Well, rather than clutter the Longest Thread Evarrrr with my constant ramblings and blog-ish details, I figured I'd hop on the bandwagon and start a project progress thread of my own here. So, here's the tale thus far:
Traded a morbidly obese dude my '86 AOD GT 'vert (with 195k miles) for this: an '84 5.0 LX hatch, AOD with shift kit, CFI (
), black with porno red interior, with 89k documented ORIGINAL miles on it. 
View attachment 312085
View attachment 312086
Interior's been done a bit here and there. Driver's seat was swapped out with a second passenger-side seat, paintjob was switched from factory silver to black with some metal-flake in it (not the best paintjob, but better than my Rustoleum finishes thus far), a couple of interior panels were painted to match or to be touched-up for wear, dash pad is white (and still cracked), and so on. Car was left sitting in this dude's driveway for about a year because he couldn't seem to figure out why it was overheating; the fact that it has a fixed flex fan with absolutely no fan shroud probably wasn't helping things, at all.
Further PO mayhem includes some wires here and there underhood that've been hacked and crimp-connected, vacuum lines disconnected and/or rotted everywhere, a short belt routed to bypass the smog pump and A/C compressor, missing top to the overflow/washer reservoir, almost straight water being run in the coolant system, ghetto-rigged battery terminals, and a frickin' Honda battery used to crank it over. Wow. I have my work cut out for me.
View attachment 312087
View attachment 312088
Things that I've thus far fixed/replaced:
1. Radiator fan belt (weird shorter non-stock length, too ... 88.2")
2. Metal fan w/clutch (too small - need to swap to a bigger fan to fit the shroud better)
3. Fan shroud (from a Mark VII, I believe - was too wide, had to hack to fit, need a proper one in better shape)
4. Thermostat (195*)
5. Full coolant flush/refill (block, radiator, and heater core)
6. Window handle reattached on passenger's side
7. Driver's side door lock actuator rod reattached
8. Ignition switch replaced (contacts were worn - would immediately shut off if you let off the key too quickly when starting, or if you bumped it)
9. Scraped paint overspray and crap from windows (thanks, Frankenstang! )
10. Capped off loose vacuum lines that went nowhere and were sucking air straight into the manifold
11. Rigged up a crankcase breather tube to the air cleaner with new hose, an elbow, and a fresh filter
Other than a planned CFI-to-Carb Conversion and a swap to true duals in the future, my list of near-future needs:
1. Driver's front parking lens (missing) and bulb
2. Scrape/sand/whatever remove paint sprayed over license plate light lenses
3. Replace burned-out bulbs everywhere (headlamps, backup lights, etc.)
4. Get the stoplight switch working properly (I'm thinking it just needs a washer to hold it properly in place with tension)
5. Vacuum/clean the holy hell out of it, MAYBE give it a bath
6. Remove faded-out and warped/bubbly window tint from hatch glass
7. Either buy hatch lift struts or get a better prop rod to hold it up
8. Get a proper fan and fan shroud on there (busted-arse incorrect shroud on there now, with an undersized fan)
9. Heat riser connections for intake (stupid smog nazis will fail it for it, I'm sure)
10. Air cleaner-to-fender connections (not so much a need as a want)
11. Patch exhaust leak(s) that make it sound like a friggin' pickup truck
12. Change fuel filter
13. Total Seafoam douche treatment
14. Oil change
15. Throw in some kinda radio/speakers
16. Fix idle speeds and/or clean IAC valve
17. Clean out EGR valve
18. Proper battery with new terminals and tie-down
19. Paint headliner (or lack thereof) to match
20. Replace/Fix horns
Traded a morbidly obese dude my '86 AOD GT 'vert (with 195k miles) for this: an '84 5.0 LX hatch, AOD with shift kit, CFI (
), black with porno red interior, with 89k documented ORIGINAL miles on it. View attachment 312085
View attachment 312086
Interior's been done a bit here and there. Driver's seat was swapped out with a second passenger-side seat, paintjob was switched from factory silver to black with some metal-flake in it (not the best paintjob, but better than my Rustoleum finishes thus far), a couple of interior panels were painted to match or to be touched-up for wear, dash pad is white (and still cracked), and so on. Car was left sitting in this dude's driveway for about a year because he couldn't seem to figure out why it was overheating; the fact that it has a fixed flex fan with absolutely no fan shroud probably wasn't helping things, at all.
Further PO mayhem includes some wires here and there underhood that've been hacked and crimp-connected, vacuum lines disconnected and/or rotted everywhere, a short belt routed to bypass the smog pump and A/C compressor, missing top to the overflow/washer reservoir, almost straight water being run in the coolant system, ghetto-rigged battery terminals, and a frickin' Honda battery used to crank it over. Wow. I have my work cut out for me.View attachment 312087
View attachment 312088
Things that I've thus far fixed/replaced:
1. Radiator fan belt (weird shorter non-stock length, too ... 88.2")
2. Metal fan w/clutch (too small - need to swap to a bigger fan to fit the shroud better)
3. Fan shroud (from a Mark VII, I believe - was too wide, had to hack to fit, need a proper one in better shape)
4. Thermostat (195*)
5. Full coolant flush/refill (block, radiator, and heater core)
6. Window handle reattached on passenger's side
7. Driver's side door lock actuator rod reattached
8. Ignition switch replaced (contacts were worn - would immediately shut off if you let off the key too quickly when starting, or if you bumped it)
9. Scraped paint overspray and crap from windows (thanks, Frankenstang!
)10. Capped off loose vacuum lines that went nowhere and were sucking air straight into the manifold
11. Rigged up a crankcase breather tube to the air cleaner with new hose, an elbow, and a fresh filter
Other than a planned CFI-to-Carb Conversion and a swap to true duals in the future, my list of near-future needs:
1. Driver's front parking lens (missing) and bulb
2. Scrape/sand/whatever remove paint sprayed over license plate light lenses
3. Replace burned-out bulbs everywhere (headlamps, backup lights, etc.)
4. Get the stoplight switch working properly (I'm thinking it just needs a washer to hold it properly in place with tension)
5. Vacuum/clean the holy hell out of it, MAYBE give it a bath
6. Remove faded-out and warped/bubbly window tint from hatch glass
7. Either buy hatch lift struts or get a better prop rod to hold it up
8. Get a proper fan and fan shroud on there (busted-arse incorrect shroud on there now, with an undersized fan)
9. Heat riser connections for intake (stupid smog nazis will fail it for it, I'm sure)
10. Air cleaner-to-fender connections (not so much a need as a want)
11. Patch exhaust leak(s) that make it sound like a friggin' pickup truck
12. Change fuel filter
13. Total Seafoam douche treatment
14. Oil change
15. Throw in some kinda radio/speakers
16. Fix idle speeds and/or clean IAC valve
17. Clean out EGR valve
18. Proper battery with new terminals and tie-down
19. Paint headliner (or lack thereof) to match
20. Replace/Fix horns
