SN95 Chris' 427w Swapped 1995 Build Thread Profile - SN95 Mustangs

[PatientZero]

Your fuel system looks like a pretty typical "street/strip" setup. I wouldn't say there is anything wrong with it, it's just not ideal for what you're doing with the car. IMO the A1000 is WAY overkill, I'm running a Walbro 255hp from LMR and making 500whp. Like you though I'm running into fuel starvation below ~3/4 tank on left hand turns. I think what I'm going to do is just run a surge tank in the trunk. Either fab one or there are several companies that make them ready to go. Deatchwerks and Radium immediately come to mind. https://deatschwerks.com/collections/surge-tanks/products/6-000-35st

Get you a stock tank GT or Cobra tank with a 255 in it and then run a surge tank with a 340lph pump and that should me more than enough. This is exactly what I'm planning to do. Just my $.02

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Finally made it to some autocross events this season. One weekend in July and then again this past weekend. Car feels pretty good right now. Other than installing the MM rear sway bar, which will happen someday, I'm not sure it needs any changes. I'm not even 100% sure on that change. At our Stuttgart location in July, which is grippy concrete, it felt like I didn't have any traction. I think I did, I was just going fast enough through some turns that it felt like I didn't. But when it did lose traction, it felt like the whole car was doing a 4 wheel slide. At the (much smaller and tighter) Jacksonville course this past weekend, the car felt really good, but there were a couple of places where it was an understeering pig. I think I want it a little looser than it is right now, but it's getting pretty close. Worst that happens is I try it, don't like it, and go back to a lighter setup (but I think I will stick with the MM style setup either way, just may have to back off from the 1" bar).

Photos from Stuttgart event (including my "getting used to Autocross again pics...):

 

[GimpyHSHS]

From our new, small Jacksonville site:





Photographer didn't get any photos of me on the second day, unfortunately.

There was a guy doing some video on his phone that captured a neat shot of me coming out a sweeper, dodging a couple of cones, and then jumping on the throttle, lifting a tire in the process. It was literally just for a split second, under the right combination of transition and throttle, but I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

I guess I said no other changes except the rear sway bar. But I think I may up the camber in front a bit. I am at -2.5* right now. I told the tire shop -2.5-3* when I went there on kind of short notice (I wasn't sure what they would be able to get without anything rubbing and it was a day or two before I needed to leave for Hallett). However, I am seeing some outer shoulder wear at -2.5* that I didn't have when I was running the 275s at 3.2*ish.

 

[RinerAuto]

More camber should help. These cars just love to rollover though. I have -3.5* and still have outer edge wear. Congrats on getting back out on autocross.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Wow, 3 years since my last update here! Made a lot of changes in the last couple years, though not as many as I would have liked.

This is my setup as of 2025:
Konig Heliogram 18x12" Wheels (Square)
345/30/18 Vitour P1s
Motion Control Suspension (MCS) RR2 Double Adjustable w/Remote Resevoirs
Hyperco Coilover Spring, 2.25" x 7" x 700 #/in (Front)
Hyperco Coilover Spring, 2.25" x 7" x 325 #/in (Rear)
Chassis Reinforcement in Rear Uppser Shock Mount Area
Stiffler's FIT Chassis Brace System (Subframe Connectors, Jacking Rails, Web Bracing)
Vorshlag Caster/Camber Plates
Maximum Motorsports K Member
Maximum Motorsports Front Lower Control Arms (Forward Offset)
Maximum Motorsports Torque Arm
Fays2 Watts Link
Maximum Motorsports Extreme Duty Rear Lower Control Arms
MM Rear Shock Mounts
Steeda 35mm Front and 1" Rear Swaybars
Griffin 31x19 Radiator
Vorshlag Battery Relocation
2000 Cobra R Brembo Brakes
Raybestos ST47 Pads (Front)
Cobra Rear Brakes
Raybestos ST43 Pads (Rear)
Torque RT700 Brake Fluid
Stainless Steel Brake Lines (Front and Rear)
ABS Bypass and FRPP Proportioning Valve
Tremec TR-3550 Transmission
Aluminum FRPP Driveshaft and Loop
Eaton TruTrac, 31-Spline Axles
3.73 Rear Gears
GT500 Finned Diff Cover
MGW Race Series Shifter w/Hurst Ball
Steeda Adjustable Clutch Cable, Quadrant, and Firewall Adjuster
G-Stream Comp800 Wing (for the track; not legal for CAM-T (yet?))

Fuel System Changes
One big issue I wanted to solve involved the fuel system. My old setup (that was on the car when I got it) had an external pump mounted on the bumper and fed from a sump at the back of the tank. In hard cornering, the fuel would move away from the pickup point and run the pump dry. The engine would go lean and a lap or two later, the pump would die completely. This cost me an exhibition race in 2024. I passed 3 cars, jumped out in front, and led for 9 laps…until the fuel level got low and the car quit pulling out of the corners. I backed off so that running it lean didn’t blow the engine. The worst part was that my brother passed me with a half a lap to go. I was running a solid 4 seconds faster a lap until the fuel issue happened. Obviously, this wouldn’t do.

I put an Aeromotive hat back in the tank in the factory spot. This is a lift pump to a Radium surge tank mounted in the trunk. In the Radium tank, there are (2) Walbro 450lph pumps (a single pump is enough for my engine, but I wanted to have a second one installed for redundancy if the primary fails). Happy to report that this setup works well…I can go down as low as ¼ tank (haven’t tried lower, just in case).

Suspension Work
I sent the car over to Vorshlag earlier this year. Main mission was to have them install MCS coilovers. They had warned me there were some quirks that would come up trying to use my existing Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates. They already had the experience dealing with those, but they also wanted to design a new Vorshlag CC plate and a better solution for the rear upper shock mount than the MM one. Since I’m a few hours away and could spare the car for a little while, it was a good time to do it.

I’ll share an excerpt from Terry Fair’s blog post [LINK] because it’s already better written than what I could do:

In May of 2025 we had Chris' 1995 Mustang GT in our shop getting a set of MCS remote double adjustable coilovers installed. But these were not the typical "eye to eye" rear shocks that most folks order, which we've sold many times for the Fox or SN95 cars. We ordered a eye-lower and pin-upper rear shock to be able to make a proper spherical shock mount for the upper mounting position - which we have released for the SN95 and will soon make a Fox version of.



This uses a derivative of our C6 Corvette Z06 / NC MX5 spherical shock mount, which we CNC machine in-house here at Vorshlag. This design is unique in that it moves the spherical bearing above the sheet metal - which requires some modification to the car and/or to a mounting tower to make work. These have proven to fix some issues on those two chassis which otherwise are almost always using a rubber or poly upper mount - which is never desirable in any sort of Motorsports use. The sloppy bushing movement soaks up damper travel and delays them from doing any work.



We made this new mount and a drilling fixture to help add the 45mm dia hole, and offset the mount away from the tire for more clearance to use a real coilover shock. This includes a reinforcement plate that is tack welded to the car, and we stitch welded the rear shock tower to the wheel tub and frame rail to reinforce all of that for suspension loads vs damper-only loads with the stock "divorced" spring.



Another major development we made for this car was a radically different camber plate for the SN95 chassis. Unlike virtually all offerings from the past 30 years, our design does NOT sit above the strut tower. This means we don't need to drill a 4th hole and mount the plate above the tower. This also means that there are not "point loads" from top mounting - so the bolts are NOT in tension. Instead, the normal impact loads from bump travel go through the main plate from underneath - doing a better job of spreading these loads to the tower. This design also gains a substantial amount of shock travel over "eye" mounts with a conversion adapter that sits under the shock tower.



We started with a new design idea, made the main plate and lower bolt ring out of steel quickly, then test fit these to the SN95's right front strut tower. On this one we did add the 4th hole but our production unit will not need that. After testing this mock-up design on the car (above) we noticed that the previous camber setting of -2.5 deg was nearly doubled to -4.7 deg - without modifying the strut tower. We immediately moved to CNC production of an aluminum main plate and top pointer ring.



Since our main camber plate design is not placed ABOVE the strut tower, our included radial bearing spring perch just sat on the top step of the strut - without the need for inches of spacers. We did it the Vorshlag way, which has worked great for 20 years and tens of thousands of camber plates on other car models. The spring length is super long for coilover Fox/SN95 cars, so these don't need the extra strut travel up front, meaning the "above tower trick" for camber plate mounting is not needed.



We still have one more design iteration to get this to production, but it should be ready by Q3 2025. While the Mustang was here we did a few other tasks beyond the MCS install, prototype camber plate install, and rear spherical shock mount install. When it was all wrapped up we took the car to get an alignment check at a nearby shop.




We increased the front camber from -2.5 to -4.4 deg of camber, which made the 345mm Vitour P1 tires on 18x12" wheels fit a bit better. Chris is planning on some flares in the future, but for now the fat tires just hang out in the wind a bit.



The customer Chris was so happy with the MCS + Vorshlag parts, and he left our shop to go run a track event at Hallett (a 1.8 mile track in Oklahoma). Straight away was 3 seconds faster than his previous Personal Best, and never touched a knob on the MCS dampers! Now he's looking to tackle an ABS upgrade (his SN95 ABS was deleted long ago), which we're working on with this Fox - we will have something for the SN95 in the future as well.

I was/am very happy with the work Vorshlag did. They are top notch guys to deal with AND the car was faster than when it left.

The track event at Hallett went pretty well, but I did have my share of problems with the car. My clutch cable was coming apart, so I was having trouble shifting. On the lap that I ran 1:25.5 (my new personal best), I left time on the table coming out of Turn 2 because the car wouldn't go into 2nd gear. The engine was also running poorly toward the end of the first day. I found a cracked vacuum cap that I replaced first. I then noticed some wonky AFR readings (basically, the AFR was "stuck" on 15.6, no matter whether it was idling, part throttle, or WOT). I replaced it that night. Proper AFR readings returned and the car ran much better the next day, but still wasn't totally right. It felt down on power. When I got it home, I pulled the distributor on a hunch and found that my bronze distributor gear was very worn. I put it back in and the timing is "floating" even when I set it to 15* Static. So it'll get replaced when I get around to it and hopefully that solves that.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Brake Upgrade Plans
The camber that Vorshlag put in the car really woke up the turn-in. I'm very happy with it overall. The downside to a lot of static camber, though, is that it really affected the braking. I was trying to avoid flat-spotting the new Vitours at all costs, so I definitely left time on the table in the braking zones. My brother brought our 2011 Mustang V6 "Champ Car" and driving that car back-to-back with mine exposes how much difference a good braking and ABS system makes.

So, as Terry alluded to in his post, I plan to install the 2011-2014 Mustang ABS into my car. I have all the main parts now (Boss 302 ABS module, factory ABS pump and plug, sensors, etc). But I need to (re)install tone rings and that's a pretty good-sized project, since rear axles and front hubs need to come off.

I'm going to combine the tone ring (re)install with a small brake upgrade. Although I DO have enough braking to lock the front tires, the 13" 2000 Cobra R setup is still not running as cool as it needs to...I never lost the pedal entirely, but it did go soft on me during the event. I backed off for a couple laps and it came back, which is the same thing it did to me last year. I currently have 3" ducts run from the fog lights to Kenny Brown backing plates. I also have RaceLouvers in the fender to get the hot air out. I know for sure that the braking setup we have on the 2011 Mustang (Boss 302 Brembos in front/GT500 rotors in rear/3" ducts to Vorshlag backing plates) is rock solid reliable...we've tested that in a few races now (12 hours at Daytona, 8+7 hours at COTA, 8+7 hours at Hallett, etc). So I want to somewhat replicate those good results.

The front will get 13-19 Cadillac XTS Brembo calipers, 14" 11-14 Boss rotors, and S&S Engineering's Mounting Kit [LINK].
The rear will keep the SN95 calipers, but get 13.77" 13-14 GT500 rotors and an S&S Engineering's adapter bracket [LINK].

That setup should land me right around 70.7% front bias, right in the sweet spot, and if the ABS works as good on my car as it does on our 2011 Champ Car, I will be very, VERY happy!

Steering Upgrade Plan
Another issue that I've dealt with for a long time is power steering. As with the braking, the 2011 Champ Car has spoiled me. It has an electric power steering rack and driving at the limit is just SO EASY. A Sunday cruise compared to fighting with mine...and that's just DRIVING. I have constant leaks, fluid spitting out the top of the pump, pumps locking up, etc. I think there are a lot of factors at play here: cheap, fast turning pump + no power steering cooler + sticky 345s or 305 takeoff slicks + a boatload of caster + high ambient temps in the south + pump reservoir right next to the headers, etc.

I know there are better pumps, AN lines, tricks to raise the cap up, coolers, etc. But...I'm sick of dealing with it. I wanted to go with either an electric option or a totally external hydraulic pump option (like an MR2 pump). I decided against the MR2 pump. For one, it still has fluid/lines. Still the potential to leak. Then there's finding a place to mount it. Etc.

I am going to try using a Prius electric motor that a member here grafted to a factory SN95 rack for me. That removes the leaks and the space issue and keeps it hidden under the dash. There's a company that makes a small controller, either GPS/speed-based or manual potentiometer assist adjustment. I went with the manual adjustment.

Also included in this change is a Unisteer rack and the appropriate manual steering Maximum Motorsports shaft.

The Other Project
One of the neat things about making upgrades to the Mustang is that now I can make upgrades to two cars at once! I added this baby to the family back in April!


My adopted dad had this car built in the late-90s/early-2000s. I spent a lot of time working on it with him and it's what I learned to drive stick in 10-12 years ago. It's an early Factory 5 Mk1 Roadster. There's not too much "special" about this car other than my sentimental attachment to it. It was a "donor build" and the donor for most of it was a 1995 Mustang GT with 30,000 miles. Pretty much everything is bone stock and 25-30 years old. The only engine upgrade is a chrome Cobra intake from Ford Motorsports (and the special FFR headers, of course). Stock T5 transmission, stock TrakLok rear (not sure of the gear ratio), stock 4-link with mostly rubber bushings, even the stock quad shocks and rear Fox shocks. Rear springs are stock (but cut) Mustang springs. It even has a smog pump and charcoal canister!

I told myself this would not get turned into a racecar. And I'm gonna keep telling myself that. Buuuuut...when I have perfectly good parts coming off the Mustang....might as well use them!

When the Mustang gets the XTS Brembos, the 2000 Cobra R Brembos are just going to get moved over to the Roadster (along with Cobra rear brakes, of course).

The Roadster has a factory (hydraulic) steering rack with the lines blocked off (this setup stinks!) I'll just take the power steering parts off the Mustang and swap them over. That will leave it open to leaks and things, but being a much lighter car with smaller, less sticky tires, not being driven as hard...I think it'll have an easier life. In fact, a lot of the Roadster guys install a Heidt's Adjustable Pressure Valve to knock some of the pressure down.

I did put 200tw Falken RT615k+ tires on it just in case it gets tracked or autocrossed when the Mustang is down. I'll probably start a non-racecar build thread for it since I know me so well...I'm thinking at least some basic aluminum heads, a mild cam, maybe have the intake ported. Maybe some 3.73s, just to wake it up. Everything else I have planned is for reliability/looks. Again, not a racecar, Chris

Other Ideas/Upgrade Plans for the Mustang
Some of my other to-do list items:

• Front Splitter
• Rear Spoiler (unless SCCA allows CAM T to have wings soon, of course)
• Radiator Boxing
• Flares (18x12 wheels and 345s don't exactly fit SN95 wheel wells easily)

I do have some other things I want to change, but that I don't really have a plan for, yet.

• Oiling System Improvements
  • Cooling - I want to install an oil cooler on the car. I do a lot of events in hot weather and back-to-back 20 minute sessions have the hot idle pressure way down. This keeps me from getting back on track as quickly as I'd like.
  • Cornering Oil Pressure - This is VERY loosely defined at the moment. I noticed the oil pressure flicker a couple times on one turn at Hallett. It didn't bottom out or anything. Just a flicker at the end of a long corner. I'm already running a very good pan (FRPP DRS 351) with baffling, trap doors, crank scraper, windage tray, etc. So next logical step would be an Accusump. But...the issue with the worn distributor gear (at 1300 miles on the engine) has me also considering a dry sump system. Two birds, one stone kind of thing. I dunno, yet.
• Roll bar of some kind...my family is pushing hard on this one. I guess they like me? I really like having a full interior "street car". That makes it that much more fun when I run with the gutted racecars. The truth is, though, this isn't a street car anymore...and even less-so now that I have the Cobra to scratch the loud, sporty street car itch. When I do the roll bar, it'll need to be a custom deal to help me fit (I'm fat and reasonably tall at 6'1").

 

[RinerAuto]

Great details!

That brake upgrade will be very good. It sounds like you do more track than autocross so the XTS is probably the better choice over ATS. I swapped from XTS to ATS and saved almost 20 lbs in unsprung weight. But I'm strictly autocross. I too plan to install the 11-14 ABS this winter. I really hope it lives up to the hype.

For steering I run the 3rd gen Prius steering column. I plan to swap to 4th gen as I'm told it should work better with the controller I have. I really like the electric steering. Mine doesn't self center which takes some getting used to. I'm hoping the 4th gen fixes that, but not a huge deal as my hands are always on the steering wheel. For track sessions I have heard that it could overheat and shutoff. I think there is a mod that can be done or could put a fan on it.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Great details!

That brake upgrade will be very good. It sounds like you do more track than autocross so the XTS is probably the better choice over ATS. I swapped from XTS to ATS and saved almost 20 lbs in unsprung weight. But I'm strictly autocross. I too plan to install the 11-14 ABS this winter. I really hope it lives up to the hype.

For steering I run the 3rd gen Prius steering column. I plan to swap to 4th gen as I'm told it should work better with the controller I have. I really like the electric steering. Mine doesn't self center which takes some getting used to. I'm hoping the 4th gen fixes that, but not a huge deal as my hands are always on the steering wheel. For track sessions I have heard that it could overheat and shutoff. I think there is a mod that can be done or could put a fan on it.

Weeeeell, funnily enough, I tend to do more autocross than track events in this car in the last few years. We've been taking the Champ Car to Champ, WRL, & AER races a couple times a year, so not much time for track days and things. But the last few years, I've just been doing 2 track days a year in this one at the Ford and Shelby meet.

That said, I WANT to do more track days, or maybe even Time Trials, and that is definitely what the car is geared toward. As much as I really want to love autocross, I just...don't. I enjoy the courses, the people, etc, but it's so miserably hot in the summer here in Arkansas. Plus the amount of prep work to load the car, trailer it an hour and a half away, either make the drive home and back the next day OR spend on a hotel, etc. The work vs reward doesn't really add up for me. I'm on the local SCCA board, but I have been steadily diminishing my role. I contribute financially to help the club when I can't be/don't feel like being there.

You and I have talked a bit on FB about the 11-14 ABS. I'm patiently waiting for you to make it happen and release a video so I can just copy you

I honestly didn't know there was a newer gen that was better...everything I read was about the 04-09 (2nd Gen) Prius unit. So that's what I went with. The bit about the track sessions overheating is interesting. I would think it would have more trouble in parking lots or even autocross, since track tends to be slower inputs (more time in between, too) and higher speeds. I dunno though. I hope it doesn't give me trouble.

How much caster do you run in your car? Is there something about these units that prevent it from self-centering? I imagine you're using less since you have the SLA. My car (still McPherson strut, with 8* caster) is VERY self aligning...so much so that I had a bolt-through MM tie rod bolt fall OFF the car on the interstate at around 70MPH. I didn't know what happened, just heard metal banging around (it sounded like a rod coming out of the engine, or something internal transmission). I was close to an exit, so I kept going, took the exit, turned down a side street, then into a parking lot. Through all that driving/turning, I never even knew it was a tie rod! The right side just followed along with the car. I think that's also a big factor in why my hydraulic steering is struggling, though.

 

[RinerAuto]

That said, I WANT to do more track days, or maybe even Time Trials, and that is definitely what the car is geared toward. As much as I really want to love autocross, I just...don't. I enjoy the courses, the people, etc, but it's so miserably hot in the summer here in Arkansas. Plus the amount of prep work to load the car, trailer it an hour and a half away, either make the drive home and back the next day OR spend on a hotel, etc. The work vs reward doesn't really add up for me.

I get that, it is rough standing out in the sun or sitting in a hot car. I'm on the board for my local club, so I don't work the course. I'm thinking about adding AC back to my car to be comfortable sitting in grid.

You and I have talked a bit on FB about the 11-14 ABS. I'm patiently waiting for you to make it happen and release a video so I can just copy you

Ah! great. I didn't put the names together. I need to start buying parts for that swap.

I honestly didn't know there was a newer gen that was better...everything I read was about the 04-09 (2nd Gen) Prius unit. So that's what I went with. The bit about the track sessions overheating is interesting. I would think it would have more trouble in parking lots or even autocross, since track tends to be slower inputs (more time in between, too) and higher speeds. I dunno though. I hope it doesn't give me trouble.

It's just what I've heard. I guess it's the long usage, but I agree it shouldn't be that more intense than driving on the street.

How much caster do you run in your car? Is there something about these units that prevent it from self-centering? I imagine you're using less since you have the SLA.

Right now I'm running 5* but have ran up to 7*. It's not caster. It's a common problem I've heard other people having when it's in limp mode. Why it does that I'm not sure.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

I got the car on the lift this past weekend and got the old hydraulic rack off. Everything on the underside is coated in power steering fluid and oil, which attracts a lot of grime, so a good cleaning is in order. But I need to get it out of the nice, clean shop before doing that. So I just used brake cleaner and a rag to clean up the areas where the new rack would sit.

I went back Tuesday night, got the new manual rack installed, tie rods hooked up, and wheels back on. Once the car was rollable, I got it out of the lift bay so I could get the door open. I started taking the old column loose, but ran into a small issue I forgot about. Four or so years ago, my column had some play as a result of a cross-threaded/broken-off bolt in the lower, right side mount. We were doing last minute work before an event, so my cousin broke out the welder and tacked it in. That stopped the wobble...but now I'm going to have to grind the weld off to get the old column out. Then I have to decide whether I just want to have him tack the new column in or whether I want to do it right...get the broken-off bolt extracted, run a tap through, find a bolt that fits, etc.

On the way down Tuesday, I dropped my distributor off to have a local machine shop do the gear change. I didn't want to mess it up and they have better tools than I do. Got a call yesterday that it's done, so I will go pick it up tomorrow morning.

I started a dedicated thread on the swap yesterday: SN95 Toyota Prius Electric Column (EPS) into a 1995 Mustang GT

One of the downsides of having shop space and lift access instead of working in my own garage is that the shop is 45 minutes away. We normally use this area/lift for Champ Car work. We don't have any races on the schedule and my brother doesn't care me using it for a while. But that distance, plus my busy schedule (and general lack of internal self-motivation), mean that everything I'm planning to do will take longer. But...the lift is worth it.

Next trip (probably one night next week after work), the plan is:
-Weigh more components going on/coming off for comparison (I have a new package type scale on the way)
-Reinstall distributor
-Push the car out of the shop and pressure wash everything
-Get old column out and assess next step on the broken bolt

 

[Dave_W]

If you decide to try and remove the broken bolt, see if you can find a left-hand twist drill bit in the size needed for the bolt extractor bit. I got one at a local machine shop supply house; McMaster-Carr also sells them. Some times, just using the LH drill bit is enough to back out the broken bolt without even needing to use the extractor.

LH drills

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

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bolt extractors

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Pricey, but kit with LH bits & extractors in a range of sizes

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[GimpyHSHS]

If you decide to try and remove the broken bolt, see if you can find a left-hand twist drill bit in the size needed for the bolt extractor bit. I got one at a local machine shop supply house; McMaster-Carr also sells them. Some times, just using the LH drill bit is enough to back out the broken bolt without even needing to use the extractor.

Thank you for the advice, Dave! I was going to try the LH bit, but I ran into another snag, unfortunately.

I went out of town Friday morning. Quick trip to Houston to visit some friends that are having their first child next month. This was my last chance to visit before the baby's due. I left Houston Sunday morning to make the 6 hour trip home, but decided to stop by the shop and see what I needed to fix the broken bolt.

As soon as I got under the dash, I realized it was gonna be a little more difficult. The "bolts" are actually studs. I knew the front/top two were, but thought there were bolts in the back two. Nope. I used an old cutting wheel (smaller than new) and got the weld cut/old column out. That went quickly once I found the right angle. I tried knocking the stud out of the hole...it's hard to get much momentum because the floor is there, but I'm a stout guy and got some solid whacks with a heavy ball peen. It didn't budge. So I'm drilling through the stud in the hopes that I can drop a bolt in from the top and either tack that in as a new stud or just get a wrench on it from the top.



I'm even more impressed with the work that SAO did now that I've somewhat mocked it up and am seeing the tiny space that the Prius motor fits into. It has to be clocked just right and it just barely goes. I will need to grind a bit off the back side of this bracket to allow the whole assembly to come back (toward the driver) about a 1/4". SAO told me about that on the front end.



Another small task added to the list. I need to clean up a little under the dash while the column is out. There's a lot of unused/leftover wiring (mostly from where this car had an aftermarket alarm system in a past life), plus unhooked modules, and and other things underneath that can go. Then I just need to do some strategic zip tying to get the rest of the dangling wires out of the way.

 

[Dave_W]

Taking a picture of the "topside" of the good stud closer to you in the first pic may yield a clue on how to remove the broken one. I'm wondering if it's a welded-in stud or bolt, or a bolt that's "captured" with some kind of bracket on top.

All else fails, I'd whack it a few times with a BF hammer and a rollpin/drift punch or nail set to see what happens. Remember, if you can't fix it with a hammer, it's an electrical problem.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Taking a picture of the "topside" of the good stud closer to you in the first pic may yield a clue on how to remove the broken one. I'm wondering if it's a welded-in stud or bolt, or a bolt that's "captured" with some kind of bracket on top.

All else fails, I'd whack it a few times with a BF hammer and a rollpin/drift punch or nail set to see what happens. Remember, if you can't fix it with a hammer, it's an electrical problem.

I had tried the BF hammer and a punch and it didn't budge...I'm gonna say the stud is welded in there. I drilled out the threaded portion of the stud to where a 5/16 bolt will fit through. I can't get anything to the bolt head once it's in though. So I was planning to tack it in from the top, basically making a new "stud", but I was kind of dreading the blind welding/stand on your head work.

I came up with a new plan last night...I am going to weld a small piece of rectangle scrap metal to the bolt head. Then drop it into the hole. The scrap metal will be captured within the "channel", holding it from rotating completely while I tighten it down.

It didn't take me weeks to come up with that...I had pressed pause on the steering temporarily and started on the brake work. Cadillac XTS Brembos up front (with 14" S197 rotors and pads) and 13-14 GT500 rotors (13.8") in the rear. Fitting the XTS calipers to the spindles and clearing my brake duct backing plate took a little work, but wasn't too bad.

Part of the brake upgrade includes the plan to install 11-14 Mustang ABS. Meaning that I had to install sensors and tone rings in front and rear. So the rear end came apart and axles came out. I reinstalled the tone rings using Loctite 620 to help retention (the rings were no longer a press fit). When I put the rear end back together, I used Dorman 81050 C-Clips. I had a lot of noticeable axle end play ever since I had the TruTrac installed. The Dorman C Clips were thicker than my factory ones (whether that's from them wearing or they're just thinner than the Dorman, I don't know). But, axle end play is a LOT better now. I am hoping that this helps with the pad groan or at least helps it not get worse (since larger rotors will make that end play "increase" at the caliper). I also got the rear sensors drilled and mounted. GT500 finned cover got a good cleaning inside, then was reinstalled with Permatex Right Stuff.

For the front, a fellow Mustang guy sent me a burned up set of SN95 hubs with tone rings (I couldn't locate the ones I took off 4-5 years ago). When I was knocking those off the hubs, I bent one. I thought, no big deal, I'll stick it in the shop press between two flat plates and straighten it out. Yeah...no dice. It cracked. (Not sure if y'all can tell, I screw up as much as I fix...maybe more). I said screw it and grabbed the spare hubs I had stashed in the basement. I packed some high quality Redline CV2 grease into them. Those didn't have ARP studs, though...so off to Amazon to get a 39/64 drill bit and Summit to get ARP 100-7703 studs ("old" hubs had the Baer/ARP direct-fit studs that are unobtanium now). I got the drill bit and enlarged the holes in the drill press yesterday, but studs didn't arrive until later last night. I'll go down to the car tomorrow and get the studs pressed in first (with Loctite 620 for peace of mind), then get the hubs reinstalled.

Once the hubs are back on, I can finish fitting the Cadillac XTS with the S197 rotors, make sure there's nothing else I need to do with that. God I hope not. Once that's done, I will get the wheels back on so that I can get the car out from between the lift and get back to the the steering.

Oh, another fun factor in all this...my brother and dad went and decided to rent Hallett in Oklahoma on November 4th...so now I have a deadline to meet! Worst case, they're taking our 2011 V6 Champ Car and I could always take my Factory Five Cobra. So whether I finish the car or not, I will have something to play with. Buuuuut my brother is finally taking his Boss 302R and we're planning to have our very important (to us) race. Him buying that car was what made me go to Vorshlag and get the MCS and other upgrades done...it's much newer and well-prepped than mine, being a former Roush racecar. I do have a few things going for me (100-something more horsepower, for example, helps). I'll be running my 345 Vitour P1s against his 305 Michelin takeoff slicks. I know that several of the aero-equipped, slick-wearing Boss cars are in the same 1:25 range that I ran in June, so it'll be close. But, I said after the last trip there that I thought there was more time in the car when the engine was running right (distributor gear), in the braking zones (ABS), and if my clutch was working right (bad cable). Only thing I'm not sure if I will have is the ABS finished.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

*sigh* If I didn’t have bad luck, I would have none at all.

I got the new ARP studs pressed in first thing Saturday. Next step was to get the hubs reinstalled so I could get the car rollable, at which point I could finish the steering.

I put the driver’s side hub on and broke out the big torque wrench. Tightened to 245 ft-lbs. No issues. Moved to the passenger side. I was probably at around…200? Ft-lbs when things suddenly went really soft. Basically, adding no more torque. I had looked at the threads on the spindle and they looked ok, but they gave up the ghost

I text the guy I bought these spindles from 4 years ago hoping he still had a set I could buy. He said he had some laying outside his shop and that I could run by and grab one…no charge! Very nice guy I met on Craigslist years ago. I went and picked up the whole assembly (it still had a control arm, brake shield, caliper, rotor, etc on it), stripped it down, then started modifying it (grinding to fit the caliper, grinding off rivets for the factory brake dust shield, drilling for MM outer tie rods, etc). It took me two hours round trip to get the spindle, then just an hour to get it stripped, modified, and back on the car. On went the hub and (new, just in case) hub nut. The new one took the 245 ft-lbs no problem this time.

Went back Sunday morning and finished verifying that the brake rotors were going to fit properly. I put the wheels on temporarily to able to roll the car. I got the Toyota sensor box mounted (I’ll take some pictures next time I’m there, probably Thursday). My brother helped me get the steering column into position and bolts started.

This was what I came up with for the broken stud in the steering column mount:


The bolt drops through the hole I drilled out. The welded tab keeps the bolt from rotating while tightening the column down. Quick and easy solution that should do what it needs to do.

The next trick is getting the steering shaft connected where it comes through the firewall. I might should’ve tried to do that before the column went in, but it's a real bear to get the Prius motor up into it's spot without limiting it's movement by connecting it to the steering shaft. The firewall bearing I have installed is a very tight fit to the shaft, and the shaft end has to be inserted into the u-joint as it’s pushed through. I think I am going to take off the bearing so that I’m not dealing with so many angles. Once it’s connected to the u-joint, I’ll be able to find the right angle and bolt the bearing back down.

Then will come wiring up the factory Prius module and the ServTronic module. My hope is to get the steering 100% done between tomorrow and Saturday.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I have a feeling the bad luck is now over and I hope the change will steer you in the right direction , ha.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

It's been a very busy month, and basically all my free time has been spent working on the car. I have gotten a lot done. Still have a few things, but finally getting close to being ready for my November 4th track day!

I updated my Prius EPAS swap post with more information. TL;DR: the column is installed and working!

New ATS brakes are installed up front with GLOC R18s. I love these pads on our Champ Car, but I did NOT get the ABS installed...so that might be a problem. We shall see.

I did have a problem with the rears, corrected now, but caused a small delay. I order my pads from Vorshlag, but I ordered the GT/V6 ones. Cobra are the same shape, but each pad is a couple millimeters thinner to leave room for the vented discs that come on Mach 1, Cobra, etc. GLOC was kind enough to send me two new sets of pads and allow me to send mine back, no charge. So rear brakes are done as of last night. Just need to bleed everything and it will be good to go.

I decided last minute to finally slap some semblance of front aero together...this is affectionately known as the "Banana Splitter"!



To be clear, I'm not expecting too much out of this right now. It's a flat, 1/2" Birch blade, with no beautiful radius on the front bottom edge, no diffusers, no tire spats, no end fences (although, as you can see, I basically kicked the blade out to where the tires sit...even though those side extensions are basically pointless as they are now, when I get the front flared properly, I will have room to install the end fences and tire spats integrated to the flares, which might help make the high pressure zone up top larger), etc. It's set at 4" clearance to the ground, about 0.8* of angle (F to R).

What I am hoping for right now is better cooling efficiency for radiator and brakes and less air going underneath the car. Obviously #LapTimesMatter, so if it makes a MPH or two difference on the higher speed turns at Hallett (there are 4 turns that I think it could), great, if it does absolutely nothing aside from better cooling, I will be happy.

My goal for this track day is to knock another 2 seconds off my current official PB (current is 1:25.584). I want to officially get into the 1:23s. At the last track days I went to, one guy in a fast ex-Bondurant car was in front of me, and I just decided to stay with him and learn. According to him, we were running high 1:23s on those laps. But I don't have that officially, as I hadn't rented a transponder. So I want to make good on it.

 

[GimpyHSHS]

Well, I didn't quite meet my goal of a 1:23.x at Hallett, but I got really dang close...

For reference, in June 2024, I set a 1:28.175.
In June 2025, next time at Hallett, I beat that by 2.5s, with a 1:25.584.

First session Tuesday, I ran a 1:26.523, only 1 second off my Personal Best. Good start just getting warmed up.
Second session, I set a new PB, not by a lot, but it counts...1:25.560.
Third session, I made a couple unforced errors and ran a session best 1:26.733.
Fourth session was a 1:26.163 followed by another new PB, 1:24.793 [LINK to Video].
Fifth session was a 1:24.095 [LINK to Video], a new PB, and the best I was destined to get.
Sixth and final session, I ran a 1:24.271 [LINK to Video] and a 1:24.529 [LINK to Video].

So, overall, I cut 1.489 seconds off my PB set in June 2025 and 4.08 seconds off my PB pre-June 2025. Absolutely bonkers, and there's still more to come!




The car did have a new issue that I haven't investigated yet. Engine coolant temps have always maxed out around 215* after a few laps, like 8-10. I've never seen it go higher. I added the splitter and an aluminum shroud between the bumper and radiator to keep air going through the lower grill opening of the bumper, then through the radiator instead of around/under it. The temp never went over 205* for most sessions (which were very short...we'll get to that). But even though it wasn't running hot, it was still pushing coolant into the overflow bottle. I think/hope maybe the cap just isn't holding the pressure that it's rated for...obvious next step is to put a pressure tester on the system and see when the cap is opening up. It's a Moroso 14-18lb cap that was new as of June 2025, so that "shouldn't" have been a problem, but it's the easiest thing to blame right now. The car has never pushed coolant or run hot before. If it isn't the cap, it could be a head gasket over-pressurizing the coolant system...but that would surprise me. This is a reasonable compression (11:1) naturally aspirated engine with ARP head studs and MLS gaskets. You wouldn't think that would be a problem.


Right before we left, I added dye to the cooling system (and motor oil and diff)...which is what you can see in the photo all over the engine bay/engine...should make it easy to find the...radiator cap and overflow bottle...

On my last session, after I ran back to back 1:24s and I was locked in to hit that 1:23.x I was aiming for...I decided to take a cooldown lap to let the oil temp come down a bit (more on that in a minute). As soon as I backed off, the engine temp spiked. In the space of 15-20 seconds, it went from 205* all the way up to 250* (which I think is the max on BOTH my gauges). I pulled off, shut it down, and manually turned the fan back on and ran the heater inside. The temp on both gauges came down immediately to around 200*. I took off again, just limping it back. It spiked AGAIN, up to around 240* in a few seconds, but then came down quickly. I started it up and again limped it. Shut it down once we were off track and coasted to a safe place. I think it was probably an air bubble in the system from it pushing water. I should've been more diligent about making sure it was full and burped, I just didn't think it was pushing THAT much. I don't think I did any permanent damage, fortunately.

I mentioned short sessions and oil temps. I don't have an oil cooler on this car. I decided to put a gauge on last minute. I used a cheap GlowShift sensor sandwich under the filter. I figured watching oil temps now (when it's 30* cooler outside than the June event we normally do) would give me a "best case" idea of where the car is and how much oil cooler I need. I was absolutely flabbergasted. I usually do like everyone else...get on track and do a quick warmup on the out lap, get some heat in the tires, make sure that everything feels good. Then I run for 10-15 minutes, which is the typical session for the annual Ford & Shelby event. I can't even imagine what kind of oil temps the engine was actually seeing during those days...yesterday, in nice 70* weather, I was doing an out lap, then two hard laps. By the end of the second hard lap, the oil temp was pushing 310* on the gauge! After a cooldown lap or two, it would fall back to about 280*. Then I would park for about 45 minutes, during which time, the temp would drop back down to about 160-180*. I would get back on track for 2 laps, then repeat. This new knowledge cost me a lot of track time...but probably worth it to protect the engine in the long term. I'll definitely be buying a cooler. Or maybe, considering the distributor gear wear issue and the grip levels...dry sump time?

 

[cheringer]

Have you been able to figure out the ABS module wiring?