|
What Happened When?
8/31/06 - Ordered the kit.
9/1/06 - Built this Site.
9/4/06 - Added some pics to this site.
10/13/06 - Received kit at storage unit!
10/14/06 - Inventory, (20 items backordered!), body lift construction begun.
10/18/06 - Body lifted. Now I can get serious!
10/30/06 - "F" panels, firewall, footboxes, brake lines, steering rack, IFS uppers, front coil over shocks, and steering
shaft completed.
11/05/06 - Driver and passenger floors, under doors, cockpit rear wall, upper trunk floor, and front tubular lower
control arms completed.
11/12/06 - Passenger rollbar rear support leg, trunk side aluminum, fuel feed and return lines, "U" joint covers
aluminum, and outer rod ends (steering, bumpsteer) installed. Trunk lower floor drilled, Also began removing components from
my '96 Cobra Mustang donor. Drained all fluids (oil, transmission, fuel, brake, coolant, power steering/brakes, A/C refrigerant),
removed front bumper cover, front tires, battery, fan and shroud, radiator and all hoses, power steering cooler and resevoir,
N2O system, MAF, and intake tract.
12/03/06 - Spent 2 weekends in AZ with my family for Thanksgiving, so not a lot of progress. I continued removing
components from my donor. I removed the pedal box, accelerator pedal and cable, HydroBoost and brake master cylinder, emergency
brake handle assembly and cables, clutch cable, accelerator cable, exhaust H-pipe and O2 sensors, and the shifter handle.
I have all hoses and wiring disconnected, and the motor and transmission mounts unbolted, so I am ready to pull the engine
next weekend. I modified and installed the pedal box, accelerator pedal and cable, HydroBoost and brake master cylinder, and
clutch cable into the FFR.
1/7/07 - The holidays had me in AZ with my family again for 2 weekends, but I feel I have made some good progress!
I removed the rear axle assembly from the donor, installed the 3-link hardware, and installed the rear end into the FFR. I
removed the front spindles from the donor and installed them into the FFR. Mounted the tires and lowered the FFR onto the
ground for the first time! Set the ride height to 5" and did a very rough front end alignment. Rolled the FFR out of the storage
unit and turned it around so the engine bay was toward the door. Removed the engine/transmission from the donor, cleaned it
up some at the carwash, and installed into the FFR. Both motor mounts were bad, so I had to install new mounts from Ford.
I also installed FRPP stainless shorty headers and new gaskets while the engine was out. The T56 transmisson mount is different from
the FFR mount, so I had to modify the FFR mount, install spacers and longer bolts, to get the rear of the transmission supported. I
completed a driver side head cooling modification, which is supposed to help with coolant flow to the 7 and 8 cylinders, a
known failure area in the DOHC engines. I finished the connection of the fuel feed and return lines at the engine, new fuel
filter, and fuel tank, so my fuel system is complete. In checking the steering I found that the manual rack would turn far
enough to allow the wheels to contact the engine bay aluminum, so I fabricated some rack stops to prevent the tires at full
lock from hitting the aluminum. I finished the last of the cockpit aluminum installation, with a few modifications. I made
the transmission tunnel cover removable by using tapped machine screws instead of rivets and I modified the aluminum at the
front of the wheel wells to allow for larger tires by providing more room. I got the rollbar legs all drilled and the bolts
in, but left loose for easy removal for the body install. I modified the Moroso oil pan to, hopefully, help with a known oil
starvation problem during high G braking and turns, and installed the pan in the FFR. I removed the ECM from the donor and
sent it to The Detail Zone for reflashing. This allows my ECM to be used with their engine wiring harness, which I also have
on order. A few odds and ends to complete and I will be able to start the wiring!
|
