Progress Thread Nicholase "lights out" build- TKX install

[nicholase]

I restored some ebay 94 spindles a few pages back with Evaporust. To keep them looking good I hit them with some direct to metal clear top coat.

Got my coilovers assembled

Installed the MM control arms, spindles, hubs, and coilovers.

Fit the brakes in place

Next will be getting the booster / master finished and all the lines hooked up and bled.

 

[gkomo]

I restored some ebay 94 spindles a few pages back with Evaporust. To keep them looking good I hit them with some direct to metal clear top coat.

Got my coilovers assembled

Installed the MM control arms, spindles, hubs, and coilovers.

Fit the brakes in place

Next will be getting the booster / master finished and all the lines hooked up and bled.

Always top notch work!

What spring rate did you go with on the coilover setup?

 

[nicholase]

Always top notch work!

What spring rate did you go with on the coilover setup?

Thanks!


I called MM and told them I wanted a nice riding and handling street car. A little less body roll preffered but not at the expense of a bone jarring rattle trap ride. They suggested the Hypercoil Coil Over Spring, 250 lb/in, 12", 2-1/2" dia. The rear springs are MM R&T, also what they suggested.

The control arms are MM non off set stock geometry which keeps the wheels centered in the wheel well when using a factory K member.

 

[bird_dog0347]

Looks great, Changing the booster always sucks with the interior still in the car, but do it once and be done with it. What brake lines are you going to run?

 

[nicholase]

Looks great, Changing the booster always sucks with the interior still in the car, but do it once and be done with it. What brake lines are you going to run?

Yeah, i have it out and just measured the pushrod length and set the new one so it's ready to go in.

I relpaced all the factory steel lines with a stainless kit from Classic Tube. The front and rear flex hoses are stainless braided banjo / AN.

 

[nicholase]

Got the Nitto Drag radials mounted up. Even in the frigid weather they feel sticky. So this should help. 275/40/17.

 

[nicholase]

One thing about the e-brake setup on the Baer kit bugged me. On the stock Fox there is a spring in the e-brake handle assembly that keeps the cables pulled taunt to keep them from sagging and rattling around. To counteract that pressure so it is not activating the e-brakes there is a spring on the end of the cables behind the drum. That spring counteracts the pressure from the e-brake handle so the e brake doesn't drag.

The cables on the Baer kit had no such provision. What keeps the rear shoes retracted is the one peice shoe design, I put up a picture one page back It's intended to act like a spring itself. However when I pull and release the e-brake there is a slight bit of drag. I believe the force of the factory e-brake handle tension spring is overpowering the one peice shoe design to some degree. Is it okay? Not sure. But i had an idea to fix it so I went ahead and built a counteraction spring.

Here is what the Baer e brake setup looks like. The lever the e-brake cable is hooked to pulls a mechanical wheel cylinder to apply tension to the one peice shoe.

I wanted to add a spring to keep that lever pulled back when the e-brake is not applied similar to how the stock spring setup works. I re purposed some stainless steel springs. They are usually used to hold motorcycle exhausts together.

I made some brackets out of a peice of 1/8" steel L channel.

These will go between the gold e-brake cable bracket and backing plate using the same bolts.

Here is my bracket mocked up before paint. I drilled a hole in the actuator lever for the spring.

It works great.

 

[nicholase]

I finished up my e-brake counter balance spring and got everything final assembled. It works perfectly.

I worked on the front flex lines as well. The hardline to flex line coupler in the kit is for a 94+ Mustang and threaded for a 3/8" hardline fitting. The 90 Mustang has 7/16" hardline nuts so I ordered the correct 7/16"-3an fittings last weekend. When I assembled everything I found the factory bracket that secures the coupler was very close to the coilovers.

This is the factory bracket that secured the brake line.

It needs to be shortend. I cut out about ½"

So it will fit together like this

Then I welded it together and ground it smooth

A little paint and I have a nice looking bracket

Now I have clearance between the brake line and spring on the coilovers. I did both sides the same.

 

[nicholase]

Today I installed the 93 Cobra booster. I've had it out on the bench for the last few weeks. I double checked the pushrod measurement and it was fine, so I went ahead with the install. My car is a 1990 and I've read horror stories about smashing the strut tower or needing to completely remove the pedal box. Before I did any of that I decided to just see how bad it was going to be. Well, it pushed right in with no drama. I put some painters tape on it to avoid any scratches.

Then I test fit the 1993 1" bore master and temporarily connected it. I wanted to make sure I have all the correct lines on hand.

I really wanted to get the master bench bled and bleed all the lines. But unfortunately i can't find the fitting that goes in the body side of the rear brake line above the axle. I have a sneaky suspicion I tossed it with the old rear brake line. So the final bleeding will have to wait until next weekend when the new one arrives. It will be nice to button up this phase so I can move on to the next one. I just don't want too many open items so I'll wait till it's complete.


I like the big brakes lurking behind the Pony wheels. I went with 17×8 front wheels with 235/45/17 Nitto's. The rears were going to be 17×10 and I may go down that road at some point so I'm hanging on to them. But currently using 17×9 with 275/40/17 Nitto drag radials on the back.

Still playing around with the ride height.

 

[Noobz347]

Today I installed the 93 Cobra booster. I've had it out on the bench for the last few weeks. I double checked the pushrod measurement and it was fine, so I went ahead with the install. My car is a 1990 and I've read horror stories about smashing the strut tower or needing to completely remove the pedal box. Before I did any of that I decided to just see how bad it was going to be. Well, it pushed right in with no drama. I put some painters tape on it to avoid any scratches.

You didn't have to slot any of the holes? It just plopped in, huh?

 

[nicholase]

You didn't have to slot any of the holes? It just plopped in, huh?

Yup. I was prepared for a fight from everything I read and it just fell in. I did chase the holes with a bit one size larger than the original holes. But no slotting or anything.

 

[Noobz347]

Yup. I was prepared for a fight from everything I read and it just fell in. I did chase the holes with a bit one size larger than the original holes. But no slotting or anything.

If I remember right, the whole [bang on the strut tower] thing was for 79-86. 87+ wasn't necessary but I [thought] they all still had to be slotted.

Something new (to me)

When I go to do my 86, I'm going to try and avoid the shock tower thingy if poss.

 

[Noobz347]

What do got like... 2 miles on that car?


WTF man? LoL

Too clean to be Fox.

 

[gkomo]

You probably covered this already but are your rear brakes the 13” cobra (typically front brakes) and then you have a Baer big brake kit in the front? It looks really good I’m digging those front calipers.

And good news on the 93 booster, I plan on putting one in too as I have a pretty mushy pedal. Hopefully I have as much luck as you did.

 

[nicholase]

You probably covered this already but are your rear brakes the 13” cobra (typically front brakes) and then you have a Baer big brake kit in the front? It looks really good I’m digging those front calipers.

And good news on the 93 booster, I plan on putting one in too as I have a pretty mushy pedal. Hopefully I have as much luck as you did

Its probably good to have it all in one spot. Also some things changed since I did a partial parts list earlier. Here's a recap on the final parts that went in for the brakes and suspension:

-1993 Cobra booster (5.0 Resto)
-1993 Cobra master cylinder 1" bore. (New, from MM)
-MM 3 port to 2 port master line kit
-Replacement brake actuator lever bushing (LMR)
-Prop valve gutted, MM plug
-Wilwood rear proportioning valve
-All hard brake lines replaced with new stainless steel brake lines from Classic Tube
-Baer 3an stainless braided front brakes flex lines
-Earl's 7/16" to -3an fittings for front flex line to hard line junction
-MM stainless braided flex rear axle to body flex line
-Baer 6 piston front calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Sn95)
-Baer 4 piston rear calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Fox 8.8 c-clip axle)
-Baer banjo to 3an braided stainless flex lines rear caliper to axle
-Baer e brake cables
-SN95 spindles (1994)
-Motorcraft hubs
-ARP wheel studs
-MM front lower control arms, non offset stock geometry
-MM front control arm urethane bushings
-MM front coilovers w/ hypercoil 250# springs on Bilstiens
-MM caster camber plates
-Bilstein rear shocks
-Bilstien quad shocks
-MM sport adjustable perch rear lower control arms
-MM rear upper stamped control arms
-MM axle side bushings
-MM rear R&T springs
-All new bolts for struts, front control arms, rear control arms, shocks and quads from LMR
-Moser fox length SN95 flange axles
-Ford Performance carbon trak lok kit
-Mobile 1 synthetic 75w/140 (3 quarts)
-Ford performance rear end cover girdle
-17x8 Pony wheels 235/44/17 Nitto NT555 G2
-17×9 Pony wheels 275/40/17 Nitto NT555 R2 DR

Original brake pedal and pad lol

What do got like... 2 miles on that car?


WTF man? LoL

Too clean to be Fox.

Just a bit over 60,000.

 

[gkomo]

Its probably good to have it all in one spot. Also some things changed since I did a partial parts list earlier. Here's a recap on the final parts that went in for the brakes and suspension:

-1993 Cobra booster (5.0 Resto)
-1993 Cobra master cylinder 1" bore. (New, from MM)
-MM 3 port to 2 port master line kit
-Replacement brake actuator lever bushing (LMR)
-Prop valve gutted, MM plug
-Wilwood rear proportioning valve
-All hard brake lines replaced with new stainless steel brake lines from Classic Tube
-Baer 3an stainless braided front brakes flex lines
-Earl's 7/16" to -3an fittings for front flex line to hard line junction
-MM stainless braided flex rear axle to body flex line
-Baer 6 piston front calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Sn95)
-Baer 4 piston rear calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Fox 8.8 c-clip axle)
-Baer banjo to 3an braided stainless flex lines rear caliper to axle
-Baer e brake cables
-SN95 spindles (1994)
-Motorcraft hubs
-ARP wheel studs
-MM front lower control arms, non offset stock geometry
-MM front control arm urethane bushings
-MM front coilovers w/ hypercoil 250# springs on Bilstiens
-MM caster camber plates
-Bilstein rear shocks
-Bilstien quad shocks
-MM sport adjustable perch rear lower control arms
-MM rear upper stamped control arms
-MM axle side bushings
-MM rear R&T springs
-All new bolts for struts, front control arms, rear control arms, shocks and quads from LMR
-Moser fox length SN95 flange axles
-Ford Performance carbon trak lok kit
-Mobile 1 synthetic 75w/140 (3 quarts)
-Ford performance rear end cover girdle
-17x8 Pony wheels 235/44/17 Nitto NT555 G2
-17×9 Pony wheels 275/40/17 Nitto NT555 R2 DR

Original brake pedal and pad lol





Just a bit over 60,000.

Awesome list! I’ll be curious how you like the front coil over setup after putting some miles on them. That’s exactly what I want to do.

 

[Noobz347]

Its probably good to have it all in one spot. Also some things changed since I did a partial parts list earlier. Here's a recap on the final parts that went in for the brakes and suspension:

-1993 Cobra booster (5.0 Resto)
-1993 Cobra master cylinder 1" bore. (New, from MM)
-MM 3 port to 2 port master line kit
-Replacement brake actuator lever bushing (LMR)
-Prop valve gutted, MM plug
-Wilwood rear proportioning valve
-All hard brake lines replaced with new stainless steel brake lines from Classic Tube
-Baer 3an stainless braided front brakes flex lines
-Earl's 7/16" to -3an fittings for front flex line to hard line junction
-MM stainless braided flex rear axle to body flex line
-Baer 6 piston front calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Sn95)
-Baer 4 piston rear calipers 13" Pro+ rotors (kit for Fox 8.8 c-clip axle)
-Baer banjo to 3an braided stainless flex lines rear caliper to axle
-Baer e brake cables
-SN95 spindles (1994)
-Motorcraft hubs
-ARP wheel studs
-MM front lower control arms, non offset stock geometry
-MM front control arm urethane bushings
-MM front coilovers w/ hypercoil 250# springs on Bilstiens
-MM caster camber plates
-Bilstein rear shocks
-Bilstien quad shocks
-MM sport adjustable perch rear lower control arms
-MM rear upper stamped control arms
-MM axle side bushings
-MM rear R&T springs
-All new bolts for struts, front control arms, rear control arms, shocks and quads from LMR
-Moser fox length SN95 flange axles
-Ford Performance carbon trak lok kit
-Mobile 1 synthetic 75w/140 (3 quarts)
-Ford performance rear end cover girdle
-17x8 Pony wheels 235/44/17 Nitto NT555 G2
-17×9 Pony wheels 275/40/17 Nitto NT555 R2 DR

Original brake pedal and pad lol





Just a bit over 60,000.

All for 225 HP and 300 ft/lbs of tq.


Seems legit!

 

[nicholase]

I mentioned losing the rear body side brake fitting. The new one showed up. This is the little thing that kept me from getting my brakes done last weekend. I'll probably find the one I lost tomorrow.

Got it installed to the MM braided line.

To check my front flex lines and clearances at ride height I set the front tires on my Quick Trick bearing plates.

They are from my home alignmemt kit. This let me turn the wheel lock to lock and look around good for rubbing or interference. I did make a few tweaks to the lines.


Then I bench bled the master

And mounted it in the car

Then hooked up all the lines, put a wrench on every fitting one last time and bled the brakes. It's feels good to wrap up one of the phases! Suspension and brakes are complete.... at least for this year

 

[nicholase]

Somewhere I mentioned project creep. Yup, there it is

Everyone is about to witness a magnificent illustration of "project creep" this winter

I was going to do all this over the next 2-3 winters but in the interest of not taking things apart so many times and re buying parts to accomplish the same end goal I decided to do it all at the same time. Goal is to be ready by spring, but it might go into summer a little depending on available time.


Next up is a bunch of work I'm breaking this down into 3 phases.

-Engine/engine bay/clutch
-Fuel system
-Stand alone EFI setup.


I'll be removing the engine and adding a Trick Flow 360 hp top end kit. It's pretty inclusive with heads, intake, cam, rockers, valve covers, timing chain, pushrods and other little bits.

This will pair well with my Vortech V3 Heritage. I'll be dropping down from the 10+ psi I'm currently running to around 6-8 psi and expecting around 425 hp. In that neighborhood anyway. I'll also tidy up the engine bay a little.

The parts list is long but some basic stuff beyond the TrickFlow kit will be a block clean up and re paint, ARP head and intake studs (ARP fasteners throughout). A new melling 10687 oil pump and ARP oil pump drive shaft, new oil pan and pickup tube, 75mm Acufab TB, harmonic balancer, edelbrock water pump, engine mounts and so on.

The clutch is a McLeod RST twin disc with a Ford Performance billet flywheel. ARP Flywheel bolts, a new Motorcraft TO bearing and other small parts. I like the idea of the increased holding power and light stock pedal feel of the twin disc. So looking forward to that.

Fuel System:
After giving the original fuel lines a good lookover I decided it best to replace them. I also wanted to run a larger feed and return. So I'll be doing the fuel system similar to the brake system and replacing everything at once. I'll be replacing the system from the fuel tank to the fuel rails.

Going in:

-Aeromotive 18638 fuel pump hanger with 6an feed and return fittings
-Fragolia 6an PTFE fuel line, braided stainless with black plastic outer cover
-Fragolia black AN "street" fittings
-Aeromotive 13136 fuel pressure regulator
-Aeromotice 12347 fuel filter
-Anderson motorsports fuel rails
-Finish Line Factory PTNH-8AN Cross-Mount Dual Hose Separator to secure fuel lines
-Rivnuts to mount separators to chassis.

For the standalone I decided to go with a Pro-M efi setup with a crank trigger wheel setup. That order will be going in soon.


I do have plans to replace the T5 with a TKX. It's possible I'll do that this winter time and budget depending. I'm thinking this summer will be largely learning tuning and breaking in the new clutch. So I feel comfortable the T5 will survive at least this summer.

Stay tuned.

 

[gkomo]

Damn good work! What’s the status of the shortblock? Is it already done or just leaving it as is? Are you doing the top end kit yourself?

I really dig the big brake kit (those brake calipers look so good).