Duncan's 5.0 Convertible Progress Thread

A little update. I am currently repainting the rear bumper due to the last owner ignorance about painting without flex agent and the fact that they backed the car over there mail box and broke the bumper extension off. I should have the bumper mounted and some new update pictures mid next week after the paint cures enough to mount it. Oh and the whole job cost me about $60 in supplies including the bumper extension :D BTW the front bumper will get touch up in about a month of so when I can get more free time.

Oh and the car will eventually repainted oem color (white with the red molding stripe), but I did want to get the eye sore fixed for now.


Before Bumper Extension
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After Bumper Extension
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Before Bumper
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Before Bumper (Halfway done with Paint Prep) If you look close you can see the original red molding stripe :( I would also like to kill the previous owner because I had to remove the paint from the bumper because it was cracked to the base coat.
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These are a few pictures of my fog light rewire and the second stage or basecoat of my rear bumper.

Fog Light Rewire
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Rear Bumper with Basecoat (I am waiting for paint to set before taping it off and doing the white upper portion and the black inset.

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These are some updated engine pictures. She has come a long way since I got her with completely blown valve cover gaskets. You can guess how much oil there was on the engine bay.

A summer project is to refinish the engine bay. It will be a lot of work but well worth it.

BONUS: The last picture is the very first picture of the car I ever took. It was at the hotel an hour after I bought it. :D She is dirty, too bad I didn't have a real camera.

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First Ever Photo
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Looks good was it hard to take the cluster out?....


It is not too hard. You have to take off the steering wheel trim and the multi-funtion switch in addition to the obvious. It only takes 15 mins to disassemble it even if it is your first time.

Note: Don't forget the two screws by the windshield when removing the trim piece that holds the headlight and caution light switches.
 
Some new parts pics for my summer project. GT40p heads. I got them off an explorer with 55k miles for $150. So far I have disassembled them and had them cleaned, checked for cracks and warpage, and a 3 angle job. The only thing I am doing to the heads is a little gasket matching. Hopefully I can get my connection to get me a matching intake this week. :nice:

On to the pictures. Got to love new looking heads (they are currently being painted silver (aluminum).

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FRRP headers. Picked them up for $50 bucks. The headers barely work with the GT40P heads. I used some 90 degree boots and Taylor flameproof boots.

Oh, btw I am using a stock ported lower. I wanted the extra low end torque to move around my heavy convertible.

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Before the tear down I did a compression test just for fun. It got ~165±5 psi across all 8 cylinders. If you look you can still see the cross hatching in the cylinders. Also a nice close-up of a factor forged piston with part number (e7ze-6110-ca).

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