Fox 1980 Notch build - autocross w/occasional trips to the drags

I have had it in the back of my mind to look for a side by side comparison video. It's one of those things I never think about when I sit down.
I've never been able to drive one of my SRA cars against one of my IRS cars on the same course, but I've competed against and driven a lot of SRA and IRS Mustangs. I'm sure many people will disagree with me, but I think it all comes down to driving.

I appreciate you checking out my videos. My cars are actually not fully-prepped for CAM-T (It's a pretty open class in terms of mods). None of the cars in my results videos currently use coil-overs or aftermarket K-members. One of my reasons for creating my channel was to show people what these cars can do without those mods. There are definitely inexpensive ways to eliminate the weak links and fundamentally change the personality of the car without turning it into a race car. If you have any questions, please ask.
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Fox 1980 Notch build - autocross w/occasional trips to the drags

Both of my SN95 Mustang autocross cars have been converted to IRS. The IRS is great (when properly modified), but it's hard to get all of the weak links out with a budget build. You can make an SRA Mustang handle much better than stock on a budget. Having heard the debate for many, many years, I decided to make this video:

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Fox 1980 Notch build - autocross w/occasional trips to the drags

I use 18x9" +30 offset American Muscle FR500 rims on my 1992 GT with an SN95 Cobra rear axle. My rear fenders aren't rolled, cut or flared, and I still use quad-shocks. I've had no issues with my 245/40/18 tires rubbing on an autocross course. Having said that, no two Fox Body Mustangs are the same. LMR has good descriptions on their website for their rims. They often include fitment options/warnings.

You can also use www.willtheyfit.com to determine where your new rims will sit compared to your old rims.

For autocross, a square setup is better than a staggered setup. A staggered setup adds understeer to a car that already has a tendency to understeer.

I have a lot of autocross information (including budget autocross tips) on my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@warhorseracing/videos

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about setting your car up for autocross.

Engine No voltage to TPS

Yup. Cyl 5 not firing.

Test the injector. Measure resistance across the two prongs if you unplug the connector. Should be 14.4ohms of resistance.

Could also be spark and/or compression related. I assume the port is not blocked so air should be getting in.

Up to you to see which one you tackle first.
That was the one I tested with the Noid light test when it wouldn't fire and it was getting power. Will try out the ohms. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the injector being all original

It's got new plugs, coil and wires.

Fox What do you guys think I should do with my quarter windows

I sent a spare set of Coupe quarter windows to Fox Mustang Restoration a few years back and had them completely replace the outer molding. This is before the price increase and they look like brand new. Still in the box as I am saving them for when I go completely back through the car. I did not want to mess with the whole sand, fill, more filling and all that as I am not a paint and body guy. I saved some money over time and just bit the bullet and had them do it. Worth every penny to me but others may not think so.
Do you they do it anymore?
I remember when i received the email update that they would doing hatch quarter windows, tire kicked it for a little while and when i went back to sign on to get it done their entire site was scrubbed of anything quarter window related.
It was expensive and took a while to talk myself into, but i was open to it only to see no signs of it.

How to get rid of "flash-to-pass" delay on 2016 S550 LED Headlights

So, the 2015-17 S550s come stock with HID headlights, which are known to have a delay while flashing to pass AKA pulling the stalk towards yourself to quickly turn on the brights.

The sequence is somewhat like: stalk pulled....delay...brights on for 1 sec....off
It's just not instant. This is understandable because HIDs need to be ignited to light up and this takes time.

Now the question:

I upgraded to full LED headlights from AlphaRex, and these LED's still behave exactly like the HID lamp in terms off flashing to pass.
There's a delay, and it's just not instant like in the other cars with LED headlights. Is there a way to override or get rid of this delay?

For reference, my other car with LED headlights flash like this, instant, like a camera flash.
flash.gif


Is there a way to achieve this on the S550 with full LED headlights (2016)?


P.S: I'm not trying to blind anyone with flashing lights. I live in Dubai where we have 6 lane highways and it is the norm to flash slow drivers on the left-most lane to signal them to move over, as it is the overtaking/passing lane. The delay is very annoying when you have to use flash to pass consistently over long highway trips.

Engine No voltage to TPS

Pin 46 is sensor ground. You actually want to measure the voltage between 46 and 46.


If it’s running better, dump codes again.
Alright that worked. Koeo no codes just 11 and no memory codes
KOER CODES 33 for EGR not opening properly, 41&91 HEGO (HO2S) sensor signal out of range/always lean and HEGO (HO2S)sensor voltage low/system lean.

Balance test ran and came back with code 50. Assuming somethings wrong on cylinder 5

Fox 1980 Notch build - autocross w/occasional trips to the drags

I bought a 1980 notch back shell a few weeks ago. PO was going to make it a circle track car and removed everything. I'm going to build it to run autocross and occasional trips to the drag strip. It has to be street legal, because I've sold my car hauler and larger trucks. It doesn't have to look great and I don't want it to sit in the garage for years. Budget build w/upgrades as needed and money allows. So far I've purchased front hubs, rotors, and rear axle from a '95 GT to start the five lug conversion. I need wheels and tires so I can roll it in/out of the garage. I like the black steel 10 hole design, so I was thinking about a set of '06 and up Crown Vic wheels. 17 x 7.5. I believe I read on here that 17 x 8 would be the largest I could run w/the extra width of the SN95 rear. Is that correct?
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Engine No voltage to TPS

Code 63 is your TPS voltage is too low. That means the ECU is reading less than 0.5 volts.


I think you measured 0.9-1V at the TPS sensor, but you shoyld see what you have down at the ECU. With the ECU plugged in and key ON, backprobe pin 47 and 46. Pin 47 is the signal return from the TPS. What do you have here? If oyu have 1V at the sensor, but 0.2v at the ECU, you have a connection problem somewhere.

98 (r): Hard fault present. The PCM is running in FMEM (Failure Effects Management Mode). Something is messed up. I would troubleshoot the code 63 first before proceeding. That may be causing a hard fault (especially if that wire is shorted)
Ok so key on I'm getting .96 to tps and at pin 47 I'm getting .93. Pin 46 I'm getting nothing.

On an odd note the car seems to be running better all by itself? I was able to unplug the IAC and it didn't die so I did the base idle reset.

I'm just so confused but at least it seems to be running

Engine No voltage to TPS

Stop jumping around, you will need to start at the idle adjustment, this is what I would do, now I'm not a jiffy ASC certified mechanic but once you get what does what with EFI it becomes clearer, this step will be done with the engine off, key off, back off the idle screw untill it's off the little arm, screw it in until it just touches the lever, about half/quarter turn in, this should open the butterfly enough to run, turn key on, check TPS, I believe .5 to 1. is acceptable, next check that the rotor points at or near to #1 plug wire when the balancer is at 0*-10* if you have not messed with the timing this is close enough, if you have moved (or removed) the distributor then you should check top dead center is relative to 0* on the balancer. This should get it started and run good enough to continue.
This is considering the plugs/wires/cap and rotor are good.
You also need to check ALL the vacuum lines, this stuff is old and crusty, you may need to pull the upper plenum to inspect all of them, several are underneath, check fuel pressure, you can borrow a FPG set at most O'Reilly Autozone parts stores.
Fiddling with too many adjustments and swapping parts is, in most cases, a waste of time and money. It also makes resolving issues more difficult.
If you need more info on what does what when and how to adjust things properly go to the 'surging idle checklist ' in the technical/how to threads.
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Engine No voltage to TPS

You can feed it in moderately. I think the ECU just looks for >50% on the TPS sensor to run the CBT.
I'm probably doing something wrong but I can't get it to do a balance test. KOEO it's saying 11 for system ok then the 10 separation code and a 63 in the continuous memory for TP circuit fault, below minimum voltage. KOER test it will throw code 98 and 63.

Going to try and erase the 63 and try again.

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Build Thread My Never Ending 89 Notch Thread

Another concern i had was that it's rumored that winter temps cause summer tires to crack and degrade faster when you drive on them below 42 (or sometehing like that). I haven't driven my car in the winter in pretty much forever. I'm not opposed to it, but i am opposed to ruining tires.
When i was a kid i daily drove the car on nitto drag radials, wasn't pleasant though they did warm up, just those were the days where i had no worries, bad tires, good tires, bald tires, tires with belts showing, i just wasn't concerned, i was going to burn them off the car anyway.
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