New Car

[borris]

Recently picked up an SC and am ready to build. Her name is Shannon if you're wondering. The years haven’t been to kind to her, but one doesn’t often go to the doctor when one is feeling fine. She has about 185k on her and clearly has not been looked after (drained the oil and despite the thick consistency and multi-colored fluid, it was also similar to spoiled milk as it had many clumps). I will be posting pictures soon so that I can have a good reference to look back on.

I can only assume that the oil has only been added to over the last several years and never changed. So far I've added the Purolator oil filter and 4.5q of Valvoline 5w20 Syn Blend(or 30, whatever L recommended) along with a quart of the Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer. I am hoping that if I keep that up at a "3 or 3000" rate that she should recover well. I have also purchased 4 new tires(I wish I had pics of the ones that came on her) and installed a new alternator on-site at the time of purchase. Aside from a basic tune-up(filters, plugs, and fluids) I have mixed emotions on where to begin.

Drivetrain: Given the age, mileage, and overall horrible condition; it would only be reasonable to suspect a majority of components within the drivetrain. My answer to this is that I will be receiving a N/A 2j and STD 5 combo from my bro who is getting a GTE setup. It only has 90k so I will either build it and then do a swap, or swap it in and then build mine and reswap... sounds like too much work. For now it gets along with not too many special needs. I intend to save this for last, or second to last.

Chassis/suspension: A smaller component with respect to the whole car. I am a big fan of powder-coating nearly everything I work on and especially chassis parts. When it is time to crawl under the car, a light pressure wash or swipe with a rag will bring everything back and look outstanding. In this case I am thinking savannah blue, but I'm not throwing candy-apple red out just yet. More importantly this is where I will be installing the coilovers, ES(or otherwise) poly-bushings, new ball joints, tie rods, bearings, shafts, and the like(wheels and tires go last) making her sturdy, durable, reliable, and capable.

Aesthetics: In my opinion, this comes last. I have no desire to roll around with no handling or power in a "nice ride." I would probably start with the inside(handling little emergencies up to this point) making sure that the carpet is fresh, the leather is soft and clean, and all panels and gauges have been customized to my preference. This will leave paint and all body kit's/accessories for last. I had a mind to use a deep black with several coats of gloss, uniform color, and little to no CF accents showing.

In a nutshell, those are the three phases of my project. I haven't gone into a great deal of detail mainly because some things are still in the air, although I intend to make this a complete project that will turn heads. My intended cycle will begin with Chassis/Suspension, roll into the drivetrain(keeping the auto for right now) and then the Aesthetics will be so much sweeter once all of the hard work is done and I prefer to not spoil a good paint job during an engine swap.

Any and all help will be appreciated, although I have done work like this before even on a mkiii I am not very familiar with this car like I am with pretty much all Fords. So I have my wrench time, but am not very familiar with most mods, electronic and bolt-ons, specifically with this car. Ideas, recommendations, tips, and support would all be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time, and like I said I will have pics up soon.

Boris

[UCF3]

Borris:

Welcome to the club. This is definitely a project. I've been working on my project for the past 8 years, mainly because of money, and it's turning out nicely.

Okay, for the chassis and suspension, i would recommend the cage for that solid rigidness feel and personal safety. Suspension, JIC Coilovers or Tien Coilovers (my favorite) will do the trick; oh don't forget about the EDC if you go tracking. Other suspension. the upper and lower control arms are the same as the Toyota Supra TT. I don't really recommend the DIazen bushings kit because they squeak after a while; very annoying. I would recommend a ticket sway bar for the front. OEM is kind-off soft and I don't think it will hold up to high stress driving, if you're into that like i am.

The rear suspension should be the same as in the toyota Supra, and the differential should be open. Some LSD would be recommended.

Brakes. I went with Wilwood 14" discs with two channel calipers. There is a Brembo kit out there I would recommend that, and i would recommend changing the master cylinder as well. The OEM acted funny and leaked after three years of braking.

this should hopefully get you started with your research; I would check what some of the other members have done to their SCs. It's definitely a great car and great purchase, but since you've bought someone else's mess it going to be tough for a while.