S197 BOSS 302 Race Car Build Thread Build Thread

[ArizonaBOSS]

Get one of those little torches at Wal Mart and a metal scraper and an old rag, heat up the insulation, it scrapes right off with the scraper, then while it's still hot wipe the residue off with the old rag. Pro Tip -keep an extinguisher handy but you should never have to heat it up that much, just enough to soften it.

Excellent advice, thank you. I have all that stuff on-hand. Also I have a sort of "heat gun with scraper attachment" I borrowed so I might try that as well.

 

[Roadhouse]

Man I didn't even think to use a torch/heat gun when removing the molding for my roll bar. Would have definitely come in handy. Good luck removing all of it!

 

[steveespo]

Looks good, do you have a plan to strip the door shells for the cage. You might think about getting some new door shells from a salvage yard to cut up, to remove the door reinforcement bars I think you may damage the paint anyway. There is a good amount of weight to lose there. Windows, motors, mechanism, lock solenoids, inner panel steel and the impact bars. Might offset a good portion of the 10 point FIA cage.
Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Looks good, do you have a plan to strip the door shells for the cage. You might think about getting some new door shells from a salvage yard to cut up, to remove the door reinforcement bars I think you may damage the paint anyway. There is a good amount of weight to lose there. Windows, motors, mechanism, lock solenoids, inner panel steel and the impact bars. Might offset a good portion of the 10 point FIA cage.
Steve

For now we are just going to zip out the inner sheetmetal to provide clearance for NASCAR bars on each side. No plan to gut the door reinforcement beam. In the future I may consider going to CF skins, but that's pretty pricey. This is going to be a clubracer not a sponsored Grand-Am ride

 

[VTBoss302]

In the future I may consider going to CF skins, but that's pretty pricey.

From SVT Forum 302S thread:

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Mr TBROWN ;D

Yeah I dig those but I don't NEED them to race. Also they are probably $800/skin plus prep and paint. Tim said they are 30 lbs weight savings per side even with the stock doors gutted!


Other random news:
I bridged the heater core supply/return coolant lines last night so now I should be able to fill her up with distilled water + water wetter and fire her up once the dash and harnesses are all back in.
Gotta replace the battery and tray, and figure out if I can reach all the bolts on the AC compressor. I might try scraping some sound deadening tonight.

 

[captdistraction]

oh, the compressor.

Have f-^$ing fun with that one.

You'll want a ratcheting wrench, as the clearances for the bolts gets pretty tight, and they thread very deeply into the block (about 1.5" IIRC) There's 3 of them, and 2 get intersected by the frame or harnesses. I think the trick is to lift the motor up somewhat, though you might be able to wrestle it out without doing so. Be very careful, as while the fasteners are small, they're much more hard metal than the threads they're in, and seem to be predisposed to crossthread or even bend. (most of that pain is related to reinstall, which isn't an issue for you, but none-the-less apply some caution).

On the positive side, you'll lose about 100lbs of brackets and pulleys/tensioners from your wacky HVAC TSB setup, lol.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Hahah yeah all those f***ing pulleys now...I'm reluctant to remove most of them because I'm not sure if they need to be there to keep the front cover sealed

 

[neema]

New SVT fan installed, took about 5 mins.

do those little flaps open up at speed? neato

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

do those little flaps open up at speed? neato

Precisely.

 

[VTBoss302]

New SVT fan installed, took about 5 mins.

A direct swap???

Any trimming or modifications involved??

TIA,

VTBoss302

 

[steveespo]

A direct swap???

Any trimming or modifications involved??

TIA,

VTBoss302

Direct bolt in. Takes 20 minutes without draining radiator. Have to remove the intake tube and air cleaner, rad cover and unbolt the coolant bottle and move aside. Then unbolt the nuts/studs on both sides and lift straight up gently. A helper makes it easier maneuvering around the upper rad hose and unplugging the connector.

Look how narrow the blades are, Ford really reanalyzed the airflow through the radiator for '13.
Steve

 

[Fat Boss]

Hahah yeah all those f***ing pulleys now...I'm reluctant to remove most of them because I'm not sure if they need to be there to keep the front cover sealed

Worst case you'd have to thread some bolts/plugs in. You're going this big, don't go home now! I like to use this stuff for sealing threads that see oil on one side. It's Teflon based and never truly hardens.

http://www.dieselorings.com/gasoila-diesel-rated-paste-thread-sealant-2oz-tube.html

 

[blacksheep-1]

I'm going to post this in the "tech" area but I thought I'd post a link here for you to look at. It covers several years of mustangs but I think it will benefit a few people here.

http://www.trackvids.com/how-to-build-a-mustang-race-car-for-american-iron-and-super-touring.php

 

[2012YellowBoss]

I bridged the heater core supply/return coolant lines last night so now I should be able to fill her up with distilled water + water wetter and fire her up once the dash and harnesses are all back in.

I run the same but a splash of coolant, I was told that for our purposes 5% of coolant with that mix is good to have. Question is the heater core disconnected on the race cars? I thought they were still connected but maybe I remember that incorrectly and just the fan is still connected to blow on the windshield if it rains.

 

[Grant 302]

Hahah yeah all those f***ing pulleys now...I'm reluctant to remove most of them because I'm not sure if they need to be there to keep the front cover sealed

I havent been inside the 5.0 engines, but all the 2v and 4v 4.6 modulars did not have any bolt in the front cover that was required for sealing the oil. Even the perimeter cover bolts were outside of the gasket/seal lines and would not leak with the loss of any given bolt.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Started scraping last night. I got out most of the stuff in the driver's tub area. It went easier than expected, just heat it up with the torch then scrape it off with a plastic scraper. Tedious but not difficult.
I should be able to handle most of the passenger side tonight. After that I can put the dash back in and get all the harnesses re-connected. I'll scrape the trunk area later this week.



I have some vacuuming to do!

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I run the same but a splash of coolant, I was told that for our purposes 5% of coolant with that mix is good to have. Question is the heater core disconnected on the race cars? I thought they were still connected but maybe I remember that incorrectly and just the fan is still connected to blow on the windshield if it rains.

I know Rehagen removes it completely and bridges the connection. I've seen a number of teams run a NACA duct from the window to the back side of the windshield, or use a cool-shirt fan to blast air at it. There are options

 

[steveespo]

Did you weigh the pile of debris for a report to our weight savings thread? Good job, can't wait to see the transformation progress. Good luck with it.
Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Did you weigh the pile of debris for a report to our weight savings thread? Good job, can't wait to see the transformation progress. Good luck with it.
Steve

Not yet. I probably won't, to be honest. But the bucket with only the driver's junk feels about 10lbs though.