Headlock Feb 13, 2003
A lot has happened in Mustang world since the last update, and not just because I hardly ever get updates to Per until he puts me in a headlock.
Speaking of "lock", That's what happens to an internal combustion engine when it ingests a lot of water. How do we know this? The hard way. During a particularly ugly Florida rainstorm the Mustang found its way into a deeper-than-it-looked puddle and took a drink through the fenderwell-mounted intake. Okay, the fact that the wheelwell liner was out didn't help matters, but it sure was a tough way to learn a lesson.
Thanks to cell phones, AAA gold memberships and Miami Dolphin-loving towtruck drivers, the Moist-stang found its way to Steeda (www.steeda.com) in Pompano Beach, FL, to await resurrection.
A call to Central Coast Mustang (www.centralcoastmustang.com) and an unleashing of the Discover card got a fresh powerplant on the way, and the loving hands of Chad at Steeda handled the swap duties. CCM's Dennis Hilliard put together what basically amounts to an all-iron Cobra engine, featuring one of his several thousand NEW 302 blocks, cast pistons, and a set of GT40P heads. Dennis claims that just bolting some P heads on in place of the stock E7TE heads is worth 30-35hp. We'll be doing some dyno work soon, as well as testing some different intake combos, and hopefully doing some electronic tuning as well.
As it sits now, the engine is the aforementioned CCM 302, with a Cobra upper and lower intake manifold, being fed by a MAC cold-air fenderwell system (yes, we have built a splash guard) and a C&L 73mm airflow meter. The exhaust is MAC shorty headers (GT40P spec) dumping into a MAC Pro-Chamber crossover and onto the MAC mufflers. Look for a couple of stories detailing a lot of the engine and bolt-on power pieces in summer issues.
Under the car, we've traded the Steeda G-Trac stuff for something a bit more sophisticated: Steeda's Five-link rear suspension. The Five-link replaces the seriously angled upper arms with pieces that are more parallel to each other, allowing more freedom of suspension movement and less bind, and also adds an adjustable height panhard bar for side to side axle control. Our first autocross outing with the setup is in a couple of weeks, and we're excited about trying out this new suspension.
In the front, we're also further refined things with Steeda's X2 ball joints. These feature an exta long taper to raise the spindle relative to the control arm and help define a higher roll center. We also installed Steeda's new bump steer kit, which relocates the tierod ends to help minimize bumpsteer.
Inside the car, we knew it was time to do something about the mediocre seating, so we got in touch with the Auo Toy store (www.autotoystore.com) and ordered some Corbeau Forza II seats. These featherweights are just 16 lbs each, and comfortable enough for daily use, while providing race seat support for autocrossing. They also mount easily with the supplied hardware, right on to your stock seat tracks.
Chassis, engine, junkyard Sep 24, 2003
While most of our focus has been under the hood lately, that doesn't mean we've forgotten about the chassis. In fact, we've been tweaking things here and there to dial in our Steeda Five-Link rear suspension as best we could.
Tuning with the Five Link was frustrating at first, since it was a completely new system that we had to not only get used to driving, but wrenching on as well. We took the car to the Ocala GP Kart track for a couple of hours and just made random adjustments until we figured out what affected what and by how much. Then we started some actual tuning.
We discovered that lowering the panhard bar increased corner exit traction, while raising it increased turn-in ability. We liked the explosive exits of the low bar, but we didn't like the associated push that we got. We decided to look to the front end, which didn't seem to be doing much of anything anymore. The Steeda 1.375" swaybar was still installed from the G-Trac system, and we figured that this overabundance of front roll stiffness was no longer appropriate.
Off to the junkyard... Boneyard scavenging for Mustang swaybars yields a variety of choices. Most V6 models came equipped with a 24mm (.94") piece. Stock V8 models had a 33mm (1 5/16") bar, while Cobra models were equipped with a 28.5mm (1 1/8") bar. The Steeda bar was 1 3/8" in diameter. While a stock Cobra bar may seem tough to find, the same 1 1/8" bar was also used on many Fox Chassis Cougars and Thunderbirds, which is what we pulled our bar off of. Many Lincoln Models can also yeild Mustang-compatible swaybars. One hour and $30 later, we headed home with an assortment of new front bars.
Like Goldilocks, we drew conclusions about the three bars we sampled. The V6 bar: Too soft; the V8 bar: Too stiff; the Cougar bar: Just right.
Actually, we're keeping the stock V8 bar in the quiver. While most of the autocrosses we run around here are tight, second-gear affairs that lend themselves well to a car that's willing to point quickly, on a more open, flowing course (or on a road course), the stock V8 bar would give us a level of comfort and drivability above that of the smaller bar.
So, with that, we're back under the hood a little bit. While you read about out initial dyno testing in the last issue, we currently getting out hands dirty installing an Edelbrock Intake manifold. After we take that to the dyno, it's time for some high-tech tuning with our AEM programmable engine control module.
Waterless cooling Feb 3, 2004
Well, it's been a while since the last update on the Mustang Project (sorry), but we really have been making progress. Right now, we're in the throes of converting our standard cooling system over to an Evans NPG (non-aqueous propylene glycol) system. Basically, this is a waterless system that uses specific coolant that has a much higher boiling point than a standard 50/50 coolant mix. Because of this, much lower pressures are used in the system.
But what are the advantages, you ask? Well, according to Evans, one of the biggest advantages is the fact that the non-water-based solution virtually eliminates "hot spots" within the engine. Because of the nature of water, there can be localized spots inside an engine where the coolant vaporizes in an effort to transfer the heat that is being produced by the engine. Once the vaporized coolant enters the rediator, it recondenses and recirculate into the system. So while the coolant gauge may not show a problem, other parts of the engine could be in danger.
With the Evans npg system, since the boiling point is much higher, the risk of vaporization-even localised_is greatly reduced, so heat transfer is more complete.
There's a lot more of the advanced chemistry and physics of the system available at www.evanscooling.com. When we see terms like "molar heat of vaporization" we get a headache.
The system for the Mustang (they have several pre-fab systems for many popular cars, or can customize one for nearly any application) includes a Fluidyne radiator, a Spal electric fan (we can FINALLY ditch our lousy clutch fan!), a high-flow water pump, special radiator cap and coolant. We also have a slick Canton overflow can to add to the system.
We're also redoing our last modification-the installation of the Edelbrock intake. Seems we didn't use enough sealant on the lower manifold where it meets the block and had a nasty oil leak. Based on some suggestion from the friendly and well-mannered posters at www.corner-carvers.com, we are reinstalling the intake using silicone end seals, well coated with goo, and using studs to properly align the intake as it drops down onto the engine to prevent smearing the seals out from under it.
So, two or three more weekends and we should be back on the road with a non-leaky, npg-cooled, electric-fanned Mustang.