Post a picture you took today

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Having been under my car today, I have to disagree. I couldn't get a good picture, but I think my bellhousing looks more like the one on this pic:

View attachment 9664

I imagine it's the 3.8 bellhousing (?).

Ergo, the column shift project is a non-starter.w
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Ahh good catch, yeah Ford probably never bothered changing that with the 3.8 bellhosing since no RWD 3.8s used a 4R70w with the column shift


That said when there's a will there's a way, Cable bracketry isn't rocket science to rig up, and that single boss that is there could be utilized as a starting point
 
XR7-4.6 said:
That said when there's a will there's a way, Cable bracketry isn't rocket science to rig up, and that single boss that is there could be utilized as a starting point
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True...but with ramps being all I have, going in there is extremely tedious. It's one thing to assemble the mechanism from existing pieces, but to "rig it up"?

Also, I'm not certain if the lever that comes out from behind the neutral safety switch clears the underbody (because it goes up on column shift cars vs. down on floor shift cars).

The whole thing would require a lot of trial and error...
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
True...but with ramps being all I have, going in there is extremely tedious. It's one thing to assemble the mechanism from existing pieces, but to "rig it up"?

Also, I'm not certain if the lever that comes out from behind the neutral safety switch clears the underbody (because it goes up on column shift cars vs. down on floor shift cars).

The whole thing would require a lot of trial and error...
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I agree, but tedious is my middle name lol The biggest issue to me is the under dash clearance rather than the under car routing, I'm certain with some metal and hardware from your local Ace a mounting solution for the cable would be obtainable without that much complexity.

As for clearance the tunnel on these cars is obscenely wide, there's no way the inverted MLPS will come anywhere near close to interference with it IMO
 
This would have to be the most pointless project I've ever heard of. It doesn't improve anything; If it is really that important to you, find a panther car with column shift, and drive that. Some of those had some cool options,a fire suppression system, and a kevlar bulletproof shield,for two.:)
 
Grog6 said:
This would have to be the most pointless project I've ever heard of. It doesn't improve anything; If it is really that important to you, find a panther car with column shift, and drive that. Some of those had some cool options,a fire suppression system, and a kevlar bulletproof shield,for two.:)
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Improve is subjective. What functional purpose does a automatic console shift actually serve? I mean I have a manual trans which is less consistent than an automatic, and not even necessarily faster, but I don't care it's what I want.


Besides which that's the recent discussion; 4R70w Panthers were all 4.6s, but he has a 3.8 bellhousing, which doesn't use the same case or have the mounting provisions for it
 
I actually got the roof button for the fire suppression system, to use for something. The kevlar gets moved to a new car,and the rest of the fire suppression system isn't removable.
 
Modern high end drag racers use auto systems. But a manual conversion Is still way better to me. It's less important to me now, with what I've fixed in my transmissions, but it's still a long term goal.
So one more reason to ditch a 6 cyl,lol.
Fwiw, here's a list of what it takes to be happy with a 4r70W:
A 2002 core
New plates,raybestos blues,kolene steels,one piece seals, new seals, a shitload of valvebody parts by sonnax,new design accumulators, several og mn12 parts:(manual lever,vss sensor,tailshaft),
TC,and hours of tuning the shifts with the prp.
All in all, I'd suggest the man swap is easier and cheaper,lol. and better.:)
 
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Just be glad you didn't end up with one of these. Taken from my 2017 Dodge ram. In my case I could give a shit if it's column, floor or dash .. it's just a means to get to work for me. No joy in driving here. 🙄
 
dDUBb said:
View attachment 9669

Just be glad you didn't end up with one of these.
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Agreed.

I care a lot about the feel of control mechanism. Levers, buttons, etc. Generally speaking, I don't like shifters with a release button, as MN12s have. I prefer column shifters or "button-less" shifters which are usually gated shifters.

These electronic shifters have no positive feel at all.
 
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dDUBb said:
Don't let the numbers fool you .. your V6 Tbird would leave me in the dust. Also, I can't go over 74 mph or the GPS tracker will send a text to the company owner. 🤣
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Sorry to read that Dan. I absolutely hate Corporate GPS tracking and those 1-800-how’s-my-driving stickers that companies put on their vehicles. The company I used to work for started that crap back in the early 2000’s. I quit very, very soon after that and went to work for a company that treats us like adults and uses rental cars for transportation. Haven’t had a driving complaint since and I’ve got to drive some really sweet vehicles over the years. I’m like a kid in a candy store on the rental car isle. :biggrin:
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
In case anyone was wondering, this is for the engine!

View attachment 9676
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In'15, a buddy and I got tasked with labelling everything in the building, as some safety bs. 'faucet' 'refrigerator',soap' 'coffee', were popular,lol. 'wash your hands', wipe well', and 'pushing this button costs $50,000' were not.(that was the emergency quench for the mr magnet, just in case the janitor went in the MR room with a floor buffer,lol.
The sorry ass safety guy turned our nice bunn coffeemaker down to 160 degrees,which makes shitty coffee. after he got fired, I fixed it. :) My boss would not let me stick a label to his forehead,lol. I hate the whole overlabelling thing. And warning labels on pop tarts.
 
Trunk Monkey said:
I absolutely hate Corporate GPS tracking and those 1-800-how’s-my-driving stickers that companies put on their vehicles.
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Most of those 1-800 numbers go to a third party call center and only exist so the company's home office support staff doesn't get inundated with complaints in everybody's voicemail or emails about someone who changed lanes without signaling. The call center will take their information and send an email to the company, most of which get deleted immediately because most of them are completely asinine.

Because that's exactly what happens now. Karen will get angry that a truck is lugging up or down a hill slower than her and she was inconvenienced by having to change lanes. She will then Google the company name and click the top result (which may not even be the correct one) and proceed to call 50 times. She will press 1 for sales and leave a nasty VM, then she will call back to press 2 for service and leave another nasty VM, then she will call back to press 3 for accounting and leave a nasty VM, and so on and so forth.

There's a small trucking outfit based in Brampton, Ontario, that uses the same initials as ours. Their full name is clearly Indian and their MCS-150 shows they have less than 10 drivers, so I'm assuming it's a small family-run operation. At least 1-2x a month, I get a call from some half-retarded Bernier voter regarding said company's driving because if you Google the initials, we pop up near the top. Keep in mind we don't have any business presence north of the border, the service map on our homepage clearly shows this, and we aren't even a company that hauls freight.

I guess it gives me some relief that scarce common sense isn't just an American problem.
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Wait what? That can't be right. My 3.8 makes only...what is it? 145 hp?

It's adequate!
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Considering the ram 1500's curb weight is around 5,000 lbs, I think that would be quite the dog, now I have that same 3.6 in my grand caravan, now that gets up and goes cause its quite light compared to a truck
 
Derphound01 said:
Most of those 1-800 numbers go to a third party call center and only exist so the company's home office support staff doesn't get inundated with complaints in everybody's voicemail or emails about someone who changed lanes without signaling. The call center will take their information and send an email to the company, most of which get deleted immediately because most of them are completely asinine.

Because that's exactly what happens now. Karen will get angry that a truck is lugging up or down a hill slower than her and she was inconvenienced by having to change lanes. She will then Google the company name and click the top result (which may not even be the correct one) and proceed to call 50 times. She will press 1 for sales and leave a nasty VM, then she will call back to press 2 for service and leave another nasty VM, then she will call back to press 3 for accounting and leave a nasty VM, and so on and so forth.

There's a small trucking outfit based in Brampton, Ontario, that uses the same initials as ours. Their full name is clearly Indian and their MCS-150 shows they have less than 10 drivers, so I'm assuming it's a small family-run operation. At least 1-2x a month, I get a call from some half-retarded Bernier voter regarding said company's driving because if you Google the initials, we pop up near the top. Keep in mind we don't have any business presence north of the border, the service map on our homepage clearly shows this, and we aren't even a company that hauls freight.

I guess it gives me some relief that scarce common sense isn't just an American problem.
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The company / supervisor of the individual driving the truck/vehicle also gets an audio copy of the phone call because ... "all calls are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes ..." Ask me how I know. :LOL:
 
Trunk Monkey said:
The company / supervisor of the individual driving the truck/vehicle also gets an audio copy of the phone call because ... "all calls are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes ..." Ask me how I know. :LOL:
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This is also true. Most times they just email the recording and move on. :rofl:

If you've got a legitimate complaint against a fleet vehicle, the most effective solution is to take a photo of the vehicle with the license plate or ID number visible and send their HR or Safety department a professional and courteous email. Include the time/date and location along with a brief description of the hazard. Those get handled quickly simply because the complainant isn't being a dickhead.

The company I used to work for had an internal hotline which was just a voicemail-to-email inbox with a custom greeting. The greeting mentioned that any hateful or profane messages would be discarded and not investigated. Surprisingly it cut down on the rage calls, but you could tell who was holding back their rage. Even funnier, we had more people calling and leaving messages asking if we were hiring. It quickly got rebranded as the "Safety and Recruiting Hotline".
 
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Slipping and sliding in the mud today.

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Finishing up Phokey's rear end build. Painted the new exhaust with VHT high temp matte black, followed up with high temp satin clear. Used Chassis black on all the other stuff.

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Added SS lap clamps, kept the bolts down for easy removal.

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Powerflex Poly bushings in the rear trailing and control arms.

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Added some anti squeak tape where the new e-brake cables rub on the arm. Old cables were starting to get sticky, common problem.

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Added a check valve for the meth tank in the trunk.

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Adjusted the bumper cover with a dremel so the rack goes in easier.

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Exhaust was a bitch to install on my back. Fell asleep under there on my blanky and pad while resting my arms.
 

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Sunrise from 30,000 feet this morning on my way to ATL as the de-icer streaks across the window. I hate morning flights but on some occasions I can catch an amazing sunrise. Good morning world!

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A view of the wing.

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