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S197 Kiwi Track Rat's Boss 302 resurrection Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
With the body all welded and straight its paint time next week and then back to me, had to tighten the screws on the body shop a little as we are running out of time to get this completed this year.
Yes only 9 weeks or so to Christmas, insane really.
On Monday I'll start on the engine installing the OPG, the new clutch and some other accident related damage so that its ready to go when the body comes back me.
In order to do that I needed some parts stored at Track rat's place so instead of him making multiple trips I thought it easier to collect a whole car's worth with my van.
I could almost be a delivery driver for South Bay Ford, that's how many boxes of new stuff there are!!
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
I'm expecting the return of the body this Friday so I thought it prudent to start getting the power train ready.
We got Boundary OPG and crank gear so I started with that, super easy with the motor out of the car and also really nice to work with quality parts that fit like a glove.
Nothing was an issue and all went together seamlessly, I'd made my own timing marks but in the end I just used the chain links to time everything as per factory as that way you can do a double check to confirm both chains are timed correctly.
Engine is super clean inside so seems to have been looked after also.
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
Some wiring had gotten sliced through in the crash that ended up being for the oil pressure switch and the sender in the oil pan which I'm guessing is a temp sender or level switch of some sort. Easy repair anyway and onwards with the "while you're in there stuff"
Again quality stuff from Archetype racing in the way of oil balance hoses, everything fits like a glove. Pity no one will ever see them.
At this point I thought I'd put the engine on the subframe as it's a bit more stable that way, new Ford racing mounts and engine block brackets complete that part of it, one was broken and since both sides were included it made sense to fit both of the new ones.
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
Off with the gearbox or so I thought, all the bolts out but no budge, even prying a little left me thinking there were more bolts but no, rusted locating bushes took quite a bit of effort to get the gearbox off.
OEM clutch and flywheel off replaced with an Exedy hyper single, again really nice piece.
New trigger wheel, this was recommended but it ended up already having the upgraded type. Maybe an LS thing who knows but put the new one on as it was there.
New pilot bearing and bench bled the TO brg before installing that.
Didn't have the correct alignment tool so I eyeballed it but the gearbox fought me.
Rather then re do this 3-4 times I quickly machined a stub on the lathe out of scrap stock.
Yeap out of alignment, re set that and went together like a glove.
Lastly the shifter, was quite blown away by the MGW shifter. Machining is just on point and looks superb.
Feels super slick and precise.
Added a trans crosmember insert as well to stiffen that up as the factory mount seems really soft. Surprisingly soft.
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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 see all updates and progress and smart to take a picture of the Exedy clutch ----- painted so pretty and this will be the only way anyone will see it, ha. Excited for you guys to get everything done by Christmas , so sending my physic thoughts your way, ha!
 
117
275
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Auckland, New Zealand
Great to see all updates and progress and smart to take a picture of the Exedy clutch ----- painted so pretty and this will be the only way anyone will see it, ha. Excited for you guys to get everything done by Christmas , so sending my physic thoughts your way, ha!

Thanks John (Bad Influence) for posting those updates and all the work on the car. And thanks again Bill for your kind words.

The car is getting the engine bay painted this week and if that all goes to plan we're aiming to get the engine back in this Saturday. Then it will really feel like we're on the home stretch.

Aside from some trim clips and service items (which we are hoping to order from Ford here in New Zealand) the only thing I am waiting for is the upper grille as that was on back order in the US but has been delivered to the shipper so should arrive eventually.
 
90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
Visited the body shop today to cut the holes in the shock towers for the Vorshlag camber plates. Bit of a backwards process the way we did it but didn't want the certifier to see what we're up to yet want the area painted yellow to appear stock as well.
I'd instructed the body shop that I wanted a factory looking finish on the front end so they ended up tinting the epoxy to the same color as Ford used for the ground coat, this way when the yellow goes on we end up with a very factory looking over spray job. I've been told more than once I'm fussy but if a job is worth doing it's worth doing right.
Right now its taped off for the spray sealer on the seams then the yellow goes on. Happy days.IMG20211028135817.jpgIMG20211028135823.jpg
 
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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
Hope that is just a base coat and not an indication of what the Body Shop will be charging as it looks golden , ha. Fun to see the car coming together and I am sure it will cause quite a reaction when it is finished, especially since there were barely over 200 SBY LSs ever built. Pretty safe to say this is the only one in New Zealand!!
 
117
275
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Auckland, New Zealand
I headed over to John's (Bad Influence) shop this morning. He'd already had the HVAC unit installed in the cabin with the ABS unit and a couple of the brake lines. The bodyshop had done a really nice job with the repair, we really wanted to keep it as factory looking as possible with the exposed undercoat and it looks awesome. Here's a couple of pics from when it arrived back at the shop a few days ago.
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I got busy with the heat gun and pulled the stripes off the various panels in prep for the painting while John finished installing the brake lines. We then got the engine and trans positioned and dropped the car down on top. Everything went to plan except we forgot to put the heater hoses on before the engine went in, but I kind of figure that's an acceptable and minor error for couple of guys that don't normally work on Mustangs! Lolz :D
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After that we fitted the driveshaft, steering column and did a few more bits in the engine bay like the mounting the ECU and battery box. John will carry on from here next week refitting everything. I'm aiming to make a bit of time available mid week ish to help out on mounting doors and a few other 2 person jobs. Then it will go back for paint and fitting the new windscreen etc.

While I'm not an absolute subject matter expert the quality of the repair work done by the body shop under John's project management and guidance looks excellent. Here's a few more pictures of the repaired sections from a few angles.
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
The wire harness had quite a bit of damage in the end, several connectors ripped off and missing.
Thankfully we'd sourced a used headlight with the connectors attached so I started there.
Removed all the insulation on the LH side and found some broken wires and damaged wire insulation.
Tidied all of that up and re wrapped the harness, still missing a few connectors we have to order.IMG20211101125109.jpg
Harness repaired and installed both headlights could be fitted.
Got the radiator, condenser and rad fan / shroud all installed and all coolant hoses in place.
Cooling and A/C is all in and plumbed now.
Sure is starting to look like a car again.
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
Back on it this morning working out if we have everything for the front end, as we are doing one last order we need to make sure that everything is ticked off.
Took the bumper out of it's packaging and it's quite mis shaped from being stored a particular way. I'm hoping some time in the sun (not that we have any right now) will make it go back to it's normal shape.

Identified the air guide we are missing, lower half of the airbox and a few other bits.
Fitted the front suspension, still need to straighten out one of the brake duct plates where it was hit but everything else seems ok.IMG20211102154025.jpg
Made a bracket for the clutch master cylinder reservoir that simply bolts to the upper rail.
The fuel line connector had gotten crushed and damaged in the crash and I'd forgotten about it, that would have caused a headache as you'd be hard pressed to find on here.
Quick trip up the road yielded a speed flow fitting made to convert that fuel pipe to a push lock fitting, too easy. OEM fuel hose on the push lock and job done.
Fitted the strut brace, catch cans etc.
Other than the airbox the engine bay is done.
Underbody is also mostly complete now with the noise makers back on.
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90
178
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Auckland New Zealand
Had to get a helping hand to lift the dash back in this morning as it's a wee bit ungainly and heavy to do on your own.
Got that bolted back in, steering shaft, under dash plastics and wiring hooked up.
With the seats back in that's the interior together other than the console just in case I still need access to the airbag module.
Used my vacuum filler on the engine coolant to get all the air out, put oil in it and cranked her over with the plugs out to get the oil pressure up.
Always prefer to do it his way especially since the oil pump has been apart and I've had an engine refuse to pick up oil,
This however picked up oil right away though so no issues there.
Plugs and coils back in, kicked it in the guts and fired right away.
All sounds pretty normal, great to hear this bad Boss running again.
Doors back on now and I'll hang the front sheet metal tomorrow to test fit and gap everything before it heads back to the body shop for paint.
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Dave_W

Cones - not just for ice cream
979
1,271
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Connecticut
Hey, that's lookin' like a real car! Great to see the progress, thanks for the updates. Pretty sure we've all got our fingers crossed that the rest of the build goes well and you get the car certified with no issues, and you'll be enjoying the car on the road soon.
 
117
275
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Auckland, New Zealand
Some interesting things we are learning as we go along, would someone be able to confirm what their radiator upper shield part number is on their 2013 or 2014 GT / Boss?

I ordered BR3Z-8C291-AA as that seemed to be the correct part when I followed the parts diagrams (Part "3" Here) However it's not the correct part. Interestingly when you look at that parts listing the images with the diagram of the part look correct, but the picture of the part is different (for instance no indent at the rear for the coolant expansion tank hose). What I have is like the image, not the diagram.
 

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