1965 Mustang Coupe Build...

[digitalsolo]

Hey Andrew!

Yessir, I've got their steering wheel button setup with the transmitter, and then the can receiver hacked into the Haltech. I briefly considered their paddle setup and putting pneumatics on my sequential shifter, but decided that was complicated, even for me.

[digitalsolo]

Old suspension removed:



Plated in the rear "framerail" end and trimmed the new subframe to fit. This is mocked in place. I'll get everything installed and check alignments, etc. then tack it in, double check it, then fully weld, plate and gusset it all up. It should look relatively OEM when finished. The shock tower openings will get close-out plates to clean that area up a little also. I expect I'll need to clearance... several things.... once I am ready to set the engine in and sort out engine mounts and turbo plumbing.



I'm reusing the brake rotors from the old Mustang II spindle setup on the C6 hubs, with new Wilwood hats. I'll modify the caliper brackets from the kit on the mill to make them more useful for this setup, then weld some bosses to the C6 knuckles to mount it all up. I need to add my wheel speed sensors on each side also.

[andrewb70]

Who made the new suspension?

Andrew

[digitalsolo]

It's a Speedway "G-Comp" system with the "Unser" knuckle/hub upgrade (fabricated C6 Corvette pieces).

I'm re-drilling C6 wheel hubs for 5x114.3.

[andrewb70]

It's a Speedway "G-Comp" system with the "Unser" knuckle/hub upgrade (fabricated C6 Corvette pieces).

I'm re-drilling C6 wheel hubs for 5x114.3.

Why did you choose it over so many options that are on the market?

Andrew

[digitalsolo]

It seems to be well proven in quite a few Auto-X cars, the design lent itself well to where I needed clearance, and the pricing was excellent.

The DSE Aluma-frame was on my short list, but the design would definitely not clear my turbo layout, which made it a ton more work. It was also 3x the price. The Mustangs To Fear setup looked interesting, but they wanted WAY too much money for it. Same was true for most of the other stuff I looked at, I either had major issues with some part of the design or the pricing (or both).

[andrewb70]

It seems to be well proven in quite a few Auto-X cars, the design lent itself well to where I needed clearance, and the pricing was excellent.

The DSE Aluma-frame was on my short list, but the design would definitely not clear my turbo layout, which made it a ton more work. It was also 3x the price. The Mustangs To Fear setup looked interesting, but they wanted WAY too much money for it. Same was true for most of the other stuff I looked at, I either had major issues with some part of the design or the pricing (or both).

Thanks for the explanation!

Andrew

[anangryford]

Looks really good. I will be following. I have the same suspension that you took out except I didn't modify it. It's okay but I was debating Griggs or Cortex. If this goes well it could save me a bunch of money. Keep the updates coming and keep up the good work! Miss you over at VMF.

[MSTSFabbed]

I was just thinking about this car the other day! Thanks for the update, good to see you’re still having fun with it. You do some killer work!

[digitalsolo]

Making progress, slowly.

Forgive the first picture, didn't realize it was 90* off until I uploaded it, and didn't feel like fighting with the attachment manager.

Anywho, progress thus far: Subframe is aligned and installed. Forward upper plates are in, as are lower plates on the passenger side, and endplates on both. These plates make a kind of "parallelogram" of the two frames, stock and added. They run the entire front length with seam welds, which were then lightly dressed off with a flap disc to make sure everything is smooth.

The rear of the "front" (toward the control arm pickup points) is just boxed in then a fillet is welded to smooth the transitions. The actual rear of the new subframe is butted up and will get gusseted to the factory frame and then fish plates over top of that to make sure it's rock solid.

The front will get a (probably removable) lower bracket that will support the bottom of the radiator and the oil cooler, as well as providing a point for undertray mounting to control airflow.

Finally, I'm going to build a new set of "save your ass bars" that will run from the aft crossmember on the new subframe to the some big heavy tube I welded to the stock subframe under the car (where my lift points for a lift are). These will be (probably) 1.5" round tube that I'll bend up to stay clear of the turbos and such, and will provide some additional triangulation, but mostly be a spot to mount a big, thick aluminum skid plate under the nose, as the lowest point is the turbos/cast aluminum oil pan, and those are all ~4" off the pavement, so a skid plate is a MUST on the car.

[digitalsolo]

Making progress. I've got a few days off this week, hoping to make quite a bit more progress. Going to add fish plates to this section over top of the gussets to tie it in heavily. No kill like overkill...

[andrewb70]

You're making great progress!

Andrew

[digitalsolo]

Subframe installed!

Next up is upgrading timing components and oil pan/pump in the Coyote, then clearancing for the pan and alternator (and maybe turbos, we will see), then engine mounts…

[andrewb70]

Like!

[digitalsolo]

Upgrades for my Coyote. MMR guides and secondary chain tensioner flip. Comp Cams HD chains, Boss 302R tensioners, MMR billet lower sprocket, MMR rear cover upgrade, MMR coolant and oil crossovers, MMR billet reluctor, GT500 pump with MMR billet gears, GT500 pan. ARP hardware throughout.


Engine already has Boss 302R valve springs, ARP bolts on the cam towers and phasers, and ARP head studs.


I need to clearance the pan a little for the turbos tomorrow, then I can put the clutch back in, install the trans and start measuring for subframe clearances.

[andrewb70]

You've been busy!

Happy New Year, Blake!

[digitalsolo]

Thanks, you too Andrew!

[digitalsolo]

Turbo clearance to the oil pan was less problematic than I expected, though I'll know "for sure" once it's all in the car.

The driver side on the oil pan needed a small notch, and I won't be able to mount filters directly to the turbos now, but I should be able to fabricate a little bit of tubing to get them somewhere in the same general area they were before. I have more subframe clearance in front of the turbos now vs the old setup, so that should help.

I also setup a mount for my Turbosmart oil pressure regulator, which holds turbo oil pressure to 40 psi to prevent blowing oil past the seals. I've had issues with it as the Coyote makes big oil pressure, and I'm adding an even gnarlier pump with the GT500 setup, so. It also has a small inline filter. While I was in the area, I redid the oil lines from the remote filter adapter block to make them a little less tortuous than the old setup.

The engine mounts are mocked up, but I expect they're about 3" too wide on each side (I knew this when I bought them) but i'll check once the engine goes in. I plan to just trim them a bit, and add a little more plating where they'll end up. For the pricing, it was cheaper/easier to just modify these vs. building my own. The chassis will get little towers that are just barely off the "frame rails" with a hole on top and the engine will drop down on top of them with poly mounting "biscuits" above/below. Isolated effectively and dead easy to install/remove. It also means I'll be able to easy slide the engine 6" forward by pulling the cooling system and a few bolts if I need to service things on the back in the future, that SUCKED with my old mounts...

[jaybee]

That's going to be a fast little car!

[digitalsolo]

Engine mounts are (mostly) built and are (heavily) tacked into position. Transmission mount is also completed. I need to sort out cooling system mounts for my new radiator/oil cooler, sort out oil drain/scavenge for the turbos, and sanity check how the charge pipe clearance looks. Once that's all validated/finished, I'll tear it all apart, finish the bracing on the engine mounts, final weld it, and prep/paint.