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  1. #1026

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    Quote Originally Posted by NAVYCAT View Post
    well I think LMR only thinks in the past, as they come out with new wheels oh sure they are in 17" and 18" but still in 4 lug?
    They do seem surprisingly open to suggestion though. They've come out with some parts I never would have expected.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  2. #1027

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    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Thanks! But why the strips? I'm having trouble picturing that. Just wondering in case it would still benefit me to better hold it in place. It's not something I did on the last one.
    I only did that on the last one I did.
    It is to keep the heat in the box in case your silicone seal fails
    You don't want the heat seeping out near your wiring.
    Lots of FREE F/Z info on my site.
    http://myzephyrs.com

  3. #1028

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    Quote Originally Posted by RED 78' View Post
    I only did that on the last one I did.
    It is to keep the heat in the box in case your silicone seal fails
    You don't want the heat seeping out near your wiring.
    That’s a great idea, thanks!
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  4. #1029

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    I got started on the (further) disassembly yesterday for the heater core job. I think I might try to redo the top mounts to raise the dash up a bit. It sits a little low, and that's always bothered me.

    This season is ending just like last season did. A lot of frustration and disappointment. I've had to overcome that to get motivated to turn wrenches on the car. It's probably a bit early to say I won't get any seat time this year, but if that did happen it wouldn't bother me as much as it would have a month ago. We'll see how it goes.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  5. #1030

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    Slowly chipping away at it.



    The old heater core is out now. The foam on the sides of the blend door was SOAKED, so I had to give that some time to dry. At least I feel like I have better access to clean out the heater box pulled out, rather than dealing with it in the car.

    Looks like I only kept at it through the end of October last year, so that gives me a good idea how much more time I have this year.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  6. #1031
    FEP Senior Member droopie85gt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Cordova, TN
    Posts
    994

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    That's a pain, but you've got it licked now!
    1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes

  7. #1032

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    Quote Originally Posted by droopie85gt View Post
    That's a pain, but you've got it licked now!
    Yeah, we can probably call the heater core job done. The heater box is back in and everything is hooked back up. I put the car on stands for the winter. The fact that the stupid rolling idle is still there just kind of ruined any enjoyment I might've gotten out of getting it all put back together in time for a drive. Yes, I could've done it, but it would run like crap anyway. I'm certainly not up to tackling a whole other problem this season. I need that spring motivation for that. Autumn me is just tired of being kicked while I'm down by this thing. Pretty much the same as all the recent seasons have ended. SIIGHHHHHHHHHHH
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  8. #1033
    FEP Senior Member droopie85gt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Cordova, TN
    Posts
    994

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    It's frustrating for sure! Best thing is to take a step back and do something else. (I mean I did that for like 6 years) Watch some videos, read some other build threads, get some inspiration, and make a plan and attack it.

    I think my problem on my 85 was I never made a real plan and wrote it out. It was always step by changing step which is frustrating. Add in problems that are hard to fix and that's a recipe for parking it in the garage. (so is getting remarried and have to work on the house!)
    1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes

  9. #1034

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    Hang in there man
    it can’t be bad forever
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  10. #1035

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    Yeah. The past 15 years have pretty much been one big tangent. I mean, it was all good lessons though. A lot of flying by the seat of my pants. A lot of adding upgrades when I should have been focusing on fixing problems. I certainly did not have that clear of a plan myself. I would try things, sometimes counter to all the advice I'd been getting, and go "well, that didn't work. Let's try this... ". I've done so much, it's hard to even remember some of the decisions I could have made better. My early priorities were, get it at least sort of road worthy for the majority of the summer, and do it cheap. If I were to start a project now, things would certainly be different.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  11. #1036

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    Quote Originally Posted by massacre View Post
    Hang in there man
    it can’t be bad forever
    Thanks. I need to log a few wins. Or maybe just recognize some of the smaller ones I've dismissed. It's nice to be free of it for now. That always helps.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  12. #1037

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    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Yeah. The past 15 years have pretty much been one big tangent. I mean, it was all good lessons though. A lot of flying by the seat of my pants. A lot of adding upgrades when I should have been focusing on fixing problems. I certainly did not have that clear of a plan myself. I would try things, sometimes counter to all the advice I'd been getting, and go "well, that didn't work. Let's try this... ". I've done so much, it's hard to even remember some of the decisions I could have made better. My early priorities were, get it at least sort of road worthy for the majority of the summer, and do it cheap. If I were to start a project now, things would certainly be different.
    Welcome to the wonderful world of car building lol
    It happens to the best of us, try not to beat yourself up too bad haha.
    This is all a learning experience, sometimes being wrong is the best teacher.
    Shelve it for for now and come back strong in the spring!
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  13. #1038

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    Quote Originally Posted by massacre View Post
    Welcome to the wonderful world of car building lol
    It happens to the best of us, try not to beat yourself up too bad haha.
    This is all a learning experience, sometimes being wrong is the best teacher.
    Shelve it for for now and come back strong in the spring!
    Thanks. I hope things are going well on yours.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  14. #1039

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    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Thanks. I hope things are going well on yours.
    Thanks. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m not too far.
    I’m in the same boat, gotta store it for the winter haha
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  15. #1040

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    I'm gearing up to get started on the car again. We've had SOME nice weather, but overall it's been crappy and cold all month. Last weekend was nice, but I had some house projects I needed to do. Those are mostly done now, except the ones I've slated for after I put the car back together.

    I've been studying tuning with the Quarterhorse and Binary Editor. I really knew absolutely nothing about that stuff before the past year or so. I'm starting to consider that my idle problem may not be something mechanical. Yes, I chose the X3Z because of the Cobra engine's closeness to my components, but I guess it is still possible that it's just not close enough to run well. The pistons (compression ratio), ported heads and intake, P combustion chambers, the cam specs... those things and probably many more are still different from what it's expecting. It might just all add up.

    I'm getting braver about the idea of tuning too. I could imagine digging yourself into a deep, deep hole once you start changing things too much or changing things you shouldn't. I've dug plenty a deep hole for myself on other things I've done. But really, you can always go back to a stock tune file if you think that's starting to happen. Not much risk at all, really.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  16. #1041
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Dunedin 9011, New Zealand, South Pacific
    Posts
    3,961

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    No risk at all Brad. Normally, a urkravit style 60 pin plug contiunity check and a base idle rest should fix it.

    In 1992, the SAAC Mustang had a 295 hp 326 lb-ft calibration,
    with G52 Showa intake

    https://youtu.be/95gVRw-pwik




    for 1995, the SN95,


    a 320 hp and 340 lb-ft version.

    https://youtu.be/lXXA2Ke_HYo


    Bin codes exist for those and your close to stock Cobra style 268 hp engine with improvements. Yep, the stock 235 hp Cobra engine was heaps stronger than reported so maybe it might need some programming help with your cam upgrade.

  17. #1042

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    I've had little bits of time here and there. I got the dash up in place one day. It's up on top of the lip at the base of the windshield, which it wasn't before. Whoever took this dash out of its original home didn't know about the center bolt and plastic alignment pin. The pin is gone and the bolt hole is almost unusable. I was perfectly happy with this before, but now I want to do better. I got a big, long bolt and a big washer, drilled a hole in the bracket, and now it's bolted up there. Luckily it doesn't interfere with the defrost vent trim panel. Yesterday, I drilled the holes for the inner two mounting positions outboard of the center position. That was fun because the old brackets behind there aren't really straight, so the drill kept slipping around. Then the outer two mounting positions, I'd been using all along. At the bottom brackets, I was prepared to drill higher holes so the dash would sit higher, but it turned out to not be necessary. I think the middle of the dash was just sagging before, so I just had to push it up with a wedge to get the top middle where I wanted it.

    Now I have to go through and figure out what all I unplugged to get the dash out of the way last fall. Big car show this Sunday, but I'm okay if the car misses it. I'm just looking forward to going at all.

    The mouse in the garage, I think must be gone. There's been no action at any of the traps.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  18. #1043

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    Chippin' away, chippin' away. I went to that show I'd been looking forward to on Sunday. It was really fun. No F/Z representation though. Gotta get mine out there.

    I'm pretty sure I have everything plugged in under the dash now except the center console stuff. I worked on putting the A-pillar trims back on and surrounding stuff like sun visors. The wire for the driver's side lighted sun visor disappeared inside my roof somewhere. No big deal, I need to redo my stupid headliner again anyway, so I can fix it then. Let's be honest though, I only really did lighted sun visors for the same reason people climb mountains. "Because it was there".

    I ran into an issue with the A-pillar trims since my dash is sitting up higher now. Before the horizontal part that was supposed to tuck under the original dash pad sat on top of the aero speaker grilles. Now they interfere, so I had to cut the trim so they could fit together. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  19. #1044
    FEP Power Member mcb82gt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Olathe, Kansas
    Posts
    2,108

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    Looks fac-tree to me!! Nice work.
    Mike

    Now stang-less.

    88 Cougar 5.0

  20. #1045

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    Looks really good. I cant wait to see it finished so I can copy some of your work on my Zephyr.
    1978 Mercury Zephyr boxtop 5.0 EFI T5Z 8.8
    1999 Ford Contour 2.5 V6 5 speed
    2016 Ford Focus ST 2.0 Ecoboost 6 speed

  21. #1046

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    Thanks guys. Ukravit, I've copied plenty from you so feel free!
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  22. #1047

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    I spent some time setting up my tuning computer, the wife's old laptop. I reset windows which is supposed to clear everything else that was on there. On the first attempt, nothing happened. I went back to it, and the same desktop was just sitting there like it had always been. WTF! I tried again, but this time I told it to download a new copy of windows, and I babysat it while it was doing that. This time it worked... I think. The thing still runs pretty slow.

    So then, I went to download Binary Editor and EEC Analyzer. I'd been trying out Microsoft Edge because I just think Google take too many liberties tracking what you do and listening to conversations and stuff. That's not paranoia, it's proven fact, by the way. Anyway, I went to download the software and Edge said they were dangerous and wouldn't let me download them. I'm usually savvy enough to find ways around stuff like this, but this time I couldn't. I'm assuming they just didn't pay the right people at Microsoft to allow their stuff through or something. I searched for a solution, and could only find 2. For both of them, the menu items they direct you to no longer exist. ARGH! Fine... back to Chrome. Chrome had no issue at all downloading them.

    So, then we just need to register the software to get full use of it. That requires sending the publishers an email. To a specific guy who HOPEFULLY still works there. You never know with stuff this old.

    On to physically installing the Quarterhorse tuning... chip.... thingy. Leech Motorsports has a series of great videos on what to do to get ready to tune with Moates and Binary Editor. Super helpful! Anyway, you have to open up the hole in the case and clean off the interface connector before you do that. There's a big fat thingy on the USB cable that complicates things for you.



    Then I went to reinstall the computer in the car, and... the bracket is a solid wall where the chip comes out, so you have to make a hole in that too.



    But my under-seat custom mounting seems to have worked out nicely. Plenty of room for stuff to come out the back of the computer.



    I decided to contact Detroit Speed about their subframe connector system. It's a pre-fabricated through-floor system. My through-floor subframe connectors do not have seat braces, and that's always bothered me. I bought some seat braces from Maximum Motorsports to sort of give me something work with. BUT, the opening to engage the subframe connectors is on the BOTTOM of those, so essentially, it's upside down for what I need. The seat braces you get with the Detroit Speed ones have the opening on the top. I might be able to bolt these up, just as they are! I contacted the sales people, and they were happy to sell me some. I'll need someone to weld them to the subframe connectors, sure, but I was very happy to find these!
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  23. #1048

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    I've got the interior almost all back together. I don't know if anyone else runs into this, but every time I take my radio out, I have a HELL of a time getting it to go back in. I prefer to use stereos that have 3 sets of RCA pre-outs: front, rear, and subs. I also like to have high quality RCA cables. Well apparently, the higher the quality, the bulkier the connectors are. That takes up a lot of space in an area it's at a premium. I have the cables lined up so as I push the stereo in, they SHOULD simply slide farther back along the trans tunnel. This is not what they actually do. They fold themselves up and invade the space of other wires back there. And invariably, at least one set somehow pulls itself out of the connector in the opposite direction everything else is moving. So, it's never just slide it in and you're done. Oh no. We can't have that. This is another reason why I HATE taking the console out. Since I added the gauges and power point below, it's only gotten worse.



    Anyway, that was pretty much a day's worth of fiddling. In the process of doing that, I hooked up the battery to test thing out. The fuel pump relay actually did what it's supposed to, and stayed on rather than priming and shutting off. That's what's supposed to happen when a Quarterhorse doesn't have a tune loaded. I hooked up the computer and was able to load a base tune on it. That was pretty cool to be able to accomplish. I tried to see if I could get Binary Editor to see my wideband too, but I got no indication it actually did. I don't know if I'm missing a driver or something. It's not really an issue until I go to datalog anyway though.

    Today I worked on the rest of the console. I actually had to raise up the rear mount because the dash sits higher. It wasn't too difficult to pull off. I have the Mustang rear bracket attached to a wood block that holds it up. That was needed because I guess the F/Z floor is different there or something. Today, all I had to do was put another block in there to raise it up. I clearanced all the screw holes and stuff to make room for them to go in where they're supposed to go and stuff too. It worked out pretty well. The arm rest is at a really good height now too, which is nice. And there's more room for the shifter to be in its space too. Last year, I couldn't get the bezel to clip down, but it does now.

    I was finally able to get tabs today too. That was a whole ordeal because of the covid restrictions, the fact they were overdue, so I couldn't get them online, the stupid local DMV is by appointment only except they don't take appointments if you're just buying tabs (WTF?) you have to go on this same-day waiting list. Oh, and I lost my renewal form so I couldn't use the drop-off option because I wouldn't have known how much to pay. Today, I tried to get on the waiting list, and the web page you do that on wouldn't let me fill in the date, and would not accept the form without a date. Seriously?! So, I called. No answer, went to a voicemail box. They actually DID call me back and said they don't take people on the waiting list between the hours of 11 and 1. And you communicated that to us WHERE?! At that point, I decided to wait until 1:00 and see what happened. The form let me fill it out this time, and I was first in line. But then there was a warning that if you're not there when they call you, you lose your place! I ran out of the house as fast as I could and drove down there. I was not letting this slip by! I finally did get in and they sold me my tabs, along with new plates. This is the 4th set of plates I've had on this car. For all the BS they put you though, the stern warnings and restrictions, the people I talked to were all really nice. So that was weird.

    I'm not far from firing it up. I could have gone back and tested all the stuff I've hooked back up today, but I'm kind of afraid of what I'll find when I do. You have to disconnect a LOT of stuff to get at that damn heater core.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  24. #1049

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    Lookin' good! You are inspiring me to start on my own dash and console swap. Do you have a working Park brake?

  25. #1050

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    Quote Originally Posted by nelzfoxes View Post
    Lookin' good! You are inspiring me to start on my own dash and console swap. Do you have a working Park brake?
    Yeah, I kept the pedal. You use the late Mark VII rear cables, and it plugs right in. I keep breaking the plastic sleeve that holds up the release lever though. The aero dash wasn't designed to accommodate it. Not sure how I'm going to fix it this time.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

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