Progress Thread Darkfader's 93 Gt Progress - Back to work

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My K member and control arms are here too so I started removing things off the front end as well. I think the next order of business is probably going to be removal of the engine and trans. Since it’s all coming out anyway, I think it will make installation of the new K member a little easier. Then I can strip the block down and send it out to the machine shop. I’ll be needing some advice from you guys when that time comes for sure.

Side note, if anyone needs any of this stuff I’ve removed just give me a shout. You can have whatever you want for the cost of shipping. I’ll keep it for a few weeks and then it’s going to scrap. Calipers, rear end carrier and axles, everything is in decent shape, just dirty.

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That is just beautiful man, good job.:nice:

Did you reinforce the shock towers in some way when you switched to coilovers?

I sure didn’t and wasn’t aware that was a necessity. Obviously I have time before it’ll be back on the road. Is this something that would require welding or is there a bracing already made for that? MM didn’t say a word about it during any of my many phone calls to them. :(
 
I sure didn’t and wasn’t aware that was a necessity. Obviously I have time before it’ll be back on the road. Is this something that would require welding or is there a bracing already made for that? MM didn’t say a word about it during any of my many phone calls to them. :(
They do have a bracing system, but it's a spherical joint at the tower. So noise, noise, noise.

I would think there would need to be reinforcement added since you really are adding the weight of the rear vehicle to that point that was just for dampening purposes earlier.

full Tilt Boogie has something as well.

I'm thinking we would need extra material in the shock tower area, maybe I'm wrong.

Let me look around a bit to see what I can find.
 
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I’ve been away for a bit and progress on the car was put on hold. I wasn’t in jail or anything, I was eligible to test for promotion at work and devoted every spare second to studying the 1600+ pages of materials in hopes of becoming a Lieutenant. It paid off in the sense that I scored the highest out of the rest taking the exam, but I ended up second on the list because years of service adds points to the final score. The good news is, if another officer retires within the next 18 months, I’ll be promoted. If not I’ll have to go through the process again when the time comes. It was a very stressful and difficult 45 days, but it’s over now and I can get back to work on the stang. Here’s what’s happening as of now.

First, I removed the engine and stock K member to make way for the new MM K member:

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Last night I greased bushings and installed the MM front control arms and media blasted the 2003 spindles I picked up last week from the JY. I have a perfectly good set of 94-95 spindles if anyone needs a set. They are blasted and I can even powdercoat them if someone desires. With the MM K member, 96+ spindles are recommended for proper geometry. 94-95 spindles are what you want for the 5 lug conversion using the stock K member. Anyway, Saturday I will PC these spindles and get them on the car along with the new Terminator rack, MM hybrid steering shaft and if time allows, CC plates, coilovers, and have the car sitting on 4 wheels again. My ‘03 Cobra calipers still need to be blasted and coated. Might work on that while spindles are in the oven as well.

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I had time to tinker yesterday. I disassembled the 10th anniversary calipers, blasted them, and threw them in the oven for a bit. I definitely couldn’t be happier with the results. Spindles got a coat of satin black to match the MM stuff and the calipers got “bright red”. I just hand painted the raised lettering. I have new piston seals/boots and pins ordered to reassemble the calipers. I started assembling front coilovers, but was short on the included washers so progress was abruptly halted since I didn’t know until after hours. No worries there, just need to pick up a handful of grade 8, 1/2” washers and work can resume. Passengers CC plate and coilover is in, along with the Terminator rack with MM solid bushings, MM hybrid steering shaft, and Fox length inner tie rods. Should be sitting on all fours next weekend if everything works out.

Pics of PC:

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The last few pieces of the puzzle came today. Caliper seals/boots/pins/clips, FRPP prop valve and MM bits for brake lines arrived from lmr. Thanks to @Mustang5L5 for the “no weld” option for the e-brake handle. That part cost me a whopping $1.72 at the dealer. I also got a handful of grade 8 washers and the next two days off. I’d love to get this thing back down on the floor as a roller this weekend. Hopefully I have everything I need to accomplish that.

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I was able to get a lot done over the weekend. The car is finally sitting on the ground again. I need to double check some settings on the front because it seems like the wheel is poking out beyond the fender. Obviously the car needs an alignment but the passenger side looks normal other than some obvious camber. Here’s some pics

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Here you can sort of see how far the driver side pokes. I hope this is just a result of bad settings. I’ll reread the install instructions and hopefully find what I need to adjust. I’m definitely happy with this wheel/tire combo against the white.

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Beautiful work. Even used rivets on the dust shields. You'd be amazed at how much an adjustment changes the look of a wheel.

You can also use some string with weights on the end dangling from various spots on the subframe and frame of the car while it's up on the lift. Lay some tape on the floor and mark it. It'll allow you to take measurements of the orientation of the sub frame and suspension components. Helps if something is tweaked.
 
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