Da Groj

Do we have a target budget?

I'll give you a dollar if you fit it with a salvage yard non-turbo 4-cylinder.

Funny you should say that, I was looking at a 2300 Ford, that someone did a twin cam Volvo head swap on. The head bolt holes actually line up..the issue is getting all the timing to work, I just don't have the machining expertise to make it all work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvVY9z7-l0U

I was thinking the target should be about $4K

Yeah, I've heard of that head swap. Pretty cool for its time. Doesn't make a bit of sense to go through all of that today, though. There are plenty of aluminum-block, twin-cam, fuel-injected 4-bangers that would work as well or better right out of the salvage yard.

Rock on, Rob!

Sourced a late model 302 that uses a roller cam...trying to score a set of low buck aluminum heads...so looks like no 4 banger for me..although I was open to it.

You need to troll the Ford purist and put a Toyota engine in it.

Uhh no..I could live with a Volvo, Mazda or...if you could afford it..a Jag since there was at least some Ford in all those lines...

Anybody who has taken a car as far apart as you have knows, it's all just nuts and bolts and parts. Put it together and make it work. Why would the politics of what corporation owned which company even play into that?

A Mustang with a V8 Ford. Yawn. A Mustang with direct-injected, twin-cam, variable-valve-timing, all-aluminum Hyundai 4-cylinder? At least it's interesting! And it will piss off the purists.

i swapped a small block chevy into a barracuda..and there was that blown small block into a triumph spitfire.
I would be more apt to do that to a lighter car, a mustang needs all the help it can get..

BTW the turbo volvo headed 2300 Ford I was talking about

blacksheep-1 wrote:So far the running totals are
Car.......................$250
Diff ......................$450
lower arms............$275
Spherical ends.........$75
misc etc..................$50
we've hit the $1K mark

Knowledge of all you just explained.... Priceless
EXCELLENT job w/the photos, I'd been lost w/o them.

Done found me a wang..care of a Porsche wreck awhile back. The struts are ripped out so I need to rehab it and find someone to water jet some struts..if anybody knows a guy..

OK so time for assembly, installed the diff with some scrounged up Tokico shocks..these are actually off of a Cobra..so I'm hoping the valving will be a little lighter than a standard Mustang, they are also about 3/4 inch longer so they may bottom out, we'll see.




The next item was to dummy up the PHB and center the diff..




The mounts on the frame needed to be notched on one side since the frame actually curves a bit, this will keep the brackets aligned.




This is the unit installed but not totally leveled, the space between holes on the frame bracket are approximately twice the distance than those on the diff. The diff bracket gave me hell with welding, I don't know if some funk got on it or if it was just the wind messing with the gas shielding, but I'm going to have to carve that off and reweld it. It's plenty good enough to hold it, but looks atrocious so it has to go.
Anyway, this is your basic redneck 3 link for a foxbody.

I'm really sad that you didn't buy the FASTiva.

Yeah, it definitely had possibilities..a 1000 cc motorcycle engine with the sequential box located in the middle...that would've been cool

Some ideas...

OK, after gutting the back half of the car, I needed to find a lightweight fuel tank, the requirements for an autocross car are not the same for a track car, all my track cars have had fuel cells, the insurance requirements and track specifications for autocross, allow a top speed of only around 70mph, with no obstructions for approximately 75 ft around the track. Therefore, a cell is not required, which means light weight is the most important aspect.

After an aluminum tank was sourced from good old E-Bay, I built a cradle to house the tank.


The tank will be mounted offset in order to counter driver weight, it should..should..is the operative term allow for fuel pumps and a battery. The fact is, I already hosed this up once and cut the cradle out and redesigned it.
The outlets (and sump) will actually be pointed inward for space requirements, since it's not a drag race style car, where a rear facing sump would make more sense.


Since I didn't trust the welded tabs to completely contain the tank and fuel weight, I made some steel straps to further support the tank and contents.

Well, in spite of Loren's request.. I found a used but running HO 5.0 engine, bellhousing and trans for $300 bucks that I couldn't pass up...the engine was well maintained.




The factory shorty headers were glued in place, the bolts were also rounded..so I simply cut the rusty tubes off and pounded an metric near equivalent over the SAE bolts and they all came out...I guess you know the headers have been there awhile when it takes a Sawz All to remove them..




Engine picked up, decosntructed and parts in the cleaner..enough work for 1 day..

I just love his build threads.

I need to take a field trip to your shop one of these days.

Make it a field trip and we'll all eat at Sonnys..or actually there's a decent japanese steak house at the exit.

https://search.yahoo.com/local/s;_ylt=A ... s-pty_maps

or come up for a couple of sessions at the kart track

http://bushnellmotorsportspark.com/