I have a problem. I'm a Foci-a-holic

[CrUziN4L]

HOLY **** DUDE...welcome back


good to hear from ya and cetch up! Love that u still have the V6, but in order to justify the transplant, you will need some serious love in suspension/looks to that wagon, but i love the idea!


p.s. my LED LPlights are still working like a charm


-chris

[Zetecpwr]

Well welcome back man.. If you plan on getting rid of the hatch after the swap, I'd be more than willing to buy that RS steering wheel off of you you would be supporting a noble cause... : )

- mike

[SVTRSST]

damn you are from 2000!, i was 10 year old by then lmao

[covert1]

Thank you all, it's great to be back. Indeed, as SVTRSST has alluded to - it's gonna be 10 freakin' years! Tracey - when I first met you, you were still a teenager

Almost 10 years ago, we had one of the first G2G's ever, and I was there reppin' with my parents' Atlantic Blue sedan. Looking back, it's so funny how few mods were available.

cobra: The D30 is very tantalizing, but my ignorance is holding me back. It's almost too much information and I'm really in need of a Cougar/Contour person to show me this stuff in person. My other issue is that of the 2 cars, I want to get one of them back up and usable quickly, just so I have a backup in case of the unforeseen. I pondered dropping the SPI into the ZX3 shell (Blasphemy! ) because of the mileage I'm seeing. Once I gut the thing I can just spray duraliner all over to mitigate the remaining leaks and just stick a seat in there and be done.

Machfive: What's up old-timer? Yeah, I do need to be at the next Redman gathering. Or, if we do a commemorative 10 year Gunpowder Falls G2G!

To the Cali folks: Hate that I did not get to see you all this year, but that's for the better, because I have time to save up for the next FOTB/equivalent event. Maybe if I earn enough vacation I'll finally get to drive cross country.

Cruzin: I forgot to mention it earlier, but suspension stuff will be changed out. The ZX3 has SVT brakes and poly bushings, so that's going to the wagon. I figure some H&R springs are in the green wagon's future and then Koni's after that. Glad to know that your LEDs still rock; weren't those one of my 'engineering samples'?

Zetecpwr: We can talk in PM's about that if you want it badly enough. For my purposes, I'm more than content with a stock steering wheel so maybe we can work something out. I know I will have bits and pieces for sale once I'm in the thick of it.

I've been driving greenie to work for the last couple days. It's been interesting getting reacquainted with radio, a slushbox, and no window tint. I have to defer to many other vehicles and stay in the right lane if only because the full-speed interior fan is stuck on, A/C or not. And, the UV glaze on the headlamps looks so bad it's like someone applied opague wax to the surface. Still, if I get 400 miles to a tank, I think I'm gonna take her to see my folks next weekend for the family reunion in Ohio.

I guess tomorrow's mission is to clean up my garage by getting needless stuff out of there and maximizing available space for dissecting a car.

[1svt4u2c]

400 miles to the tank? 33/34 mpg, thats pretty good. Wish my SVT got that. I'm down at roughly 25mpg.

Anyway, so what are you doing with the blue one after you pull the engine? (maybe I missed it........)

[covert1]

If it weren't for today's BS traffic (during a rain, which took an hour to go 15 miles) it looked like I was definitely gonna hit 400. 80 miles and the reading was 1/8 of a tank used. After that frustrating waste of time today, it's just under a quarter used and just past 100 miles.

Plans for the blue car's remains are yet to be decided. I've gotten a few sniffs from people - including a past FJ member that I ran into by chance in Baltimore last Sunday. That thing needs to be gutted and soaked in isopropyl alcohol, though, and I need to really gauge the damage that was there before I acquired it. It appears to have been hammered out in the rear driver's side where the tail lamp mounts. I know the replacement quarter panel glass wasn't completely sealed, which I fixed because it was an obvious leak. Perhaps this car once fishtailed off the road and into a tree on that side. I also had to put expandy-foam between the body and the rear impact absorber to stop whatever path water had from there. The tail lamps both need grommets to stop leaks.

If I actually mitigate each and every leak, I might consider keeping it, but at the same time I think it might be a better compromise to sell it for a reasonable cost to someone looking for a carcass to inject life into.

I know I joked about stuffing the SPI in it, but funny thing is - the seller of the greenie is interested in taking it off my hands. His 'job' is privately acquiring and selling used cars at profit because he has a quasi-business relationship with a local shop/yard. It's actually a neat racket, because the shop can do tags and titles in addition to any other body/mechanical repairs. Not sure if he got enthused because of my interest in the Foci, or what, but if he takes it, I'll be happy.

The thought of just spraying bedliner all over the inside of it still makes me chuckle a bit. I dunno; maybe someone will present me an offer I can't refuse.

[Dukman]

Welcome back Carl.

And good luck with the project.

[Broke_Two_Foci]

good to see you again Carl

[cobrawannabe cdw27]

Covert1:

I can PM some people who lives in your area and have it arranged. The swap will be 98% identical to the one you did in the ZX3...

[covert1]

Matt - that would be awesome if you could get their attention. I want to take pictures and measurements and stuff, and any firsthand insights they can give me would be even better. I was trying to eyeball some straight "Taurus" swaps and the way mine looks, I should be able to clear the different intake manifold. If there's even more clearance, perhaps the Escape manifold (potentially more torque?) I'd love to have one with coil-on-plug which would help save a little bit of real estate under there.

I didn't do the work on the V6 and I've never pulled or swapped a car engine before, so unfortunately I will need some hand-holding. However, I have some time, a decent place to do the work, and a few resources here and there. The more I can document, the better for everyone.

Off to play musical cars so I can clean the garage a bit, then time to pull some panels and remove a stereo, and remove the stress bars. Grabbed me a 12-pack of Yuengling black and tan to help me along.

Dukman! Hey, I ran into a stranger in Annapolis last month who was wearing a Poligamy Porter t-shirt! Think you can find me one of those where you live?

[Dukman]

Originally Posted by covert1

Dukman! Hey, I ran into a stranger in Annapolis last month who was wearing a Poligamy Porter t-shirt! Think you can find me one of those where you live?

Oddly enough I am having one of those right now.

I'll look around and see what I can find. I know they used to have em. I'll let you know.

[covert1]

It feels like I didn't accomplish a whole lot, but I consolidated a lot of stuff and cleaned up the garage a bit. I started probably around 7:30pm and stopped sometime after dark. Ended up finishing around 9:30, but because of how humid it was, I guess I felt like I labored longer.

My neighbors, while cool, were either going, "WTFBBQOCD" because I was cleaning and then vacuuming (because I HATE spiders and webs) or they can't wait to bribe me to clean their garages. And, anything that flies and sounds like a wasp, regardless if it is one or not, gets dispatched with the quickness. The only intruder that I spared, really, was this teeny-tiny frog that came in. Put his or her little ass back behind the bushes.

Doesn't look like much, but I had tons of crap sitting around in boxes. I needed to open everything to see what was what.



Mostly finished:


It's impossible to see in the pics, but there's no longer a spider metropolis extending from mid-garage all the way to the back wall. And the shelves contain all sorts of cleaning and lubricating fluids that I never knew I had.

What's cool is that my garage is lengthy, so I can park any of my rides in there with plenty of fore and aft space. I know the previous owner once completed some '69 GM project car in there, so he had three fluorescent lights installed inside. I know I'll be putting those to good use.

[Focusized1976]

Welcome back, although I don't remember you as I haven't posted much till the last few weeks.

Nice rides as well and congrads on your first house. Makes me wish I didn't sell mine! Now I am stuck for now in an apartment till for another couple years, then my car will be paid off and I will be out of my DMP plan..........grrr! Oh well, lest the apartment is bigger than the house I sold, lol!

Any full size pics of the blue zx3?

[06roush]

u can run the d25 upper and lower intake on a d30 so the intake mani shouldn't be an issue. if the d25 fits the d30 will fit. get on newedgecougar.org and start lookin at there 3l section. i'm in the process of swapping a d25 into a sedan. they have been more then helpfull to me.

[covert1]

Well, today I spend over 8 hours cleaning and tearing out the insides of the ZX3. I feel really proud of myself because I've never done this before. Even getting at the door panels (on both cars for the speaker install) wasn't that bad. Got to make use of my ebay plastic trim tools.

I'm hoping this period of enlightenment lasts until at least one engine swap is in the books.

Oddly, I still haven't yet taken a full-size shot of the car as it is. But all one has to do is imagine a year 2000 Malibu Blue ZX3 with SVT front/rear bumpers, side skirts, and 5-spoke wheels (which I have not cleaned in ages and look like ass, anyway)




Getting started with the mess:


I hadn't yet attempted to half-ass clean the back panels so they were looking a little nasty.

Got the console out and started on the carpet:


Almost there...


That part was disgusting so I basically double-wrapped my hands in surgical gloves and went as fast as I could to get that beast out of there.



The sweet (non-moldy) smell of success!


Figured I'd snag the stereo (which is useless when the vehicle sits in the garage all day) so I could stick it in the greenie. Same for the Rockford Fosgate speakers.

Removed the blue stress bar as that won't be needed. That'll be up for sale in a bit.



Took a moment to use up almost an entire canister of anti-bacterial wipes on the inside of the car and these panels. The non-PC version of this product would probably be aptly referred to as "Uber-Stank-Ass Biohazard Baby Butt-Wipes".



These are waiting to dry while the ants, crickets and spiders explore them:


Here are some other miscellaneous shots that might be informative for those watching:





Needless to say, my lower back is just about dead. It lasted me long enough to get done swapping the speakers and I was able to use stoner's on the greenie's windshield and even gave it an aquapel treatment before dusk. I figured I'd do what I could to get it ready before the trip to Ohio.

I contemplated swapping the front seats (after I cleaned the ones from the ZX3 but there were only 2 wires going to the seat connector (there's provisions for like, 5 two-wire connectors. My ZTW and Greenie had a trio of wires in their connectors. I also noticed that the front seats in greenie said "Airbag" on the sides. I'll have to try to figure this out from the diagrams in the shop manual and the chilton's book.

Oh, need some help here. What are your recommendations for cordless screwdrivers? What's a good, convenient and maybe torquey model that's worthwhile? I appreciate it.

And, I can't wait for trash day (Tuesday).

[06roush]

hey any chacne of a couple engine shots man? pics of the mounts and stuff would help me out alot!

[covert1]

Originally Posted by 06roush

hey any chacne of a couple engine shots man? pics of the mounts and stuff would help me out alot!

The only thing I have right now is the shot in the first post of this thread. The passenger-side mount is somewhat evident. The driver's side is the odd one but I'm reluctant to start taking pieces out just yet, because this car needs to be able to move under its own power for a little while. The last time I monkeyed around in the area where the battery is (to fit the Optima) I lost the temperature gauge reading.

I have to take out the front stress bar, anyway, but not sure if I'll be in the mood to bother with it this week. I think I'm gonna be in a world of hurt come tomorrow One way or another this will be photographed, though, because I have no idea if the approach taken on this car is the same as the other one in the FF swap thread. Speaking of which...

[06roush]

ahhh i see. well crap. well if u get a cance to pull the intake off and the battery out a pic of that would help me dearly. also if ur able to get one of the shift linkage under the hood, thats what i need to see.

[covert1]

All right, sounds like a plan. In fact, probably would be good to just edit one post with a sort of laundry list of requests for photos. It'd be nice later on to have this at hand so I don't forget anything when I get started.

[Zetecpwr]

the sweet smell of progress... and a complete lack of mold.. breathe it in my friend.. breathe it in.. Any chances I might score a ride in the V6 powered beast? I'll buy a ride-a-rama pass if needed. haha

- mike

[covert1]

Haha... Let me get a ride in that RS! Or, maybe take my ZTW's carbon fiber hood to your parents' place to get sanded and painted

At the very least, I got a nice camera that we can use to snap some pics of both rides between here and there.

[OmniFocus]

1) Awesome undertaking, can't wait to see the results.

2) Thank you for the shifter pictures, it solved my mystery.

[Dracconix]

Hey... what ever happened to the Borbets??? I <3 those wheels???

[covert1]

Awesome, Omni. Glad I could help! I posted it because a couple people out there are trying V6 swaps of their own and I didn't even have a clue how the shifter was set up in mine, so hence the pics.

And Josh - The Borbets are still there. I love 'em, too, so I had to keep 'em! If you see the garage cleaning pics, they're the wheels stacked up in the very back, in side the Tirerack Totes. They just need new tires, because the rubber on those goes all the way back to Jetfest!

I forgot - nah, still haven't learned the bass yet. But I played some baritone horn.

[Zetecpwr]

Originally Posted by covert1

Haha... Let me get a ride in that RS! Or, maybe take my ZTW's carbon fiber hood to your parents' place to get sanded and painted

At the very least, I got a nice camera that we can use to snap some pics of both rides between here and there.

Sounds like a plan man. Just let me get the turbo kit installed. I'm not so sure a svt w/ bolt on's disguised as an RS would really woo you. haha.

I love good car pics. The more prefessional looking the better. Always wanted to have a shoot with some other foci.

What color do you want the hood. I would have to talk to my dad, but we might be albe to hook that up.

- Mike