Progress Thread Finally got my first Fox Body - 1988 GT

I called Steeda. They said Centric is backed up like crazy and it would likely take six weeks.

Ordered a reman from Auto Zone that is supposed to arrive next week. Fingers crossed.
 
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While I’m floating near the top for the day...wanted to get some input on another thing I have planned for the fox.

I have new valve cover gaskets I would like to install. I would also like to clean up and paint the valve covers and upper intake manifold. It seems like it would make sense to replace the intake manifold gaskets at the same time...or at least have those gaskets on standby if I remove intake manifold and confirm they should be replaced. This got me thinking about any other gaskets I might want to be prepared to replace while I am taking things apart. Throttle body maybe? Anything else folks would recommend?

I’ve watched a few videos of other folks on YouTube doing the valve cover gaskets. It seems straightforward enough, just pretty time consuming/tedious.
 
Anyone know where I can get the nuts that attach the brake booster to the master cylinder? I know the thread is M8x1.25 but I couldn't find anything at Home Depot that worked. I guess it is a bit wider on the bottom to go over the non-threaded tip of the bolts on the brake booster.

I checked the fox body nuts/bolts/screws thread that is stickied at the top and didn't see these listed.
 
Anyone know where I can get the nuts that attach the brake booster to the master cylinder? I know the thread is M8x1.25 but I couldn't find anything at Home Depot that worked. I guess it is a bit wider on the bottom to go over the non-threaded tip of the bolts on the brake booster.

I checked the fox body nuts/bolts/screws thread that is stickied at the top and didn't see these listed.


I think you'll want something like this. There are waaaay to many options once you start looking through the site however. You may or may not want the distorted nut style.

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Which booster are you installing again? 87-93 and 93 cobra boosters use SAE threads, while the 94+ boosters went metric.
 
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I think you'll want something like this. There are waaaay to many options once you start looking through the site however. You may or may not want the distorted nut style.

1594997271438.png



Which booster are you installing again? 87-93 and 93 cobra boosters use SAE threads, while the 94+ boosters went metric.

Thanks man. I ordered a reman brake booster from Auto Zone, which I believe is just a replacement for the OEM one that came in the car. The master cylinder is a 1993 Cobra.

 
In that case, check your nut sizes again. Those fox boosters should be SAE thread, not metric. I want to say a 3/8" nut. I have one on the shelf but it would be a few days before I can check it.
 
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I recently purchased a remanned cobra booster (54-73155) from AutoZone. I've read a lot of stories on how their pars can be junk sometimes, but i'm very happy with what I received. It had the nuts for the master cylinder studs included with it, as well as the nuts for the firewall. It was powder coated black too. If you have a Tractor Supply Company store near you, I think you would be able to find the nuts there.
 
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I recently purchased a remanned cobra booster (54-73155) from AutoZone. I've read a lot of stories on how their pars can be junk sometimes, but i'm very happy with what I received. It had the nuts for the master cylinder studs included with it, as well as the nuts for the firewall. It was powder coated black too. If you have a Tractor Supply Company store near you, I think you would be able to find the nuts there.
Thanks for chiming in. I was hesitant to place the order from Auto Zone but LMR, Steeda, etc. are all out of stock and I don't want the car to sit for a long time. Glad to hear about it possibly coming with the nuts. That will save me some more searching.
 
I picked this up yesterday for the master cylinder bench bleeding process
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Also, sharing these in case anyone can identify off the top of their head but will be looking through my manuals and the inter webs at some point.
A8A45834-D1BE-4CE6-B1F5-CBB5B24C49AA.jpeg
4DAAEECA-446B-486B-832D-03E0D7F75657.jpeg
1FF63460-06BC-4285-81D0-CD05759139F0.jpeg 5F33E738-7C1D-445F-B638-DE8870D70900.jpeg

Seems it’s just going to nothing...but there’s a fusible link. Any reason I wouldn’t be able to just disconnect it at the connecter (in the last pic) and tape it off or something?
 
The two you have in your hand are for the ac, if the round connector is in the same harness it too is for the ac.
Thanks. The part in my hand (2nd pic) connects to the round connector. Since the AC was previously removed from my car, any idea if I could just disconnect the round connector part and maybe tape it off or cover it without any issues?
 

Start here on page 3 of my progress thread, and you’ll see how I painted everything you’re about to do.
Lots of degreaser, wire wheels, and acetone were used to clean all parts before priming.
I replaced every gasket that I took off when I did this. Even if a gasket looked ok, the parts looked new, so I wanted all new for gaskets too!
 
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Start here on page 3 of my progress thread, and you’ll see how I painted everything you’re about to do.
Lots of degreaser, wire wheels, and acetone were used to clean all parts before priming.
I replaced every gasket that I took off when I did this. Even if a gasket looked ok, the parts looked new, so I wanted all new for gaskets too!
Man...I read through almost the whole thing. Really love the wire tuck/hide and the intake manifold design. This thing is so badass. I really want do a new cover plate design too. I was planning on just doing gray/silver for the manifold and valve covers but now you’ve got me thinking about other color options.
E131FA26-987E-435C-8536-EF549373A050.jpeg

The GT40 intake you picked up/cleaned up looks great too. I would love to get one of the tubular versions one of these days.
 
Man...I read through almost the whole thing. Really love the wire tuck/hide and the intake manifold design. This thing is so badass. I really want do a new cover plate design too. I was planning on just doing gray/silver for the manifold and valve covers but now you’ve got me thinking about other color options.
E131FA26-987E-435C-8536-EF549373A050.jpeg

The GT40 intake you picked up/cleaned up looks great too. I would love to get one of the tubular versions one of these days.

Thanks man! Appreciate that. Hopefully I can get the rest of the engine bay as nice as that intake some day.
If I ever take the motor out, at that point I’ll do the Explorer intake (after a paint job of course).
I have plenty of work planned out to keep me busy for a few years!
Really want to get my 5-lug done so I can get the car to look and sit the way I want. The 10-holes and old dried out tires have to go.
 
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I'm guessing it's a stock replacement ?
After doing my 4 lug rear disc upgrade and driving it for a bit I'm realizing I should have upgraded the booster.
In the process of trying to get a 93 Cobra booster so eventually I will feel your pain of removing/installing the booster.
 
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Another thing arrived today...three months after I ordered it, and about a month after I requested a refund, lol. If anyone is looking for one of these, let me know...

Woljay Bolt Down Auto Fuse Holder With MEGA Fuse 150A 32V 298 Series

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I'm guessing it's a stock replacement ?
After doing my 4 lug rear disc upgrade and driving it for a bit I'm realizing I should have upgraded the booster.
In the process of trying to get a 93 Cobra booster so eventually I will feel your pain of removing/installing the booster.
Are you saying that because the brake booster is old/has seen better days or because the stock one doesn’t do what it needs to with the rear disc brakes?

Yeah, it’s a reman stock. I am currently searching and watching videos trying to figure out how to correctly install the pushrod in the new brake booster. I have the instructions from MM on how to do the measurements but that seems to be based on the pushrod already being in the brake booster and the brake booster being in the car.

It’s throwing me off a little that the pushrod just kind of slides into the new BB and doesn’t seem very secure...
 
you saying that because the brake booster is old/has seen better days or because the stock one doesn’t do what it needs to with the rear disc brakes?
The current booster is in good shape but I tried to get away with using it when I upgraded to essentially a 93 Cobra set-up , should have known.
Brake pedal is now too hard for my liking, I would need a gorilla to stand on it in order to lock the brakes.
It seems some people can get away with the stock booster when upgrading, not me.
If you were happy with the performance of your brakes then just install your new stock booster and be done with it, if not this would be the time to upgrade.
 
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I did the measuring to calculate the length that the pushrod is supposed to protrude from the brake booster and made the adjustments after getting the booster sort of mounted in the car. The nuts on the interior side of the firewall are just hand tight for now.
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I want to do the bench bleeding of the master cylinder now but I just now realized the tubes in the bleeding kid that I bought are opaque. Based on some of the videos I watched to understand the process, it seems they should be transparent so I can see when the bubbles are no longer showing up in the brake fluid. Now I’m wondering if I should return the kit and look for something with clear tubes.
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I came across this video where the bleeding is done with a syringe because it’s a step bore master cylinder. Anyone who has done either method have any suggestions on which is less of a pain in the ass while actually doing what needs to be done?

View: https://youtu.be/USdtwqju4GY

Wish I would have found this video earlier lol

View: https://youtu.be/sHuz8PE5HEU
 
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