JANUARY 2010 - ENGINE INSTALL!!!

Let me first start off by saying this was easier than I thought.
Of course, trying to install the headers was a different story.
Here is what transpired:


The car was prepped and staged. Pretty simple
stuff here except for the fact that I had to get my
brand new rims and tires mounted :(
The old 14" wheels wouldn't allow for clearance from
the oversized calipers. Oh well.


The engine was carefully moved into position.
A little help from my brother in law Tony made
this go smoother than I had anticipated.







Ahh....almost there
But wait! Those damn tower braces are getting in the way.
Half hour later:

There we go.
Unfortunately I didn't photograph how difficult it was to
get the bolt holes lined up for the motor mounts.
This really ticked me off. Don't wanna talk about it so
don't ask...
Could it get worse at this point?

Yes! Take a look at the clearances that I had left in
order to install the exhaust manifolds.
Yes...it's tight

The good news? I get to pull the motor out one more time!

2010 and what have I done!

Wow, so it's been a few months and I would assume that most of you think I'm almost finished the car. Not quite. Lets take a look at the last couple of months:
It was time to bolt the tranny to the engine. What did this involve? Installing the flex plate first. This wasn't too difficult once I figure out which way the plate faces :) Unfortunately I didn't snap any shots of that part of the install. Also I neglected to photograph the stall converter install. This wasn't too difficult. I followed the manufacturers
recommendation which is filling the converter part way and then carefully
installing it ensuring that it "drops" twice during the install in order to seat itself
properly. A critical stage of tranny install.


With the cover plate missing (need to
order it) I was able to spin the flexplate using the flywheel giving myself access to
the 4 converter bolts. A few drops of anti seize and torquing to 30-35 ft lbs
ensures that this won't come lose.

Here is a pic of the tranny mounted to the motor.
Looks sweet eh?

I figured that since I have clear access
to the starter I might as well mount it onto the engine. I picked up a high output
"mini" starter from Jegs. Nice unit. It has allowances for turning the starter to
allow for custom install..i.e. if the headers are too tight you can turn it closer to
the block to prevent interference.

Hubcap for Ebay item

I'm auctioning off some left over hubcaps from my Datsun Roadster resto.
For those following it off of Ebay here is some pics i've added which I can't fit on my ad.

'HOLEY' COWL

I must prefix this by saying cowl replacement is not fun. My driver side cowl was horrifically rotten and was in need of new metal. I decided to get only the partial replacement panel as the rust hadn't traveled more than 18" over from the edge of the drivers side cowl. Take a look:


Yummy...

I used several tools to get to this point. Removing the spot welds was a pain as anyone can tell you. I believe I removed 35 of them to get to this point. The real trouble is when you use a chisel or pry tool to drive between the upper and lower cowl. It's almost impossible not to distort the flanges in the upper cowl.
I'll do my best to flatten them out afterward but it's a good thing that most of these areas will be permanently covered.



Zinc weld primer was used around the areas I am going to weld

Por-15 layered onto the bottom and top of the new cowl. No way will I ever want this thing rusting again! I also added some seam sealer to any joint I felt might pose a leak problem.

Here we have the lower cowl installed. Welds were ground smooth and a good layer of Por-15 was put over the new and old cowl. I had to use a stick and a brush to try and reach as far over to the other side as possible. I couldn't quite reach the passenger cowl but that looks to be in great shape. If the opportunity makes itself available and I am able to access the passenger side I will repeat the painting process....hopefully I won't have to.

Shock it to me

Hey, have I gotta deal for you. How bout a $2400USD coil over suspension for a mere $1900? Well I had to jump at the chance for this. An unopened Ron Morris Performance front coilover suspension kit. Makes my trumpet want to stand up and sing. Not much gets me this excited but the opportunity to purchase this kit and still save a few bucks was not a difficult choice for me. I purchased it from a fella on the East coast of the US. He bought it and changed the direction of his project and decided to list it on one of the mustang forums that I'm on. Using Escrow.com and a few weeks + 140 bucks later and I have this kit in my hot hands. This thing is built VERY nice. The instructions were easy enough to understand and I can honestly say this can be installed by your average backyard mechanic.

Here we see the coilover, upper and lower arm as well as torsion bar installed.
Did I mention that with the money I saved I purchased a front disc brake conversion? This kit included EVERYTHING I needed to do the swap for about 700US. Yes, you could get it cheaper but not with all the options I got.
It came with a new power steering booster with brake pedal and master cylinder. Proportioning valve, new Kelsey/Hayes style calipers, directional rotors, dust shields, lines, dust caps, and all the hardware and grease fittings needed. This Kit was unbelievable. Send me an email if you want and i'll forward you the info.
Tadaaaa!

August 2009 - We're in for a real shock!

Ya, I know. Cheezy title but you'll figure out what i'm talking about soon.
I see I have a new blogspot friend joining me. Hi Lilia! Lilia was my grad date from wayyyyy back. Not going to mention how far back :) Thanks for joining Lilia!
Also I received some emails from some old friends and co workers who are going to be following this blog. I guess I'm gonna have to spice things up and make myself look better than I really am.
Here we go...

Next on my rust hit list was replacement of the battery apron. This was almost an easy install but once again the replacement parts required a bit of encouragement to fit. What a PITA.



As you can see I created some stitch welds here from the outside of the apron. This created a fairly seamless look when viewed from the engine bay. No grinding required :)

Since i'll be pushing some pretty big numbers from my motor I decided to add the same reinforced shock tower treatments that were used on the Boss 302 Mustangs. I was lucky to find a guy on ebay who was gracious enough to sell me a full reinforcement package that he designed himself which replicates and betters the old system. It consisted of two wrap around plates that mate with the existing tower reinforcement plates as well as an additional plate that stiffens the inside of the shock tower where the tower meets the frame rail.

JULY 2009. I'VE BEEN FRAMED!

Isn't this a beautiful site? Rust. Ahhh... For me rust isn't such a bad thing cuz' not only do I get to put brand new metal in it's place but I also get to practice more welding!
Ya! I turned to my trusted friends over at Mustangs Unlimited for the 2 pieces that make up the front frame rail. I ordered the passenger side (Right) but what do they send me?


The drivers side (left)... what a bunch of turnips.
The good news is I now get more practice by fabricating a new inside box frame rail from a left side to a right. This was not easy as they are quite different.
Here i've cut and began reshaping the left rail to work on the right side. I won't get into the boring details of what I did but rest assured, i made it work :) Some fancy work here to try and replicate the original
Notching of the old frame for removal of the rusted piece (view taken from the top while inside the engine compartment)
Cutting out of the old frame rail is now complete

The new piece fits great. A lot of care and attention was taken to ensure that this was welded square and true as any misalignment could cause a lot of problems with the other body panels I needed to replace (not to mention the front bumper)
OK, so not the prettiest weld but this was thick metal and I wanted to make sure that it was SOLID! Note patching of one of the bolt holes. Since I was using the wrong side I need to plug the old holes and redrill to match the original ones. Since the outer frame rail gets welded beside this I wasn't worried about grinding the welds on the inside of this box. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the next step but trust me, it worked out well...
See?