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  1. #1
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    Default 1985 SVO resto-mod

    Some of you guys have seen some of the build pictures but others haven't so i'm adding a thread here on fep to keep it alive.

    I'm expected to get flack from the svo guys on my plans to put the 2.3t on a stand and move to a more modern engine. I personally don't feel like fighting against the new 5.0 guys with basic bolt ons and losing races. Time to have a more reliable car that makes good power while stopping well. This means new power plant, brakes, suspension, interior and computer system. Basically a whole new car with the svo body. If I didnt have an attachment to this stupid car I would have got rid of it after finding all the rust and damage to the frame rail.
    I'm just to cut out my other thread and repaste it here.

    I'm not even sure what to say to start this thread. I've drag raced and daily drive this car for several years. I never went very extreme in the drag racing because I didn't want to give up the cars exception balance and handling. I did remove the sway bar and installed non-solid uppers and lowers. Mostly though the car was just fun to drive on the street.

    On Christmas day years ago I was living in an apartment that I had just moved into here in FL when some jackass swiped the front of my car. It tore off the front plate and cracked the bumper cover. It took some paint off the front bumper but wasn't anything to serious. Not to long after that the paint on rear passenger fender well started to bubble and crack. Within a few months it cracked the paint in that area and the rust started to really show up. I painted it black and tried to stop the rust until I could get the area repaired.

    Old vids:
    http://www.streetfire.net/video/4cyl...nish_55702.htm

    http://www.streetfire.net/video/same...ideo_58181.htm

    http://www.streetfire.net/video/camaro-vs-svo_59591.htm

    http://www.streetfire.net/video/4cyl...obra_90316.htm


    This what the car looked like at this point.









    It took awhile to find someone to paint the car. We did finally find a guy that i'd seen repair alot of cars and he was always quick and the cars always looked pretty good. (not perfect but good) I'd seen this guy because his shop was next to a friends and he was always onto a new job everytime I saw him. So I took the car to him and let him see it, he gave me a price and a time frame (2 weeks but being that he is a body/paint guy i figured 2x or 3x that time) so we made a deal. I needed to repair some things on the car and wanted to refresh the motor anyway so I pulled the motor and trans and we hauled the car over to him.
    He worked on it and was making pretty good progress when he found the inner frame rail in the engine bay was rusted and needed repaired. Also found the hatch was rusted and since he had to blend into that area if I wanted to replace it now would be a good time and it would only cost a few hundred more. Well long story shortened up a bit after he found some problems that I never noticed and we decided to repaint the car completely as well as replacing the 2 front doors. He figured it would take about a month extra to scuff and paint the car. I came by several times and removed parts for him so his job would be easier.

    At this point the car looked like this:
















    Thing were moving along pretty well and the guy just up and disappears. I took about 3 weeks to finally get ahold of him and his story is he went up north and ended up getting into to trouble as well as his rig broke down and it would be a few weeks before he got back.
    Fine not much I can do about it so it was on hold for two weeks. That isn't really a big deal because I have keys to the shop at this point and my car is just sleeping there. When he does come back he let me know he was going to get right back to work on it and should have it wrapped up in a couple of weeks. At this point he starts not really showing up to his shop regularly. He tells me he is there everyday just in the mornings and thats why I have not seen him. I can tell he isn't working on car because it looks the same as it had for weeks. We start not being about to catch each other. He stops taking most of my calls and his "wife" starts answering saying he is busy and will call me back. Finally after a few months of this bs and him being behind by alot I go to check on my car and find out the gate code is different and now the area my car is in has a different lock. With my superhuman xray powers I was able to look into this locked and area and see my car is sitting in the same place untouched as it was last time I saw it. I called and called and finally got ahold of him and wanted to know what the hold up was, he gave me several bs excuses. At this point I told him I was going to come get the car and wanted to know when would be the best time. He told me the time like 2 days later at 3 p.m... I got my brother in law to haul the car for me to his shop. I told him what time and we set it up. Called the painter that day and told him I would be there like we agreed and he told me that was fine he would be waiting for me and to bring money because he wanted to even up on the bill! I told him no problem I would bring cash with me
    I know this guy is pretty flakey and want to make sure I can get my car. I call him at 2 and tell him I'm going to be there at 3 and to have my car ready (at this point i'm about 5 miles from his shop planning on being early) He tell me he is going to have to leave at about 2:50 so make sure i'm there a few minutes early. I told him to just hang out till 3 and I would be there for sure, he told me again he had to leave about ten minutes ealry but was getting all my stuff together while we were talking and making sure he didn't miss anything. As we are talking about him gathering parts I pull into his shop and low and behold he isn't there. I ask him again what he is working on and he gives me the same bs about my car. Obviously I have to ask him where because i'm at the shop and he isn't. At this point he hung up on me and ive never talked to him again.
    When I got there I spoke with some other people and they told me he had not been to the shop all day. My car and all it parts had been sitting in the parking lot since the day before. Needless to say I wasn't to happy and then ontop of that alot parts weren't there. I used another one of my powers to find my parts that were inside of his shop and remove them. In the end this guy is a homo and I hope he has a long and painfull life. I've been by that shop a dozen times and never seen him or his truck there. Not sure if he closed up shop or what.

    In the end it cost me more money then I should have given up front/middle and took over 6 months to do the month and half long job.
    Last edited by Daggysvo; 10-18-2011 at 01:32 AM.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  2. #2
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    Updates
    Well after getting the car back I had to find someone willing to take on a half done project. I spoke with a few people about it but wasn't able to get anything lined up to do what I wanted for a price that wasn't pretty high considering money already spent. Can't say I blame them but then again things weren't hurting nearly as bad a year ago as they are today. Might have been a different story now.

    In the end a friend of mine agreed to do the work. Originally he didn't want to do it because he had other projects that were already waiting and he couldn't put me in the front of the line and be fair to them. After the way this whole thing worked John was able to move some things around and get to the car before some others. (thank god)
    He let me know he would only be able to work on it in his spare time and it would take ahile. I didn't mind because I knew it would at least be done right and I wasn't going to left hung out to dry a second time.
    John had told me for the car to be straight and last he was going to have to take it down to bare metal because he didn't know what work other people had done or the materials used. I think it is safe to say at this point neither of us had any clue about what kind of things he was going to find.
    The original painter had the car skim coated and blocked out and was nearly ready to paint, so it couldn't be too bad. Yeah ****ing right!

    Here are a few pictures of the car getting all the old paint taken off it. There were several coats on it.

































    You can see how much dust there is off the car. With so many layers of paint you can't really tell what is what. With the way he decided to paint it he took the whole car apart. When you remove everything that you can unbolt you really see what is underneath the surface. As he was removing fenders, doors, ect he found some problems.

    Things like this started popping up.





    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  3. #3
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    Things like this aren't good.







    The worst thing is the more you dig the more you find. Seems like when you think you have it all found and taken care you run into even more bs. The bad thing is riding and driving in the car you couldn't tell any of these things were an issue. Here are a few pictures of things once they were really cleaned up and inspected.


    This is the floor boards. Sad thing is in the earlier pictures with the factory sound deadner on the floor it looked just fine.












    After finding issues with the frame rail he decided to remove the entire front suspension. This allowed him room to repair and inspect.












    K Member bolts :-o



    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  4. #4
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    Here is the repair starting to come together.
















    After even more work John finds that behind the dash board there is still more rust to be delt with. He removed the dash assembly to find and repair this.










    Finally after repair the frame rail,floorpan,rocker panel,upper dash and upper outer cowl and who even knows what else he was able to start getting the car ready to start looking good.

    One of my favorite things he did was smooth the jams. It makes them easier to clean and really makes the car look good when you open the door to look or get in.














    500+rwhp svo
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  5. #5
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    Here are a few pictures of the car in primer















    Finally here are a few with the first stages of paint. The car has not be sanded or buffed yet.



















    Here are a few more pictures still not finished yet. No buffing or anything at this time. This time they were taken outside with a better camera.








    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  6. #6
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    These are the very most recent pictures of the car getting some suspension goodies to make it back into a roller. The car also is being sanded to get it ready for the final finish. I snapped a few more pictures of the jams since they were actually still shiney.





    Maximum motorsports suspension with tokico d spec coil overs





















    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  7. #7
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    The brakes are mostly going to be upgraded to some 13 inch cobras along with some powder coated caliper and zinc washed rotors. I hated how the brakes looked all rusty and crappy while everything else is new and nice looking. (This has been changed as seen below)


    This car has along ways to go and will most likely be set up motor for road racing and street duty then drag racing. I'm pretty sick of waiting an hour to make a pass that takes a total of less then 60 second start to finish. Hoping to get the handling and power up to what I expect them to be and go rip around some corners at Sebring.
    A big thanks goes to John and his dad for all the help! Thanks also to all my friends/family that have lent a hand at one point or another.
    Let me know what you guys think and any ideas you have.

    Here is some of the sound deadner work. The g/f helped with the install on a freaking 100 degree day. Didnt even need the heat gun for much of the day.

    Best way to get rid of over 100sq ft of sound deadener? Like this. Guess it's officially not a race car now















    Thats all the teaser pics I have to share right now. It's back to the cave and mill. Svojohn did the carbon fiber work. Not planning to use it on the car looking like it does in the pictures. John does killer work. One of the few craftsman around these days that seems to be able to do whatever needs done.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  8. #8
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    Been slacking on updates so here are a few pictures of what i've been working on. 7-20-11

    I bought front and rear brakes as stopping and you know NOT dying is pretty important.





    The whole setup is two piece slotted rotors with aluminum hats. Went zinc washed rather then the black electro coat for looks.

    The dash plates always annoyed me in the svo with the 70's fuzzy retro look. Called up mike at mc machine and he made me a set of plates for both sides. I left them bare for now and will paint/coat them when I figure out how I want them done.





    I got the 04 cobra power steering rack in and it was pretty straight forward. Only issue is the steering shaft which needs to be a hybrid to fit an sn-95 rack in a fox. The ends are different and if you aren't careful you end up with your steering wheel pointed like 50 degree off center and its a pain. The new shaft is adjustable in length and rotation so it simplified everything.
    500+rwhp svo
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  9. #9
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    Sorry it took several posts but only being able to post a set number at a time requires it. Hope this didn't violate any rules. People are welcome to post anything positive or objective in here.
    If you want to post nonsense then pm me or start it in another area that keeps this thread clean. Hope you guys like the pictures. I always forget to take more but soon it will be sitting in my garage and i'll have a ton more.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  10. #10
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    wow, nice work and alot of it.
    Kendal

  11. #11

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    What motor is that in the pic?

    Its stories like yours that make me scared to rip into mine!

    But yours is looking great so far!
    Brian R. of Michigan
    83 TBird 5.0
    88 Ranger 2.3t
    http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...83-Tbird-build

  12. #12
    FEP Power Member Mustang Marty's Avatar
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    Ford 4.0 XR6?

    Quote Originally Posted by Daggysvo View Post





    79 Mustang Coupe - Jade Green Metallic - 5.0 5Sp - Purchased 2006
    17 Mustang Convertible - Triple Yellow Tri-Coat - 3.7l Auto - Purchased 2020
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    01 Mustang - 3.8 Auto True Blue - Oct 2001- Apr 2022 RIP
    85 ASC - McLaren 5.0 SC - ASC White - 5.0 CFI Auto - Owned 2004 - 2016
    98 Mustang - White - 3.8 5pd - Owned 1998 - 2001
    84 Mustang SSP - White - 5.0 5sp - Owned 1993 - 1998
    84 SVO - Charcoal - 2.3t 5Sp - Owned 1989 -1992
    79 Mustang Ghia - 5.0 Auto - Owned 1981 - 1986
    68 Mustang Coupe - 302 Auto, Yellow - Owned 1980 - 1981

  13. #13
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Great looking SVO! I like what you have done and the direction you are taking the project.

    I have a beat up old 84 SVO that I have had similiar thoughts about. There's a part of me that still wants to stuff a SHO 3.0 into it instead of the 2.3. Lots of headaches, but the rev ability of that engine, plus the cool factor keep me thinking!

    Good Luck!

    Trey

  14. #14
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    Thanks for the comments.

    That is a 4.0 i6
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  15. #15
    FEP Super Member tORMENtOR's Avatar
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    Stunning build

  16. #16
    FEP Super Member escogt's Avatar
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    Wow!!!! That resto is coming along quite well. The car is already stunning. Nice job showing her the love she deserves.
    '85GT Bright Atlantic Blue
    '92LX Bimini Blue-sold
    '93 COBRA Teal Metallic-sold
    '86SVO Oxford White-sold
    '86GT 'Vert True Blue-sold
    '81'GT' Medium Red-sold

  17. #17

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    Knew you would get her back on track to a great successful end, Levi.

    I have two friends pointed to your project to keep them motivated with their SVO cars.

    Best to ya!
    Featured 4 Eye: 84 Tu-Tone 5C/1E - Dedicated project resto-mod for my son Cameron Lee. :tu

    4 Eye past:83 GT - project, traded for a boat load of goodies to finish other cars.
    86 Coupe - Gave to a friends son - being restored. 86 GT - Gave to another friends son ... finished.
    Our Current Fords: 66 F100/FE, 84 Coupe/Tu-Tone(5C-1E), 87 Coupe/408 drag car, 89 GT/347, 90 Coupe/347/Supercharger, 94 Ranger, 98 Explorer/5.0, 04 Cobra SVT, and ...

    Ford Fun-a-tic / Lithia, Florida

  18. #18
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    More parts starting to come together. Not done but the basic look is starting to show up. The black with the aluminum is pretty classic looking.








    *For reference this is what the motor looks like in a fox.

    Last edited by Daggysvo; 08-28-2011 at 11:53 PM.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  19. #19
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    Thanks for the compliments! I'm working on getting this thing running dammit.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  20. #20

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    I am interested in the details of the I6 swap.

    What trans do you plan on using?

    Custom motor mounts I'm sure?

    Engine Management?


    Turbo? In you pic it looks N/A, but maybe you have other plans?
    '85 ASC McLaren coupe
    EFI conversion
    Twisted Wedge heads, etc...
    13.2@105

  21. #21
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    The transmission will most likely be a tremec 6060 as thats what they came with over in AU.
    Definitely custom mounts
    For an ems i'm planning to use the spectre ems pro with a full harness.

    For what it is worth the picture of it in a blue mustang isn't mine. Its just meant to show what to expect. Surprised me there was another fox out there with this.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  22. #22

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    Yeah that surprises me too that there is another swap out there in progress.

    Do you have a link or anything to his build?


    I really don't think it would be worth swapping unless you pick up the turbo motor. I know there are various levels of HP, but to me, I bet most of it is boost level. The turbo is a GT35 which can support way more power than they are producing with those stock AU engines.


    Keep us posted!
    '85 ASC McLaren coupe
    EFI conversion
    Twisted Wedge heads, etc...
    13.2@105

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeffascmclaren View Post
    Yeah that surprises me too that there is another swap out there in progress.

    Do you have a link or anything to his build?


    I really don't think it would be worth swapping unless you pick up the turbo motor. I know there are various levels of HP, but to me, I bet most of it is boost level. The turbo is a GT35 which can support way more power than they are producing with those stock AU engines.


    Keep us posted!
    The guy who is doing this same swap doesn't have a build thread that I know of and those pictures are fairly dated. I found them over on YB.
    I didn't pick up a turbo motor because they bend rods and what not at around 500rwhp. They also cost three times as much money and when you have to upgrade the internals anyway it really doesn't make much sense. (I had over 500rwhp with the 2.3t I think the 4.0t will produce a few more )

    The fpv version fg xr6t made over 410hp with about 8psi from the factory and the fg motors had even better rods but those motors will run you over 10k for a complete unit plus getting it here.
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  24. #24
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    Onto the update:

    The pictures we took of the dash weeks ago were ok but the color ended up changing as it dried over the next few days and ended up looking like a charcoal grey. The whole thing was repainted with a different color/mix until it held a good color and was happy.

    This is the new color with dash installed


    I went ahead and replaced the blower motor/heater core/ac evap while it was apart. We took the dash completely apart and had the frame and several parts powder coated just to keep the rust gremlins away. I will say this if we hadn't had another dash there we might have been very very screwed

    I figured since we are replacing everything at this point that a new brakes booster was in order. Its pretty easy to do when there isn't a pesky dash in the way. Ignore the orb effect its just my secret power source. Chuck Norris himself put it there. You see him hiding in the back ground waiting for someone to give him a reason too....


    I somehow managed to put my first chip in the engine bay when trying to get the a/c lines into the slot. I'm actually unsure when or how it happened as I didn't noticed till after the fact. I need to invest in a rubber washer set as I didn't tighten them down for fear of my paint getting messed up.


    The new steering rack is in. I went with an 04 cobra unit from ford. Had to buy a custom shaft for fox to sn-95 swap from MM. Cost a bit but is a really nice unit. Those guys are super helpful/knowledgeable to talk to about this stuff and have earned my money because of that.
    I went away from the svo pedals and went to stock mustang pedals as the closer pedals was a pain with a size 13/14 shoe or boot. I could heel toe shift it with one foot lol.

    More updates and pictures coming soon!
    500+rwhp svo
    My project

  25. #25
    FEP Super Member Mr Joshua's Avatar
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    Now that's an interesting swap, keep us updated!
    83 GT w/ T-Tops (JeffCleaned)
    2021 Turbo Blue Audi S5

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