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07-16-2006, 03:26 PM
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Car: '89 Firebird Formula
Engine: 350 TPI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.73 Posi
Joined the F-Body Club
**I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post this in. I'm new to the site. Moderators, if this is in the wrong place please advise me or move it**
So here's the deal. I own a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria which I have done extensive modifications to. I got the car when I was 16 in high school, and have since built an engine, racing transmission, etc for it. The following chart illustrates why I cannot continue to use the Crown Vic as a daily driver anymore:
It has been having so many problems that I have had a hard time just getting to work in it. In short, it's just really unreliable right now. I have a pre-order on a Saturn Sky Redline, but the dealer told me that I won't get it until December at the earliest. In the mean time I need a second vehicle to get around in that can offer me at least some reliability so that between the two cars I can always have at least one that works while I'm fixing the other. At first I was going to drop around $1000 on an old K5 Blazer or Suburban, but then my dad told me that one of his coworkers was selling a car. Turns out that her husband passed away and left behind a project car that he and his son had worked on. The son is off at college and said to just sell it since she is moving and needs it out of the garage. She said she'd sell it for $2000 since she just wants it out right now. Behold, my second car:
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
The car was built for Autocrossing. It has a 350TPI motor that was balanced and blueprinted about 30-40k miles ago. Overall the car has 90k miles, most of which were spent in Florida which explains why there is not a spot of rust on the entire car (including the undercarriage). The engine is not terribly beefed up because the owner didn't want to be bumped to a higher division class. Everything that was done to the car is fully documented, and the best dyno sheet shows 243 rwhp and 363 ftlbs. It does have a larger BBK throttle body, and TPIS 'Big Mouth' Intake, along with Hedman headers and some badass exhaust.
The car has Koni Sport Adjustable (Yellow) shocks along with really stiff springs. There is a custom torque arm bar installed, along with a strut tower brace and 16x10" tires. There is a 4-point roll bar on the interior (2 mounts right behind the front seats) and 2 mounts on top of the rear tire well. The backseat has been removed because it is not accessible with the rollbar. There is a Sparco Pro 2000 driver's seat with 5-point harness. The car sits very low to the ground, and corners excellently, but it isn't the soft ride I'm used to in the Crown Vic. The previous owner said that better tires he has pulled 1.2 lateral g's on the skidpad. The rear axle was replaced with some other one that has a 3.73 posi differential. The battery has also been relocated to the trunk.
Now the downside. The car still has its factory original 700r4 which seems to have worn out the 3-4 clutches. It slips like crazy. I'm taking it into the Racing Transmission shop near me that built the awesome racing automatic for my Crown Vic. I'm going to check with them to find out what the cost would be to convert it to a manual, as opposed to rebuilding my 700r4 to beefier specs, or just throwing a th400 in there. The important thing is that I have the car up and running by next week or so (the trans shop will have to do all the work, I have no time) since my Crown Vic is hanging on by a thread right now. No worries though, once I can drive the Firebird to work reliably I can spend some time getting the Vic in better running condition, and then eventually get my Sky. So what do you guys think?
So here's the deal. I own a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria which I have done extensive modifications to. I got the car when I was 16 in high school, and have since built an engine, racing transmission, etc for it. The following chart illustrates why I cannot continue to use the Crown Vic as a daily driver anymore:
It has been having so many problems that I have had a hard time just getting to work in it. In short, it's just really unreliable right now. I have a pre-order on a Saturn Sky Redline, but the dealer told me that I won't get it until December at the earliest. In the mean time I need a second vehicle to get around in that can offer me at least some reliability so that between the two cars I can always have at least one that works while I'm fixing the other. At first I was going to drop around $1000 on an old K5 Blazer or Suburban, but then my dad told me that one of his coworkers was selling a car. Turns out that her husband passed away and left behind a project car that he and his son had worked on. The son is off at college and said to just sell it since she is moving and needs it out of the garage. She said she'd sell it for $2000 since she just wants it out right now. Behold, my second car:
1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula
The car was built for Autocrossing. It has a 350TPI motor that was balanced and blueprinted about 30-40k miles ago. Overall the car has 90k miles, most of which were spent in Florida which explains why there is not a spot of rust on the entire car (including the undercarriage). The engine is not terribly beefed up because the owner didn't want to be bumped to a higher division class. Everything that was done to the car is fully documented, and the best dyno sheet shows 243 rwhp and 363 ftlbs. It does have a larger BBK throttle body, and TPIS 'Big Mouth' Intake, along with Hedman headers and some badass exhaust.
The car has Koni Sport Adjustable (Yellow) shocks along with really stiff springs. There is a custom torque arm bar installed, along with a strut tower brace and 16x10" tires. There is a 4-point roll bar on the interior (2 mounts right behind the front seats) and 2 mounts on top of the rear tire well. The backseat has been removed because it is not accessible with the rollbar. There is a Sparco Pro 2000 driver's seat with 5-point harness. The car sits very low to the ground, and corners excellently, but it isn't the soft ride I'm used to in the Crown Vic. The previous owner said that better tires he has pulled 1.2 lateral g's on the skidpad. The rear axle was replaced with some other one that has a 3.73 posi differential. The battery has also been relocated to the trunk.
Now the downside. The car still has its factory original 700r4 which seems to have worn out the 3-4 clutches. It slips like crazy. I'm taking it into the Racing Transmission shop near me that built the awesome racing automatic for my Crown Vic. I'm going to check with them to find out what the cost would be to convert it to a manual, as opposed to rebuilding my 700r4 to beefier specs, or just throwing a th400 in there. The important thing is that I have the car up and running by next week or so (the trans shop will have to do all the work, I have no time) since my Crown Vic is hanging on by a thread right now. No worries though, once I can drive the Firebird to work reliably I can spend some time getting the Vic in better running condition, and then eventually get my Sky. So what do you guys think?
07-16-2006, 05:56 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: In the sticks near Woodland,CA, USA
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Car: 91 Formula WS6
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: five speed
The car is awesome! I am a road racer, once-in-a-while autoxer, so if you want to keep the car for that application then it is set up well. If you decided to keep the auto I'd get a Trans-Go shift kit for it to shift crisper and put some Redline Tranny fluid in it, maybe a cooler if you need it. Sounds like a rock 'n roll car, I'd keep it the way it is before making too many changes. For autox I think an auto would be an advantage, especially with those gears. I'm sure it hooks with those tires and torque arm. 
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