S197 BOSS 302 Race Car Build Thread Build Thread

[ArizonaBOSS]

More general teardown progress tonight. I think I will have the dash out tomorrow. Either that or start to cut out some unnecessary wires in the harnesses heading to the rear of the car.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Seems many here are heading to the same destination but taking different paths. I am glad I did the Trans, suspension and brake setups but I still need to do important things like the cage. When I do I will strip the interior also. By the way I added all my trunk trim back in. I had about a 2.5 percent weight difference front to rear so I have actually added weight to the trunk (besides the trim). With the AC out and other things like the FR bumper up front the weight should be closer.

Speaking of the springs here is what a broken spring looks like. Have not checked the piston yet but it did hit the intake valve where this spring was. Going to replace them all, not sure if I will go stock or get the Roush parts being used in Grand Am. These failures are mainly caused by over revving, more care is needed on down-shifts in my future.

 

[cloud9]

Excellent progress Drew! Don't forget to lose the antenna....you don't want all that drag

 

[VTBoss302]

Speaking of the springs here is what a broken spring looks like. Have not checked the piston yet but it did hit the intake valve where this spring was. Going to replace them all, not sure if I will go stock or get the Roush parts being used in Grand Am. These failures are mainly caused by over revving, more care is needed on down-shifts in my future.

Ouch...

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Seems many here are heading to the same destination but taking different paths. I am glad I did the Trans, suspension and brake setups but I still need to do important things like the cage. When I do I will strip the interior also. By the way I added all my trunk trim back in. I had about a 2.5 percent weight difference front to rear so I have actually added weight to the trunk (besides the trim). With the AC out and other things like the FR bumper up front the weight should be closer.

Speaking of the springs here is what a broken spring looks like. Have not checked the piston yet but it did hit the intake valve where this spring was. Going to replace them all, not sure if I will go stock or get the Roush parts being used in Grand Am. These failures are mainly caused by over revving, more care is needed on down-shifts in my future.

Scott: Yikes! How did you detect the failure? Audible?

The only stuff that will be staying from the stock interior is the dash shell and instrument cluster. My biggest "concern" right now is how to remove the aftermarket alarm system the car has installed without screwing anything up. It should be pretty easy to trace all the wires when the dash is out, however.

Gary: I want to ditch the antenna but will probably do that at a later date, if at all. I might re-purpose it for a track radio, but mostly I don't want to deal with filling the hole in the body. I'm definitely ditching all but the last 2" of the antenna wire.

 

[steveespo]

AGT
Just a small warning, try and un plug and remove extra wiring or leave intact. I don't think you'll see a huge weight savings and the potential for erratic electrical problems shoots way up there. I believe the 302S/R cars have some sort of SRS module that fools the computer into thinking all of the Air Bags and seat belt tensioners are in place. I saw this on the trans tunnel of 2 Boss 302S cars at VIR, labeled "Restraint Module".
Just my opinion.

Also when you do the Sparco steering wheel do the turn signal and horns still work with no wiring mods?
Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

AGT
Just a small warning, try and un plug and remove extra wiring or leave intact. I don't think you'll see a huge weight savings and the potential for erratic electrical problems shoots way up there. I believe the 302S/R cars have some sort of SRS module that fools the computer into thinking all of the Air Bags and seat belt tensioners are in place. I saw this on the trans tunnel of 2 Boss 302S cars at VIR, labeled "Restraint Module".
Just my opinion.

Also when you do the Sparco steering wheel do the turn signal and horns still work with no wiring mods?
Steve

Yeah I'm only removing things like speaker wire, rear defroster wire, etc--stuff I can trace back very easily. Also when I removed some wiring from the doors I had the car running and checked for messages etc.

All cars have the module you speak of, it's called the Restraints Control Module and it's right under the console. I'm guessing it will have to stay in-place based on your note. However I did drive the car around the block the other day with the pass seat belt tensioner disconnected as well as both airbags out and the only thing that happens is my airbag warning light is permanently on in the cluster. No big deal.

Turn signals work, but you have to remove the clockspring to fit the hub adapter, so they do not auto-cancel. All other wiper/stalk functions work fine. No horn, although most hubs have provisions to retain this if you want. It will be VERY easy to re-route this to a momentary switch (button) on the center stack when the switch panel goes in with the cage.

 

[VTBoss302]

Your Corgi should be able to sniff out any additional gremlins that may surface

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Your Corgi should be able to sniff out any additional gremlins that may surface

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Scott: Yikes! How did you detect the failure? Audible?

The only stuff that will be staying from the stock interior is the dash shell and instrument cluster. My biggest "concern" right now is how to remove the aftermarket alarm system the car has installed without screwing anything up. It should be pretty easy to trace all the wires when the dash is out, however.

No sound, just lost power. The valve being stuck open will do that. Live and learn, the session before this one of the GA drivers came over and said it sounds like I was downshifting too fast at times. It most likely broke in the slow right hander as I was along side the tire wall to my left then I only felt it as I was getting back into the throttle. It is luck that the engine was not at full RPM's since that could have made it worse.

It's funny that the team was interested in what happened to my car, same as when we follow them to learn from any failures at the races. It almost kinda makes you feel a wee bit important 8) This poor car has put up with many beginner mistakes (only ever drag raced before getting the Boss) over time. Problem now is when I pull a bonehead maneuver it happens at higher speeds and higher RPM's. While I'm less then thrilled about codes and CEL's at times I'm not upset about this since I understand the risks.

---------------------------------

I'm not sure if you are talking about the blinking lights and horn factory alarm or the PATS system here. Messing with PATS can lead to big problems from what I have heard, never did it myself. If so best to get with Mark or Dean and let them point you in the right direction or right people to speak with. You may be able to get a S harness for the car?? As Rick would say "just buy an S and get it over with" I'm starting to think he may be right!

Gary: I want to ditch the antenna but will probably do that at a later date, if at all. I might re-purpose it for a track radio, but mostly I don't want to deal with filling the hole in the body. I'm definitely ditching all but the last 2" of the antenna wire.

I have seen several race car with the hole left open, I doubt it will have any appreciable drag.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

No sound, just lost power. The valve being stuck open will do that. Live and learn, the session before this one of the GA driver came over and said it sounds like I was downshifting too fast at times. It most likely broke in the slow right hander as I was along side the tire wall to my left then I only felt it as I was getting back into the throttle. It is luck that the engine was not at full RPM's since that could have made it worse.

It's funny that the team was interested in what happened to my car, same as when we follow them to learn from any failures at the races. It almost kinda makes you feel a wee bit important 8) This poor car has put up with many beginner mistakes (only ever drag raced before getting the Boss) over time. Problem now is when I pull a bonehead maneuver it happens at higher speeds and higher RPM's. While I'm less then thrilled about codes and CEL's at times I'm not upset about this since I understand the risks.

OK, thanks for the info. Sorry to hear that it happened, however! Are you replacing all the valve keepers etc as well?
---------------------------------

I'm not sure if you are talking about the blinking lights and horn factory alarm or the PATS system here. Messing with PATS can lead to big problems from what I have heard, never did it myself. If so best to get with Mark or Dean and let them point you in the right direction or right people to speak with. You may be able to get a S harness for the car?? As Rick would say "just buy an S and get it over with" I'm starting to think he may be right!

PATS I don't want to touch at all, for those reasons! I had a Viper 3105V installed by a shop when I took delivery of the car, now I'm interested in extricating that system. I CAN leave it in place and everything should work fine. Maybe I just won't mess with it...

An "S" harness wouldn't work AFAIK, it relies on the PCM and a number of other connections being moved to within the firewall, so all the connector lengths would be different.

I plan on being very careful with any wiring deletion.

I have seen several race car with the hole left open, I doubt it will have any appreciable drag.

I'm not worried about the drag, I just don't want a random hole on the exterior of the car. Really a purely aesthetic thing.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Got the dash emptied out tonight, and console removed. Should be able to get the structure out tomorrow.



Also I excised the aftermarket alarm system. Everything went OK until I tried to fire the car. Took about 20 seconds to realize the starter wire was run through the alarm; another minute to reconnect it. Everything works great! My dash is upside down now for some reason though.

 

[VTBoss302]

Also I excised the aftermarket alarm system.

Keep up the good work!

 

[pufferfish]

This thread just makes me cringe! Good work on the teardown. I would be in turmoil for weeks before I could make a single cut. I admire your conviction.

 

[big red one]

This thread just makes me cringe! Good work on the teardown. I would be in turmoil for weeks before I could make a single cut. I admire your conviction.

You and me both Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Haha, yes well more than a few people have said I'm crazy, but I planned to do this to the car since before I even took delivery.

 

[Grant 302]

Haha, yes well more than a few people have said I'm crazy, but I planned to do this to the car since before I even took delivery.

It makes a difference, doesn't it? Makes perfect sense to me when planned from the beginning.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Got my HANS in last night from Saferacer. Sport II model.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Nice, I'll be ordering one of those in the next couple of days. I'll be installing my harness bar and harnesses this weekend.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Nice, I'll be ordering one of those in the next couple of days. I'll be installing my harness bar and harnesses this weekend.

Awesome! I was pleasantly surprised to find that my SA2010 helmet was pre-drilled and tapped to accept the HANS bolts.