build thread for wooden box

[WOODENBOX85]

well here goes. I got the 85 mercury wagon in trade for a clapped out lincoln mark viii and am very happy with it so far. It has 93000 miles and is in very good condition although i do think the car has and intake leak. It is a 3.8 litre with the c5. I have owned it for about 5 months now and have already purchased a lot of parts and started rebuilding a 5.0

here are some pics of the car

and here is the original engine and some of the 5.0 that i plan on putting in it


i also picked this up at the junk yard along with some gt40 p heads

[WOODENBOX85]

o i forgot i have some ten hole rims and a posi with 373s also

[86gtstang]

Good looking project,you going to stay auto or go with a 5speed

[roadkill]

Sweet! Looking forward to your build.

[WOODENBOX85]

what ever trans i find first that is the cheapest will be the one i choose . i kind of like idea of a aod but cant find one for a reasonable price yet.

I do have a question though i noticed on the heads i picked up that there is no smog ports . Am i going to have a tough time smogging this?

i live in southern california and they are pretty strict out here. THey are gt40 p heads.

[ZephyrEFI]

Sounds like an awesome project. Similar to mine. Looking forward to following!

[WOODENBOX85]

Here is the gt40 manifold that i picked up on half price day at pick a part. It seems to me that there are a couple of differences that i will have to address.
There is a sensor at the back of the manifold on the mustang that is not present of the explorer. Also the throttle body seems to be clocked differently. I just noticed them and have not attempted to fix them yet but will post pictures of what and how when i get there.

[ukravit]

There is also an ACT sensor at the front by runner 5 that needs to be moved over. There is a mounting pad cast into the manifold that you drill and tap.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yep, not difficult stuff. You can transfer the Mustang throttle body lever over to the Explorer throttle body too.

[Fearnot]

Great looking car. I really like those and Zephyr wagons. Keep us up to date.

[48fordnut]

good work on what you are doing. I'm thinking of using that ft sheet metal on a Fairmont.

[WOODENBOX85]

started to port the egr plate from the mustang to the size of the explorer

[grabbergreen84]

The lower intake needs to be drilled and tapped in the #5 runner, for the ACT sensor. Then it needs to be drilled and tapped behind #4, for the EGR coolant line.

The heads can be drilled with a hand drill for the thermactor upstream air. Six holes, tap two of them for the mounting bolts.

Then the Explorer stuff will play nice with the Mustang EEC - no codes.

[WOODENBOX85]

got these in the mail today

they are the gt40 spring kit from andys auto parts

[WOODENBOX85]

damn barely see my feet around that beer gut lol

[WOODENBOX85]

Is there a post on how to drill the heads for the thermactor ports? Thanks everyone you have been very helpful.

[WOODENBOX85]

here is a couple of pictures as of lately.


had to bore the engine over 30
and the the crank and rods are 10
and 10 respectively

[WOODENBOX85]

just got the engine back from the machine shop

here are some pics

[WOODENBOX85]

here is some more photos of the engine going together

[WOODENBOX85]

[Fearnot]

Coming along nicely. Have you found a trans yet?

[WOODENBOX85]

not yet

[WOODENBOX85]

i have the old 3.8 for sale if anyone needs it

my # is 9513185700

zach

[nelzfoxes]

Just found your build. Keep it up with all the good work. I sure hope you keep this going. My Daddywagon is very similar. For me, it seems like I get to work on it maybe 2 weeks per year; but you should see what I got done by myself in that first 2 weeks! Haha! Anyway great job so far!

[nelzfoxes]

"Any updates?"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is what I get when it's been a while. And it's been a while for me and you. Hopefully you're driving yours.