Progress Thread Nasty Ninety Notch

[B.erazo712]

UPDATE: Sag!

So close yet so far away. I guess I can't complain. I'm getting older and starting to sag. Why can't my car have some sagging? Yes, it's the dreaded foxbody front end sag (rear has it too, but not as bad).

Observed how the gaps between hood & lights increase..

Up Close

Observed how the hood is all the way down, yet does not contact the bumper. Also, observe how its fwd of the bumper. The bumper has actually sunken in & is sagging in the middle.

After one of the techs observed that the adjusment for this condition were already maxed I ordered a header panel and hardware kit from LMR in order to correct the issue. So, maybe its like getting a chin lift?

Sorry for bringing this up so late, but mine has the exact sag, and before i buy anything I wanna make sure its that. How did you figure out its that panel?

 

[joetrainer31]

Sorry for bringing this up so late, but mine has the exact sag, and before i buy anything I wanna make sure its that. How did you figure out its that panel?

I kinda cheated. I work at a shop and had my tech tell me that was the problem. I fixed the issue 85%. It's at the body shop right now and they will fix the rest. Hit me back in a week or so and I'll tell you what they did.

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: Phase 2 -Body & Paint Begins

The guys are getting all the lines just right, minding the moldings, removing surface rust, sanding surfaces, and prepping for paint work. Phase 2 is coming along nicely. The last car they did for me won several awards at auto shows. They do a really great job!

No more rear bumper sagging.

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: Phase 2 Complete!

The body work is done, the moldings are fixed, and the color has been applied. I took a gamble with Grabber Blue, but I was inspired by the 69 Boss 302. My plan was to have a layout as though Ford continued the 69 Boss' paint scheme into the fox years. Y'all feel free to give me some feed back!

Before...

After:

The color changes depending on the ambient light.

Note the Boss style hood w/ a 1/8" pin stripe. Also, no more front bumper sag.

Grabber Blue is too overpowering unless black and/or chrome is added.

The badge was necessary to add a little "pop" to the overall scheme.

everything is straight & lined up.

Note: the pin strip carries through from the hood to beside the cowl vent grill -little details make the overall picture.

 

[89oem]

Awesome!!!

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

That car has come a long way. Good job!

 

[joetrainer31]

That car has come a long way. Good job!

SOOOO long. Much pain I endured. The interior is next.

 

[B.erazo712]

Looks awesome!

 

[skyline247]

Looks good!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[joetrainer31]

UPDATE: Water & Cam

So, old blue is back at the body shop because they failed to address the driverside door sealing issue that I pointed out to them when I dropped it off. The recent rain storms in SoCal revealed that fact. The new carpet and refurbed seats got SOAKED. Not happy, but glad I didn't do anymore interior resto yet.

Anyhow, I thought this would be a good time to through some of my engine specs out there to get some valued feedback:

1) 308 cid with high compression pistons, Ford X307 heads with 54cc combustion chambers should put me at 10:1 or a little over.

2) Camshaft gross lift 445/445 (not counting 1.72 rockers), Adv Duration 297/279, Lobe Separation 116/ 115.

3) Interesting that Ford valve train shims (i.e., .0090) were needed with the above setup and stock length pushrods in order to get compression the the cylinders.

This car is meant as a fun DD. Please give me your thoughts on the combo listed above.

 

[A5literMan]

I assume that lift number you posted is with 1.6 rockers? Not lobe lift numbers. Why not more cam? That's pretty conservative even with emissions. I know you're not looking for every last hp but I would think you could gain 20-25hp especially in the top 1/3 of the powerband.

 

[joetrainer31]

I assume that lift number you posted is with 1.6 rockers? Not lobe lift numbers. Why not more cam? That's pretty conservative even with emissions. I know you're not looking for every last hp but I would think you could gain 20-25hp especially in the top 1/3 of the powerband.

Re: lift, yes, you would add the 172s to the total lift.
Re: why not more cam, emissions. Plus streetability and I was looking for more low end.
Re: 20-25hp, that's significant! However, its built. If I tear it apart my wife will tear me apart, lol.

Its odd that the cam has such a lopey idle. It actually shakes the whole car and sounds much more aggressive than the numbers say. That's actually what I wanted to avoid due to emissions Nazis. Any idea what's up with the cam behaviour?

 

[hoopty5.0]

Lots of duration and overlap. The cam I'm putting in has 276/282 w/ 112 LSA and it has a lumpy idle.

 

[joetrainer31]

Lots of duration and overlap. The cam I'm putting in has 276/282 w/ 112 LSA and it has a lumpy idle.

Can you give me a comparison of the two as far as cam behavior?

 

[hoopty5.0]

Can you give me a comparison of the two as far as cam behavior?

No, sorry. I have a very shaky understanding of cam science. You have a lot more duration and a wider LSA than I do, but I'm not sure how they correlate in comparison to what I have. Mine's just an off the shelf cam that works very well with the GT-40P heads that I have.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-444225/overview/make/ford

 

[hoopty5.0]

What led you to choose that cam? Seems like a lot for some mid-level heads.

 

[joetrainer31]

What led you to choose that cam? Seems like a lot for some mid-level heads.

It was sold with the rebuilt short block. I specified that I wanted a stock HO cam. Once we heard it idle we thought there's no way it is a stock cam. The builder assures me that it is a "ZE," or stock HO cam. Yet, the numbers he gave me (posted above) do not match a stock cam (except for lift...and maybe LS). The builder stated that if the cam is lopey (which it totally is), then maybe we have a wrong firing order, or fuel system issue.

When I get the car back from the body shop I'm going to re-stab the distributor, re-route the wires, and toss a F.P. guage on it to double check everything.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out whats going on (precisely) inside the motor, if the cam is stock, and if not; what the expected behavior characteristics of the cam would be. Knowing these facts will go a LONG way toward proper operation and tuning.

Does that make sense?

 

[hoopty5.0]

It does. Good plan.

 

[A5literMan]

Also a vacuum leak can make it "lope" at idle. Nothing wrong with your reasons/thoughts on the cam. With 1.72 RR's you're close to .480 lift. If the lobe profile was .4xx you would end up with .7xx lift with the 1.72's lol. Those specs you posted are similar to stock and shouldn't have a considerable lope. I suspect the vacuum leak or a timing issue.

 

[joetrainer31]

Also a vacuum leak can make it "lope" at idle. Nothing wrong with your reasons/thoughts on the cam. With 1.72 RR's you're close to .480 lift. If the lobe profile was .4xx you would end up with .7xx lift with the 1.72's lol. Those specs you posted are similar to stock and shouldn't have a considerable lope. I suspect the vacuum leak or a timing issue.

Thanks! When I get the car back I can easily check the timing at home. My tech checked for a vacuum leak, but it is possible he missed one, or a new one has developed.

Again, I'll re-stab dizzy, re-route wires, and check fuel pressure by installing a gauge. If that all checks then I'll have the vac checked at the shop (maybe even smoke the system). Either way, I'll keep the post updated. Besides, I still have Phase 3 (i.e., interior) to complete!