Anybody converted there Marauder to stick?

[Phil @ FLP]

I was just wondering if anyone has converted a Marauder to stick or if there is any interest in it? At our shop here we do Impala SS(94-96) conversions and they are really popular though expensive. I dont see it being to much of a trouble as all you need it a new or modified center console, manual pedals, maunal pedal brackets, trans, shifter, clutch, and flywheel, maybe a new driveshaft. Most of the parts im sure you could use off of a 03-04 Cobra. Anybody done this yet or considered doing it?

[gdmjoe]

Check-with Paul's High Performance ( Jackson, MI ); they did the Marauder Stalker.

Paul's High Performance - web site (http://www.paulshp.com/) *Provided for reference purposes only ... not to be construed as an advertisement nor endorsement.

[NAVCHAP]

Tried to do it, still not convinced that I want to keep an upgraded automatic, please PM me for more details, too complicated to pass in the thread. -kjs-

[SergntMac]

Stick? Like in manual tranny? Actually shifting gears? Clutch pedal?4500 pound car?

Sorry dude, haven't heard a word about it...

[Dennis Reinhart]

Its been done by Paul and its very expensive, over 6K I would rather invest in a blower.

[JACook]

Its been done by Paul and its very expensive, over 6K I would rather invest in a blower.
6K!!! Was that using a Viper T56?
Now that Tremec has the new TKO-2 out, perhaps this would lower the cost some?

[DarthMerc]

I think someone (roush) mabe? did a bunch of crown vics for bondurant driving school. I remember reading about it in MMFF magazine awhile back. Im sure the pieces had to be custom made to fit therefor expensive, but all parts can be found im sure. Ill see if I can dig up the mag and repost. In a more recent one they had action shots of one of them "drifting" or powersliding. A stick is definately helpful with that! I know some others on here get MM&FF mag. Any of you folks remember reading any of this? I will post more if I can find the mag..... :thinker:

[Bradley G]

Hey Phil@FLP,
I'm not sure why some don't want to play here.I Got an E-mail from PHP,the Breakage issue (input shaft)has been adressed with @ 26 spline '05 viper spec T-56 6 sp which is 50% thicker at the inputshaft.The other upgrade done to the "Street Stalker" is a "McLeod" dual disc street twin clutch.I tried to do a seach and find out more info .He has e-mailed me twice in two days and seems OK with disclosing details on his Marauder.Thanks for the suggestion Mac ,I wasn't sure Paul was going to respond to my inquiry.I still am waiting for info on the "kudos to PHP in the 2005 Ford racing catalog"I could not get into any info there yet , as the catalog prolly isn't released yet,
Bradley G

[Amsoil_Dealer]

I think someone (roush) mabe? did a bunch of crown vics for bondurant driving school. I remember reading about it in MMFF magazine awhile back. Im sure the pieces had to be custom made to fit therefor expensive, but all parts can be found im sure. Ill see if I can dig up the mag and repost. In a more recent one they had action shots of one of them "drifting" or powersliding. A stick is definately helpful with that! I know some others on here get MM&FF mag. Any of you folks remember reading any of this? I will post more if I can find the mag..... :thinker:

Please keep digging for that Mag. I remember the article and i have been longing to read it again....I waonder whatever happend to those Bondurant Vics?

Don

[jonroe]

Marauder with a stick - you're making me hot!

The auto trans is the ONLY reason I ALMOST didn't buy the Marauder. I hate autos with a passion. I may be interested in the conversion but not right away.

Jon

[gdmjoe]

DarthMerc / Amsoil_Dealer
A couple of links to tie you over while you're looking in back issues of MMFF .....

#1 (http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/72538/index1.html)
#2 (http://www.crownvicmuscle.com/gallery/index.php?car=roush)

*Will keep looking in my bookmarks ( though most are now invalid ); my stash of MMFF is in storage out in the shop.

[Heavy351]

I remember the article about the vics from the bondurant driving school. I recall that the big deal was that the firewall had to be cut up and a pedal assembly from a Thunderbird or Mustang welded in. Also I believe the length of the driveshaft was changed for the T-5 or T-something they used. They eventually junked the cars I think because the firewall mods made them unsafe in some way. For certian, they were not willing to sell them to the public. Crownvic.net has had dozens of manual swap threads over the years.

6K? oh yeah at least.

A better mod (no cutting) I think would be adapting the push button up/down gear controls on the steering wheel like the off road F-150 Trophy trucks for the Baja races (Walker racing?) from a few years back. They used the E4OD I believe....

[Rider90]

http://www.mercurygallery.net/mmnet/data/3035/1253rider90.jpg

I owned my Bondurant Impersonator :P 1/6 made bumper covers, same cover HackGoby had on his Vic.

[ADE 1000]

I remember the article about the vics from the bondurant driving school. I recall that the big deal was that the firewall had to be cut up and a pedal assembly from a Thunderbird or Mustang welded in. Also I believe the length of the driveshaft was changed for the T-5 or T-something they used. They eventually junked the cars I think because the firewall mods made them unsafe in some way. For certian, they were not willing to sell them to the public. Crownvic.net has had dozens of manual swap threads over the years.

6K? oh yeah at least.

A better mod (no cutting) I think would be adapting the push button up/down gear controls on the steering wheel like the off road F-150 Trophy trucks for the Baja races (Walker racing?) from a few years back. They used the E4OD I believe....

The Bondurant Vics were for sale. I have a link to the add, but its now dead. I believe they were asking around $20K or so. I don't recall if they were suitable for street use.

[Rider90]

no they were not streetable, couldn't even title them. If they were streetable they would have sold better, I don't recall if some sold or not - but there was a big debate about it at crownvic.net when they were up for sale.

[Heavy351]

A little research reveals you could rig something up using this:

http://www.powertraincontrolsolutions .com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=4

http://www.powertraincontrolsolutions .com/download/tcu/tcu_product2.pdf

"ManuTronic feature allows fully manual gear selection when desired, via OEM Ford speed control buttons or a stand-alone push-button control.

And something equivalent to this:

http://www.sparcousa.com/psteering_acc.asp?id=335

If this had been me a few years back I would have had the time to be the test pilot for this.

Total cost: less $1000 and programming time

[Heavy351]

Here's a guy that actually went to the trouble... A Marauder would be at least as much work:

http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB17&Number=401428&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

Oh the agony....

Skip ahead to page 9 where it actually runs.... needs a little "finishing" work

[Phil @ FLP]

Yea im sure its not that difficult just wanted to see if there was much interest in it. I would assume it would cost about $6500 to $7500 to do the conversion including the a new T56. Our Impala SS T56 conversion runs about $6500 for a performance built transmission and clutch and can go up to $8,000 depending on clutch and if we build a viper spec transmission. Im probably going to be buying a Marauder myself and would like to convert it over to a T56 though that is a few months off as I have to finish my drag car first.

[Dennis Reinhart]

Yea im sure its not that difficult just wanted to see if there was much interest in it. I would assume it would cost about $6500 to $7500 to do the conversion including the a new T56. Our Impala SS T56 conversion runs about $6500 for a performance built transmission and clutch and can go up to $8,000 depending on clutch and if we build a viper spec transmission. Im probably going to be buying a Marauder myself and would like to convert it over to a T56 though that is a few months off as I have to finish my drag car first.Well you have to remove the entire, interior and the complete dash, then you have to custom fabricate mounting plates for the clutch setup then you have to custom fabracate clutch safety switch and reverse back up lights, then you have to shorten the console and custom fabricate the shifter boot, and have a custom drive shaft made and then reprogram the EEC to shut off all the transmission functions or have a constant check engine light, if the car is SC you have just added 20% more RWHP so for example the car has 430 RWHP its now gone to over 500 so you are now rolling dice on a rod or piston going south, all for the novelty of having a six speed. Yes it is neet but it is very difficult very expensive for the average Marauder owner.

[GordonB]

Recap,
And WHY would I want a 6-sd manual in my MM??? :(
GordonB

[Joe Walsh]

HMMMMMMMM......... :rolleyes:

Spend $6500 on a 6 speed manual transmission conversion....OR....Buy a COMPLETE Trilogy Supercharger kit....

How long do you have to think about that one????

[Phil @ FLP]

Well you have to remove the entire, interior and the complete dash, then you have to custom fabricate mounting plates for the clutch setup then you have to custom fabracate clutch safety switch and reverse back up lights, then you have to shorten the console and custom fabricate the shifter boot, and have a custom drive shaft made and then reprogram the EEC to shut off all the transmission functions or have a constant check engine light, if the car is SC you have just added 20% more RWHP so for example the car has 430 RWHP its now gone to over 500 so you are now rolling dice on a rod or piston going south, all for the novelty of having a six speed. Yes it is neet but it is very difficult very expensive for the average Marauder owner.Regardless of RWHP your engine will make the same amount of power so it really wouldnt cause anymore wear on the engine than if you stuck with a automatic.


Recap,
And WHY would I want a 6-sd manual in my MM??? :(
GordonB
While it may not be everyones cup of tee some people like to row the gears. Most of the Impalas we do conversions for its not the only mod we usually do a built motor and or a supercharger. So you guys have asked why do this when you can do the trilogy kit well im trying to see if any Marauder owners are looking for similar things that our Impala customers are.

[Joe Walsh]

Phil, I didn't mean to flame on your proposed conversion kit....I just couldn't justify the expense....
When I want to 'bang gears' I've got other cars that are 5 speeds.
If I had unlimited funds, a MT Marauder with a S/C would be an excellent modern interpretation of a Toploader 427 Galaxie!

[ADE 1000]

if the car is SC you have just added 20% more RWHP so for example the car has 430 RWHP its now gone to over 500

Can you explain how going to a manual transmission would result in 20% more RWHP?

The general rule of thumb says the difference in drivetrain loss between a manual and an automatic transmision is 5%.

[Joe Walsh]

Can you explain how going to a manual transmission would result in 20% more RWHP?

The general rule of thumb says the difference in drivetrain loss between a manual and an automatic transmision is 5%.

That's what I thought:

Automatic transmission: Flywheel HP x .80 (-20%) = RWHP
Manual transmision: Flywheel HP x .85 (-15%) = RWHP

[Bradley G]

Great thread! I'm leaving mine alone.But for the guys that want an extra pedal, I say go for it! Like anything if only a few are interested the cost will be much higher.If it turns out that several members want to convert the cost will be substantially lower .Look what many members here have invested thus far,I don't see it slowing down.I would still like to know more about PHP's "Street Stalker"& other manual Marauders If any?

Bradley G

[Phil @ FLP]

Phil, I didn't mean to flame on your proposed conversion kit....I just couldn't justify the expense....
When I want to 'bang gears' I've got other cars that are 5 speeds.
If I had unlimited funds, a MT Marauder with a S/C would be an excellent modern interpretation of a Toploader 427 Galaxie!
No worry. Just seeing if any are interested. Im sure as the Marauder gets older they will probably be more interest to try something "different". We didnt start doing M6 conversions on Impalas until the car was about 5 years old.

[maraudernkc]

How expensive?




I was just wondering if anyone has converted a Marauder to stick or if there is any interest in it? At our shop here we do Impala SS(94-96) conversions and they are really popular though expensive. I dont see it being to much of a trouble as all you need it a new or modified center console, manual pedals, maunal pedal brackets, trans, shifter, clutch, and flywheel, maybe a new driveshaft. Most of the parts im sure you could use off of a 03-04 Cobra. Anybody done this yet or considered doing it?

[Phil @ FLP]

How expensive?
Im not sure we havent done one yet I was just throwing the idea out there. Your probably looking at $6500 to $8000 depending on what clutch and if we did a built transmission or just used a stock one.

[Amsoil_Dealer]

A couple of links to tie you over while you're looking in back issues of MMFF .....

#1 (http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/72538/index1.html)
#2 (http://www.crownvicmuscle.com/gallery/index.php?car=roush)

*Will keep looking in my bookmarks ( though most are now invalid ); my stash of MMFF is in storage out in the shop.

Joe,

Thanks. I have never seen a Cobra Gauge package in Vic. I'm sure that does not bolt right in.....Any ideas