88 ThunderCat project

I'm seeing cars i recognize from foxtbirdcougarforums.com up in here.

Miss my 84 bird. I still browse CL for them.

High School Me 100% approves of your choice in project cars! Here's my old one:
 

It was a 1987 XR7. Man, I loved that car! I would totally buy another someday if I could find one. The one in the pic was actually the 2nd one I had in high school, both acquired from a wholesale lot for $250 each. These were slow in stock form but fantastic platforms to build upon due to the Fox-chassis underpinnings. A few things to know:

-If you are going to build one, you'll want to find a Mark VII LSC parts car. Those have all the goodies, like 5-lug spindles, 4 wheel discs, the 8.8 limited slip axle (the other cars like the XR7 got the 7.5), and the 5.0 H.O.

-Turbo Coupe hoods bolt on for extra rad street cred!

-The stock 5.0 will run forever, but it's a non-roller, low output turd. I had trouble trying to spin the rears in mine even with some mods, which put a dent in my personal coolness factor in high school when a car guy was measured in how smoky a burnout he could do. 

-There was a recall at some point on a small bushing on the throttle linkage for the tv cable. If this bushing is degraded or missing, the transmission will eventually fail. Ask me how I know.

-The interiors on these are great and hold up really well, except both of mine's digital clusters were dark when I got them. They are back lit by 194 bulbs, and they were all blown. Replace them and you'll be good to go.

-Replacing the radio threw me for a loop, because the stereo connector gave it power but no sound. Turns out there's another secret harness tucked in the dash for cars that have the rare graphic equalizer. For some reason, that's the one that worked once I plugged it in.

-The place to go at the dawn of the internet for Cougar info was https://www.coolcats.net and it's still around! The reader's rides section is like a time warp! My favorite is this one with a Klingon Bat'Leth spoiler!

Thanks for the info/ideas all. GRM is my sole form of online community and I don’t think that I could ask for better. I had a look at the rear diff this morning and just like Javelin said I found this tag 

I have still not done anything more to get it running but I will see if fuel is pumping when I get some time. I appreciate the tip about the shutoff.  

Car started right up on a squirt of starting fluid. Chasing fuel delivery starts with the impact shutoff in the trunk. 

Looks fine. Next I pulled the fuel pump relay and got it to click with 12 between the small terminals  

jumping the 2 large connectors in the relay plug produces an audible ‘soft thunk’ but not a whirring or pumping sound. Looks like a fuel pump unless I am missing something. 

In reply to GoLucky :

Did you hit the white reset button? Check for power in and out.

In reply to Javelin :

I did push down on it but it was not high to start with. I wanted to shoot the wires in and out but it looks like to remove the plug I have to unbolt the unit. I definitely have 12v at the relay. Is the breaker upstream or downstream from the relay? 

This one will be coming as a build thread very soon. 1997 cougar xr7.

In reply to GoLucky :

That breaker is the last thing on the circuit before the pump. If you have 12V out of that breaker, than you will have 12V into the pump (barring a broken wire). Did you use a multi-meter to check for voltage coming in and going out of the breaker with the key in the "Run" position?

In reply to Javelin :

I didn’t yet but I sure will. I think that I can get the probes into the plug with minimal drama. 

Okay, I found out that the nuts for the breaker hold down are silly easy to access from behind the bumper, so that is nice.  I had feared the bumper cover/ tail light assembly would have to come off.  Also, the breaker is not stopping continuity in the circuit so it is still a good thing that I have a pump on the way.  

Came home to find my fuel pump had arrived. Because the plans for this car are still a bit unclear I decided to use a Walbro 255lph pump with the appropriate installation kit. If this stays stock the extra flow should have no noticeable downside and if more power ends up happening then the pump should be good to go. I dropped the tank with a little more gas in it than was ideal but it worked out fine. 

A bit of slosh, spill and wrestling later and I was able to start it up. Primed it a few times then it started and ran.  Gas smells old but seems to still work. That is the end of the good news.  The less good news is that the engine doesn’t sound very good. It also shows no oil pressure on the gauge. More investigation to follow. 

In reply to GoLucky :

Change the oil. Gauge is off of a sending unit that's notoriously fickle.

Good job on the pump! Give it fresh gas and some SeaFoam.

In reply to Javelin :

:( not an issue with the sender. This motor is trying to send a rod through the block. 

Well I have come to the fork in the road. Dump it and recover as much of my small investment as possible or compound my folly with a motor change? 

Must ponder.   

Rodnock calls for gear oil ind a 250 hit of nitrous. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I won’t rule it out. 

Explorer 5.0s are pretty cheap and have a few upgrades over your engine.  That car sure seems nice, shame to kill it over when you could just remove and replace. 

On the other hand it seemed like you were thinking about building a hot rod anyway so maybe you part it out for fun and profit. 

Good luck either way.

Cool project. Love the 5.0 wheels

Thanks for the great info and advice but this is the end of my involvement with this project. It turns out that this has been my first ever Ford (ish) vehicle but there may be a second one close on its heels. New owner Martin who has the time and energy to put the big cat back on the road. 

We met when I looked at a Windsor motor he was selling. I decided not to buy it but instead sell the cougar to him.