Build Thread The Hoopty Chronicles - New House, New garage, New Car?

Maybe I'm wrong here...why can' they cut the driveshaft open by the ding... hammer and dolly it out and then just weld back the driveshaft together and then balance it? Guys buy explorer and f150 driveshafts and have them cut down all the time and end caps welded on. How is this different?
Because it would be easier to just cut a new tube and weld the ends on. We talked about a couple of scenarios and I settled on buying the aluminum driveshaft. He almost didn't believe me when I told him I could get a new one from LMRS for $300 to my door. He said that is absolutely the way to go. Pretty cool of him to give advice that doesn't bring him business in my book.
 
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Because it would be easier to just cut a new tube and weld the ends on. We talked about a couple of scenarios and I settled on buying the aluminum driveshaft. He almost didn't believe me when I told him I could get a new one from LMRS for $300 to my door. He said that is absolutely the way to go. Pretty cool of him to give advice that doesn't bring him business in my book.

Sounds like a plan, man.. Check the classifieds. There are guys selling them used for 1/2 the price of new. I just got one for $125 local.. :nice:
 
Alright. Bought another 302 for $250. Here's the plan:

Send lower explorer intake to Tmoss for porting.
Send U/L intake, valve covers, brackets, etc. to a buddy for powdercoating.
Build 302 with TFS 170s, TFS 1 cam, explorer intake, blah, blah.
Swap into car to replace existing 302 that I don't trust.
Install megasquirt and learn to tune.

Drive, enjoy, ponder building 351 into View attachment 109348 .

Keep old 302 in case my tuning learning curve has a hiccup.
 
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Alright. Bought another 302 for $250. Here's the plan:

Send lower explorer intake to Tmoss for porting.
Send U/L intake, brackets, etc. to a buddy for powdercoating.
Build 302 with TFS 170s, TFS 1 cam, explorer intake, blah, blah.
Swap into car to replace existing 302 that I don't trust.
Install megasquirt and learn to tune.

Drive, enjoy, ponder building 351 into View attachment 109346 .

Keep old 302 in case my tuning learning curve has a hiccup.
Sounds like a solid plan and should be fun. My one question is if you're going to be tuning why not do that with the existing 5.0? I know MS has a baseline program and you could learn/tweak that tune and then be more prepared for the "new" 302. Then you should be fairly ready for a bigger/badder 351 build. If you trash the questionable engine no big loss. I've been very interested in the MS PnP setup for awhile. Just can't seem to pull the trigger and get one. Now I'd really like to do the Holley ecu personally. If I trash my 302 I don't care. :shrug:Idk, I'm undecided on the direction I want to take.
 
@A5literMan only because this is my only mode of transportation and I really don't trust this motor. I want to put in something that I know is in good shape to keep running for a while. The 351 is a dream right now and I need something to keep getting me to work.

The mspnp will be something I can swap in on the weekends and then swap out if I can't get it right and have to go back to work.

Boosted92lx is shaking his finger because you shouldn't hot rod your dd. And that's true, but I want s better short block. And I have these heads sitting on my work bench so... Meh.
 
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@A5literMan only because this is my only mode of transportation and I really don't trust this motor. I want to put in something that I know is in good shape to keep running for a while. The 351 is a dream right now and I need something to keep getting me to work.

The mspnp will be something I can swap in on the weekends and then swap out if I can't get it right and have to go back to work.

Boosted92lx is shaking his finger because you shouldn't hot rod your dd. And that's true, but I want s better short block. And I have these heads sitting on my work bench so... Meh.

That's how it starts. Just one hit. One time wont hurt..
The first step to getting help is admitting that you have a problem.. LOL
 
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Installed the driveshaft. The car runs smoother than my Hyundai now. It's almost not a fox body anymore. Paired with the sound deadener, it's magical. There may even be rainbows comin out the pipes, I dunno, but it's crazy smooth.
 
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@RacEoHolic330 I tried looking through your thread about the hydroboost swap, but got lost after 30 or so pages, hah. Which way did you go about doing it? Swapping in new pedal assembly? Just stuck it on? Any mods to steering rack or anything else? Thanks mayne.
 
I went the lazy and expensive route. Hydratech makes a bolt-in hydroboost kit. Came with all the hoses. No modifications to the pedal assembly or steering rack. It was $800 though. Worth every penny considering my cam pulls 8mmHg at idle.
 
I went the lazy and expensive route. Hydratech makes a bolt-in hydroboost kit. Came with all the hoses. No modifications to the pedal assembly or steering rack. It was $800 though. Worth every penny considering my cam pulls 8mmHg at idle.
Aaaaaalrighty, that's out of my budget! I have a manual conversion on my workbench. I need to nut up and do it, I just lack the adjustable P/V and the MM conversion lines.
 
There are lots of threads out there about retrofitting a factory hydroboost into a fox. It just takes some time and effort. I already had my pedal assembly powder coated and was working on so many things with the car at the time that I just wanted the easy way out with that one. Lol.
 
I don't blame you. Since this is my only vehicle at the moment, I am severely limited in the projects that I can undertake, I would need something I can bolt in in a few hours with time left over to troubleshoot if needed. I wish I had the $800 because that sounds like the best way to go.
 
Haven't been in this thread for a little while and "oh my" the progress that's happening is sweet. Looking good bro! I like the idea about building the motor while you drive with the other.
 
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I can't wait till I can get mine driving so I can at least enjoy it while working on improvements :burnout:
It's been a relatively short time frame for me. I've owned it just shy of 5 months and didn't run when I bought it, and when it did get running, barely made it to the parts store and back. I have literally spent every spare second I have on this. I'm hoping in it's current state, it will behave for a few months as I digest this wedding debt that I am about to incur (~$8k). I have to say my fiancé has been ultra cool with this project, and I need to make it up to her somehow.

Side note: I did some trading this weekend for a sand blasting cabinet. Should really aid in the underhood looks department as I have a buddy who does top notch powder coating. All I need to do is clean the parts up and take them over to his house. The results are spectacular:
dt3mTv.jpg
 

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