'Sherrie' my 86 Oxford White CV Coupe

[DerekTheGreat]

Holy hell, what a failure. Might as well fail spectacularly if it's gonna, right? Does indeed seem like a casting defect. I'd run the stock air box stuff for a while too, it's probably fine below 70% throttle anyway.

[clutch47]

Holy hell, what a failure. Might as well fail spectacularly if it's gonna, right? Does indeed seem like a casting defect. THIS is how my luck goes.. I'd run the stock air box stuff for a while too, it's probably fine below 70% throttle anyway.

I like the design and location of the stock airbox. I call it the treasure chest because ya just never know what's under that filter. I'll find a better flowing tube from the box to the TB somewhere in my travels but I agree. Under 70% boogie, it probably doesn't matter.

[87gtVIC]

My cupholder/gauge mount is coming together too. Pix coming.

After a very long internal debate about the location for mounting my tach, I picked up a small Autometer tach and I'm going to try to adapt an F-150 column gauge pod to my column. We shall see how this goes. If I don't like it, I'm starting to lean towards mounting this small tach inside the speedo.
We'll see...

Looking forward to this stuff.

[DerekTheGreat]

I like the design and location of the stock airbox. I call it the treasure chest because ya just never know what's under that filter. I'll find a better flowing tube from the box to the TB somewhere in my travels but I agree. Under 70% boogie, it probably doesn't matter.

Treasure chest.

Right, just how much time do you plan on spending over 70%? For me, it's not very often.

[packman]

I like the design and location of the stock airbox. I call it the treasure chest because ya just never know what's under that filter. I'll find a better flowing tube from the box to the TB somewhere in my travels but I agree. Under 70% boogie, it probably doesn't matter.

If you're cheeky; you can go with the pvc and wrap it in black duct tape; and pass it off as a carbon fiber CAI?

[Arquemann]

If you're cheeky; you can go with the pvc and wrap it in black duct tape; and pass it off as a carbon fiber CAI?

Or better yet: carbon fiber tape. Or gold tape for totally honest +5 horsepower. Because racecar!

[packman]

I like it a lot! More of a silver guy myself though. I would spend a couple extra dollars and get that aluminum tape and wrap my pvc with that. Ugha!!! I hope we're not giving clutch47 bad ideas

[clutch47]

I'm VERY fond of bad ideas.
Many terrible ideas have led to the best memories of my life, so the carbon fiber tape might be a grand idea..
I once saw a small hit and miss powered motorcycle. Hhhhmm....

[clutch47]

Rear out. Rebuilt and cleaned, Trac-loc refreshed, painted and the brakes rebuilt completely. Decided to stay with the drums for now just because.

There has been some discussion regarding the bushings on the rear diff..
Here's a few pix.



The mustang bushing size is obviously smaller and here's the example.

Proper bushing size is: ID: .56" OD: 2.05" Length: 2.38" according to Energy Suspension.
Funny thing is, they don't offer a bushing in their kit, yet they offer a universal bushing separately.



Stock box bushing vs Mustang poly bushing. I've got something different in the works, and when I get it right, I'll share here.
ADTR trailing arms done too. More pix of that later. Still no sway bar.

[clutch47]

A few more pix from the latest and the details of the water pump carnage.

Not a bad job on the rear. Scrubbed and sprayed. Residual brake fluid from the bleed is still on it here.
The cover was a last minute addition, and not a bad piece. The Bearing cap supports had no seal. Instructions said to put a squirt of silicone in there.
I used O-rings. No leaks yet. The trac-loc was not a bad job but was a joy to get the spring in. But it is done.


The Trailing arms were an easy install. So far I can tell you the car rides great. I was concerned that these would make my girl ride harsh and Fox/Mustang like after they get the same treatment. It doesn't. I stayed with rubber bushings on the top ears in lieu of the poly, and that was a decent compromise. These trailing arms are VERY well made and nice pieces.


Hard to get a great picture of the whole upper arms in place. Pinion set to 2.5 degrees easily. These parts are nice.


Now on to the water pump that exploded on the dyno. The tensioner slot on the alternator mount had lots of room. The belt was tightened by hand... so I can't think of any reason this pump could have done this other than being related to the casting being defective. (??)
When you put the parts all in line, the bearing spins beautifully.... You can see the backing plate was galled from the impeller for a few seconds. Thankfully we got the engine shut down quickly... so nothing got into the cooling system.

Enjoy the pix.

[1985crownvicltd85]

looks good! I hope you find a rear sway bar soon

[packman]

Are those the ADTR trailing arms? Otherwise, very nice!

IF I ever get the CV running and moving; the second trip I take will be to the car wash and spray all of the oil and dirt the lopo put on the rebuilt rear.

[87gtVIC]

Yes those are the ADTR arms. They are really well built.

[packman]

I guess they're needed for built Windsor engines.

The only time I had to replace those was on my '78 Malibu. But that was due to rot and all the abuse that the 2nd owner and a young me put on the suspension. As for the CV; I will see how the P72 trailing arms hold up.

Sorry for the clutch47

[clutch47]

I guess they're needed for built Windsor engines.

The only time I had to replace those was on my '78 Malibu. But that was due to rot and all the abuse that the 2nd owner and a young me put on the suspension. As for the CV; I will see how the P72 trailing arms hold up.7

My needing them was very obvious..LOL..

Then...
From a slow roll, jumping on it...mild wheelspin, then hook and go. 2nd gear hits and the car would track off center enough it needed correcting with the steering wheel.... but no wheelspin or even chirp.
Between the shot OEM bushings and the trailing arms flexing, it was causing the pinion to leak too.... I'm sure it would have broken in short order.
Now...
Slow roll, jump on it and it squats a little. Hooks with audible protest from the tires. 2nd gear gives a straight-line drivers tire chirp about half the time. Pinion is dry and the ride has not changed notably.
I can say the car turns a little flatter and feels more planted. Donuts are definitely less dramatic with less body roll and flex and the car recovers from a slide under power easier than before.
All from JUST swapping in the ADTR trailing arms. I'd buy them again without a thought.