Swapping a 1988 auto notch to an EFI, IRS, 331 stroker, 5 speed. Its not the first time I've done this but all advise will be considered. I'm a broke guy relying on junk yard parts (mostly) and experience.
I'm trying out this gt front bumper thing. What do you guys think ? The whole car will be painted later. Also, I grabbed some seats out of a turbo coupe i had to tap one bolt hole on the rear of the seat pan. Couldnt use the thunderbird power tracks
So far on this project I've pulled the dash and installed pedals, moved the speedometer cable, and replaced the factory heater core. Everything looked pretty good but with this being an Indiana car the dust is unbelievable. I had to source an o2 sensor harness for the conversion...since it was an auto car it came out of I had to swap pins. The gauge pod hasn't been wired up yet...just sitting on the dash. I've also had to replace the door lock cylinders and replaced the bushings inside the passenger door motor. I still need to replace the door lock actuators. I've got all the parts ready in my shed ( I'm a broke guy so no sweet garages for me ). Ultimately, I'm trying for about 400 at the wheels with this setup. Everyone I talk to says I should be in the 425 range. There's a lot to this swap so I wanted folks to see how us poor folks suffer outside in the cold for our passions...numb fingers and all. Lol
Another update.... I started tearing into my t5 zspec. Found out I need a new 2nd gear...the synchro hub rounded the teeth on 2nd so it pops out of gear....the input shaft synchro teeth are chipped on fourth gear....the reverse gear is rounded on the edges. All the bearings look good so a shout to the Gearbox.org should get things fixed up nicely. It held up well behind the 347 thanks to Hanlon Motorsports. I'm going to be upgrading this trans yet again. The billet stuff has been holding up pretty good. I've got to find a new reverse brake synchro.
Well, I had a wonderful day today. The mustang fell off the trailer into the middle of the highway...smh. I had just checked the straps ( rated at 15,000 bounds each ) about 5 mins before they both broke...releasing my car into the road. No one was injured and I must admit...it was hilarious. I ran back and jumped in the car and drove it home behind my beautiful wife driving the tow rig. The core support is done...so much for my clean slate. 04 cobra bumper fog lights and bezels on the way as we speak. Guess I'll weld in a tubular lower support and make more room for the intercooler and piping. Smh
My fog light bezels came in today. Just waiting on the bumper cover and the fog lights. I'll be running cooling ducts to the back of the front rotors. The turbo wasn't planned until next year, but the wife felt bad for my trailer incident. [emoji12] looks like a CXRacing single turbo hot and cold side and a Precision Turbo are in the works by spring.
I have the factory fog light switch from my convertible gt so I'm going to get a harness repair end and wire a relay for the fogs. I'm super exited about the extra room I'll get for the intercooler. May have to trim the fiberglass bumper support but the bumper should cover it well. This weekend I'll check the squareness of my front end and take measurements for the bumper mod. I don't want to do a hard tail conversion on my IRS but the ability to fit a wider tire is enchanting. [emoji106]
Fog lights came... installed for fit. Doing a grill bar delete, too. Gotta wait for tubular support to start mocking up everything. I don't want glue to be the only thing holding this bumper on so I have to design brackets and fasteners to help support some of the weight. It will all be hidden.
So I started working on the core support.... Red neck style. Lol. Its too cold for me to prime it yet but its supposed to warm up to 50 tomorrow. Laugh with me not at me.smh
Lower support is installed...fit like a glove. Used a skill grinder with a cut off wheel to chop the old support out. Measured...checked, measured again, cut , remeasured, grinded, measured again, measured again, checked, drilled, checked again, you get the idea. I made the core support removable so I can add the condensor bracket tabs and may have to make lower support brackets. On to the bumper [emoji86] [emoji85] [emoji87]
Its really rough work in outside in the cold but so far I've accomplished some bumper stuff. I've got to break out the heat gun and the two part epoxy.
Test fitted the lower bumper a hundred times...smh. It'll work perfect. I'm using the gm epoxy. The pumper forms really good with the help of my HF heat gun. My old ryobi finish sander bit the dust so I grabbed a porta cable replacement. After using a jig saw to cut both bumpers the edges weren't completely smooth but it is now. Moved all the wifes gardening stuff and took over the back porch. Lol. With the motor,two t5s, IRS rear, and a whole car worth of parts there's no room in my man chapel.
Primed and painted the radiator support. I used 8 bolts to bolt it to the core support below the bumper shocks. I figure I can make the stock condensor mount brackets work with stainless steel hose clamps or I still may weld them on.