'Sherrie' my 86 Oxford White CV Coupe

[packman]

clutch47, where did you end up placing your tach?

I ended up using an old SunTach (from my friend's '72 Buick Apollo) and mounting it top left (driver side) corner of my dash pad. I didn't want to mount it in such a conspicuous place, but there was a chunk of the dash cover missing; so I covered it up. It doesn't look too cheesy from the outside though. And my A-pillar is cracked in the same spot; I think my Dad did that when he was pushing the car during one of the break-downs.

[clutch47]

It didn't happen as of 0725 this morning....
I'm still undecided. On the column works but isn't gonna work for me. Too cluttered.
I thought about in front of my inspection sticker on the left side of my dash.
But the damn dash is too nice to destroy...the dash is in great shape except for the speaker grille sooo…..
I'm debating making a plate to cover the broken hole mess and mounting it to that.
Stainless...?..
We'll see. I've got 4 whole days off, so I'm thinking it will happen shortly.
I'll take pix for sure.

[clutch47]

Mornin' ya'll,
Just wanted to say thanks for the POTM nomination and votes. I like this place and I get a real kick out of the fun yer all having with these cars.
I've wanted a tudor since I was a kid.
So Sherrie is the culmination of a long standing want.
I'm glad ya'll appreciate her as much as I do. Thank you.
Now back to our scheduled programming...…..

[VicCrownVic]

Looks good on top of the page.

[gadget73]

If you don't care about the clock, put it there. Not exactly all that visible though. Pillar gauges are easier to see. Mine is on the column, but it blocks part of the speedo. Lincoln gauges are different though.

[DerekTheGreat]

Car does look good up there. I really like two doors me self. I'd trade my minty '88 TC for a similarly minty '87 Ford Two Door.

[clutch47]

Well Ya'll....WE HAVE A/C.!!
What a mountainous pain in the ass for me but the HVAC king of my county came through nicely.
According to him, the 134 conversion was apparently done by a kindergarten teacher or a somebody really smart.
The combination of ZERO refrigerant, a system that was so dirty he cleaned the condenser twice, and a low pressure switch that
wasn't doing it's job right led to the blows warm air only condition.
So now we have all new o-rings, springs, new switch and every sensor removed, cleaned, and re-installed.....it blows 46 degrees.
We now have heat, auto, and A/C working as FoMoCo intended.
He told me to get the cop car fan clutch because when it gets warm, the pressure goes near 300 and it won't blow as cold.
So that's next. Probably tomorrow.
She's blowing a little blue smoke when I gun it at idle and using some oil. Gotta figure that out.
If it has to come apart at all, it's getting the HO upper, A cam and timing set with heads at the least. If I'm going that far...it might get the whole massage.
So I'm going for a drive. WITH A/C..!! Yay.!!!

[87gtVIC]

Great. A task I have on my plate. I have all new aside form evaporator (that is getting flushed). Luckily the system did not explode. It just kinda leaks in various spots so I at least don't need to worry about metal left within the evaporator. Will be nice to get that going again.

[clutch47]

On to other important things...

Do I hang it on this side.??

Or because my dash has seen better days and isn't perfect

Just put it right on the dash..

Or on the other side.

Or on the column.

So I took a drive and enjoyed my working HVAC system.
Stopped out at the clubhouse during a brothers 40th birthday party for his wife.


So I enjoyed a little Key Light and Hoppin' pussy.



Now onto my more immediate need. This thing irritates me incredibly. Thinking of cutting it out and plugging the hole with a flush mount LED on each side.
I've used a lot of Black Oak LED lights here and at work, so this is my thought.
https://www.blackoakled.com/products...od-or-diffused

Enough for now.

[clutch47]

Picked up some stuff off FB marketplace.

BBK shorties for $40.
Just got them back from ceramic coating $40.


Upper, lower, attached rails, injectors(orange tops) and BBK 75mm TB. $40



So.. Off-Road H-pipe, Headers, upper, and this yoooge TB.
Think it'll work alright.? I'm thinking the TB is overkill but it was almost free so WTH...?

[gadget73]

Throttle body is too big for an HO intake really. The stock EGR spacer can't be hogged out reliably beyond the size of the stock HO throttle body. Get beyond that and the sealing area gets awful narrow. You might get by with it if you fill the entire area that normally has coolant with JB Weld and machine that flat but thats just a guess. Even going to stock size, you have a more than fair chance the water will leak, so its usually suggested that you eliminate that when the spacer gets bored.

also, is that an 87+ upper or no? Its an 86 5.0 plate, and those did not have the larger upper intake. The one you want will have an E7 or higher number cast on the bottom, and usually says "HO" under where the 5.0 plate goes. Lower intakes are all the same, no reason to change that unless you're porting it, or just plan to clean it up and want it for visual reasons.

just a mention, but the stock throttle body lever has to get swapped over to the new throttle body, and the stock spacer has to be bored out. Mustang stuff doesn't work, the throttle cable bracket has nowhere to bolt and the cables go the wrong way. Gen 1 Lightning is the source for larger diameter EGR spacers that mate up to the stock throttle cable bracket. Those are 65mm and can go to at least 70mm.

[clutch47]

I didn't take it apart to see what's sandwiched between the TB and the intake yet. Work gets in the way.
I've never screwed with one of these before so this is all new to me.
I've been reading a TON online and there's a lotta bullshitters out there and modemmechanics too.
So really.. I appreciate your input a whole lot. So thanks man.
I talked my buddy out of his heads cheap too.. so a plan is slowly coming together.


165s with 5 passes on them.

So I'm at an impasse now.
Find a block and do a budget friendly engine.? While I'm doing it why not a 351.??

[gadget73]

Looks like a Fox EGR spacer. The ears on it tell the tale. Exactly why Ford decided the Fox and Panther intakes needed to point in opposite directions I don't honestly know but its mildly annoying. Probably something to do with the accessories, but why they decided that had to be completely different, I don't know either.

If you've got a guy with a lathe or a mill, they can deal with the spacer easy enough. Swapping the lever isn't real hard either, but some aftermarket throttle shafts aren't the same dimensions as the Ford one, so you'll have to file one part or the other so it fits. To get the lever off, just grind it lightly until the mushroom head is gone, then you can work the lever off. After its swapped, either a dab of weld or drill/tap it for a screw. I do both operations on the lathe because thats what I have.

You want to talk to 86VickyLX about the particulars of an EFI 351. He very recently did one in an 86 Vic.

[clutch47]

Excellent. Maybe this TB is more in line with a bigger engine.
I'm thinking a torque build 351 might be the cats meow. I have a 72 block/crank/rods that I could just rollerize.
So I guess if I wanted to keep the speed density system, I'm either a lightning or a regular truck 'puter.? HHHhhmm. Paging 86VickyLX...LOL..
Sherries 302 is a little bit tired and since the daily driving has commenced, she's obviously from the leaky Latowsky side of the family too...and THAT irritates the hell out of me.

[gadget73]

I doubt it would ever run speed density with a 351 worth bothering with. The truck motors made like 220 hp or something. Trucks were batch fire so the ECM won't mate up with the wiring harness without a lot of hacking anyway. Its got 2 injector drivers, it just alternates which group of 4 it fires. Inner pair on one side, outer pair on the other. Single O2 sensor as well. Not impossible to do, but not worth the effort for a much lesser control system IMO.

Not sure what the Lightning got honestly. It may have been MAF, I really don't know. The usual way of making this stuff work is you use a mass air ECM from a Mustang and tune it so it feeds the engine properly. Its possible to do with speed density, but nobody seems to want to tune that. The only proven to work reliably without any bullshit speed density rigs are bone stock engine with original ECM, or a stock HO with a Mark VII ECM. Anything else is questionable, and the more air you move through the motor the more questionable it gets. Seems that once you start messing with the heads it all goes out the window. The intake and exhaust can only increase the air flow so much, and that seems to be within the realm it can compensate for.