Progress Thread 1987 Mustang Gt "foxy"

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Well sorry for the long delay in updates on my build thread. I went through a rough patch in my life and used all my time to work on the car and it still ended up kicking me in the a$$. I'm currently in Nova Scotia on vacation, but I figured I'd post up how Foxy looked before I headed to Nova Scotia.

As soon as I was done working, I got to work finishing the paint job in the engine bay. Everything got taped up and garbage bags laid down. The paint was laid down nicely and changed the entire look of the car in my opinion.

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Next I made sure all the old gasket material was off of the heads. It was baked on so I had to use some gasket remover and a razor blade as well as some nylon sanding wheels.

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Once that was completely clean I started to put the intake back together. I properly coated everything with Edelbrock Gasgacinch and RTV around the water passages. Sadly I don't have any pictures of the during process, but here are some pictures of everything finished up.

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Now this is where my problems start. I had to bend the stock fuel lines a little to get them to match up with aftermarket Speedmaster Fuel Rails. Well they had a bit of a kink in them so I wasn't building any fuel pressure. I found this problem quickly and alleviated it. Next when I cranked the car over it shot to life and I thought I was home free. Sadly not, fuel was puking out all over the engine bay. I stopped the car and replaced o-rings in the larger of the fuel lines because I thought that was the problem. Started again and it still puked. So I took the pressure regulator off and looked at the o-rings. They were shredded and didn't even look to be fuel resistant material (simply black). I replaced these o-rings and tried again, but it still shot fuel all over the place so I gave up because I was heading back to Nova Scotia in a couple days. I was so fed up with Speedmaster at this point and I doubt I'll be buying another product of theirs. The fuel rails felt cheap and all of the fittings did not match up to my stock fuel lines like they were supposed to, all the o-rings were shot from the factory, the fuel pressure regulator was the same deal. I contacted them and they basically said so bad so sad so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with close to $300 worth of crappy fuel parts. Oh well... vent over.

While I was home I did mess around with a spare 302 my dad and I have laying around and starting mocking some EFI parts to it. Here are some random pics.

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And yes I know the fan is on backwards and the spacer is supposed to be in-between the fan and the pulley, but I was just quickly mocking up. Nothing even has gaskets in them.
 
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Please remove that intake pipe and air cleaner and sell it to somebody you hate. They only suck up hot turbulent air. Get a true cold air intake that routes through the passenger fender like the stock unit or get an aftermarket BBK. As far as the fuel leak goes, did you check to see if your fuel pressure regulator is bad? When they go bad they leak fuel and sometimes the fuel goes into the vacuum line. Not sure why you bought new fuel rails but the stock piece works just fine up to 500hp. You're lucky you didn't catch fire!!

Good luck.
 
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Please remove that intake pipe and air cleaner and sell it to somebody you hate. They only suck up hot turbulent air. Get a true cold air intake that routes through the passenger fender like the stock unit or get an aftermarket BBK. As far as the fuel leak goes, did you check to see if your fuel pressure regulator is bad? When they go bad they leak fuel and sometimes the fuel goes into the vacuum line. Not sure why you bought new fuel rails but the stock piece works just fine up to 500hp. You're lucky you didn't catch fire!!

Good luck.
Well the intake pipe is just there for mock up purposes... It usually does route to the fender, but I just slapped it on as a short ram to try and start it. It's a kit from American Muscle and has the BBK Adapter to bypass the MAF sensor location. The Fuel Pressure Regulator is brand new, but also the Speedmaster brand so I'm not sure. Also I had no idea the stock ones were good for that much, but I might take off the Speedmaster ones and go back to stock and also upgrade injectors.
 
Please remove that intake pipe and air cleaner and sell it to somebody you hate. They only suck up hot turbulent air. Get a true cold air intake that routes through the passenger fender like the stock unit or get an aftermarket BBK. As far as the fuel leak goes, did you check to see if your fuel pressure regulator is bad? When they go bad they leak fuel and sometimes the fuel goes into the vacuum line. Not sure why you bought new fuel rails but the stock piece works just fine up to 500hp. You're lucky you didn't catch fire!!

Good luck.

^^^ I agree^^^. I've never heard of speedmaster and wouldn't buy any of their parts. If you want / need an adjustable fpr I would suggest going with a tried and true unit like this.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/kirban-billet-adjustable-fuel-regulator-86-93.html
 
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Awesome thread man. I'm building an 88 gt with pretty much all the same mods when I bought it. As when you did. Mine also was blue and sat for 10 years. Wish my motor and engine bay looked as pretty and tiddy as yours. You make it sound so easy and fun. While I'm over here like where can I hide this wire haha.. Post a vid of her running I wanna hear it. We have the same system almost. I haven't heard mine yet the motor still sits in the corner waiting for a fly wheel. :(
 
Well it's been a very long time since I've posted anything. I've moved twice and did much more to the stang. It's also developed a knock so I tore the engine down and I haven't had a chance to put it back together. We're about to move into the house we bought so I have been side tracked. Anyways, here's some pictures from the time you've last saw the mustang to now.


I did a full refresh on suspension, brakes, axles, rear end oil, ball joints, and tie rod ends



I've made many trips to the junkyard in the last couple years. I've snagged many sets of GT40 Intakes, GT40 heads and GT40p heads. Currently have a set of GT40's that I'll be putting on my mustang.


Little odds and ends. Rigged up a fuel pressure gauge. And also we moved! But we just bought a house so that garage will be much cleaner and finished.
 
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Everything was running great, but I suddenly developed a knocking sound. I had some input and most people said I should do something about it before it got worse.


Bought new valve covers from a sketchy guy (turns out they are cracked)


Didn't waste time and started to tear down the engine. I came to a halt when I realized I didn't have a hoist or an engine stand. Luckily someone from my local mustang group let me borrow their's.


I couldn't find the exact reason for the knocking, but when I was ready to assemble everything I noticed that the cam bearings were cracked and in rough shape. I bought a remover and removed the bearings. By this time winter had set in and -40*c in an unheated garage is a little too much. The project has been on halt since. I do have everything to complete it now though. New gaskets, main bearings, piston rings, rod bearings, gt40 heads, water pump, oil pump, arp head bolts, mini starter, brake booster, and much more. I still need to resurface the flywheel and such, but everything else looks good so it'll most likely all go in as it is.
 
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Well I finally decided to get something done. The ol' lady has been hounding me to get the car done and for some reason I had motivation today.

I got new cam bearings installed, cam installed, cylinders ball honed, crank installed, 2/8 pistons installed and the oil pump and pick up hooked up.

If I can get my electrolysis tank setup tomorrow and start removing the rust on the heads then I can get the rest of the pistons cleaned and installed. Then it's just a matter of odds and ends. All I need for parts is a new oil pump shaft, valve Stem seals for my GT40 heads, oil dipstick and might be worth picking up a new timing set (even though mine seem fine)
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Worked some more on the car today. Got another 2 pistons cleaned up and installed. Bought some final parts (new timing set, valve seals, ARP oil pump shaft). Oddly the new timing set still has slack in it? About the same amount as my stock old timing chain...

I was able to set up my electrolysis tank and I must say it worked wonders on my GT40 head. It's completely rust free and almost all carbon deposits are gone.

Next on the list is to clean the other head, finish the other pistons, clean all GT40 valves, rebuild heads with new valve seals, old GT40 valves and my old E7 springs and the list goes on lol.
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Explain the electrolysis tank. How you hooked it up, what you used to build it...How long it took to de-rust the parts.
I've got an oil pan that I need to do that to, and rather than use muriatic acid, I'm interested in trying something that wont rust back so fast.
 
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Explain the electrolysis tank. How you hooked it up, what you used to build it...How long it took to de-rust the parts.
I've got an oil pan that I need to do that to, and rather than use muriatic acid, I'm interested in trying something that wont rust back so fast.
I took a 102L tub from Home Depot and filled it with regular tap water. You'll need to get some Arm and Hammer "Super Washing Soda". If you're in the state's it's fairly easy to find, if you're in Canada look at Home Hardware. Depending on the size of your container the amount of Soda varies, but I just dump a bunch in and mix it around. You'll need a battery charger that capable of outputting 2 amps. You can also use a wall charger that outputs 12v and 2-5amps. An intelligent battery charger won't work, UNLESS, you trick it into thinking it's charging a battery. If you first connect it to a battery and then use a set of booster cables/allegator clips it should work. You'll need a sacrificial piece(s) of bare metal (rebar, flat stock, angle iron, etc).

Okay, now that you have everything, fill up container with water, add super washing soda, put in your piece that needs to cleaned (you can hang it or support it with wood so that the process effects more of the part). Place your sacrificial metal around the border and MAKE SURE it doesn't touch your part. Hook your negative lead to your part and the postive lead to the sacrificial metal. You can space the sacrificial metal around your part and connect it with 10 gauge wire to speed up the process.

At first the process took awhile because I didn't have a lot of sacrificial metal, but when I added 3 more pieces the process was very quick (1-3 hrs for the head). This time can take longer depending on how big your part is and how rusted it is. I did my harmonic balancer after the head and it was literally in there for 15-20 mins and came out perfect.

You'll want to do this in a well ventilated place or outside. I did it beside my garage door with a kerosene heater pointed at the tub to insure itndidnti freeze. Once your part is out and wiped down you can paint it or just spray some WD40 on it because it's extremely bare metal and will start oxidizing (rusting) quickly.
 
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I took a 102L tub from Home Depot and filled it with regular tap water. You'll need to get some Arm and Hammer "Super Washing Soda". If you're in the state's it's fairly easy to find, if you're in Canada look at Home Hardware. Depending on the size of your container the amount of Soda varies, but I just dump a bunch in and mix it around. You'll need a battery charger that capable of outputting 2 amps. You can also use a wall charger that outputs 12v and 2-5amps. An intelligent battery charger won't work, UNLESS, you trick it into thinking it's charging a battery. If you first connect it to a battery and then use a set of booster cables/allegator clips it should work. You'll need a sacrificial piece(s) of bare metal (rebar, flat stock, angle iron, etc).

Okay, now that you have everything, fill up container with water, add super washing soda, put in your piece that needs to cleaned (you can hang it or support it with wood so that the process effects more of the part). Place your sacrificial metal around the border and MAKE SURE it doesn't touch your part. Hook your negative lead to your part and the postive lead to the sacrificial metal. You can space the sacrificial metal around your part and connect it with 10 gauge wire to speed up the process.

At first the process took awhile because I didn't have a lot of sacrificial metal, but when I added 3 more pieces the process was very quick (1-3 hrs for the head). This time can take longer depending on how big your part is and how rusted it is. I did my harmonic balancer after the head and it was literally in there for 15-20 mins and came out perfect.

You'll want to do this in a well ventilated place or outside. I did it beside my garage door with a kerosene heater pointed at the tub to insure itndidnti freeze. Once your part is out and wiped down you can paint it or just spray some WD40 on it because it's extremely bare metal and will start oxidizing (rusting) quickly.
Very cool. Would you mind showing a before and after picture of one of the heads?
 
Very cool. Would you mind showing a before and after picture of one of the heads?

This is typically what the heads look like when I get them. After the electrolysis all the pitting and rust is gone. They look smooth and black. I apply a quick coat of WD40 just to prolong the rust until I paint them (black). If you need a better after photo I can grab one later.

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Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Been busy with work and the weather has been crap like usual. I did manage to get some stuff done over the weekend though and the car is getting closer and closer to being done.

I got fed up with how I was cleaning the valves and pistons and finally broke down and bought a sandblasting cabinet. I should have bought one as soon as I got my compressor....

I cleaned all my valves and the rest of my pistons and got the bottom end put together and torqued to spec. The valves for one of the heads are lapped and ground. All that's left now is finish the heads and the engine should be buttoned up.

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