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.