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Anyone else remember way back when this shook things up in the automotive world? http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/ae29/littleredman888/autowp.ru_ford_thunderbird_super_coupe_6_zpsnufrq1p8.jpg View Quote Fugly underpowered piece of shit |
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Yeah, I remember. I still own this one. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/DSC_2919_zpsdj32vd8e.jpg Nothing too crazy, but runs 12.4 @ 110. Lots of weight reduction, suspension work, brakes, etc. Built more for autocrossing than drag racing. View Quote 1/4 mile?? |
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I remember one that SVO built for a magazine shootout. They shortened the frame to remove the rear seat and bobbed the trunk. It looked awesome. To top it off they dropped in a 600hp 5.4L. It's to bad it was just a one off.
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Yeah, I remember. I still own this one. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/DSC_2919_zpsdj32vd8e.jpg Nothing too crazy, but runs 12.4 @ 110. Lots of weight reduction, suspension work, brakes, etc. Built more for autocrossing than drag racing. 1/4 mile?? Yes. |
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I don't buy it, these are just magazine numbers, but, they have the top V8 85 Mustang running 0-60 in 6.4 seconds with a 14.9 second 1/4 mile. They have the 1985 TC with a 0-60 in 10.4 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 17.7 seconds. Ford is not going to build a Thunderbird that is faster than the Ford flagship fast car which is the Mustang. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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i owned the turbo coupe similar to this one. what a pos. i pledged that i would never own another ford again. https://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2010/09/18/01/50/pic-8034674498966288534-1600x1200.jpeg I had an 85 Turbo Coupe with a 5 speed. Mine was a good car. It'd outrun any pos 5.0 mustang of the same year model too, stock. SVO had some killer engine parts, and my brother-in-law was a heavy line tech at one of the Ford dealers They have the 1985 TC with a 0-60 in 10.4 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 17.7 seconds. Ford is not going to build a Thunderbird that is faster than the Ford flagship fast car which is the Mustang. You've got to remember, most of the Mustang GT's in 85 were built with the AOD transmission and the weak ass sorry little 180hp 302 throttle body engine. If your T-Bird was ordered with the intercooler option (new for 85 on the T-bird) and mine was, you had the identical 205 horse engine in the SVO Mustang. The 5 speed GT's were still only 210 horse with a 600 Holley on them. With the intercooler option and T-5 tranny, you also got the 3.55 trac-loc rear end instead of 3.42-3.45 gear...whichever one it was. Add about a second to the GT's ET...as much time as I spent at the dragstrip in the mid 80's (and many years after) You just never saw a stock GT even break into the 14's. It was even worse in 86 when the Mustang went to total EFI and lost 10 hp. The SVO program was just making a name for itself back in those days. To the point of, HEY, look what we did to this Pinto motor! |
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I have owned several SCs, 5.0, and 4.6 MN12s and currently have a modified Lincoln Mark VIII which is the same basic chassis. I love the design of those cars, way better than any Mustang I have owned.
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Back when I was in hs those and the Mustang 5.0 were considered the fast factory cars. They probably ran mid 15 sec 1/4 mile times, but that was also considered fast for the day. The "top tier" in those days would have been the Buick Grand National, the Corvette, or the GMC Syclone.
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Mine was a white '92. For the time, it was a quick car. Sure enjoyed the manual paired with that motor. On a summer day with the radio blasting, the windows down, the moonroof open, and the open highway ahead, it was a glorious time.
Also had a particularly impressive bird strike at about 90 while on an open, west Texas road. Minimal damage to the car, but the bird was a different story. |
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Outside of a few exceptions the Late 70's - 90's were the worst vehicles ever made.
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I had a 1990 T-bird in highschool. That thing was a piece of shit but it was my first car and I loved it. Bought it for $1,000. Can't find used cars that cheap anymore.
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I had some friends with that body style of Thunderbird in high school. Rolling piles of shit. Slow, parts falling off, noisy interiors, transmission issues, and generally bad.
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I'm almost finished restoring my 35th Anniversary SC. Been a long haul, mostly trying to find good usable parts. Wife and I both love the car (my wife calls her "Baby"), its just a blast taking a long drive on the weekend in the car.
One thing I REALLY don't like is the early distributor-less ignition system. Lots of failure points and not the most informative error codes around. But when I hit the gas, she gets on the road in a hurry. Is she a 650HP turbo-nitrous car? Oh hell no, but still a fun, comfortable driver |
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Quoted: Anyone else remember way back when this shook things up in the automotive world? http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/ae29/littleredman888/autowp.ru_ford_thunderbird_super_coupe_6_zpsnufrq1p8.jpg View Quote My '89 looked axactly like that car-same color and everything. Nick |
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I'm old, had a 1977 T-bird with a 351M V8 in high school. Great highway car, you could run 90 mph all day long. http://oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/Ford_Thunderbird/1977_Ford_Thunderbird/1977-Ford-Thunderbird-Mailer/1977%20Ford%20Thunderbird%20Mailer-04-05.jpg?m=1366127041 View Quote My in-laws have a mint condition all original Elite. They drive it to car shows and win Survivor class all the time. |
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Outside of a few exceptions the Late 70's - 90's were the worst vehicles ever made. View Quote All vehicles or just Fords or domestics? Because I think most of the Japanese vehicles from the '90s were awesome and there was a big difference in quality between them and domestic vehicles. |
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Yeah, I remember. I still own this one. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/DSC_2919_zpsdj32vd8e.jpg Nothing too crazy, but runs 12.4 @ 110. Lots of weight reduction, suspension work, brakes, etc. Built more for autocrossing than drag racing. View Quote Tell us more!!! Any vids? |
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I test drove a red SC way back when I was young... Nice car.
I came back to buy it the next day and it was gone. |
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Haha, yep. Don't forget its brother, the Cougar XR7: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/1990-mercury-cougar-ad.jpg View Quote I had that poster in my bedroom when it came out!!! |
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Compared the the same year V-8 Camaro? 170hp and 255 Ft-lbs? No mullet requirement? Maybe not a monster, but in that era a rare performance piece. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Wow, it had 215 hp and 315 torque... what a monster... Maybe not a monster, but in that era a rare performance piece. You chose the lowest rated Camaro vs the highest rated T-bird. There were other options on the Camaro; 170 hp standard RPO L03 230 hp RPO LB9 with manual transmission and dual exhaust 240 hp for the 350 with dual exhaust. and let's not even get into the GNX, GM boosted V6 vs the Ford boosted V6. |
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I had 3 TurboCoupes. 83, 85, & 88.
I lusted for an SC with a stick. |
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Yeah, I remember. I still own this one. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/DSC_2919_zpsdj32vd8e.jpg Nothing too crazy, but runs 12.4 @ 110. Lots of weight reduction, suspension work, brakes, etc. Built more for autocrossing than drag racing. Tell us more!!! Any vids? Thanks, and yes, I have vids. Can't embed, though: Autocross vid 1 Autocross vid 2 Engine is fully built--4.3 liter stroker, forged H-beam rods, .040 over Wiseco pistons. Heads are ported and polished w/ a 3-angle valve job and oversizes stainless valves. Cam is .580/.580 lift. I replaced the blower case itself with an aftermarket M90 case called the MPX, which has a different port shape and basically changes the duration of the blower, with the same effect as changing the duration of a cam. Double intercooler. Runs 16 psi, and the exhaust is Kooks mid-length headers with all custom stainless stuff behind it. Unfortunately, the blower can't move enough air to support the rest of the engine, so it only makes 377 peak RWHP, but it does make 459 lb-ft at pretty low RPM. One of these days the plan is to swap in something like an Eaton TVS blower in place of the M90. Oh, and a one-off baffled oil pan to prevent starvation during cornering. The front suspension uses single adjustable Koni inserts that I modified with coilover sleeves and 600 lb-inch Hyperco springs, along with a 1-1/4" solid sway bar. The rear has SA Konis with Suspension Techniques springs and 3/4 coil cut out. The rear sway bar is a custom 1-1/4 tubular bar, .188" wall thickness. I have Lincoln Mk8 aluminum lower rear control arms to save weight over the factory iron pieces. Wheels are 18x9 Enkei PF01s with 255/40 Bridgestone RE71Rs at all four corners. The front has 4-pot Brembo calipers and 13" Cobra rotors; the rear brakes are stock calipers relocated to use 11.65" Cobra rotors. It's a 5-speed car, which is fairly rare for this model. B&M shifter, Centerforce clutch, aluminum flywheel, aluminum driveshaft, aluminum Mk8 diff housing with stock 2.73 gears and an Eaton True Trac diff. Aside from the aluminum stuff already mentioned, weight reduction includes a fiberglass hood, 10-pound battery, Recaro front seats, aluminum radiator, foglight delete, stereo delete, remote entry delete, removal of all unnecessary wiring from the wiring harness, and lots and lots of other little things here and there. Weight was 3741 when I started and is now 3380 or so. Few more pics: |
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I'm old, had a 1977 T-bird with a 351M V8 in high school. Great highway car, you could run 90 mph all day long. http://oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/Ford_Thunderbird/1977_Ford_Thunderbird/1977-Ford-Thunderbird-Mailer/1977%20Ford%20Thunderbird%20Mailer-04-05.jpg?m=1366127041 View Quote Shit, you had the smaller, lighter, newer one This is what I had in HS and learned to drive in... 1974 Thunderbird with the 460ci with a Holley 4 barrel. (mine looked exactly like the pic except the pic claims its a 76 (its not) and mine was metallic blue with a factory sunroof). My dad bought the car brand new and it had every factory option including leather and was still in excellent condition when I got it ~'86. They were only rated at ~200HP from the factory but mine was warmed up a little bit during a rebuild. It was a dog off the line (too heavy and an open rear with like 2:78 gears) but on the highway, you could floor it and it would throw you back in your seat and it cruised at 110 mph easy. I know because I did that almost daily after HS when I had a job an hour a way out in the middle of nowhere. Wish I still had that car as it has a ton of sentimental value |
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I lusted after those as a kid. My dad almost bought an early model that had the digital dash. Apparently those dashes were so problematic that they completely killed of all public desire for digital dashes for a very long time.
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I had a 1993 T-bird with the fuel injected 5.0. It was black on black with black tinted windows. A very nice car for the asking price. I liked it as you stomped on the gas it would sink low to the ground as it settled in. The only thing about that aspect was that if the ground was even just slightly wet, it's real wheel drive would tend to spin out the tires so I'd have to leave red lights and stuff slow, just the weight of my foot on the accelerator. The suspension was great and I could exit a highway ramp at speed without the leaning over left or right part. On trips, I could set the cruise control to whatever and the motor would just pretty much hum along regardless of going on a flat or in the mountains. No noticeable change in RPMs. I liked the styling of it but after so many years, you'd end up replacing the door hinges as the doors were enormous. On mine I'd have to change the directional rear bulbs about every six months but other then that I had/have no issues with it. Too bad Ford decided to drop it. I didn't really care for the through back models prior to dropping the line.
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Quoted: In 1989? That was pretty damn respectable. Context matters. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Wow, it had 215 hp and 315 torque... what a monster... In 1989? That was pretty damn respectable. Context matters. And that 315 torque came in real friggin low...that 2.73 rear for 5 spd cars was almost a necessity to cut down on wheel hop. Mine was a former auto car that retained the 3.27 rear, and 1st and 2nd were almost useless from a traction standpoint. Nick |
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In 1989? That was pretty damn respectable. Context matters. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Wow, it had 215 hp and 315 torque... what a monster... In 1989? That was pretty damn respectable. Context matters. I think we are living in a golden age for Horsepower right now. |
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Q: You're caught flat-footed after the 1973 oil embargo, with no time to redesign your huge gas-guzzlers for better fuel economy - What to do? A: Slap in a ridiculously tall rear end, and hope your advertising department can sell it as "new" and "improved"! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/wp-content/uploads/1-1976-Ford-Thunderbird.jpg 1974 Thunderbird with the 460ci with a Holley 4 barrel. (mine looked exactly like the pic except the pic claims its a 76 (its not) and mine was metallic blue with a factory sunroof). My dad bought the car brand new and it had every factory option including leather and was still in excellent condition when I got it ~'86. They were only rated at ~200HP from the factory but mine was warmed up a little bit during a rebuild. It was a dog off the line (too heavy and an open rear with like 2:78 gears) Q: You're caught flat-footed after the 1973 oil embargo, with no time to redesign your huge gas-guzzlers for better fuel economy - What to do? A: Slap in a ridiculously tall rear end, and hope your advertising department can sell it as "new" and "improved"! No, the 73 embargo had nothing to do with that car. It was just next the progression of that particular line and Ford was doing what every other US maker of the time was doing (bigger = better back then). The 6th gen T-Bird's started in '72. '73 got a better looking front end (and is the best looking year in general for that generation IMO). '74 got different tail lights. '75-76 got catalytic converters and other smog stuff but otherwise was pretty much unchanged except for the trim. In 1977 Ford redesigned the Bird to be "smaller" and more "fuel efficient" The 8th gen (1980-1982) Thunderbird was the absolute worse ever (and I admit, that's saying something) and almost killed the line. The 9th gen ('83-'88) were very popular and was the first generation of the "Turbo Coupe" and really brought the T-Bird line back and made it somewhat cool again. I do remember my dad having to deal with the gas crunch. Could only get gas on even or odd days depending on your license plate number. Luckily for my dad, he knew a guy with a gas station from our church and that guy would take car of him. Our next door neighbor growing up was a huge T-Bird fan and I'm sure he influenced my dad's decision to buy the one he did. The neighbor bought a brand new one every 5 years and gave the old one to his son who kept them all in mint condition. Don't know if he had any of the older cool ones but I know he had a '68 4 door, '73, '78 and '83. He died before it was time to get the next one |
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I went with the other Supercharged car of the time, a Pontiac Bonneville SSEI. I miss that car. http://www.scorpiocars.net/images/Pontiac/1992%20Pontiac%20Bonneville%20SSEi_113432.jpg View Quote I remember the commercial at the time comparing that Pontiac to the current Lexus. Now, in 2016 we can really see American cars giving the Japanese and Europeans a run for their money (Cadillac CTSV, etc) |
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My yamaha powered SHO used to beat up on those back in the day.
Fun times. |
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I had a 1989 Thunderbird SC from 1991-1997. 5-speed manual. It was a great car; it's best attribute was that it was a fantastic high-speed interstate cruiser. Car and Driver had a long term T-Bird SC that they described as "barrelled down the road like a nuclear Peterbilt." Very true.
There are more than a few stupid comments in this thread, I suppose from people who never actually owned or drove one. For the day it was a technical marvel, especially from a US manufacturer. Supercharged and fuel injected, dual exhaust, 16-inch wheels, 4-wheel independent suspension with rear wheel drive, adjustable shocks, speed-sensitive power steering, JBL audio, oil life monitor, etc. A few points: - the styling was most like a BMW 635- not a Mercedes. The styling got very positive reviews at the time. - reliability was good- no major problems in 6 years. No head gasket or transmission issues. My major repairs were a water pump and a window motor. -315 lb-ft of torque moved the car very well, even by modern standards. Later cars got 230 hp and 330 lb-ft torque. -Mine had the keypad, I still remember the combination. :) |
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You guys need to stop! You made me go look at the SVO ad again. http://images.craigslist.org/00F0F_674Lrqp3Caa_1200x900.jpg It's an '86 with 43K for $9900 View Quote Buy it........ speed I passed on a cherry one a few years ago, I think I will regret it for the rest of my life |
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So a 350 making marginally more power? Ok. Also, I just realized the 305 from that year made less HP but a little bit more torque than my NA 3.0L straight 6 Toyota. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Wow, it had 215 hp and 315 torque... what a monster... Maybe not a monster, but in that era a rare performance piece. In 1989 you could buy a Camaro with a naturally aspirated L98 rated at 245 hp/ 345 ft-lbs. Also, I just realized the 305 from that year made less HP but a little bit more torque than my NA 3.0L straight 6 Toyota. I used to crush 305 TPI cars all day... With my DOHC 1g Neon. From a stop, or if they were dumb, from a highway roll, it didn't matter. The only ones who could even hang had a 5spd car, and that was only if it was from a dig, and they could drive. |
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Thanks, and yes, I have vids. Can't embed, though: Autocross vid 1 Autocross vid 2 Engine is fully built--4.3 liter stroker, forged H-beam rods, .040 over Wiseco pistons. Heads are ported and polished w/ a 3-angle valve job and oversizes stainless valves. Cam is .580/.580 lift. I replaced the blower case itself with an aftermarket M90 case called the MPX, which has a different port shape and basically changes the duration of the blower, with the same effect as changing the duration of a cam. Double intercooler. Runs 16 psi, and the exhaust is Kooks mid-length headers with all custom stainless stuff behind it. Unfortunately, the blower can't move enough air to support the rest of the engine, so it only makes 377 peak RWHP, but it does make 459 lb-ft at pretty low RPM. One of these days the plan is to swap in something like an Eaton TVS blower in place of the M90. Oh, and a one-off baffled oil pan to prevent starvation during cornering. The front suspension uses single adjustable Koni inserts that I modified with coilover sleeves and 600 lb-inch Hyperco springs, along with a 1-1/4" solid sway bar. The rear has SA Konis with Suspension Techniques springs and 3/4 coil cut out. The rear sway bar is a custom 1-1/4 tubular bar, .188" wall thickness. I have Lincoln Mk8 aluminum lower rear control arms to save weight over the factory iron pieces. Wheels are 18x9 Enkei PF01s with 255/40 Bridgestone RE71Rs at all four corners. The front has 4-pot Brembo calipers and 13" Cobra rotors; the rear brakes are stock calipers relocated to use 11.65" Cobra rotors. It's a 5-speed car, which is fairly rare for this model. B&M shifter, Centerforce clutch, aluminum flywheel, aluminum driveshaft, aluminum Mk8 diff housing with stock 2.73 gears and an Eaton True Trac diff. Aside from the aluminum stuff already mentioned, weight reduction includes a fiberglass hood, 10-pound battery, Recaro front seats, aluminum radiator, foglight delete, stereo delete, remote entry delete, removal of all unnecessary wiring from the wiring harness, and lots and lots of other little things here and there. Weight was 3741 when I started and is now 3380 or so. Few more pics: http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/19.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/13.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/198_zpslzhinnyh.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/82.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/087.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Yeah, I remember. I still own this one. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/DSC_2919_zpsdj32vd8e.jpg Nothing too crazy, but runs 12.4 @ 110. Lots of weight reduction, suspension work, brakes, etc. Built more for autocrossing than drag racing. Tell us more!!! Any vids? Thanks, and yes, I have vids. Can't embed, though: Autocross vid 1 Autocross vid 2 Engine is fully built--4.3 liter stroker, forged H-beam rods, .040 over Wiseco pistons. Heads are ported and polished w/ a 3-angle valve job and oversizes stainless valves. Cam is .580/.580 lift. I replaced the blower case itself with an aftermarket M90 case called the MPX, which has a different port shape and basically changes the duration of the blower, with the same effect as changing the duration of a cam. Double intercooler. Runs 16 psi, and the exhaust is Kooks mid-length headers with all custom stainless stuff behind it. Unfortunately, the blower can't move enough air to support the rest of the engine, so it only makes 377 peak RWHP, but it does make 459 lb-ft at pretty low RPM. One of these days the plan is to swap in something like an Eaton TVS blower in place of the M90. Oh, and a one-off baffled oil pan to prevent starvation during cornering. The front suspension uses single adjustable Koni inserts that I modified with coilover sleeves and 600 lb-inch Hyperco springs, along with a 1-1/4" solid sway bar. The rear has SA Konis with Suspension Techniques springs and 3/4 coil cut out. The rear sway bar is a custom 1-1/4 tubular bar, .188" wall thickness. I have Lincoln Mk8 aluminum lower rear control arms to save weight over the factory iron pieces. Wheels are 18x9 Enkei PF01s with 255/40 Bridgestone RE71Rs at all four corners. The front has 4-pot Brembo calipers and 13" Cobra rotors; the rear brakes are stock calipers relocated to use 11.65" Cobra rotors. It's a 5-speed car, which is fairly rare for this model. B&M shifter, Centerforce clutch, aluminum flywheel, aluminum driveshaft, aluminum Mk8 diff housing with stock 2.73 gears and an Eaton True Trac diff. Aside from the aluminum stuff already mentioned, weight reduction includes a fiberglass hood, 10-pound battery, Recaro front seats, aluminum radiator, foglight delete, stereo delete, remote entry delete, removal of all unnecessary wiring from the wiring harness, and lots and lots of other little things here and there. Weight was 3741 when I started and is now 3380 or so. Few more pics: http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/19.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/13.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/198_zpslzhinnyh.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/82.jpg http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff99/featheredmafia/The%20Red%20Car/087.jpg My love is the svo mustang and the turbo coupes, but damn...thats nice! Speed |
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