NEWS
2001 My T5 was rebuilt by Hoss’
Gear Shop and I just installed it into the car, along with a RAM Powergrip
Kevlar clutch. I received my 4”
Powerflex tubing for me supercharger inlet.
I’m going to have my cousin at CJ’s Autoworks cut my inner fender for 4”
with his plasma cutter. I have a MSD 6A
and 8680 bolted to the inner fender.
The directions on the MSD boxes look clean and simple. MSD ignitions were kind enough to sponsor my
drag racing / tuning endeavors with an inside adjuster knob that I needed. My new B&M Ripper shifter is installed
and feels great. I installed it in the
rearward position (I like the shifter a bit back since I put the seat so far
back). I did get my own Mickey Thompson
ET Street 26X10.5X15 slicks, they are mounted on ten hole rims, I plan on
getting some 15X8 Bart rims with 5” backspacing. I have a FMS 65mm TB / 67 EGR and I just completed porting my
stock upper intake to match.
2000 Wow, 12.6 @ 107, Now that is faster than I
planned on going anytime soon. FAST shifts and perfect launches, is where its
at!!! My 2000 goal has been met and beaten. 12.6 @ 105. That’s faster than I ever thought it would go
on a stock motor. The run was awesome and felt like no other car I have ever
been in.
4-13-01 It lives. I changed oil, filled
all the fluids, installed my intake spacer, hooked up my PCV filter line,
installed my 6” K&N in the fender with my smaller 3” SpiralFlex until I cut
the fender for the 4”. The car runs
smooth and fired right up on the first crank after being apart and sitting for
5 months. I’m going to break in the
clutch right and then hit the track.
4-8-01 I updated the webpage with some items I’ve put on the car so far. Today
the weather was 75. First nice day of
the year. Some items that have
changed. I got my T5 professionally
rebuilt. This will be the first time in
2 years the car has shifted perfectly in all gears. My FMS A302 HD Clutch and PP kit was replaced by a RAM Kevlar HD
clutch kit. I got 2 years and about 50
runs out of the FMS piece. It still
worked and got me 1.7 60ft times, but it slipped on me if I launched above 4k
on slicks. My rear main seal was
leaking pretty bad though. I replaced
that too.
3-1-01 I just removed my T5 transmission and will be
taking it to have it completely rebuilt, no more grinding 3rd/4th
gear. I will be replacing my old paper,
ripped 3.5” Powerdyne intake duct with SpiralFlex 4”. I will also be running a vented bypass instead of having a tapped
intake track. Hopefully this will give
me one more pound of boost. I will be
getting a B&M Ripper shifter to protect my newly rebuilt 5 speed. I have a MSD 8680 timing adjuster to play
with. I’ll be installing that as soon
as I get a MSD6AL. MSD ignitions were
kind enough to sponsor my drag racing / tuning endeavors with an inside
adjuster knob that I needed. I did get
my own Mickey Thompson ET Street 26X10.5X15 slicks, they are mounted on ten
hole rims, I plan on getting some 15X9 rims with 5.5 or 5” backspacing. I have a FMS 65mm TB / 67 EGR and I just
completed porting my stock upper intake to match.
9-5-00 So far this year I already beat my intended 2000 goal of 13.5 on street
tires. The rebuild of the stock traction lok was the secret. I can launch at
1500 and come out of the hole way faster.
I went twice to the track using my
brother-in-laws MT ET Streets 26X10.5X15 mounted on V6 steel rims. What a
difference. It’s a whole new ballgame drag racing with slicks and I like it. My
best is not in the 12s as I hoped but I am running .5 seconds faster than I was
the past 3 times at the track, and my 60 times is a record low of 1.860.
8-30-00 My brother-in-law let me use his old slicks, and boy what a difference.
I can launch at 3300 and come flying out of the hole. The air was really hot
and humid last night. But the car was running great, ran my bet time ever of
13.2.
8-13-00 Its happened 4 times out of the 10 I've gone racing this summer. Rained
out!!. This past Fri was Jet car night at Keystone and it was rained out.
Keystone raceway has not been helpful in my hobby, in fact they have made it
somewhat unenjoyable when I drive all the way out to the track on a perfectly
sunny day, just to get there and have the track closed due to computer
problems, Also if the track had some sort of track drying machine, we could
have raced 3 out of the those four times it was canceled for me.
7-25-00 I've tried several different timing settings and using the Street dyno
software have determined that with my setup, 2degrees of timing = about 15 HP.
I've gone from 275 to 325 just with timing and octane. Best is tested is 12BTDC
on 94 octane.
6-25-00 This summer has been going great. I have been driving the Stang a lot.
I've been really enjoying it. I'll be needing rear tires soon, but these bald
Kelly Aquatreds netted me a best of 13.3 with a 2.10' time thus far. I've been
using the Street Dyno software to get some dyno numbers. I plan on doing more
with it like testing different air cleaner configurations and timing adjustments.
4-30-00 I made ten runs at Keystone raceway. The car is running great.
Supercharger is running great. At the track my traction-loc was totally worn
out,, anything more than a street launch and I was spinning one tire. I have
since then rebuilt the stock TL with one extra clutch pack on each side. It
works great, nice and tight. Can't wait to test it on Thursday.
4-3-00 Yesterday I installed my new MSD TFI coil, Steeda adjustable clutch
cable and my supercharger belt. Its been a while since I felt the power of the
supercharger, and I have to say it felt good. I have been waiting for my 255lph
fuel pump. I was not getting more than 45psi of fuel. I need to get a new FPG
setup, but I test drove it anyhow. No fuel starvation problems here. Plenty of
power from 1000-5500rpms.
Fall 99 The summer is over. Although I did not get my Stang to the track as
much as I would have liked to. I did have fun with it. A 5 speed is way better
than an Auto. The car feels like it picked up 100HP from the conversion.
Nothing big planned in the near future. Next year I plan on running the car
more at the track and work on a couple handling items. I worked half of this
summer at www.keystoneraceway.com It was pretty fun and gave me lots of experience. I
was a track official, my main work concentration was tech cars and the
waterbox.
4-27-99 I got my car all put back together a couple weeks ago. Changed the oil
and filled all the fluids. After jumping the Park wire on the old Auto harness,
I turned the key and it fired right up like I never tore the engine apart. I
was very pleased at this point. First problem found was a bad BBK clutch cable.
It has a kink about halfway in the cable and will not compress the clutch. I
used two clamps to hold the cable together for now. I was took it all off the
jack stands and was ready to take it for its maiden voyage when it was
discovered that the T5 I bought used was junk, 1st, 2nd,
and R all just grind and pop out of gear. I can't even make the car move. So
back up on jack stands it goes. I am in the process of getting another T5
(90').
4-9-99 I flycut my pistons. It took about 8 hours to complete the task.
Cutting was not too difficult. Measuring the cuts and making sure everything
was just right was. I install and removed that head about 25 times before it
was all done. Now each one of my pistons has two flycuts, one for each valve.
The cuts are 1.875, big enough for side clearance even on a GT40 iron head (if
I ever wanted to upgrade). My head / other gaskets should be in today and plan
on assembly the engine tonight.
3-30-99 I ordered the tool to flycut my pistons from Isky last night. I should
have it on Thurs and plan on cutting the pistons on Fri. Installing the heads
over the weekend and getting an intake at the Columbus Swap meet and hopefully
installing it on Sunday.
3-13-99 I installed my T5 setup on Sat. Everything went great and it only took
me 4 hours. I installed the pilot bearing, engine plate, flywheel, clutch,
pressure plate, bellhousing, starter, transmission, speedo cable/gear,
driveshaft, crossmember, h pipe hanger, and Ripper shifter. I still need to
install my manual pedal assembly and BBK quadrant. One thing I noticed. On my
86 AOD, the speedometer cable comes out the hole in the firewall that the
clutch is suppose to go threw. I verified this with my brother-in-laws 85 T5
GT. Has anyone else run into this problem? In all my research, I've never heard
it mentioned. Since I have the pedal assembly out from under the dash I can see
the connection on the back of the speedo. Has anyone taken this connection off?
I haven't tried yet. Any insight? I also had to cut away about 1" of the
sheet metal for the shifter through the floor, the sheet metal is pretty soft
and cut real easy with a hack saw. I'll be installing my inner/outer boot and
center console next, plus my manual pedals and BBK quadrant and cable.
3-9-99 I finally received all the transmission parts I needed for my swap. I
spent the weekend cleaning up the bellhousing, flywheel, dust cover, and engine
plate. Now if I can only get a semi-break in this freezing-12" of snow-
weather. I also checked the PV clearance with my new E7 heads. .000"!
Intake valve hits the piston and the exhaust valve only has .025" clearance.
Not enough. I'll be renting the Isky Piston Flycutting tools and cutting my
pistons. More on that in about a month.
2-2-99 Work is going nicely on my Stang. I am limited to the weather though. I
keep my Stang on my back porch in the winter. It has a nice paved slab and is
covered. So it stays out of the weather, but makes for some cold work. Here is
what I accomplished so far; 1) Completely exhaust ported one of my E7 heads and
have started on the second. Cleaned up most of my other parts that I have been
occiring. 2) Removed and sold my AOD setup, including torque converter,
flexplate, lines, shifter, and pedals. 3) Removed the SC, all accessories,
heads, and exhaust (Headers/Hpipe). As soon as my new headers come in I'll
start to assemble the engine. We will be attending the 35th Mustang Anniversary
show in Charlotte NC speedway, look for my car there. I'll also be racing at a
FFW in Norwalk OH on July 17/18.
12-30-98 Merry Christmas. Well its after Christmas and I got
several things to add to my Stang this winter. The list goes as follows; A 88
Borg Warner T5 transmission, B&M Ripper Shifter, Brand New FMS clutch
assembly, 93' E7 stock heads w/50k, Fuel pressure w/isolator and new boost
gauge all mounted in a dual A-pillar pod. The Transmission I cleaned up and is
ready to install. The Heads I'm about to take apart and do some port work to
the intake and more to the exhaust. I also plan on upping the supercharger
output to 9psi. I already have the pulley and belt. All these parts are part of
my plan to get into the 12s. Before I put the heads on I'm going to flycut my
pistons for the E7 heads. Look for an added tech article on this after its
completed. A Cobra intake and 65mm TB are in order also. I ended 98 with a
14flat. Well I have a feeling that in 99 I'm going to skip the 13s and go
straight for the 12s. This summer's season is also going to include a rebuilt
TL with my AOD 3.27 gears. And 26X11.5X15 M/T ET street slicks. The T5 and
slicks should get me well into the low 13s, the heads and 9psi are going to get
me there at 110+MPH. I have some of my old pieces forsale check out my new forsale page.
10-20-98 Racing is over for the year. I finished up with a
14.035@100.13MPH. I did get the 13.9 that I wanted. But there is always next
year. I have driven the car about 1500 miles since the last race and its
running better than ever. I plan on a T5 over the winter and a possible E7
heads and 1 5/8 headers. I just bought an Autometer Isolator and will be
getting a Fuel Pressure gauge shortly. I'll be able to determine if I need a
new 255lph pump.
9-17-98 I am a regular Drag racer now. We have gone 5 weeks in a row, and I
have 23 runs in. I love it. My worse time was 15.3@96.9 and my best
14.074@99.68. I installed a B&M shift kit. I thought this kit would create
quick, tire chirping shifts. It doesn't, the shifts are way more positive and
firm,, but not tire chirping or slamming. My ET show the difference, I'm also
more consistent with the shift kit.
8-17-98 I did a final tune-up for Thurs. Keystone Raceway Test and Tune. I
filled up with 93 octane gas and pushed the timing up to 9degrees. Again I bet
I got 15-20 more HP out of the supercharger, and no detonation. The car runs
great. Now the supercharger is starting to feel like a turbo. Around 4000 Rpms
you get a blast of new power. If I take the car up to ~3700 rpms in first then
tromp the throttle it gives me a real good jolt and takes off like a lightning
bolt.
8-12-98 Checked my timing last night. I set it to 13^ last spring way before
the supercharger. I never checked or messed with it sense. But I have to say
that at some point in the last year I thought the car had lost some low end
power. After the supercharger install, the car would not even chirp the tires
from a dead stop. (AOD, 650 idle , ~900 stall). Even by myself. I checked the
timing and I was at 2 degrees! Let me just say, I was happy to see this!!! Free
horsepower, waiting to be released. I set it to 6^ took it for a ride, and
WOW!!!! Of coarse I had 4 people in the car, but even at that, the same
"stomp the pedal from idle in 1st launch" will now give me a good
squeal. And a mash of the go pedal at 2500 is the same now, as a mash at 4000
before. I heard 0 detonation an am happy about that,, I am going to go up in 2
degree increments till I hear it then back off.
photos, or have any questions Email me. The
supercharger is installed. I am working on setting up the MAP sensor to not
cutout the engine under boost. I'm still tuning it. Photos of its installation
coming soon.
The supercharger itself weighs about 10
pounds. The kit is pretty straightforward and the directions are decent. You
can see the curved impeller right inside the inlet. If you turn the pulley with
your hand, the SC blows air out the outlet (little bit of air). The pulley is
pretty easy to spin by hand, I'd say about the same as a power steering pump.
I've heard, but don't have any experience with, that Vortech and Paxtons are
very hard to turn by them selves. Can you say "parasitic loss"?
5/22/98 I am in the process of acquiring a Powerdyne 9lbs supercharger.
5/20/98 The car is all primered and almost ready for the paint to be sprayed.
Pre 5/20/98 I've owned my Mustang for 2 years now. I've put 10k
on it. Although it is an AOD with stock 3.27 gears, I have still gone through
almost 2 sets of rear tires. The car is fun to drive and nice and loud. A
Mustangs stock exhaust is way to conservative for me. You almost can hear the
exhaust over the engine sound coming from the front end. After the 2C
flowmaster the car sounded much better. But it still was not loud. The Off-road
Hpipe did the trick. The car now has a loud roar to it. Some quick snaps to the
throttle will definitely wake the neighbors. All I need now is headers to
complete my exhaust. The underdrive pulleys made the biggest single difference
to date. At around 3000 RPMs the car really wakes-up, and pulls strong clean
into 5k. I am anxious to see the difference the 60mm TB and new intake will do
for my higher RPM power.