Andy's One Car to do It All

2Fass240us said:

Talked with a contact at Bilstein who said, "Your rebound will be a small bit under damped but not garbage." Looks like I'll roll with them as is for now.

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I also heard back from the Bilstein rebuild guy.

[FONT=&quot]Revalve service on struts starts at $160.00 each plus round trip shipping and any applicable tax. Any compromised components (piston rod, mounting hardware, etc.) are additional. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Our current lead times are at 4 to 6 weeks from date of receipt. Rush service is available, if all components are in stock, and reduces the lead time to 1 week from date of receipt, but it does add an extra $100.00 to each damper.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I don’t recall what the OE spring rates are for your vehicle, but I have spoken to several individuals that run heavy spring rates, front and rear, on the Mustangs and have commented that they ride great with the off the shelf aftermarket shocks. I personally find this hard to believe, but this is what I have been told. In my opinion, and if it’s in your budget, I would run them with your new springs and evaluate the ride. Since we are going to revalve it would be best to get your ride comments so we can tailor the shocks to your preferred level of performance. If it’s not in your budget we can make an intuitive change based off your primary goal.[/FONT]

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So the plan is to run what I have, develop feedback for improvement, and eventually get a set revalved. Given that Cali is the only place they'll rebuild, I'm hopeful I can simply have them pull stock, revalve, and ship them to me in an effort to avoid at least one leg of shipping.

Made some progress on the suspension last week:


Made some steel collars to take up the I.D./O.D. difference and give the sleeves a place to rest.


Assembled with Vorshlag plates:

Also got the oil cooler mounted using aluminum angle, rivets, and rivnuts:


Hit it with some flat black:


Lower grille:


Upper grille:


Overall:


I need to take the lines to BMRS to get shortened and modified, add the Mishimoto adapter/thermostat, then add oil. Should be done just in time for VIR this weekend.

Nice cooler install! What oil temps were you seeing previously?

Sky Render said:

Nice cooler install! What oil temps were you seeing previously?

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Haha, "Red" according to the measurement function in the cluster. The car is a 13/14 Premium so it has all the apps.

Ideally I would have temp readings prior to adding a cooler, but my tolerance for hanging out in Red is low and I had to cut every session by more than half when I ran an event in June. Granted, ambient conditions were >95*F and >90% humidity.

What does the bracket bolt up to up top? It's hard to see.

Have you looked at Mocal (USA made) thermostatic plates at all?

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/product/13462/Sandwich_Plates

I may have missed it, but what all parts did you have to purchase to do the oil cooler? Been reading about this a little bit on the interwebz, but I haven't found a good how to thread or part numbers for all that is needed. Some of the "kits" that I have seen get pretty expensive, too.

I assume that I should put "adding an oil cooler" on my to-do list, but since my car is a base model, I have no idea what my temps are to begin with Haha!

CobraRed said:

What does the bracket bolt up to up top? It's hard to see.

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It's attached to the plastic piece behind the pony. That would be an issue if it were supporting the weight, but it's really only to stabilize it front:back. The aluminum angle provides vertical support.

CobraRed said:

Have you looked at Mocal (USA made) thermostatic plates at all?

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/product/13462/Sandwich_Plates

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I ruled out Mocal because I didn't want any cast parts; just a personal preference. I picked up Mishimoto P/N MMOP-SPTRM22 from Amazon, which is CNC-machined 6061 and about half again as much money as the Mocal piece you linked.

I originally had CNC takeoff adapter, remote filter, and Improved thermostat, but opted for the Mishimoto piece instead.

Should be done just in time for VIR this weekend.

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I'll see you there. I'd love a tour of your car when you get the opportunity.

Boone said:

I'll see you there. I'd love a tour of your car when you get the opportunity.

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Ditto, especially if it has the mods I think it does.

I usually pit near the classroom. I'll PM you my cellphone number.

-Andy

Finished up the front coilover conversions last week. I had the collars welded on to reinforce the swaybar brackets and provide the support I needed. I then masked, beadblasted, and painted them using the Rustoleum Appliance epoxy I've used with much success(!) in the past. I went with black due to only being able to choose between that, white, and almond. I didn't try to replicate Bilstein yellow because I couldn't find a match and this works better with gold and red anodized parts anyways.

Those look sharp. Glad to see the improvements are still coming along.

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Did you weld on the shock bodies with or without guts inside?

DocB said:

Did you weld on the shock bodies with or without guts inside?

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I did all of that work with the inserts removed. They're pretty easy to get out; it's a reverse-threaded 5mm allen on the bottom.

Boone said:

Those look sharp. Glad to see the improvements are still coming along.

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Thanks. I have the Bilsteins in the back but haven't added the adjustable-height collars or higher-rate springs; hopefully I can get to that soon, but we're taking the kids to Disney in a few weeks so it'll probably have to wait. Plus I have to install my MaxJax...too many projects, not enough time.

Decided to de-mod my car and will be selling quite a few parts including the coilovers. Shoot me a PM if any of you are interested.

2Fass240us said:

Decided to de-mod my car and will be selling quite a few parts including the coilovers. Shoot me a PM if any of you are interested.

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Andy noooooooo

Yeah man, I know. But I found a killer deal on a C5 and will use the fundage for it.

C5, huh. How can a two seater do it all? Are you going with a tow vehicle and dedicated track car with the C5, or will you be hauling the peanut butter and jelly eaters around town one at a time? I thought you were onto something with the "One Car" mantra.

Most importantly... Can we still be friends?

Boone said:

C5, huh. How can a two seater do it all? Are you going with a tow vehicle and dedicated track car with the C5, or will you be hauling the peanut butter and jelly eaters around town one at a time? I thought you were onto something with the "One Car" mantra.

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I'm keeping the Stang as a DD and using the Vette as a track car.

After VIR my wife and I agreed my DD doesn't need to be tracked.

Boone said:

Most importantly... Can we still be friends?

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haha, of course. I'll just be faster now.