thought i would tell my story December 06, 2012, 04:16:21 AM ive been on here awhile and havent really introduced myself. ive had my tbird since i was 15 ( im 21 now) when i bought it it had air shocks that were lowered to the ground and some what i could only drug running rims with a paint job that to say the least needed to be fixed. since then ive dropped a fresh rebuilt 351w in, a new 8.8 373 full posi rear end and a brand new aod tranny sent from ford factory ive repainted it and bought new seats/ new cowl hood and have freshly painted it. I just want to make sure im not the only crazy person on here, has anyone notice everytime you make a step forward you make 2 steps back? Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #1 – December 06, 2012, 08:21:31 AM Sounds to me like youve made great forward progress to me, without any backward.Welcome to the site. Pics are always enjoyed if you can. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #2 – December 06, 2012, 02:57:03 PM Yes, pics.And if you thing you arent making good progress, just wait until you have kids, and real bills to pay.I remember surviving just fine on next to nothing at that age. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #3 – December 07, 2012, 12:35:14 AM Kids have ruined many a man's dream of a cool car. Ironically, after my kids were born did my dream start to take a physical being. There will come a time though when it's cool to have a couple little ones who think dad's Tbird is the coolest thing since popsicles and cookies. On the other hand, build it and buy as many parts now as you can, diapers and baby clothes are not cheap, not that I'm complaining. Everything has balance...you just have the find the perfect edge with it all.Oh yeah...pics, it. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #4 – December 07, 2012, 09:30:33 AM Absolutely know what you mean about taking 1 forward and 2 back. Seems any progress you make is interrupted by financial junk, health issues, or you cut a line to short and get set back in your dead line. I ordered an aftermarket FI system and a couple of the parts that came with it were dead out of box. Their tech line was a joke and I got chewed out in an email by one of their upper level managers for not being available during the day (long story which I'll gladly retell). Good news is if your stubborn enough you finish your projects and all the hurdles make it more special since you persisted. Quote Selected
Tell us more Reply #5 – December 07, 2012, 09:38:35 AM I have speculated elsewhere on this forum about using my truck's 5.8 in the T-Bird. Yet I cling to my roller tappet 5.0. so I hope you will take the time to tell me: Is your 5.8 a flat tappet (and did the 5.8 police motors have rollers)? How is your swap working out? What intake did you use? What surprises have you found that you did not antite? Would love to hear the thoughts of someone who has done it. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #6 – December 07, 2012, 11:52:18 AM So on the swap discussion, if you swap in a 351w in a 302s place. Can the 5.0 computer run it or does it need tuned. Always wondered that. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #7 – December 07, 2012, 11:57:29 AM Quote from: stealth;404084i have speculated elsewhere on this forum about using my truck's 5.8 in the t-bird. you can, but the truck cam will not have as much upper rpm power as an ho cam will give, and unless it's an '87+ 5.8, the heads will also limit your gain. Better to get a nice clean bottom end, and add gt40/explorer pieces, keeping the ho cam in it, or aftermarket. yet i cling to my roller tappet 5.0. So i hope you will take the time to tell me: Is your 5.8 a flat tappet (and did the 5.8 police motors have rollers)? there were no "police" 5.8 engines in the last 20 years. how is your swap working out? What intake did you use? What surprises have you found that you did not antite? Would love to hear the thoughts of someone who has done it.:d Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #8 – December 07, 2012, 12:02:08 PM Quote from: Soul;404088So on the swap discussion, if you swap in a 351w in a 302s place. Can the 5.0 computer run it or does it need tuned. Always wondered that. The truck 351w has the same firing order as the HO, however, the injectors are pulsed in a "bank fire" system, whereas in the HO engines they are truly SEFI, meaning each injector pulses right before it's respective cylinder's power stroke.I think 1Sick88Tbird (Don) did such a swap, using a truck lower and an adapter and an HO upper, not sure though if he used a Ford eec, or an aftermarket controller (MegaSquirt, etc).Search for his thread, he went to some detail in it...seems like he used mostly factory parts to accomplish his results, and it worked well, IIRC. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #9 – December 07, 2012, 04:23:33 PM mine is a flat tappet, as far as surprises went the biggest problem was the header clearing the steering shaft heads sit taller so i bought bbk swap headers from summit and i used a carburated 351w with a edlebrock performer intake but i would imagine you would have to buy a different computer or somehow tune yours to work with the 5.8 Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #10 – December 07, 2012, 04:27:11 PM what i meant about not making progress is as soon as you fix something two other things break. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #11 – December 14, 2012, 09:28:32 AM Yeah, a carb would make it work but I was wondering about what type EFI manifold would clear the T-bird hood. My truck 5.8manifold is a lot taller. It would need a programmable ECM of some sort. And as to the 5.8 police motors, the catalogs for 1988 all refer to 5.8L Police Interceptor packages. I have to run the shorter oil filter for that app on my 5.0 due to my oil cooler adapter. But I never saw inside one and wonder if they were just flat tappet blocks with maybe a different cam and programming? The new motor I built for my truck has so much grunt I think it could pull the 2.73 gears and be a lot of fun. Or I could use the 3.55s from the truck and make it quicker. Quote Selected
thought i would tell my story Reply #12 – December 14, 2012, 04:04:25 PM i try to stay away from 2.73s i kept breaking them with the 5.8 Quote Selected
Topic: thought i would tell my story (Read 1666 times)
previous topic - next topic
