GrabberGT Ev. 5

Thanks. I may try that some day just to see what difference it makes. For now, I think the driver just needs to learn how to launch. The only thing consistent about my launching is it... inconsistency.

The new motor has been in and running since May. Its a 347 I bought from my Dad. He had it sitting around while he upgraded his suspension on his car. He took that money and put it towards a supercharged 306. The motor needed a little work after I had it installed. It seems the motor had been sitting a little too long and had a few valve springs needing to be replaced. It runs really strong and Im super happy with it. I may try to head out to the drag strip this weekend to see what kind of times I can run with the new motor and setup. Since the last trip out there, I've tuned the computer, shortened the torque arm, put stickier tires on, and added a stronger motor. I should be in mid to upper 7's. My goal is a 7.5 Anything faster and I have to get a roll bar. I'd like to make that while driving right off the street onto the track and making nothing more than tire pressure and shock adjustments from its street settings. I think the car is there but is the driver.

 

So no plans for a shariff? 363 now huh

 

Im not going to who but SHE put some restrictions on my car budget. LOL

 

My bi-yearly update....

My to do list before the start of my race season which was supposed to have started on 2/28 with the SCCA autocross school. As usual though I am behind so I've now moved it out to 3/8 and if still needed 3/15. And if still not ready, it will be Goodguys 3/20. I think I have trouble with commitment. LOL Seeing Bryant having fun already has got me motivated to get this car back on the road though.

http://216.22.24.94/mmb/threads/i-spent-the-weekend-auto-xing.102761/#post-1045072

Anyway, my list of "To-Do's" in order of importance:

Front shock eyelets-
Changing to a shorter eyelet so that my coilover spring does not come unseated when the suspension is at full droop. The Ridetech coilovers have multiple eyelets available to make them suitable for many applications.

Fatmat-
Im not sure Im actually going to do this one do to the time/value aspect. I'd be saving maybe 20 lbs off my interior by peeling half of this up. I currently have 2 layers all over the interior.

Sound Deadener-
Laying down Boom Mat Under Carpet lite to help with heat and sound.

A/C reinstall-
This was a pain. I removed my AC evap unit to troubleshoot the ECU on it. I had done some troubleshooting before to find out what the issue was with my blower fan. Vintage Air said the only other thing I could do was to send them the ECU for troubleshooting and likely replacement. Well. I finally got around to removing the ECU only to find that the blower fan plug had come disconnected and was the only problem. Needless to say, the only reason, I've got the interior apart and rewiring to do is the result of this snowballed effort.

Compressor bolt-
I changed the serpentine belt routing on my March pulley system in an effort to reduce belt squeal when the steering wheel was at full lock. While doing this, I noticed the rear bolt from my AC compressor was missing. Its one of those odd metric bolts so it'll take some trial and error to find the right one.

E-Brake-
When I replaced my drive shaft before SEMA, I had to go to a larger diameter. Unknowingly, I was creating a problem with my E-brake setup. I have a handbrake the mounts to the trans tunnel. Therefore the brake cables, clevises balance bar and adjustment pieces are all on the bottom side of the tunnel. It wasnt long before I found out that the .25" difference in driveshaft width was having clearance issues. At first I though it was bottoming out on the tunnel but luckily its just the e-brake hardware. All of this will be relocated to the interior of the car. The cables will exit the interior at the outer edges of the rear seat pan. Im glad the interior is already out of the car. I was not expecting to have to do this.

interior lights-
One of those snowball items. While the interior and under dash is apart, I plan to install some "Mood lighting" under the dash and center console.

trans crossmember-
I need to rework my cross member as continual adjustment to reduce driveline vibrations has resulted in there being a stack of 4-5 washers sandwiched in there holding up the trans. Removing these will also reduce driveline vibrations. It cant possible be as secure as it should be.

Exhaust-
I HATE MY EXHAUST. I've got 2k invested in various rendition and its still not correct. The the section coming off the collector is butted up against my power steering lines, the fitment from where the various pieces are welded together are creating back-pressure, the junctions where the exhaust is meant to be disassembled leaks and vibrates against my torque arm crossmember, the mufflers are too close to the floor pan, (they burnt through the floor, 2 layers of dynamat, jute, carpet, a floormat, AND melted my dads handle to his duffel bag! Yes, not a joke. It was that hot.) The tail pypes I actually have no issue with.

Carpet-
Snowball alert! While Im adding some sound deadening, Im also going to upgrade my warn carpet. I'll be installing the ACC extra thick pyle, Mass-backed carpet which will help greatly with the interior sound.

Engine Bay wiring-
Snowball alert! Since the AC is out, Im going to shorten the mass of wires I have coiled up under the dash for my EFI. The instructions said not to shorten them but the length of these wires is ridiculous. I'll be cutting and soldering my wire harness as it enters into the engine bay.

tail lights/signals-
I've got a bit of an electrical issue. My turn signals dont work consistently. Its one of those, no turn signal while the tail lites are on at not unless the brakes are also depressed kind of issues.

 

Sounds like you have a lot of fun ahead of you!

 

glad to here that my video adventures are inspiring others to work on their cars. i cant wait to see video or pics of your adventure.

the sound deadner weight is a nagging issue for me on my car. as you can here in the vidoes my engine noise is low. its my gforce t5 gear noise that is high.

on your efi wiring, i would suggest doing a bulkhead connector for where it passes through and use that section to shorten the wires. i found some compact ones on digikey that worked well on one of our shop builds.

 

Updates:

Fatmat- Nevermind. Not worth the time to save so little weight.

Sound Deadener- I got my Boom Mat UC Lite yesterday. The box says 19 lbs and I bought 54 sq ft of it. So I likely will not be using it all. And with this stuff, I can remove the jute backing on my new carpet as it wont be needed.

Exhaust- I've decided to band-aide the system I have now by ordering a Muffler Heat shield kit from DEI. I'll at it on and make some minor adjustments on my own to get me going. The thought of paying almost another 1000 to have this redone and still not be happy with it makes me cringe. I think I'll go ahead and purchase a band saw and mandrel bend kit and go for it on my own. After all , a mandrel bent system is what I really want. A local custom shop quoted the job at almost 2 days worth of work at 90/hr plus parts. While Im sure I'll be happy with their work, I just dont have that kind of coin to be spending again.

E-brake- Cable kit came in yesterday

So for this weekend, I will do:

shock eyelets
sound deadener
A/C reinstall
compressor bolt

Start car to make sure everything is still functioning

e-brake
trans-crossmember
modify exhaust
tail lights
interior lighting

Still waiting on 22-pin firewall bulkhead for my EFI wire harness.

 

Testing adding a photo from my phone.

 

Such a great looking car, hope you don't mind me using it as a template for my build! I've showed it to my wife and she really likes what you have done with it. Since opening up the front fenders on mine and getting it on the ground I think she's finally warming up to the car after four years. I will need drop spindles like you went with since right now it sits about right and it's only an inch from the snubbers.

 

Thanks and no problem here. I like the way you rounded out the fender instead of leaving it square. Looks really good. I may use that idea when I get ready to rebuild this car some day.

With just about 1k in my drop spindles alone, I'd consider going Mustang II on your front suspension before going that route again. Or, depending on your goals for the car, you could get it low enough without drop spindles. I removed my bump stops.

 

I have considered the MII, I have also looked at going with struts as well. I have all the pieces from a 98 Mustang with coil overs, all I would really need to do is build a rack mount since I worked out the rest on my old car. Those decisions are still off in the future so I have time to ponder them.

 

Maybe for my previous post I should have phrased it as "So for this weekend I will WORK ON" instead of "... will do"

I didnt get anything done besides firewall mat and getting the e-brake handle mounted. I swear I spent more time in the garage than that. I did only have Saturday to work on it though. Sunday was rain, sleet and freezing temps. Not good for hanging in the garage. My little heater cant compete with that.

I hoping I can go out and work with the cold for a short period of time tonight. AC is ready to go back in and then maybe I can try to start the car.

 

Checked of list as of today:

sound deadener
A/C reinstall
compressor bolt
e-brake

Still to go
shock eyelets
trans-crossmember
modify exhaust
interior lighting
carpet
engine bay wiring
tail lights

My new carpet came in last week. It has the Mass backing on it and only weighs 19lbs. I dont think its much heavier than the standard carpet and the mass backing feels and looks substantial compared to the standard carpet. I'll have to get a picture later.

Here is a photo of how I ran my e-brake cables. Also notice the caramel colored spots on my rear seat pan. Thats from the exhaust burning through. The passenger side is the worse.

 

Looks like the floor gets a bit toasty.

 

i really like how you did the e brake cables. ill may do it that way.