Mustang5l5's Progress Thread - Archived Progress thread '08-'20.

[Mustang5L5]

I think I remember you saying that you wanted to take a picture like that a long time ago.

Haha I did! I wonder if i can track down the post where I said that!


Next time, i'll get one with the car more centered in the bay door. Hell...i could probably PS it over some. Lemme give it a shot

 

[Mustang5L5]

Hows this?
I may have lost some photo quality however. I'll just restage and take the pic another night

 

[Mustang5L5]

Scored these off craigslist for dirt cheap! Tires are junk and i need center caps, but they are pretty damn clean '03 Gt wheels!!


Now all i need is 1 more bullitt wheel unless i want to use the brand new Ford OEM wheel i have still NIB....which i really don't.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Okay, did some more buttoning up of things.

I changed the MC out. I ditched the 94-95 GT/V6 MC and swapped in a 1993 Cobra MC. NOW my brakes feel awesome! It makes the car fun to drive knowing now i can stop easily!


I also picked up a 94-95 70mm MAF. I'll be buying an adapter and using it to convert my car from Speed Density to Mass Air finally.

Couple other little tidbits that are irking me.

Trans leaks fluid from the seal between the main case and tailhousings. Guess i didn't use enough RTV. I really don't want to pull the trans to fix this.

Still need to decide where to put my Autometer water temp and oil pressure gauges. I can't decide if i want them under the radio, or back on the A-pillar.

I need to track down ONE bullitt wheel, then i have my full set!

 

[Mustang5L5]

you like the 93 cobra mc? mm advised me the 94-95 cobra mc

I did a ton of research into Ford MC sizing. I think the '93 cobra MC is ideal.

This is what I learned. Since I have basically 03-04 Mach 1 brakes, i discovered they use a 1 1/16" MC bore. In fact, all hydroboosted 99+ GT's Mach 1's and CObras use a 1 1/16" bore MC. It's equivalent to the 94-95 Gt/V6 MC.

However, i also noticed the hydroboost setups are about 1/16" larger than the vacuum boosted counterparts. The MC for 94-95 CObras is a 15/16" bore MC. However, the 96-98 cobras have the same 38mm piston calipers as the 94-95. They run hydroboost. What's the MC bore size on those cars? 1"...up 1/16 from the vacuum brakes.

Another check...99-04 GT's and V6's. The GT's have hydroboost and use a 1 1/16" MC as mentioned before. The V6's are vacuum boosted..what MC do they have? 1" again.

So going by the fact that Mach 1's have hydroboost and use a 1 1/16" MC, i figure a 1" MC would be ideal.

I also did out the math by measuring the area of the pistons. The 99+ brakes have 40mm pistons vs the 38mm pistons of the 94-98 cars.

SO....what it basically means is if you have 94-98 Cobra calipers, the 94-95 Cobra MC is what you want. If you use a 93 Cobra MC, your pedal will be slightly on the firm side of things. If you use the 99-04 Cobra calipers, you want the '93 cobra MC like i have.

My pedal feels awesome and the brakes are very responsive.

One day when i get bored, i want to put all my data into a spread sheet so guys mixing and matching brake setups can calculate their hydraulic ratio and determine what MC to use. It's really not that hard. Area of all the caliper pistons added up divided by the area of the MC piston bore gives you a specific ratio. Most of the OEM setups are in the 14:1 to 15:1 range.

With the 94-95 GT/V6 MC, my hydraulic ratio was 12.7:1...which is to the firmer end of things. The smaller the number, the firmer the pedal. With the 93 cobra MC, my ratio is now 14.4:1 which is in the range of most of the OEM setups.

Like i said before, one day when i get bored...i'll make a spreadsheet

 

[Mustang5L5]

Did a little maintainence today.

I replaced the door latch strikers and hatch striker. My hatch striker bushing was pretty worn, but for some reason I just lived with the hatch rattling over big bumps.

Not anymore! I can't beleive i didn't do this sooner. New hatch striker bushing and new door latch assemblies with a little adjustment and not everything is tighter! Def mad an improvement in the feel of the car over bumps!

I noticed I need new liscense plate lenses..and yet i never drive the car at night...but that's next!


BTW, p/n's for the strikers and bushings. They are in the aisle at Autozone with all the HELP! parts.

38424 - hatch striker bushings

38448 - door striker assembly

 

[Mustang5L5]

can't type tonight? thats the most spelling errors ive ever seen you post, so whats next on the agenda for the car?

I've had a prob with the word "license" and the whole "I before E" thing forever. I mess them up ALL the time.


Next up, i got a 94-95 70mm MAF, so i'n gonna replace the 55mm MAF i have in place once i get the adapter and then convert the car to Mass Air.

I also want to snag an SN95 steering rack and ditch the fox rack. There is no feel at all when i turn

 

[Mustang5L5]

SN95 70MM MAF + Adapter.

I'm still SD, but running a MA intake track, so i still needed a bigger MAF for when i do upgrade! Plus i got the MAF for free!

vs the Fox MAF

With the adapter bolted on

 

[Mustang5L5]

Couple more touches. Gonna install ned lisence plate lenses with white LED bulbs.

New shifter trim bezel. Waiting for my new boot from Redlinegoods.com to arrive. WIll be using an 03-04 cobra knob (5-spd version) as well

Also, new floormats!

 

[LaserSVT]

Thats all the stuff that turns a $4500 Stang into a $7000 Stang.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Well, put the larger MAF in. Car def pulls a little more. The stock 5.0 MAF is TINY!


I also got around to putting the mats in. Really make sa difference. My new shift and e-brake boots should be here on the 20th, so can't wait to install those. You can see how my original shift trim peice is a little warped and sticks up.

I need to get my phantom gauges under the radio too soon. That's next!

I want to keep the interior clean and simple. I have an Autometer pen-light shift light, but i don't even want to put that in. I like the stock clean look. I MIGHT put some bullitt pedals in though

 

[Mustang5L5]

Scored a stock air box from 1991notchbackLX

My BBK CAI is all rusty from sitting for 6 years, plus i kinda like the stock airbox look and it doesn't get HOT like the metal BBK intake. SO i decided to go back. Plus i kinda like OEM look to things

Cleaned this up tonight. Just gotta order the rubber box mounts from 5.0 resto and toss it back in with my SN95 70mm MAF!

 

[Mustang5L5]

BTW, here's a shot of the engine bay as it sits. Notice a bit of it is rusty. Over the winter, i'll be sanding and painting the brackets and trim and whatnot. I just am too busy driving the car now to yank it apart.

I'll be going to BLACK Ford racing wires, i put my stock dist boot back on, the OEM airbox is going in, ditched the valve cover breather, and i'll be either repainting the valve covers or buying a set of black "MUSTANG" valve covers. I'll also be reinstalling the A/C.

Does anyone make a trim peice that fits on the front and covers that ugly gap between the rad support and the front bumper? I'd also like it to go over the rad a bit and cover my e-fan mounts? I just think a nice BLACK cover panel would clean up the front of the car a bit considerably.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Okay, well coil swap didn't go so well. Ended up dropping it and snapping the post off!

So i cleaned up the accel coil that was original in there and put it back. Car def still hesitates or breaks up a little over 4000RPM. Prob TFI or pick-up related. I snagged about 5 Ford TFI's from the boneyard during the week, and 3 tested near new, so maybe i'll swap one in. I would have done it today, but my friend has my timing light and i need to move the dizzy to take the TFI off as you can see below.


I put the stock airbox in today, with the SN95 70MM MAF. Def a cleanerf look to it than the rusty BBK metal tube. I'm just wanting from new rubber posts to secure the box come in from LRS before it's complete.

In a couple weeks, when i park the car for good for the winter, i'll be pulling most of the top end off to repaint, sand and polish up. I'm actually embarrassed to post engine pics with all the rust and oxidation and paint chipping off the VC's...but what do you want for being parked for 6 years.

To bring it up to my standards...the engine needs to come out, but i can't do that quite right now.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Okay, finally got the right color shift boot. Installed on a new shifter bezel from LRS and finally installed in the car. I swapped my Mach 1 shift knob to a 5-spd Cobra knob.


All that's left to do in the interior is install my gauges under the radio

 

[Mustang5L5]

I got a lot accomplished this year. If you look back, it was roughly 1 year ago that I started this project by pulling my rear axle out. So it's come a LONG way. Putting the car away for the winter.

Time to start gathering more mods for the spring!

 

[Mustang5L5]

What I did was this. I never attached the grey one. I just mocked it up.

For the black one I used, i had to cannibalize my OEM shift boot. I ripped the metal trim ring off the bottom. I also used a BRAND NEW shifter bezel. WHat I did was line up the 4 holes for the shift boot with the 4 guide pins, and then put the black ring on top and melted the plastic pins over. Peice of cake when you have a new shifter bezel. If you are reusing your old one, you'll have to make sure you have enough material to melt over when you reinstall.


Where the boot meets the shift knob--I just folded it in on itself. In other words, take the tip, and stuff it back down into the shift boot. I stuck it in about 1" and then slipped it over the shifter. I also took the rubber ring from the OEM boot and slipped it over the shifter first to hold it up tight. Took a couple tries to screw the knob on and keep it from twisting, but once together it stays put. It also fattens the tip up a bit so it meets the profile of the knob better. No glue needed for me, and i'm not even sure you need the black ring from an OEM shift boot so i wouldn't sweat it.

Closer pic.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Oh BTW, I picked up a stock LX spoiler today. Gonna see if my buddy can prep and paint it for me over the winter.

I think i'm going to take the Saleen wing off and go back to stock body. Something about a clean, stock LX w/5-lug conversion I just love. I'm just getting tired of the big spoiler thing.

Still haven't decided about what to do with my Cobra grill. It's painted and ready to go.

Also, saw a black LX with a Cervini's 1.5" cowl hood on it today up close. (It also had a Steedo Aero wing that looked awesome too) First of all, Cervini's stuff fits NICE. 2nd of all..it was LIGHT! Now i'm thinking of picking up the 1.5" cowl because it's subtle and will help take some weight off the nose. As much as I like the stock body theme, the 1.5" cowl on this black LX looked sharp and you'd think it WAS stock unless you really knew Mustangs. Of course...$500 plus paint...don't expect it anytime soon

 

[Mustang5L5]

Today was a nice sunny Nov day in the 50's, so i took the car out. I know i said it was away, but until there is salt on the road, every weekend is fair game.

Just went for a spin for an hour, topped off the gas tank, added more stablizer, and got the usual round of questions and comments as I drove around. I dunno about you guys, but i love seeing other guys do a full turn in their seat to check out the car like it was some hot blonde who's top accidentally fell off! Big ego boost!


ANyway, since i had one of my bullitt wheels on with a tire, i decided to see how it would look.


'97 Cobra wheels

'03 Bullitt wheel

Personally, i prefer the bullitt wheels, but even i don't think they are right for my car. But i'll rock them for a while until i decide on the right wheel. Unfortunately i only have 3 so far

 

[Mustang5L5]

It's definitely a tougher looking wheel than the cobra wheels.