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SVT #1483 is back

P

PurpleMystique

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Nov 16, 2004
Messages
2,602
Location
Greater Des Moines Area
After over 4 months of driving a '99 ATX Zetec, I'm back.

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More pics and at least one video to come, all I have is my parent's old camera right now.

I have:

-'01 Taurus 3.0
-SPEC Stage 1 clutch
-MSDS Ceramic coated headers
-MSDS y-pipe
-Resonator delete (done by previous owner...with headers it's waaay too loud)
-eBay intake
-SVT throttle body (to be installed)
-Underdrive pulleys (to be installed)
-Fiberglass eyelids (to be installed)
-warmonger tune (to be uploaded)
-Blizzak tires on my E1 rims

The Blizzaks were an absolute lifesaver. They were put on last Friday morning and yesterday I got stuck 5 hours from home in a pretty good snow storm. With the Blizzaks I was able to just drive straight through snow 8+ inches deep...my front bumper was plowing it out of the way, and the tires almost never slipped.

and on a whim, I decided to splurge and get a Quaife. It's a good thing I did. When they pulled the old diff, this is what they found:

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That wouldn't have lasted long with the 3.0.

So now I have most of a 2.5 (minus the block/crank/pistons and one head) along with a bunch of 3.0 parts in my garage, along with my four summer tires. I hope to put at least the SVT IMs and cams up for sale soon.

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So far I have about 600 miles on the new engine. I'm averaging about 14mpg in town and 22mpg on the highway, I'm reeeeally hoping once I get my tune uploaded that that goes up. I also got a CEL and three codes halfway home, I cleared them so I wouldn't have to stare at the CEL the rest of the way home, but hopefully my tune will fix those too.

Here's where she sits now.

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Next up on the to-do list:
-Magnaflow resonator/move exhaust tips in
-Short shifter
-New sub (old one's blown)
-Some way to get an armrest...possibly a pre98 console swap
-Brakes...maybe something bigger, if the price is right.
 
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wow. quaife. good choice.good bang 4 buck. but 14miles to the gallon on street? dang! i thot mine was bad. i've never actually taken a record of mine. but b4 the turbo, i drove to phoenix from vegas about 240miles on a full tank. it finished just as i drove into town. thats awful gas mileage! now that i think about it, i was gunning it most of the way. was trying to impress some ladies in the car. :laugh:
 
Nice SVT. :cool: One thought on your CEL's....did you install MIL eliminators when you put your headers on? If you didn't, that could be causing your CEL. :shrug:
 
PurpleMystique said:
Woah...I just realized that you're driving a '99 T-Red ATX Zetec SE while you're waiting for a 3.0. That's exactly the car I drove, too. I feel your pain.
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no the pain is the ATX, the zetec isn't that bad with a mtx, its just enough to get you by until you can drive the others cars that are in storage ... like I drove my SVT this past weekend .... :drool: :drool: :drool:
 
Thanks for the comments. Once the weather gets better I'll get some good pics. The plan for tonight is to work on fabricating a throttle body bracket so I can install my SVT throttle body.

A couple quick questions:
1. In the first picture, you can see the fuel line running about 2 inches from the bare positive battery terminal. Is that dangerous?
2. My mechanic didn't install the underdrive pulleys when the engine was pulled from the car (duh.............). What's the process for installing them now? I've found stuff on how to remove/install the belt, but not the pulleys themselves.
3. Also, I have regular headlights, 55W fogs, and an 800W amp. Is it a good idea to install the alternator pulley in spite of all of that?
 
Also, when I turn the car off, the brake pedal literally pushes my foot out. I know before, once the car shut off, the brake would stay down, but if I let off and tried to push it again, it would be harder (obviously...the car's off) but now it's like it loses all pressure as soon as the car is off and the brake pedal is pushed out. Is that a sign of something being wrong?
 
PurpleMystique said:
Woah...I just realized that you're driving a '99 T-Red ATX Zetec SE while you're waiting for a 3.0. That's exactly the car I drove, too. I feel your pain.
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LOL, I actually had the SE before the SVT. I bought the SE right after high school in 02. It's not all that bad. I don't need alot of power in the snow right now anyways. This car has always been reliable...I can't complain about it, although I do miss driving stick. The SE also has SVT exhaust, reverse glow guages and a few other things that make it bearable at least :laugh:
 
I had a couple non-SVTs before the SVT, and frankly I don't miss them. Not to mention the SVT is a million times better in the snow than the SE I was driving due to my Blizzaks.
 
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