Progress Thread The Mach Returns - Update/build thread

[squeak93]

About 11 years ago Iet this beauty go and regretted it. We just had our youngest and my company I worked for sold for the 4th time. Jan 9 was her birth date and we had new - TERRIBLE - insurance. We got a 12k bill for that and well given the uncertainty and huge bill - it was obvious this needed to go. I sold it to a good buddy who had it till he sold it for a divorce then another buddy took care of her for a while (I live in mo, it went to tx, then back to ar). That friend sold it about 6-7 years ago (offered to me but I was way out of state working somewhere else with emissions testing etc). I said dumbly no and it disappeared. I had looked for it a few times when we moved back to MO in 2021.

Last March she popped up on Facebook marketplace back in Missouri - only about 2 hours from me (near Branson). It was WAY overpriced and had a few bruises but still the same overall car. My buddy traded it into a dealer and the guy who bought it from there still had it.

I had a SWEET swb cateye I had built and really didn't want to get rid of it, but since a SXS and a Truck, toy money was spent -something had to go. I eye balled it for weeks. Finally sent a message to the guy and talked back and forth a lot to confirm it was in fact the same car. Finally negotiated a reasonable (probably too high still, nostalgia got me). I listed the SWB for sale and it sold NEXT day (guess it was listed too cheap lol).

So, she's been back home since last year.

Since getting her back we've rebuilt the front end, adjusted some silly things. Removed the old msd 2 step, misc maintenance items, fixed front end paint and rock chips in a few places, added adohan wheels/nittos tires/DR's, lowered slighly more. Strill trying to nail down the retune as it came with a basic old sct3 canned tune that felt flat. Now Archangel out of Tulsa is remote tuning and my sotp feel says she's back alive again.

Car did come back with a mac o/r prochamber vs the o/r H it had, still a mac catback. It now has steeda weight jacker lowers vs the adjustable team z ones with bob durant drop brackets. I built a 31 spline rear before I sold it but recently changed from the 3.55 to 4.10s (holy crap is 1st gear short). It now has an MGW shifter (I honestly like the steeda triax it used to have better), a few other items I'm sure.

Only 15k miles were added to her in over 10 years. I need to get some better pic locations other than my driveway.

 

[squeak93]

Here's a fun AI imagine

 

[squeak93]

And for more fun - (Yes it's a chevy) here is the cateye I built and sold to get this gem back. Truck was NICE but the mach is so much more fun to drive.

 

[squeak93]

Nice side shot in a "proper" background setting.

 

[squeak93]

Then did some more work on the rear suspension. Currently cutting a 1.67 60 ft time on a 275/40 17 hoosier quick time. Looking for those elusive 1.5x's which is about all this thing can likely muster given current power levels.

Rear setup - steeda weight jackers, bmr lca brackets (Welded in), team z double adj uppers, 31 spline, frpp cover, moser studs, on eibach sportlines (yes I know they hurt but man it sits nice) and Koni single adj shocks.

The main issue i have with this setup is sway bar mounting. Due to the angle of the LCA weight jackers, it made the sway bar sit almost 1 inch off the ground behind the rear pumpkin. I "fabbed" up a bracket to lower the front mounting hole of the sway bar 3/4 of an inch lower which got the bar to ride correct height in the rear but the front arm now sticks out like a stubbed toe.

I don't think a true "anti roll" bar is the right call for a car that see's the track less than 6 times a year (you could argue that for any of the rear suspension mods I suppose).

 

[squeak93]

Some updates here.

Hidden raptor shift light (behind center ac vent) installed and auto dimming with a functioning PWM and 5 pin relay controlling ground cycles. Doesn't blind me to death at night. Total pita to wire up abut awesome now that it works.

Rear suspension got sorted again. We couldn't get the ride height high enough with the weight jackers AND sportlines so I swapped in some rear eibach drag springs and was able to nail ride height to where I wanted it.

Welded in some stiffers sub frame connectors

New Motorcraft IAC that solved a whole slew if minor issues I had come to live with not realizing the stocker was slowly dying. Car no longer does odd idle issues and it was impossible to run the AC the last month or so due to not being able to push enough air at idle. Also found my ribbed idler was squeaky (ha fits my profile actually) so I replaced it and amazingly I no longer think my TOB is dying as the motor is sewing machine quiet now.

I took advantage of BBK 20% off memorial weekend sale and picked up a set of 1 5/8 polished ceramic coated long tubes. I have/had a o/r h sitting in my shop for a while now to fit. Sadly, it'll mean getting rid of the Prochamber. It's a bit bittersweet as the damn thing sits so low due to my drive shaft loop and well - its mac- but that sound though....

Lastly here is a nice pic I snapped this weekend while rocking some more miles on it.

 

[squeak93]

Ok. Some updates here.

I still have yet to make it to the track to test/tweak settings on all of the suspension. I'll report back for the 3 of you reading. On top of all the suspension I pulled the upper intake and did a deep soak in my parts washer using Simple green purple HD cleaner. We degreased, de glazed (nasty stuff in there) and overall cleaned it very nicely. Then with it apart we did a lot of smoothing on the upper lid/spacer, and TB entry on the lid (did not touch TB itself), removed humps, egr tubes that stuck down into air flow path (no egr anyway). Then we ported the upper side of the plenum to smooth/curve the factory flat spots etc. Nothing too crazy and I'm sure the de greasing did more than any work I did with the grinder. Then I cleaned it like 3 more times and used about 5 more cans of brake clean to ensure no aluminum particles were left behind. Then I cleaned it again haha.

I then very carefully used a TON of brake clean and lint free rags soaked in said brake clean to de grease the intake runners on the heads. I used a vac prior to make sure no big chunks were in there from intake removal (vac'd all the prior to removing too), then carefully used a clean portion of the rags and got that honey type substance out of the intake runners on the heads. I did not use any tools or anything, just removed that gunk. Car has had a catch can for 10 years but went 85k or miles before getting them on.

Parts are starting to be collected for next surgical events.

Next steps will include the already purchased BBK 1 5/8 headers and o/r H pipe to replace my factor manifolds (yes there are better headers but cost vs hp is hard to justify), add a upr chromoly k member, a arms and dump my front sportline springs for some 14/175 coil overs on my already existing Koni's.

From there is where I worry about dollar vs HP. I WANT to do a set of Todd Warren custom Cams because I want the chop. But the chop is a lot of dough vs a FREE set of 96 cobra intake cams I have (well I need to pick them up but yeah). 20 or so hp vs 45 but a better torque band AND the chop.

I will be doing new chains, new guides (likely bigger pins on the floating guides from Shelby mikes), I have some old iron main tensioners from a 2v project year ago to replace the factory plastic crap. Then we will do a new billet oil pump gear setup so I can go back on a 2 step and NOT send a chain south.

I can do the cobra cams in the car easy enough but if we decide to do Todds cams It'll be a pull the engine task as I do NOT want to degree cams in car - that just sounds crappy. Todds cams also require injectors and likely MAF to be safe, the cobra intake cams I can safely get away with factory maf and injectors but be limited from there (255 fuel pump going in either way, this one is 23 years old lol).

So, CHOP and max effort - and budget - or some 96 cobra cams and likely still hit high 11's n/a with a proper tune (Likely do Marty O tune).

End goal is click off that 11.99 at Mokan in SW Mo air (da here sucks normally) Todds cams hit that easily but I feel I can do it with traction and cobra intake cams/LT's/k member/Two-step etc. Sadly a 12 second car is a turd by today's standards, and it needs some more umph again.

 

[gkomo]

If you pull the motor to do the Todd cams, anything else you would do while thats out? Cost may not just be doing the cam swaps but a slew of other things since its out of the car. Just thinking along the lines of your cost vs hp thought, may become more than just the cost of the cams.

 

[squeak93]

I'd like to get some carbon fiber snycros in the trans and new shift forks - I'm rough on things. But I'll likely take the WHOLE car to the trans guy so he can set the pivot ball height etc there in shop vs me getting it close. Right now, I have zero back lash on that fork and it's making my TOB chirpy. And the 3650 just needs some love from jamming gears over the years. I should do all that BEFORE LT's so he doesn't hate me.

Past that the engine doesn't leak but if we did pull it, I'd do a new oil pan gasket and clean the pickup tube really good. I'm not planning to build it at this time - lord knows I windowed enough 2v motors I'm good staying stockish power.