67 Cougar restification

[screamin_c10]

Weather is getting to the point I'll have to put her up til next spring.... We started installing the cooling and induction systems. I am utilizing a Taurus fan with Volvo 2 speed relay controller switched by a Porsche dual temp fan switch housed in a Saab radiator hose adapter... LOL! Project Panther just went international! Actually, its a well known and documented upgrade for the off-road and Mustang crowd. Also played with a CAI setup for the SEFI, I have decided to mount the K & N cone filter where the battery tray was and plumb it up to the MAF with 3.5" aluminum tubing. Then I'll fab up a heat shield enclosure for it. I'll probably pull some air from below the car with a DIY ram air setup. Ordered up the CAI parts today so we will see how it turns out this weekend. The 8.8 is back in, mounted and plumbed. Most of the exhaust is in, but that concrete gets cold on the old bones after a while.

[screamin_c10]

Also fabbed up some exhaust cutouts in the rear valance for the "way to frickin' big" exhaust tips. I like how this is coming along. Its my excuse to get out of the cold and into the warm basement

[screamin_c10]

And the finished product sans prep and paint. Not too shabby for a couple tent stakes and a wee bit of filler.

[NONHOG]

Can't wait to see a shot of that installed. Looks good!

[screamin_c10]

Did the unthinkable and actually cut into the original virgin sheetmetal for the cold air intake. I tried several different configurations and was not satisfied with the outcome as it all looked cobbled together. This keeps the engine and exhaust heat away from my intake charge and keeps the engine bay nice and neat. The filter that will be used is a 6.75 inch Edelbrock Pro-Flow vs. the 13" K&N that I have mounted now. I'll fab up a box to keep the tire wash off of it and port it down to a ram air under the valance. I still have a bit of cleanup to do on it.

[screamin_c10]

Got a Screamin' deal on some 2013 Mustang front take-off 13.2" disks and calipers. I planned on some additional mods to the front suspension, so I'll get these monsters fittedl as soon as it warms up a bit. Good thing I have another Cougar to slap all the extra parts on LOL!

So she'll have 11.25" rear disks and 13.2" fronts. I'll also be putting in a 1" bore '04 Mustang disk/disk M/C, an adjustable proportioning valve and Hurst Line lock to round out the braking system.

Gonna box the LCAs and add screw in ball joints as well as spherical bushings, build roller spring perchs and adjustable heim'd strut rods to get rid of the inherent binding in the front suspension. I'm building a set of "Cal-Trac" style traction bars for the rear end as well.

Now that Mrs. Clause brought me a plasma cutter I can hack and slash all sorts of stuff...LOL!

[screamin_c10]

Been a while since I updated this thread... Got a little bit done on the Panther project.

2013 'stang GT/Corvette brakes
Adjustable LCAs
Adjustable strut rods
Air box for ram air
130 Amp "4G" Alternator
Mini starter
Under-drive pulleys
Modded GT40P Exploder intake and throttle body. (Haven't installed yet.)
Fabbed up the new proportioning valve and line lock to the '04 'stang M/C, still need to get it installed and the lines run... again.

I think that's all for now...

[67ChevyRedneck]

That's A LOT of work! I just did a dual bowl power conversion on the 65. Not fun.

Do you have a better pic of your strut rods and LCA's? I just priced out Street or Track Adjustable strut rods and roller perches... DEY'S 'SPENSIVE!

[screamin_c10]

Sure thing, the LCAs are not quite done yet. The price for them is down right highway robbery so I built and powder coated my own.

[screamin_c10]

More pics...

I'll be changing around the strut rod mount on the fabbed LCAs. It needs to be a bit wider to allow the 5/8 heim a bit more room to move. The aftermarket units are rigidly mounted at the LCA. Seems like a weak point on something that moves up or down ~ 8 inches. I went with Heims on both ends and cross bolted them through the original strut rod mounts. I still have to fab up some spacers when the 5/8 i.d. DOM tubing gets here.

All tolled I have about 400.00 in the LCAs, strut rods and roller perches. Compared to the aftermarket units mine are overkill using chromemoly kevlar 5/8 heims and .120 tubing on the strut rods. Forged spherical rod end and Moog/Afco screw in ball joints on the LCAs. All grade 8 fasteners and fully greasable / servicable.

In the last pic the strut rods are just bolted to the factory LCAs, this is NOT how they will be mounted.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Awesome! I've been reading about the LCA's with roller bearings, but they're like $400 too. Makes sense to me though, on a suspension that moves for and aft, there should not be just a solid mount bushing. It works as is... but could be better.

Yeah, I can't believe what they charge for them. It is flat out robbery. $375??? It's a freakin' bar with an adjustable end! And the Roller Perches? $180? COME ON!

They should be $125-150 for the adj. struts and $75-100 for the perches. It's almost a joke.

I priced out a set of roller perches, ajd. strut rods, GT front springs (stock height), and 1" sway bar... $890 shipped from Street or Track. Global West was even higher. I shat my pants a little and didn't proceed with the order for now...

Shocks are CRAZY for these cars too. Koni, bilstein, etc are all in the $5-$600 range. Are you kidding me? I went with the KYB GR2 off fleabay ~$100. I also got new dorman upper and lower control arms. I got new arms because they were only a few bucks more than all new ball joints and bushings? Strange.

[screamin_c10]

Engine install is mostly complete, we had to modify the 67 motor mount stands to accommodate the 68 up mounts. All brackets and pulleys are powdercoated and installed. New GT40/Exploder intake is on and most of the "nickel and dime" stuff is done. We fabbed up the subframe connectors out of 1/8 wall 2" square tubing, these will act as conduits for the battery cables and fuel lines. Hoping to finish up the exhaust this weekend if the weather stays decent.

[screamin_c10]

Still need to fab up some rear shackles for the new composite leaf springs and figure out a panhard bar and traction bar setup soon, but she can roll on the steel leaves until then.

I was all set to pull the trigger on some Cal-Trac style bars. All the materials are sitting here, but I'm worried about the metal to fiberglass contact when launching hard. I'll contact Flex Form and see what they have to say on the subject.

[Zoomin]

Love all the fab work you've done, let alone the money you've saved. That's going to be an awesome car, one that you don't see very day.

[screamin_c10]

Thanks Zoomin, I hope its all worth it in the end. The 1st and 2nd gen Cougars are gaining popularity, but there simply isn't a whole hell of alot of them left.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I haven't done a full suspension rebuild since I did the C10 back in like 2002. I forgot how much work, time, and $ it was to do it right. I did end up with Street or Track perches and adjustable strut rods.

Your car is going to be awesome!

[screamin_c10]

Got the shackles and Cal-Trac plates and pieces fabbed up for the passenger side. I hope to get them test fit this weekend if I can get my taxes done in a timely manner... I procrastinate...

Also, all my braided stainless line and AN fittings will be arriving as well so I can start plumbing the EFI and power steering...

Hoping to have her moving under her own power by 07/04!

[screamin_c10]

Finished up the braided stainless fuel lines and temporarily dropped in the sumped tank. Mounted the fuel pump and filters, etc to test fit.

Hung the fiberglass leaf springs and started mocking up the panhard bar and its assorted attaching points. I'm still waiting on Jegs to send the correct slider box(I don't think the zip ties will cut the mustard here). Finished up the heavy duty shackles and installed poly bushings and grade 8 hardware in the frame. Hopefully this will keep the springs happy and properly located.

The new springs dropped the rear end ~2" so the front springs were cut to match. I'm currently modding/rebuilding the UCAs and fabbing up some roller perches to free up any bind remaining in the front end and tp relocate the spring a bit.

[screamin_c10]

Finished up the braided stainless fuel lines and temporarily dropped in the sumped tank. Mounted the fuel pump and filters, etc to test fit.

Hung the fiberglass leaf springs and started mocking up the panhard bar and its assorted attaching points. I'm still waiting on Jegs to send the correct slider box. I also fabbed up some heavy duty shackles and installed poly bushings and grade 8 hardware in the frame. Hopefully this will keep the springs happy and properly located.

The new springs dropped the rear end ~2" so the front springs were cut to match. I'm currently modding/rebuilding the UCAs and fabbing up some roller perches to free up any bind remaining in the front end.

[screamin_c10]

Panhard bar is mocked up and tacked together waiting to get yanked out and welded. Finished up the front suspension including the modded UCAs, roller perches, cut springs etc. Everything received a fresh coat of powder. The only thing we did not install were the new Koni STR.T shocks as they wont arrive 'til Monday.

The new stance looks killer, but I definitely have some per-alignment aligning to do, just need to rough it in a bit more.

Next up is the parking brake. We will be modifying the console to include a late model style hand brake. We will be sourcing the parts from Lokar and cutting to fit.

[screamin_c10]

Finally got her down on all fours and rolled out of the carport for a cleaning... She's starting to take shape... but we have a long way to go.

[hgs_notes]

Looking great! The stance is good, might even drop it a tad bit more in front.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Very cool! That's going to be a bad A$$ car!

[screamin_c10]

Thanks guys!

I'm going to hold off dropping her any further until I can do couple test drives. Just rolling her in and out of the carport, she settled another 1/2". I'm also toying with going to a slightly smaller tire in the front. I originally planned on using a 235/40/17 but I accidentally ordered 235/45/17s I think I may go back to my original plans.

The Big Brown truck just delivered my 20 circuit harness yesterday, so I get to start that task soon. I'm currently trying to figure out how to integrate all the extra whiz bang gizmos into it.

[screamin_c10]

2 steps forward... 3 steps back.