Love the fleet.
Love the fleet.
-David
The Brown Blob
Yeah, I don't think tint is going to be a thing on this car. At least not any time soon.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
You want everybody to see who's driving that sweet-a## LTS! Yeah we get itOriginally Posted by Chuck W
On an aside, love how those seats turned-out, bravo!
Well, aside from a couple small details, it's time to start putting miles on this thing.
Took it for a short drive today to put more gas in it. As I was getting ready to leave, the new floor mats showed up.
Just the basic ACC ones, the same color as the carpet. The passenger side one doesn't fit the best, but it may settle down a bit.
I am going install a water temp gauge, just so I can keep an eye on things. Not used to driving a car w/o gauges. It felt a little hot after the drive, but the engine light didn't come on, so it was probably OK. Just would rather be safe than sorry.
I was going to mess with the camber adjustment, but after the car has settled a bit, it seems to be OK for now.
Gotta install some wiper blades and give it another good cleaning, but the plan is to get it on the road.
Those mats are so close in color to the carpet, my first thought was "well, are you going to show us the mats". LOL!!
86 Capri, 5.0, 5Spd, A9L QH/BE, 47 lb Inj PMAS 3" MAF, Single T44 Turbo, Front Mount IC, TW170,
Stock Cam, Explr Intake/TB, 1.7 Rockers, CF dual friction clutch, 3" DP, 2.5" full Exh, 3.27, 11.932 @ 115.78
84 LTD, 331-10:1, TW170/Exprl Intake, 47 lbs inj/80 mm LMAF, Full Duals, Quarterhorse, Vortech 7PSI, Lentech AOD, 5 lug Mk VII brakes/rear, Eibach Sway bars, Cobra HB (dads ride, but I fix it)
Yeah. Same manf, same color. They disappear nicely.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Completed the trip to the BMV yesterday and got the title and registration all set.
Today was the drive across town to work and back. It's a little under 15 miles, one way, of mixed surface roads and interstate.
Car ran great, but noticed a couple more things that need attention.
- I think the fan clutch is weak. Car does fine when moving, but starts to get warm in idling and crawling in traffic. I may throw an electric fan on it, instead of futzing with a new clutch. (Part of the reason for the alt upgrade anyway)
- Power steering needs to be flushed. Fluid is nasty (and who knows how old) and steering is a little stiff.
-Throttle cable seems a bit stiff. Especially right off idle. It doesn't stick, but requires some good modulation of pedal pressure.
-Going to recheck the alignment. Just to see if it's changed a bit since I set it this past weekend. Just want to double-check the toe. Car drove nice and straight though.
-Brakes are still soft. Stop the car when you get into them, but more spongy than I would like. Especially if someone else is going to be driving the car.
Car drove with no rattles or clunks. Had it up to 65-70 mph for a short bit on the freeway on the way home.
Now I just need to find time to give it a bath.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
That is great news, glad to hear it!
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.
Well, I replaced the fan clutch, and it seemed to help a bit, but I think the radiator might be suspect.
It'll run at about 220* if it sits idling along in slow traffic. It's got a 180* stat in it, which should be plenty.
We also took the car out tonight to the weekly cruise-in not far from us. Finally a picture that isn't in the driveway.
No one saw it for anything other than an old "LTD", however. *shrug*
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Yeah, even with a blown stroker motor, my dad always had 3-5% of the interest vs his
No one saw it for anything other than an old "LTD", however. *shrug*
car show buddy's 69 mustang (which is a really nicely built fastback).
But overall, fox bodies are starting to gain more interest at the shows.
Usually get at least one guy for every show or two that goes crazy over it
and really knows how much work was done
86 Capri, 5.0, 5Spd, A9L QH/BE, 47 lb Inj PMAS 3" MAF, Single T44 Turbo, Front Mount IC, TW170,
Stock Cam, Explr Intake/TB, 1.7 Rockers, CF dual friction clutch, 3" DP, 2.5" full Exh, 3.27, 11.932 @ 115.78
84 LTD, 331-10:1, TW170/Exprl Intake, 47 lbs inj/80 mm LMAF, Full Duals, Quarterhorse, Vortech 7PSI, Lentech AOD, 5 lug Mk VII brakes/rear, Eibach Sway bars, Cobra HB (dads ride, but I fix it
Car looks great nice job!
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.
Really nice looking, great work as always Chuck!
Mike
Now stang-less.
88 Cougar 5.0
Thanks. The pics make it look WAAAAY nicer than it is. (It IS however actually washed in that last picture)
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Well I got around to swapping out the radiator after work today.
Got things all swapped out and brought it up to temp. I wound up having to add almost 3/4 of a gallon more coolant to the system than I drained (I captured all that I drained from it), so there is a good chance that the original one was partially clogged/blocked.
Seems to be holding temp fine now, so we'll see how it does the next time I drive it.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
lol whenever I read this title, I think of the George Thorogood song "I Did a Bad Bad Thing"
There's a question I have regarding the grille; was it painted at the factory due to the LTS option? I see what appears to be Ford Red Primer bleeding through
Last edited by Chuck W; 05-27-2022 at 01:38 PM.
The part on the hood was painted body color, as far as I know. This one has seen some fading. I think the one on the other hood I have is still fairly black. I've been meaning to swap the hoods (Or just the trim pieces).
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Oh that's cool. On aside, did this have collision damage? Clean Carfax?? I noticed the pinstriping missing on the fender
I don't think it's been wrecked. There is a small smashed spot in the bottom of the core support I noticed when I replaced the radiator.
The doors are from another car, which is why the pinstriping is more pronounced. The stripe is on the fender, but it's just faded.
This car sat neglected for a LONG time, exposed to the elements. The original paint is beat.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
That car just intrigues me!! Is it really from The Great White North? I remember somebody saying years ago, the LTD LX was American, while the Merc LTS is from Canada. Interesting that a T5 was never offered; I could just picture my '83s right there in the middle
Last edited by Bryan Knebworth; 05-30-2022 at 08:33 AM. Reason: added text
According to the info I dug up from previous owner posts on here and elsewhere, and the Marti Report they had done, the LTS were Canadian market, but built in the US. The Mercury version of the LTD LX.
This particular car was a fleet build for someone at the Oakville Ontario plant. It made its way to Ohio at some point. Then to PA where I picked it up from.
Out of 134 built, I don't think there are many left.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Well, replacing the radiator didn't really solve the heating issue.
I drove it to work today, and as I got stuck in a traffic slowdown it started to creep up. It was at about 200* when I got clear of the traffic, but it still kept going to almost 220* when I pulled into the lot at work. I figured travelling at highway speeds for bit would bring it down.
When I parked, I let it idle for a few minutes, and it looked like it might've been slowly dropping back down, but I needed to shut it off and get to work.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Heating at highway speeds.... is that pointing to water pump?
Mike
Now stang-less.
88 Cougar 5.0
It's a brand new reverse-rotation Gates pump, so it *shouldn't* be a problem. (It's a serpentine-belt setup, so rev rotation should be correct)
A couple thoughts I had, in no particular order:
- Crud in the engine block? It sat for a while but the coolant I drained out when I swapped the radiator was clean. No residue or debris was evident.
- Collapsing lower rad hose? I haven't made a point to open the hood and look for it when I've stopped the car when it's been getting warm. There is no spring in it currently. It hasn't been revved much to a point where that might be an issue, though.
- Retarded ignition timing? I haven't put a timing light on it, but it might cause problems. It should cool back down though, I would think.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Well, checked a couple of things after I got home. It was warm again (about 220*) when I pulled in the drive.
Lower hose wasn't collapsed. It was tight/firm like all of the other hoses.
Timing was bang-on (10-12* BTDC)
Seeing as it starts to heat up when driving, but stays steady at least when idling, I'm wondering if the trans might be the issue. Might be time to finally do that filter/fluid change this coming weekend.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
Part of the plan for the day, aside from cooling system investigation, was to swap out the bad trans pan and filter.
The transmission seems to be working fine, but seeing as a PO put a hole in the pan, I figured it should be fixed before it became a problem.
Got the nose in the air to get started (this was also convenient for cooling system burping later)
Yuck
I started to do the messy "unbolt the pan to drain it" thing until I stopped myself. I didn't need to reuse this pan, so as a time saver, I drilled a hole in the stupid thing to drain it.
Things weren't terrible inside the pan. You can see the RTV-sealed hole here.
I let it drip/drain for a bit, to avoid too much mess when installing the new pan.
Nice new parts
All wrapped up. Wasn't keen on the chrome pan (I HATE chromed stuff), but they were all out of the black with a drain plug when I ordered it.
I measured what I drained out and refilled it with the same amount. After dealing with the cooling system checks and warming things up, I took it for a drive. All seems good and It only needed a tiny bit more fluid as a top-off when I got done.
As mentioned in the other thread, the "overheating" issue seems to be a "short" temp sender for the gauge. It's barely in the coolant stream, and thus is "dry", causing elevated readings. The system wants to run at around 200*, which is fine. The stock temp switch for the warning light is a little bit longer than this sender is, and thus probably wasn't a problem.
I'm probably going to relocate the sender to a better location and I'm not super keen on the cooling efficiency of the clutch fan set-up. I'm probably also going to install an electric fan set-up on it. I'll watch it the next few days (now that I know it's not actually overheating) and see what I want to do.
Last edited by Chuck W; 06-06-2022 at 02:53 PM.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
As mentioned in the other thread, the cooling system issue seems to be solved for now. I'm still thinking about an electric fan install in the future.
The next bit that needs to be addressed is the rear suspension. There are no rattles and no evidently loose components, but the tail end is a bit "loose" at speed.
I think it's a bit of a combo of the lowered front, changing the roll axis a bit, and the old pooched bushings in the back. It's got a loose feeling just past center which you can feel on a direction change. The back end feels like it wants to dance a bit. It however doesn't get all squirrelly over bumps.
I don't want to get nuts with it, but I need to do something to calm it down.
83 TC "Clone"
85 Marquis LTS
86 LTD Wagon
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