Progress Thread Nicholase "lights out" build- TKX install

[nicholase]

I got the interior mostly back together. That was quite a project

I left a few things apart that I'll have to finish up when I get my boost guage. I gotta give credit to Speedhut. They really took care of me. Somehow I ordered the wrong size guage. These are all custom built to your specs so I figured i was SOL. But they hooked me up. They're gonna take back the wrong guage and send me the correct size. They also let me keep the guage wiring so I could continue with my schedule and get the guages wired. That was pretty cool of them.

This is the guage I ordered. Sort of boring I guess. I like how the analog guage has a peak recall when you push the button. Should be here in a week or two.

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But they can do just about whatever you want. Here's one i was playing around with. Wasn't sure if it would look too busy, or totally awesome lol.

Here's the rectangle fuel pressure guage all installed. I really like it. More like a tool than an "in your face" guage. It's backlit green and looks just like the factory dash lights and radio display.

While I was wiring all new guages I decided to future proof my electrical needs. I ran 8 guage power and ground to a new mini fuse box under the drivers seat. Also ran a key on switched trigger wire. So whatever I add going forward all the wiring is there. Didn't take any pictures, I got in a groove. I'll snap some next time I have the seat out.

I spent some time cleaning all the old wiring. WD40 works really good for this. Also cleaned all the connectors and lubed them up with dielectric grease. Perfect time to do this. I was able to give all the fuse links a good cleaning and inspection. They all look good. No green ooze coming out of them. One of these days I'd like to delete them and put a mini fuse box there to replace them.

Then I got the wiring put back into place. Glad I took a bunch of pictures, really helped. Also cleaned up the fresh paint for all the grounds and the ground connections themselves.

I was able to hook the battery up for the first time in months. It was nice hearing that annoying door chime! Then I could test and power up new guages. All good. My checklist is actually getting shorter and the end is in sight!

 

[nicholase]

Got some stuff to freshen up my rack and steering. I went with a Steeda bump steer kit, Borgeson steering shaft to get rid of my tired old rag joint, new rack bushings, stainless steel rack lines kit, new hoses, and some NOS Ford rack boots.

Remember it looked like this:

After a cleanup, some Eastwood alumiblast paint, and some new parts...

Also when I was disassembling the engine bay I noticed all my radiator deflectors were falling apart. So I ordered some replacements.

Next time I get a chance to tinker I'll get this stuff mounted up.

 

[nicholase]

I got the rack in today. Also the coilovers back in. It was nice with the engine out. I could sit under the closed hood and shim the coilovers up as high as possible. With this setup it's possible for the threaded strut shafts to contact the hood. So you have to shim then as high as you can without contacting. Much easier sitting in the engine bay!


I used strut tower protectors under the caster camber plates. They're from Makers garage. They are a thin shim that mimics the strut tower top exactly. They have a durable powdercoat finish and prevent the fresh paint from being all scuffed up when I align it. I put a thin layer of ultra black to hold them in place and sandwiched them down to dry.

Look like this mounted

I finished up my new wiring. I mentioned running heavy power and ground to a new fuse box under the seat. I ran the wires up top of the drivers wheel well. A few p-clamps keep them secure.

I ran them into the engine bay and connected the positive to the battery cable on the maxi fuse for my 3g alternator. I mounted this below the ignition coil. Bottom middle of the picture. This body side wiring will be staying so as I mentioned I took some time to clean it all up and inspect it. Wd40 works really good for this.

Also secured the passenger side wiring harness. I moved that under the splash shield as well. This part of the wiring will be replaced when I get the new Pro-M harness, but I should be able to quickly mount the new stuff as it's all ready for it. I used rivnuts and p clamps. The A/C relay is tied to this harmess. I'm figuring what I want to do with that. Probably don't want that burried under the splash shield.

That wraps up this week. I had the week off and put in about 10 hours a day for the last 11 days. I really wanted to knock a bunch out and I feel like I did. Now back to work so progress will slow down some.

Next need to take apart the transmission and change out the internal speedo gear. After I put in the 3:55's I changed the speed sensor gear to a 23 tooth. It looks like this after just a few hundred miles.

Then I can test fit the engine and finish up my fuel lines and plan out my new catch can setup.

 

[Noobz347]

Is there a speed sensor option that has something other than a nylon gear?

What's the side in the transmission made from?

 

[AeroCoupe]

Drive gear on the output shaft of the manual transmissions is made of nylon/plastic/garbage stuff. Last thing you want is a metal speedo and it shredded inside the trans.

You just get to a point where you need less teeth on the drive gear due to the more teeth that the driven gear has the thinner they get.

 

[nicholase]

Yeah, the 23 tooth gear I have is the most teeth available. It's actually not a Ford gear. It's made for Jeeps. It just happens to fit (I won't say "work" lol) and is sold by places like LMR or Steeda. I was aware of this. I did expect it to last longer though. My 90 has an 8 tooth interior gear. Because of that I need a larger speedo gear and this is what happens to them... the only fix is to change the interior gear to a smaller tooth count.

 

[nicholase]

Ahh heck. I couldn't just sit and relax. Kept thinking about changing that gear lol. Heres the stuff to fix my speedo gear issue. Using LMR's speedo calculator https://lmr.com/products/Mustang-Speedometer-Gear-Calculator I came up with a 7 tooth internal gear and 20 tooth drive gear.

This actually isn't hard to do with the trans out. With it in the car it would be impossible i think, or impractical anyway. With the trans like this it's very straightforward.

Then punch the roll pin that holds the shifter boss to the rod with a drift just enough to pass through the rod. Then remove the tailshaft bolts, wack it with a rubber mallet and pull it off.

This little clip holds it on

Then it slides right off. New one goes on the same.

The top two bolts go through the case so they need tread sealant. I used black rtv for the gasket. That's what was in there from the factory. Getting the detent ball and spring back in wasn't as bad as I've read. I put a little red tacky grease on them and they stayed in place just fine. I had nightmares of that thing flying off to nowhere land. But it was uneventful.
I tipped it up like this so no fluid seeped onto the seal and put it all back together.

Then I swapped out the drive gear with a 20 tooth.

My checklist is really shrinking. The pile of parts and boxes in my garage is dwindling too which is awesome. Feels like it's really coming together now.

 

[nicholase]

Just going through my check list and I remembered I need to plug the smog ports in the back of the heads. There are a few ways to do this. Trick Flow supplies two threaded inserts that go in the front ports that accessories bolt to. So I could use those. But if they ever loosen up they would be really tough to fix with the firewall right there.
So I ordered some 5/8-11 bolts flange head bolts. They didn't make a short enough one so I ran them through the bandsaw. Then used a copper crush washer on them.

Put a little anti seize on them and torqued them in.

 

[AeroCoupe]

I just used the treaded inserts and they stayed that way in my car and for years after that in a buddy’s car. Used red loctite.

 

[bird_dog0347]

I just used the treaded inserts and they stayed that way in my car and for years after that in a buddy’s car. Used red loctite.

I also used the inserts with loctite, no issues.

 

[nicholase]

So today I finished up the fuel lines. I'm running them in the same spot as the factory lines. This strap had to be made a little bigger to fit the larger lines.

They clamp in the factory dimpled recess.

Then I put the engine back in to mock up a few things. I needed to locate my catch can, determine where to weld a bung on my powerpipe for the PCV fresh air inlet, and finalize the fuel lines to the fuel rails. Then I pulled the engine back out and flushed out the fuel lines and blew them out.

I'm using a UPR 50/50 catch can. This is a pretty slick setup. It operates as a standard closed PCV system catch can.

Under the filter is a spring loaded one way valve that is always closed under vacuum and anytime there isn't excessive crankcase pressure. So it doesnt introduce a vacuum leak or mess with MAF values. It will open when pressure in the crankcase builds like under WOT full boost.

I actually ran a similar setup to this prior and it worked great. I used a traditional catch can and then the UPR pressure relief screwed into the factory valve cover. With the new valve covers i had to change it up a little. The 50/50 catch can is pretty much my old setup in one peice.

It fit nice here

I have to order an aluminum NPT bung to weld to my Anderson powerpipe. I'll run a baffle and oil seperator between the VC filler tube and supercharger inlet.

 

[nicholase]

Got some stuff ready for welding. I decided to skip the oil fill tube that comes with the Trick Flow valve covers. It mounts in a push in grommet and seems like it would be floppy. So I ordered a weld in tube. A baffle will be welded inside the tube. I got it from "this old farm shop". Under that will be a perforated disc I cut out from some expanded aluminum to help with oil control.

I'm going with an Anderson powerpipe. This bung will be welded in for the fresh air supply to the PCV system.

My headers finally showed up from JetHot. I went with the upgraded 2000° coating. My headers were ceramic coated but the heat was getting to them and they were a little discolored. This coating won't dis color from the heat at all. It's also pretty thick and allows better heat retention.

It's satin silver

I had them coat my collector bolts. I don't think I mentioned it in this thread. Welding a little tab to the top of the header bolts is extremely helpful. When you tighten, or loosen the bolts it will spin and catch the header body. That way you don't need someone else trying to hold a socket on the top side. Really makes putting them in or taking them out super easy.

 

[Noobz347]

Under the filter is a spring loaded one way valve that is always closed under vacuum and anytime there isn't excessive crankcase pressure. So it doesnt introduce a vacuum leak or mess with MAF values. It will open when pressure in the crankcase builds like under WOT full boost.

That may be the one I go with. I have my 'home job' under the hood now and it works pretty well but I also suspect it's a restriction. It also in no way, has the ability to bleed off any excess.

 

[nicholase]

That may be the one I go with. I have my 'home job' under the hood now and it works pretty well but I also suspect it's a restriction. It also in no way, has the ability to bleed off any excess.

And now, way too much info about vented catch cans!

So far I've tried several of this type. I've tried the CFM one way breather, Mighty Mouse Solutions Gen6 catch can, the UPR one way valve cover screw in breather and the UPR 50/50 catch can.

The CFM pressure relief setup screws into the factory valve cover oil fill tube. It uses what looks like a ping pong ball covering a hole. Crancase pressure lifts the super light ball off the hole to vent. The problem is the ball is light and rattles around loosely at idle and let's unmetered air in. There is nothing to keep the check ball in place or tight against the hole. There is no oil control in place other than the filter element. It's a poor design.

The Mighty Mouse Solutions Gen6 can is supposed to be a sealed catch can that only let excessive crankcase pressure vent. It's a high dollar item. The "one way valve" is a flat peice of rubber that just sets over a hole betwen the in and out ports. It rattles around loosely. In fact if you plug the input and apply vacuum to the output (or vice versa) it leaks right past the peice of rubber. If you give it the suck test you can freely suck air past the "one way" valve. There is no oil control for the vented pressure other than a sponge filter. So that will get oil soaked and migrate out to the engine bay. It's not a good design IMO.


The UPR 50/50 setup is really nice. The pressure relief design is a heavy weighted ball that sits in a machined cone. The cone is between the in and out ports of the can. On top of the ball is a spring that holds it down against the machined cone until crankcase pressure is higher than the spring rate. Then it lifts the heavy ball off the seat and pressure is relieved. There are perforated discs to control oil mist when venting which keeps the vent filter and engine bay clean.

If you plug the input port and apply vacuum to the output port (or vice versa) it seals well. There is little to no vacuum leak past the check ball. It's designed well.

The UPR 5050 series are the catch cans with the pressure relief. On the website it's available in specific kits for popular modern supercharged cars like the hellcats and stuff with part numbers 5050-××××

It's not listed on there website but they offer the 50/50 can in universal fit that comes with ports (barb or AN) and a mounting tab. It's part #5050-1000. You have to call to order that one.

An alternative is the one way valve cover vent UPR #5017-06 or #5017-06. It's a good choice if you alread had a nice PCV system and catch can setup. It's a pressure relief that screws into a stock foxbody oil fill tube. I used that and had no issues with it. Works as it should. Only moved to a different set up because I changed valve covers and can no longer use it.

It shares the same relief design as the 5050 can. It utilizes 3 perforated screens to catch any oil mist during venting so your engine compartment doesn't get all dirty. In my case it collected all the oil during venting and the filter has stayed dry. The design looks like this

I've never had a reason to experiment with the UPR design. However it would be easy to increase spring pressure in the check ball with either a stiffer spring or shims. It seems set up well as it comes.

 

[nicholase]

Valve cover and powerpipe welded and dropped off for powdercoating.

I got the headers mounted. Getting closer to going back in.

I've been holding off putting my guages in because of this.....

I must have ripped the weatherstrip when I was putting in the heater core / evaporator. Probably from sitting on it while working. I didn't want to have to pull the a-piller and guages again to replace it, so I orderd new weatherstrip and got it installed. Then got the guages and interior all finished up.

I also decided I didn't like the rail to rail fuel line I made. I got some 90° fittings and re did it.

I started getting the Sanden A/C compressor mounted and shimmed. It's pretty much a universal fit type of thing. I have it aligned right now with the front mounting tabs and some shims. Used my laser belt alignment tool again. It's sitting nice and straight. Now need to get the rear bracket made up. The holes don't line up with the parts in the kit so I'll have to make something. Definitely glad I did this with the engine out.

 

[nickyb]

Ok powers to be, in post #254 he states he gave it the suck test. That has to earn him a prize.

 

[gkomo]

Which A-Pillar gauge pod do you have? I don’t like the idea of putting a dual over my existing one. The one piece seems nice.

 

[nicholase]

Which A-Pillar gauge pod do you have? I don’t like the idea of putting a dual over my existing one. The one piece seems nice.

I think there is only one available from Autometer. It goes over the factory one as well.

 

[nicholase]

Got the A/C compressor fully shimmed and mounted.

Also replaced the hoodliner. It's not molded at all. But it looks better than my tattered original. I wish they made a better quality liner. This one is pretty thin.

I installed some heat shielding on my underhood fuel lines. I wanted to test for leaks before I got too far along. Also while I spent a lot of time flushing any cuttings or junk out of the new lines with a pressure flush kit, I figured one last flush with gasolime wouldnt hurt anything. So I connected the pressure and return line together with a 6an union temporarily to test the system. (Everything except the fuel rails obviously). No leaks to be found, which is awesome. This is the first time I made up PTFE lines so it was a bit of a learning curve. Considering I've replaced the entire fuel system from hanger to rails with 6an line and fittings I'm really excited there were no leaks or problems whatsoever.

Turning the key on and hearing the fuel pump prime was pretty awesome and felt like a big step in the right direction. Especially when I didn't hear any fuel splashing on the ground.

I did notice my new Speedhut boost guage does a needle sweep when powering up. Pretty cool hearing the little stepper motor in it sweeping the needle. I really like it.

 

[Noobz347]

OMGBBQ!






You hood liner looks like a hood liner.