Hi Guys,
So the latest is.............
The car will be started for the first time tomorrow. I probably made it harder for myself by going the RRS power rack steering, hydraulic clutch new PWR radiator and SPAL fan, MSD 6AL etc etc all at the same time. Lot's of stuffing around with new steering pulleys, power steering brackets, pumps, hydraulic lines. The parts suppliers in this industry have a lot to learn about service from the US. Not talking about our local mustang guys, they're fine, but the high performance parts guys prey on our passion for the cars which forces us to put up with pretty poor follow up.
Having said all that, the team doing the car are treating it like it's their own, incredible attention to detail, every wire and cable is being done like it's from the factory, in colour' finish, fit etc, just first class work.
Putting a brand new motor in has other little frustrating issues; the angle of the heads are a little different so the headers need to rotate a little which means the exhausts need to be cut and re-welded to sit right. The oil sender is in a different spot, the edelbrock mechanical fuel pump (that came with the engine) needed to be rotated to allow power steering to fit, it's a huge Canton sump so it fits, but I can't lower the motor (particularly with the new rack) which is an issue because even though I ordered the lower edelbrock air gap intake from Roush (which by the way made a huge dyno improvement all the way to 5,000 rpm) instead of the standard Victor Jr, it's still very tall with the billet air filter, so we'll probably have to modify the filter if we want to keep it (which I do). Performer rpm would probably fix this height issue, although it would lose some output.
To get ready for the engine over the last half year I had previously set up; a dual master cylinder and booster, the diff (new 3.25 auburn LSD) , Shelby traction bars, gearbox linkages done, front suspension dropped (and now uprated whiteline front sway bar), 17x8 wheel tyre combo.
Long answer to a short question, but, I gotta say it looks stunning! I'll tell you how it sounds tomorrow. The dyno figures and torque are strong and the sheer cred that the brand pulls is priceless.
I was lucky, I bought this when the. Aussie dollar was US95c and only paid shipping and GST, no duty.
Would I do it again, definitely! But it would be a more planned effort and if I could avoid doing so much at once it would be faster and less stressful (the crap associated with setting up the new steering on a new engine doubled the time if you ask me). Having said that, if you have the time, detail and patience Hev has shown doing his upgrade, mine looks pretty basic and I look like an impatient bugger!
I'll update you when it's going. Ages ago I had booked in to the American car nationals at queenbeyan this weekend, so there's a 20% chance the car will be ready, I'm an optimist so fingers crossed!
A sobering thought... Having someone warm over the old engine would sure be simpler and cheaper!
Cheers Bee
