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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
8,333
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Time Attack
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20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Great looking machine and I love your comment about getting a bunch of point bys from BMWs. Sure there are folks that doubt that, but it is so often true. I bought my first Boss because I wanted an M3. After driving plenty Bimmers while Instructing, my first drive in a Boss at the Mustang Roundup enlightened me to the fact that the testing showing the car was faster than an M3, at Laguna Seca was no fluke. I have a Comp Orange Boss in my garage in around 3 weeks.

Funny part about that first drive is I jumped in a Competitors Car and we forgot to take out his timer, and I ran two runs in the Autocross. That time ended up being the second fastest , and we had to change the trophy standings as my time was not eligible, ha.
 
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1,156
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5-10 Years
SoCal
Decided at the last minute to try out a local time trial group dedicated to domestic machinery. American Muscle Cup Round 3 at Willow Springs, Big Willow track. Was hoping to push the 1:30 barrier - new PB of 1:32.4 was all I had for the day. Good for P2 in the Modified class. Really great group of people all around. Huge turn out of Mustangs and easily the most S197’s I’ve seen at a single track day. Counting the minutes to Auto Club Speedway with Speed Ventures next weekend!

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
8,333
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Slap a set Hoosier R7s from the Tire Rack link on TMO and you will be at 1:30!!! Pretty darn good time especially since it sounds like you have not had the car that long?
 
1,156
2,111
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
Slap a set Hoosier R7s from the Tire Rack link on TMO and you will be at 1:30!!! Pretty darn good time especially since it sounds like you have not had the car that long?
I know, so tempting on the stickier rubber, but I know I can get there with driver mod and setup tweaks. Had the car for a year and a half now and 15 track days - still so much to learn!
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
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20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Great attitude, because seat time is the absolute #1 mod for going faster and the one many never really pursue. I am confident you will get there , but do remember the second mod to go faster ( imho ) is tires. Having the opportunity to switch tires over the years at auto crosses and road courses, it amazes one how much quicker some rubber donuts are than others.
 
Great looking machine and I love your comment about getting a bunch of point bys from BMWs. Sure there are folks that doubt that, but it is so often true. I bought my first Boss because I wanted an M3. After driving plenty Bimmers while Instructing, my first drive in a Boss at the Mustang Roundup enlightened me to the fact that the testing showing the car was faster than an M3, at Laguna Seca was no fluke. I have a Comp Orange Boss in my garage in around 3 weeks.

Funny part about that first drive is I jumped in a Competitors Car and we forgot to take out his timer, and I ran two runs in the Autocross. That time ended up being the second fastest , and we had to change the trophy standings as my time was not eligible, ha.

I did the press drive of the 302 at LS back in 2011 and they had an M3 for us there to drive as well as the Boss 302 LS. The M3 felt soul-less and was basically boring. I could tell without a stopwatch that my times in the 302 were faster.

 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
8,333
Exp. Type
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20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I often Instructed at two different tracks near me, and I fell in love with the M3 that students brought. I drove quite a few of them to help the new drivers see where I wanted the car to be placed and to show some that there was more their car could give. Our Dealership sponsored the Mustang Roundup at MPH ( www.racemph.com ) Hastings, Nebraska and one of the Ford Engineers there let me take his personal Boss around the track. Like you I knew immediately after a few laps on track ( that was all I was given, ha ) and two more laps in the Autocross , that the car would eat a Bimmer!! My times were accidentally recorded and that was another, somewhat funny story , ( for another time ), confirming to me that the Boss was a machine that needed to be in my garage..................in barely a month there was an Comp Orange Beast taking up space in my 3 car domicile!

PS - there must be more to your story, primarily how did you happen to be invited to the Press Drive Launch at Laguna Seca ????
 
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SoCal
Light overhaul completed on the Tremec - all put back together and ready to be reinstalled. This was definitely an educational project. I hit the point of “what have I got myself into” right after the input and output shaft were separated and the main shift rail was laying on the bench. Had to study the function of the shift rail a bit to figure everything out, and pressing the 3-4 synchro hub on while keeping everything lined up was a challenge. But so glad I did it - know how is peace of mind.

Full details on what I found are here in the discussion on fluids for the Magnum XL:


I wasn’t going to pull the bell housing and clutch, but decided to order the CobraJet pulse ring. As long as it’s this far apart, might as well see if the CJ ring will completely eliminate the random misfire codes.

One other note on this. When I dropped the trans, the clutch slave cylinder started leaking fluid as soon as the input shaft cleared the bell housing. There’s a retaining lip on the inside cylinder that had completely separated from being overextended. The preload against the clutch fingers allowed it to keep working fine, but as soon as it was released it just fell apart. I’ve read of this happening with the combination of stock GT CSC, Magnum XL and Exedy Hyper-Single clutch. I had already ordered a custom spacer from Kohr that gets paired with the GT500 CSC, so those are ready to go in. For anyone considering the Magnum conversion with the hyper-single, don’t run the stock CSC despite what Exedy or Tremec say. The spacer is expensive, but so is replacing the stock slave multiple times - let alone the hassle of dropping the trans again....just call Kohr and get the Spacer.

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8,135
good job on the trans!!! dig in, they are complex, but not so much that they can't be done in your garage, just take lots of pics, and detailed drawings. You may have to build a couple of jigs to hold it in the shop vice but it can be done.
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
Very nice indeed. You’ve got some talent there in completing this rebuild & I too have complete confidence in Kohr.

Keep posting on your progress. Love the pics!
 
1,156
2,111
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
I have to start out by saying how fortunate we SoCal’ers are to have some of the absolute best track days in December! Back out to Auto Club Speedway today to run HPDE with Speed Ventures and the weather was perfect. I was really looking forward to testing the freshened up Tremec on-track, and all I can say is WOW! Shifts are crisp and fast - absolutely no drama downshifting - how it should have been from the day it was new!

For whatever reason, my lap times had plateaued in the 1:57’s at ACS since mid 2019. When they finally opened back up in August, I was confident that the bigger rubber would have me down near 1:55’s. Probably didn’t help that it was 109 degrees both days, but I barely improved my PB to 1:57.016. With the pending closure of this track looming, I really wanted to get that PB down near 1:55, and anything below that would be very rewarding. Well, today was the day! First session had a lot of traffic, but carved out a fairly clean lap towards the end of the session - a 1:54.2. Good enough for fastest in session, which would put me at the front of the grid for session 2. Thanks to the starting position, session 2 was much cleaner, resulting in a 1:51.9 - more than 5 seconds faster than previous PB!! Thrilled with the outcome, but even more so with the handling of the car now and the confidence that driver mod provides.

Back at it for Day 2 tomorrow. I’m hopeful to improve further tomorrow morning, but even if it’s not to be, I’m thrilled with today’s results.

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
8,333
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Great to hear the news of your killer runs! Funny that over the years folks often ask what will make them go faster and after they have exhausted a zillion engine, suspension, and other mods they finally are convinced that maybe bigger and stickier rubber would help. Thanks for pointing that out to so many concerning how the large, black donuts improved your time , and so dramatically. Blacksheep 1 and I often comment the Stang needs bigger, stickier rubber and he is the tire Guru of TMO, so I just bring it up often too --- okay maybe it appears I am riding on his coattails , but tires are the simple, best and almost secret weapon to really improve times! ( imho )
 

PaddyPrix

If breakin' parts is cool, consider me Miles Davis
725
1,081
Exp. Type
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Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
San Diego
I'm not sure how much it measures into things, but you also didn't have a TMO shirt last year at this time. That's got to be good for 2-3 seconds right there. I'm no data scientist, but it gained me 2 seconds at ACS as well. Know who doesn't have a TMO t-shirt? @CobarRed, 2 seconds behind you. Bayesian analysis says that it makes sense, just like how you like pickles, you like ice cream, therefore, you like pickle ice cream.
 
1,156
2,111
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
I'm not sure how much it measures into things, but you also didn't have a TMO shirt last year at this time. That's got to be good for 2-3 seconds right there. I'm no data scientist, but it gained me 2 seconds at ACS as well. Know who doesn't have a TMO t-shirt? @CobarRed, 2 seconds behind you. Bayesian analysis says that it makes sense, just like how you like pickles, you like ice cream, therefore, you like pickle ice cream.

Nah, it’s that TMO sticker that you gave me - loud and proud on the back bumper!!
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
6,513
8,135
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Pleasanton: 1/2 way between Sonoma and Laguna Seca
I have to start out by saying how fortunate we SoCal’ers are to have some of the absolute best track days in December! Back out to Auto Club Speedway today to run HPDE with Speed Ventures and the weather was perfect. I was really looking forward to testing the freshened up Tremec on-track, and all I can say is WOW! Shifts are crisp and fast - absolutely no drama downshifting - how it should have been from the day it was new!

For whatever reason, my lap times had plateaued in the 1:57’s at ACS since mid 2019. When they finally opened back up in August, I was confident that the bigger rubber would have me down near 1:55’s. Probably didn’t help that it was 109 degrees both days, but I barely improved my PB to 1:57.016. With the pending closure of this track looming, I really wanted to get that PB down near 1:55, and anything below that would be very rewarding. Well, today was the day! First session had a lot of traffic, but carved out a fairly clean lap towards the end of the session - a 1:54.2. Good enough for fastest in session, which would put me at the front of the grid for session 2. Thanks to the starting position, session 2 was much cleaner, resulting in a 1:51.9 - more than 5 seconds faster than previous PB!! Thrilled with the outcome, but even more so with the handling of the car now and the confidence that driver mod provides.

Back at it for Day 2 tomorrow. I’m hopeful to improve further tomorrow morning, but even if it’s not to be, I’m thrilled with today’s results.

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View attachment 60346
That's awesome!
 

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