Finally getting a "Beater" ... plus winter plans for the Slowstang

After four years of driving the Slowstang as my daily means of transportation in all sorts of weather -- and it still looking cherry because of my anal nature and meticulous cleaning regimen -- I am somewhat happy to say that it appears that I have a "Beater" to drive this winter.

I say that I am somewhat happy because the vehicle in question is a

1986 fullsize K5 Blazer 4x4 that belonged to my recently deceased grandfather. That Blazer was 100% him and carries tremendous sentimental value for me. The rest of my family seems content to let it sit and just rust apart, so I am pushing hard to take ownership of it and eventually restore it to a much better condition than it is in currently.

But that's a discussion for a more Chevy-centric group than RAMFM unless you guys want to help me find some sheet metal for it. ;-)

ANYWAY...

This means that I will be able to park the Slowstang (98GT) for the greater part of the winter months should I desire, and I think that I will use that time to get some of the following items taken care of:

#1 -- New torque converter. Probably a 2800-3000rpm lockup converter from someone like Precision Industries or DAACO if the latter doesn't completely suck. DAACO has a plant nearby so I might be able to score one of their units for a song and a dance; if the quality is of any count.

Will also install a transmission fluid cooler. ;-)

#2 -- Swapping on a different set of PI heads. I have a chance to pick up some heads from a newer Crown Vic and might use them to finally send a set off for some porting and polishing. I'd love to have a 3-angle job done and maybe put in some oversized Modmax valves and valve springs. Maybe even some custom ground cams.

#3 -- Aftermarket gauges to keep tabs on vitals. Finally going to rid the interior of that impractical "storage pocket" beneath my CD head unit and throw in a couple of Autometer gauges to keep an eye on transmission temp, water temp and oil pressure. I trust the OEM Ford gauges about as far as I could throw them. No, less than that.

#4 -- Replacing the Bullitt suspension setup with H&R Race springs and Bilstein dampers with Maximum Motorsports 4-bolt caster camber plates. I think this will finally end my quest for the ideal suspension setup for my car and mark the third set of springs/dampers that I have used on it. I wish I had just gone that route to begin with.

That will probably suck my fun money account dry, but at least the GT will be in better shape come next spring. :-)

Anyone else got big winter plans for their Mustang? Oh, and I was somewhat serious about the Blazer assistance. If anyone knows of a good source for replacement body metal for those vehicles, I could use all the info you have.

Reply to
Tungsten
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Excellent, thoseold K5 blazers are beasts, should be a good winter vehicle!

I have never heard of DAACO. Precision industries has a really good reputation and I can say first hand that the stallion converter makes a world of difference on a mustang, they are a tad pricey though.

Awesome, any ideas who may do your headwork? I would recommend looking into Total Engine Airflow(TEA), a friend of mine had his ported by them and they flow a decent bit more than the heads other companies are offering for a much better price, they have ferrera valves and springs though, not modmax.

Can't go wrong with anything that has Maximum Motorsports's name on it.

Thats what the money is for! Enjoy it.

No plans for any mustang here, but I will be helping friends on theirs, and also I will be ordering a full set of Bilsteins for the lightning along with some new firestones.

Don't be a stranger!

Erik D. '94 white lightning

Reply to
Erik D.

Check with Cert-a-fit. That should have your replacement pieces. I have used them for numerous different vehicles and have never had a problem with replacement body panels. Others have...but that is *their* story. My winter plans are to drop in a new tubular k member, coil over kit, steering rack, new steering pump, detail out the engine bay (maybe). That should take care of all of my front end problems. I desperately want to do the 5 lug conversion and 4 wheel disc brake setup but funds WILL not prevent that. my ungodly amount of tax money coming back to me next year will be going to pay off one vehicle and possibly buy another.

I went searching for them and couldn't find their website. They did have one recently, that showed where all the outlet stores are, but I am sure their was one in Nashville at least. If not, I really, really need an excuse to make a road trip to Tennessee. Got some family that needs to be seen and the wife has never been!

Don Manning

Reply to
2.3Sleeper

Aack...

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Try this for starters.

Don Manning

Reply to
2.3Sleeper

Congratulations. I happened upon a winter car also. My wife's old '97 Contour (4cyl 5spd) is now my not-so-good-weather car, since she now drives an '01 Explorer Sport 4x4. It's a great feeling knowing I can park it now. It's seen winters since new, so it deserves a break. They salt the roads up here, so I've got a little cleanup to do on the floorpan (minor, but I'll take care of it before the cancer spreads). Otherwise, I'm sure I'm as anally meticulous (sounds like I keep a clean ass, huh?) as you, with the added fun of the car being black.

Recommendations...Fox Lake, Steen, and ask KenB over at ModularDepot.com who did his. He's making >320 rwhp on the stock shortblock, and it's a '99+ so he doesn't have the added power of the compression bump! ModMax valves are OK (they're repackaged Ferrea), but avoid the ModMax springs. Too many have broken (including mine, but that was the fault of the goof that setup my heads) in both proper and improperly setup heads. For springs, use Comp. Same thing with cams...Comp, or VT Engines appears to be doing good things with cams. They only use Comp springs. I'll probably get a set of cams this winter, but I'm standing back to see a few more people install them with zero trouble. A few people have reported a little racket in the valvetrain after putting Comps in, and Comp's reply is to shim the valves/lifters. The problem is likely due to Ford's apparently large spec window for the valvetrain.

Wise. One day I'll get around to doing this. Have you found a panel that fits in there? I haven't looked, but I don't remember ever seeing one.

Since mine won't see snow anymore (needed the height of the FRPP B springs), I may go to H&Rs in the near future also. I've already got the Bilsteins. They're great. I knew if I went with an adjustable, I'd be forever fiddling with them. I saved my sanity and went with Bilsteins.

Reply to
Keith

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