TwinTorino

[SVTforme]

Did not get a whole lot done over the holidays since I was out of town.. but did manage to get some things done the past couple of days.

Here's the concept for reinforcing the floors. This will allow stock buckets to be bolted into the car - and the brackets shown will allow the Sparcos to be bolted in at the correct height. Figured this would work much better than the after thought that was used to accomadate buckets on a stock vehicle.

Have the driver's side seat supports basically done.. so can now finish welding the floors in for good. Have the pass side almost done too. Designed the setup so the stock buckets would still work.. even though they will likely never make it back into the car again. It's nice to be able to sit in the car for a change. Getting closer to driving by the day..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_023-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_025-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_026-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_027-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_028-1.jpg

[Bryce]

Nice solidworks design.

[SVTforme]

Thanks! It's amazing how far the CAD packages have come over the past decade. Before it would take more time than it is worth to whip something like this up. Now you can make the model and have a sweet rendering in less than 10 min and be ready to make parts. You obviously know this all too well :).

[Bjkadron]

Very nice! I hadn't thought about doing the seat mounts like that. But it is a good idea.

I too am a big fan of CAD. Solidworks is saving me a bunch of money!

[SVTforme]

One step closer.. driver's side rear floor is now trimmed and tacked in place. Lots of welding to do on the car still that is for sure.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_029-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Scored a pair of used Cobra IRS Konis for car #2. Fresh rebuild on these with zero miles. Came with shock dyno sheets too which was a bonus. With car #1 getting closer to an operational state by the day, we are trying to get everything in hand to be able to dive into the next one.

Moving onto the fuel system - we decided to run a 2003/2004 Cobra fuel pump assembly. This is a unique 2003/2004 only setup that comes with dual pumps to provide additional fuel with the supercharged application. Since they cost a fortune new, we opted to go the used route as usual. We decided to run a returnless system like the stock vehicle. This system uses an FPDM (Fuel Pump Driver Module) to duty cycle the fuel pumps to target a desired fuel pressure which is measured by the computer at the fuel rail. Alternatively, we could have run a return system with a pressure regulator, but we opted to use what came with the Mustang originally.

As for fuel tank - for now we will use a stock 68/69 Torino tank. We will weld in a flange on the top front center area to allow this fuel pump module to bolt right in. We will build a reservoir/baffle setup at the base of the tank similar to what is in a newer Mustang to help prevent fuel starvation. Float rod will be a custom one using a stainless welding rod to take the shape of the Torino tank into consideration.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Georgia_IRS_004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/texas_fuel_system_001-1.jpg

[wellis77]

Solidworks is saving me a bunch of money!

Not having Solidworks is costing me some time, but hopefully not too much coin.

This build is looking great. Nice work on the seat mounts.

[SVTforme]

Got the rear pass side floor tacked into place. Now moving onto the trans tunnel. First step was transitioning the Mustang firewall to the Torino hump. Almost have that roughed in - just need to trim all the pieces. Next comes the 4-speed tunnel. We decided to just make our own, and integrate it into the hump. Unfortunately the T56 shifter base is too large to work with a stock shifter bezel, so we need to go with something slightly larger.. although not by much. Time to order up some carpet and shift bezel/boot.

Also need to make up a custom shifter handle and knob. We will more than likely go with a cueball style black shifter with the 6-speed pattern on it. Alternatively we may make up our own 68 style knob, but with the 6-speed pattern in it.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_030-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_031-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/Texas_floor_replace_032-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Was digging through summer pictures.. and forgot about this one. Needed some inspiration with all the snow on the ground. This was at Gingerman Raceway in the summer. Special thanks to Yancy Johns for letting us get behind the wheel of the Fairlane!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/yancyjohns_torino_gingerman_001-1.jpg

[Rick K]

guys are really picking up the pace. Wish I could spend more time on my 67 fastback project,but working on this fox mustang and this other guy bugs me to help him out in his barn. Keep up the updates,saves gas on Torino Tuesdays:)

[rtwind02]

Glad to see some Torinos hitting the pro-tour route!

[Fl Buick]

As a noobie to the fabrication world verse restoration I'm blown AWAY!

[SVTforme]

Finally.. had lots more time lately to get things done. Summer will be here in no time.

Firewall is now welded in for good, as are the front floor pans. Just need to final weld everything and also get the trans tunnel welded in. Plasma cut out some speaker holes and made up some patch panels. We got fed up with lack of access to the upper transmission bolts, so we made access holes through the firewall to get at them. Should make life easier.

Hydraboost fits like a glove. Need to run the lines to the power steering pump, steering rack and cooler next. Also need to get the pedal box to mate up with the Torino dash. We'll be driving the car in no time..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_033-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_034-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_023-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_024-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_025-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_026-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_027-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_brake_system_001-1.jpg

[icebird84]

looking good

[73lt4]

Good Job! Impressed with your skills!

[SVTforme]

While everyone else was watching football, we were hanging out in the garage. Got the trans tunnel tacked in - once the carpet comes this week - we will finalize the hump and weld it in. This was by far the most annoying piece to make fit since it was constrained tightly on all sides. In the end it fit up nicely to the Mustang firewall and stock Torino floorpans. Just need to final weld everything and the floors will be all set.

Also started to get the pedals and the steering under control. We ended up taking an auto pedal assembly and cutting most of it away (except for the part that bolts to the steering column, and bridged the gap between the two. Once we are finished welding this up - it will hopefully look like it came that way. Steering column will have a u-joint under the dash (similar to new cars) and we will make up a bearing assembly to keep it concentric to the outer tube.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_035-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_028-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_firewall_mods_029-1.jpg

[chunger]

It took me a few times scrolling back and forth to even see what you did. Once I spotted it, of course it look factory!

What are you doing for the carpet - I'm guessing that a stock Torino carpet is not going to clear your trans tunnel?

[SVTforme]

You are in luck.. found out this eve when the carpet came in today. The Torino actually had a rather high 4-speed shift hump, so we just need to capture it under this area. So far seems to fit like a glove.

We wanted to get the actual carpet in before finalizing shifter hump position. At least from now on in are uphill. Carpet is made by Trim Parts and seems to fit OK so far.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_036-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_037-1.jpg

[chunger]

I thought that Trim Parts only made parts for GM and Mopars?

The carpet looks great and it seems that your shifter hump is fairly comparable to the huge factory 4-speed one. I've got two of the originals here and they still surprise me by how large they are.

No matter, are you going to coat the floor with some sound deadener under the carpet when it's done?

It's gotta feel pretty good about getting this far on the project!

[SVTforme]

I was not aware of that either until I shopped around a bit.

Got lucky with the size of the hump, and even with the shifter location as it lands in the perfect spot.

Definitely putting sound deadener under the carpet, so my ears won't be ringing after a long trip.

There is now an end in sight :).

[SVTforme]

Finally.. lots of free time to work away at things. Made up a shifter hump to conform to the carpet and clear the reverse lock-out solenoid on the transmission. Almost ready to cut the floor away and weld in. After that, floor fab is done and only needs to be final welded.

Found someone on Ebay selling oil thermostats cheap on Ebay so I grabbed a pair of them. These models are actually for a Lotus, but work fine with the Torino since it is set up for an oil filter with a 3/4-16 thread. You simply remove the oil filter and stack this on top and put the oil filter back on. Since we are running an external oil cooler, this is a must in order to let the oil in the engine get up to the proper temperature (same as a thermostat in the cooling system).

Moving onto the steering system, we found the necessary parts to make it work. The "trial" steering column was cut down considerably and a bracket was welded onto the end to accept a flange bearing. The inner shaft is then cut down to mate with the intermediate steering shaft. This shaft then connects to the lower shaft, which then connects to the rack. The steering colum has to be cut back so far to clear the brake pedal. This also reduces all of the u-joint angles. Believe it or not, these shafts are from a 2004 Lincoln Navigator ($20 on Ebay). The connection on the steering rack is a custom Ford only one, so this limited the choices to a Ford vehicle. Alternatively companies like Borgeson make the parts needed to put together all the shafts, but they are not cheap. Mustang ones will not work since the suspension is further forward. The firewall bearing is from a Mustang. For the first time in years - the Torino can once again be steered using the steering wheel.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_038-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_engine_install_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_steering_004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_steering_005-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig,

2 questions: (1) what is that third port on the back of the oil thermostat fitting - the one that's clearly not for the lines to connect - is it a fitting for a temp probe?

(2) When you cut the column down, did you install a bearing on the end to support the steering shaft? It appears you may have, but how is is attached the column? I think I see a flange plate you fabbed up with some studs to mount the bearing to, but was the inner tube a concern? Also, there's really 2 hollow tubes isn't there? Did you just weld it all together?

[torino420]

Amazing work as usual Craig!

[Dalamar]

nice work Craig!

[TARAfied]

I'm new to the site and have been reading all the project threads. I gotta say this is one of the coolest cars I could imagine! Awesome skills and great vision.

[SVTforme]

Over the weekend managed to wrap up the shifter hump which is now ready to weld in. Surprisingly the shifter lands right where it is supposed to. We put the Sparco seat with all the pedals and steering wheel in position and everything feels great. Should be fun to drive (and comfortable).

With the steering all hooked up, we were able to steer the front wheels for the first time - another big hurdle out of the way. There is absolutely no play in the steering which is a big change from before. Now just need to modify the good steering column and get it ready to go in for good. Only thing left to do on the column is make up an adapter harness to plug into the newer Mustang electronics.

Moved onto getting the trans permanently mounted in the car. We are just going to weld two brackets to the floor (still need to be trimmed down), and use J-clips to retain the trans mount to the brackets (similar to a base Mustang). With the subframe connectors in place and the seat supports, the floor is now very stiff. Keeps things simple and helps keep the weight down.

With the trans now in position, everything clears the trans tunnel, including the Police package Crown Vic driveshaft, which is the perfect length.
Now onto the fuel and brake system.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_039-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_040-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_041-1.jpg

[asifnyc]

love this build. very very cool. and I like the bullitt pedal pads. I used them on my Javelin :twothumbs

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/resizeofpedals_after-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Can't go wrong with those pedals!

Made some more headway this eve.. trans mounts - check. Had to make up a 1/2 aluminum spacer to be able to get j-nuts under the mounts. The crossmember is from a 2004 Cobra with T56.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Texas_floor_replace_042-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig - great, simple solution to what could have been a very complex problem. It's uncanny how easy you got the crossmember to fit. Much more compact that the stock one. Did you just fab up the body mounts to "get it close" and then decide to use the spacer to set the driveshaft angle?

Very nice!

[SVTforme]

To be honest - I am not really fond of any aftermarket crossmembers out there - plus we are also trying to keep this on a budget where possible. Since we cut the original trans mounts off and integrated them into the subframe connectors, that ruled out using anything original. The Cobra T56 mount was $5 on Ebay and the rest of the mounts was made up from a left-over 2x3 from the subframe connectors.

The trans is in a fixed position based on the engine angle. If we didn't put the spacer there, there wouldn't be enough height to get the bracket in there as well as the retainer nuts. Otherwise we would have had to cut through the floors and run the nuts inside the of the car.

[coolwelder62]

Awesome project.Everytime I check back in just keep's getting neater.

[SVTforme]

Some more progress over the weekend - since we were happy with the steering and how it worked out, we modified a pair of floor shift columns. The other one we used was an old beat-up column shift one. Just need to powdercoat these when we get closer to final assembly time.

Chunger - realized I did not answer your question earlier - so these pics should help clear that up. As for the inner tube - we will likely weld that to the bottom plate in the end.

Also moved onto the braking system, and got the ABS module mounted in the car. We opted to move this from the passenger's side in front of the engine (on the base Mustang) and move it to under the master. This makes brake line routing much more simple, and hides the module out of the way. Thankfully the original Torino steering box sat where it did, as it made a nice place for the module. Just need to run the lines now. Will be starting into the fuel system next week - getting closer to a running and driving car by the day.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_steering_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_steering_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_brake_system_003-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig - thanks for the extra photos, it really does explain it to me. Love the setup here. Wonderful build. Neat solution on the steering. You have a good eye to making things work out!

[SVTforme]

Moving right along on progres. Back to the engine - we are converting the engine to dual bore throttle body instead of single in attempt to get a bit more power out of it. It is a known issue with the M90 blower kits as the pressure drop across the throttle body is much higher with the single bore. This also means we now need to make up a custom clear air tube, which will either be carbon fiber or aluminum (see below for how).

Got the steering column modified, and got a Momo Ford specific adapter for the steering wheel. Adapter/wheel takes some getting used to, but it is growing on me. For those of you running smaller OD steering wheels on these cars.. how the heck do you see the gauges??

We were not really sure how we were going tin integrate the Ford fuel pump into the tank. Then one day the lightbulb went off and I realised that we should likely get someone to cut the tank flange off at an wrecking yard. Taking that one step further, we called a late model Mustang wrecking yard and they helped us up by getting 2 flanged in from wrecked cars.

Took a road trip this weekend to grab a new toy that was too good to pass up. It is a Pullmax model D3. We have been looking for years and years for one of these to show up close to home and for the right price. This was only slightly more than the price it would be worth if scrapping it. It works like a charm and we just need to make up some tooling before we can experiment with making parts for the Torino. We even broke out the custom trailer for the event :).

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_engine_install_009-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_steering_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/texas_fuel_system_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/pullmax_001-1.jpg

[Rick K]

WOOOHOOOO!!! comin out with some flat sheetmetal Graig. Where do you have room for that? Is Jeremy starting on the barn?

[SVTforme]

Come one over :). It lives at my house even though I ran out of space for cars and tools long ago.

[DarkBuddha]

I'm in love with that steering wheel... :drool:

[Cobraclone]

Nice build. I really like what you did by integrating the newer Mustang structure to the older Torino. I used to have a 69 Fastback Cobra with a 428CJ and a C6 when I was in high school. I always liked these cars! Keep the updates coming!

[SVTforme]

Started cutting up a new gas tank for the car and amazingly the 2004 Cobra fuel pump assmebly is the perfect height for these tanks. Just need to integrate a sump into the tank for the pump to sit in, and then modify the upper flange and weld into the tank. Surprised to see a "Made in Canada" tag on this tank, a pleasant surprise. Very nice quality part. Since the gastank is also the trunk floor in the this car, we will likely just make up a guard to protect the pump housing and lines.

Moving on - need to connect all of the systems together. Picked up some stainless 3/16", 1/4" and 3/8" lines and found the appropriate clips, etc to attach to the car. This stainless tubing is seamless and annealed which makes it much more pleasant to flare. The Mustang has a wonderful mix of flare nuts, M10, M12, 3/8-24 and 7/16-24 to connect to the master cylinder, proportioning valve, ABS controller and all 4 corners. Since this is a 4-channel ABS system we also need to run 2 brake lines to the rear. Also have Goodrich front stainless flex lines and Maximum Motorsports in the rear.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_fuel_system_003-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_brake_system_004-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig, Nice, very nice. So it look like you'll have to fab up a flange for the unit and close off the original fill pipe then right? Will you be adding any baffling to the tank while you're in there? Of course to do that, you'd probably have to split the seam around the tank, but that would make working inside it sooo much easier.

Just a thought.

[Rick K]

how come you guys didn't go with a fuel cell and put in a trunk floor?

[SVTforme]

Craig, Nice, very nice. So it look like you'll have to fab up a flange for the unit and close off the original fill pipe then right? Will you be adding any baffling to the tank while you're in there? Of course to do that, you'd probably have to split the seam around the tank, but that would make working inside it sooo much easier.

Just a thought.

If you look a couple of posts up - you will see the flanges we are using. We simply had them cut out of a tank from a junkyard. With a little work, we can make them adapt to the contours of the tank. Original fill pipe will stay where it is, as I like the stealth of the filler neck behind the license plate.

Not sure on baffling yet - we can likely get some basic baffles through the hole we cut for the pump. We will be putting in a sealed reservoir to surround the pumps to hold fuel locally, similar to what is in a 2003/2004 Cobra tank. Definitely would be easier open up the seams, but I think you would have to destroy the entire seam to get it open.

We are also up in the air on whether or not to use the Walbro tank pickups on either side of the tank like the ones used on Rick's Classic Tanks. Only problem we have in running those is you need a jet pump to drive them, which the older Mustangs do not use. The newer Mustangs with saddle tanks do have them, so I suppose we could incorporate one. Other problem is they require some of your fuel pump flow to drive them.


how come you guys didn't go with a fuel cell and put in a trunk floor?

I guess this depends on what your definition of a fuel cell is. There are the "generic" cells etc that you can get from Summit or Jegs, which are just aluminum reservoirs. The style I typically think of when I hear fuel cell are ones made by companies like Fuel Safe Systems that have an outer structure and an internal bladder and are often vehicle specific.

We went back and forth on this one. First thing is noone makes a fuel cell that is Torino specifc. Any place that makes good fuel cells for Mustang etc, want at least 1k for them when all is said and done. Those would need to be modified to fit. You also have to replace the bladders periodically which gets pricey. They are typically set up for return systems. We are looking to retain the Mustang returness system and run the pump with the Ford FPDM (fuel pump driver module) to duty cycle the pump.

As for the generic reservoirs which I think you may be referring to, we wanted to have a usable trunk, and maximize fuel tank capacity for long trips. Most of these tanks are too tall and are square boxes which don't package very efficiently. The also don't follow the underbody ground clearance area very well since they are flat on the bottom.

Since we got lucky with the height of the stock tank and the height of the Cobra dual pump setup, this made the most sense. This fuel module would be a pain to incorporate into a generic cell.

The ideal setup would be something like the ones from Rick's Classic tanks for a Torino application.. but I don't think we will see that anytime soon :). Plus when you are a budget, those are not a cheap solution.

[batstang]

CRAZY BUILD!!! Too Sweet!!

[SVTforme]

Finally finished up the worm gear setup on the rotisserie to allow the car to spin around and got to see what the rotisserie hype is all about. Sure is a nice tool to have around the garage! Unfortunately got carried away and forgot to drain the oil out of the diff. Now the garage has a wonderful 80/90 aroma.

Moved on to getting the brakes in order. After searching far and wide for Torino brake line kits with ABS, we just ended up bending our own. Got the Wilwood proportioning valve in place, and also bent and flared up both front lines. Started routing the rear lines. We bent all of the lines up with 3/16 aliminum tube first which was 10x easier. Kinda looks like it was supposed to be there. Also got in the adapters to convert the hydroboost to AN style fittings.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/Texas_floor_replace_043-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_brake_system_005-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_brake_system_006-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Could only put it off so long.. finally had to buy some new parts for the car for a change. Working on getting the cooling, power steering, fuel and brake systems up and running. Wanted to have all the fittings in black and with black polyester weaving on the hoses. Took a while to track down all the parts for the right price, but we have everything now for one car.

Also got upgraded parts to run the remote oil cooler and also a better pump and Cobra pickup to keep the engine happy on the track.

Started cleaning up the underbody and began welding everything underneath. I am not sure how we would have done this without a rotisserie.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_engine_install_010-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_engine_install_011-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_frame_connector_install_021-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_frame_connector_install_022-1.jpg

[garner67]

This has to be one of my all time favorite builds. What are your next big jobs you're trying to complete in the coming months?

Thanks for posting your progress, and keep up the great work!

[SVTforme]

Thanks!

Hoping to get the car running and driving in the next 2-3 months which seems more realistic by the day. Ultimate goal would be to get one of the cars to the Motorstate Challenge in June.

Next on the agenda would be to start hacking up the second car which should go much faster.

[beyonda68]

Amazing fab work. Have enjoyed reading and looking at this build. Look forward to more updates.

[SVTforme]

Have been doing lots of underbody welding.. so not a whole lot of exciting progress to see latetly.

Added the final pieces to the rear of the subframe connectors to make them blend into the rear frame rail. Once the IRS comes back out, this can be finished up. Also started to weld the connectors to the floor pans.

Now that the rosisserie is in use, we added the final bracket to the IRS in the middle of the car. These IRS units are notorious for wheel-hop issues, so hopefully stiffening all of this will put that to rest.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/texas_frame_connector_install_023-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/03/Texas_IRS_039-1.jpg

[Wesley J]

Can you elaborate on the fittings you got to change the hydroboost over to AN and where you got them? I'm doing he same with my '67.

Thanks in advance,

Wes

[SVTforme]

Fittings came from Tallon Hydraulics. Tons of other places make them (Aeroquip, Russell, etc), but Tallon one of the few companies who makes a -6 fitting for the return line. I found Tallon has the best package price overall. Search on Ebay for hydroboost fitting. Note that for the high pressure supply to the rack, you will need to use a Ford Teflon washer for it to seal (assuming you are starting with a Mustang Hydroboost).

Only thing I would suggest before ordering is checking the thread on your return line. We ordered 2 sets only to find that one of our Hydraboost units had left hand thread on the return for some reason, when the other had right hand thread.

[Wesley J]

Thanks a bunch for the info!

Love the twins, great work.

[geomerc]

Hey Craig, Do you know how much difference there is between where the old towers were and the new towers are? I am contemplating the same thing only using t-bird parts as I have them available.

Thanks
George

[geomerc]

Hey Craig, Do you know how much difference there is between where the old towers were and where the new towers are? I am contemplating the same thing only using t-bird parts as I have them available.

Thanks
George

[SVTforme]

Hey Craig, Do you know how much difference there is between where the old towers were and where the new towers are? I am contemplating the same thing only using t-bird parts as I have them available.

Thanks
George

We were not able to hit our caster camber targets with the stock shock towers, plus the height of the towers did not woork with the travel of the struts we are using. For car #2, we may just cut the tops off the towers and make up our own to suit.. as this will save a lot of fabrication time.

Depends on what your goals are for the car. Just be careful with the T-bird stuff (depends what year), as performance parts are harder to find and are more expensive than their Mustang counterparts.

[SVTforme]

Been working a lot on the car lately.. mostly in the form of welding, so there is not as much to see as of late. Finished the balance of the welding on the subframe connectors in the rear and moved onto the rear suspension and wheel tubs. Should have that done in the next couple of weeks.

Finally gave the exhaust some attention. Decided to just run an "off the shelf" 2003/2004 Cobra system, and will add length where necessary, and modify the outlets so you can't see them. Found a used 2004 Cobra cat-back stainless Magnaflow system with only 1600 miles on it for only $200 shipped, and it even came with an extra set of flowmasters. Not sure why it was so cheap, but I didn't ask questions there. Have the forwards x-pipe section on it's way, so we may have an exhaust system in the car soon enough.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_frame_connector_install_024-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_exhaust_001-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Since we plan on having the car up and running in the next month.. time to take care of the smaller things. Worked on getting the parts together for the remote battery setup. We were going to make our own battery mount, but for the time it takes, we decided to just go with a DSE mount for a 34/78 Optima. To connect the dots, we are using 2 gauge Quickcar cable and side mount location on the battery.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_wiring_004-1.jpg

Driver's side floors have been welded and smoothed out. Pass side is close behind and just need to be ground down smooth. Sure is nice to be able to do this with the car sideways on the rotisserie. Nearly done everything under the car now. Also in the process of of putting the rear seat support back in. It is hard to see in the picture, but we added a recessed area in the seat supports right beside the frame connectors where the brake/fuel lines will clip into on each side.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_floors_012-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_floors_013-1.jpg

[coolwelder62]

This is a very cool build.Can't wait to see more.Scott M.

[HectorM52]

I need more pics so I can figure out where that last one is!

[RS_Customs]

I need more pics so I can figure out where that last one is!

Looks like the bottom of the passenger front seat pan. Can see a good shot from post #294.

It's looking good!

Robert

[SVTforme]

Yeah.. pictures now tend to defy gravity with the rotisserie on the scene. Since it is finally nice out, will have the roll the car outside and attack it with the SLR and post up some higher quality pics.

Moving right along, got the Magnaflow offroad X-pipe yesterday. Looks great and saves a ton of time trying to piece together straight sections and bends. As soon as the car comes off the rotisserie, the powertrain will go back in and exhaust will go on. Also got some straight 2.5" SS pipe to make the Magnaflow system work since the Torino is longer than a Mustang.

Moved onto the e-brake system. Went back and forth on whether to go on the floor in the pedal area, or in the console area. Since the car is clearly not going the stock route, function wins. Since we are not running consoles in the cars, and want a nice area for the dead pedal to go, it makes the most sense beside the driver. Besides, it makes e-brake drifting much easier :). Cables are aftermarket pieces for a 2004 Mustang with IRS.

We now have June in our sights for a cruise around the block..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_exhaust_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_brake_system_007-1.jpg

[chunger]

Moved onto the e-brake system. Went back and forth on whether to go on the floor in the pedal area, or in the console area. Since the car is clearly not going the stock route, function wins. Since we are not running consoles in the cars, and want a nice area for the dead pedal to go, it makes the most sense beside the driver. Besides, it makes e-brake drifting much easier :). Cables are aftermarket pieces for a 2004 Mustang with IRS.



https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/texas_brake_system_007-1.jpg

Making progress!

Just so I'm clear - is that ebrake handle setup also out of a 2004 Mustang?

[SVTforme]

Sorry - forgot to mention that. It is from a 2001 Mustang GT. I am hoping all we have to do it lengthen the single cable coming off the handle to adapt to the Torino. The two cables that go to the brake calipers connect directly to the end of the single cable which makes things nice and simple.

[SVTforme]

Almost there..

Have most of the underbody final welded (pass side shown from underneath car). Was a bunch of rust on the front crossmember under the rad - so we just cut it out. Will replace with 3"x2" steel section which will fit perfectly - the nice thing is it only needs to be cut to length and can be welded in. No sense in spending lots of time on spot repair since the suspension points that use the underside of this are long gone anyway.

Also found an Earls oil cooler, Bosch intercooler pump and Spicer 1350 series u-joints on Ebay in the last few weeks. Just need to get a Speedway 36" 1.25" OD splined sway bar for the front and the major purchases for this car will be close to complete.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/texas_frame_connector_install_025-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/texas_body_001-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/ebay_stashes_001-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig, great work - as usual!

Two questions:

1 - Looks like there's getting to be lots of surface rust - how will you remove it? Scruff & prime/seal?

2. What's a intercooler pump used for?

[SVTforme]

For now it will get a quick scuff and Rustoleum or something along those lines keep it from getting worse. Will drive the car like that for a while to shake the thing down, then eventually when time comes to paint it will get sandblasted or dipped and repainted with a good coat of paint.

It is simply used to pump coolant (seperate intercooler circuit) through the intercooler inside the intake manifold down a smaller radiator located in front of the main radiator. Intercooler pump itself has been used on every Ford supercharged/intercooled application as of late except for the Ford GT (Shelby, Lightning, Terminator, etc).

[SVTforme]

Have not posted in a while.. but getting lots done behind the scenes.

Have the rear wheel wells, shock mounts and spring mounts completed. Pictures shown is with the car upside down. Not much else to do in this area until final paint goes on. Moving onto the front of the car, the new radiator crossmember is welded in for good, and more or less complete (and also shown upside down. Just need to make up a mount to pick up the hood latch support. Only thing left to do under the car now is bend up the 2 rear brake lines and a fuel line.

Figured since the car will hopefully be up and running soon, it was time to finish up the fuel system. We made a fuel sump up out of stainless using a 2003/2004 Cobra tank as reference. We still need to add the supply tube and air vent, otherwise it is ready to go in the tank.

Once the lines are done, the car will be put back on its suspension, and the powertrain will go in for the last time for a while, as it is time to get thing thing on the road.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_minitub_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_body_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_fuel_system_004-1.jpg

[Ripped]

I wish, I'd have had your fabrication, and welding skills, before I started mine!

Nice work. Can't wait to see her rolling...

[SVTforme]

Have not posted in a while.. likely because we have been too busy working on the car. We have the fuel tank almost ready to bolt in, just need to weld on a modern filler neck/cap. The pump reservoir has been welded to the standard Torino gas tank to mimic the setup on a 2004 Mustang Cobra.

Brake system is for the most part complete, as all the necessary lines are bent up and attached to the car. Since we are running a 4-channel ABS system, we had to run two separate line to the rear. Once the car is back on the ground, only thing to do now is bleed them.

Splined swaybars arrived this week from Speedway - very nice parts. Looks like we are very close to having all the parts we need to complete 1 car - finally.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_fuel_system_005-1.jpg https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_fuel_system_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_minitub_007-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_brake_system_008-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_brake_system_009-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_brake_system_010-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/texas_front_susp_073-1.jpg

[Wesley J]

Looking great as always. Did you order the speedway stuff from them direct or get it up here? Looks ideal for me.

Thanks,

Wes

[chunger]

Craig, looks awesome, as usual! On the ABS - are you using the system out of the donor Mustang? Not sure if you say this months issue of Hot Rod - they had a article on retrofitting ABS to a '69 Camaro - and one point they made was that the donor vehicle should be very similar to the what you are retrofitting it to - so the ABS computer understands the vehicle dynamics.

Just curious as I think of Torinos as being quite a bit different than 2004 Cobra's, but perhaps not all that different?

[RS_Customs]

Nice work!
Do you have any info on the weld-in parts for the gas tank?

Robert

[AdvAutoBob]

just finished reading all 17 pages... Incredible build you've got going on!

[SVTforme]

Looking great as always. Did you order the speedway stuff from them direct or get it up here? Looks ideal for me.

Thanks,

Wes

I got them from hrpworld.com. Took a couple of weeks, but in the end they were the same price as buying direct, and shipping was only $10. Took a bit longer as we opted for a 36" long bar. The standard size is typically 37.5". Bushings are from Amazon.com.


Craig, looks awesome, as usual! On the ABS - are you using the system out of the donor Mustang? Not sure if you say this months issue of Hot Rod - they had a article on retrofitting ABS to a '69 Camaro - and one point they made was that the donor vehicle should be very similar to the what you are retrofitting it to - so the ABS computer understands the vehicle dynamics.

Just curious as I think of Torinos as being quite a bit different than 2004 Cobra's, but perhaps not all that different?

Torino and Mustang are more similar than I would have expected. Wheelbase on the Torino is larger, but the overall curb weight is going to be close. Our weight bias is slightly more forward than a Mustang. Not sure how this will behave, but we sure are going to find out.

In the end we are using the following parts from a 2004 Mustang Cobra:
- Hydroboost and master cylinder (only Cobra models use M12 and M10 ports in master)
- Front and rear wheel speed sensors and pickups
- ABS distribution block and control module

There is one ABS unit for a Cobra (same for coupe and convertible), and one for a Mustang GT. They are easy to differentiate, as there is a bif sticker on them to indicate usage.

Since the ABS unit it part of the overall Mustang wiring system, I can talk to it via the CAN network through the OBDII port to make sure everything checks out.


Nice work!
Do you have any info on the weld-in parts for the gas tank?

Robert

Pump reservior is a custom made part based on the parts found in a 2003/2004 Mustang Cobra specific tank for the dual pump setup. The flange on the top of the tank is from a 99-04 Mustang that we had cut out of a tank at a Mustang only scrap yard.


just finished reading all 17 pages... Incredible build you've got going on!

Thanks! For the time it took to document everything - I could have had the car done by now :).

[SVTforme]

Wrapped up the lines this evening, and got the proportioning valve system in place. Took a while to figure out where to put everything, but very happy with things in the end.

The trick here was making all the intricate sections using aluminum 3/16 tube first. Aluminum is 100x easier to bend up than stainless. You can also remove the bend for the most part with ease in aluminum.. stainless not so much.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/texas_brake_system_011-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Moving right along on progress.. crossing fingers on being able to make Woodward this year under it's own power. Fuel system is basically done - just need to get Oetiker clamps on the lines and that will be it. Ended up using new Mustang fuel filter and bracket and retained the quick connect fittings. Makes parts cheaper and more readily available too. Everything else attaches using Ford quick disconnects which we added to the hard lines.

Moving onto cooling system, we have all of the hoses, adapters and fittings. Using the Ford racing oil filter adapter, it makes setting up the coolant hoses and oil cooler system a breeze.

Next step is to get a quick coat of paint on the underbody to keep rust away, and then assemble everything underneath the car and drop it back on the ground again. I'll have to break out the SLR this week for a chance and get some shots of the underbody outside with paint.

Once we shake down the car, we will send it in for media blasting and then final paint inside and out. That likely won't be until next year at this rate..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/texas_fuel_system_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/texas_fuel_system_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/texas_cooling_system_003-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/07/texas_cooling_system_004-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally big update here - been way to busy to post though.

Car will be at it's first show tomorrow at Paquale's Restaurant, which is beside Duggan's (13 and Woodward) as part of the Woodward Dream Cruise. I will be there from around 8-1.. then off to a wedding I go. Car now has most systems complete and runs and drives.

Will post pictures in the coming week.

[John Wright]

Cool!....anxiously awaiting the new pics.

[Bryce]

Congrats!

[chunger]

Craig,

It sure must feel good to be able to drive the car after all that work! Congrats! Looking forward to the update pics!

[SVTforme]

Cruising in the car was amazing - hard to believe it actually happened so fast. Considering I had all but 3 hours sleep in the span of 3 days.. I am glad the camera was around to verify this all happened. Aside from pulling the trans to swap a clutch disc in the car at 2 am the morning of the show, and taking the maiden voyage at the cruise itself.. everything went perfect. Before getting to the shots, a step back in time first..

[SVTforme]

Now the step back to 2 weeks ago. Pulled apart the engine to put in the new Melling oil pump, Canton windage tray and Moroso pan. Changing the oil pump in the new motors sure is not as simple as it once was. Oil pump in a modular motor is on the crank snout behind the timing gears. After getting everything back together, had to work on all the little things like custom throttle/cruise control cable bracket (based off a 2004 Cobra one) since the dual bore throttle body setup is a one-of on this car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_engine_install_012-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_engine_install_013-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_engine_install_014-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_engine_install_015-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

In the midst of all of this, it was time to seal things up for the time being, and start to make everything look presentable. This included painting the underbody and engine compartment and powedercoating all kinds of parts and pieces on the car. Nothing high budget, just some rattle cans and an Eastwood powdercoating kit.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/Texas_floor_replace_044-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/Texas_floor_replace_045-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_brake_system_012-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_steering_009-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_steering_010-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_front_susp_074-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally.. after all these all nighters (thanks to all the local gang for helping out), we made it to the dream cruise, and managed to put some miles on the car. I am still in shock that this all panned out.

We got so many parts and pieces on the car in the past 2-3 weeks, that I can't list or document everything. I hope to at least get the car in one color for now.. and do the final paint next year sometime. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story - interior shots and movie clips to follow shortly..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_woodward_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_exterior_004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_exterior_005-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/08/texas_engine_install_016-1.jpg

[mc84_zz4]

Wow, huge congrats on one helluva project! :cheers:
Thanks for the great pics for inspiration.

[wellis77]

HUGE inspiration. Great work Craig! Congratulations.

[chunger]

Craig,

Looks KILLER!!! Is it just me, or does anyone else find the look attractive? 'course I may be biased as my Ranchero has had that basic look for the last 10 years or so, and now I'm in the midst of painting it.

Here's the great thing about driving you car right now - you can park in ANYWHERE and nobody will mess with it, in fact, they will usually leave you extra room - so that they dont' have to be close the the 'junker'! LOL! Get a scratch - who cares! Random shopping cart runs into you - how can you tell?

This all changes when you paint it... been there, doing it again....

[Code Red]

awesome glad you got it to the dream cruise, wish I could of gone this year, I'm usually there every year

[rfalker1]

wow nice work!!! It looks good even without paint

[DarkBuddha]

Really excellent work!

BTW...

Craig,

Looks KILLER!!! Is it just me, or does anyone else find the look attractive?

No, you're not alone... I'm loving the look of the car as it sits. That kind of patina is hard to fake, and it just adds to the mystique and image for me.

[John Wright]

I kind of like the look as well.....congrats, I'm sure it felt good to be able to put some miles on it.

[dusterbd13]

yup. i love patina. gives it a pro-beater /streetfighter look.
i also vote to leave it alone while you do a yea or so of shakedown. wich i had done that. most of the paint chips/scratches on my car came from repairs/breakdowns after "completion"

[zombiekiller]

love it! It is definitely inspiring!

Looks like a prime candidate for the old " tar diluted with gasoline" type paint job with a shot of semi-gloss clear over top.

finish the look with some brown distressed leather seats and off white/eggshell guages and it wouldn't get any cooler.

I'll absolutely be looking for you next year at the dream cruise. I plan on taking my Galaxie. If you're on the power tour next summer, hopefully I'll see you there as well.

again, congrats, it looks awesome.

[Ripped]

VERY NICE, and congratulations. The stance looks good. I know you have a lot of work to do, but it's a great feeling getting it on the ground and driving.

I drove mine in primer, for almost two years. It was a great way to get all the kinks out, before final paint.

Hope to see a lot more.

[damannhw]

Been watching this thread for awhile now. being the former owner of an '03 Cobra, and lover of the Torino's, just let me congratulate you on a job EXTREMELY well executed !! I am very envious of your car, and hopefully someday might get to see it in person.

So what's your 1st impression of ride and drive ?

[66rusty]

I love this build. You guys have some mad fab skills. I could only dream of doing something like this.

[sr73bu]

KILLER! Love the patina!... great contrast to the amazing fab work/craftsmanship! Great Job!!!

-Sean

[Bjkadron]

yup. i love patina. gives it a pro-beater /streetfighter look.
i also vote to leave it alone while you do a yea or so of shakedown. wich i had done that. most of the paint chips/scratches on my car came from repairs/breakdowns after "completion"

I second this... Nothing ever works out perfectly the first time so you will likely be changing things so it would make sense to give it some shakedown time.

Mine will be in the current finish (stock gold with white painted top where the vinyl top was, and black spraypaint where it has had rust repair on the body) for a good while after It Is *done* for just that reason.

[Bryce]

Congrats!

[Amatouring]

I like pretty paint jobs as much as anybody, but that thing has a great look right now.

[kmdracer]

Awesome! Great to see something a bit different.

[Rick K]

the work is even more impressive in person. The sound coming out of this car is really cool to. Looking forward to the ride Craig :)

Now that you have some free time,how about helping on a certain 67 mustang?

[jturkey69]

WOW!!!! AMAZING BUILD!!!!! Im loving the pro-beater look!!!

[linkstar69]

Great well thought out car, congrats on the maiden voyage.

[nyvp]

go out and beater up...well done

[SVTforme]

Been a while since I have updated things here. We took a break for a while on the cars after burning ourselves out in August.

Now started to move on to take cars of the smaller things like interior, wiring, cooling system etc. Got in intemittent wipers to work using the original Mustang multifunction switch on the column. It was unfortunately not as simple as just getting an 80's intermittent switch like some do because of the way the computer controls them.

Put the car on the scales now that it is basically complete. 3500lb and ~55%/45% weight distribution. Definitely not as heavy as most would have expected. This was the original goal, we were just not sure if we could get there when adding heavy thing like IRS etc. Still more parts to go on the car - so we approximated them with weight on the car. Once we get into things like carbon fiber bumpers etc, hopefully this will go down.

We have been running the past month or two without a low temp radiator loop on the intercooler circuit, so we have not really been pushing the car until we get this in place. We ended up using a 2007 Shelby intercooler pump bracket and sticking it in the sheetmatal brake to make it conform to the Torino frame. Then it was a matter of playing connect the dots with hoses. Still working on the radiator itself which will go behind the bumper. Also have the oil cooler going in.

Still need to get some videos up. I'll hopefully get those in the next day or so (low res ones at least.. 1080p ones are huge!).

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/Texas_interior_010-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/texas_front_susp_075-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/torino_wiring_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/torino_wiring_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/torino_wiring_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/torino_scales_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/torino_scales_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/texas_cooling_system_005-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/texas_cooling_system_006-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Until I can get some good 1080p videos going, these will serve as a preview. These were taken on day 2 of having the car driveable (thanks to Luke for the footage).

It is not difficult to tell there is a supercharger under the hood. Should make some people scratch their heads https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/icon_smile-1.gif.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc78BMPKpNI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G10Ap846pO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjYOfH3ycRY

[chunger]

Craig,

Nice update. I was at the local GoodGuys show this weekend and spoke with a fella who had grafted the front shock towers out of a '04 Mustang under the front of his '64 Falcon - left a TON of room on each side.

Anyway, made me think of your project - so nice timing on the update! It's looking and sounding killer!

[CruizinKev]

nice update!! can't wait to see some more videos! sounds great! :twothumbs

[85coupe50]

Great job... Awesome fab skills.

[csouth]

What a build! Your fab skills and ingenuity are amazing. I'm sure this car will be a joy to drive for year to come..

[John Wright]

Enjoyed the vids.....nice little whine that will keep them guessing, in that last vid.

[bonecrrusher]

Sounds awesome!

[SVTforme]

Thanks guys!! Sure is easier to keep motivated now with a car that actually does something other than just sit there. We have the winter to get everything ironed out so we can start hitting the track in the spring. Can't wait for the Motorstate Challenge!


Craig,
Nice update. I was at the local GoodGuys show this weekend and spoke with a fella who had grafted the front shock towers out of a '04 Mustang under the front of his '64 Falcon - left a TON of room on each side.


You get any pics of this? Would be curious to see how they fit in a Falcon.

[SVTforme]

Since one car has an end in sight.. time to move onto #2. Got the rims and tires mounted over the weekend. Hoping to get that car up on the chassis jig shortly to start chopping.

Same tires as the other car - Michelin Pilot Sport Ps2 275/35/18 front, 315/30/18 rear. Rims are forged and from a Roush "Blackjack" edition, with one set narroed for the front.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/11/gerogia_wheels_001-1.jpg

[chunger]

You get any pics of this? Would be curious to see how they fit in a Falcon.

Yes, I'll be taking a buncha pics off the camera this weekend, so I'll pm some to you. Short answer is: this is a clean setup.

[Rick K]

hey does this mean torino tuesdays are back on?

[SVTforme]

Since winter is basically here.. time to move back into the interior and work on all of the electrical items that have been neglected. For the past while, we have been driving around with a new Mustang cluster buried behind the original dash. If the spacing between gauges were similar this would be OK for now, but they are far off which make seeing anything next to impossible. That brings back the dash design we started years ago.

Several goals with this design:
- Maintain overall original 1968 looking gauges - this was a one year only color
- Backlight with LED's instead of the original front lighting (requires transparent faces)
- Integrate Mustang air core gauges into cluster so they can be hooked up to the Mustang cluster electronincs
- Use newer style Mustang digital odometer
- Add more real gauges instead of idiot lights
- Integrate all of the Mustang dash lights like ABS, check engine, traction control etc..
- House everything in a modified original Torino gauge cluster housing

First a look at the oringal parts and pieces. Here are the references - an original 1968 cluster with the tach option, and the "donor" 2003/2004 Cobra cluster with a boost gauge. After that, some spare clusters we have for mock-up - a Mustang GT gauge cluster and a base 1968 Torino cluster.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_009-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_010-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_008-1.jpg

After countless hours of work using Adobe Illustrator, the first image is what we came up with in the beginning. After some more time and taking into consideration of how the Mustang gauges are set up and how they work, we came up with the last one which we will run with for the time being. The hardest part here was accomadating the Mustang smaller gauges into the package. The lower design also matches the dimensions of the original cluster exactly.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_gauge_cluster_overlay_001-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_011-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

OK - this all sounds great in theory.. but how do we make it work?

Largest challenges include:
- Making up transparent faces with LED backlighting.. and on a budget
- Reversing the direction of the gas gauge and oil pressure gauge on the cluster so they follow a logic direction of rotation
- Packaging everything together
- Remotely connecting gauges and odometer to circuit board. This has to be done since the gauge spacing is different.

First task is working with gauge faces. After doing some extensive research on the web.. we came up with this solution. Since everything is done in Illustrator, it exists as a vector graphic. In a nutshell this means that you can increase the size of the images as large as you want an they will not distort (unlike normal rasterized images). In theory I could print this out large enough to put on the side of a building if I really wanted to :) ). This provides for some very sharp images which is necessary for print out things like the text and tick marks.

By making up a set of layered images with a high res laser jet printer, we can get the transparent/opague effect. Top layer is a standard transparency sheet printed on the backside (image reversed). The bottom layer is a standard 20lb piece of white paper. Both of these sheets are bonded together to make one piece. Since I did not have the photo mount spray adhesive at the time of making these pictures up, you will have to use your imagination of what things will look like when they are perfectly aligned.

The final picture shows using an LCD computer monitor at night for backlighting. Little to no light passes through the black sections. Looks very similar to a modern cluster. This was relatively easy for the effect it gives. Ideally, we would silkscreen the parts on appropriate materials like auto manufacturers would.. but this will have to do for now until we lock in the design. For under $10, it sure does the trick.

For adding the check engine, ABS lights etc, we will simply add another transparency sheet and omit these images from the front layer. This way you will not be able to see them unless they are illuminated.

More to come as we progress.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_003-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_005-1.jpg

[andrewb70]

Very nice work with the gauges. I have been trying to bring a more modern touch to my older Autometer gauges without having to replace the gauges which are working perfectly. I contacted Autometer and of course they weren't incredibly helpful since they just want to sell more gauges. I was thinking of going down the same path as you and doing custom faces, etc....

Can you please offer up some of the web links that you found helpful?

Andrew

[Bjkadron]

Very nice work with the gauges. I have been trying to bring a more modern touch to my older Autometer gauges without having to replace the gauges which are working perfectly. I contacted Autometer and of course they weren't incredibly helpful since they just want to sell more gauges. I was thinking of going down the same path as you and doing custom faces, etc....

Can you please offer up some of the web links that you found helpful?

Andrew

I would be interested as well...

[SVTforme]

For DIY gauge faces, I found these helpful. This obviously requires some knowledge in graphics software and patience/time more than anything. You can print the faces at any printing place if you don't have access to a laser jet printer. Getting into the more complicated and detailed faces will require Illustrator knowledge. For the first round, I actually found that Solidworks (or any other CAD program) was really handy until I got the hang of Illustrator. The nice thing is you can import 2D CAD drawing files into Illustrator.

http://revlimiter.net/mods/gauges.php
http://www.cubefx.com/smart/speedo/
http://forums.acuralegend.org/custom-led-gauges-needles-t7422.html

For custom LED backlighting, this is the one I found to be the best. Most others just involve taking a string of LED's and packing them behind the cluster. This requires you to make your own PCB (printed circuit board). Still well within the DIY catagory, just a little more complicated. Once I get the faces figured out, I will move onto something like this. I will run a string of LED's in the meantime as there are plenty of other things to do on the car.

http://www.escape-city.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1361

All of this is much easier if you are simply replacing newer backlit gauges as you have something to go by. The older front lit gauges on 60's/70's cars throw in a twist as you have to re-do all of the lighting and backing to the faces. You have to switch to something clear instead of the existing metal for obvious reasons. Older clusters also have plastic closeouts behind them to divert light to things such as high beams, which makes backlighting even more challenging.

Once I get this all figured out and have something that is near completed and presentable - I will put together a how-to.

[SVTforme]

Back to the front suspension once again.. one last item to take care of - the sway bar. Since there is clearly nothing out there that would bolt right up.. we had to modify one to make it work. We are using a Speedway swaybar setup with 30deg steel arms. We have upgraded to using one of our first GM parts on this build. In this case, and aluminum C5/C6 Corvette end link. Since they do not bolt up directly to the control arms (of course not), we had to make up some interface brackets. The arms fit quite well, the only mod we really had to make is bending them 30deg to mate up with the end link. To clear the 275 tires up front, we had to notch the frame to be able to go full lock. After some cutting, v-notching, bending and welding, they kinda look like they came like that.

Also got in some LED's for cluster backlighting. Will be interesting to see how they illunimate things.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_076-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_077-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_078-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_079-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_013-1.jpg

[John Wright]

sway bar and end links....Nicely done!

[linkstar69]

I agree the sway bar and end links look the biz

[bonecrrusher]

Wooohooo.... Corvette parts on your Torino! LOL - looking great!

[SVTforme]

If an LS9 didn't cost more than I have into the entire car.. I would have one of those under the hood too :).

[andrewb70]

If an LS9 didn't cost more than I have into the entire car.. I would have one of those under the hood too :).

Ha! I can definitely understand that...

Andrew

[SVTforme]

Drivers side sway bar bend up and completed. Sway bar mounts attached, collars installed and ready to go.

With this.. front and rear suspension design and fabrication = DONE! Finally.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_081-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/texas_front_susp_080-1.jpg

[LowFast]

Awesome work, does bending the arm change the effective swaybar stiffness or is it so minor as not to be of concern?

[SVTforme]

It will definitely change the effective rate of the bar since it will shorten the distance from the end link pivot point to the centerline of the bar. It will increase the stiffness slightly since you are reducing the length.

We had two targets here - first was the motion ratio of the pivot point of the end link (amount it moves relative to the movement of the wheel center). The second is the distance from the centerline of the swaybar to the pivot point of the end link. Using these dimensions, the overall effective length of ther bar and ID/OD of the sway bar, we calculated what bar size to order and how far away the bar needed to be from the pivot points.

The target was ~1250lb/in using the same motion ratio as a base 2004 Mustang Cobra.

[chunger]

Craig, a question on these splined anti-sway bars. Are they inherently 'better' than the standard curved solid or hollow bars? Or did you guys end up using it as there was nothing off the shelf to fit?

[SVTforme]

At the end of the day it is a piece of spring steel with a certain rate - so not really any better I guess. The thing I like about them is you can change the rate simply by changing out the bar with another with different wall thickness. The OD stays the same so you don't have to change out anything else.

As you can image - there is nothing that really was meant to fit this application. New Mustang ones would not clear the tires/and or the frame rail locations since they sit much lower on a Torino than on a Mustang.

[femurphy77]

I pulled up this thread as I am thinking about putting a cobra irs in an alston back-halved 67 mustang notchback. I am so ashamed to think that it might be "too much work". Completely insane build and only hope I get the opportunity to see these things in person one day. Keep the pics coming!!

[Dalamar]

Wow Craig, you've made some awsome progress!
i'm a lil jealous of your press....

What is going on with your gauges? looks very Interesting :)...
Sounds really good

[SVTforme]

I pulled up this thread as I am thinking about putting a cobra irs in an alston back-halved 67 mustang notchback. I am so ashamed to think that it might be "too much work". Completely insane build and only hope I get the opportunity to see these things in person one day. Keep the pics coming!!

I would definitely say this is not a quick weekend job that is for sure. With a DVS kit, you can likely put something together in a week or two.. although depends on what your suspension goals are for tuning etc. Once we get these done - we will hit the circuit.. so hopefully will see us around someday.


Wow Craig, you've made some awsome progress!
i'm a lil jealous of your press....

What is going on with your gauges? looks very Interesting :)...
Sounds really good

Yeah.. most of this will likely not make sense until they are done and working.. stay tuned! Press.. who said I used a press :).

[SVTforme]

Been a while since I have had time to put together a post. We have been quite busy working on the car.. although most of the things like electrical etc don't really provide for exciting progress pictures. Cooling system is basically wrapped up. Intercooler heat exchanger is in and ready to run, as is the oil cooler system. For the supercharger, we ended up going with a dual pass heat exhanger. It works more efficiently and is much easier to package, also looks much nicer plumbing wise.

Sway bar is now in and complete. Did some machining on the arms to make them easier to assemble and to clean them up a bit. After that, powdercoated everything and installed. Can't wait to actually try this thing out on a corner.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_cooling_system_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_front_susp_082-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_front_susp_083-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_front_susp_084-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_front_susp_085-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Most of the work has been going on in the interior. This is the downfall to not using a modern mustang dash on the car, although I think this will be pretty slick when completed.

Decided to switch to a 1969 dash so it could be modernized a bit. We stripped off the old weatherend woodgrain, cleaned/polished everything up and added a carbon fiber accent to the dash. Came out better than I was expecting - not too over the top.

Instruement cluster design is basically complete - we ordered all the necessary parts and electrical pieces and are now ready to build everything up. This sure takes a lot more time than a person would think. Things like MIL lights, signal lights, backlighting should all make the cluster look like one from a brand new car when done. For the MIL lights, we found a harness than can be put in place of a std T5 dash bulb. By using another remote socket, we can put the light wherever we want.. in this case on the outer gauges. To mount everything, we are going to take 2 original clusters and merge them to get a setup with 4 gauges (originals had 3, and a 4th was screwed into the dash).

Heater controls are also a PITA - trying to convert linear motion to rotary motion so the original dash controls can operate the rotary dials from a new Mustang when done. Have ell the ratios figured out, ordered the parts and should have this done soon. With some rewiring, the original switch can be used to control the modern setup.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_011-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_012-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_019-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_014-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_015-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_016-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_017-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_018-1.jpg

[sokoloka]

Everything about this build is awesome!

[linkstar69]

This build is one of the most well thought out custom cars I've seen.

[Scarelane]

WOW!! What a super cool project! Love the pics!

[SVTforme]

Thanks guys! Still trying to keep this one entertaining.

Hopefully soon we will get this thing out the track to see if it actually performs :). Plan is to start chopping up car number 2 soon, so this will start all over again. At least this time we will know what we are doing.

[fetorino]

Some really nice work on this project. I'm looking forward to how you do out on the track.

[SVTforme]

Moving right along.. time for the details now as we are slowly running out of things to do. Time to start making things look good. Have spent a lot of time sandblasting powdercoating brackets etc. Also decided to wrap up exhaust while we were at it. Going with the stealth tips for now and will be cut almost flush with the rear body line when done. Was not sure what to do about the cruise control as most steering wheel buttons don't look right in an old car. Other issue is having the electronics on the buttons work with the modern electronics. Turns out a mid 80's Crown Vic fits the bill here. They are metal looking buttons that do not look at all out of place on the Torino. They will likely make their way beneath the dash in custom housings.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_exhaust_003-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/Texas_interior_020-1.jpg

Next was lightning. Lots of options here.. most of them are sub par. Seems most lights are looks over function. Several paths we can take here. Go out in left field and make a custom HID setup using the guts of a new Ford HID light (Mustang, Taurus, Explorer etc). That just screams $$ and time. We'll revisit this later. Note that putting HID bulbs in a standard halogen based housing does not count. HID bulbs require their own custom projectors and provide horrible optics when placed in a non-HID designed housing, and will also blind oncoming traffic with even the low beams on. Not quite sure why this fad has taken off in the aftermarket. There is a reason why cheap HID kits are only $100, and high end ones with the correct housings are 10x as much.

Ok.. back to the point here. Several options for Halogen based lighting. Goal was to run H4 for the outer bulbs and H1 for the inners. Main objective is to have a crisp lighting cut-off and glare free lightning. Basically be able run very bright lights without blinding oncoming traffic but still be able to see everything. Three obvious options in the order of increasing cost: Autopal, Bosch and Cibie. Pricing wise, one Cibie housing costs the same as a set of 4 Autopals. There are mixed reviews out there on the Autopals, plus they are not easily available with convex lenses - only flats here in North America. You can get the H4's in convex (HL-103-H4), but no H1's (HL-103-H1). I looked everywhere - only place you can get them is in Australia. Shipping cost rules out that option. Next is Bosch. Not a fan of the look of Bosch housings as they only come in flat lens, and they get mixed reviews. The last selection is Cibie lights. These rise above the rest and then some. They are pretty much the best you can buy as far as optics go. I was not really interested in paying the ridiculous prices they go for over here, so since we needed 8 total lights for both cars, I decided to order direct from the UK. Saved about $30/housing in the end with shipping included. I can't wait to try these out. If they work as nice as they look, I will be all set. For now I will run the std 60/55W H4's and 55W H1's. Both with be Osram Silverstars which are on order from the UK. Note that since Torino parts are scarce, 1969 Mustang headlight kits were used and disassemled as used as donors. Since they rest of the car was built using the best of parts, the optics should be no exception.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_exterior_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_exterior_007-1.jpg

Next is the trim. Half the trim on this car is anodized aluminum. It may look nice new, but the years are not kind to this combo. Problem is the aluminum is anodized which means there is really nothing you can do to polish it up when it starts to dull. Solution here is to strip the anodize, re-polish and then re-seal, likely by powdercoating. After looking into this, I decided to give the cheap alternative a try first. This was Greased Lightning which I got from Home Depot for under $10. Did it work - sure did. The easy way to tell is to use std metal polish - if the rag turns black, you are in contact with bare aluminum. More to follow here, as well and getting started on stripping the grille.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_exterior_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/03/texas_exterior_009-1.jpg

[coolwelder62]

This is an awesome build thread.

[SVTforme]

Been a while since I have posted an update. Have been working on the cars a lot lately and finally have some time to post pics.

Wrapped up the front grille for the most part and got in bulbs (Osram Silverstars) from Europe. Also finished up the underbody and swapped out clutch discs (very long story while which would need to be told over drinks). Continued on finishing up most of the electrical in the interior and only need to get the cluster done and the will basically finish up the complicated part inside. Since the car had no power accesories in the doors, we had to add pass throughs. Tried using a Greenlee knock-out punch set this time and it worked perfect. Grommet is from a 1990's Fox Body Mustang, but the part number actually traces back to the 70's.

What next - time to put some paint on the car and make it one color. Paint of choice - Home Depot flat black of course. $50 of paint and a day of elbowgrease and it is now done for the time being. Paint booth was a morning in the garage followed by a nice hot sunny day outside :). We will finish up the trim etc of the coming months, but we wanted to make it at least road worthy again. We went to the first show of the weekend and put about 30 miles on the car. Works great. Time to get the car ready for Motorstate now.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_010-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_014-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_015-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_011-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_012-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/05/texas_exterior_013-1.jpg

[chunger]

Craig - as usual, another great update! Would like to understand a bit more about how you mounted the H1/H4 bulbs in place of the original sealed beams. Could you show/tell a bit more about how they are mounted and wired. I'm assuming they are on some type of relay?

[SVTforme]

Craig - as usual, another great update! Would like to understand a bit more about how you mounted the H1/H4 bulbs in place of the original sealed beams. Could you show/tell a bit more about how they are mounted and wired. I'm assuming they are on some type of relay?

The nice thing about these are that the bolt right up to the stock headlight buckets. H4's directly replace the original high/low beams and the H1's replace the high beams. The electrical connectors are the same as on the Torino too forth both lights. These lenses are also convex like the originals and not flat like most aftermarket ones so they look kinda stock.

I am running the modern Mustang wiring so I do not currently have any wiring modifications (aside from integrating Torino connectors). Once I upgrade to 100W bulbs I will upgrade the wiring to better wiring suited for the current draw.

I did try the Cibie lights out the other day and they are amazing in comparison. They may not have the modern "bling" like other diamond lens style aftermarket lights, but they will outperform any other lights out there. I will have to take a picture of the beam pattern they make and post it.

[Badbird1963]

Man that turned out nice, even with the cheapo paint job. If you can get past the brakes and wheels, could pass for a stocker, til you turn up the noise. I didn't see a part number for those Cibie lights. I would like to run something like that in my 63 falcon. I too want to stay away from the flat lense but want to upgrade to brighter lights. Thanks

[Shadow X]

I am in aw over this build. You have given me so many more ideas for my project, then i already had! I'm going to need the next few days to get around all of this lol... To me this is one of the best build ever! Thanks you for doing it...

[Twentyover]

The nice thing about these are that the bolt right up to the stock headlight buckets. H4's directly replace the original high/low beams and the H1's replace the high beams. The electrical connectors are the same as on the Torino too forth both lights. These lenses are also convex like the originals and not flat like most aftermarket ones so they look kinda stock.

I am running the modern Mustang wiring so I do not currently have any wiring modifications (aside from integrating Torino connectors). Once I upgrade to 100W bulbs I will upgrade the wiring to better wiring suited for the current draw.

I did try the Cibie lights out the other day and they are amazing in comparison. They may not have the modern "bling" like other diamond lens style aftermarket lights, but they will outperform any other lights out there. I will have to take a picture of the beam pattern they make and post it.

I see you sourced the housings form the UK. Were these housings for use in LHD applications, or RHD applications like the UK. You do realize that RHD lenses are cut differently than LHD lenses, and the bulb 'cutoff' of a RHD lense will be higher on the LH side, tending to blind oncoming drivers if used in LHD countries.

[SVTforme]

Man that turned out nice, even with the cheapo paint job. If you can get past the brakes and wheels, could pass for a stocker, til you turn up the noise. I didn't see a part number for those Cibie lights. I would like to run something like that in my 63 falcon. I too want to stay away from the flat lense but want to upgrade to brighter lights. Thanks

They are part number 5.75-HCR for the H4's (low) and 5.75-HR for the H1 (high) for LHD applications. This is for domed lights. If you put an F at the end of the part number you get a flat face. 5.75-HCR-RHD gets you a RHD H4 low beam. High beams are the same for LHD/RHD since you no longer are concerned with cut-off. Note that these are all part numbers for 5.75" lights for quad headlight applications. Part number for the 7" lenses are 7-HCR and 7-HCR-RHD. Shipping from Europe was not cheap, but since we ordered 8 lights for 2 vehicle sets it worked out in the end.


I see you sourced the housings form the UK. Were these housings for use in LHD applications, or RHD applications like the UK. You do realize that RHD lenses are cut differently than LHD lenses, and the bulb 'cutoff' of a RHD lense will be higher on the LH side, tending to blind oncoming drivers if used in LHD countries.

Yup - Cibie makes the same lights in both LHD and RHD so you definitiely need to be careful, especially with the H4's. I did get the LHD variants. This is clear the first time you turn them on and shine them at a wall. They have a very sharp cut-off on the left side, and then to the right things shift upwards.

I found this site has very helpful information and has great pictures.

http://www.clearcorners.com/tech/002/

Low beam left / high beam right with Cibie lenses - note the sharp horizontal line - light goes exactly where it should. This allows you to run bright bulbs around town without blinding anyone. Then when you put on the high beams (all 4 bulbs at once) you can appear like a small spacecraft to oncoming traffic.

6074660747

Here is why running "fake" HID's is a bad idea. Again low beams on the left, high beams on the right. These are also the same Cibie lenses. By fake I mean using an aftermarket HID bulb in a lens that was not designed for it's light pattern. Sure it looks bright from inside the car, but this is because light scatters everywhere including into the eyes of oncoming traffic. If you look on a standard H4 bulb, there is a reason there is a shield and only allows the light to shine in one direction on the low beams.

6074860749

[SVTforme]

Not a whole lot of obvious progress to report back although there have been lots of little things done. Have been having too much fun with the car having racked up well over 500km so far with no real issues. Car works great - especially after putting it on the alignment rack. Car is very well behaved and very responsive. I sure enjoy having 6th gear on the highway too. Going to put the smaller pulley on the supercharger this week to wake it up a bit more too.

Heading to an autocross next weekend and then the next big event will be Gingerman next month for the Motorstate Challenge.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/06/texas_exterior_017-1.jpg

[ryeguy2006a]

That is a great picture. Good work. I love your build here. Very unique.

[Ripped]

Yeah I really like your car. I wish that when I did mine, that I would have dusted it in flat black, instead of mismatched grey primer, and guide coat.

I think that I would have driven it, just a little bit longer, that way, and worked all of the kinks out.
It's good that you're driving it. I drove mine 2 years in primer. Really helped get all the bugs out.

[Ratty 46]

I just sat & read the entire 21 pages ... and can only say fantastic vision & delivery.

I had an original '68 GT 428SJC 4 spd. car back in the mid 70's ... and never thought it would even get close to a G machine as yours has.

I'm awstruck ...

R46

[SVTforme]

I appreciate all of the comments!!

Motorstate Challenge is only 4 days away - can't wait!! First track event for the car. Hope to see many of you out there.

[jtm311]

Really nice work...
John

[SVTforme]

Finally time to put the car through its paces. This past weekend was the Motorstate Challenge at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI. Had a great time out on the weekend. Did not push the car overly hard the first time out - just wanted to make sure everything worked as planned and started tuning all of the suspension components. ABS is still not functional - hope to have that turned on soon as it will make a big difference at the track. No heating issues or suspension issues which was great as it was quite hot out. Overall very happy how it worked. Couple more times out to the track and we should be much faster.

Special thanks to all of the sponsors for putting this event on. It was very well organized. Definitely going to do the cruise the night before and the autocross a day later next year. No more leaving before 5am to get to the track again. Met a lot of great people from this forum too.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_003-1.jpg

Didn't break anything on the car.. unfortunately the same can't be said about the truck. Halfway to the track (3.5 hour drive) the trailer hitch decided to pull itself through the frame rails. Made a loud bang and when we went to take a look - this is what we saw. No real fix for this on the go - pulled the Torino off the trailer and drove it the rest of the way. Also had to play it safe at the track since there was no ride home now if something broke. Ended up putting 300 miles more on the car than planned.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_004-1.jpg

Couple of pictures taken by Lane Automotive. Maybe this is why front spoilers have stiffeners :). Need to add that to the t-do list. Special thanks to Torino420 for the Camaro spoiler idea.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_005-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/texas_gingerman_2012_006-1.jpg

Lots more pictures located at this site.

http://www.motorstate.com/photoGallery.htm

Ultra rare 4 pod cluster.. supposedly the only one every made :). Almost have it done and ready for the new gauges. Should have them done shortly which will be nice - as I am tired of staring through the Dash pad to barely be able to see the stock Mustang GT gauge cluster.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/Texas_interior_021-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/07/Texas_interior_022-1.jpg

[boostedtorino]

awesome build man im gonna have to take a few notes to use on my build love the car

[Rick K]

looks like it was a lot of fun Craig

Whew, I'm glad the trailer was ok though :) :) :)

[migg400]

Very nice build to follow. looks like all of the dedication and hard work definitely paid off!!

[Evoix]

AWESOME....
Love the old fairlanes!

[SVTforme]

OK.. been a while since I have posted anything on here. Have been very busy in general, but have had some time to play around with the Torino.

The dash cluster is finally complete. It took 10x more time than planned, but came out exactly how I envisioned it. Only thing left it so stick the stock Torino needle centers on the Mustang ones to make it look more original. Most expensive part was the 2004 Mustang Cobra cluster ($100) and everything else was pretty cheap - just required a lot of custom fabrication.

This is how it looks in the end and also what is inside:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_023-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_024-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_032-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_025-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_026-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_027-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

And the final product:

The dash illuminates as soon as you turn the key on. The backlighting actually works great in the day since the Torino gauges are recessed in the dash and they are even better at night. Each needle has a dedicated LED to light them up. All of the dummy lights on the Mustang are on this dash (check engine, traction control, ABS, etc) and come on with the LED's shown above.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_028-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_029-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_030-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/Texas_interior_031-1.jpg
Stock cluster for reference:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/12/torino_cluster_009-1.jpg

Track season is starting up shortly.. so time to get everything ready to go once again. Have started into the trim emblems etc, but have not put anything on the car as of yet.

[CruizinKev]

woah nice cluster! good work!

[85coupe50]

woah nice cluster! good work!

What he said!

[snopro]

any work done on the second car yet?

[linkstar69]

This is one of the most creative builds I've seen on this or any other forum.

[Evoix]

any work done on the second car yet?

This.
Can´t wait to see another fairlane
Oh and Nice gauges.

[SVTforme]

Thanks guys..

Work has been progressing on the second car, mostly to do with items that don't require the car to be in the shop (engine, trans, offline fab etc.). Since this car is mine.. I have no reason to push to get things done faster as I'm enjoying driving it as is :). Need my parter in crime to step up the game on his build to get things moving along faster, plus we also need more garage space. Have a couple of other projects on the go which keeps car #2 moving along slowly. It will go much faster once under way.. just need to get to that point.

[SVTforme]

Also added a smaller pulley to the supercharger. Supposed to add 15-20hp.. nothing huge but i'll take it. Should be a bit more for me since I am running a larger throttle body than stock and other mods.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/texas_engine_install_017-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/texas_engine_install_018-1.jpg

[migg400]

Just Beautiful!!

[ramlinman]

i love this project

[johnnysrx]

any updates???

[Dave B]

Such an awesome car! I've been following along for some time now, on the website. Plus I think I saw you up here in London last summer.

[Dalamar]

Great Work Craig!
I really like how your gauges turned out, nicely done sir!

[onestopcustoms]

Hello Craig, beautiful write up. Question about the Cibie lights... are these HID?

[SVTforme]

Such an awesome car! I've been following along for some time now, on the website. Plus I think I saw you up here in London last summer.

Thanks - we did make one appearance at a show last year and it was in London. Will likely head back up there again this year as it was a cool show.


Great Work Craig!
I really like how your gauges turned out, nicely done sir!

Yeah - 5 years later.. there are now functioning gauges. After 1/2 of year of use they work perfect and a welcome addition to the interior, especially at night.


Hello Craig, beautiful write up. Question about the Cibie lights... are these HID?

Nothing too fancy here - just really good quality headlights/reflectors which work amazing compared to most cheap ones. Bulbs are Halogen H4's and H1's. Putting HID's bulbs in there would just ruin the beam pattern, although a lot of people still seem to do it.

[SVTforme]

Well.. I suppose it has been a while since an update. Where do I start? Lots on the go in the past while, a lot of it involved driving the car and dialling it in at the track and on the street. Overall very fun car to drive and no regrets whatsoever. Gets many interesting looks especially since it is still in black $50 paint. Finally had to put a pair of Torino badges on the side as most people could not figure out what it was. Once the badges were on, it was amazing how many people all of a sudden knew. Haven't really taken a lot of pictures for some reason - will have to grab more this season. Here are a couple of shots from this past season. More component updates to come..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_gb_track_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_gb_track_002-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Back into tying up loose ends on the car. First is door and trunk locks. Since this set-up uses a modern Ford PATS key, this clearly will not work with an older key, although I really don't use the key at all with keyless entry. Ended up buying some Ford lock sets that you just have to put together to match your existing key. Since we used a keyset from a 2005 Thunderbird/Lincoln LS, we only had a dash key. The lock cylinder fits right in the door with no mods, but slights mods were required to make the new cylinder work with the old lock rods. Same was done for drivers and pass side (not that new Mustang's don't have a pass side lock).

Also a good time to add a power trunk release to be used with the key fob just to confuse people even more. Nice thing is the wiring was already there, just had to spline in the 2 wires. Only thing to do now is the trunk key which is still in the works.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_door_locks_006-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_door_locks_007-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_door_locks_008-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_door_locks_009-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Next comes misc trim and interior items which will be the big project for the next month or so. Most of the trim has been polished and is back on the car with only a couple of items left. Sure makes the car look a little more complete. More pics to come once all this damn snow is gone and the car can once again go outside.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_trim_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_trim_002-1.jpg

Time to grab a nice dash from the stash of black dashes :). Need to put a coat of SEM paint on a dash and add a new trim piece and put back in car. Finally time to make the interior and the car in general look at little more complete.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/Texas_interior_033-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/Texas_interior_034-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Although the exhaust note is great in the car.. it gets old after a while, especially on a longer road trip. Finally pulled the trigger on a Retrosound Model 2 Radio with a Torino specific adatper. The staff at Retrosound are very helpful, although I would not recommend buying direct if you want the most cost effective solution.

This radio fits great, looks great and works even better. I gave it a year of production to work all of the bugs out before getting it. It has Bluetooth compatibility so you can run hands free calls through the radio and also stream songs through an iphone etc. Since the car is wired up as a newer Mustang, harness adapters were available for under $5. Solder into Retrosound harness shown below and it is plug and play.

Did not like the generic knobs, so I bought a reproduction Torino set and machined the holes in them to work with the Retrosound ones. Looks much nicer and perhaps the only stock looking part of the car. Also picked up some decent speakers that will go in the original speaker pockets in the kick panel area and on the package tray. I have original speaker grates to finish thing up. The tweeters will go in the center part of the dash where the original single speaker went.

You can also choose the LED color on the display - so this was set as bright white to match the LED's in the main cluster.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_stereo_install_001-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/Texas_stereo_install_002-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/Texas_stereo_install_004-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/Texas_stereo_install_003-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Recently bought a decent telemetry set on Ebay for recording data at the track and around town. It is made by Isaac (http://www.isaac.ca/) which is a Canadian company and usually retails for $5k+ but for some reason the auction ended at $300. This setup has a built in 3 axis accelerometer, GPS for track plotting with maps, CAN communication for pulling data off the OBD port (engine speed, vehicle speed, temps, etc) and also 8 analog input channels. It also has cellular/wifi communication for streaming data. Not bad for a fun weekend setup. It automatically starts recording when you turn the car or you can set a trigger.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_telemetry_001-1.jpg

[bonecrrusher]

Nice setup man!

I like the retrofit of the modern keyless entry and the rear trunk release popper!

[Dalamar]

Love your attention to detail, it's inspiring.
Also glad to hear that you're out enjoying the car!!

[nitroracer]

You may have mentioned this already, but what air dam are you running on the car in the picture below? How did you mount it to the car? I've seen someone else running a late 60s firebird piece there as well.


Well.. I suppose it has been a while since an update. Where do I start? Lots on the go in the past while, a lot of it involved driving the car and dialling it in at the track and on the street. Overall very fun car to drive and no regrets whatsoever. Gets many interesting looks especially since it is still in black $50 paint. Finally had to put a pair of Torino badges on the side as most people could not figure out what it was. Once the badges were on, it was amazing how many people all of a sudden knew. Haven't really taken a lot of pictures for some reason - will have to grab more this season. Here are a couple of shots from this past season. More component updates to come..

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/03/texas_gb_track_001-1.jpg

[SVTforme]

Front spoiler is from a 1967 Camaro. Drilled holes in bumper to mount. Had to make up brace to tie the center to the front crossmember to keep it from bending at speed (otherwise it pretty much folds over on itself). Look back a couple of pages on this thread to see that. Spoiler sits behind rear edge of bumper so there is a gap to force air into the intercooler radiator.

[Styx1967]

Any updates?

[RIDES BY DESIGN]

where have all your pictures gone? excellent build by the way

[cbpldc]

I notice that his website doesn't exist anymore either. Bummer. I love me some Torinos.

Chris

[SVTforme]

Finally got the site back up and the picture hosting restored (hackers got me). Took much longer than planned that is for sure! Somehow work, family and life in general seem to get in the way sometimes :).

I passed the 5,000 mile mark on the Torino over the summer and still enjoying every minute of it. I will have to post some updates here as well as it has been a while.

[Dave B]

Awesome, every once in awhile when I need a fix, I browse your site. You need to come up to London again, so I can check out the car in person, I missed you last time, I was pulling out, when you were pulling in.

[chunger]

Craig,

Glad to have you back, we were fearing the worst there for a while!

[Josh@Ridetech]

Awesome build!!

[WallaceMFG]

Read the whole thread here and I used to stalk your website and stare at the awesome work you've done. Someday in the future my Torino will be getting a suspension rework, but this makes me want to have it happen sooner!

[blade]

Great build, awesome fabrication. Any future plans for suspension? or are you happy with it the way it is?

[SVTforme]

Awesome, every once in awhile when I need a fix, I browse your site. You need to come up to London again, so I can check out the car in person, I missed you last time, I was pulling out, when you were pulling in.

Been a while since the Torino was up that way. Hope to make a track day at Grand Bend or TMP this summer. I'll let you know. You need to experience it on the track to get the most of it it!


Craig,

Glad to have you back, we were fearing the worst there for a while!

Yeah.. kids appeared and time disappeared.. go figure!


Awesome build!!

Thanks!


Read the whole thread here and I used to stalk your website and stare at the awesome work you've done. Someday in the future my Torino will be getting a suspension rework, but this makes me want to have it happen sooner!

You know where to find me when you get into it. I know the suspension inside out (or what used to be the original suspension).


Great build, awesome fabrication. Any future plans for suspension? or are you happy with it the way it is?

Suspension works great. I'd like to spend some more time on the track to get it dialed in. I'm in too deep to change direction on this anyway. Would be easier to start with a new car :). I need to move up to a stiffer front bar and get the ABS working correctly. Sounds like it is time for a track day.

If the weather keeps going the way it has been.. may be time to hit the road soon.

[migg400]

One sweet Torino!!

[classiccarnut]

Hello there, kind of new to the site. Forgive me if I'm doing this post wrong lol! Registered on this site a while ago but completely forgot about it. Came across it again yesterday, and so far I'm loving it! Yesterday read about a killer 1969 Dart and today I read through this whole tread. Awesome work! As I was nearing the end of your tread I realized that I've seen your Torino before. It was at the Woodward Dream Cruise back in 2014. We let you merge onto the strip and just loved everything about your car. We were in a yellow 1973 Corvette convertible. Anyways, I attached a couple photo... hopefully I did this right haha.

[ryeguy2006a]

What every happened with these cars?