Of Old Farts and dinosaurs...

I'm 52 years old. I bought my last new car when I was 39.

In 1993, at the same time I bought TFrog, my wife picked up a brand-new Escort GT. That car became my son's first car, when Jean picked up a new Mercury Mystique. After her second new Mystique (now my daughter's car), Jean moved on to the Ford Escape, and is now driving her second, a new 2007 model.

My daughter, who was 11 in 1993, learned to drive with the Princessmobile*, moved on to a '99 Escort, and now drives my wife's '99 Mystique.

In 1993, George Bush 41 watched as William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in for his first term in office as President of the United States. Today, Mrs. Clinton is running for the office.

In 1993, Jerry Orbach was introduced as Detective Lenny Briscoe. He's dead now.

In 1993, my computer was running with Windows 3.1, which incorporated the new DOS 6.0. I remember the day I installed an extra 4MB of RAM, doubling my capacity, and then swapping my 2400 baud modem for an amazing 14,400. Somewhere in there, I began my life as an AOLer (already with 3,000,000 users), after having toyed with CompuServe and Prodigy, and I've been "TFrog93" ever since. Today, I'm using a computer and peripherals that would have only been dreamed of in "Star Trek."

In 1993, the Philadelphia Eagles were in their second season under the great Rich Kotite, who, thankfully, would later parlay a 7-9 season into a head coach position with the New York Jets. The Eagles would then begin their four-year flirtation with an equally fine head coach, Ray Rhodes.

In 1993 (don't hold me to it), we were using a Pentax K1000 that Jean picked up for a college filler course in black & white photography. The K1000 was the camera that every student had to have, fully manual with no bells or whistles. I later picked up the Pentax ZX-M, then my first digital (1.3megapixel), my second digital (3megapixel), and now a D-SLR with a growing list of lenses.

In 1993, it was all about the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 1993, there were still fewer than 150 sites on the new World Wide Web. Also in 1993, Mark Andreesen came out with "Mosaic X", which allowed far greater use of graphics over the internet (does anyone remember the all-text AOL?), which, in turn, gave rise to Netscape Navigator and Windows Internet Explorer. The race was on.

In 1993, we had one television in the house - a 19" Zenith with a clunky channel knob and UHF. We had to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel. Today, we have HDTV, surround sound, 5-disc DVD changer, and cable hookups in all of the bedrooms.

In all areas of my life but one, I have seen amazing changes, undreamt of in my philosophy. And every day I go out and start up my 1993 Ford Mustang, now with 204,000+ miles, which I still love and still plan on keeping.

dwight

  • Princessmobile - see
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    click on CFrog.
Reply to
dwight
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"dwight" wrote in news:GYKdnQwx5LX3033YnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

You've long since surpassed me with the mileage (we were neck and neck there for a while), but I'm with you 100%. Our Mustangs are part of the family.

It's just about time for the LX to be "born again" as a restomod, so I am starting with my plans. Suggestions are most welcome.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Reply to
Joe

Engine. Body. Interior.

Make your lists. I start as "if money were no object" and then pare it down to "things I really should do."

Engine: new crate engine all the way down to new serpentine belts.

Body: new black paint job down to just replacing that cracked windshield grille.

Interior: (this may be where my focus is this year) I'd love to have new seats and harnesses, but there's the mundane: Trim pieces have come loose, there's a shock tower plastic cover missing in the hatch area, and (I drive with the left window down a lot) do I try to clean the headliner or replace it?

I suppose, all in all, TFrog is in pretty good shape, so if I just stuck to the cosmetic, it would look great. But, as an investment in its future, I need to prepare to spend some serious money.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

"dwight" wrote in news:4JmdnTsJwb37O33YnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

My list reads drivetrain, suspension, body, interior (if I get that far).

I'm going with drivetrain, which includes a crate engine coupled to something like a LenTech. My Auburn is sill fine, so the rear end should be ok as is.

I want to have the unibody straightened out and trued, and I need to have some front end issues resolved. The last idiot that put the car on a flatbed chained the front end incorrectly and the chains distorted the front support underneath the radiator. That all needs to be sorted out.

There are also a few other odds 'n' ends like trim pieces (and yes, the windshield grille) and a few dings here and there, but the color will remain the same - Calypso Green.

The interior of the LX is still pretty good except for the headliner, the sun shades, and the ashtray cover. Seats need a good cleaning, but they are still fine. I even have the original netting for the hatch area.

I'm thinking 10 grand should take care of the drivetrain and stuff with the suspension like bushings, control arms, etc. The springs are Steeda and I'll need shocks/struts, but the basics are there. Subframes are there, and I have the caster/camber plates too. 10 grand should get me to the point where all that's left will be cosmetics.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Reply to
Joe

I lump the suspension in with the body, otherwise body would be entirely cosmetic. On my list, body includes the underpinnings. (Oh, yeah... one of my Koni quad shocks is leaking, too - add that to the list.)

Five years ago, my list included the crate engine, matched to a new manual trans and complete exhaust makeover. Well, since then I've had the tranny overhauled and now added the H-pipe to my cat-back, so I've got the exhaust covered. Everything but the new engine.

(I was talking about TFrog, natcherly. I know you like that Calypso. As you know, I almost bought your car - a Calypso Green hatchback, but decided to go with the black at the last moment.)

Somehow, I ended up with two of those rollup hatch covers. Maybe one was left over from the '84 after I sold it. But it hasn't been in the car since I brought it home from the dealership.

Wow... When I priced this out, I figured $10-$12K would give me everything, including the killer black paint job...

Now, as we contemplate restoration... RESTORATION!...I'm going to have to go back and figure out what all of this means in 2007 dollars.

:()

Reply to
dwight

My great grandmother was born in the Oklahoma Territory in the proverbial sod hut. Married at 14, she arrievd in California in a covered wagon. She lived long enough to see the rise of telephones, cars, aircraft, radio, television, and computers, and watched man walk on the moon.... She raised 15 kids, and never owned a car. She'd still walk to the grocery to buy her groceries. Then she took a fall, broke her hip and went down hill from there.

In 5000 years, someone will probably dig up her bones and marvel at the type of creatures which existed and wonder about their social existances. And nobody will care that her greatgrandson drove a 65 Mustang Fastback that ran on dino fuel.

:0) LOL

Reply to
Spike

I'm a big fan of the sleeper look. Maybe lower it a tad and keep the exterior and interior looking bone stock. No one will know the car's potential unless they crawl under it, open the hood or witness the throttle getting hammered.

How much horsepower do you want to make? That will determine a lot of other things.

Reply to
Michael Johnson

Boy, you take the long view... I don't think that, in 5000 years, anyone is going to be around to dig up her bones. If they did, they wouldn't be able to tell any more from hers than from yours.

It's very possible that the single biggest element of our society to live down through the ages is the fact that WE killed Mother Earth with all of our racing around on dino fuel, forcing mankind to either flee its home planet or adapt to living on a global-warmed-out rock. Ergo, you - as an active participant in the destruction - would hold more significance to future earthspawn than your great grandmother.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

And you know Joe, I'm with Mike on this. I vote keep it a plain Jane on the outside & interior, but have King Kong power under the hood. A super clean car will always get noticed, and if you want more attention simply dropping the hammer on the strong running car will get you plenty.

300 RW would be plenty fun/and very streetable.

Patrick

Reply to
NoOption5L

I keep seeing the reverse. Big bulging hoods on 4-cylinder Foxes.

The "mild" crate engine is supposed to produce 340hp. Unless I'm wrong (usually the case), it's a straight drop-in replacement.

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(I see it's also gone from about $3200 five years ago to $4300 today.)

dwight

Reply to
dwight

The nice thing about fuel injection and computer control is that nearly all hp levels are very streetable nowadays. I would opt for a 302 block stroked to 331/347 cubic inches or just go for the gold and get a stroked 351W. A 351W stroked to 392 cubic inches is a cheap and easy build and will give 400+ rwtq/rwhp if done right.

When I get back into my '89 LX it will sport a 427W with motor mounts that let me keep the stock hood. Blowers are nice but I want the reliability and simplicity of a N/A engine. To keep the torque levels I have now I need cubic inches.

Reply to
Michael Johnson

IMO, humans are more like cockroaches than we care to admit. It will take much more than a good bout of global warming to kill us off completely. We have survived ice ages, scorching global warming and are still standing. There just won't be six billion of us around but there will be enough to carry on. There are just a few things, IMO, that can really kill us off completely. A large asteroid/comet slamming us, a huge super volcanic eruption, being in the path of a freak gamma ray burst and something we can do to ourselves.... creating a biological weapon, or mistake, that has the potential to kill even human on the planet. Right now I give odds to the biological route to do us in first.

Reply to
Michael Johnson

You'd give up the KB puffer for more cubes?

Patrick

Reply to
NoOption5L

There'll be three times our number living on half the land surface. But if we come up with something like Soylent Green and no longer need farming, even half the land surface would be more than enough.

I like the freak gamma ray thing. Imagine if we all turned into the Fantastic Twenty Billion. That'd be cool.

I've always wanted to be able to fly.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

It's a tough choice but I would. I have so many gadgets on the car from DIY computer programming, A/F meters, knock sensors, water/and/or alcohol injection etc. that it takes the fun out of it for me. I want something I can start up and drive with absolutely no hassles and, IMO, a N/A big cube engine it the best choice. When a car is designed from the factory for forced induction like the '03+ Cobras etc. a blower makes good sense. Converting a car that wasn't designed for it is expensive and frustrating at times to keep running. The one thing the KB has taught me is that a lot of torque is what I REALLY like. It can make just going to the grocery store for milk an adventure. ;)

Reply to
Michael Johnson

The only reason there are six billion of us now it due to the technology we have. Take that away and the numbers will drop like a rock. Most of us are too stupid to survive on our own wits. I imagine we can greatly add to the population levels if we use technology to keep us fed, clothed and sheltered. Wait until some geneticist finds a way to double or triple the human life span. Then things will get ugly fast.

Say we make it up to 20 billion people living on the planet. My guess is our technology prowess will be formidable and one of the wacky environmental or religious nuts will have the ability to whip up a nasty, fast acting virus to kill ever human on the planet or maybe just have it target 95% of the population to even things out again. IMO, this makes nuclear weapons look tame in comparison. We would be wishing for the days when a good old thermo nuclear war was our biggest threat.

Actually the gamma ray burst is feasible. It seems that during our rotation around the Milky Way there is a place where we are more likely to get hit by one. Some scientists think it is responsible for one of the mass extinctions that they can't link to any catastrophic event like an asteroid/comet impact, volcanic eruption etc. The burst would burn off the ozone layer, cause acid rain and turn the atmosphere toxic on a global scale that would wipe out all but the most hearty of life forms at the ocean bottom or deep underground. The really bad part of this is we would have absolutely no warning before it hit and it would be over in a flash (no pun intended).

I want to be the rubber man. Then I am married to Jessica Alba. ;)

Reply to
Michael Johnson

"dwight" wrote in news:NvednfctVdSgVX3YnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

I don't remember - does TFrog had subframe connectors? I seem to recall that the suspension on your car was pretty much stock.

Sounds good. What about add-ons like headers, intake, cam, etc.?

Yes, it's ironic. The LX I ended up with was the last automatic on the lot (that was one of the conditions my wife made me agree to), so I had no choice in color. Actually, I didn't like it all that much for the first month or so. But the color definitely grew on me, and I just love it now. That color's all but disappeared.

Forgot all about that thing - mine's still working fine. The spring still has the tension and the shade isn't ripped at all. Just a bit discolored from the sun.

Now that I've reviewed my list, I'm thinking 13-15k will do it. 10 just won't be enough.

Reply to
Joe

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@k78g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

The car's already lowered about 1-1/2" with the Steeda sport springs. It sits perfectly right now, although we have to be careful on rough roads or we'll rip out the exhaust on a nice bump. No way it'll go through a car wash. ;)

I totally agree with you guys, but it's already got a Cervini 'glass hood with a small cowl, maybe 1" or so. That's the only giveaway.

I looked at dwight's link in the next post, and even the "mild" M-6007- XE3M would be nice. It's available with the E303 cam, which should work well with the automatic. The hyper pistons should be ok seeing that it'll be n/a. It's also very reasonably priced.

Reply to
Joe

It's all on the website, but yes - subframes, strut tower brace, lower chassis brace. This was done early on. That leaking Koni has to be at least

10 years old. Not bad!

The least of the crate engines at FordRacing.com puts out 340 horses, and (I believe) comes with a mild cam and GT40 heads. No intake, so I'd probably match it up with the GT40 intake manifold (?).

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is what I'm looking at.

Yeah, slim pickin's in September '93. The largest Ford dealer in Philadelphia had only a few left on the lot. I was the reverse - it had to have a stick, so the choice was black or the Cayman Green.

Not by a long shot.

:()

Reply to
dwight

"dwight" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

As I responded to Patrick and Michael, the M-6007-XE3M is just about the perfect engine. The E303 cam is great with the automatic and when everything is said and done it should be able to put out close to 300 RWHP. You should get more with the 5-speed. The only thing extra I'll need is a set of shorty headers. I've already got the Cobra intake and the bigger MAF.

Reply to
Joe

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