Build Thread Want To Blow 5 Years And $50k On A Foxbody? Step By Step Instructions Inside!

For those are of that are familiar with the T56, reverse is next to 5th gear, and there is a lockout solenoid that needs to be wired up to allow the transmission to shift into reverse. Some people just muscle the shifter into the reverse by overpowering the solenoid and others wire the solenoid to the brake light so it can only activate when the brake pedal is pushed. I wasn't a big fan of either option, and preferred that the solenoid act like it does from the factory via a signal from the computer that only allows the solenoid to operate under a certain speed. Enter Accutach. This little guy will take the VSS feed and only let the solenoid open under 3-5mph.

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I mounted it to a conveniently placed factory hole near the crossmember mount, and wired it into the wiring near the trans. I just need to fish a single wire to a switched 12V source somewhere inside the car.
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Got the bellhousing mounted up as well. The downpipe came out so I could cut away a tab of the bellhousing near the starter mount. The downpipe was rubbing the trans tunnel, so this should give me a little more clearance.
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Here you can see where I clearanced the sheet metal around the shifter hole. Once I pull the carpet inside the car, I'll cut out notches in the top so I can access the shifter holes from inside the car. The shifter needs to be removed in order to remove or install the trans.
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I did get the trans installed in its final resting place. It put up a fight for a while trying to get everything aligned, but it eventually cooperated. Thank goodness for a transmission jack. Once I get the pinion done in the rear end, I'll be able to get everything back together underneath the car.
 
Project anti-bling was a success. Painted pretty much all the parts I wanted to this weekend. I seriously love this wrinkle paint. It just has a unique look.

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The only other part I may do is the alternator. I really don't want to take it apart, so I'll have to look into if it's okay to paint it while it's together. The only bling left in the engine bay should be the pulleys and accessory brackets. Here's the last picture I took when everything was together. Gives you an idea of what has been painted and what will stay.
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Hey Scott, so first off how's the paint holding up, and second what brand is it and where can I find it? I've got my TFS heads at the machine shop getting checked out and decked and a GT40 tubular intake that needed tons of clean up. So I'm at the point where I can paint it all silver again, or go wrinkle black which I think might be pretty cool on the tubular intake and valve covers.
 
Hey Scott, so first off how's the paint holding up, and second what brand is it and where can I find it? I've got my TFS heads at the machine shop getting checked out and decked and a GT40 tubular intake that needed tons of clean up. So I'm at the point where I can paint it all silver again, or go wrinkle black which I think might be pretty cool on the tubular intake and valve covers.

Paint has held up great. It's VHT wrinkle black. I believe it has a 350 degree rating. I don't prime anything either. Scuff, clean, and spray. I baked the smaller parts in an oven afterwards.
 
A guy like you doesn't have a jackshaft motor for your garage door ?? It'll get that motor off the ceiling and maybe a little more room with that lift.
The car clears the garage door opener. It's the beam across the ceiling that is the lowest part. Even with that there, the roof of the car still clears it when the lift is at its max height.
 
The drivetrain is all back in place now. The differential carrier had to come out so I could swap out the 1330 pinion flange for a 1350 strap style yoke.
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I purchased a used PST driveshaft locally and had it shortened by a local shop. It wound up being cheaper than buying a brand new one.
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And then there's the Magnum tucked in the trans tunnel.
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One more shot of everything from behind.
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I tend to take stuff apart and then realize there are opportunities to make changes while everything is apart. I decided now is the best time to re-weld the exhaust flanges after the downpipe. The exhaust sits very low and there is room to tuck it up tighter against the floor. I just got a little lazy when I was mocking everything up and didn't do a great job of creating as much ground clearance as possible. I also decided that I may as well swap out the Magnaflow catback for a 3" Bassani setup. The 2.5" tails and mufflers were creating a significant amount of backpressure on the turbo.

The Bassani catback is certainly not as pretty as the Magnaflow, but it hasn't seen my elbow grease yet. Sure will flow a lot better.
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It's meant to adapt to a 2.5" exhaust, so the ball and socket ends will be cut off in favor of V-band clamps. I'm also ditching the collector flanges in the section of pipe after the downpipe. That will be replaced with V-bands as well. I want this car on the road in April, so I have a good amount of work to do.
 
The drivetrain is all back in place now. The differential carrier had to come out so I could swap out the 1330 pinion flange for a 1350 strap style yoke.
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I purchased a used PST driveshaft locally and had it shortened by a local shop. It wound up being cheaper than buying a brand new one.
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And then there's the Magnum tucked in the trans tunnel.
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One more shot of everything from behind.
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I tend to take stuff apart and then realize there are opportunities to make changes while everything is apart. I decided now is the best time to re-weld the exhaust flanges after the downpipe. The exhaust sits very low and there is room to tuck it up tighter against the floor. I just got a little lazy when I was mocking everything up and didn't do a great job of creating as much ground clearance as possible. I also decided that I may as well swap out the Magnaflow catback for a 3" Bassani setup. The 2.5" tails and mufflers were creating a significant amount of backpressure on the turbo.

The Bassani catback is certainly not as pretty as the Magnaflow, but it hasn't seen my elbow grease yet. Sure will flow a lot better.
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It's meant to adapt to a 2.5" exhaust, so the ball and socket ends will be cut off in favor of V-band clamps. I'm also ditching the collector flanges in the section of pipe after the downpipe. That will be replaced with V-bands as well. I want this car on the road in April, so I have a good amount of work to do.
I tend to salivate a whole bunch when you post pictures!:hail2: You are the king!
 
A lot of cutting and a little welding happened today. I chopped off all the flanges from the exhaust pipes. I also decided to ditch the slip fitting in the two piece down pipe. That fitting has been a PITA from the beginning and any time I want to remove the lower section of pipe, I need to remove the upper as well. Going to a V band will help that. It will also seal better.
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The flanges are stainless, but the pipes and my welding wire are not. I shot everything with some high temp paint to keep it from rusting away. The downpipe will get re-wrapped.
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Still need to mock up and weld the rest of the pipes. Should be a lot better than 3 bolt flanges. I should have went this route from the beginning.
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I was gonna v-band my header flanges because my BBK headers weren't a true 3" coming out of the collector through the ball flange. So I was gonna cut that 2-bolt ball flange off so I could have a full 3" out of the collector. I still might do that. :thinking: