It's ALIVE!!

[351carlo]

Well, for those who don't know me... My name is Carlo and I have a severe automotive addiction.

My Mustang, a 70 Grande, has been off the road since last January. Back to the beginning....I bought it in April 2004, had the motor and trans rebuilt with slight improvements over that summer. I drove the car 2500 miles, until I went away to school in Fall of 2005. I put a set of 4.11's and a new third member in the car over that semester. I came back over winter break, and put some spray on the car. I drove it for another 200 or so miles, when a piston decided to go on me. I had been through a cam in this motor, so assumed that the metal shavings had wiped the bearings as my oil pressure was low.

So that was that. Last January (2006) I took the motor and trans out. I decided to do it right and start fresh. I had a set of Aussie 2v heads ported and got together a 357 forged piston shortblock. Using good parts all around, from my mighty demon carb to my canton oil pan, I was confident my new build would be a success.

And it looks like it is. I got the car assembled Sunday and took it out for a short ride. My MSD box needs repair, so I was using my Ignitor II setup (Glad I never did sell that) and my stock distributor. I couldn't get on it too much, but it sure felt good driving it.

I've done too much to bother boring you all with, but here's an engine shot.

EDIT: The only wires missing in that picture are the ignition wires. There is no more stock solenoid, and everything else has been relocated. The car needs to be painted, and the engine bay is dirty, but it's come a long way.

 

[thekid760]

That is a really clean and tidy engine bay.

I love it that no wire are showing at all except whats necessary.

 

[StangDreamin']

Congrats, Carlo; that looks great

See and here you were complaining on BDT's thread about being single. But your engine compartment looks like that (and the engine has all the right goodies under that pretty paint).
You know I'm definitely not single; and my Cleveland is about four years behind yours

 

[mustangman70]

Engine bay looks great man congrats!!!

You are keepign the spray right?!?!?!

 

[351carlo]

SD: I got the ol' "You care more about your car than you do about me..." line and dropped the ball on the car for a while. Took a trip to Disney for a week with her.... But we won't get into that. It got so bad (She tried coming back) that a restraining order is the next step. She realized how badly she screwed up, but a little too late. Let's just say it's not something I want to touch for fear of contracting something...

Thanks for the comments on the Bay. I hope it looks alright, but like I said it's not nearly finished. I'll do a writeup and take some pictures of how I routed the wires, since I really am a fan of how it turned out. I am running an electric water pump, dual fans, fuel pump, MSD Digital 6 plus, MSD Window switch, and that nice coil. The only wiring you see in the entire car is what you see there.

My tachometer is in the interior, in the left A/C Duct. (P/S, A/C were both removed. I wish I hadn't removed the A/C, but the P/S was too sloppy for my liking). My gauges are inside the glove box and when shut disappear. My switches, including the digital window switch, are inside my center console (Stock Deluxe console).

So what I'm saying is you can't tell the thing is a race car except for the Hoosiers out back. It still rides on 1970 date coded Magnum 500's. If I got it a good paint job I'd be in heaven. Oh, but I guess the 108LSA Lope gives it away.....

MM1970: The spray is temporarily off the car. I do not have a proper transmission setup to handle the motor, let alone the spray. That will come in the next few months, once I'm certain the engine and the rest of the car are up to the task. Once I put the transmission in, the spraying will be resumed with the shots starting at 125 and going upwards until I run a 10.99 or faster.

 

[chepsk8]

Lots of shows coming up north of you up here! Bring it around!

 

[351carlo]

Lots of shows coming up north of you up here! Bring it around!

Thanks, but the paint is embarrassing. I need to spend some money and get the whole car buffed and some spots fixed before I consider bringing it anywhere. I want to get it painted, but if it runs for now I'm gonna wait until the fall/winter.

I'm not quite sure how to go about buffing it, but I saw another thread where the cars turned out great. My hood and front fenders just don't shine like the back of the car, and the paint peeled bad above the tail light and behind the window next to the trunk lid.

Suggestions?

 

[351carlo]

And here's one of the noticeable paint shades. The front clip just doesn't have a gloss and looks like it's dull with a lot of hair lines in it. No idea what causes this, it's not my best area.

Oh and please ignore how tall the front is. You can see there are no heads on the car, no fluids in the car and the battery is missing. I need to lower the front anyway, but without these items it looks like an offroad truck.

 

[StangDreamin']

Clay bar and a "buff job"; unless you're aorried that the peeling sunburn travels all the way to the nose. If it clears up, maybe (I said maybe) a shot of clearcoat. 'Nother polish-down and some kind of really good protectant - although now I'm reading that wax may not be good for the paint?

If not, well - Hey you're single! You've got all the "honey-money" you can spend on new paint!

Looking forward to more detailed pics of the engine bay.......

 

[351carlo]

WOW.

Got the MSD box on it, took out the Ignitor II and started really driving it. Car ran good yesterday, didn't give it too much gas because it needed some help as it was running rich and the timing was off.

Well tonight it was cool out, and I was heading down to my college (30 minutes away) to bring out the car. I caught a light and decided I'd give it a little more throttle this time. I got sideways going into second (26'' Hoosiers) and pedaled it back around. Short shifted into third and let off the pedal. Unfortunately it looks like the input shaft or converter let go before I did.

No gears, but I still have park and neutral. Well 5 neutrals.

SD: I'm gonna get some pictures of the bay. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I think the upgrades I did were something everyone should consider. The late model starter was GREAT and really cleans up some wiring. Of course I have the battery in the trunk, so that might help also.

I knew the trans was going to go, but I figured on motor (This is built for nitrous) I'd get a couple months before the clutches gave way or something along those lines. I never thought on motor it would grenade the trans entirely. The car still starts up, so it's not the flexplate forward, and park still works so it's not the output shaft back.