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Thread: My new Zephyr

  1. #51

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    WOW! Thank you. I would love to go 4 wheel disc, but not 5 lug. I have been looking for a turbo coupe rear end to make the swap easier.

  2. #52

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    Those seats look awesome! I'd be interested to know more about your back seat problems.
    Brad

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

  3. #53

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    Been doing a few detail and mechanical things. I got a proper steering wheel center emblem and I matched it to the interior.


    I started mocking up the AC for the car. It was originally an AC car but I doubt I can use any of the parts.
    I plan on using 83 Fairmont and 86 Mustang parts. So far I have the compressor and the car. projects never end.


  4. #54
    FEP Senior Member Patrick Olsen's Avatar
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    I deleted A/C from my '89 Mustang years ago, and over time have regretted that decision more and more. One of these days I may get around to adding it back, but I'm not sure I'm willing to invest the work and $$$ that it would take!

    Steering wheel emblem looks great - nice work!

  5. #55

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    I made a few more changes to make the car a little more like what a high school kid would have wanted back in 1981.
    245 45 17s on 17x8 cobra knock offs. Added halo head rests, and a couple other minor things. Should be fun to just cruise around and do some spirited driving.


    Last edited by ukravit; 05-18-2014 at 01:23 AM.

  6. #56

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    Looking great!
    Brad

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

  7. #57

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    I put on a strut tower brace. Its a MAC brand.
    I had to reform it at the front and right rear to not touch the explorer manifold. about 8MM in front and 6MM in back.
    Painted it white and used some carbon fiber tape to make it look different. jury is still out on that part.
    Used to feel like it wanted to wander a bit, but now its firm and a lot of road vibration is gone. well worth doing.



    went back to a white bar, looks better I think

    Last edited by ukravit; 06-17-2014 at 06:49 PM.

  8. #58

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    Dang, I hadn't even thought of having an issue with the Explorer intake getting in the way of the strut tower brace.
    Brad

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

  9. #59

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    I have an intake spacer on mine , without it I would have had no issue in back. In front there may be enough material on the intake to file off an 1/8 inch for clearance.
    My intake is painted and redoing the finish on the bar is easier so the bar got adjusted. Yours may be okay.

  10. #60

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    I'll be "adjusting" my bar because of interference with the caster/camber plates anyway, so hopefully I can do it all at the same time, haha. It's cool what a difference strut tower braces make though!
    Brad

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

  11. #61

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    Wow! This is an incredible thread! This is a lot of what I am planning to do to my new Zephyr. I just bought it a little over a month ago for $900 (86,000 original mile 2.3 A/T car), fixed a break line and need to put a new front transmission pump seal in it so it can get back to it's DD duties while I gather parts. This thread is really helping my list!!! Thank you! Please keep the info coming!

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  12. #62

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    Upgraded to rear disc brakes from the stock brakes that came on the 1990 mustang rear end. North brackets, Turbo coupe rotors and calipers, 95 mustang brake lines, 1984 SVO master cylinder, organic pads. Most of the parts I got from Rockauto. For parking brake cables I got 1984 Lincoln Continental cables, but they wont be here until the 3rd or 5th. I think the hardest part was getting the new oil back into the rear end. So far stopping is improved, so no regrets.
    Cables got here and other than making a small bracket to keep them away from the tires, they didnt require too much adjusting. Brake comes on and releases and is not influenced by suspension travel. There is an actual bracket on the 93 cobra set up for this purpose, but oddly enough there were none in the local salvage yards.

    Last edited by ukravit; 07-06-2014 at 01:33 PM.

  13. #63

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    After driving around for a while I decided I needed a little more power. I got a set of rebuilt GT40P heads, Alex springs and Ford Racing headers as well as the DA1 computer for speed density. It is a lot more spunky to drive now. Took forever to reclean and paint things no one will ever see.
    I painted the headers VHT high temp white keeping with the late 70s early 80s theme.
    I got the heads from here
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/REBUILT-302-...c8a22e&vxp=mtr



    I was cleaning off the pistons and found that someone had been in there before. 20 over pistons.

    Last edited by ukravit; 10-02-2014 at 05:52 AM.

  14. #64
    FEP Senior Member roadkill's Avatar
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    Very nice!
    1985 Mercury Marquis LTS... "The Unicorn"
    1978 Fairmont... 306 and a C4.

  15. #65

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    Sweet! Nice upgrade! I hear you on the painting thing. I'm not quite done with painting things for the intake swap.
    Brad

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

  16. #66

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    I converted an Explorer throttle body to use by widening the shaft from the smaller TB to accept the 65mm butterfly and put it in the larger housing. It fit really well and the TPS swapped without issue.
    I did get an unusual surging idle which I tracked down to the idle hole in the butterfly being larger on the 65mm one. To correct this I completely closed the hole and did the idle setting using the idle screw. I verified my TPS is at .999 volts. It has no surge now and drives great.

  17. #67

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    Interesting, i'll probably run into that as well. How do you like the head swap compared to before?
    Brad

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

  18. #68

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    It pulls a lot harder, and doesnt feel like it runs out of breath at 4500 rpms. I have 2.73 gears and it doesnt seem to drag down in forth gear at in town speeds like before.

  19. #69

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    Cool! I'm still weighing the pros and cons of grabbing some Explorer heads from a U-Pull. Did you replace the valve springs?
    Brad

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

  20. #70

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    Yes. I got a spring kit from Alex springs. Came with springs, retainers, keepers and umbrella type valve seals. Clearly marked in separate pouches to make the install foolproof.
    I was going to get a set of heads from the U-pull, but when I checked on the costs of having them cleaned, surfaced and a valve job done plus the head costs it was cheaper to get the ones that were already done. You can find heads that are totally serviceable from the U-pull and only need springs, they made thousands of them.

  21. #71

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    Got something really rare and cool for the Zephyr, a genuine turbo hood.
    I will paint it body color in the spring for a cleaner look.
    [URL=http://s595.photobucket.com/user/ukravit/media/thenewhooddd004_zps52882bb9.jpg.html][/URL



    Last edited by ukravit; 10-28-2014 at 06:57 AM.

  22. #72

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    Not a lot of time left this year for upgrades, but I got a great deal on a Volvo 240 front air dam and managed to put it on. It is about a perfect fit, very little adjusting to mount it up. I need to get some period correct driving lights from a Mustang and graft them into the air dam. Or at least the correct looking covers. I saw it done earlier this year on a sharp silver Fairmont and thought it looked great.





    Last edited by ukravit; 11-01-2014 at 04:39 PM.

  23. #73

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    Aha! So it was YOU that got that hood out from under me! Just kidding, it's cool. I have too many other things higher on the priority list. The new changes look great!
    Brad

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

  24. #74

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    I got lucky getting the latest bits for the car. Iowa isnt really a prime spot to find 34 year old parts for cars.
    I also got another 8.8 with 3.27 gears to replace the 2.73 one I have now. I drive on the highway and 3.73 would just be a bit much for me.
    I have about 20 winter projects and only 6 more months to get them done.

  25. #75

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    What else do you have planned?
    Brad

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

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