Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 I love my Fiesta. However, while it handles the freeway very fell for being a four cylinder compact, I want something more comfortable for road trips. Knowing from experience that W-bodies are great long distance driving cars, I was thinking about creating the ultimate touring sedan. I was considering taking a 4-door 90-93, adding FE-3 suspension, the multi power adjustable front seats, digital gauges, an electric DIC, HUD, and converting the rear to buckets and a console, among other things. My more radical ideas have included maybe putting the multi-adjustable buckets with a DIC console in the rear as well, if I were to find a way to make such a thing feasible. I thought up the idea while driving home from King of the Road auto parts in Toledo after seeing a 88 and 91 CS Internationals there. If I decide to actually move forward with this, I'll likely go back one Saturday in the near future to gut the seats, gauge cluster, consoles and the multi adjustable hardware out of that 88 International, as well whatever goodies I can gut out of a nice International that just popped up at a junkyard by my house. What are your thoughts? How feasible is this? I imagine most of it will just go bolt right in, with some electrical tinkering to make it all work. The biggest question I have is how hard it would be to convert a sedan to having rear buckets. And of course, finding a worthy candidate considering that the earlier W-bodies have been pretty dried up in my area. Or maybe I'll grab that $800 3.4 CS coupe and make a two door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l67ss Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 DO IT!!!!!! I love my Fiesta. However, while it handles the freeway very fell for being a four cylinder compact, I want something more comfortable for road trips. Knowing from experience that W-bodies are great long distance driving cars, I was thinking about creating the ultimate touring sedan. I was considering taking a 4-door 90-93, adding FE-3 suspension, the multi power adjustable front seats, digital gauges, an electric DIC, HUD, and converting the rear to buckets and a console, among other things. My more radical ideas have included maybe putting the multi-adjustable buckets with a DIC console in the rear as well, if I were to find a way to make such a thing feasible. I thought up the idea while driving home from King of the Road auto parts in Toledo after seeing a 88 and 91 CS Internationals there. If I decide to actually move forward with this, I'll likely go back one Saturday in the near future to gut the seats, gauge cluster, consoles and the multi adjustable hardware out of that 88 International, as well whatever goodies I can gut out of a nice International that just popped up at a junkyard by my house. What are your thoughts? How feasible is this? I imagine most of it will just go bolt right in, with some electrical tinkering to make it all work. The biggest question I have is how hard it would be to convert a sedan to having rear buckets. And of course, finding a worthy candidate considering that the earlier W-bodies have been pretty dried up in my area. Or maybe I'll grab that $800 3.4 CS coupe and make a two door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 While I love that idea and have thought about it myself. Start with a car that has the least amount of rust as possible. Most stuff should bolt in all these first gens are very similar. I know rear buckets can go in a sedan, but you have to be careful with the center console when installing. Something about the bolts being to long and could/will hit the gas tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l67ss Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 I wouldnt do rear buckets myself cause i like to use, um, my backseat for, um, stuff. While I love that idea and have thought about it myself. Start with a car that has the least amount of rust as possible. Most stuff should bolt in all these first gens are very similar. I know rear buckets can go in a sedan, but you have to be careful with the center console when installing. Something about the bolts being to long and could/will hit the gas tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 A few potential starting points: http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4103220299.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/4197097779.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4141038688.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4070119558.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4158804597.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/4082547074.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/4181394189.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4160663897.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/4152516865.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/4112149644.html http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/4194095048.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 I would personally stick with obdI cars.1994 is 1.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 With the wonky PCMS. Didn't know that! Those couple of really clean 94 sedans are tempting, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 a 94 wouldn't bother me at all. after all, the 94-95 LQ1 PCM has had the DIS patch for about forever. i need to test my 93-95 3100 DIS patch yet, but i need to put one of the DIS back together first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Worst come to worst, if its a 1994/1995 3100 car, just get an adapter from Saar, like I did. Make your world MUCH easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 (edited) Start with a 3.4L vehicle. All the suspension parts are there already. Perhaps you'd need to freshen the struts and bushings. I've been using Lumina Euro 3.4s as my highway cruisers and am VERY satisfied. 1800 miles in 30--34 clock hours is entirely do-able. (I mean, I leave here at whatever time in the morning, and 30--34 hours later I'm pulling into Dear Old Dad's driveway...1800 miles away. The clock doesn't stop for gas, food, toilet, naps, a couple of hours of roller-skating in Reno, etc.) Who do you plan to put in the back seat? I use mine for luggage, so buckets aren't preferable as far as I'm concerned. One time I carried a Sun distributor machine and cabinet home from Salt Lake City on the back seat. I've never seen digital instrument clusters that I like. Real gauges for me, please. Edited November 17, 2013 by Schurkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 That's why that 93 coupe is near the top of the list, given that my suspicion that the "bent valve" is really nothing is true. Even though it's not a sedan its a good start: bolt in a set of AQ9s, put in the digital gauges and DIC and that's pretty much it. I'm just weary of taking on a 3.4, because I hear so many horror stories about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 I love my 3.4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Has it given you any problems? What is it like to work on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 A few, like upper and lower LIMs, the oil pump leak (easy to fix when the LIMs are off). The alternator not that bad to do, but it is harder than a 3.1l. The biggest thing was the new timing belt and pulleys at 120k, other than that the rest has been typical maintenance for a 20 year old GM car. I was actually really surprised how easy it is to work on. Room is limited when I replaced the heater hose line that runs behind the engine that involves some work because there is no room to get to anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runfromcheney Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Another worry is that maybe the knocking is a bad timing belt tensioner. If so I'm pretty much redoing the whole timing belt job over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Could be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Both my 3.4s knock...especially when cold. No oil pressure problems, oil tests come back "fit for further use" when I drop an oil sample after 6,000 miles. The '92 has been doing it for about fifty thousand miles. The '93 has been doing it for as long as I've owned it, about forty thousand miles. First Guess: Piston slap. Whatever it is, it's bad enough that the knock sensor is unhappy, so my performance and mileage are not optimum. I've lost about 3 mpg on the highway. Used to get 27--28 mpg at steady 80, now I get 24--25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 I love my Fiesta. However, while it handles the freeway very fell for being a four cylinder compact, I want something more comfortable for road trips. Knowing from experience that W-bodies are great long distance driving cars, I was thinking about creating the ultimate touring sedan. I was considering taking a 4-door 90-93, adding FE-3 suspension, the multi power adjustable front seats, digital gauges, an electric DIC, HUD, and converting the rear to buckets and a console, among other things. My more radical ideas have included maybe putting the multi-adjustable buckets with a DIC console in the rear as well, if I were to find a way to make such a thing feasible. I thought up the idea while driving home from King of the Road auto parts in Toledo after seeing a 88 and 91 CS Internationals there. If I decide to actually move forward with this, I'll likely go back one Saturday in the near future to gut the seats, gauge cluster, consoles and the multi adjustable hardware out of that 88 International, as well whatever goodies I can gut out of a nice International that just popped up at a junkyard by my house. What are your thoughts? How feasible is this? I imagine most of it will just go bolt right in, with some electrical tinkering to make it all work. The biggest question I have is how hard it would be to convert a sedan to having rear buckets. And of course, finding a worthy candidate considering that the earlier W-bodies have been pretty dried up in my area. Or maybe I'll grab that $800 3.4 CS coupe and make a two door... I'm not sure how different the sedan and coupe are, but the bottom seats bolt into the car in the center of each seat and the top piece is bolted on at the bottom, where the bottom part meets. Then there's that plastic panel that covers the hole to the trunk. This of course is the coupe (and convertible) If the sedan is not like the 2g Lumina (the seats are held in by slits in the body) then it should be plug and play. The DIC might be too radical, but ay, if you get it to work, you'll get a lot of people asking a how to. Everything else should be plug and play... I would also toy around with the idea of relocating the seatbelts to the B pillar. 94 may be the best year to look for as you could swap anything from 88-93 or 95/96 in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripp Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 if you go back to the yard with the 91 where the sunvisors any good how where the seat covers? IM looking for some for my 91 in the grey that was in the 91a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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