Black Jack: new best fuel economy

[FastDriver]

Well, whaddya think, boys? Is it just the rear main seal? If so, it looks like it slung oil/grime upwards. Should I pull those threaded plugs and teflon tape them? It looks pretty nasty on the low end of the drivers head, too. I'll look more closely at the valve cover in that area. The damn thing drips around the steering rack, the oil pan... pretty much everywhere, but why not clean things up whenever I'm in the place to do it, right? Anyways, lemme know what you would do while you're in here.

Also, for not checking bellhousing centricity when I installed the T56, the pilot & input snout looked to be in good shape.

I'd be concerned about the lower intake seal at the china wall, but I got the phone in there for 1 pic and a borescope in for another, and it doesn't seem like it.

Borescope:

Ignore the date-stamp. Looks greasy/dirty, but not sopping wet with dripping oil.

Recommendations for when I get started again tomorrow?

 

[HotFox]

Looks like the rear main to me? Years ago I had a rear drip on my engine. I retorqued the intake and it eliminated the leak, the engine was pretty fresh at that point.

I would check the gally plugs and cam freeze plug, all could be a source of leakage.

 

[limp]

Use some quality thread sealant on those plugs rather than teflon tape.. Clean up the plugs and the threads the best you can also...

 

[FastDriver]

Thanks. I've got some thread sealant with PTFE to use.

 

[FastDriver]

The drivetrain is back together,

And the new struts are in:

Boys, I really had a helluva struggle with motivation this time around. That's why it dragged out so long.

Will report back on my first Ram clutch experience. Have heard good things. Very happy to be going back to driving the mustang again.

 

[ustacould]

Congratulations regardless, I suffer from inertia myself. Mostly glad that you are still here on this continent . How much pollen are you dealing with down east this week, neighbor ?

 

[FastDriver]

Oh yeah... I'm old (by military standards), am assigned to an army component HQ, and am a data scientist. The likelihood of me deploying again in my career is sub-1%.

Yep, the pollen warrents breaking out my pro-mask, and my black car is yellow. Usually this is a 1 month thing. Last year is was 2... Lets hope this pollen season goes quickly.

 

[Noobz347]

So... When are the aliens planning to announce themselves?

 

[FastDriver]

Who do you think you’re talking to in social media comments and all these LLMs?

 

[Noobz347]

Based on the inaccurate responses and flat-out lies? I would guess: Christopher Wray.

 

[nickyb]

Based on the inaccurate responses and flat-out lies? I would guess: Christopher Wray.

Guessing will get you abducted by those anal probing aliens

 

[AeroCoupe]

We all know it’s the cows.

 

[FastDriver]

What a difference. Clutch uses about 1/2 the pedal thatthe Valeo/King Cobra did. Pedal firmness is about the same. A hint of chatter, but it isn't broken in, yet. Shifts are much cleaner again. Got to a point I was missing powershifts, but I'll bet this clears that up.

The front struts are amazing! I have Blilsteins on Grover and I like 'em, but so far, I love these. Started, per a previous post, with 1 full turn, out of ~2 3/4 from full loose on rebound, and with just 1 click, of 12, from full loose on compression. Did a little slalom style wheel sawing and noted more body roll than I liked. So, I added a click of compression (2 of 12 from loose), and this is a really good spot for me. Black Jack used to feel boaty. Now, there's still some body roll, but it's much flatter, and turn-in seems crisper to me, but it's not so stiff that it's a bother over uneven pavement.

I think this is going to be a big improvement at an auto-x.

 

[hoopty5.0]

When you say 1/2 the pedal, you mean effort or travel? Also, I'm interested in continued feedback on the struts. Out of the half dozen cars I've butchered, this is the first one thats a dedicated street machine and am interested in handling improvement.

 

[FastDriver]

When you say 1/2 the pedal, you mean effort or travel? Also, I'm interested in continued feedback on the struts. Out of the half dozen cars I've butchered, this is the first one thats a dedicated street machine and am interested in handling improvement.

Maybe an exaggeration, but seriously, the old worn clutch got to a point that even with preload, it wouldn’t fully disengage even with the entire pedal stroke. It was making the trans really notchy and tough to shift, especially when trying to be aggressive.

Now, after installing the new clutch and setting it up, engagement happens much sooner in the pedal travel. So when I say “half the pedal,” I mean travel, not effort. Pedal effort feels about the same, but it’s actually disengaging cleanly now, which makes a huge difference in shift quality.

On the struts, early impression is they’re a big step up. The car feels more settled in transitions and takes a set quicker. Still some body roll, but much more controlled and predictable without getting harsh over bumps. I’ll keep dialing them in and report back once I get more time on them and push it a bit harder.

 

[hoopty5.0]

Maybe an exaggeration, but seriously, the old worn clutch got to a point that even with preload, it wouldn’t fully disengage even with the entire pedal stroke. It was making the trans really notchy and tough to shift, especially when trying to be aggressive.

Now, after installing the new clutch and setting it up, engagement happens much sooner in the pedal travel. So when I say “half the pedal,” I mean travel, not effort. Pedal effort feels about the same, but it’s actually disengaging cleanly now, which makes a huge difference in shift quality.

On the struts, early impression is they’re a big step up. The car feels more settled in transitions and takes a set quicker. Still some body roll, but much more controlled and predictable without getting harsh over bumps. I’ll keep dialing them in and report back once I get more time on them and push it a bit harder.

What sway bar up front? For the first time in my 23 years of owning foxes, I'm putting one BACK in. Jeebus that makes me sound OLD.

 

[FastDriver]

Stock swaybars. Stock-ish rate progressive B-springs.

Believe it or not, I think the lakewood traction bars help balance somehow. This car does not understeer at autocrosses like I've come to expect from foxes. It's very throttle steerable - I can understeer or induce oversteer with throttle input with enough precision to adjust my corner apexes. But it was body-rolling too much, which I think these struts have cleared up 90% of. Transitions and turn-in were pretty rough. Now, even on the winter oriented cross-climate Michelins, transitions and turn-in feel so much better, and I've pushed hard enough through a curve to confirm that balance is still there.

I may still do an adjustable rear sway and/or rear DA shocks. The key thing for me is the ability to keep things comfy on the street, because it's my daily, and still be able to tighten or loosen for autox & strip events.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

A little body roll isn't a bad thing (as long as it's controlled & composed), especially for an autocross car. People tend to focus on completely eliminating body roll, but that can often lead to putting the wrong parts on the car. Suspension needs to articulate. And you have to think about how your mods impact understeer & oversteer. I meet a lot of people who put stiffer front sway bars on 79-04 Mustangs because they want to eliminate body roll. But they don't have other mods in place to compensate for the added understeer from the stiffer front sway bar. Their car handles worse because they've added understeer to a car that was born with a tendency to understeer.

I use a stiffer (1 3/8") front sway bar & a 23 mm OEM SN95 + a Steeda adjustable rear sway bar on my 1992 SRA GT autocross car. I use Ford Performance C springs (linear front/progressive rear). On most courses, my shocks & struts were set at a 2 out of 5 (pretty soft). Depending on your other mods, softer settings might yield better results.

 

[FastDriver]

Yeah, but this is actual footage of Blackjack during its last autocross. Look at how she leans!:

View: https://youtu.be/M-Q8P049-2Q?si=VXUdbJW5yaV-4l81

 

[FastDriver]

My renewed enthusiasm for the car gave me the motivation to continue work, tonight. Nothing too much... Just an a/c temp cable & troubleshot the speedo signal glitch. It was the power to the dakota. I guess where it's connected to the HVAC blower feed was not solid. I jiggled the wires a bit and the signal stabilized. If it glitches again, I've got an alternate fused signal already run under the dash from the battery that I can swap to.

Couple more things to address, but no huge hurry:
- there's a small radiator leak that I hope to repair, not replace, as it's a high dollar Ron Davis. Hopefully, I can find a shop to address it.
- some kind of grinding sound in reverse with the wheel turned, even slightly. Honestly, I thought it was the strut sleeve that had fallen off of the old strut, but now that it's solidly back in place, I dont have any idea... maybe the brakes... Need to get it in the air and turn the wheels to look at all of my clearances.