Pics of my Ride.

[RodneyBur]

I got some pics fresh of photobucket thanks to Tiffany. I go through a quick version of the story behind the car for those of you who don't know it, which is almost everyone on the site.

I picked the car up around April of 2005 from another member. I'm sure some of you remember his name, but I can't seem to remember it. Anyway I paid 500 for the shell and a friend of mine drove up in his explorer and towed it back from Mass using a tow bar. Yeah that was a hell of a trip to make in two days.

Picture of engine build are here

I got it back and parked it while gathering the parts for the build. I started stock piling parts while researching the build and looking for a good 3.0. In May 2006 I came across a 2002 3.0 w/ ~45K that was up near Columbus at LKQ for 200 on ebay. I just couldn't pass up that price and immediately sent the payment. I drove up a few days later in my beater MX3 and had them toss the engine in the hatch and drove it back. The engine probably weighed as much as my car and the people at LKQ probably thought I was nuts. I also got some strange looks at the gas station as people walked buy the MX3 while the engine was popping up in the hatch window. What do I care right?

I started the tear down a few weeks later. I decided to spend time from work, after tax season, on getting the car running and looking the way I wanted it to. I spent several weeks building the engine which included about 5-6 trips to different unkyards gathering missing parts and replacing worn components. It took several more weeks to get the engine in since I had to buy several big ticket items that I didn't immediately have the cash for. So around June or early July I finally got it in and running. A few minor clutch problems caused me to yank it back out which I put off for about a month after it was running.

I've slowly started getting everything the way I want it and am nearing completion. I still have alot of polishing to do since I want to get the GT TB and UIM looking like the valve covers. I've also got a lot of small things to do to the engine bay to make it look a little better. Mostly I just want to get it running good which is taking a while since the car was used and it seems like I'm replacing every damn thing that was on the car when I got it. I think I've worked on this thing nearly every single weekend for the past 6 months at least, so it is definately time consuming.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and feel free to ask any questions but remember there is still a lot of small **** to be done.

Ohh and I'm sure one of the biggest questions is how much everything cost. Well I'm not sure exactly but I think total for everything including the car is around 5k maybe a little more. The hours I put it in though...... don't even think bout it.





































**************************************************



Some before pics for comparison purposes.

This is how I got the car home just over a year ago. Long tow from Mass to Ohio.




A shot of the car as it sat when I got it.

[StealthyWeasel]

ah finally pics, I've been very curious!!

great job man

[StealthyWeasel]

oh and tell me a little about your intake- is it 3?"

if so, tell me about it.. did you make it?

Also, where did you get the black couplers? just what I was looking for.

[B3NN3TT]

Originally Posted by StealthyWeasel

oh and tell me a little about your intake- is it 3?"

if so, tell me about it.. did you make it?

Also, where did you get the black couplers? just what I was looking for.

Looks like a plain 'ol AEM intake to me.

I think the seller was RipV8's, wasn't it?

[RodneyBur]

Yes, its a AEM intake with a stock MAF ground, hand polished, and upside down. The right coupler came with the AEM kit and the left one is stock.

My future plans are to use a Tuarus SHO MAF and a custom 3 inch pipe. The tuarus MAF uses couplers on both ends so I can position it anywhere. It is also just about the same size (I have forgotten the exact dimensions) as the Mustang GT TB that I will be using.

Originally Posted by B3NN3TT

I think the seller was RipV8's, wasn't it?

Hell yeah. I can't believe I forgot his name.

[cougarprophet]

looks like a good build up :thumbs up:


and did u paint it that way

[StealthyWeasel]

oh.. good plan. Is that MAF calibrated the same way? I might just have to do that too..

[RodneyBur]

Originally Posted by StealthyWeasel

oh.. good plan. Is that MAF calibrated the same way? I might just have to do that too..

No its not, but you can easily change the info in the ECU and have it tuned to run properly with it.

The MAF is 73mm and the GT TB is 70 btw. Heres a link: Mouse Here

Originally Posted by cougarprophet

and did u paint it that way

LOL...second most asked question. No it came that way. It actually looked a hell of a lot worse IMO when I got it. There were decals all over the car and a drag wing on the back. I did my best at removing everthing and getting it in better shape. Of course I can't remove the paint and don't have the cash to have it repainted, so I'm stuck with it. They did a good job painting it but doesn''t seem like they thought out the scheme too much. Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I feel I can live with it.

Edit: You can see the orignal shape I got it in in my build thread in the link up top.

[Monkeygrits]

looks good...u get wheels and that thing will be Hawt

[fordrule]

Originally Posted by Monkeygrits

looks good...u get wheels and that thing will be Hawt

rims and ur set... congrats on finally finishing it up and getting it up and running

the 3L LOOKS F"ING bad@$$ love all the polish

i dont mind the paint looks good

move the batt to the rear and install a good ole- fashion GMK HP CAI...