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Thread: My new Zephyr

  1. #151

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    Got the Zephyr out of storage and did some upgrades/ changed good parts for other good parts.
    Picked up a GT40 tubular intake and after a lot of work made it presentable, changed the water pump, hoses and put in an SVE radiator.
    Installed my motorsport valve covers which are next to impossible to see. Got a set of taylor wires.
    Still have a bunch of projects left but its road worthy again.




    Last edited by ukravit; 05-05-2018 at 02:57 PM.
    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

  2. #152

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    Quote Originally Posted by ukravit View Post
    Got the Zephyr out of storage and did some upgrades/ changed good parts for other good parts.
    Picked up a GT40 tubular intake and after a lot of work made it presentable, changed the water pump, hoses and put in an SVE radiator.
    Installed my motorsport valve covers which are next to impossible to see. Got a set of taylor wires.
    Still have a bunch of projects left but its road worthy again.




    Roadworthy is a huge deal. My car isn’t half as nice as yours but driving it and getting thumbs up everywhere and doing burnouts to and from work is so gratifying. Drive it like you stole it! That’s what I’ve been doing.

  3. #153

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    Looking good!

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
    Brad

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

  4. #154

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    Got the Zephyr cleaned up for summer. Put some 3M undercoating in the doors and changed the ignition switch. Buffed out the roof and gave it a coat of wax. White isnt the easiest color to see a shine but its nice.




    Last edited by ukravit; 05-15-2018 at 06:45 AM.
    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

  5. #155

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    Oh hey, I can see your pictures now.

    Nice shine! You coming to that Midwest Fox Body show in Omaha in September? I'd LOVE to see your car in person!
    Brad

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

  6. #156

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    Undecided about the show at this point.
    Car was running sub standard and when I checked the codes an OBD code came up for profile ignition pick up in distributor. I got a genuine Ford one and changed it out. Took me 3 hours, I scrubbed out 30 years of gunk and double checked every screw and clearance. The hard part was getting the gear lined back up for the pin even after marking and measuring.

    I run speed density and changed from the DA1 computer to a VJ1 and it runs really well now. Not as torquey in the lower revs as the DX3 Lincoln one but over all is more responsive.

    Last edited by ukravit; 06-17-2018 at 05:07 PM.
    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

  7. #157

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    Been working on a project to have a rear spoiler and look period correct for 1978. a ways to go yet, but progressing.
    The spoiler is ABS and from a 2014 dodge challenger, I narrowed it 2 inches and took the curve out of it to make it match the trunk lid. Mounting will be done without drilling holes. I will post picks when its painted and mounted properly.



    Last edited by ukravit; 06-17-2018 at 08:43 PM.
    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

  8. #158
    FEP Senior Member Patrick Olsen's Avatar
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    That spoiler looks pretty damn good! I'd be interesting in reading more about how you "narrowed it 2 inches and took the curve out of it".
    '89 GT convertible - not a four-eye
    '82 Zephyr Z7 - future track car

  9. #159

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    Nice! That really adds something!

    Glad you got the ignition figured out!

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
    Brad

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

  10. #160

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    Got around to finishing my first rear spoiler. I looked at cars from 1978 and trimmed it like they might have done , keeping that late 70s feel to things.
    Its just attached with 3M two sided tape so I can go back.
    It was was first time working with ABS plastic and I am not a fan of it for making alterations. The trunk lid is not flat, there is a crown to it and I am certain no two are alike. I had originally wanted to use an 89 Tempo GLS rear spoiler because it would have been the closest in shape, maybe the next one.


    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

  11. #161

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    Beautiful work as always! Looks like it belongs there!
    Brad

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

  12. #162

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    My brake lights quit working and in sorting that out I found that one of the wires on the connector to the brake light switch had been flexing and finally broke every strand , but left the insulation in tact. I always thought that my brake lights were kind of dim and that would explain its degraded performance as the strands broke.
    Autozone sells the connector and pigtail and it has a larger wire with it.
    After soldering it in making sure to leave more room for movement at the pedal I checked the lights and they were more than twice as bright as usual.
    Had a similar issue with one of the front maker lights being dim. The hazards of 40 year old wiring.

    Last edited by ukravit; 08-16-2018 at 07:22 PM.
    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

  13. #163

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    The Zephyr had been running great then out of the blue the car stopped running. I shut it off to get gas and it refused to start again, so I had it towed home.
    The fuel pump was not running. I used the internet to research solutions with no results.
    Everything I checked tested good, the EEC relay had power and it made it to the fuel pump relay it was looking like a bad computer.
    No signal to energize the fuel pump relay.
    Then on an F150 forum there as a tip, if you run a wire from terminal 2 on the self test connector to ground and the pump works the relays are good. If you connect terminal 2 to terminal 6 on the connector and it works you have a bad computer, if it doesnt then the ground wires on pins 40 and 60 on the computer are not grounded.
    I checked mine with my meter at the connector and they went right to ground. The sockets on the connector to the computer for pins 40 and 60 had opened up just enough to not make good contact with the pins. I closed up the sockets on the connector side and put it back together and it started right up.
    While I had the connector opened I checked and resized every socket that looked suspect, might be my imagination but it seems smoother now.
    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

  14. #164

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    Man, that is frustrating. But great job tracking it down! This was right at your EEC connector?

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
    Brad

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

  15. #165

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    Yes. When I checked everything with the connector on probing from the back it was good.
    When I used to repair radar systems in the army most of the cables would fail at the connector so I used my "built by the lowest bidder" mentality and gave everything a hard look.
    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

  16. #166

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    True mechanic stuff! Awesome how you diag’d it. You researched, found a diag tree and solved the problem. It’s great when things work out this way.

  17. #167

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    I upgraded my 3G alternator pulley. It was originally from a 93 Taurus with a 3.8 and had about a 2.3 inch pulley. This gave me 14.7 volts at idle with the lights on, but dropped to 13.8 with the fans and lights on. The ratio between the crank and alternator pulley was 2.4 instead of the desired 3.0 so I got a 2 inch pulley to correct that. Now at idle with everything on it drops from 14.7 to 14.4.
    I got the pulley for 12 dollars shipped from maniac electric motors in Dallas.



    I also improved all my ground paths. I have a seriously big cable from the motor mount on the engine to the sway bar mount. And two 10 gauge, one from the back of the alternator and one from the back of the intake in addition to the factory one at the back of the head.
    The smaller black one is from a Ford Contour and was the right length and gauge for my plans.

    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

  18. #168

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    I have had a set of new crane 1.7 roller rockers for over a year now sitting in a box in the garage, so I installed them today. Must have done it right because it runs. I have heard horror stories about noises from ticking to sounding like a sewing machine but I have none of that. Opinions vary on the performance value of the rockers but I have yet to see dyno proof either way. I dont know if it drives differently because there is still ice in some spots and I will wait for better days.

    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

  19. #169

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    Sweet! Another sought-after factory part!

    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

  20. #170

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    Quote Originally Posted by ukravit View Post
    I have had a set of new crane 1.7 roller rockers for over a year now sitting in a box in the garage, so I installed them today. Must have done it right because it runs. I have heard horror stories about noises from ticking to sounding like a sewing machine but I have none of that. Opinions vary on the performance value of the rockers but I have yet to see dyno proof either way. I dont know if it drives differently because there is still ice in some spots and I will wait for better days.

    I have got those same rockers on my Daddywagon. Nice work!

  21. #171

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    Driving the Zephyr is currently out of the question so I fixed some minor things. I replaced the hinge pins and bushings on both doors because they dropped a touch when you opened the door. To get the room I needed to work I removed the door. I dont have a helper so I used my transmission jack to hold the door with a jack stand at the back and the handle of my floor jack to balance it. It really worked well and like most things the second door went 10 times faster than the first one. Now the doors shut easily.

    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

  22. #172

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    It was time to do some upkeep and changes. I switched from dynomax turbo style mufflers to Thrush welded mufflers. There was a rattle inside one of the dynomax no doubt from rot because I dont always drive enough to fully heat up the system and clear out the moisture.
    The Thrush seem to be well made copies of flowmasters, came painted silver and weighed about the same as the dynomax, but cost me a little over 29.00 each.
    As expected they are louder but not raspy at cold start up. It will still be a few weeks before I can gauge the drone at speed.
    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

  23. #173

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    Are they Thrush Rattlers? Those might rattle.
    Brad

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

  24. #174

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    No, they are two chamber noise amplifiers.
    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

  25. #175

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    I had some seepage where the throttle body meets the spacer. I was using a 19lb radiator cap which I think contributed to the issue.
    During the process I removed the coolant lines to the spacer and ended them. I had read about how they supply coolant to help with EGR temps and that couldnt be more wrong, it keeps things hot. Its actually a lot cooler now and the car is more responsive, I did have to reset the idle cause it was a little low but no negative effects.
    I run a 195 degree thermostat and have a functioning EGR , at operating temp this is what the temp of the spacer is
    Last edited by ukravit; 03-22-2019 at 08:33 PM.
    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

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