My new to me 35th Annv project (pic heavy)

Wzenheimer

Registered User
Title says it all I picked up a 1990 35th from Rod (racecougar) that he has had for about 8-9 years. I believe he picked it up with a blown head gasket. Showing approx 119k on the OD. It's bone stock body in descent shape considering it sat for the last 9 years. This car is going to take a bit to get to driving, but its got a good rust free chassis to start with. My wife is the one to blame as she told me to get a new project now that the bike is finished. I'll start the disassembly when I get back from the UK at the end of November.

A big thanks goes out to Rod and his Dad because "THEY DELIVER". Thanks again for dropping it off!!

Pics below:
0A95B825-6EF2-400D-B2DF-85D805AD89B9-406-0000001BB6DB1CB0.jpg

69E16DBC-B1BB-45D2-AEC7-CDC456D6E159-406-0000001BBD728048.jpg

816A4548-1FB2-45EC-8467-9C414D3CEC83-406-0000001BB1FA35B5.jpg

63C5BD7E-C0DC-45BE-9326-4966A2B61A48-406-0000001BACDAE282.jpg

E69231DD-6925-45C4-B0A8-CE2FB08B095B-406-0000001BC1C88CB1.jpg

6F29E0A4-A517-494B-B402-9C8098140789-406-0000001BA82BBCB3.jpg

05EDD30F-A4EA-4DFA-81AE-CD5783E9CE94-406-0000001BA0750409.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've been consistently working on the 35th to get it ready for my engine which will be ready in April. I've also wanted to clean up the engine bay and address a few surface rust issues. Since the entire front suspension is off of the car I needed to devise a way to get the car rolled out into my driveway so I could power wash the engine bay and underneath the front wheel wells. Since the rear suspensions is still on the car and it still had a functioning parking brake I lifted the front with my cherry picker. I then slowly rolled it out into the driveway. Worked pretty good too, I parked my chit azz F-one-fitty behind it just it case it got away and wouldn't roll into the street.

E850CEDD-71BF-4746-8382-BCA9E8C277AD-3696-000001F896C76A95.jpg

AA0DDF16-F9C1-4622-B5E9-CA253A54BC13-3696-000001F8876021A2.jpg


Once it was out far enough I put the rear wheels up on ramps and the front end up on jack stands.


3909BCC1-9958-4947-8787-479C25181868-3696-000001DC262887E7.jpg

53EE0A88-779B-4FAB-8104-CCBB0A6D0A21-3696-000001DC51E289ED.jpg


Then the power washing and scrubbing with SIMPLE GREEN using some brushes began.

1DB3D6E1-F7C5-4DEA-97B9-DEE257D6C873-3696-000001DC6D07A491.jpg

4DBB582D-5417-4B84-9BEF-322743C29620-3696-000001DC66CA3E70.jpg

5B83A469-F347-4F5C-97D9-EE2781163EC2-3696-000001DC5F35B970.jpg


Luckily my neighbor has a HOT water spigot inside his garage and I was able to use hot water to clean and power wash with. Doing this out in the high 40's we had yesterday evening wasn't all that fun but it was well worth it. Once that was all over I put the rear tires back on the ground. Then lifted the front end with my cherry picker and I used by $17 Harbor Freight cable puller and pulled the car inside. For some reason I forgot to take pictures of that but it worked out really well. To say that the inside is much much cleaner is an understatement. I still need to take some scotch brite pads with acetone all over it before I shoot primer or anything but it is all in all pretty clean.

BEFORE

DB5D37B3-880E-48E1-97E6-70CE403F6341-3696-000001DC41C65D43.jpg

BB1AD2B4-3752-47F2-8FB6-7310FCEDF809-4257-0000020B35FD9867.jpg

D5A924E8-B808-4E8D-9921-EADBA1C6FA05-4257-0000020B5ABC0936.jpg

6A8370CC-8697-4B45-B236-15887C46EB4B-4257-0000020B610D8D3F.jpg


AFTER

5E49DD29-8247-4ACA-9404-848ED30F02F4-3696-000001DC77E0C896.jpg

6043E11A-5E2F-4049-BEF6-109DEE440F9B-3696-000001DC9B31A3A3.jpg

0E4B9BC0-6A8C-4D88-A86D-463F3B1D8592-3696-000001DC7DF69878.jpg

B1989316-DE12-4E28-8FF5-C16BA889BCF3-3696-000001DCA8597883.jpg


I also took all of my front suspension parts to the glass beader on Monday. I should have those back this afternoon. I will get shots of those and put them up later. Once I get the front end done I will start on the rear end of the car. I can then do the same and address any small surface rust issues.
 
I've acquired all of my front end parts for the eventual overhaul except my sway bars. Still waiting for those to arrive. I've also been painting pieces as I have time and the weather is warm enough. The biggest challenge I have is I need to paint/clear my engine bay. My buddy who is going to paint my car eventually mixed me a quart of the paint and clear so it will all match. Problem is it needs to be shot when it is at least 70 deg outside. SO I am waiting for an Indian Summer kind of day to get that accomplished. In the mean time I have also acquired my liquid intercooler and just ordered the heat exchanger I plan to use. Pics/links below:

Liquid intercooler heat exchanger
http://www.frozenboost.com/product_...=1026&osCsid=3029f959ee51b4e2de2a2c8c7a19a02d
radiator_26x7x3.5_picture.jpg


I plan to run 2-3 of these 2200 CFM permacool fans on that heat exchanger:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prm-19127
prm-19127_w.jpg


Intercooler
551BC584-92FB-44A6-8EF7-AB9588C08D03-162-000000043895032A.jpg

2FB2B664-FDB8-4246-AB18-341629CF12F3-162-0000000442ECD575.jpg

2E424675-4C9A-4590-8709-D2D12B9B273E-162-000000043E19B8BF.jpg


Repainted/Glass Beaded parts:
7E9D9D51-359C-4242-8377-D6AA6202F2B2-4913-000002CCA6C7D74A.jpg

B52AAE50-C07C-4D5B-BAF7-DBFBF2A15B86-4913-000002CCAC2B3C43.jpg

14A11256-675F-4462-8F61-761A2B07084C-4913-000002CCA251A146.jpg

379B93FF-1CF1-461E-A6CA-690DF52AA495-4913-000002CC9CCFD61E.jpg

09483E05-578B-4B05-B031-488CD5EA06BA-4913-000002CCB57F29DF.jpg

5C804039-6CA3-430E-AA5E-EB44FDFE6C3B-4913-000002CCCEADAF51.jpg


Brake Rotors and Calipers
7FB13E62-D4EC-41BE-928F-65943896A895-2436-0000015E7F2C169D.jpg

33B8F4A1-5188-4D92-A314-EC5750E74895-2436-0000015E76B8E7C7.jpg

FF6AE961-3B8B-43CC-8438-C3DF8C964435-4913-000002CCC6F42963.jpg


Front end parts collection:
80AECD17-E377-450F-AD00-6FD87E47859E-162-00000004319DD9EA.jpg
 
I spent some more time cleaning parts the other night at work. Then today I prepped and painted most of them. Towards the end of painting with my touch up gun the damn hose end on my dry air hose fell a part in pieces. I didn't get finished with my last coat of chassis paint those parts.

The rear hubs I cleaned and pressed new bearings into. I meant to take pictures of them all apart, but my phone died when I was at work and I couldn't get it charged. However, I think I need to go back and verify the rear hub is pressed all the way into the bearing as it doesn't seem seated all the way.

Also today my transmission cooler, Liquid heat exchanger and associated silicone tubing arrived. The heat exchanger is quite thick. I'm going to have to get my bumper cover back out and test fit it to see if it will go where I want it to go. I'm planning on doing that Saturday.


Anyway more pics. These are all the parts before cleaning:

06E24283-4678-495A-B06B-521EAE5D3380-893-0000005CDAF8F442.jpg

2AFD8146-FA13-4356-92A2-36789F71159F-893-0000005CE4AFB436.jpg

C6EB8EAE-B7D6-447C-BEBD-C97385C6A49A-893-0000005CFA690970.jpg

These are the parts after cleaning and before primer/paint.
CC1831E6-0529-4E2D-BC65-397363E5D45E-893-0000005D12617759.jpg




Parts after primer:

A0001DBE-C79D-4F7E-BE4F-67DB0829E939-893-0000005D3EB265AD.jpg

DEDF9AE5-1DD1-4E7A-9D01-4CD4B6754C9E-893-0000005D5D5522D6.jpg

5A9DE6DD-ACB8-4475-B243-01B180E66C36-893-0000005D2D7C5F0C.jpg


Parts after paint, I glass beaded the anodized motor mounts and it removed the coating. I tried to pick a rattle can that was close but I think I'm off quite a bit. I also painted all of my steel pulleys that I am keeping an aluminum color to try and match the aluminum crank pulley I have.

759D5A31-6C2D-40D8-A29E-7176A63732B9-893-0000005DA06C1715.jpg

38A775A0-E3EC-4F15-BF7E-C876B42F7E5C-893-0000005D62501AD9.jpg

EF192217-841F-4893-A6C4-90E3C19E0103-893-0000005D759045AC.jpg

767CC2AF-F343-432B-AD61-731D5CD08B57-893-0000005D9A1F6A30.jpg

0763210F-3DFB-47F4-9558-1DC2FFD7C527-893-0000005D6F397875.jpg

86C9EAA9-F44B-457B-9C19-CB38BDA32523-893-00000066ACFC28FC.jpg



Transmission cooler:
480B2FA7-A5B4-4A39-9A72-3A63F977BAEB-893-0000005D06A43531.jpg


I'll post pictures of the heat exchanger and liquid intercooler once I decide how I am going to mount them. I need to figure all of this out so I can paint my engine bay. Any changes that need to be made like welding brackets or something delays that painting process.
 
I spent the day hacking up my core support and fixing my bent bumper. The intercooler is going to mount in real well a bit lower that I'd of liked but I was able to gain an additional 3 inches of space between it and the pulleys. I also temporarily mocked up my heat exchanger. The damn thing is so THICK that it barely fits where I wanted it to do. I may even have to cut part of the bumper on the inner edge so I can clear some fans on it. I have all of the mock up for brackets for the intercooler just need to weld on some 1/2" aluminum stock to attach to. There is exactly 22inches of space left from the intercooler to the other frame rail. The radiator I am looking at is exactly 22" wide so I hope it fits. Anyway more pics of the progress.

Previously bent bumper section:
3158F63F-B319-4744-978E-9E8C47AD3AD8-2103-0000010AF3689015.jpg

EDF4EB05-5E6C-4797-8BAF-427A2113DD7F-2103-0000010AEBBD434F.jpg


Newly welded on bumper section:
A17C4DFB-C6FF-41E0-9FEF-D030AAFA7B62-2103-0000010B008BAD3B.jpg

585EF7B3-9419-4D6F-AE33-FA8AAE692562-2103-0000010AFB047726.jpg

44C0A865-0438-4A80-B085-B4C0DC7121CB-2103-0000010B11A431CD.jpg


Intercooler mocked up and core support cut to accommodate:
0CACE600-C39D-48DD-B7F2-665B9CB52BA3-2103-0000010B16F51E38.jpg

A4314192-F662-47B0-B51C-E6418AA09FC9-2103-0000010B1D2FF057.jpg

D0D21D8B-C5AD-4C9E-AD76-5B03CE53E3B6-2103-0000010B50C7FD61.jpg

0BBA35E0-539B-4238-B2F8-CB014CC08185-2103-0000010B24EB4510.jpg

BDB11A80-1FE3-44F9-A596-1BF1C78A3725-2103-0000010B2D2D19C9.jpg


Heat exchanger mock up looks like I'll only have room for 2 fans:
7A67C427-D326-477B-B4CE-1910930419E1-2103-0000010B098DCBA7.jpg

D572E242-4028-4F27-8D49-D85671C7D1A3-2103-0000010B32F9561A.jpg


I need to order my radiator so I can decide if it will actually fit and make brackets. I'm trying to decide if I really need a transmission warmer that is included in this radiator for $349. Or if this other radiator for $399 that includes a fan without a warmer would be a better choice. Opinions or thoughts?
 
Chris

Did you find any obstacles when you looked at HE mounted vertically vs horizontal mount. Race only?

Presume IC core is 10x10x4.5 20"centres or is it bigger.

Paul
 
How well will that horizontal HE work compared to if it was vertical? Real nice work and progress Chris.
 
Someone should sell this guy the AWD SuperCoupe.

BTW awesome thread bro, you do good work. I like your red jacket, Milwaukee tools FTW!
 
Last edited:
hey, nice thread. its great to see someone fixing up these cars. i own a 35th myself. there very rare keep up the good work.
 
Chris

Did you find any obstacles when you looked at HE mounted vertically vs horizontal mount. Race only?

Presume IC core is 10x10x4.5 20"centres or is it bigger.

Paul

The heat exchanger wouldn't even fit if it was vertical. It would interfere with the intercooler. The intercooler BTW is this one click here . I do plan to eventually upgrade to this spearco unit below but since I am trying to tackle so much all at once the funds just aren't there yet.

Spearco unit :
tnt-2-276_w.jpg


Also if I could mount the HE vertically it would be directly behind the bumper. I feel that the HE will get better air flow mounted as it s since it sitting directly over all of the lower vents in the bumper cover just prior to the chin spoiler. See these pictures:
A392BB7C-5131-4FED-A289-B6D25151420C-2103-0000012F66BDC0EA.jpg

28781CE9-8289-4916-BB1E-874D715CD85D-2103-0000012F6EE6742A.jpg

A45B5F3E-0595-4160-85AD-0F26C1D50BF6-2103-0000012F751874F3.jpg


What I am not super pleased with is the fact that the HE is so THICK (3.5") that it blocks this opening in the bumper cover which supplies most of the air to the radiator. See pic.

875DCF2E-4CA9-4A44-A604-6AA5ACC3A948-2103-0000012F7B836757.jpg


However, both openings in the cover and the opening in the slit on top of the bumper cover are still there to supply air to the A/C condenser and radiator.

77E24313-E463-4330-8B23-AD42CFEEC176-2103-0000013153B560FD.jpg

2C843DF0-1A04-48B7-AA58-7010AC143D96-2103-000001314C6FEB4A.jpg

FA779157-A94A-4F91-B262-06755C125C59-2103-000001315BF5D478.jpg


I do plan on installing a pusher fan to help supplement cooling. Just need to see how much space I have left once I mock everything up so I can install the largest one possible.
 
I was wondering how you were getting all that painting done during the winter time until I saw the space heater in one of the pictures...

This thread will come in handy when do my engine and front end later in the year.

Nice work!
:)
 
I was wondering how you were getting all that painting done during the winter time until I saw the space heater in one of the pictures...

This thread will come in handy when do my engine and front end later in the year.

Nice work!
:)

My garage is fully insulated. 2 space heaters can get the temp up over 75 even when it's 20deg outside. The biggest problem is once I start painting with the mini booth ive created with 2 box fans and several house filters the temp inside immediately starts dropping. I'll shoot some pics of the setup next time I'm painting something.

I am waiting for a good 70deg+ day so I can shoot the engine bay. The chassis parts aren't as critical. As you can see though I still have lots of mock up to do before I can prime and paint the engine bay.
 
Last edited:
I can relate. My Dad and I made a garage large enough to drive a 25' motor home in for storage or repairs. My friends and I did the ruff framing and concrete work. My Dad and his friends did the roofing, electrical and outside. It is large and heated. We did not add ventilation. Instead the ventilation was attached to the house attic ventilation.

I used to paint cars in my Dad's garage. I decided I was going to paint cars for a few extra bucks. I had to stop after painting about five of them, the fumes in the second story of the house was unbearable...
:eek:
 
Last edited:
I actually have filters placed in my attic access in the garage to pull air into the garage. I use 2 box fans mounted under the garsge door with filters on them for the evacuation to outside. I've got 3 1/4" wood panels that fill in the rest of the under door space. It seems to keep the fumes out if the house really well. I also wear a charcoal respirator mask etc while I'm outside.
 
Looking good, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. I as well have a deal set up on a anniversary car and have a full custom build planned for it.
 
looking good chris! hope you have it done by June for the street machine nationals!

Not a chance my list is endless.

I'm going to run a 4R70W so there is a ton of what ifs with that.
Then you have all the components needed for tuning.
my 3 in 1 reservoir/ice/fuel surge tank
Wheels and tires
Drag wheels and tires
Paint
Interior

Oh and did I mention I haven't even took the rear sub assy off yet. So there is bushings and a multitude of things to do there.

I'm looking at an easy 2 more years of work and detail items.
 
Back
Top