now I gotta get a mop and clean up the puddle!:D Keep the the great work
It looks and sounds great. I would black out all the chrome trim, and use the red grille with a black bird in it. I think that would look awesome.
Do you guys think these rims would look good?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250334959828&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AVRI&viewitem=
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Those look nice. But I like the polished lip ones more. I thought you went to 5 lug. I would find some with polished lips and deep dish rears.
About the grill. I was saying red frame and the inside section black. and the black bird on the grill is a good idea too
oh, ok
Nice rims!!
finally finished my stainless dash inlay well was waiting 3 weeks for the correct size hole saw blades. what do you all think
nice! I can't wait to see it installed, good job
Very nice !!!! Are you going to install a blue light for the bright light indicator?Beautiful work.
I cant decide I had that on the aluminum one
Mounted, now I have to make an inlay for the radio,a/c pannel and 3 more guages over the radio
Looks great, and you even replaced the clock. +1 for seeing it installed.
yeah the clock is a nice touch!
My friend and I made an aluminum dash for his truck...I can't remember how we did it but we made it "turned aluminum" with those little swirls in it. I think we just took a big drill bit and barely touched it over and over. It looked pretty cool and old school.
Like this...
http://www.sharp-concepts.com/Pickguards/EngineTurnClose.JPG (http://"http://www.sharp-concepts.com/Pickguards/EngineTurnClose.JPG")
that would look good but I am trying to go with a more modern look then an old school look. You can use a wire wheel in a drill press or a scotch brite wheel for results like that
Eh,just an idea. I like everything you've done so far. Keep up the good work!!
yeah looks great!!
ok almost done with the interior
That clock is sick!! I never knew that was available. Everything is coming along very nicely.
(Homer) mmmmmm, Hammer shifter!!! (Homer) :burnout:
well lookie what I got $140 braces foe $30 shipped on ebay can't believe it been looking for some for a long time. Now I don't have to use my 4 ft. level to hold the hood up.
don't even start about the mess in the garage
you! I have been wanting to mount a gauge down on the right side of the steering column forever now. I am going to use the TC trim that goes around the ride control stuff.
yeah I got that EGT gauge from a friend for $20 bucks so I can't bring myself to spend $110 for one that matches
some progress........
some more finally got that matching EGT
i FU@&in love that dash and look of your interior.. figure out your paint yet???? the whole two tone thing????
No, on the paint I am just going to rock it until I feel that I have nothing else to do and want to do it all over again. But I might be able to get the bad spots out with wet sanding but I don't want to go to far before I am ready to re-paint. It is almost done should be just a few more weekends I hope
Awesome car, ya gotta love all those gauges. Where did you get that plate with all your switches on it? It says Jegs so I'm just assuming its a universal peice.
your car looks great! you ever get to the tampa area or go to bradenton to race?
no, little far they just finished the #1 race track in the country 30min from my house palm beach international raceway (a.k.a. moroso)
yeah i hear they completely redid the place.
Man you guys are making me really want to move now. I was in Palm Beach Gardens for many years and have traveled the lovely Bee-Line Hwy going to Moroso many times.
yeah it's kinda nice. i have gainsville,bradenton,and orlando (1/4's), and lakeland and st.pete(1/8's) all within 1 1/2-2 hrs of me.
well finally finished the car just got the insurance coverage for $11,250 which is less then I wanted but it's only $180.00 a year can't complain about that! I will take it for it's first ride in more then 4 years (more then 1 mile) I can't wait to break in the gears so I can beat on her. let me know what ya think.
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that came out AWESOME!! i'm saving one of the pics as my wallpaper, it will be motivation for me to get mine done.
Awsome congrats on getting her on the road! Looks great! I love the color, wheels, and stance good choices!
I suppose it's O.K........I've never really been a big fan of Thunderbirds.
Just Kidding (you knew that).LOL.Beautiful car !!! I'm really proud for you.
Great job!!!!!!!!! I really like the looks of that Bird.
now its time to :burnout:
That red paint job is awesome! Great car!
I bet life is awesome for you right now. There is nothing better than busting your a$$ on something and then finally getting it on the road and enjoying it! I really like the car, you have done a great job and should be proud.
looks sweeet.....very nice car. You guys are lighting the fire under my ass to get moving on my 83 Heritage.
Wait a second - I didn't see this thread but you managed to paint all the panels one by one! Can you get a closeup shot of the fender to door or door to quarter panels? I'm REALLY curious how close the orange peel is. This looks great - perhaps I have a possibility of having a great paint job by doing panel by panel since I need to repaint the vehicle again due to bad chemicals the first spray.
Need more pictures! Beautiful!
Edit:
Plus, I'm jealous. I need to at the very least redo my frontend as it's the worst and one fender got smashed in by a relative.
SWEET keychain..........(roller)
Car looks awesome!!!! Feels nice getting all that attention!!!?
Sorry, NO orange peel wet sanding took care of that. The only thing with painting pannels seperate is getting correct coverage on the pannels but if you get that then you have no problems.
thanks guys it feels great to be done hopefully this weekend I get to take it out on its first ride.
O.K. I need some more help looking to get a custom license plate so far my few are not avaliable
THUNDER
86 TBIRD
GET SOME
SLO POKE
86thundr
i say SLO POKE. it's a bird, everyone is going to think it's slow and has an exhaust leak. just ask the couple of mustang,camaro, and vette owners i beat up on with my 460 bird, it even had a 4" cowl and still nobody thought anything of it.
True but that also takes thicker paint to go on beforehand also. Thick paint is bad...but if panel by panel works fine, it doesn't matter as much as it's easy to fix when problems creep up (like huge rock chips). I'll likely give this a try although black IS a nightmare to work with.
I assume just the clear was sanded? I've never had any luck sanding both the base and clear coats - the base coat doesn't look right.
where do you live? I live in New Tampa.
i'm in spring hill. it's about 40 min north of tampa
looks good
so I finally got a tag GRN LGHT (green light)
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Very very nice!
that car is just awesome !!!!.....................very nice.
Shhhhweeeetness !!!!
Awesome man!
Love looking at your ride. Is that Laser Red that was used on Mustangs for many years from 1994-up? My 1994 Mustang was Laser Red and I still love that color.
I like it!!,Nice job.
no it's toredor red on most trucks but stangs had it also, lazer red was a a tri coat and it would of been twice as much lol
Your car looks awesome. Great work.
some more pictures of the hood for 1badstang
some new goodies they ride great
Very cool! Hey, are those rear coilovers for a Mustang, or are they made for the 'Bird?
they are the new UPR coil overs for less then half the other guys and they are made just a few miles from my house. I had to weld the shock mounts like 3" higher to make the mustang shocks fit but well worth it, now I have a tow spot when I trailer the car to the track win win lol.
Cool, thanks! I have the UPR set for the front, but hadn't addressed the rear yet. I'm liking that setup...
looking good man
thanks, I can't wait to take it to the track.
good luck with all that UPR stuff. I have read quite a bit where people have had them last forever, and a few where the broke the first day they were on the car.
I have a few friends that run 9's with the same stuff I run but I don't think you should run race components for everyday driving no matter the make, I was told they just don't last like urethane bushings. One of my friends broke some ribs and his leg by breaking a steeda control arm half way down the track, now he only uses UPR. This was before the wheelie bars he puts them to the test.lol
Good luck with it. I am not trying to bash them at all, I would just take a good look over the welds if it were me. I am not telling you to pull them off or anything like that at all. Just trying to make sure you know about it.
http://www.snma.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=13045&pid=87144&st=0&#entry87144
http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1101501
I think this quote sums them up pretty well.
"Me personally I hate them, I came out with a vacuum manifold for the fox body back in Feb. took quite awhile to finalize the design I wanted and fork over the money for a production run. I knew UPR would steal the idea, thats pretty much normal for them, little did I know that the 2nd one I sold was to the owner of UPR using his wifes maiden name for his email with his first name and his wifes(using maiden name also)paypal account. 6 weeks later UPR hits the market with this manifold that is deffinately my design with a few more smooth edges and a few more ball mill lines. sucks big time for the little guy thats for sure. A post on the corral about this was started by one of the guys I had sold one too and Joe and Jeremy came into the thread saying its the american way and that they would make them and sell them cheaper to me than I am paying to have them made, they also offered to take care of me on parts for my race program, that will NEVER EVER happen, I will not sell, install or recommend UPR to anyone. oh yeah that thread on the corral got deleted.....lol."
They also claim that all there metal comes from Oklahoma, but all of there websites say that there "sreel" is imported from china.
some pictures on the hospital garage
http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/
I really really like your car. I really wanted to get an 86 bird but settled for an 87 instead. Your car and "dark thunder" are a lot of the reason I liked the 86 body styles.
so i figured since my car will never be done I would add these to this thread.lol
relocated starter solenoid for a cleaner look
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0331.jpg)
new coil mount(i like very much)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0330.jpg)
a/c delete(FOR GOOD)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0329.jpg)
complete accessories rewire and computer removal
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0332.jpg)
line lock just need to plumb it in and install new booster master and proportioning valve
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0328.jpg)
Very nice, wish I could wire like that...lol.
No you don't,lol
All ready for primer, should get the motor pulled this weekend
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0414.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0419.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0418.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0404.jpg)
What kind of hood is that?
Take your engine bay and everything in it, and put it in my Cougar and that is what I have planned. Take the whole car and put a built 2.3T in it, and that is what my '84 T-Bird is going to become.
http://www.carhoods.com/HoodPages/PF-660.htm
What happened 347 , did someone hit or scratch the side of your Bird ?
That's what I was wondering. I can't believe you getting it ready to repaint. I thought it looked great.
well two weekends ago when I was putting the interior back in, the back seat slipped and bumped the quarter, I could not live with that!!! It would of been the only dent on the hole car, it is worth it (I keep telling myself:punchballs:)
and on the top of the fender I cracked the paint during reassembly trying to get the fender and door to line up(oops), This is not a calculated repair it's more like since i'm screwing up this why not screw up that.:toilet: My wife is pretty pissed because she dosn't care about that stuff she just likes to go FAST!!!, but the car would of never turned out so well if I didn't care for the both of us:shakeass:, hopefully I can get some stuff done this weekend. I have to paint the roof and hood on my wifes cavalier, so we can sell it. that arrival blue is expensive $240 a quart(ouch) my red is $125 a quart(still ouch)
Well the good thing is you can fix it yourself . I can't do body work and paint but I can do anything mechanical . I really shouldnt say can't because I have never tried . You look Like you do an AWESOME job . Keep it up .
keep up what having to fix it or fixing it.lol
Thanks, how was the fit and finish?
fit is pretty good, lots of voids in the gel coat and the latch did not work without grinding a 1/2 of bondo and some metal, other then that I love the way it looks, and I had to have the finished underside
keep up the good work if your fixing it or fixing it up . Either way keep on keeping on !
some progress:
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0438.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0435.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0436.jpg)
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/IMAG0437.jpg)
:-O
Did you buy one of those billet grills by chance?
*EDIT:
Just found your thread on the leads section about it *smack forehead*
Lookin' Great!
I got it on ebay
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/DSC07112.jpg)
i offered the guy $97.00 and he took it, yes still a lot if you don't like it, but I was willing to take one for the team!!!!
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/03grinnie/T-bird/DSC07112.jpg)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/83-84-85-86-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-BILLET-GRILLE-thunder-bird-/170701971043?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bea15e63
Actually, I DO like that grille. Nice work, and not like everyone else's now. Sweet.
Awesome!
I was thinking of buying one, But had other things I needed. (Though I did offer the guy $50 which got declined, lol)
looks great!!
I tried that I went from $80-up finally he settled for $97 its a lot since the two for my tahoe were $115