2000 GM Restore and Build

[Charlie Mercury]

Going to keep track of progress here. Want to thank a couple members in the Looking to Buy section for getting me going and also the guys at ADTR for emailing me and hooking me up with Marty. I got a set of P.I. heads and P.I. Intake from a 2005 Crown Vic a few weeks back. Had to strip the heads down to bare but got them for $40 and the intake for $25. Ordered and received the Marauder air box, zip tube and MAF today from eBay. Got that for $110 shipping included. Also, got the front driver and passenger window motor regulators in as well. Hopefully I can continue good progress over the next few months. Any advice and input is greatly appreciated.

[Charlie Mercury]

[Charlie Mercury]

This is a pic of the car when I first got it in 2012. It sat up for about 5 years and developed a trunk leak and rust and mold, rusted roof, cracked intake manifold, flat tires, windows stopped working, battery and alternator went out and headlights turned dark yellow.

[79lincolnlover]

There's a wealth of knowledge here to help you bring your Panther back to life and keep it going for years.

[Charlie Mercury]

I am super excited.

[SVT98t]

What are you plans for it?
That's typically a good place to start.
Let us know what you're trying to accomplish, and we can generally guide you in the correct direction; being it parts, ideas, or technical data.

Welcome to the Party!!


-ryan s.

[Charlie Mercury]

Thanks Ryan!

Bought: 80mm MAF, Marauder Zip Tube and air box, new window motor regulators, P.I. heads.

Installed: P.I. Intake no tune

Still to come: 4.11 gears with spool, aluminum draft shaft, J-mod, 75mm throttle body, ported plenum, fuel pump, cams, injectors, 75-100 shot and tune from Marty.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-4209FRH-K/mustang-yukon-411-gear-kit-86-09?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=comparison-shopping&utm_campaign=google-shopping-v2&adpos=1o2&scid=scplpLRS-4209FRH-K&sc_intid=LRS-4209FRH-K&gclid=CjwKCAjwwo7cBRBwEiwAMEoXPJYKMKbzXQoK0ebfTR-118PBLXW09QT_2Md0U6C_NUAosoEGxLK0bBoC0bgQAvD_BwE

I know Yukon is a good brand and I know we have a 8.8 like mustangs so seems like it would work.

[Giraffe]

You planning to use this car only for racing? If street driving is in the cards, I would advise against the spool.

You probably know that a spool locks both rear tires together and spins them at the same speed at all times. This is great for drag racing, but is not ideal for the street around corners. What you'll end up doing is stripping out one or both sides of the spool and possibly destroying the axle splines because you'll continually be putting opposing/twisting forces on the spool. I've seen a few Mustang guys who drove spools on the street only to have them fail.

I would recommend sticking with a good traction lock differential if you'll mostly be driving the car on the street.

[Charlie Mercury]

I have driven lifted Toyota 4runner and pick ups on 37 inch boggers for years with spools. Did welded diffs first and then went to spools on other trucks. I was hoping a low powered car with smooth tires would be more reliable. Not that my trucks weren't reliable, zero issues with welds or spools. Not to sound smug or snarky hahah but i really assumed there would be zero issues given its a lighter car with no aggressive tires and half the horsepower.

[Charlie Mercury]

went a 17.39 leaving it in drive. trunk gutted. 16.91 shifting manually.

[Charlie Mercury]

out with the old, in with the new

[VicCrownVic]

Some respectable times there. Looking forward to seeing what the mods will get you.

The old looks not as straight as the new. Probably a good thing I suppose.

[Charlie Mercury]

Thanks!!

and yeah, when i took the old ones out, they came out in pieces. cables and blacks parts all in the door. its nice to have power windows again.

[Charlie Mercury]

I guess racing a 20 year old car that has set up for several years wasnt the best idea.

[VicCrownVic]

It probably would have broke anyway. You were just testing the integrity of the transmission. I guess it failed the test.
That does suck though. Good luck with the rebuild/replacement.