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The Starship SVT sails again

hetfield

or hetfeild
Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
2,970
Location
Port Washington, WI
With big thanks to blu_fuz for donating a revised fuel pump assembly (and of course pole for helping with the install), the Starship SVT left dry dock on September 30th. So far I've put just over 400 miles on the car and I haven't had any major problems.

There are still a lot of small issues with the car, but I think I will slowly be able to fix them and have a decent daily driver. Eventually the oil consumption issue will drive me nuts and I'll probably end up replacing the motor if it's not something stupid like the PCV system.

The fleet as it stands today:

CIMG0043.sized.jpg
 
so awesome to hear!!!!
i felt so bad selling you a lemon!
hopefully the oil consumption is something silly like the PCV.
 
Sweeeeeeet! Can't beat a free updated fuel pump assembly from your buddy BLU! Glad it got the car back on the road.

ps, did you leave me feedback :D
 
I wouldn't call it a lemon. It was definitely abused and neglected prior to you getting your hands on it. After talking with a local mechanic I trust, the theory is that the motor may have been overheated at one point; not enough to warp the heads, but maybe enough to fry the oil rings. The car has the sounds of marbles sloshing in a can when the throttle is more than half open, which also lends to that theory. The compression rings are all good, so as long as I keep an eye on the oil level I should be ok.

In a way, this may be good. Since the 2.5L in my silver SVT has been flawless I haven't been motivated to swap to a 3L. Now I have a reason to do that, and dump the 2.5 into the Starship. If pole and I build the 3L properly, I could be driving Contours for the next decade. Then, collectors plates :)

Joe, don't worry, I'll leave you feedback and I have another surprise I'm thinking of, but I need to find the time to make a six-hour round-trip drive. :ponder:
 
i have th address and name of the guy who owned it before me, but i don't know if its the starship guy.
 
we found a mini tape recoder with audio of a trip to the super market to buy soup (i think)
and he refers to the SVT as the Starship SVT and it even includes the nifty beeps like in Star Trek.


i will have to see if i can get the audio transfered to my pc and share with the world!
 
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i will have to see if i can get the audio transfered to my pc and share with the world!

should just be able to use an audio cable and either plug into the line it or microphone jack on your sound card. I did this with some tapes I recorded onto the pc and converted to mp3 files.
 
Elky, I though you might find this amusing: apparently the horn works better when the horn relay isn't missing. :) Not only that, but the cruise control works better, too!
 
Time to raise this post from the dead for a bittersweet update: #1900 is being sacrificed to help me and pole. As I drove it over the last couple years, it became apparent that there were a whole list of issues, including continued fuel delivery problems (and a non-working fuel gauge), worn axle causing the "wobble", bad throwout bearing causing major shifting problems, unexplained loss of oil and brake fluid, non-working keyless functionality, intermittent CELs for DPFE and O2 sensor problems, and some elusive rattles and suspension noises. It was obvious that the person/people who owned the car before Elky got his hands on it abused and neglected it, and as I poured on the mileage the problems would continue to surface. Rather than completely tear the car apart inside *and* out, pole offered an alternative.

The plan was to trade #1900 for the black & tan he recently bought from EuroTour. It has double the mileage, but got the PRT workover and has only a few minor issues. The caveat was that the interior was a total loss. So, we spent a 12-hour day swapping the interior as well as a few select exterior parts. The benefit for pole is the ECU and injectors from #1900 which will be used for his Cougar project.

Some pics:

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616230_10151101612198081_1564714918_o.sized.jpg


I just wanted to say thanks to Elky one last time for all the work he put into that car. I haven't made a car payment on my daily driver ever in my life, and #1900 was a key part of that.
 
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:(
i still feel bad that this one turned out to be such a lemon.
but i guess i am glad to see it is going to be used for good.
 
At least being part of this forum we make sure important parts (SVT specific) make it back into the community instead of in the junk yard. You did what you could!

RIP #1900



We had #1900 and #1902 so close together again at one point, only about a hour away :cool:.
 
:(
i still feel bad that this one turned out to be such a lemon.
but i guess i am glad to see it is going to be used for good.

You shouldn't feel bad. You did a lot of work to that car to make it road worthy, and for the few years I drove it, it fulfilled the purpose I bought it for. Josh will tell you I stressed for at least a week about making the trade partially because I felt like I was giving up on the car. It would be silly to think that any vehicle that was in a major accident and then sat for years would run with no issues. I wanted it to be kind of a restoration project, but when faced with the facts I had to admit that it simply didn't make economic sense to pour so much time, effort, and money into a daily driver. Trading it straight up means it is still one of the best purchases I've ever made.

blu_fuz said:
At least being part of this forum we make sure important parts (SVT specific) make it back into the community instead of in the junk yard.

Werd. The end of this car means renewed life for an SVT Contour and a Roush Cougar, and boost for a certain race car ;)
 
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