ITS Ford Mustang(s) Build - Stripper Stang Part II

It took us a while to sort out the Mustang. But you are correct, once you have the big things figured out it is cheap. Of course I have two big shelves full of stuff we built and tried that did not work. Sway bars, panard bars, bushings, cut up shocks, engines, bent pieces that I should have never tried etc..
 
Ron said:
It took us a while to sort out the Mustang. But you are correct, once you have the big things figured out it is cheap. Of course I have two big shelves full of stuff we built and tried that did not work. Sway bars, panard bars, bushings, cut up shocks, engines, bent pieces that I should have never tried etc..
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We've got the same. Right now we have a pile of bushings we're not going to use and two panard rods. And of course, we're no where near as far on the development as you are......
 
I haven't been much help as of late, but Jeff G has been moving right along on the suspension side of the builds. Four front lower control arms have been prepped with adjustable spring spacers and some really nice bushings have been installed in the arms which are a combination aluminum/plastic/steel unit with grease fitting and lubrication channels. A lot of work went into these pieces, not to mention some cash as well.

armsonfloor.jpg


armonground.jpg


The arms mounted up well and with the various bushings and adjustments afforded to us I think we'll be able to make the front suspension work pretty well. Installation of the arms worked out and we've got them all bolted up with the Konis along with rotors and calipers. I'm really liking these brakes. I know most of you readers won't think much of them, but coming from a Z car and having spent a lot of time working on a TR8's braking system, these things look pretty good!

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frontarmcomplete.jpg
 
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Springs have been a bit of a pain in the ass. I believe we've got the correct length front springs ordered now and they should arrive later this week. The stock Mustang springs are very large when compared to the proper length (about 1" too long actually) race spring. We'll be starting out with some 1000 lbs front springs, 5"x8", and 500 lb rear springs, 5"x8.5". Before you pass judgement on those rates you've got to consider the motion ratio of the Mustang suspension. I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head but what it boils down to is the wheel rate is lower than these values and we are probably going to need to swap out these springs for sure. But I think they'll be good for a starting place and at $40-$50 a spring you can't go wrong.

A couple of more front pictures showing some detail of the arm.

armperch.jpg


And of course, the rear is never left out of the work. We were most concerned with getting the rear sorted out and I think we're to the point now where we feel the rear is going to work pretty well. Quite well in fact. Many hours were spent over the last few days aligning the rear, adjusting the pinon angle, and making the springs and spacers all line up correctly.

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But, line up correctly it did and we've got the proper rear springs now and the brakes mounted up on the axle as well as the correct wheel spacers. We got word that sixteen race wheels are on the way to us and we're looking forward to trying those out.

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Still have yet to mount the Konis on the rear. We've got a shock back ordered for the rear.
 
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Your setup is an improvement to ours. Hope my thoughts helped. Did i give you the proper spring length? and are those front bushings from that company I told you about?
 
Hey Ron,

Your info helps tons! I think our springs come out to be different lengths than yours because of the adjustable spacer setup is different. But, they are probably close.

We got more done today with the exhaust and fixing a spark plug hole that we thought was fookered and would require engine removal. With the plug I put some rope down into the cylinder that was soaked with oil. Then we chased the threads with a tapper, being careful with any chips of metal. Then pulled the rope out through the hole and the oil soaked rope did its job and made sure to catch any pieces and clean the threads up on the way out.

Here are a few pics from today.

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wrapping.jpg
 
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I would have thought the American Sedan guys would have figured this stuff out already, no?

I would love to build one of these bad boys but have neither the time or energy. I'll have to wait until you guys decide to sell them and move on to the next project! :) Then I'll hit the easy button!
 
RacerBowie said:
Why are you using header wrap?
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I find it reduces under hood temperatures better than the ceramic coating alone and if keeps you from getting burned badly if you're working around the headers. The fellow at Jet Hot in Burlington agreed with me and wraps his ceramic coated race exhaust too. Actually, my exhaust is ceramic coated and Jeff's isn't. I have no data that would indicate it produces more power, but I know from working with the Lola the wrap definitely lowers temps and reduces those burns.

JLawton said:
I would have thought the American Sedan guys would have figured this stuff out already, no?
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We got some ideas from the AS cars for sure since the cars are similar. But, no, AS guys haven't figured everything out, at least not with IT issues in mind. They have this stuff figured out for 3300+ lbs cars with 400 hp and not a huge concern for weight in the way that we are, i.e., we'll never make spec weight.

Time and energy - this car is consuming a lot of that. Money too, although to a lesser extent.


Knestis said:
Looks to me like you got rear springs in the front there, son.

K
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True that! I'll tell what, in my limited experience with buying roundy round parts for this car I have noticed that they are inexpensive and of high quality. Brackets, perches, joints, springs, and so on are extremely well made and probably 1/5th of what they'd cost if Pegasus or other traditional road racing outlets sold them. A roundy round outfit needs to make fuel cells and give ATL etc. a run for their money.
 
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Very frustrating day. We learned Jeff's headers were fouling on the steering column so we had to remove them, and the entire exhaust, and fix the issue.

Also learned that the 98 radiator we have didn't fit his 96 chassis, so we had to make modifications there. And Lots more modifications on fitting up a 98+ fuel tank with proper flowing pump to his 96 chassis. Those considering builds take note - there are many, many little differences with some critical components across the 94-98 years. On paper there appear to be none, but when you get down to building a car they emerge and they are important.
 
What a day. Jeff G and I started up around 830 and didn't knock off until after 6pm. Main tasks were fabricating more lower control arms as the geometry of the ones we made last week didn't work out so well at ride height and with any sort of normal springs we had available. So, the front of the red car had to be taken apart.
frontaprta.jpg


After much time measuring, cutting, fabricating, and grinding I think we've got two pairs of arms that have good geometry for the spring and will take a spring in the 9-9.5" range. Heck, I know it doesn't look like we did much but we're beat. The problem with the original arms we doctored is that we should have angled the adjustable threaded portion in a little to point toward the top perch at ride height. The Mustang in street trim uses a super long and soft spring that they simply allow to curve, something you don't want in a race car.

weldingnewarms.jpg


We also tried fitting up some brake ducts that we bought which were "race proven" and "guaranteed to fit". They don't. We had to cut those up and once the TIG is repaired we'll stitch the pieces back together they way they should be. Kenny Brown ducts don't fit for squat on a 94-98 V6 car, despite what they claim. They foul the caliper and are clearly made for a larger brake rotor. But, we'll make them fit.

nonfittingducts.jpg


lateapex911 said:
Super impressive Ron. Look forward to seeing shots of the rear suspension solutions when it's done.
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It is done. But we charge admission for some views!
 
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There are also a bunch of Mr. Young's TR8 parts lying around the garage, including brake rotors on spindles. I trotted a Mustang rotor over to it for comparison - wow! Mr. Young makes the TR8 rotors work, which are 9" in diameter, non-vented you can see how the thickness of his rotor isn't even as thick as one side of the Mustang rotor.

So all you boys complaining about bad brakes or components say no more. I don't there there is a worse setup in ITS, but Mr. Young gets them to function. Attention to detail, and a lot of trial and error, is key. And no, the TR8 isn't very light as it races around 2700 lbs with driver.

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Sorry, Ron, I'm confused. You seem to be saying that you're showing a TR8 disc compared to yours, but I see nothing resembling a disc in that picture. Just some rusty something or other.....
 
Yeah, that little rusty pie tin there attached to the hub. That is the brake disc.

One thing is for sure - the entire TR8 front end, struts, sub-frame, arms, discs, etc. weight only a fraction of what the Mustang front suspension weighs. Probably around 1/4 to 1/3 as much. Something to be said for minimal weight components that still get the job done.
 
Ron Earp said:
Yeah, that little rusty pie tin there attached to the hub. That is the brake disc.

One thing is for sure - the entire TR8 front end, struts, sub-frame, arms, discs, etc. weight only a fraction of what the Mustang front suspension weighs. Probably around 1/4 to 1/3 as much. Something to be said for minimal weight components that still get the job done.
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Kinda like Honda does it... ;)
 
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