Day 2 of my build! Motor pulled, all lights removed, bumper . I am starting in the front and working my way back. Seemed like a smart idea. Alot of you guys have been helping me and i really appreciate it. I plan this taking a year or 2. Ill post progress photos. Along way to finish line. Maybe ill run into alot money and it will be done sooner
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Clean up engine bay before repaint etc.
It might be better than you think.
See my pics from my cleanup.
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Looks really clean and rust free. Good Luck !
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Ouch. That’s gonna be a lot of work. How are you going to deal with the shock towers and suspension, and what made you decide to go this route?
I will cut out and install a flat sheet metal cover and going with a coil over set up. I Gain 5 inches on each side. I went with a ls2 because i want the modern technology in a classic car. Really not that hard just expensive. Hopefully by end of winter the body work will be complete.
I’ll be honest, I don’t understand your reasoning here; this is a classic Mercury, and you’re removing most of what makes it distinctive. There are so many good powerplant and drivetrain options that would take a lot less effort, deliver “modern” power without fuss, and retain the possibility of keeping the front end more rigid.
Many people don’t understand how important the front structure is in these unibody cars, transferring kinetic energy up through the towers through the braces to the firewall. If you carve that out, be sure you put some engineering into it to handle vertical stresses and twisting, because those two little frame rails attached to the floppy unibody aren’t going to handle big power very well!
Hope it turns out the way you want it. =)
Wondering why not just purchase a 1999 Camaro if that’s the object. A lot quicker. Less work.
I bought the excalade very cheap and with 80k miles. It was in a accident in the side causing it to he totalled.
The kit for removing the shock towers comes with braces to strengthen the uni body. Check out Stacy davids 67 cougar build on youtube. He purchased the same kit i did from tci.com but he didnt do a ls swap.
I know I will get alot of hate on this build. But its my build and this is how i want to build it. If anyone has ideas i would love to hear them
I would consider getting all the fabrication, engineering and retrofitting done BEFORE any paint and bodywork is done.
CPP has a kit for under $2K