Progress Thread 1998 fauxbra

Slopoke281

New Member
Sep 4, 2018
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Madison
So I while back a guy contacted me wanting to trade an old sport bike I had for sale for a Mustang with an engine noise. Initially I was not to interested, figuring that it was probably a used up piece of junk so I refused the offer. I eventually sold the bike but the Mustang stayed in the back of my mind especially because it was supposedly rust free, a pretty rare thing were I live. Eventually I went and looked at it an made an offer.
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The car was pretty clean with all original paint, no rust as advertised and a few bolt ons. Unfortunately the previous owner did not understand the importance of engine oil so the bearing on rod number one was wasted.
So the plan was to build the car for autocross / hpde.
 
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After a little research, I decided to ditch the weak SOHC motor in favor of a 4 valve motor. It turns out it's a pretty straightforward swap and the motors are about the same price at the wrecking yard. After some digging I was able to find a 1997 mark 8 motor that was not totally used up.
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Out with the old.
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The swap turned out to be pretty straightforward. I was able to use the GT wiring harness with a few modifications. I got the harness from the Lincoln which was key to making the whole thing work. Also the previous owner had installed a SCT chip that I was able to have reprogrammed to work with the new motor.
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A little pre install clean up. The motor was pretty clean with the exception of the secondary intake ports. It was nothing a little carb cleaner couldn't take care of. I ended up removing the butterflies and shaft of the IMRC and plugging the holes with pipe plugs.
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While it was apart I replaced the clutch, water pump, the front and rear seals and a bunch of the gaskets. I also had the flywheel resurfaced because it looked like someone went after it with an angle grinder. The exhaust manifolds were off of a Cobra and they bolted right up th the GT exhaust. The oil pan was also from the GT with a new Cobra pickup.
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In with the new.
 
Once the engine was in was I had to extend a the fuel lines. The 1998 was a little different in that it has a return fuel system so I was able user most of the stock parts with only minor modification. I ended up using AN fittings with the Russell line ends.
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Once all assembled the car started up an ran without any major problems. I had to tighten a few hose clamps but other than that it ran good. I also replaced the junk 16" wheels and tires with a set of 17x8 Cobra rims.
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I spent a little time on the interior. The seats were junk ProCar that lived up to there brand name "scat". They have the lateral support of a stack of phone books. That started off grey so I dyed them black. At least they looked ok until I found a replacement.
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After a few events it became apparent the seats had to go. There was no lateral support, the brackets had to be shimmed up on one side so the bolsters wouldn't hit the door panel and they sat so high I had to recline the seat while wearing a helmet. In other words don't cheap out on seats. I ended up finding a set of used Corbuea seats on Craigslist for a screaming deal along with a set of used backets from eBay. The color was wrong but when your on a budget things like that take a back seat (pun intended). With the new seats and brackets I could sit much more upright and the side support kept me in place while driving at the limit. I can say without a doubt this is one of the best modifications for driving experience I have done.
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I descided to try out a track day event with the car at our local 2 mile road course. I was a little worried about the brakes, but with new fluid, rotors and a good set of Stoptech pads the car did fine. I also installed a real oil pressure gauge and an oil temp gauge to keep tabs on the junkyard jewel.
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While at this event I got to talking with one of the driving instructors who happened to know Mustangs pretty well. Until now I had been running a pretty stock alignment. He gave me a few tips on how to get rid of the oppressive under steer in the car. After the event I used a SPC alignment gauge to add caster and about 2 degrees of negative camber. This totally changed the driving experience. The car is now much more neutral and will actually rotate a little in the tight turns.
 
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While surfing Craigslist I found someone selling a set of 95 Cobra r rims with older Kumho tires for a good deal. I love the period look they give the car. The front tires are 255s while the rears are 275s. I think I will upgrade to 275s all around so over the winter. It would be nice to be able to rotate the tires to get a little more life from them. For now I'm am going to finish out the season which what I have.
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Now that has cooled off and racing season is over i decided to do a budget 13" brake upgrade. With all new parts (no rebuilt calipers) I was able to put together all the parts I needed for just over $300 on Rockauto. The calipers even came with brackets.
One thing to note, the banjo bolt on the old iron calipers do not match the threaded holes on the new calipers so that needsto be replaced. While I had it all apart I also replaced the lower control arm bushings and rack bushings. Getting the old bushing shells out was a major pain, but fortunately I work in a plant with a machine shop with a press, so I got them out without destroying anything.
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Frc360104n & frc10603n. They are Rabestos reproductions of the originals. I got lucky and found the rotors on close out for almost nothing, so it would be a little bit more to replicate what I have. That being said it would still be less then lmr or the other Mustang part suppliers and I am pretty sure they use the same calipers in their kits. I used stock style rubber lines and a nice set of pads.
 
Finally winter is over and I was able to go out racing again! Along with the upgraded brakes I installed poly bushings in the front & rear lower control arms and put on a set of Falken 615k+ tires. The car felt pretty good but the I was definitely a little rusty in the driver seat.
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