Quote:
Originally Posted by Offroadford4x4
I don't think they make a manual VB for the stock trans, though I have heard there is a shift kit avail.
As for swapping in an auto with more gears, I know there are some out there that will bolt up, but the reason Ford did not put them in there is that they just don't fit. The Tempo shares the same front platform, cradle, suspension, etc, as the 1st gen escort. which to the best of my knowledge never had an OD auto either due to size restraints.
As for the aeromodding, I'm willing to do somethings, but overall want to retain the stocksih look to the car. I don't want any of the huge fairings and such I've seen on some of the cars on here. I don't doubt they work, just I don't care for the look. I'm willing to try some things like air dams, rear difuser, tire spats and so on. Basically things you won't really see much of with out really looking. Can't really block the grill anymore than it already is. factory there isn't much air getting through there anyhow. I'd love to lower it, but I don't have the $$$ for custom springs or new stock spring to cut down.
Frank, how did you lower your car? Any pics of it?
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"They" don't make one, but you can. There's a walkthrough for it somewhere on the interwebs... or you can go to FEOA.
Yes, the Tempo/Topaz share a platform with 1st and 2nd gen 'Scorts, and they also came OEM with 3.0's in them, which fit less than snugly in a Taurus front end. Trust me: Just about any OD 1.9L Tranny will fit in there - there's room. You can actually get the transmission from a ZX2 and control it manually, since it's electronic, not hydraulic. Obviously, this is probably a stretch, since your wife won't use a manual transmission, and without installing the TCU, you'd have to control it manually. Tygen1 from here did the manual controlled setup, but yours would have to be a little different.
I do believe that Escorts up to '96 still had hydraulic transmissions, though I could be wrong, and I believe they had OD ratios as well.
I can understand not liking the look of major aeromods - I don't like some of them either.
If you were into a complete engine swap, a 1.9 HO swap might get you closer to where you want to be, but that's probably a moot option as well.