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79' LTD II Build Thread *New Video*

Printed From: The Ford Torino Page
Category: Model Specific Forum
Forum Name: 1977-1979 Ford and Mercury
Forum Description: Technical discussion for 1977-1979 Ford and Mercury
URL: https://forum.grantorinosport.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=3466
Printed Date: 29-March-2024 at 2:47AM
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: 79' LTD II Build Thread *New Video*
Posted By: 302ford
Subject: 79' LTD II Build Thread *New Video*
Date Posted: 23-April-2010 at 9:45AM
I though I would start a little piece as I can finally see the end of this project nearing.
 
       It is a 1979 LTD II which started out as a 302/c4 with 2.7 rear, bucket seat floor shift car. I built a smaller combo two years ago which consisted of eddy heads,intake,comp cam, headers, exhaust. Built c4 and 3.7 9" posi in the rear.
 
That combo worked really well and was fun for  a mild buget build. Provided me with 14 sec timeslips and something I could have fun with daily. However; It became obvious that if I wanted to run with the stangs, I would have to step up my game.
 
This left me with one option, go big.
The plans are
408W stroker kit
Comp xr286r solid roller
Super Victor Intake
Afr 205's......and all supporting things to go with this.
 
Then the fun started. I wanted to run a 5 speed. With little info (if any) on putting a stick in a 73' and up intermediate I had to improvise. The plan was to run a pedal setup out of a 94-95 mustang with cable clutch and a Tremec TKO to handle the power.  I modified the firewall to fit and in the process smoothed all the holes out of the engine bay. Painted it gloss black and stabbed the combo in.(This sounds like an easy process now right?...It did take a bit of time). To my suprise it all fit much better than expected! No clearancing of the tunnel was neccesary and the shifter popped right through the stock location.
 
A few little things that I did run into.
-For those wanting to run a canton front sump pan on their Windsor it DOES NOT fit. I had to cut out a two inch chunck out of the back of each side and get it re-welded.
-Brace the firewall. Remember we have to push a clutch AND brakes so it WILL flex
-I'm sure this is just the biggining so this list will continue to grow.
 
If anyone is more interested in this and has questions, ask. There is much more info that I can write in one post. For the rest, Here are some pics 


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials



Replies:
Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 23-April-2010 at 10:17AM
Wow! Looks good! Not to rain on your parade.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2008/04/T5Conversion/index.php

Ford Muscle has a 'how - to' for a T5 in a 72-79 Confused

What are those seats out of?


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Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 23-April-2010 at 10:22AM
Haha, I saw the FM article but I didnt grab a membership, so I was stuck with only the first page.(my fault).
The seats are out of a 05+ mustang GT. I thought that they were some of the best matching seats for these cars(and I picked them up cheap). I'm just mounting them up now. They have a bit higher back so the seats have to be close to the floor to fit nicer for taller people(as myself)

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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 23-April-2010 at 11:43AM
Here is a pic of the 302 combo.....my goal is a lot cleaner this time.
 
 


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Turbo301
Date Posted: 25-April-2010 at 1:19AM
Originally posted by 302ford 302ford wrote:

Here is a pic of the 302 combo.....my goal is a lot cleaner this time.
 
 
 
Yikes, cleaner than that? Looks marvelous to me, so I can't wait to see your finished product with the big boy!


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1977 Cougar XR7
1980 turbo Trans Am
2009 Pontiac G8 GT


Posted By: occupant
Date Posted: 25-April-2010 at 4:44AM
Originally posted by 302ford 302ford wrote:

Here is a pic of the 302 combo.....my goal is a lot cleaner this time.
 

 


I was gonna say, I'd kill to have an engine compartment that clean. And I'll be busting my tail trying to get it close while I'm doing the engine swap in my sedan. Clean and black and no rust showing and no garbage. Wires all neatly tied together with cut zip ties, spark plug wires loomed perfectly, all that. It might mean a couple extra days I can't drive my car, but unless my wife's Durango takes another crap, I'm doing it.

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08 Uplander LS, 262K, broken again
08 Explorer EB, 195K, for the wife
still looking for another something


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 06-June-2010 at 3:55PM
Just a little update.
Got my accessories and pulleys mounted minus the crank pulley (waiting on bolts).
My headers came back from ceramic coating and installed them.
Finished installing my brake master and figured out clutch cable routing
Stabbed my distributor and mocked up my carb and linkage
Layed down some dynamat so I can install my new carpet as soon as I run my rca's, speaker wire, alt, and battery cables.
.....and some pics


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Turbo301
Date Posted: 06-June-2010 at 11:14PM
Wow, lookin' awesome! Can we see pics of the outside of the car, too?

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1977 Cougar XR7
1980 turbo Trans Am
2009 Pontiac G8 GT


Posted By: Classicfitness
Date Posted: 07-June-2010 at 1:25AM
Originally posted by Turbo301 Turbo301 wrote:

Wow, lookin' awesome! Can we see pics of the outside of the car, too?

X2 Big smile


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'72 GTS 351-4b Gold Glow

'75 Elite 400 Polar White



My car blog: www.fordtorino72.blogspot.com



Posted By: JimW
Date Posted: 07-June-2010 at 5:14AM
Awesome ride!  Can't wait to see how you like the big wondsor/stick combo.
:-)
 
Jim


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1976 S&H Gran Torino

460/C6/4.33 13.05@105.6

545/C6/3.56 11.52@117.8

More to come!!!!

463rwhp/495rwtq

two tons of fun

see it and hear it at:

www.torinocobra.com

www.st


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 07-June-2010 at 1:41PM
Haha, I want to drive this car so bad again. Its been over  a year since i've ran it.
 
I will try and grab some pics of the outside tomarrow


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 09-June-2010 at 7:21AM

Some pics of the outside....excuse the dust and mess

 


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: GranTorinoSport
Date Posted: 02-July-2010 at 6:58AM
Very impressive. Looks like you have a really nice garage to work in too, which makes a ton of difference!

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Scott Eklund

Webmaster


Posted By: ilyes
Date Posted: 02-July-2010 at 9:18AM
very nice, and i like also the 2nd gen golf behind. With a compressor, these baby fly, german power Thumbs Up


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 02-July-2010 at 2:53PM
ha, the car wouldnt get done if I didnt have this. Still too cold and rainy. The gti is my daily.....Wouldn't be too bad if it actually ran well all the time. It has the 16v 2l so it has a little power for what it is.

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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: ramair351
Date Posted: 02-July-2010 at 3:18PM
nice pro systems carb! I just bought one too. their shop is just down the road from me.

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-Pete
1972 montego GT
1970 Torino cobra SCJ
1970 mustang mach 1
1965 Falcon futura





Posted By: 78sport
Date Posted: 02-July-2010 at 4:27PM
Wow, awesome ride. I love how those sweet rear meats fill out the natural fender flares perfectly. I always thought they could use a lot more width there and a rockin stereo. Sleek n black, Midnight Mover!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y54AhPzFk4s - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y54AhPzFk4s
The foreign sport reminds me of the days I had my Alfa-Romeo Milano Platinum. Front all aluminum OHC V6 car with rear 5 speed transaxle and inboard rear disk. Challenging to get all systems premo but fun to drive when finished. Made my own cold-air barrier zone to keep engine heat from the feeding area. Had ansa exhaust similar to early GTI rabbits. Nothing but resonators really...musta been those telephone dial rims haha. "Can you hear me now?"
Hey 302ford, I noticed the windshield bulkhead missing the plastic screen drains. I have an awesome used uncracked set of you need them reach me.
 
 


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78 LTD II sport touring edition


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 03-July-2010 at 5:03AM
Originally posted by 78sport 78sport wrote:

Hey 302ford, I noticed the windshield bulkhead missing the plastic screen drains. I have an awesome used uncracked set of you need them reach me.
 
 
Thanks, but I have them already. I just had them out when I was smoothing and painting the engine bay.


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 78sport
Date Posted: 03-July-2010 at 6:43AM
OK good, just peddlin my parts Wink
You should do a youtube video when you get it all dialed in.


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78 LTD II sport touring edition


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 21-August-2010 at 8:45PM
Wow, been a little while since I updated this. I have finally started to piece this toilet back together and grabbing all the little parts that you forget about. I've spent the last few days and approx 20 hrs re-routing and wiring basically the whole engine bay. Running relays for the electric fan and fuel pump, as well as adding some guages. I'm nearly done with the wires though( finally). I'll add a few pics for your viewing pleasure.
 
 
 
 
 
 


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Regul8r
Date Posted: 22-August-2010 at 1:33PM
looking great!


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Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae"
97 Suzuki Intruder 1400
US Army Retired


Posted By: GranTorinoSport
Date Posted: 22-August-2010 at 3:06PM
Looks really nice.

Could you provide some information regarding the throttle cable brackets and the cable itself. It looks like a really nice setup. I have never seen that large bracket at the carb base before, but it looks intriguing.



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Scott Eklund

Webmaster


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 22-August-2010 at 3:20PM
To be completly honest. Its actually for a GM  cable on a 4150 style carb. But I was going with a universal Lokar throttle cable so I figured I could find a way to make it work. The bracket is a CSR part number 630C ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CSI-630C/ - http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CSI-630C/  ) . And the cable is # TC-1000HT.  When I filled all the holes in my firewall, I kept a only the small hole for the cable. As it doesnt need the extra hole which holds the bracket for the stock cable. The instal of the cable was fairly straight forward and looks very nice. I only needed to add a few washers where the cable bolts to the bracket to make it more secure. I do however need to add a extra return spring as there isn't much feel in the pedal.

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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 04-September-2010 at 1:19PM
My fuel fittings wont be here till wensday but I couldn't help but to chuck some gas down the carb. Sorry for the crude video    http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150278024055193&ref=mf - http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150278024055193&ref=mf


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 07-September-2010 at 6:18AM
What extra gauges did you add? Just curious. 

-------------
Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 07-September-2010 at 3:43PM

oil press and water temp. just to cover the neccesary items



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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 09-September-2010 at 5:16PM

Finished the car today ( minus a few interior trim pieces to bolt back on). Managed to take it around the block aswell. So far it seams to drive really well. Power brakes still work at idle despite the large cam and it will lug down to a low rpm without surging. I am insuring it tomorrow so we'll see how it performs then.



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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 11-September-2010 at 2:39PM

I managed to put some miles on the car in the last two days. Im trying to respect the conditions of breaking in the clutch but it is definatly hard to do. The car will spin 1st and 2nd with ease and really likes to rev. Im especially suprised that the car has been running without problem and had only one minor issue with the float/ needle in the carb.



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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 17-September-2010 at 8:34PM

Took the car out to the track tonight despite only putting on about 350-400km. The 5 spd and clutch is something I'm guna have to practice a bit on. It Scaled at an even 4k with me and 3/4 tank of gas. Lost my tach signal and had no way of hooking it up again at the track so I had to go off the sound(sketchy i know) Left the lights just above idle and had to pedal 1st and 2nd to avoid hopping. 

 Ran a best of 12.79 at 113.9mph on a complete street setup with cooper radials. I belive the car has a bit more in it as I was shifting below 6k(only had a 6k chip for the rev limiter) when it should make power untill 6300-6400. My terrible 2.2sec 60' and slow shifting didn't help aswell. Got a few videos to share 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gHIfUFWjVw - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gHIfUFWjVw
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmyZkXcNjcg&feature=channel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmyZkXcNjcg&feature=channel


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: 72sport
Date Posted: 18-September-2010 at 1:51PM
That is so cool!

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Tom
1972 Gran Torino Sport 4Spd
1974 Montego wagon "GT" with GT hood, correct buckets
seats, console, and floor shift
2013 Focus 5 speed- Daily driver


Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 19-September-2010 at 4:13AM
Was that you wheel hopping?

-------------
Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 19-September-2010 at 6:53AM
yea. I would have to get out of the pedal for a split second, then try stabbing it again to get traction, otherwise it woud just continue to get worse.

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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Psquare75
Date Posted: 19-September-2010 at 9:14AM
Weird. I need to do a video of my car one of these days. 

-------------
Paul
77 XR7 460/C6/3.00:1 *SOLD*
78 XR7 523/C6/3.5:1
79 F100 460/TKO500/3.25:1
'I also have some left over potatoes-I understand you can generate electricity from them'- Foote500


Posted By: ramair351
Date Posted: 19-September-2010 at 3:31PM
wow, that runs good for a big car!

-------------
-Pete
1972 montego GT
1970 Torino cobra SCJ
1970 mustang mach 1
1965 Falcon futura





Posted By: Lmoses
Date Posted: 07-November-2010 at 9:48PM
I love the stance of your LTD2, did you mod the suspension at all? Also what size rim and tire combo? That is the look I have been trying to get on my 79 LTD2

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1979 Cougar XR7 FOR SALE

1978 LTD II Sport Appearence

1954 Ford F600 future 3/4 ton 4x4 project

2000 Silverado

2007 Mustang GT procharged


Posted By: 302ford
Date Posted: 08-November-2010 at 2:48PM
I did make changes to the suspension in the car. I replaced all the worn steering components, then replaced the bushings with polyurathane. The front springs are new and stiffer. I then cut them to the desired hight I wanted. I have 12 way adjustable shocks by QA1 aswell. The rear springs are stock, and it sits about 1" taller in the rear than I want.
 
The rims are Eagle Alloys 211. 15x8 front ( -18mm offset) and 15x10 rear (-43mm offset). Rear sits flush with rolled lips on the fenders and the front does not rub. Front tire is 255/60/15( i wanted 245 but they were out of stock) and rear is 295/50/15.


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79 LTD II 408/TKO/3.7's

11.78 117.3mph. drag radials


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 08-November-2010 at 5:23PM
nice looking ride.I had a 79 XR7 Cougar but no way it hauled butt lile your LTD 2.I like those AFR Heads those are sweet.



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