Langleylads 68 Cougar project

[Beagle]

I have to say that I know absolutely nothing about Tri-ys , I've seen pictures of them , dyno comparisons would be interesting .

Just a guess since I don't have statistics to back it up. but you'd probably have to start your dyno runs at idle to see the real difference. I don't see many charts starting that low. Probably not going to see the tri-y being a winner above 2500 rpm or so, but from what I've seen in the past, they don't give up much.

[DanStokes]

The little that I looked into them for the Volvo, it looked like they gave up a little at the top end (not much) but made a ton down in the basement. Seems like an excellent street header. Ultimately the shorties were a better fit in this chassis.

Dan

[mike343sharpstick]

On a 4-1, basically longer is better, however on a tri-Y, there is some more sensitivity to tube lengths to get power where you want it for a particular engine.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/...-right-header/
to quote the article, "The traditional design works well to build more torque from idle to 4,500-5,000 rpm, so they are very effective for street use, however, autocrossers and road racers also love them for their midrange torque and increased throttle response as well. NASCAR teams use a derivative design, called a 4-into-2-into-1 (4:2:1), which uses much longer primary and secondary tubes for higher-rpm effectiveness."

Here is a good article on header design as well. http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/...d-header-tech/

What they don't mention is the packaging improvement. the collector under the car is only as tall as the primary as it's only a 2 into 1 at that point. That said, it's also easy to make the primary's longer if needed for a particular design for that same reason. Much better than stuffing a 3 to 4 inch collector in that same spot.

On my car I would have went with shorty's if they were available at the time, but they were not. I went with long tube 4-1. Thankfully my Doug's headers fit great, and give good ground clearance. One of the few things that didn't need rework! On the site they list what I have for automatics, fortunately I was able to grind back a bit my clutch fork to clear the primary tube. so still not a problem free installation, but better than most.

Sorry to hijack your thread. Keep up the good work, love this car!

[langleylad]

"Hijack" don't worry about that , I'm here to learn and steal great ideas and claim them as my own !.
Thanks for the info Mike.

Mike

[Scott Liggett]

I can't understand why there aren't more Try-Y (aka 4-into-2-into-1) headers available? There are so many advantages with that design both for fitment and performance.

Doug's Headers is about the only ones making Tri-Y's that I know of. Not sure if they make them for an LS.

[langleylad]

Sanding the poly-surfacer , built a bracket to hold the Alpine stereo & amp , planning the mounting bracket of a Lokar trunk release lever , and pulled the engine and trans , again ! . I shaved the trunk lock and installed an Electric-Life power trunk release , so I thought it would be a good idea to install a manual release inside . In case the battery goes dead , which will be in the trunk . I'm planning on using a Detroit Speed battery relocation kit . I decided to go with the B&M Quicksilver shifter . I don't plan on using it as is . I want to fab up some type of console . I think this will be a good project for the winter months . My plan for the summer will be to hopefully spray some primer sealer, basecoat & clearcoat on this thing . I'm still trying to decide on a final colour , It will be in the silver to grey field of colours .

[langleylad]

I sanded the first coat of poly-surfacer after applying a guide coat and decided another coat was needed . I also noticed a couple of areas that needed a little more work . So I looked after them and sprayed on another coat , applied guide coat and I've sanded over half of the car . Looks good . Body work can drive a man crazy , I realize that I'm picky and I also realize that I'm not a bodyman by trade and that a lot of people wont notice the little spots that I do . So I've decided "good enough" or this machine will never get finished . Once I'm finished sanding the poly-surfacer (which will be very soon) , I'll spray on some 2K urethane primer surfacer , sand that nice and smooth , then spray on some paint . I just have to decide on a final colour (colour, yes I'm Canadian) . My plan has been to have it painted by the end of summer . Fingers crossed

[hauen]

Sterling Grey is always a nice Ford factory color. http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetail.cgi?rm=765145

[silver_bullet]

I am not a fan of the fifty shades of grey colors these days... I think Mercury Nordic Blue would suit her nicely!

[langleylad]

It's very hard to make a final choice , the colour can make or break a vehicle . Case in point the new Camaros , I hate them in yellow but in dark blue they look awesome . Colours can hide or magnify body lines . Plus I've been using Eastwood products , so I'd like to stick to their colours . But then I haven't sprayed on my primer sealer so I could go with another brand.

[silver_bullet]

The choice is completely yours of course... I always thought the Cougars looked awesome in a dark blue...

[langleylad]

Paint is ordered ................. Silver , I'm keeping it simple because I'm painting it myself. I'm awesome at primer , we'll see how basecoat / clearcoat goes. I'm very positive that it will go quite smoothly . The big brown truck is bringing a Comp Cam and etc. tomorrow from Summit , I love it when that truck pulls up . Just watched a few episodes of Roadkill Garage , love the show . In episode 1 David refers to the Cougar as an "ugly version of a popular car (Mustang)" . Which I strangely enough agree with , which is one of the goals of this build is to knock the ugly off of this vehicle . Here's the show ladies and gentlemen ( Ed Sullivan ). https://youtu.be/55TY4fuJCTA

[silver_bullet]

I actually prefer early cougars to Mustangs.... I just like different personal luxury style cars...

[milner351]

There's nothing ugly about 60's cougars! Well done on doing it all yourself. To me as a painting novice - metallic is a bit intimidating.

[langleylad]

Ugly is a strong word , perhaps I should have said heaviness .