my new project: LS into an 81 fairmont wagon
11-08-2013, 04:26 PM
#61
well after fighting a few issues this past week I swapped ECM's tonight, changed plugs and it fired right up.
still have a few things to do, still waiting on my driveshaft
and I have to wire up the cooling fans, bleed the brakes, driveshaft loop, etc. but always good to hear it run for the first time 
still have a few things to do, still waiting on my driveshaft
and I have to wire up the cooling fans, bleed the brakes, driveshaft loop, etc. but always good to hear it run for the first time 
11-11-2013, 08:54 PM
#63
was able to get a few more "little" things out of the way between saturday and tonight. wired up the cooling fans, pulled the carpets, mounted the driveshaft loop, scraped all the insulation off the floor (thats always fun!). put the interior back together tonight hopefully for the last time (for a while anyway). it looks junky but in a good way i guess lol
and why someone did this i have no idea, but it made a huge mess. it literally looked like someone took the car to the beach, then immidiately tried to glue another carpet ontop of the existing one...
and why someone did this i have no idea, but it made a huge mess. it literally looked like someone took the car to the beach, then immidiately tried to glue another carpet ontop of the existing one...
11-15-2013, 09:09 PM
#64
so this week was eventful...
got my drive-shaft Tuesday, go to put it in the car Tuesday night and the rear flange is wrong (bolt pattern was too large) so i sent it back Wednesday and they took care of it. got it back Wednesday night so i bolted it in, fired the car up on jack-stands, ran it through the gears and checked the trans fluid - all was good. put it up on the alignment rack and did sort of a preliminary alignment (i still have to setup the rear suspension and pinion angle) so i just wanted to get the toe set so i could maybe drive it a little bit. so i do that and say "**** it, ill take it for a little ride through the parking lot" made it about 100feet, car shut off, wont restart. ended up needing a fuel pump (brand new aeromtive took a dump with maybe an hour run time) so i got the new pump today, dropped the tank, fixed that, checked everything over and hit the road. drove it about 25 miles and aside from being loud and only having a 3speed its pretty cool. next priority is a tune hopefully in a week or 2. driving a fresh build for the first time never gets old(or any less nerve racking lol)
probably the first time this thing has been actually driven since 2008
heres 2 short vids cruising after getting some gas:
got my drive-shaft Tuesday, go to put it in the car Tuesday night and the rear flange is wrong (bolt pattern was too large) so i sent it back Wednesday and they took care of it. got it back Wednesday night so i bolted it in, fired the car up on jack-stands, ran it through the gears and checked the trans fluid - all was good. put it up on the alignment rack and did sort of a preliminary alignment (i still have to setup the rear suspension and pinion angle) so i just wanted to get the toe set so i could maybe drive it a little bit. so i do that and say "**** it, ill take it for a little ride through the parking lot" made it about 100feet, car shut off, wont restart. ended up needing a fuel pump (brand new aeromtive took a dump with maybe an hour run time) so i got the new pump today, dropped the tank, fixed that, checked everything over and hit the road. drove it about 25 miles and aside from being loud and only having a 3speed its pretty cool. next priority is a tune hopefully in a week or 2. driving a fresh build for the first time never gets old(or any less nerve racking lol)
probably the first time this thing has been actually driven since 2008
heres 2 short vids cruising after getting some gas:
12-19-2013, 10:33 PM
#65
another little update:
havent been working on the car lately due to being busy at work, i just need to tie up a few loose ends really. a few weeks ago my buddy sam and i built a full exhaust for the car (the exhaust dumped @ the axle got old real quick and just wasnt my style). so now it has a y-pipe into a single ultraflo muffler, single tailpipe and another muffler in the back. sounds good, very mellow and 100times quieter in the car. without the fab/welding skills of my buddy sam, i could never have done this - i just come up with the retarded ideas he makes them happen.
y-pipe:
over the axle:
tailpipe/muffler:
and a short video:
havent been working on the car lately due to being busy at work, i just need to tie up a few loose ends really. a few weeks ago my buddy sam and i built a full exhaust for the car (the exhaust dumped @ the axle got old real quick and just wasnt my style). so now it has a y-pipe into a single ultraflo muffler, single tailpipe and another muffler in the back. sounds good, very mellow and 100times quieter in the car. without the fab/welding skills of my buddy sam, i could never have done this - i just come up with the retarded ideas he makes them happen.
y-pipe:
over the axle:
tailpipe/muffler:
and a short video:
12-27-2013, 11:09 PM
#67
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Good looking car, I like it!!! Just got a 79 Zephyr myself. It's a 4 door and already pulled an aluminum 6.0 (L76) for it. Going to collect the rest of the parts and hopefully slap it all together sometime in the future.
Good info on the gas tank. The gas needle in my car is messed up. Stays fully pegged on the full side constantly. Swapped gauge clusters because there was another in the trunk of the car when I bought it, and still the same thing.
Good info on the gas tank. The gas needle in my car is messed up. Stays fully pegged on the full side constantly. Swapped gauge clusters because there was another in the trunk of the car when I bought it, and still the same thing.
12-28-2013, 01:02 PM
#68
Good looking car, I like it!!! Just got a 79 Zephyr myself. It's a 4 door and already pulled an aluminum 6.0 (L76) for it. Going to collect the rest of the parts and hopefully slap it all together sometime in the future.
Good info on the gas tank. The gas needle in my car is messed up. Stays fully pegged on the full side constantly. Swapped gauge clusters because there was another in the trunk of the car when I bought it, and still the same thing.
Good info on the gas tank. The gas needle in my car is messed up. Stays fully pegged on the full side constantly. Swapped gauge clusters because there was another in the trunk of the car when I bought it, and still the same thing.
12-28-2013, 05:06 PM
#69
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thanks! if its a 79 the level sensor connector is on the bottom of the tank, just un-plug the connector and see if it drops. I searched high and low for a sensor just to see if it was even available - couldn't find one. im not sure how accurate mine is yet but ill be sure to update if theres an issue lol
01-19-2014, 03:51 PM
#71
so I think I have this thing wrapped up for the most part, cleaned up the wiring and stuff in the engine compartment after i fixed an electrical issue that's been present since I bought the car (randomly the starter would not engage, seems the guy that owned it before me had replaced the solenoid and starter trying to fix this, turned out to be some corrosion in the ford harness where all the fuseible links are spliced together)
so ill be hitting the dyno on Friday to tune it, we'll see how it goes
so ill be hitting the dyno on Friday to tune it, we'll see how it goes
01-27-2014, 02:23 PM
#75
My parents had one that was that color growing up. woulda, coulda…….shoulda
01-27-2014, 02:32 PM
#76
My parents had a new '78 Fairmont wagon growing up. Creme color with a 302/auto. They had that for probably 7-8 years. I remember my dad laying some rubber a few times in reverse.... and beating my uncles DeLorean with it 
I clearly remember the speedo with the circled "55" on it and 85mph max.
Great project car. Curious what it ends up weighing.
I clearly remember the speedo with the circled "55" on it and 85mph max.
Great project car. Curious what it ends up weighing.
01-27-2014, 06:26 PM
#78
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Awesome build! I may have missed it but what are you doing for a VSS to the ECM since you are running a turbo 350? I have heard if you don't run a VSS input to the computer then it tries to die coming to stoplights?
02-02-2014, 02:06 PM
#80
few more little updates:
Friday night I spent a few hours adjusting the door strikers - basically you'd go to close any door on the car and it wouldn't latch fully unless you slammed it. then I tore the passenger front door apart to install a rearview mirror. the guy I bought the car from gave me a ton of extra parts and the mirror and correct trim were the only things I kept haha. but to do this I needed a front glass so I finally found one on ebay.
started like this:
everything swapped over
and since it was in the mid 40's and not snowing this weekend I took the car for a cruise. drove it home from my shop, checked it over and then went out with it again. drove it all weekend and so far so good. being that im used to having a 4l60e the 3speed takes some getting used to, and the loose converter and 410's are less than desirable for me, but the car is definitely fast. I may sway the 355's I have in for now and maybe keep a look out for a used converter that's maybe in the 3500-4000 range(this one flashed to 4600 lol). other than a few little things I cant wait for spring and the track to open. heres a few pics from the weekend:
getting some gas
made it home lol
this is my go-to spot when I finish a car to take pictures
Friday night I spent a few hours adjusting the door strikers - basically you'd go to close any door on the car and it wouldn't latch fully unless you slammed it. then I tore the passenger front door apart to install a rearview mirror. the guy I bought the car from gave me a ton of extra parts and the mirror and correct trim were the only things I kept haha. but to do this I needed a front glass so I finally found one on ebay.
started like this:
everything swapped over
and since it was in the mid 40's and not snowing this weekend I took the car for a cruise. drove it home from my shop, checked it over and then went out with it again. drove it all weekend and so far so good. being that im used to having a 4l60e the 3speed takes some getting used to, and the loose converter and 410's are less than desirable for me, but the car is definitely fast. I may sway the 355's I have in for now and maybe keep a look out for a used converter that's maybe in the 3500-4000 range(this one flashed to 4600 lol). other than a few little things I cant wait for spring and the track to open. heres a few pics from the weekend:
getting some gas
made it home lol
this is my go-to spot when I finish a car to take pictures