Progress Thread The Northwoods Notch

Coast2CoaStang · Jan 19, 2020

Very nice ride you have there, and hello from another Maine fox owner in Sebago.

Cheapskate207 · Jan 19, 2020

Coast2CoaStang said:
Very nice ride you have there, and hello from another Maine fox owner in Sebago.

Hey thanks! You’re right in my neck of the woods. I’m in gray.

CarMichael Angelo · Jan 20, 2020

You’ve done what should be the reference standard for most new Mustang owners here.
Get it running, get it safe, fix the phcked up things, replace the ugly or poor taste sht, get it looking good.drive it.

Good on you. This thread gives me hope.
Ill bet that there are plenty of hopeless people out there that’ll buy the old steering wheel and those old tail lights though.

Cheapskate207 · Jan 20, 2020

CarMichael Angelo said:
You’ve done what should be the reference standard for most new Mustang owners here.
Get it running, get it safe, fix the phcked up things, replace the ugly or poor taste sht, get it looking good.drive it.

Good on you. This thread gives me hope.
Ill bet that there are plenty of hopeless people out there that’ll buy the old steering wheel and those old tail lights though.

Thank you sir! Appreciate the kindness and of course agree. Believe it or not; I've actually sold everything I've removed from the car through local classifieds... FB, CL, etc. There will be more to sell before the projects done!.. wait... the projects never done though

Cheapskate207 · Jan 20, 2020

Picked these up locally for future growth $150! No plans to boost it in the immediate future but some day i hope to.

Maddene · Jan 20, 2020

Yes I would have agree on the choices that you have made all in good tastes and safety. The 89 I just picked up has aV1 Vortech. I just recently bought a complete new top end. Waiting for the timing chain and new upper and lower intake to arrive before I start the swap. I will be listing my parts for sale as soon as they come off. Thanks for the tip on FB page, checked it out yesterday.

Cheapskate207 · Jan 22, 2020

Well.... sht. Looks like the heads will be coming off. I think the HG is blown at cyl 8. Not sure when they blew.. sometime this summer. Probably doing a compression check beforehand. Any other recommendations/tips?

Maddene · Jan 22, 2020

That is unfortunate. No real good recommendation, hopefully it’s obvious when you start digging into it. I have chased leaks in the past some Easy others not. Good luck.

Cheapskate207 · Feb 29, 2020

Updates:
I compression checked the car (cold).
1 - 155
2- 150
3 - 155
4 - 155
5 - 150
6 - 155
7 - 155
8 - 145
I am happy with these numbers. It also reinforces the problem is number 8 cylinder.

Cheapskate207 · Feb 29, 2020

I decided to change up the shifter. I used my pro 5.0 shifter and got a Tri Ax shift handle, hurst plate, and hurst ball. The seller was adamant that the boot would rip. I cut it to fit the handle better. I like the look a lot; if it rips I will buy a new boot and keep trying... they're only 9$.

I also picked up a used 3.5 Anderson power pipe locally for 100$. It was tarnished badly but shined up to near new with some aluminum polish! Next was a Pro-M 80mm that I scored off ebay for $105. It's calibrated for 42lb injectors and the tuner I use said I was good to swap to my 42's (future growth). I still need to clean up the Maf and get my injectors cleaned.

Cheapskate207 · Feb 29, 2020

Started digging into the motor....sure glad I cleaned up my engine bay and removed everything not necessary. I was really happy to see how clean everything was. No sludge, dirt or other junk at all!!

I travel a lot for work and have been super busy so I haven't had a couple days in a row to get it done, I'm hoping to yank the heads and have them checked by the machine shop next week.

Cheapskate207 · Mar 3, 2020

More progress. I need to drop the heads off at a machine shop for evaluation. There are several around me so I need to find a reputable one that that can turn them around quick. It looks like the source of the leak was a nick in the head. Hopefully i can be repaired... i don't particularly want to buy new heads at the moment. What do you guys think?

Cheapskate207 · Apr 3, 2020

Had the heads gone through. Machine shop took .013 off. They also found that the spring seats were worn and deteriorating, so they replaced those. I got everything put back together.. fairly straight forward. I ended up getting new crane 1.7 roller rockers and installing my new 42b injectors and CAI. Upon firing it up the engine ran great, but was making a loud tapping noise. I'm hoping that its just the rockers/lifters being mis-adjusted but I had knee surgery (ACL and Meniscus) the day after getting it running so I haven't been able to work on it. Once i can walk (3 more weeks) I plan to install a new damper (mine had slipped a little bit and I think this was the reason I may have messed up the rockers), check pushrod length, and re-adjust lifter preload. I did not check pushrod length because I thought that geometry would be the same only taking so little off the heads. All the rockers took 1 thick shim and one thin shim and got to 18-ft/lb's in about 3/4 of a turn.

Cheapskate207 · Apr 3, 2020

90sickfox · Apr 3, 2020

Did you soak the lifters ? If not it may take a while for them to pump up. Top end tap is more than likely an adjustment issue. When you heal up check the contact patch on the valve tips. I'd think you would have done that already while shimming the rockers. Nothing like a black notch man.

Cheapskate207 · Apr 3, 2020

@90sickfox no I did not soak the lifters. How long could it take for them to pump up? I'll admit, I did not check the contact patch. I just bolted it back together thinking "it was fine before and .013 isn't much..." I was busting ass to get it done before surgery.. wanted to get the motor all sealed so it didn't sit open and apart. Also, while it was fresh in my mind. .. 6 weeks is a long time. Regretting my haste now, but, it is what it is.

90sickfox · Apr 3, 2020

I leave them in a container of oil over night if new. Used ones go straight in a container as soon as I take them out. Some people don't soak them at all. Just put some assembly oil on the tip and the let them fly. It takes a while to pump them up...sometimes up to a minute or so ( seems like longer when you are listening to a tap on a fresh build ). The key is that it should get slightly better gradually over that time frame. I just put a HEMI together at work and it took about 5 minutes for the tick to go completely away.

That contact patch is really important. That's how you verify if the geometry is correct. Should be a tight pattern across the center of the valve tip.

Cheapskate207 · Apr 3, 2020

Ok, I never even took them out. Maybe I'll run it a bit and see if they pump up. That's probably being optimistic, but worth a shot before tearing it down again. Thanks for the info man! @90sickfox

Mstng93SSP · Apr 3, 2020

A lot of times the noise comes from a rocker hitting the valve cover. I know you have nice tall valve covers but it is worth a look to see if there is any marks where a rocker might be hitting it.

Chris

Cheapskate207 · Apr 4, 2020

I considered that. It's def worth looking into when I take the valve covers off! Thanks, great suggestion! @Mstng93SSP

Progress Thread The Northwoods Notch

Member

The left one hangs a little lower

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

Member

The left one hangs a little lower

Member

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

The left one hangs a little lower

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

The left one hangs a little lower

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

The left one hangs a little lower

You have a nice rear end there Dave.

The left one hangs a little lower

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