Black Jack: TMOSS Intake Time + Aftermarket Fan

Nitrous Install:

Step 1:
Figure out what I have and what I need.

When I bought the car back from Mark, he asked if I wanted to buy his nitrous kit. I don't think he implied that it was a complete kit, and he only asked $150 for it. I pulled out the cash, and I really didn't even bother to inspect it. I just figured it'd be a good start towards being able to put nitrous in the car. Subsequently, I read a thread that suggested the best way to inject nitrous was with a plate between the upper and lower intake, so I looked around and found the right plate near me for $50 (was something like $500 new). I went out and grabbed it the next day. Finally, I want to remain conservative so I already knew I'd want a WOT switch, Hobbes (fuel pressure) switch, Window (RPM) Switch, and of course an main system-arming switch.

Here's what I currently have:
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What I have:

- Nitrous Bottle (10 lbs)
- Bottle Mounts (These little plastic ones are safe in an accident?)
- Hobbes Switch
- WOT & Window Switch
- Arming Switch
- Relay
- Nitrous solenoids x2
- GT40 intake nitrous plate
- Nitrous lines braided steel
- vacuum hose and couple fittings
- manual WOT switch (not labeled)

What I may or may not need (will be edited as I learn & figure this out):
- Fuel solenoids (If I want a wet kit)
- Braided steel fuel lines
- Appropriate jets for fuel and nitrous
- appropriate wiring
- GT40 intake gaskets
- Probably a different Hobbes Switch (dry kit is supposed to vastly increase fuel pressure, whereas wet kit should keep FP @ base pressure of ~40psi, right?)
- GT Light/fog-light switch (Fog light switch will serve as my main nitrous arming switch)
- bottle heater/blanket?
- electronic bottle opener (necessary?)
- timing retard box?
- bottle pressure gauge

Goal:
- I'd like a ~150-200 shot range. Don't wanna blow the motor and would like to keep the power block-safe (max 500hp).
- Not dead-set on a wet kit, but am under the impression this is safer for the fuel system, as it doesn't require high fuel pressure (overtaxed 30 lbs injectors & old fuel pump) as the primary driver of fuel delivery. Also, since fuel pressure can stay at base pressure, I won't need to swap a high-pressure pump for the current old-school Walbro 255 LPH pump & the hobbes switch can be set just below the base FP setting without worrying about the variable dry-kit FPs.

So, I'd appreciate feedback from any of you nitrous guys, but here's my starting point to do research from.
 
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NitrousOutlet makes this dry-to-wet nitrous conversion kit:


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Includes:
- 200 HP fuel solenoid,
- 200 HP 1/16" NPT wet nozzle,
- nozzle adapter,
- fuel T fitting and fuel rail adapter, hoses, hardware pack,
- solenoid bracket
- jetting for 35-50-75-100-150-200 HP.

This might be all I need to convert from Dry to Wet.
 
Subsequently, I read a thread that suggested the best way to inject nitrous was with a plate between the upper and lower intake, so I looked around and found the right plate near me for $50 (was something like $500 new). I went out and grabbed it the next day.
I really have enjoyed following your build so far, but I've got to say I'm really jealous that you found that plate, even more at that price! I've been looking for a couple of years now.
 
I really have enjoyed following your build so far, but I've got to say I'm really jealous that you found that plate, even more at that price! I've been looking for a couple of years now.
Yeah, I was pretty stoked to say the least. When I looked around for it, I kinda knew GT40 plates were out there,but then started seeing the WTB ads and comments like yours. So, when I saw it listed among other parts, I told the guy I'd buy it all. The price was gonna be like $150-200. Fine by me. But he didn't bring everything. So, I asked if he'd knock the price down. He said $50 and I couldn't get it out of my wallet fast enough... I'll keep an eye out at foxtoberfest for ya if you give me a price you're willing to pay.

Edit: Quick FB search: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1415757795584561/
 
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Vibration Conundrum:

It's the damnedest thing... Now, from an engineering/physics mind I just have not seen much of a reason to believe that turning a driveshaft a quarter-turn could make a difference. They're supposed to be neutral balanced, and if they are, and they are running true, then I just couldn't explain why the orientation of the drive shaft would matter. However, 2 nights ago, I did just that. People have sworn by it on the internet, and so I figured what have I got to lose? Well, guys, I'm tellin' ya, I really think it made a difference.

Now, mind you, it still vibrates between 75-95 or so, and it's bad enough that I'm still working through things, but when I took it out, last night, I blasted right on through 4th gear, shifted into 5th and stayed at 110-115 mph, and it was SMOOTH! Ok... maybe not perfect, but it was so smooth that I would not have been concerned with it in the least if this was all there ever was. The screws in the console cup holders stopped rattling, the vision in my rear view mirror cleared up. The car felt like it's supposed to. I did this 4 times, last night. The 3rd and 4th go-round were with a friend riding shotgun who confirmed what I was feeling.

Was it the 1/4 turn of the D/S? Was it just that I hadn't previously blasted that high after doing the pinion angles? I know for a fact this car used to vibrate its ass off at those high speeds when I ran it at the drag strip back in the day, but I haven't gone that fast in the couple weeks since I set the pinion angle. The 75+ mph vibration used to get worse and worse as you went faster in the car. It actually clears up now, but from 75-95 that vibration is still very much there.

Tonight I pulled the driveshaft. In the next day or so, I'm dropping it off here:
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These boys say they've got an old machine that can balance it with the yoke and pinion flange attached, while measuring run-out. They can 'pull' a driveshaft straight if it's a tad warped, they can do custom D/S's, and if that doesn't fix the vibration, they'll take the car and go through the diff or anything else it needs to take care of my issue. The big guns are coming out, fellas!
 
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Vibration resolved... mostly

Well, guys, I got the driveshaft back from the shop. The fella I worked with there, named Michael, said that while it was balanced, run-out was about .030" on each end. He used some heating/cooling technique to straighten it out. Said when it was done, he had it to about .008". He said they liked to see .005" but that was the best he could do.

I reinstalled it, this morning. I'm excited to say, the improvement in the vibration is a night and day difference! Now, before I lead you on about it, I can still feel a very slight pulsing at 75. It's something I can live with, and I will not buy a new D/S over it. However, it's also something I would sense even if I drove the car for the first time, and it's unfortunately at a speed I spend a lot of time on the highways at. That said, by 83 mph, I can't feel it anymore unless I'm trying to feel it by holding the shifter and focusing on it. By 90, it's gone, even there. Under 70-ish, there's also nothing. I'm so relieved to have finally found and almost entirely resolved it. It was maddening. Now, I can turn my attention to other things.
 
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Hated the whale tail so much, that...
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I took the damned thing off, even after realizing I'd have to break out the bolts holding it together... and... we'll just have to see how this goes, inspite of my lack of body-work experience:
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Lotsa little things today:
- Installed Corbeau Seat track extenders... absolutely love them and can't recommend enough whether or not you're a tall guy. 1) for the extra leg room & 2) they make the seat brackets more solid, 3) a little extra height, it turns out, is a good thing.
- Hooked up AM/FM stereo to new antenna
- fabricated a clip for the center console armrest to snap shut on
- fixed thigh bolster adjustment
- reconnected center console USB & cigarette lighter
- found that steering column bracket was loose; only had one of the 2 nuts installed.
- replaced windshield washer nozzle
- installed vinyl headliner, poorly. Looks much better but will prolly redo fabric in the future

I've got the idea to put a little poster together for the upcoming foxtoberfest car show. I'd like to tell the story of the car and things about the car, like:

- purchased mid-July for $3,800, and personally refreshing/restoring
- 2nd time owner of same car
- 12.63@108 with 1.83 60' on the same all-season radials its currently wearing
- Maybe the 271 rwhp dyno
- maybe a link to this thread, maybe even a QR code for the unlikely somebody that might want to follow along
- few of the pics from here
- a bucket of gasoline splashed about to give it that pre-charcoal canister restoration aroma!
- any other ideas?
 
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This is probably a dumb question, but I'll ask nevertheless to provoke thought that may be helpful. Is this oil gauge a little low?

Gauge Cluster pic/ Low Oil pressure? / Tick (valvetrain?):
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Oil Pressure w/ 10-30:
The pic is just for informational purposes to show that the oil seems a little on the low side of things to me at near 3k RPM. Today, I swapped the oil out for 0W-40 because I hoped it would, and I think did, bring the pressure back up at warm cruise. This pic was taken 2 days ago on a 160 mile round trip. So, the oil temps were nice a warm.

I am getting a ticking sound at light load between 1,500-2,500 RPM, where I hear it the most. It doesn't seem to happen while cold. It's coming from the passenger side firewall/fender area. I think it *might* be valvetrain. I hoped going to 0W-40 would bring the pressure up and alleviate any valvetrain tick, but that didn't happen. The tick still happens while stopped A/C & blower off, but I can't hear it from the engine bay, even while my buddy in the car could still hear it. I'll try a mechanic's stethoscope next time, but I'm starting to wonder if its really something in the cabin.

Gauge Cluster:
Other notes from the pic, I seem to remember my old cars being lower on the temp gauge with a 185* T-stat, but this is where this car stays consistently and it is reading right at the T-stat housing with an IR temp gauge. The voltage gauge reads very comfortably where you can see it and puts out something like 14.5-14.8 IIRC. Now, with the 3G alternator, it doesn't care whether all electrical systems are at full load. It stays put right where you see it.

Upcoming:
Pics of the rattle can sprayed GT spoiler installed on car coming, hopefully, tomorrow. Finished paint today. Just need to figure out how I want to seal and mount it. I think it turned out well for a guy in his garage using a $40 used spoiler with a bit of fiberglass damage & $20 cans of paint, but I wonder how bad it will stand out against the faded black of the rest of the car. I looked at it in the sun a couple hours after paint next to the car and I'm hoping for the best! I could have left it primered and it still would have been an improvement over the Saleen Whale Tail.

You can see how the spoiler looked before primer/filler in post #150 above. Since then, here it is after primer/filler and then paint:
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No

The 90-93 oil pressure sender is a switch. As long as the oil pressure is in a proper range, it points somewhat in the middle and barely moves unless extreme.

The pre-90 sender is an actual sender than can show slight fluctuations. I've seen mine move from L to N. Apparently that makes people nervous, so Ford went to the dummy switch.

Along the way, people replace them with the wrong year. Do you have the pre-90 larger unit that looks like a bell? Or the later slimmer switch?


At idle on a hot engine, my oil pressure gauge points to the L. On my mechanical gauge, that was still 30-40psi, which is plenty for idle.
 
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Careful with the 0 weight oil. I would stay 10W-40, 10W-30, if you really need thin oil in colder north 5W-30. These pushrod Windsor don't like any of that new thin stuff.

I also have noticed fluctuations in my gauge on my 92 with the "bell" style sender.
 
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0W-40 oil is thicker than 10W-30 weight oil at cold startup or in winter, even the 0W variety. I researched and wrote this all up years ago. I wanna say it's thicker than 30 weight all the way down to -30*F, give or take. It stays thicker all the way up through operating temps.
 
Whad'ya think, boys? Is a GT spoiler on an LX sacrilege? It's what I could find that was readily available for $40, and I sure as hell like it more than the Saleen wing.

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spoiler2.jpg


It may not be the best paint job of all time, but it was the right price.
 
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