1984 "Rustang" GT (Slow Build)

[WallaceMFG]

Hello everyone!

I'm going to start this off by saying this will probably be one of the slower builds on this website. I've been out of school less than 2 years, and have done many things that eat up money like buying a house, new cars, etc... As a result, I don't have as many funds to devote to this project as I would like at the moment. However, this has also dictated the way I am building this car, and I'm confident that given my education and abilities I will be able to make a good performing vehicle. While this is a budget build right now, i will not skimp on safety items, and as more funds become available the project will improve.

Now, some background on the car. It is a 1984 Mustang GT, 5 Speed with T Tops! A friend of my dads bought this car back in in 1986 when it was only 2 years only and had about 20k miles on it. He was in school at the time, and he drove it for the next 9 years and put about 100k on the clock. In 1995 or 1996, he stopped driving the car because it was difficult and expensive to find tires for it (I'll explain later), so he parked the car and got something else to replace it. The car then proceeded to sit outside for the next 21 years in the Arizona sun, and the results are predictable.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39878539905_bb50439bf9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23KVWyR)20160827_075050 (https://flic.kr/p/23KVWyR) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

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This is slightly sad, because the car was in good running shape when it was parked, if it had only been in a garage it would look great! Anyways, I was offered the car for cheap and couldn't say no since I was in the market for a project of some kind. $1000 later, I was the proud new owner of what my co-worker dubbed "The Rustang".


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And thus, the project began.

In my next posts I will be recapping what has been done to the car in the past 1.5 years since I bought it. Once I'm caught up to present I will be posting as things happen!

Thanks for checking it out!

[WallaceMFG]

Myself and a friend went to drag the Rustang home from its resting place. We got it back to my parents house and hosed off most of the dirt that had built up. Since the car had been running when it was parked, we decided that we should try to get it running. So we headed to Napa for a battery and a serpentine belt to get it going. We installed both of those items, but the car would not turn over with the key. I used a jumper wire on the Ford starter relay, and the motor started cranking with good speed, so we assumed that something was wrong with the ignition switch.

As it turns out, Fox Body Mustangs had a recall on them because the ignition switches had a tendency to fall apart, which mine had done. My car had been parked for so long it wasn't in the DMV computer when the recall was sent. Here's a picture of what I found when I pulled the column over off. The new switch is on the right for comparison.

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Once that was replaced, the car would crank with the key like it should. So we made sure it was full of oil, poured some gas in the carb, and filled the radiator with water. And after 20 years of sitting, the car fired up like it had only been a day. I was cheering, until I saw the puddle of water forming under the car and the squealing sound started under the hood. The puddle under the car was caused by the steel freeze plugs that had rusted until they were paper thin. The squealing I thought came from the alternator, but closer inspection showed that it was actually the belt on the water pump pulley, the pump would not turn.

So I was still happy, but I knew the motor would have to come out to replace those freeze plugs. I was ok with this, the motor was a mess and I wanted to clean it anyways.

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So, I towed the car to my house in Yuma and proceeded to pull the motor out.

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More coming soon!

[WallaceMFG]

Once I got the motor out, I decided that while it was out I would give it a quick go through and re-gasket it so it wouldn't leak everywhere, it is a Ford after all lol.

Everything on the top end was looking pretty good for having 125K on it. However, I was a little worried but the amount of junk in the thermostat opening.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40774148541_2db6c4fa0d_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2585aP4)20160920_064457 (https://flic.kr/p/2585aP4) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

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This was where things took a slight turn for the worse. Please, if a car is going to be parked, make sure the cooling system is drained so this doesn't happen to somebody down the road. On the plus side, I figured out why the water pump would not turn. I also managed to snap off several of the water pump bolts while I was at it, they were frozen in place.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40732525352_7c791ab103_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/254oQFS)20160920_182556 (https://flic.kr/p/254oQFS) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

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After about 4 hours of fire, hammers, and vise grips I was able to get the timing cover off. Funny thing is once the cover was off the bolts turned out by hand, they were seized in place by the bolts rusting in the housing and expanding. I did manage to break the cover getting it off, so I added that to the list of replacement parts needed.

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[WallaceMFG]

I continued with the engine teardown, and at this point nothing had thrown a red flag aside from the water pump.

Valvetrain was in good shape. I kept it organized as I planned on putting it back in.

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The heads followed shortly, they needed a good cleaning and some valve seals.

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And finally only the rotating assembly was left. Since the motor didn't smoke when I ran it, I just wanted to check the #8 rod & #5 main bearings for wear before I cleaned it up and put it back together.

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This was the final red flag for this engine. The crank was not the worst I had ever seen, some very fine grooves on the rod end. The main looked smooth.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39880457685_3c9c09c077_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23L6LE2)20161108_173817 (https://flic.kr/p/23L6LE2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

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However, the bearings told a different story...

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This is when I told myself I couldn't put this engine back in as it was and be happy with myself. So, I took the pistons & crank out to see about getting the block machined.

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[Twentyover]

Man- I haven't seen a TRX wheel in years- Does Michlin even make TRX tires anymore?

[cpd004]

Absolutely love these early fox body Mustangs! IMO, you got a great project car to start with for the money. I'd take one in a 'heartbeat'. How are the floors?

[WallaceMFG]

Man- I haven't seen a TRX wheel in years- Does Michlin even make TRX tires anymore?

In short, no. Coker Tire bought all of the stock Michelin had when they stopped production and has been selling them since then. Now you can buy 30 year old tires for the low price of $300 each! lol



Absolutely love these early fox body Mustangs! IMO, you got a great project car to start with for the money. I'd take one in a 'heartbeat'. How are the floors?

Thanks! The floors are solid, this is a true Arizona car, the rust is limited to surface rust from the burned up paint. The body is straight aside from the usual dents & dings from the years.

[cbpldc]

I'd think at this point, you've got some really good head, cam and intake options, and while you've got the rotating assembly out, you could do a 331. Then paint it up to look original and put it under the OG air cleaner.

[WallaceMFG]

At this time I set about seeing what my options for rebuilding the engine were. Yuma does not have much to offer in terms of machine shops compared to other places, but there are 3 in town. I selected one and took my engine down for them to take a look at. They looked it over and said it was not in bad shape, but couldn't say if they would need to bore it or not. With a quote in hand, I started to weigh all of the options. In then end, I found a new motor for less than it would have cost to machine my current engine.

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The engine came out of a 87 Mustang. Being from an 87, it has the stronger block casting, roller cam provisions, and came with forged pistons from the factory. The guys I got it from had pulled it from the car his son wrecked and got it machined, planning to build a Cobra kit car. It then sat for almost as long as my car did. I got the motor and set about cleaning it up. The guy had the block tanked, new cam bearings, and cylinders honed back in the sat. After a bit of cleanup effort, the block looked like it had survived its long wait. I polished the lifter valley, got the block painted up and stuck new freeze plugs in it.

The only part of the engine that was missing was the crank, he said he had sold it for some reason after he got it turned. So, I found a replacement crank and set about starting to build the engine.

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Needing to keep in my budget, I started looking for a cam. Part of the reason I had looked for a roller block was that there are more cams available for lower prices, and roller cams have many other benefits that made it worth it. After trolling Craigslist, I came across a guy with a Trick Flow Stage II cam that he had run in his drag car. He made 2 passes on the cam and decided it wasn't big enough for his engine, so he took it out. I got it for $50. Specs are .542 Intake / .563 Exhaust with 224/232 @0.050. Probably too big for my engine, but it was cheap.

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I installed it with stock type Ford lifter and dog bones. I had no idea if the cam would clear my pistons, but I would cross that bridge when I got to it.

[WallaceMFG]

The motor I bought came with the stock bottom end components, standard bore forged pistons. For the insurance, I took them to the machine shop and had ARP rod bolts installed so I knew the bottom end wouldn't come flying apart from the stock bolts failing. I cleaned up the pistons, they just had a bit of old carbon on them and I polished the tops while I was at it to help against any detonation.

A Comp double roller timing set joined the cam and crank together. Don't worry. the Fram was only there to keep dirt out of the engine, I'll never run one on any of my engines.

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Luckily, the engine came with the timing cover as well since I had broken the original trying to get it off. All I had to do was open up the hole for the fuel pump since it was blocked off for the injected engine. A website called LMR has a nice set of timing cover hardware made for them by ARP, since all my bolts were junk I got one, very glad I did.

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A new Melling oil pump went onto the bottom end. I went with a standard pump due to the tolerances my engine had when assembled, I didn't think a HV pump was necessary.

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For a bit of bling, I painted the original oil pan with wrinkle paint and used some stainless cap screws to hold it in place. A one piece pan gasket was used.

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Final part was the harmonic balancer from the new engine, it was in good shape. With that, the short block was complete.

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[WallaceMFG]

I'd think at this point, you've got some really good head, cam and intake options, and while you've got the rotating assembly out, you could do a 331. Then paint it up to look original and put it under the OG air cleaner.

It's on my agenda to do a stroker, just wasn't in the budget at the time. Some day I will though!

[WallaceMFG]

It was time for the engine to receive a top end. The stock E7TE heads that came with my engine were in rough shape, not sure why. ANd I wasn't even contemplating using the anemic E4 heads from my original motor. So, a trip to a salvage yard and $50 later I had these:

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A set of GT40P heads off a mid 90s Explorer. While it doesn't sound like much, they are actually the best flowing small block Ford heads to ever leave the factory aside from the Boss 302 Cleveland heads. Their Achilles heel is that the stock springs can only support a max of about .450 valve lift, which isn't good for anything performance oriented. Also, stock 5.0 Ford heads are pedestal mount rockers that use a wimpy 5/16" bolts and are known to snap with high lift. With help from a friend, I machined the heads to accept studs and guide plates so I could have a solid valve train.

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I gave them a coat of paint

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I pulled out all the valves and cleaned all the carbon of them.

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Once they were clean I lapped them all and installed them with my new spring package. Viton seals were used, and the springs were all shimmed so they had the correct installed height. Spring pack came from Alex's Parts, they're good to .580 lift and +230 duration. They use a special valve keeper for the exhaust valves unique to the GT40P since I didn't want to change valves. ARP studs & AFR guide plates were used.

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The heads were installed with Felpro gaskets. The only factor I couldn't measure was how far the pistons were in the hole, but based on all my other measurements and some internet research the engine should be right about 9.5:1 compression.

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And more used parts, a set of Ford Motorsport shorty headers I got from a co-worker. GT40P heads are notorious for having spark plug clearance problems, these are one of the known good headers. Who would have guessed, the Ford parts fit right! Headman & Hooker could learn a thing or two from them.

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[WallaceMFG]

Next steps for the engine was to complete the top end. For an intake I went with a Weiand Stealth because it fit my budget, and had the widest operating range of all the dual plane intakes I looked at. I got a set of Felpro intake gaskets that matched the GT40P heads nearly perfectly, but the fit on the intake left something to be desired. So I proceeded to port match the intake, and while I was at it did a mild porting job & smoothed the runners.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/38982774520_ca0ce86611_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22oLUJ5)20170520_104915 (https://flic.kr/p/22oLUJ5) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25921298057_14f4d8461b_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FuzqQ2)20170520_104956 (https://flic.kr/p/FuzqQ2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/38982773190_fa0d327529_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22oLUk9)20170520_105036 (https://flic.kr/p/22oLUk9) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40082905854_629afbe2c7_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244ZnrG)20170520_105040 (https://flic.kr/p/244ZnrG) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


To finish the valve train I got a set of Comp roller rockers. Not the best available, but they were reasonably priced and fit good. I checked my piston to valve clearance before the heads were put on for good and had tons of clearance, even with the big cam. I also had measured for the correct push rod length, and ordered some in the correct length from Trick Flow. I also splurged on ARP studs for the intake manifold.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39897912495_aebb5e3d65_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23MDen2)20170523_182123 (https://flic.kr/p/23MDen2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40082904944_2010fe50cc_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244Znb1)20170524_211723 (https://flic.kr/p/244Znb1) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39897910945_a95535e417_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23MDdUi)20170524_211735 (https://flic.kr/p/23MDdUi) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


To button up the engine, a Holley 600 & tall valve covers. I had planned on using the original valve covers that I cleaned up to match the oil pan, but they didn't clear the rockers.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40082903804_66b3f8e378_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/244ZmQm)20170524_213039 (https://flic.kr/p/244ZmQm) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The engine was now ready to go into the car!

[WallaceMFG]

After taking the time on the engine, I finally returned my attention to the rest of the car. In the interest of getting rid of the mess in the engine bay, I started by removing all of the emissions related equipment. Luckily for me, Yuma does not require emissions testing, so I'm free to do what I want!

Had to pull the fender off to get the emissions parts that were buried out there.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/26923480358_10a8c2c8fb_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H28SHd)20170509_205440 (https://flic.kr/p/H28SHd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/26923479938_b7bde26241_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H28SzY)20170511_065135 (https://flic.kr/p/H28SzY) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Firewall junk had to go.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40083567984_23b92dfe5f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2453LgJ)20170517_173711 (https://flic.kr/p/2453LgJ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Hard to tell, but I actually removed a lot of necessary parts. I treated the engine bay to a pressure washing to blast most of the crud off, and called it good enough. I elected not to paint it because I was not fully clearing the engine bay, so I couldn't reach everywhere with paint.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/26923479028_ab3d29d41e_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/H28Sjh)20170518_070645 (https://flic.kr/p/H28Sjh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The other big project I took on was to replace the heater core. When I was removing the engine, I tried to take off the heater lines, which succeeded in ripping out the hose ends. Getting to the heater core of a Fox Body involves removing the entire dash. I didn't take pictures of the whole process, but right about here I was asking myself what I had gotten myself into?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40793613271_37f1d8f5e8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/259MVZR)20170608_213407 (https://flic.kr/p/259MVZR) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


In the end, it went back together intact.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/40751601112_b7fa0a0501_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2565Bfh)20171005_210531 (https://flic.kr/p/2565Bfh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

[WallaceMFG]

Next step was to get the engine prepped to go in. I wanted to drop the engine in with all the accessories & starter already attached, so I installed them all onto the engine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959154437_6519d3bb82_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVsde)20170718_211958 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVsde) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The same co-worker that sold me the headers also let me have the x-pipe & trans cross member for a good price. Since my car was originally a single exhaust car, the cross member only had one bump in it for pipes to go and wouldn't work. The x-pipe took slight modification since his engine was a little different than mine. I cut one of the pipes & rotated it to line up better, then borrowed a friends welder and put it back together.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959151467_6cbfdd6555_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVrk2)20170718_211934 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVrk2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The next major thing to change was out back. Being a 1984 my car was too old to have the 8.8 rear axle from the factory, it had the old 7.5 that are notorious for exploding even with mild engines. It took me a couple weeks of trolling Craigslist, but I finally found a suitable axle and bought it. Much to my delight, the new 8.8 had 3.27 gears and a posi inside it already. I took some time to rattlecan rebuild it and shoved it under the car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959150337_1829500eb9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqZx)20170724_210125 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqZx) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39020572850_63edb61cc1_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22s7CRq)20170726_213106 (https://flic.kr/p/22s7CRq) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959149317_6a0dd215d2_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqFX)20170727_211452 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqFX) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


There were no brakes on the 8.8, and the old ones were shot, so I just put some stock replacement shoes on the axle and called it good for now. I also threw new pads in the front with new rubber lines. The master cylinder was also junk, and was replaced at this time.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959148407_5776aaf409_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqqg)20170731_193627 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVqqg) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Now, an issue that I knew early on reared it's head again, the wonderful TRX wheels. For those of you who don't know, in the 80's everybody thought the entire auto world was going metric, including wheels. So, they started making metric wheels & tires, Michelin being the main source of tires. This car was equipped with the TRX handling package, which meant if got the metric wheels. As it turns out, metric wheels & tires never caught on and the manufacturers returned to SAE sizes. It is nearly impossible to find tires for these wheels any more, Coker Tire was the only place I found, and they wanted $300 a piece for 20 year old tires.

So a solution was needed, and more Craigslist trolling resulted in a $40 set of 16" Pony wheels. They look like hell, so they fit the car perfectly right now. I threw on the cheapest tires I could get (not pictured) with intentions of burning them off for future plans.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/39020570780_6d22c7a061_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22s7CeJ)20170802_212006 (https://flic.kr/p/22s7CeJ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Now, the moment of truth had arrived, installing the engine. It dropped in with no fuss and looked slightly out of place compared to the unfinished engine bay, but that's how it is! The trans was installed from below, I put a new Ram HDX clutch in to connect the two along with new clutch cable, quadrant, and adjuster. Now just had to get it running!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/25959147257_4849a90666_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FxVq5r)20170803_200050 (https://flic.kr/p/FxVq5r) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

[WallaceMFG]

After getting the engine into it's new home, all the rest of the required components had to go in. The stock radiator was put in for now with plans on changing it in the future. I had a set of Accel Super Wires laying around that I built to fit my engine. The Holley carb that I had from our Chevelle went on, and I purchased a Pertronix Flame Thrower 3 distributor to make the spark. It is a ready to run distributor with a built in adjustable rev limiter, it's a very nice part for the money.

This picture is not the best, I cobbled the engine bay together just to get it to run. I went back later and cleaned it up.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/40697447314_1feae4a5a9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/251i4d7)20171215_182829 (https://flic.kr/p/251i4d7) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


After that, it was time to bring it to life. After 20+ years of sitting, it was running! I had only one slight hiccup with the power steering having air in the lines, but other wise it went well! I ran it for a while to break it in, then worked on getting it to idle. I was very pleased with how it sounded.


https://youtu.be/PZujZJfDRVI


Shortly after I got it running I was off for the Christmas holiday, so I loaded the car onto a trailer and drug it back to my parents house to make it road worthy. I fixed the power steering, solved an issue with the electrical system that wasn't letting it charge, stopped a fuel leak, and many more small tasks. Among those jobs, I got some mufflers to install. In keeping with my budget theme, I found a set of $50 Spintech mufflers on craigslist for a Fox Body. I welded some turn downs on them and got them in place. They were small so I expected the car to be loud, but it's actually not as much as I expected. It still has a rumble at idle, but has a nice crack when you wind it up.


https://youtu.be/iibSbwZ0iYc

Once all that was done, the car was safe to drive and I began to put miles on it. I even took it to a Friday Night Drag event at Wild Horse Pass (Firebird) just for fun. The car ran a 14.3 @103. Not the fastest there's ever been, I couldn't get the car to hook off the line with the cheap tires I put on it. But I had a good time and the car drove itself home after making about 10 passes, and I now have a baseline for the future.

More to come shortly, Phase 2 of the Rustang build is getting ready to start soon.

[cbpldc]

Excellent choice on the mufflers. Can't wait to see what's next.

Chris

[WallaceMFG]

Excellent choice on the mufflers. Can't wait to see what's next.

Chris

Thanks! It's hard to pick mufflers without hearing them in person before buying, but this time it worked out good!

[WallaceMFG]

Shortly after getting the car road worthy I began to improve the car. The original radiator that I had in the car began to leak as expected, so a new aluminum unit was purchased from LMR. Definitely a cheaper radiator, but for the price it is hard to beat.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/39606964100_98315cc409_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23kW3xo)20180326_195953 (https://flic.kr/p/23kW3xo) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I also inherited the Demon carb that we took off our Chevelle when we did the EFI conversion. I got it installed and am working on tuning it which I've never done before.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/39606967900_46b4304bbf_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23kW4EU)20180212_202839 (https://flic.kr/p/23kW4EU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I have even driven the Rustang to work a couple of times. For those that don't know I work for GM, so I get a lot of flack for having a Ford lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/27671705168_0f5636e9c0_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JafHSY)20180105_080544 (https://flic.kr/p/JafHSY) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


In the meantime, I began to collect parts for the Phase 1 upgrades. I purchased the entire suspension setup from a 95 Cobra Mustang to swap into my Rustang. This single purchase got me most of the items I need to do my 5 lug swap, I still need to get some Fox length axles and a few other parts. Wheels are the other big item I need to get, still not sure what I'm going to do at this point.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/40701333664_2bb4682f93_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/251CYu9)20180313_064020 (https://flic.kr/p/251CYu9) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/40701331174_8af0db0c59_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/251CXKd)20180313_064043 (https://flic.kr/p/251CXKd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The guy was even nice enough to get the rotors turned for me before I got it. Just need to clean them up and they're ready to go on.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/39606966540_ff16c56583_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23kW4gs)20180313_064025 (https://flic.kr/p/23kW4gs) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/39606965530_c3b2d1d9a9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23kW3Y3)20180313_064035 (https://flic.kr/p/23kW3Y3) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I'm currently working on powder coating the larger items like the Calipers & brackets. All the other items that were not getting coated were media blasted and coated with epoxy chassis paint. Things are starting to look good!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/40701328774_d0cfac3c11_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/251CX2Q)20180409_205218 (https://flic.kr/p/251CX2Q) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


At this point, the build thread is caught up to the present and the rate of updates will most likely slow down. I'm still gathering parts for Phase 1, and driving the car and enjoying it. I've done some other little things like remove the headliner and start to replace it. It had fallen down and was hitting me in the head while I was driving, not ok lol.

Thanks for stopping by!

[1tuff68]

Great work so far. The GT-40Ps are good heads for torque. I ran a set on a 331 I built for my '88GT and it was a really fun car to drive. I ran a TFS Stage 1 cam in that car and it put out enough power to be fun and got really great gas mileage - usually over 21 MPG even with city driving. Having said that, the P's ran out of breath above 5K rpm on that set up.

It should be really fun car to drive, and you can always add more power with a new set of TFS or AFR heads down the road.

Keep the updates coming

[WallaceMFG]

Great work so far. The GT-40Ps are good heads for torque. I ran a set on a 331 I built for my '88GT and it was a really fun car to drive. I ran a TFS Stage 1 cam in that car and it put out enough power to be fun and got really great gas mileage - usually over 21 MPG even with city driving. Having said that, the P's ran out of breath above 5K rpm on that set up.

It should be really fun car to drive, and you can always add more power with a new set of TFS or AFR heads down the road.

Keep the updates coming

Thanks! So far this is turning out to be a stout little engine. I figured when I built it there would be two outcomes, it would either run good or run like **** from the big cam.

I gave the 40Ps a mild port job before I installed them, but probably not enough to do anything major. That being said, this engine is running off the cam. That big TFS Stage 2 makes the bottom end below 2K non existent, but it is still pulling strong at 6400 when it hits the rev limiter. Part of me wants to spin it higher, but I'm afraid something bad might happen if I push it closer to 7K since it has a hydraulic cam.

My plan in the future is to eventually build a 363 for the car, but that's a long ways down the road from now. The Chassis & Suspension are up next!

[Z06killinSBF]

Loving it man, coming along nicely.

[WallaceMFG]

Loving it man, coming along nicely.

Thanks!


I've still been picking away at things on the Rustang as budget allows. Just for laughs, I had to get this:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/27875389818_3b471f6f77_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JtfEeh)20180423_170944 (https://flic.kr/p/JtfEeh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/41744432321_d80724bc87_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26AP8nK)20180423_194918 (https://flic.kr/p/26AP8nK) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


It's perfect!


I've been working on the brakes lately. I completely disassembled the calipers to powder coat them, and purchased rebuild kits. I don't have many pictures, but the rear calipers are a pain in the ass due to having the ebrake built in. I had to buy a special set of snap ring pliers to get them apart. I powdercoated them black, I will most likely paint them body color in the future when I paint the car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/39937018820_d2cc158bed_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23R6Ej1)20180422_161721 (https://flic.kr/p/23R6Ej1) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Up to this point, that was the extent of the progress. Until a random search on Craigslist ended up with these coming to me!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/27875388458_edb73643d9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JtfDPQ)20180424_203438 (https://flic.kr/p/JtfDPQ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/41744431141_07ba5dca6f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26AP82p)20180424_203431 (https://flic.kr/p/26AP82p) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/04/41744429401_b309908e7d_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26AP7vp)20180424_203444 (https://flic.kr/p/26AP7vp) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


They're a set of 95 Cobra R replica wheels in 17" x 9" for the front and 17" x 10.5" in the rear. These are the style of wheel I wanted, but I was just going to settle for 17" x 9" on all corners. I'll have to roll the fenders and probably massage the inner wheel well to make the rears fit, but it will be worth it! The wheels also came with tires to my delight, a set of 255/40R17 for the front that are brand new, and 275/40R17 for the rear that have about 75% life left. The fronts are Nankangs which I don't care for, but the rears are Nexxen which will be fine, they're both 340 TW. That will get me by until I can afford some better tires down the road.

Now to gather the rest of the parts I need to do the 5 lug swap!

[WeaponX_66]

Awesome story and Nice work! I love fox bodies. Subscribing....

[WallaceMFG]

All,

I've been picking away at the Rustang lately. I decided that it was too hot to drive the car without A/C, so I should use the time to see how all my suspension parts fit. I started on the front, peeling out all the original parts and fitting the SN95 Cobra parts. On the driver side I installed the SN95 control arm, and on the passenger side I left the Fox control arm to see how much it affected the front end fit. to simulate lowering springs I chopped about 1/2 of a coil from the originals and put them in. I'll get real springs later.

For those that don't know, there has been a lot of variation in Mustangs over the years. From 79-87 all V8 & I4 cars had the same K member and front suspension. Sometime around the 88 model year they changed the front K member for V8 cars to improve the geometry by increasing track width by 1". The SN95 Mustangs then used the same later V8 K member, but with 1.33" longer control arms for ~2.66" total track width increase over 88-93 Fox cars.. So, with my car being an early Fox with the 1" narrower K member, I should be able to run the longer SN95 control arms and only increase the track width by about 1.66" over a "Standard" Fox. This is what I plan to do pending wheel fitment.

Here's some pictures:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42836344662_089f46786c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28gisSA)20180605_212241 (https://flic.kr/p/28gisSA) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42836343732_55cb947340_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28gisAy)20180605_212245 (https://flic.kr/p/28gisAy) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42166217144_00daec1499_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27f5TiS)20180605_212304 (https://flic.kr/p/27f5TiS) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/29012442088_b3dbc81850_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LcJmfL)20180613_210102 (https://flic.kr/p/LcJmfL) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/29012501498_9979c39921_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LcJDV5)20180613_210053 (https://flic.kr/p/LcJDV5) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/29012442628_5200b717d9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/LcJmq5)20180613_203257 (https://flic.kr/p/LcJmq5) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Keep in mind, these pictures were taken before I started messing with camber adjustments. I still need to order CC plates, but that is another reason to change the arms. General consensus on the Mustang forums is that if I keep the stock arms I will only be able to get about 2* camber max, most people run at least 2.5* for track setups. With the SN95 arms I should be able to get much more, as well as helping front end grip with the wider track. I also plan on swapping the Cobra rack into my car to get better steering feel, and using the SN95 arms will help since I can just buy matching tie rods to connect the spindles.

Based on what I'm seeing, I think I will have enough wheel clearance to run the SN95 arms without issues. With the Fox arm the wheel is very close to rubbing the K member at lock, I would probably need to run at least a 1/4" spacer to fix that. I've been thinking about flaring the fenders, which would make the wheel clearance even better. But it's going to be a while before I would do that unless I had major rubbing issues.

I just received my new rear axle shafts and caliper mounts, so I need to get those in the car to see how the rears fit, I think it will be a bigger fight back there. Time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by! And if anybody has used Fox suspension parts let me know! There's still lots I need lol.

[frink84]

Thanks for stopping by! And if anybody has used Fox suspension parts let me know! There's still lots I need lol.

Nice build! I'll drop you a line with any spare parts I end up with, with my 88.

[blade]

Nice build, I like what you have done so far. I have an 85 that is in about the same shape as your car, I have owned it since 1990.

[WallaceMFG]

Nice build! I'll drop you a line with any spare parts I end up with, with my 88.

Thanks! Your car looks good too, and I'm sure it drives good with all those MM goodies on it. I'm jealous of the Torque Arm & Panhard you're getting, I'm going to need those in the future. And I'd appreciate that!



Nice build, I like what you have done so far. I have an 85 that is in about the same shape as your car, I have owned it since 1990.

Thanks! Truthfully, I wish mine was an 85, I like the front end much more on those. I've contemplated swapping to an 85-6 nose, but not sure if I'll go through with it or not. My nose piece is in really good shape, so there's not really a reason to get rid of it.


I've made some small progress the past few nights. I pulled the rear axles and got rid of all the drum brake components. I borrowed a ball joint press and got the lug studs pressed into the new 5 lug axles. These are special axles that are the correct length for a Fox Body, but have the SN95 flange for the 5 lugs and they are hub-centric with the SN95 brake rotor.

Once those were in I got them installed with the new brake caliper mounts I got from North Racecars. These allow me to run the Cobra brakes while retaining the Fox track width in the back. If I had used the SN95 axles and brackets the rear wheels would be pushed out .75" per side, and I'd have no chance of fitting those 10.5" wide wheels out back.


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42236182984_a40522ccd4_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27mgtHs)20180621_213525 (https://flic.kr/p/27mgtHs) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42236182274_9dff17c47d_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27mgtvd)20180621_213531 (https://flic.kr/p/27mgtvd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42053180815_5e49b51129_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2756xxD)20180621_213541 (https://flic.kr/p/2756xxD) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/42236180424_046085c0da_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/27mgsXj)20180621_213546 (https://flic.kr/p/27mgsXj) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Everything bolted up great, even the Ford Anti-Moan braces. Those are hard to find, I'm lucky the rear end I bought had them on it still. They keep the rear brakes from making moaning sounds when turning.

With the rotors being 11.65" out back, I now have larger rear brakes than the original front discs were. Easy to see why it was a little sketchy slowing down from 100+ mph at the drag strip lol.

I'm going to try to fit the wheels with the quad shocks in place first even though I'm sure they'll hit. I have also not cut the rear spring yet, I'm going to see what sort of clearances I have, then cut them and see where I end up. Rolling the fender lip is going to be required. I'll either cough up the money and buy the tool, or do it the ghetto way by cutting and hitting with a hammer. Time will tell.

More to come!

[WallaceMFG]

All,

Back with more updates!

I was able to get my wheels bolted up to see what I was up against to make the rear wheels fit. The first hurdle was the quad shocks, they would not fit either way so they had to go. That was the only hurdle! Other than the quad shocks, I have no interference to make the wheels fit. When I first bolted them on I left the rear springs alone, and the rear was jacked way up as I expected. I chopped 1.5 coils out of the rear springs for mock up and this is how it sits.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197136250_087f277945_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls6jA)20180624_204738 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls6jA) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197134210_4e24a2748a_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls5Hq)20180624_204749 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls5Hq) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197132510_e4bb5d793b_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls5d7)20180624_204756 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls5d7) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197129840_45a67b736b_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls4q5)20180624_204813 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls4q5) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Rear mud flap is no longer functional lol

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197127960_d6b4e15b8f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls3RE)20180624_204817 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls3RE) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I'm very happy with how things are looking. The tires are in the prefect spot in the wheel well for clearance. I still need the fender lip rolled and a small spot massaged to make me feel better, but other wise it is good. Both fender lips are sitting at 26" from the ground, I think the car could go a little lower and I'd be ok. Getting excited to drive it!

I also started swapping my rear wing. I grabbed a wing off a 91 GT for cheap, it looks much better to me than the stock wing. Will need a few holes drilled to fit right.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197124030_15c5c4b801_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls2FU)20180624_210346 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls2FU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197126080_7d0ebf1729_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls3if)20180624_210338 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls3if) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Love how it's looking!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/06/41197138230_896ec560ba_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls6UJ)20180624_204720 (https://flic.kr/p/25Ls6UJ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

More updates to come!

[frink84]

be prepared to do some massaging of the inner fender, and rolling of the outer fenders to live with the 10.5's out back. i ran 17x10.5 bullitts for a while and it rubbed on driveways and anything that would flex the rear, but i was running lower than you at the time.

[WallaceMFG]

be prepared to do some massaging of the inner fender, and rolling of the outer fenders to live with the 10.5's out back. i ran 17x10.5 bullitts for a while and it rubbed on driveways and anything that would flex the rear, but i was running lower than you at the time.

I've planned on rolling the fender lips ever since I started looking for new wheels. I originally planned on just putting 17 x 9 out back, but I couldn't pass these ones up. I'm going to order a fender roller soon and give them the treatment. I'll go around with the BFH and make sure everywhere else is good too. I don't think I'll go much lower, maybe 1/2". Roads in Yuma can be a little rough, I'd like to keep a bit of extra wheel travel available for that.

[blade]

I don't know if you have changed out the bushing or replaced the rear arms yet, with the factory parts and no quad shocks wheel hop was horrible on my 85.

[rchaskin]

I'm no Ford guy....But if I was, I would have a Four Eyed Fox!! :secret:

[WallaceMFG]

I don't know if you have changed out the bushing or replaced the rear arms yet, with the factory parts and no quad shocks wheel hop was horrible on my 85.

I have not replaced them yet, but they are on the list to be replaced. Keeping my eye out for sales so I can grab a set of tubular arms for a good price.

[WallaceMFG]

Not much progress has been made lately. It is the middle of the monsoon season here in AZ, which means it has been in the 110* range with 30-50% humidity every day. I've been picking away at the Rustang, but this weather takes a toll on you.

I went with a Summit brand proportioning valve. Purely a penny pinching decision, but it will work just fine. I've had really good luck with Summit branded parts before.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/43865081162_1d7b5b7359_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd1oN)20180730_190231 (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd1oN) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I got my Maximum Motorsport Caster/Camber plates. I had purchased a set of SVE plates that were cheaper, but due to poor quality control they were junk and I exchanged them for these. The only reason I went with the SVE parts in the first place is they came in a kit with my lowering springs. The MM plates are better in every single way possible.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/43865082072_ef6d423a78_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd1Eu)20180730_190225 (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd1Eu) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


More Craigslist trolling came across this as well. It is a factory hood from a 1983 Fox GT. It is exactly the same as mine, except for the obvious power bulge. I had always wanted the hood bulge, but never thought I would find one, they seem to be more rare than diamond. The one I got is in great shape, the hood is nearly perfect. This will most likely not go onto the car until I paint it down the road. I plan to make it functional to allow heat to escape from under hood.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/28976646977_c015967d64_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/L9yTBF)20180722_184920 (https://flic.kr/p/L9yTBF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/43865083242_7697e3fe01_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd21E)20180722_184915 (https://flic.kr/p/29Qd21E) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


For other progress, I now have the lowering springs that can be installed. I have been working on the front control arms replacing the bushings and ball joints. I had a bit of a hold up, the control arms I got were from an 04 Mustang and had the "Hydro" bushings, and I had purchased the non-Hydro bushings. Simple fix, the new bushings should be here at the end of the week. Once I have those, the car is ready to be put back on the ground aside from the rear control arms that need changed.

I also ordered a u-joint for the steering shaft to get rid of the rag joint. I also needed to change the end of the shaft to match the Sn95 Cobra rack, so it was an easy decision.

As usual, I will keep posting progress as it happens. Hopefully the hot weather will break soon and I can do more outside.

[1tuff68]

Great project! My son and I are doing the same things to the '86 GT T-Top we are restoring for his high school car. We are in Mesa

[WallaceMFG]

Great project! My son and I are doing the same things to the '86 GT T-Top we are restoring for his high school car. We are in Mesa

Thanks! I'm jealous of your 86, except for the EFI. I'm glad I don't have to deal with Ford EFI on mine lol

Where in Mesa are you at? I grew up on Lindsay & McKellips. I'm in Mesa pretty often still, it would be fun to meet up sometime!

[WallaceMFG]

Hello all,

No major updates today. A combination of weather and work hasn't let me make much progress on the Rustang for a while. We are currently in the process of tearing down the shop at my parents house to modify and rebuild it, so I've been going back to Mesa a lot to work on that. Also, it is still monsoon season so the humidity makes it miserable to be outside.

I did get the control arms rebuilt. They just got a quick sand blast, fresh paint, new ball joints, and Ploy bushings. I took the time to trim the bushings, out of the box the Polyt insert is too long and would cause binding if installed. I got them trimmed down to the proper length and installed them. Should pick up at least 8 HP for them being red.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/44026362072_7af5b7c180_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2a5sBA9)20180815_204213 (https://flic.kr/p/2a5sBA9) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Other than that, I was changing out the steering rack. I need to get the steering shaft out and mocked up with the new U Joint for final welding. Pictures of that process to come once I get it out.

Thanks for stopping by!

[WallaceMFG]

Been away for a while, had a lot going on in life and had to devote time/funds to other aspects of life. Now that the weather has cooled and things have settled a bit I was able to devote time to the Rustang.

I got the steering shaft modified. Don't have any before pictures, but here's a short rundown of what was done. Removed old shaft, cut off adapter for the rag joint, shorten shaft ~3/8". Mock up in car with new joint and make sure rack & steering wheel are centered. Tack weld, then give to missile welder friend to make sure it won't fail. Add some paint, and here's the result. Now I can run any SN95 rack in the car, I may upgrade to an 03/04 Cobra rack down the road, it is generally held to be the best rack for a Fox/SN95 cars.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/31043129398_9b928b2a4c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Pib9QW)20180924_181535 (https://flic.kr/p/Pib9QW) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/44003444115_c3db684a0b_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2a3r9SX)20180924_181539 (https://flic.kr/p/2a3r9SX) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I got back to work last night and started getting the front end together. I got the SN95 rack installed, which is a tricky job by yourself to line everything up. Got it torqued down, then remembered the LCAs have to be put in first since the rack blocks the front bolts. Oops. I was able to just loosen the rack and it moved enough to get the arms in and torqued. I'm glad I took the time to trim the bushings, the arms move freely with no binding.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/31043127758_2ebdbf3e00_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Pib9mE)20180925_072828 (https://flic.kr/p/Pib9mE) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/44003443005_e5641d0b3d_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2a3r9xP)20180925_072817 (https://flic.kr/p/2a3r9xP) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I got sidelined here, I went to install the spindles and don't have the correct size socket for the nuts. I don't have a crescent wrench large enough either, so I was stuck. I took the time to hook the power steering lines back up and got the car to run for the first time in several months. It felt good to hear it rumbling again.

I'm going to run by the store tonight and get a few supplies, then I should be able to make more progress. Finally getting close to being driveable.

More on it's way!

[WallaceMFG]

Nothing major to show today. Got the front end assembled minus the tie rods. Turns out the SN95 tie rods were too long for me because of the narrow K member. It is an easy fix, the tie rods for a 93 Taurus are the same thread as the SN95 ones, just shorter. So a pair of those are on the way and the front end will be close to done.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/31057877598_39e2af10a0_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PjtJYf)20180925_211137 (https://flic.kr/p/PjtJYf) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/29994227247_0327934d57_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MGufM6)20180925_211141 (https://flic.kr/p/MGufM6) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/09/31057876228_50d76087e3_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PjtJyC)20180925_211153 (https://flic.kr/p/PjtJyC) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I've got everything else I need to put the front together. My steering rack has a small leak from one of the fittings, I'm going to pull it off and put a new seal on it. I should have done that when it was out but they looked ok so I left them. I also have a fender roller on the way so I can get the lips rolled to clear the tires. Fun stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

[WallaceMFG]

Got some time this weekend to work on the car and made good progress.

I was able to get the leaking fitting replaced on the steering rack, put a new teflon washer and o-ring on it. Haven't run the car again, but I hope it's fixed.

Otherwise I got the rest of the front end put together.
The wheel hubs were torqued down with new nuts and dust covers installed.
Rotors got cleaned up and the caliper brackets were installed.
It took me a bit to get the calipers installed, they were apart when I got them so I hadn't seen how they were supposed to go together. Once google schooled me on how to install, the calipers went on and I got the new brake lines hooked up.
Stab bar went in with new end links.

Here's how it looks!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30100085757_0a6e60e09e_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MRQNPP)20180929_104218 (https://flic.kr/p/MRQNPP) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/31163348948_709f46e035_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiVN)20180929_104223 (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiVN) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I put the front wheels on a lowered the car down to get a look at how it sits. I'm pleased to say the least.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/31163348198_d1158de8bf_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiGS)20180929_111446 (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiGS) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/31163346868_ec7f0beec9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiiW)20180929_111513 (https://flic.kr/p/PtNiiW) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


It sits right about where it did with the cut stock springs. I'll give them some time to settle, and if I'm not happy with them after that I'll cut them a bit. Probably less than 1/2 of a coil if any.

I also started working on rolling the fender lips. I got the left rear fender mostly done, just needs some finishing work.

Otherwise, I need to get the rear brackets painted and I can get the rear brakes together. I still need to make the new brake line for the axle to get the SN95 flex line to work. Should not be a big job, just need to get it done.

I also got the prop valve installed, only took about 5 minutes. Probably the easiest part of the whole swap.

Going on vacation for about a week, but will be able to make good progress when I return! We're about to get hit with the remnants of Hurricane Rosa, and once that is passed the days of 100*+ high temps are over for the year. It's actually 76* and raining right now, beautiful outside!

[Z06killinSBF]

Coming along nicely, can you post the PN for that steering coupler? I am wanting to replace the rag joint on my 89.

[WallaceMFG]

Coming along nicely, can you post the PN for that steering coupler? I am wanting to replace the rag joint on my 89.

Thanks!

It's a Borgeson 015564. 3/4" smooth on one side, 3/4" Mustang V on the other side.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/brg-015564

Keep in mind this is for an SN95 rack swap, it will not fit a Fox rack. You'll need one of these if you keep the Fox rack:

Borgeson 013449. 3/4" Smooth, 3/4" -36 spline.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/brg-013449


I cut off the old rag joint adapter without shortening the shaft first, but it was too long and cause interference with the joint. So I chopped about 3/8" off and it was perfect. Might want to double check that if you have a different K member though.

Speaking of upgrades, do you have any info on the 6G alt swap? I can't seem to find much. Considering mine has a 1G alt, I could use the upgrade.

[Z06killinSBF]

I got the 6g for my car second hand new, but I just bought a harness for it and followed a write up on Corral or somewhere. Basically one of the factory connectors gets tucked back, the other gets spliced into the 6G and then a large power cable run to the starter relay. Super easy

Edit: I think I used this

https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/6g-alternator-installed.761643/

[WallaceMFG]

I got the 6g for my car second hand new, but I just bought a harness for it and followed a write up on Corral or somewhere. Basically one of the factory connectors gets tucked back, the other gets spliced into the 6G and then a large power cable run to the starter relay. Super easy

Edit: I think I used this

https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/6g-alternator-installed.761643/

Thanks for the info. Long story short, I'm looking into building/having built billet accessory brackets, and the more info I can give them about different options will help them make good parts. Most likely they will design for the 3G alt since it is the most common upgrade, but then the 6G will clear no issue.

[WallaceMFG]

Made some more progress the past few days.

After a couple hours of drilling, swearing, and hitting I got the 93 Cobra brake booster installed. It was definitely a tight fit like many forums claimed it would be. But, it's in and that's all that matters. Ready to get an MC and get the lines finished up.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/45388355831_b8dd51568d_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c9PbTa)20181016_203509 (https://flic.kr/p/2c9PbTa) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I also decided it would be easier to work on the rear of the car if the diff was out of my way, so out it came again. I needed the room to get the new rear brake line made and installed.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/44474263795_b6b44cfa7c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2aL3eaD)20181016_203520 (https://flic.kr/p/2aL3eaD) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I got the old axle bushings pressed out, they weren't in very good shape. However, when I tried to install the new ones I couldn't get the ball joint press into a spot to push them in all the way. So I ordered a Maximum Motorsport install tool, it should be delivered today. I'll get those pushed in, then I can work on the brake line.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/45388353281_3cf6ec16bd_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c9Pb8c)20181016_203529 (https://flic.kr/p/2c9Pb8c) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The rear caliper brackets from North Racecars were bare metal, so they got a coat of paint. I've become a big fan of the VHT Chassis & Rollbar Epoxy paint. It always comes out with a nice finish, and seems to be durable. The rear brake lines need to be cleaned up, then they are ready to go on the diff when the bushings are in.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/45337478412_0e0d0559f2_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2c5jqNh)20181016_203537 (https://flic.kr/p/2c5jqNh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


That's all for now, planning to spend some time tonight in the garage to get more stuff done. I'm getting excited to drive it again!

[Josh@Ridetech]

Haha, I remember cussing a little bit when I was putting the Cobra booster in my car. They're definitely tight in there... but it's worth it!

[WallaceMFG]

Haha, I remember cussing a little bit when I was putting the Cobra booster in my car. They're definitely tight in there... but it's worth it!

Tight was an understatement for this car haha. Apparently the shock towers are different between the 4 eye and aero cars making the fit harder for the 4 eyes. I had to hammer the shock tower, cut the studs shorter, and drill the holes in the firewall bigger to get it in.


I was able to get the rear brake line made up last night. Nothing too hard, just needed to convert from the old single exhaust line to the new line for the cobra brakes. Not the prettiest line there has ever been, don't flame me too hard lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/44684412894_075883bcea_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BiaY)20181017_201850 (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BiaY) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Since my car did not have dual exhaust as an option, there were no holes for the bracket to bolt in. I put the axle back in the car with the brake line so I could see where it needed to sit, then marked and drilled. I opted to tap the holes rather than rivet since I don't have a rivet gun handy.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/44684411854_3eb04de3d6_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BhS3)20181017_201855 (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BhS3) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I used the old fitting I took out when the prop valve went in to connect the lines. That was a nice time saver, it was the same size as the old rear brake outlet and the new line.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/31533736848_5e2abfff48_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q3wDm5)20181017_201858 (https://flic.kr/p/Q3wDm5) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I need to clean up the rear brake lines better, they still look pretty dirty. Might just paint them and be done.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/44684410394_d0f2ebd681_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BhqS)20181017_201905 (https://flic.kr/p/2b5BhqS) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The diff is back under the car at this time. I need to finish a few things, but I think the springs are ready to go in and get the axles back in. Might be sitting on all four wheels next week!

[frink84]

it looks like you still have the factory "dogbone" on the front of the diff. you can unbolt it as its a factory NVH piece that doesn't do much on a modified car.

[WallaceMFG]

it looks like you still have the factory "dogbone" on the front of the diff. you can unbolt it as its a factory NVH piece that doesn't do much on a modified car.

Yes, it is still on there. I've seen that many people take it off, but I had never researched it's purpose to see what removal would do. I'll probably take it off now, save some weight. Thanks for the tip!

[WallaceMFG]

Made some progress lately, but nothing major. I got the rear end back into the car and I got the new lowering springs into the car. They went in without any issues, although I had to use some of the old spring isolators like I did on the front. The poly ones that came with the springs are simply too thick to get in without a spring compressor or cutting the springs. So I compromised and put the new one on the bottom and old on the top.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/45487528792_4bffd4bc00_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ciztxN)20181023_205021 (https://flic.kr/p/2ciztxN) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The rear brake lines are fully installed now. I had to drill the axle for the mounting bolts, but luckily I have the SN95 axle sitting in the garage I can measure from. Measure twice, drill once, and they come out where they should lol. The rear shocks are in really bad shape and need replaced, I just haven't gotten them yet. My wedding is coming up in a couple weeks, so money and time are a little scarce at the moment haha.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30597116007_8b89bb8ca8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NBLdAT)20181023_205027 (https://flic.kr/p/NBLdAT) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


More of the same on this side. Once the springs were in, I got the caliper mounting brackets installed and put on the rear dust shields. Hopefully the axles will go in tonight and I can get the rear end buttoned up.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30597115037_5159d6ac8c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NBLdja)20181023_205043 (https://flic.kr/p/NBLdja) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I'm really looking forwards to driving it again. Just need some rear brake pads and a MC plus a weekend of work and it could be driving again! Oh and I guess I should probably get an alignment done, that's kinda important.

[frink84]

FYI if your rear ride height isn't even once you get it on the floor, ensure the pigtails on the springs are pointing the same direction. one of the downsides of conventional rear springs in foxes.

[Sbeck09]

Since you're "local" (I am in north Phoenix) I had to stop and say this is pretty cool. Great looking progress without throwing the checkbook at it.

Planning to do any driving events with it next year? I'm hoping to be doing shakedown runs by late spring with my project.

[WallaceMFG]

FYI if your rear ride height isn't even once you get it on the floor, ensure the pigtails on the springs are pointing the same direction. one of the downsides of conventional rear springs in foxes.

Thanks for the heads up. I think they're aligned, I moved them after this picture was taken because one of the isolators was a little out of place. I'll check them and make adjustments if needed.

I'll be curious to see how it sits, I never installed these springs during test fitting, just used the stock cut ones.

[WallaceMFG]

Since you're "local" (I am in north Phoenix) I had to stop and say this is pretty cool. Great looking progress without throwing the checkbook at it.

Planning to do any driving events with it next year? I'm hoping to be doing shakedown runs by late spring with my project.


Thanks! I was born and raised in Mesa, the relocation to Yuma was only about 2 years ago. That's been the goal of this project from day one was to keep it affordable for now. I've got big plans in the future (hint-Terminator swap), but it will be a while before I get there.

I'm hoping to run some SCCA events soon. The tricky part will be where to run. Marana is a really good place, no issues there. Since Bondurant is in bankruptcy, nobody has any idea what will happen there and if we can keep using their pads to race. AMP is a good location, but the noise restriction is a problem, my car is way too loud. Even our Chevelle that has big mufflers on it failed and it took some work to get it to pass. I even thought of running Good Guys even though I don't like their courses, but my wedding is that weekend so no chance there haha.

So long story short, I am definitely going to try to run some events. Just need to sort out the details. It would be nice if I could get an event setup in Yuma, wouldn't have to travel so far.

[WallaceMFG]

Still making small progress. The goal last night was to get it ready to roll the other fender lip by the end of the night. for once, I made a goal haha.

I got the axles installed and got the diff sealed back up. The brake rotors were cleaned up and put back on. They may need to be turned/replaced in the future, I'll see how they drive first. I also got the caliper brackets assembled with new pins and seals. Just need a set of brake pads and I can install the calipers. I'm going to have to wait on the E brake cables until a later date, but they won't stop the car from driving.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30627979987_6ccf15e8f3_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NEupot)20181025_210529 (https://flic.kr/p/NEupot) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/45518669422_f50ae04d7f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2cmk5zd)20181025_210533 (https://flic.kr/p/2cmk5zd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30627978897_74c7b463a2_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NEup4F)20181025_210545 (https://flic.kr/p/NEup4F) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I'll see how things go this weekend if any progress can be made. If all else fails, I'll get stuff done next week.

[WallaceMFG]

Well, the Rustang is finally back in one piece again! I forgot to grab some pictures, but I got the rear calipers installed with new pads. I'll say one thing, those e brake lever springs are no joke. I about killed myself a few times trying to get those back on. I got all the brake lines sealed up and got the diff filled with fluid.

I threw the wheels on and set it on the ground just to see how it looked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/43833081020_5f78a434df_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29MnZSd)20181030_073000 (https://flic.kr/p/29MnZSd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


It's sitting a little higher in the rear than it did with the cut springs. As I stated before, I'm going to drive the car before doing any adjustments. Excuse the messy garage, that it the next job after getting the car driving.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30711366777_b06e1d4e88_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NMRMnK)20181030_073009 (https://flic.kr/p/NMRMnK) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

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I got the new master cylinder installed. I used the one from a 94-95 Mustang Cobra since it is what the brakes came off of. My calculations show a pedal effort ratio of 15.29, which puts it right in the middle of the OEM window (13-17). I was able to reuse all the lines from the old M/C, I just had to cut off the ends and put new tube nuts on. Maximum Motorsport sells nice little adapter pieces that adapt from the bubble flare fittings on the M/C to standard inverted flare which I used.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/43833080150_f8ccd285ff_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29MnZBd)20181031_073214 (https://flic.kr/p/29MnZBd) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/10/30710270077_d77602782e_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NMLan8)20181031_073219 (https://flic.kr/p/NMLan8) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Tonight I hopefully can wrap up the few loose ends and get a test drive! Need to get the Fiance to help bleed the brakes. I found the rear E brake cable guides are too long for Fox length axles, they need to be massaged to fit. And the front fenders need rolled still. I've got the alignment close enough to drive around the neighborhood and get to an alignment shop. Hopefully I survive the maiden voyage!

[WallaceMFG]

Well, the Rustang survived it's first trip around the neighborhood! It was definitely sketchy, and more work needs to be done, but I'm happy! The alignment is way off, I probably have almost 1/2" toe in, and no idea where the camber/caster are. I'm going to run the toe out before I try to test drive it again.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/11/43867182330_7f6cd428b8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29QoLZQ)20181101_175338 (https://flic.kr/p/29QoLZQ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Currently, the ride height is not where I'd like it. The front fender lip is 25" from the ground, and the rear lip is 27". When I had the cut springs in the car, it sat at about 26" front & rear and looked great. You can see the difference in this picture.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/11/30744442847_e849651ac4_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NQMiJP)20181101_175350 (https://flic.kr/p/NQMiJP) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The front definitely needs to come up, even with my fenders rolled the front tires are rubbing. I can gain a bit if I take the springs out and put the thicker isolators in the front, that might gain 1/2" or more. I'm hoping with some more camber the clearance will improve, but I'm going to have to do more work to the fender lip. I'm not ready to cut and put flares on the fenders, so I'll beat on the fender more and see if I can get it out of the way.

The rear needs to come down, so trimming a bit off the springs looks to be in order. I'll focus on the front first then worry about the back.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/11/43867181720_c29a6921a8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29QoLPj)20181101_180613 (https://flic.kr/p/29QoLPj) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/11/30744440957_6f254ed6f4_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NQMibe)20181101_184833 (https://flic.kr/p/NQMibe) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Overall, happy it drives, now I can work on the details!

[WallaceMFG]

Well, some progress is better than none!

Been really busy lately, I just got married on the 17th to my partner in crime, and I couldn't be happier! Obviously due to the wedding I've not worked on the Rustang for several weeks. But I finally got some time and was able to make some things happen in the garage.

I ordered E Brake cables during the Black Friday sales, so those went in the car first. No fuss there aside from getting the cables into the calipers, a little tough.

Up front I messed with the alignment, I ran the toe out so it looks normal and not majorly toed in. I also gave it a little more camber and caster, but without knowing where the car is at I didn't want to push it. Also, I pulled the front springs out to see what I could do to lift the front end up. I put in the thicker isolators that came with the lowering springs and added a piece of rubber to the bottom of the spring to make it a hair longer. After all was said and done, it lifted the front of the car about 5/8". Not quite as much as I wanted, but it is better than before. The fenders still need work to clear without hitting, I will pull them off the car to sort them out.

I drove it around the neighborhood again and it was much more pleasant!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/12/45470099124_9c1e397155_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ch39jh)20181204_173259 (https://flic.kr/p/2ch39jh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/12/44377145250_e3ef78afa4_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2aBstcY)20181204_173304 (https://flic.kr/p/2aBstcY) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/12/45470098124_ed3a4bff02_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ch3923)20181204_173333 (https://flic.kr/p/2ch3923) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


So the next steps to come:
1. Clearance front fenders
2. Alignment
3. Cut rear springs to drop rear end
4. Adjust carb. Thing runs rich at idle (13:1), but majorly lean at WOT (16:1). I'm guessing bigger secondary jets will help the WOT AFR.
5. Finish up interior repairs

That's all I've got for now. Hoping to be driving the car again soon now that the weather is really nice!

[frink84]

one thing to pay attention to on the front fenders, i believe there is a screw right at the top of the fender holding the splash shield in. make sure you remove that screw before attempting to roll the fenders or anything else.

is the rub on the fender lip itself? i would also check the spats on the bottom of the front part of the fender. those can be liberally trimmed without really affecting outer appearances, this piece here on your picture:
158952

[WallaceMFG]

one thing to pay attention to on the front fenders, i believe there is a screw right at the top of the fender holding the splash shield in. make sure you remove that screw before attempting to roll the fenders or anything else.

is the rub on the fender lip itself? i would also check the spats on the bottom of the front part of the fender. those can be liberally trimmed without really affecting outer appearances, this piece here on your picture:
158952

I yanked out the fender liners prior to rolling the lip. I was not sure how I was going to be able to roll the lip and keep them in, so I opted just to get rid of them. They probably would have ended up rubbing anyways if I left them. I read about many people not taking that screw out to roll the fenders and end up punching it through lol

Yes, the wheels are rubbing the fender lip, there is a spot where the paint is worn off and the tires have marks. I will get a picture tonight. If you look at the closeup of the wheel and fender further up you can actually see rubber hanging off the fender where it was rubbing.

For lack of a better description, after rolling the front fenders the lip went from an "L" shape to a "U" shape if you took a cross section of the lip. The entire lip did not want to roll when I used the roller tool, only the most inner part where it was weaker away from the bend at the edge. I thought it would be ok, but when the car ended up lower than expected it was not good. Now that I've got the car up a bit I have more clearance, but not enough to be comfortable. I'm going to pull the fenders off and through a combination of cutting and hammering make the fender lip completely flat. That should gain me at least 1/4"-3/8" from the tire to fender. I might try sticking the GoPro on the fender and driving it a bit just so I can see what is going on.

And those spats are going to get trimmed. They are clear on the outside, but further in they are perilously close to touching at full lock. Those should be easy enough to clearance.

Thanks for the tips!

[frink84]

For lack of a better description, after rolling the front fenders the lip went from an "L" shape to a "U" shape if you took a cross section of the lip. The entire lip did not want to roll when I used the roller tool, only the most inner part where it was weaker away from the bend at the edge. I thought it would be ok, but when the car ended up lower than expected it was not good. Now that I've got the car up a bit I have more clearance, but not enough to be comfortable. I'm going to pull the fenders off and through a combination of cutting and hammering make the fender lip completely flat. That should gain me at least 1/4"-3/8" from the tire to fender. I might try sticking the GoPro on the fender and driving it a bit just so I can see what is going on.

Understood, my fenders are U-shape rolled and clear with the 18x9's up front. I wonder if the 4-eye cars had smaller fender openings? I know 91+ fenders are larger to fit the factory 16" wheels, but I havent looked at below 87. With the work you are doing, it might be worth it to update to a 91+ fender... but you might run into an issue with the beltline molding.

[WallaceMFG]

Understood, my fenders are U-shape rolled and clear with the 18x9's up front. I wonder if the 4-eye cars had smaller fender openings? I know 91+ fenders are larger to fit the factory 16" wheels, but I havent looked at below 87. With the work you are doing, it might be worth it to update to a 91+ fender... but you might run into an issue with the beltline molding.

I think the biggest thing for me is that I used the SN95 control arms on my car. Even with the early narrower K member, I still added nearly 2 inches to the track width up front. If I ran Fox length arms I would have cleared the fender, but would have been tight to the k member inside and needed spacers. If your car still had the Fox arms with the later wide K member that would explain the difference. I still may change to Fox arms if the fight is too great for these.

As far as I'm aware, the only difference between 87-90 and 91+ fenders is the front lip like we talked about on your thread. If they are different from the 4 eye fenders, I'm not aware.

But the belt moldings are a valid concern. I need a new rear bumper cover which is impossible to find for my car. I don't want to change all my moldings because it would drive me nuts to not have the bumpers match the side moldings.

[frink84]

I think the biggest thing for me is that I used the SN95 control arms on my car. Even with the early narrower K member, I still added nearly 2 inches to the track width up front. If I ran Fox length arms I would have cleared the fender, but would have been tight to the k member inside and needed spacers. If your car still had the Fox arms with the later wide K member that would explain the difference. I still may change to Fox arms if the fight is too great for these.

As far as I'm aware, the only difference between 87-90 and 91+ fenders is the front lip like we talked about on your thread. If they are different from the 4 eye fenders, I'm not aware.

But the belt moldings are a valid concern. I need a new rear bumper cover which is impossible to find for my car. I don't want to change all my moldings because it would drive me nuts to not have the bumpers match the side moldings.

Guess I'm starting to lose my mind in my old age, haha!

I had a set of MM SN95 a-arms that I ended up selling to a buddy with a SN95, since by my measuremements, all hell would break loose in terms of clearance up front.

[WallaceMFG]

Guess I'm starting to lose my mind in my old age, haha!

I had a set of MM SN95 a-arms that I ended up selling to a buddy with a SN95, since by my measuremements, all hell would break loose in terms of clearance up front.


I think my measurements are agreeing with yours! My dad was in town for the weekend and was looking over the car with me, I had never noticed that the rim itself was outside of the wheel lip. No matter how much I beat on the fenders, they will never clear the wheels. I think I'm going to have to back up and put the Fox arms back in the car. After that I can space the wheels back out to improve clearance to the K member if needed.

Dad suggested just going with the fender flares since I wanted to do them later anyways, but that would mean I need to change the rear also after I just spent all the time and $$ getting parts to keep the Fox width out back. For a set of bushings, ball joints, and some time I can get the front end sorted out. If it wasn't so much effort I would consider doing a K member swap to gain the width back vs spacers, but that is a big job. And a k member is much more costly.

[WallaceMFG]

I was able to make quite a bit of progress over the holidays on the Rustang. I was out of town seeing family for Christmas, but while I was up there I was able to get the original control arms form the car rebuilt with new ball joints and poly bushings. After the holidays, we came back home and I was able to set about swapping them.

Since I'm well versed in taking the car apart now, It only took me a couple afternoons to get everything swapped out. It was actually fun, my now stepdaughter showed interest in working on the Rustang with me, so I was letting here help with the things she could. I can make a car girl out of her yet!

The only adjusting I had to do was to trim the inner tie rod ends shorter since they were too long. Even so, I ran out of threads while running the toe in, so I bought a set of Fox inner and outer tie rods to put in soon. But the car was good enough to drive, so I did!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/01/32728389068_f522b71939_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xQ9)20190101_180502 (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xQ9) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/01/32728388128_e4f240662f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xxW)20190101_180510 (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xxW) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The car is actually sitting lower than before, but since the wheels are moved in there are no rubbing issues. I can turn lock to lock and have no issues. The car still turns super sharp like it did before, which makes me happy. As evidenced by my sharpie marks, no rubbing!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/01/32728386968_fa872bc0ae_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xcW)20190101_180520 (https://flic.kr/p/RS6xcW) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/01/32728385508_5ed8841abb_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/RS6wLL)20190101_180528 (https://flic.kr/p/RS6wLL) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Even after my short drive, it feels like I've created a monster. Even with shocks that are probably worn out, it feels like our Chevelle with Ridetech shocks on it. I can't wait to get good shocks on it.

For now I need to get more camber in it. I've maxed out the plates, so I've got to get a solution to gain more camber from the struts. I'll pick away at that this weekend, and hopefully get is aligned soon so I can start driving!

[frink84]

For now I need to get more camber in it. I've maxed out the plates, so I've got to get a solution to gain more camber from the struts. I'll pick away at that this weekend, and hopefully get is aligned soon so I can start driving!

some struts have slotted ears at the spindle, allowing you to add or subtract a little bit of camber. Might be worth checking. I know with bilstein fronts, if you arent paying attention they tend to rest at the more positive camber side of the slot, so when you tighten all the bolts, you hurt your camber abilities (ask me how i know!). you may also be able to re-configure the spacer stack on your c-c plates to make sure no part of the strut is interfering with the inner fender/strut tower when maxing out camber. also, looking at a shot of the c-c plates on page 3, you have additional camber range in the plates.

[WallaceMFG]

some struts have slotted ears at the spindle, allowing you to add or subtract a little bit of camber. Might be worth checking. I know with bilstein fronts, if you arent paying attention they tend to rest at the more positive camber side of the slot, so when you tighten all the bolts, you hurt your camber abilities (ask me how i know!). you may also be able to re-configure the spacer stack on your c-c plates to make sure no part of the strut is interfering with the inner fender/strut tower when maxing out camber. also, looking at a shot of the c-c plates on page 3, you have additional camber range in the plates.

Pretty sure they were not slotted, but that is what I will most likely do to gain some camber. I thought about using camber bolts, but I don't want to put a weaker fastener in that important of a place.

I forgot to add, while I had the car apart to swap the control arms I cut the top of the tower to gain more clearance for the strut. After that I put the c-c plates back in and got the car together and maxed out the camber adjustment. I think is still has positive camber as it sits, but not much.

Again, this goes back to the narrow K member in my opinion. I read several forums that stated this would probably happen with the early car, so I'm not shocked. Just need to figure out a solution now that doesn't involve a K member swap. For now if I can get 0.5-1* negative camber in it I will call it a victory.

[WallaceMFG]

No pictures but progress is coming along!

I had to spend some time at my friends house to make some adapters for the Intercomp alignment tool to mount on the wheel. We got those done, so I brought the parts back down to Yuma with me.

Before starting the alignment, I had to address the lack of camber. I elected to pull off the struts and modify the mounting holes. A quick investigation showed that modifying the lower hole allowed for much more adjustment than the top hole, so I started working on them. After getting annoyed with a cheap die grinder and my wimpy compressor, I got frustrated and got out the drill & unibits. I punched out the lower hole as large as the smaller unibit would drill, then finished it with the larger one. All in all, it was much faster and did the trick. Once I reinstalled the struts I could tip the spindle in and tighten the bolts.

I reset the CC plates back to the middle of the adjustment range and settled the suspension. After modification, I ended up with -1* on the passenger side with the CC plate in the middle, and on the driver side I was at -1* but with the plate maxed out. Goes to show how not symmetrical cars can be. I will probably lift the car up and make sure everything looks good and maybe tweak on the drivers side more.

Otherwise, I did a rough alignment to set the toe so I could drive the car and took it out! Amazing how much better it drives with the suspension somewhat right. I got to claim my victory, now just need to finish up some small details and I can enjoy driving the car for a bit. I'll get some pictures next time I roll it out of the garage.

[WallaceMFG]

Finally, reaching the point where I wanted to get the car before it gets hot.

The car was running like crap, likely from sitting for the better part of a year. I got a rebuild kit from a local hot rod shop and went through the carb. I also took the time to replace the fuel line from the pump to the car. I had been using the original hard line from the pump to the car, it was only 1/4". I got adapter to go from the inverted flare to -6AN and replaced the hard line with 3/8" hose. I would have liked to do real AN line, but I'll worry about it later. The car is still running rich, but no longer puffing black at idle. Need to get a wide band on it and see how it looks.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223166695_10d3f67c93_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzP4V)20190216_144749 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzP4V) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223166265_e755ed6c33_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNWv)20190216_144751 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNWv) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Here's a quick pic of the alignment setup. I had to make these adapters at a friends house, the normal clamp on rim style hits the body when you try to measure caster.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223164235_95e9d1c844_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNkv)20190217_162603 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNkv) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


And here is what I ended up with for final alignment.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/47085061342_b7d786c8f8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2eJKfjs)20190217_173608 (https://flic.kr/p/2eJKfjs) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Took me a couple tries to get the toe right as you can see. And after my strut modifications, those camber numbers are with the CC plates in the middle of their adjustment range. So I can still do a track alignment if I want to! For caster, I just maxed out the plates and called it good. The process to check caster was a little complicated, and I did not have an accurate way to measure the wheel angle, so that is my guess for caster. I stuck with the "Caster is Faster" plan I was told at a Ridetech seminar one time lol.

Here's the car out of the garage. Took it down to the gas station since it was empty and it drives pretty good. I can tell the rear shocks are shot, need to get some replacements. And the rear is still sitting too high, but I will leave it alone for now. I just want to drive the damn thing. However, I'm probably going to need some engine work in the future. There was a large cloud of blue smoke on startup, I think the valve guides are no good and taking out the new seals. Turns out junkyard head valve guides aren't very good, or they don't like 6,500 rpm a lot lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223165765_dc97ae59b3_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNMT)20190217_152525 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNMT) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223165245_8617815288_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNCV)20190217_152535 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNCV) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46223164825_4067485744_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNvF)20190217_152542 (https://flic.kr/p/2dqzNvF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

[Buryingthesun]

Cool build!

[frink84]

looking good! foxes always seem to sit high in the back. i went to coilovers for ultimate adjustability.

[WallaceMFG]

Cool build!

Thanks!



looking good! foxes always seem to sit high in the back. i went to coilovers for ultimate adjustability.


Those are definitely in the future, just not in the budget at the moment. A full tank of fuel help the issue slightly lol.

[WallaceMFG]

Nothing much to report at the moment, just been driving the car when I can. I took it to work last week, and it figures the time I can finally drive it, it rains lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/02/46515979714_d984dde16e_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2dSsybf)20190221_152620 (https://flic.kr/p/2dSsybf) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


That being said, I'm going to do a few things to the car. The rear shocks are definitely blown and need to go. I don't think the struts are much better. So I'm going to throw some cheap shocks & struts in the car just to make it behave better. I want to just go straight to Bilsteins, but can't do them at the moment. I figure now is a good time to do the struts since I will have to redo the alignment. While I'm at it, I'm going to take a little bit of camber out of it, the car is a little twitchy for street driving.

I also ordered a set of tail pipes for the car. Right now it has dumps, and the drone inside is horrible. I have to wear headphones when I drive it to work to keep my ears from hurting. The pipes should get rid of most of the drone, if not all of it.

I'm also going to pick away at small things here and there. Put a radio & speakers in, I found some LED headlights I like, I want to build a splitter. I also started drawing up door panels to see what I want the interior to look like. I'm going to try to keep the projects small for a while so the car can still be driven and have fun with it.

[frink84]

Its all about the amenities! I lucked out in that converting the MAC exhaust to dumps didnt increase noise a crazy amount, and there isnt any additional drone. interested to see what you do for LED headlights.

[WallaceMFG]

Its all about the amenities! I lucked out in that converting the MAC exhaust to dumps didnt increase noise a crazy amount, and there isnt any additional drone. interested to see what you do for LED headlights.

In my case I'm guessing that the mufflers being small is the source of my drone. With no Cats in the system there is nothing except the mufflers to tone the exhaust down, and they are small lol

I actually ended up buying the entire cat back system from my co-worker. So now I have the headers, X pipe, and cat back from his car lol. It is a Pypes brand, unsure of the mufflers until I get my hands on it. I know it is a stainless system which makes me happy. He says his car was loud, but no drone so that is good enough for me.


As for headlights, I was going to give these a try: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0748DPYD6/?coliid=I62ZCO1ZY0Q7G&colid=21VFV1P8J7HZV&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I watched a video on youtube where a guy did a review, they look really nice. Have a good cutoff, and the high beams were epic.

I'm going to wire them up with relays and set them up for 4 on low / 4 on high, since they have a good cutoff they won't blind people. And obviously wire up the DRLs for daytime use.


Only other update is I threw a set of cheap struts in the car over the weekend and redid the alignment. I knocked the camber back to -1.2* on both sides, that is the spec Maximum Motorsport suggests for a street car. It seems to have helped, the car felt smoother and less twitchy on my short test drive. I've got rear shocks to put in, but I'm waiting until I have the cat back to put in and do it all at once.

Car is going on a spending ban for a while, the wife and I are taking our honeymoon in a few months and need to prepare for that. At least the car is road worthy!

[WallaceMFG]

Pictures coming shortly, some small progress was made. I hauled the car up to Mesa over the Easter holiday since my dad had a lift installed in his shop. The thought of installing mufflers on a hoist instead of the garage floor sounded good. I also attempted to get the A/C working, and got the carb tuned up. Had a good weekend, I'll elaborate more once I get some pictures.

[WallaceMFG]

Tuns out I didn't take any pictures while installing the tailpipes, so nothing to show there. However, I did grab a quick idle clip to show the sound difference.


https://youtu.be/VJM4a7NNAc4


It is a Pypes Stainless system with Violator mufflers. Overall I'm very happy with the muffler swap. I loved the Spintechs crackle, but the drone was horrible. I didn't realize how bad it was until the new pipes were in. This setup is dead silent inside at idles, and even cruising there is no drone. The car is still loud when you stand on it, so I'm happy.

My Dad helped me with tuning the carb, an area I am very inexperienced at. With his help we were able to get the car from idling at 10:1 and 1200 rpm down to 13.5:1 at 800. The car sounded much better and was no longer smoking out the pipes. After I got the vacuum advance hooked back up and final adjusted the carb the idle was sitting at 14.5:1 at 800 rpm. I'm thrilled to have the carb under control, it feels like a whole new car. I've got a wideband rigged in the car, i'm going to see how it is under power to see if my jet change made a difference.

While up there I also attempted to get the A/C working. When I took the engine out, the system still had refrigerant in it, so I thought all I needed to replace was the one hose that had split and put back together at some point. I got a new hose, and some new refrigerant to try. It is called Envirosafe and it is a HC (Hydrocarbon) based refrigerant. It is compatible with both R12 and R134a refrigerant & oils. Here is a link to a website with more info: https://autorefrigerants.com/hydrocarbon-refrigerants-info/1974-why-enviro-safe-hydrocarbon-refrigerants
It was cheap enough on Amazon and I read enough to think it was worth a try. So we replaced the hose and evacuated the system and it held. But, as soon as we started putting refrigerant in the front compressor seal failed and it all came back out so we had to give up on that until I can get a new compressor.

Otherwise, all went well until I got the car home. The other day I took my stepdaughter to school, and when leaving, the clutch pedal went to the floor and didn't come back. The clutch was still engaged fine, so I assume the cable snapped. I was able to drive the car home without the clutch, difficult but doable. I haven't had a chance to look at the car yet to see what the cause is.

The other thing is I'm worried the motor might be starting to knock or have lifters failing. Now that the car is quieter, I'm hearing more noise from the engine that I couldn't before. When driving between 2000-3500 rpm I can hear a tapping noise from the engine. If the engine is under load it seems to go away, it is most prevalent under light throttle. I don't think it is detonation, the timing is 12 base, 20 mechanical, not sure how much vacuum gives, so about 32* total with no vacuum advance. I always run 91 octane in it. There is no noise at idle and I cannot recall if I heard it at WOT, but the car gets loud and I probably wouldn't hear it anyways. I might try undoing the vacuum advance and see if it is better, or back the timing off a bit. It needs an oil change, so I'll see how it looks on the way out. And probably step up from 5W30 to 10W40 or 20W50.

[WallaceMFG]

Well I hopefully discovered the source of the clutch issue. I was messing around with it, and by using a pry bar on the clutch fork I was able to cycle the clutch like normal. So the pressure plate appeared to be fine, I turned my attention to the clutch cable. I used some washers and vise grips to take up the slack in the cable, and the clutch operated normally. So I assumed the cable had started tearing and took it out. On the firewall side of the cable the inner sections had pulled through the mount, effectively making the cable too long.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/05/46849020115_16dd75cfea_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2enTtu8)20190502_190137 (https://flic.kr/p/2enTtu8) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I think the cable has also stretched, I've already had to adjust it a couple times and add some shims because my adjuster was hitting the brake booster. It was a cheap cable, so I ordered a replacement from Maximum Motorsport. Hopefully this gets the car back on the road.

I also found a rebuild kit for my A/C compressor, so I plan to get that and continue trying to get the A/C working.

[frink84]

MM clutch cable should be a worthwhile upgrade. I would pay special attention to how its run when you install it. MM's instructions are pretty detailed, but in general keeping it away from heat and tight turns is the name of the game.

[WallaceMFG]

MM clutch cable should be a worthwhile upgrade. I would pay special attention to how its run when you install it. MM's instructions are pretty detailed, but in general keeping it away from heat and tight turns is the name of the game.

As expected, Maximum Motorsport products always are better than whatever they replaced. I got the new cable in last night and it made a huge difference. The pedal actuation is much lighter and smoother than before. Only complaint I have is that the mounting bracket for the cable doesn't line up with the old one because of the difference in cable length. Not a major issue, I'll resolve it easily.

Haven't driven the car yet, it is still up in the air for an oil change. Hope to have it back on the road tonight for a test drive.

[WallaceMFG]

Not much to report lately. I've just been driving the car as the weather allows. So far everything seems to be ok with the engine, no weird noises and it's running the best it ever has. I'm really hoping the stuff I found in the filter was just left over from break in. I'll get some more miles on it, then drain the oil and see what it says.

I took advantage of LMRs 4th of July sale and got a few things like door rollers and a new turn signal switch. Provided the motor is ok, I'm going to work on doing a 3G alt upgrade and electric fans. I want to get the A/C working on the car, so the fans will be part of that.

Just need this humidity to go away so I can stand to be in the garage again lol.

[Sbeck09]

Amen to that! Monsoon season sucks because of the humidity. I've been struggling to get much done because I just get too hot. Glad to hear that everything is working well right now.

[frink84]

When you do the 3g upgrade, i would make sure you use a quality wiring kit with big wires. I used the LMR 4-gauge kit with great success. I would also recommend the contour dual fan setup of the lincoln setup. contour gives you so much more room to work with under the hood.

[WallaceMFG]

Amen to that! Monsoon season sucks because of the humidity. I've been struggling to get much done because I just get too hot. Glad to hear that everything is working well right now.

Definitely. I've got a swamp cooler that usually keeps the garage reasonable inside, but not right now lol. At least we have winter to look forwards to now!



When you do the 3g upgrade, i would make sure you use a quality wiring kit with big wires. I used the LMR 4-gauge kit with great success. I would also recommend the contour dual fan setup of the lincoln setup. contour gives you so much more room to work with under the hood.

For sure on the wiring. I look forwards to getting as much of the old wiring out of the car as I can. All the old charge wires are going away and replaced with at least 4 gauge, new grounds too. Unfortunately for me, all the kits LMR makes are for 86+ cars with the battery on the driver side, so I'll have to make my own cables.

I'll look into the contour fans, I had been planning to build my own shroud and controller, but that may be the more affordable path.

[WallaceMFG]

Been a while since I've posted an update. I was very busy with work this summer and did not pay much attention to the Rustang.

Now that the weather has improved, I spent a little time working on it just doing routine maintenance. I also went up to SEMA and had a good time as usual. Came back, and that's where things came to a halt again.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/11/49097277221_c0771ccf0b_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNynZF)20191112_201631 (https://flic.kr/p/2hNynZF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Did an oil change on the car, and noticed sparkles in the oil again. Yanked the motor out and pulled the pan, found this:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/11/49097474627_6cdf516a62_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNzoFe)20191103_175857 (https://flic.kr/p/2hNzoFe) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Those are from cylinders number 4 and 8. Obviously number 8 was not happy at all. So one thing lead to another, and here's how my garage looks now:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/11/49097276931_a803c85e62_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNynUF)20191112_201639 (https://flic.kr/p/2hNynUF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/11/49097473497_d4fe0ea8e5_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNzokK)20191118_181428 (https://flic.kr/p/2hNzokK) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2019/11/49096768458_919d4dabd0_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNvLKU)20191118_181432 (https://flic.kr/p/2hNvLKU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The main bearings did not look too bad aside from number 5, and it was not very bad. All the rods looked ok except for number 8 and 5 showed a little wear as well. The crank has a groove in it on number 8 journal, looks good otherwise. So hopefully I can just have a little machine work done and be able to put it back together fairly quickly. I was mad at first, but then I realized I treat the car pretty harshly compared to my daily driver, and I got over it lol. Only thing I tell myself is it will be better when I'm done with it.

I've also guy my eye on a DOHC 4.6 Modular that I am hoping to grab and eventually swap into the car. For now the Coyotes are just too far out of my price range, and the 4.6 is an easy swap since so many parts interchange between Foxbodys and SN95s. So I would like to spend a year or two building the 4.6 into a Terminator clone and have some real power on my hands. Or i'll change my mind again and go for a nice NA DOHC build. So many options!

[Sbeck09]

That's a bummer about the engine, but it sounds like you've made your peace with it.

Don't forget that the coyote truck motors are nearly identical to the Mustang version for less. They just have slightly less compression and different intake cams. By the time you start modifying a 4.6 you might be surprised at the minimal difference in cost if there is any.

Either way I hope you get the car back in action soon.

[WallaceMFG]

Yeah, I got angry at first. Then realized I was being dumb and to not worry about it and I felt better haha.

I've been eyeing the Coyotes for a while, almost pulled the trigger a couple times. As you stated, the differences are minimal for the truck engines so I have not been picky about what they came from. My main problem has been that I don't have the funds ready to buy one immediately, so even when a good deal has popped up it goes away before I can get to it. Or as I've found out is more common, the junkyards will post a good price, but that is just for the longblock, no accessories, intake, computer, etc... Really annoying to find what looks like good deal only to find it is missing $2K plus in other parts I need for it to run. I've also never managed to find a u pull it lot of any kind with a Coyote in it, probably because they know what they are worth. This has made me realize how cheap LS swaps truly are, and I've almost opted for that route a couple times.

I've got a line on a 4.6 for $200 that has a Teksid block that is good for 1,200 hp. Just need a good rotating assembly, a head swap, boost, and I'll have a Terminator clone. Some other things that swing in favor of the 4.6 is the accessory drive. Coyotes never had a power steering pump from the factory, and conversion kits I've found go for upwards of $700. 4.6 accessories are plentiful and easy to get and go right in to a Fox. I'm still in the planning stages of all this. I may get part way in and find out the Coyote is the better deal and switch plans. But time will tell for now.

In the meantime, I've been hunting machine shops to get quotes to fix my current engine. Hope to have it back on the road in a couple months if all goes well.

[Sbeck09]

Sounds like you are definitely keeping all factors in mind. Another thing toward the truck coyote motors is that they do use hydraulic power steering so that might be the trick to solve that issue.

Worst case for the engine, you can always come up and use my builder. He really knows his stuff.

[chunger]

I've been eyeing the Coyotes for a while, almost pulled the trigger a couple times. As you stated, the differences are minimal for the truck engines so I have not been picky about what they came from. My main problem has been that I don't have the funds ready to buy one immediately, so even when a good deal has popped up it goes away before I can get to it. Or as I've found out is more common, the junkyards will post a good price, but that is just for the longblock, no accessories, intake, computer, etc... Really annoying to find what looks like good deal only to find it is missing $2K plus in other parts I need for it to run. I've also never managed to find a u pull it lot of any kind with a Coyote in it, probably because they know what they are worth. This has made me realize how cheap LS swaps truly are, and I've almost opted for that route a couple times.

THIS. EXACTLY.

For us Ford fans, this is exactly the spot we're in. Either keep playing with the pushrod Windsors, or go all in on a Coyote. There really isn't much in the middle. Thankfully, the Windsor stuff is pretty cheap (at least for now), but feels really old. Most of the mod motors aren't really worth looking into, or are just too expensive by the time you add heads and cams, headers, etc. Oh, and you'll need a computer / harness to run everything. It's a HUGE jump in price to get into the mod motors. Chevy got alot right with the LS's, and they are very plentiful.

[WallaceMFG]

Sounds like you are definitely keeping all factors in mind. Another thing toward the truck coyote motors is that they do use hydraulic power steering so that might be the trick to solve that issue.

Worst case for the engine, you can always come up and use my builder. He really knows his stuff.

I'm pretty sure even the F150 Coyotes don't use a power steering pump. As far as I am aware, they use an electric rack like GM does, but I could be wrong.

Who did you use for your engine? At a minimum I would like to call and talk to him about my parts and see what he thinks.

[WallaceMFG]

THIS. EXACTLY.

For us Ford fans, this is exactly the spot we're in. Either keep playing with the pushrod Windsors, or go all in on a Coyote. There really isn't much in the middle. Thankfully, the Windsor stuff is pretty cheap (at least for now), but feels really old. Most of the mod motors aren't really worth looking into, or are just too expensive by the time you add heads and cams, headers, etc. Oh, and you'll need a computer / harness to run everything. It's a HUGE jump in price to get into the mod motors. Chevy got alot right with the LS's, and they are very plentiful.

It is pretty interesting to see how much the mod motors have in common with the LS platform. Kinda makes sense since they were developed around the same time period.

And I agree, it is a big price gap to get into the Mod motors compared to the Windsors. But at times it is not worse than an LS in terms of needing a computer and wiring to run it. But things like cams being $1200 instead of $300 is a big difference. But, in my mind I appreciate the jump to newer technology that the Mod motors give, which is why I am looking to go that route. I think the 4.6 DOHC is a little under loved by enthusiast because of the part prices, but is plenty capable of making power when massaged on.

[Sbeck09]

I'm pretty sure even the F150 Coyotes don't use a power steering pump. As far as I am aware, they use an electric rack like GM does, but I could be wrong.

Who did you use for your engine? At a minimum I would like to call and talk to him about my parts and see what he thinks.

You're right about the F150s. I must have been looking at a 2010 when I saw the hydraulic hoses. I did see that a number of companies offer brackets to mount the S197 steering pump so that might make it easier/cheaper.

I used Duffee Motorsports (623-455-8188). Brian runs the place and his only other worker is Pat. You usually have to leave a message, but Brian has always called me back within a couple hours max. Not a super talkative guy, but he really knows his stuff.

[WallaceMFG]

Hey guys, I'm back! lol

Finally back to working on the Rustang. Got through the holidays and other family events without any progress worth showing, just some small stuff like removing the factory radio, which involved taking half the dash apart lol.

Got my engine hauled off to the machine shop to be looked over and figure out what went wrong, didn't have to wait long. I use B&B machine in Mesa, Billy that runs the place has been there forever and knows his stuff. He picked up by rods and without even measuring said they don't feel right. He measured them and found the big ends were severely out of round and tight at the parting line. His conclusion, the machine shop that installed the ARP rod bolts did not recondition the rods when they were done pressing them in. So my rod clearances were all over the place and that lead to the demise of the engine. I'll be going back to that shop to speak with them about this, I'm not happy with them.

B&B got the block cleaned up, crank replaced, cylinders honed, and rods reconditioned. I picked up my parts and set about building the engine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49806234492_44799d9340_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iTcYhU)20200417_105007 (https://flic.kr/p/2iTcYhU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Craigslist cam back for round 2!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49805924586_aec6df17d6_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iTboaG)20200417_105013 (https://flic.kr/p/2iTboaG) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I actually have micrometers to check the clearances this time, making me feel better that everything is ok. Main clearances all checked out and the crank went into it's home.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49805924416_7c7a6d33fd_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iTbo7L)20200417_122115 (https://flic.kr/p/2iTbo7L) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


At this point I got a little sidelined. The rod bearing clearances were on the tight side, tighter than I liked. One quick trip back to B&B and he honed the rods to loosen the clearance. Just got home with them last night, yet to measure but should be in the clear now.

More progress coming in the next few days, should have the car running again shortly!

[Josh@Ridetech]

Awesome to see it going back together!

[WallaceMFG]

Awesome to see it going back together!

Thanks!

I'm behind on updates, but not on progress. Much to the wife's dislike I worked for several days to get the car assembled lol. After my trip to Mesa for the rods to be honed the clearances were perfect so the bottom end went together.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49833794303_1614ba141a_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVDdS4)20200422_161015 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVDdS4) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Timing set was cleaned, inspected, and installed. New roller lifters as well since the ones from before were old and I didn't trust them after metal passed through the engine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49834332456_d0a5c2bdc1_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYQy)20200423_105825 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYQy) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Timing cover, new harmonic balancer, & water pump went on. One piece oil pan gasket and my "new" oil pan. I took a spare stock pan I had laying around and modified it for more oil capacity. I put some small baffles in it as well. Not as good as an aftermarket version, but those were not in the budget right now for a reason I'll explain later.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49834332351_deef7030f8_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYNK)20200423_130133 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYNK) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Heads got a mild home port job and went back on the engine.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49834636997_62216f4590_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVHxng)20200423_162739 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVHxng) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Intake was repainted and headers cleaned up and back on.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49834332036_4a4d42049e_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYHj)20200424_163640 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVFYHj) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Ready to drop in!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49834638317_8ff7376c4f_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVHxL2)20200425_112256 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVHxL2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


The engine went back in with a bit of a fight due to my oil pan. When I had taken my measurements, I didn't account for the engine being offset to the passenger side. The engine dropped right in, but when I tried to tilt it back to put the trans in the pan hit the K member and stopped it. So I pulled the engine back out and massaged the pan and K member for clearance. Took a fair bit, but the pan cleared with the trans installed. Even if the motor moves around a bit it should not hit anywhere.

[WallaceMFG]

Aside from my oil pan issue, the engine went back into the car without any issues so I did not take any pictures. Replaced all the rubber lines, filters, and fluids. Got the x pipe hooked up for the first fire up and terrorized the neighbors.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDGUkcGaBPM&ab_channel=hondaman117


It was too late that night to do anything more than a short run. The next day I got the timing set right and got it idling good. Checked everything else for leaks, none found. Rumbled it around the neighborhood open headers to assert my dominance to everyone lol. Then hooked up the mufflers and things were back to normal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT09cQ3RujQ&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=hondaman117


Other than that, I swapped my new hood onto the car. I've got a plan to make it rusty like the old one so it will match the car until I paint it someday haha.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49805369198_53d5a80d43_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iT8x53)20200330_152131 (https://flic.kr/p/2iT8x53) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/04/49833965613_ab0baafbd0_z-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iVE6MF)20200427_172929 (https://flic.kr/p/2iVE6MF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Took it for a drive last night after it cooled off and put some fresh gas in it. It was nice to roll around with the tops out again! Now I just gotta be easy on it for a while to break in and then I can go back to fully enjoying it! Also need to get the A/C working so I can drive it in the heat! lol

[WallaceMFG]

You guys ever feel like your life is going in a big circle and you can't get anywhere? That's about how I'm feeling right now.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50810317848_ff0853b891_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kpWahU)20201111_194253 (https://flic.kr/p/2kpWahU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50811061656_9daf5c2652_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kpZYpb)20201113_192255 (https://flic.kr/p/2kpZYpb) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


And the worst part is we have no idea what happened. Everything checked out perfect during assembly and break in. Changed the break in oil and all was clean. Then one day I started noticing the oil pressure was dropping at idle when hot. Called the machine shop and they suggested stepping up oil weight, and when I drained it this time it looked even worse than last time I had bearing failure. Yanked the engine out and found what you see above. The engine was checked over and aside from those bad bearings, everything is good with the engine. They are suspecting oil contamination, but are not sure where it would have come from.

So I was pretty mad at this point and made a decision. If you can't beat them, join them.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50811175667_a84e907ed2_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kq1yhT)20201226_155723 (https://flic.kr/p/2kq1yhT) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50811179807_b03eeb7ea2_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kq1zwg)20201220_140928 (https://flic.kr/p/2kq1zwg) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50811061241_74c3882464_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kpZYh2)20201220_140938 (https://flic.kr/p/2kpZYh2) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Those of you who have been on my threads know I'm a little old fashioned and think Fords should have Ford engines, GM have GM engines, etc... But I finally reached a point where I said I don't care anymore and need to do something different. The engine is an LS1 from a 2000 or 2001 Camaro, and trans is from a Viper. The engine had blown a head gasket and I got it for a steal. The trans had failed the input shaft bearing and it was missing. Since I needed to change that anyways for an LS, that was an easy sell.

The LS1 was complete from intake to oil pan, so I got some good parts I needed for the swap. I lucked out since it was a late Camaro engine, it had the LS6 intake on it. I also got a 4.8L parts engine from another friend with a bunch of parts and a good set of 799 heads for it. I tore down the LS1 and unfortunately it had some rust in some cylinders, so it is at the machine shop seeing if the block is salvageable. For once, I got to tear down an engine that the bottom end was perfect though lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50810316438_ee0b5bb8d8_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kpW9SA)20210102_170231 (https://flic.kr/p/2kpW9SA) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

Hopefully the block will be good and I can get it cleaned up and ready for service again. I have lots of work to do as there is much more to change over this time (wiring, fuel system, exhaust, etc...). But I'm ready for some new challenges!

[Mikey97D]

I like keeping cars brands match motors too, but I get the LS conversions.
Bonus, that LS1 has similar weight to my Turbo Lima 2.3L at 450 lbs.

[frink84]

Wow, what an update! I'll be watching your swap with great interest. I'm the exact opposite of your beliefs, hot rodding is engine swaps! Good luck!

[WallaceMFG]

I like keeping cars brands match motors too, but I get the LS conversions.
Bonus, that LS1 has similar weight to my Turbo Lima 2.3L at 450 lbs.

I'm getting it more too now! lol. Hopefully I can lose some weight with the swap, the Aluminum LS will save me some weight, but the T56 is going to add some compared to the T5. Wish I could have weighed the car before removing the old powertrain.



Wow, what an update! I'll be watching your swap with great interest. I'm the exact opposite of your beliefs, hot rodding is engine swaps! Good luck!

I mean, I'm not against engine swaps, just try to keep the brands the same lol. In a perfect world I'd be doing a Coyote swap, but it's just too expensive compared to the LS. So to the dark side I went lol.

[WallaceMFG]

Well, I got my LS1 back from the machine shop, but not with good news. The rust in the cylinders was more than a 0.010 overbore could clean up, so the block is useless. Probably going to be made into a coffee table now. Fortunately, I came across an aluminum 5.3 block for a good price and I grabbed it. Current plan is to get it bored out to LS1 spec so I can use the LS1 rotating assembly. So in the end, I get to keep my aluminum block that I wanted. And since it is a Gen 4 block, I can get it sleeved for big displacement in the future if I want.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50874639037_5fa9a4b3c9-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kvBPJV)22179 (https://flic.kr/p/2kvBPJV) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50873830158_9fb7be05ee-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kvxFhJ)22182 (https://flic.kr/p/2kvxFhJ) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Since I can't do much with the engine currently, I tore my trans apart to work on fixing the failed bearing. Again, my luck seems to be bad, the bearing race seems to be welded to the mainshaft and I haven't been able to get it off. I've found one other bearing that wasn't in good shape, but otherwise the trans is in great shape inside. So worst case, I need a main shaft. Even if I need it, I still come out money ahead compared to buying a T56 from a junkyard.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50873830143_2e83b380bd_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kvxFht)20210113_071926 (https://flic.kr/p/2kvxFht) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/01/50873948308_0574265262_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kvyhpN)20210112_203249 (https://flic.kr/p/2kvyhpN) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Progress will continue slowly. I'm currently hunting for an SN95 K member to make the swap easier. Found one at a Junkyard, but don't want to pay their prices if I can avoid it.

[WallaceMFG]

Hey all,

Made some progress recently. Managed to find an SN95 K member local to me for a good price and picked it up. Ordered some motor mounts for a Modular 4.6 and tried to bolt them to the engine. Apparently the "4.6 mounts bolt right up" I was told was a lie. The front two bolts had to be enlarged one size with a unibit, nothing major. But the rear bolt is at least an inch away from lining up. So I'm going to weld another plate on to extend the rear bolt flange to make it line up and I will be set. Overall, not that bad of a problem to have. I also had to notch the K member for oil pan clearance since I'm using the F-body oil pan that came with my LS1. I knew that going in, so it didn't bother me. I cut the area out and will box it in for strength.

After all that I checked that everything was going to fit.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50933707427_ac7e3639b7_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kAQyHr)20210207_202622 (https://flic.kr/p/2kAQyHr) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50933584291_9a058ff038_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kAPW7p)20210207_202629 (https://flic.kr/p/2kAPW7p) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I stuck the F-body manifolds on just to see how they looked, they cleared everything easily. Not sure if I will use them or not, I will have to see how the steering shaft clearance is in the car before I'll know. Either way, it was nice to see how well it all looks like it will fit. I need to find a starter too, that area might be tight with exhaust.

Otherwise, since my new block is at the machine shop I got started on prepping some of the car. I may have gone a little further than I planned...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50933584806_d22105e08a_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kAPWgh)20210207_202618 (https://flic.kr/p/2kAPWgh) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I wanted to clean up the wiring, and it has turned into a much bigger job. There is lots of stuff that is not needed any more I can remove, just need to find where it all terminates so I can remove it while keeping the rest of the car functional. I'm also going to run all the wiring down the drivers side fender, instead of down both as it was before. I hope that will keep all of the wiring in one place and look cleaner, especially once I add the harness for the LS.

Progress will come as I'm able to get out in the garage!

[WallaceMFG]

Howdy!

I made more progress over the past few weeks. Here's an image of how the 4.6 motor mounts had to be modified to work with the LS.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50980177326_87c078c03e_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJAA)20210213_145401 (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJAA) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I boxed in the K member where I notched it for oil pan clearance.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50979473443_c9b6b5b07a_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kET8mF)20210213_145428 (https://flic.kr/p/2kET8mF) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


After that, I got the K member put into the car. The rear bolt holes have to be slotted to line up with a Fox, so I did that and trimmed it shorter to clear the frame rails. Got it in and dropped the block in to see how it looked.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50980176851_01d0c55845_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJsp)20210216_144836 (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJsp) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I have lots of oil pan clearance to the rack.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50979473063_d662dec52f_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kET8f8)20210216_165647 (https://flic.kr/p/2kET8f8) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


I threw the rest of the parts on to see how it looks.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50980285572_dba2df3bdb_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kEXhLU)20210216_165653 (https://flic.kr/p/2kEXhLU) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50980176141_fd223e6b7c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJfa)20210216_165703 (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJfa) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/02/50980175891_0a2ac4ac78_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJaR)20210216_165733 (https://flic.kr/p/2kEWJaR) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


It's definitely tight in some spots. The steering shaft goes right through the driver exhaust manifold, so it looks like swap headers or a different manifold are required. The heater hose outlets are aimed right at the coils, so I need to figure that out. And one coil hits the brake booster, so a coil relocation kit may be in order.

Otherwise, I ordered a bell housing and crossmember for the T56 so I can mock up the trans in the car. I don't anticipate any issues, but want to make sure all the bell housing bolts will go in with how tight it was to the firewall. And as always I'm still working on wiring, taking all the crap out of the harness that I don't need but being careful to make sure the car will still work as before. Fun stuff!

[WallaceMFG]

Hey all,

Not much to show but I have been making progress. Since my last post I received the bellhousing and crossmember for the T56 so I could try putting it in the car. Overall, it fit ok but needed improvement. The shifter was perfectly centered in the floor opening, but the body of the trans was hitting the top of the tunnel. Also, I discovered that the back of my intake manifold was hitting one of the ribs on the firewall and wouldn't seat properly. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and fix both problems. I took my motor mounts that I had previously modified and modified them again lol.

This time I extended the front of the mounts and relocated the rear hole, to push the motor forward 3/4". This gained me the clearance I needed for the intake, as well as gaining clearance in the trans tunnel. The shifter is still pretty close to the perfect location, I can use an offset shifter if I need. A result of the mount change, I had to redo the notch I previously put in the K member. It now goes all the way across for oil pan clearance. After those changes, the motor now fits very nicely in the bay.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51088571932_b8b48dc665_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kQwhx7)20210321_173220 (https://flic.kr/p/2kQwhx7) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Aside from that, I've been picking away at my PCM wiring. I got an 0411 PCM and harness from a truck and have been weeding out the circuits no longer needed. It is a slow and dirty process, but going well so far. I've found a few places where wires have damaged insulation from sun exposure which isn't ideal. But since I'm going to be extending the harness to mount the PCM in the fender, I'll be able to do some creative splicing and fix all that. I'll be sure to show how much I pull out when I'm done lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51088572072_411192c415_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kQwhzw)20210321_173217 (https://flic.kr/p/2kQwhzw) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Otherwise, I make progress when I can. My wife and I recently purchased a new to us toy hauler that needs a little rehab, so I've been working on that a ton to try and finish before summer arrives. And the usual project list for the house, kids, etc... I want to have it running by the end of the year if I can! lol

[Mikey97D]

Nice progress.

The prices on toyhaulers right now are nuts. Well, nuts on any rv. Good luck with the new to your toyhauler.

[WallaceMFG]

Nice progress.

The prices on toyhaulers right now are nuts. Well, nuts on any rv. Good luck with the new to your toyhauler.

Thanks! And yes, they are crazy right now. Plus there's just none available. And when you start looking for a specific model it gets even harder. Less than a month after we got it the stimulus checks hit and people got tax returns, trailer market literally dried up overnight.

We had decided on what we wanted, so had to pay to play. 07 Weekend Warrior FSW3200.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51125713397_9fa99cb5f3_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kTNDpc)20210306_151024 (https://flic.kr/p/2kTNDpc) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr

[WallaceMFG]

Hey all,

Still making progress as I can. Been picking away at the PCM harness, finally got all the unused circuits weeded out. Here's the pile of unused wired from the harness, almost bigger than what is left lol.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51126020809_c4964bef2c_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kTQdMp)20210417_180134 (https://flic.kr/p/2kTQdMp) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Threw the harness on the car to start seeing how things are going to go.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51125706402_a0442d01b0_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kTNBjA)20210411_190546 (https://flic.kr/p/2kTNBjA) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Not sure if this is final, but the PCM fits pretty good right here. And the harness might not need extended at all, or very little.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51126181268_6bee99a356_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kTR3tW)20210411_190539 (https://flic.kr/p/2kTR3tW) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


And in other news, my new block is back from the machine shop. 5.3 now bored to LS1 spec, ready to go together. Just need to order bearings to start checking clearances.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2021/04/51126181053_f0a41f9f45_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kTR3qe)20210417_142139 (https://flic.kr/p/2kTR3qe) by Nelson Wallace (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152921087@N08/), on Flickr


Things are going well!!!

[WallaceMFG]

Hey everyone,

Been a while since I've been stalking the forum. Life has taken a lot of turns since the last time I made a post on here, time for a recap.

I had not posted about it on here, but my wife and I welcomed our son to the world in October 2020. Life was chaotic as expected but everything was going well in the household with him and his older sister. However, there were some circumstances that were starting to change that situation. The short reason is that we were spending tons of time commuting between Yuma and Mesa. Only about a 3 hour drive, but making that drive every Friday and Sunday was wearing us out. Combine all the driving with having an infant who did NOT like to sleep in the car, we had finally had enough with all the driving.

Shortly after my last post on here, I interviewed for a new job. I had not been planning to leave GM, but my dad who worked at Allison Transmission told me they were about to have an opening for an Engineering position. I decided to throw in an application, thinking I would not get the job as I did not have tons of experience yet. Nearly 3 months went by and I figured I had not gotten the job. Well, suddenly I got a phone call with a job offer 3 days before I was leaving on a vacation. I decided to accept the job, but we had to keep the details quiet until I returned and was able to submit my leave notice to GM.

Most of Summer 2021 was consumed by packing our house and moving back to the Phoenix area. I quickly packed the Rustang full of it's own parts and dragged it to my parents house temporarily. The housing market was absolutely crazy then, we were terrified about finding a home since they were all selling before we could even look at any. Thanks to help from my parents, we actually ended up with a house about a quarter mile from my parents, great so I can use the shop! I started with Allison Transmission in July of 2021 and had a steep learning curve. Part of the agreement with the wife was that I would shelve the Rustang project for a while since our new house cost so much more than we wanted due to the market conditions. I agreed, and luckily the house has a carport in the back yard I've been able to keep it under. So it's not for a lack of desire that the Rustang hasn't been worked on, just a reality of life unfortunately.

Now the bad part of the life update. In December 2022, we unexpectedly lost my Dad to an obscure brain infection. It has been hard would be an understatement to say the least. Our family has been lost without him, he was our ring leader and was the one always planning new adventures for us to go on. I work in the same office as him and work has never been the same. We still miss him every day, and the only comfort we can take is that he's not suffering anymore.

Since losing Dad, all of the project cars have been in a bit of limbo. I have not done much to any of them past general maintenance or fixing things that are broken. Here's a bit of a summary of all the projects:

• Our 69 Torino is the reliable one, but not able to be used half of the year due to no A/C.
• The 69 Chevelle has been completely and utterly unreliable. The trans broke 6th gear in March 2022, and the replacement we put in is geared for the drag strip and sucks to drive on the street. We have had a constant stream of issues from the Fitech EFI. Currently, I have it back to drivable and it will probably stay that way for a bit. Hope to put a TKX in it and replace the Fitech soon.
• Dad had a 1971 C10 that he was getting ready to build into his new daily driver. We have a 525hp LS3 crate motor with 6L90, Vintage air, suspension, wheels, etc… It is waiting for us to have time to get started on it.
• I bought my wife a 1980 Suburban since we needed something larger for the family to take to car shows. It’s a runner, and the long term project is I have a Duramax/Allison combo to put into it.
• 1967 Mustang GT sitting in the garage, not sure what we will do with it yet.
• 1970 Mach 1 Mustang, same situation as the 67 except I want this one so it’s not going anywhere.

And finally, back to the Rustang. I haven’t done much of anything to it except for hunt for parts here and there. I have the aluminum 5.3 that I was planning to use, needs pistons and a bunch of other parts to be usable. I also have a gen4 6.0 that was given to me with a spun cam bearing. The bottom end is in fantastic shape, so I’m cleaning it up and seeing if the block is able to be saved. I don’t feel any grooves in the cam journal where the bearing came out, so I am hoping it can be saved. I think I’ll accept the weight hit for the iron block if it means I can have a usable engine for cheaper. I also just recently found a new main shaft for my Viper T56. They have been unavailable anywhere for the last couple years, I got lucky and found Hawks Motorsports had one listed on eBay the other day and I grabbed it. So at least my trans will be usable eventually.

I’ll get around to posting some pictures of stuff soon. The only good thing about the long delay is my son is now almost 5 and loves to be out in the garage with me. So with any luck, I can get back to working on the Rustang with him.

Looking forwards to talking with people again, and having some fun things to work towards.

Nelson

[Mikey97D]

Sorry about losing your father.