1994 Ford Probe SE 2.0L Automatic. I picked this up with about 90,000
miles on it in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The original owner, Adam, sent this
bit of history on the Probe as I bought it:
Body Kit is a
Original Andy's Auto Sport Body Kit bought directly from Andy's Auto Sport.
Fully molded with
layers of
MARGLASS and top with
Rage
Filler 2 of the most recommend products from any auto body shop and not
cheap. My cousin is a perfectionist so it took some time and effort. Lots of
sanding and applying. If you noticed the Antenna was removed and welded over for
a clean look. The Rim were bought from
WheelMax.com, they are
ADR 17" Hyper
Silver with kumho tires I believe. Struts are aftermarket
KYB GR2s
the next step after stock. Also
Dropzone springs were added giving it a 1.8" drop in the front and rear.
Front Air Suspension Modification
Here's a preliminary look at an automatic Ground Clearance / Anti-Dive
system I'm designing for the Probe. Please
E-Mail me with any comments or suggestions.
I was warned that the blower motor was annoyingly noisy, and he included a
replacement blower when I picked up the car. For the first few days I
could ignore the noise, but slowly it became like bamboo under my fingernails...
so I broke down and replaced it:
For daytime running lights, I did an "Automatic Sleepy Eye" conversion, which uses a
micro switch to stop the headlights at a preset lower level for a meaner, cleaner look.
When you turn the Headlights on, they go up to the Sleepy Eye position. If
you flash the high beams, the lights go fully up and stay there until you shut
the headlights off. When you shut the lights off, the lights fully retract.
I managed this with 1 Relay and 1 Microswitch in the "Retract" circuit.
(Sleepy Eye height is adjustable slightly by playing with the micro switch
bracket.) I also gave the bulbs a "Projector Look"
which looks awesome on the road!
Sleepy Eye Mode
Sleepy Eye and Fully Up Modes
Microswitch installed
(Click on Pictures to Enlarge)
Projector "look" Headlight Mod
Because the light
shrouds had red overspray on them I decided to repaint the light components flat
black. At the same time I masked off the headlight bulbs and sprayed them
first with blue, and next with flat black. The result is a cool projector
light look with just a slight tint of blue to them. Despite the projector
mask, there is no difference in the amount of light you see on the road.
Overall a cool look!!
Blue Undercoat with Masked Circles and
Final Bulbs in Flat Black
Repainted Light Shrouds and Projector
Light in Sleepy Eye Mode
Projector Lights fully open (Click on
Pictures to Enlarge)
The Tranny Cooler was an easy install, but flushing the transmission proved
to be a challenge. I had assumed that the cooling loop would suck fresh
fluid out of a bucket, but I ended up having to top up the transmission through
the dipstick tube. And, as you can tell from the floor, the funnel wasn't
actually in the dipstick tube for about 5 quarts...
I bought 4 tires and rims with the car. When I got them home two of the
tires were in rough shape, and all 4 tires and rims had overspray everywhere.
To solve this problem I mounted 2 new tires and balanced all 4. Flat black
paint fixed the overspray on the 2 remaining tires. After a lot of sanding
I undercoated the rims with a reflective silver, and then applied 2 coats of
Metallicast Anodized Charcoal paint. The final touch was masking and
spraying the rim edge in reflective silver.
With the smaller tires installed for the winter the front nose really sat
low and hit any time I went into a driveway. I installed stock struts for
the winter and the front now sits a bit higher, and it takes the bumps a little
smoother too.
I had about 3-1/2 Inches Clearance
Before, and it now sits at about 4-1/2 Inches
The grey dash was partially painted black when I bought the car. After
cleaning with alcohol and masking, I gave it 2 coats of Satin Black vinyl paint.
There are some fish eyes in the finished paint in the left corner which I'll fix
in the spring once it warms up.
You can see the grey partially painted
dash
Painted Satin Black the dash looks a
lot cleaner now
Painted Dash Parts
and Installed Console -
MetalCast Anodize-Look Charcoal
Charcoal over
Reflective Silver for Trim/Vent Rings, and directly over Black for Center
Console
5V USB Power Hub under dash for
charging PDA, GPS and other USB Accessories
Sony Xplod Hi-Power CD
with integrated XM Satellite Radio and Sub Output Control
(PDA plays MP3s, Phone
Calls and TomTom Navigation Voice through stereo)
Sony 3-Way 6x9
speakers installed in custom larger cut-outs in rear.
