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S550 PN3UMA Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Hey gang,
Finally got around to posting my car. Love this group and really appreciate all the great advice y'all provide.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,354
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Pneuma is a manual so definitely not pneumatic, but more from Ancient Greek , a " Breath" of fresh air. Or in a religious context it could be interpreted as " Spirit " so what a great name for a beast on a racing circuit. Though you could have just taken from the rock group " Tool " and considering both the Band's name and the song , your car is definitely a Tool to bring out the breadth of one's spirit on track.

Feeling philosophical today , but then everyone is feeling Saintly ---------- a glass of Guiness will bring a bit of spirit to us all!
 
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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Pneuma is a manual so definitely not pneumatic, but more from Ancient Greek , a " Breath" of fresh air. Or in a religious context it could be interpreted as " Spirit " so what a great name for a beast on a racing circuit. Though you could have just taken from the rock group " Tool " and considering both the Band's name and the song , your car is definitely a Tool to bring out the breadth of one's spirit on track.

Feeling philosophical today , but then everyone is feeling Saintly ---------- a glass of Guiness will bring a bit of spirit to us all!
Bill, you know your stuff. I actually ordered the plate right after the last Tool concert. That song was simply awesome. So along that line...2 points if you can figure out the "353" origin.🤪
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,354
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Lucky guess as I heard Pneuma probably 2 years ago on a rock station when I was going to do a Training Meeting with one of the stores in the Woodhouse Auto Family Group. Loved it as it is so old school and old farts like me are used to songs that play for more than a minute and a half, ha. Plenty fo rock anthems that went on for 5 to 10 minutes or more, back then, and I usually like what Tool does.
Now 353 escapes me , since it looks the same both backwards and forwards, ha!

Could be a Ford 351 + 2 for dual carberators,ha. I know that is incorrect but I had to throw in a Blue Oval suggestion somewhere.
 
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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
So jealous. I'm 250 miles away from VIR.

Can you share any details about your rear seat closeout panel? My rear bars are welded in so I'll need to build something around that and it looks like yours may be built that way. TIA
I had to cut the rear delete panel. Not hard, but the tricky thing is to keep the fabric cover from getting all destroyed. It is pulled tight so when you cut it, it pulls apart. I'll take some pics when I get back home.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Great looking car! Would love some more pics of your half-cage and belt mounting! I'm contemplating doing a weld-in half cage as well.
Thanks Scoots, here are some pics. You can see how I didn't do the cleanest job with the fabric lining, but I can't really reach in there to fix it so I said "F- it". The cut in the bottom piece came out cleaner, because I had discovered the hard way when doing the back that the fabric was't glued everywhere. For that I cut a slit in the fabric with shears and then trimmed the shape of the plastic hole with a Dremel from the bottom. The key to getting the holes in the right place for the back was to make a mock-up with cardboard from the packing box.

If I had it to do again, I'd have pre-cut the fabric on the back with shears, cut the hole with the Dremel, and glued the fabric down in place leaving enough space for the long cuts to be made with a jig-saw. On my first pass I clamped some scrap wood to both sides and cut through it all thinking that it would keep everything together. It didn't as you can see.

And I know what people will say...."you added weight in the trunk with dynamat? For SHAME!" I still have the Shaker sub, and with the Flowmaster exhaust, I needed to balance it all out. It sounds great and only added a couple pounds. I hear the exhaust from the back of the car and the stereo on the inside. I also spread some of the thicker (but much lighter) dynamat over where the fuel pumps are. Those little bastards are loud.

I'll get some belt mounting pics later. We have potential tornadoes tomorrow and I filled up the garage with patio junk and bikes. I can't open the doors.

And Bill, this is for you...the drums are amazing in the second half of the song.

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AE778B27-CF80-43F6-9581-59D7A8358A42.jpeg

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13123C94-BD4A-4F4F-991B-4B97D2DEC5D6.jpeg
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Added hood louvres today. RaceLouvres had great instructions. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably use the rivets that they provide standard instead of the optional machine screws & nuts. But otherwise I’m very pleased. I drove it to Wegman’s this afternoon and I’m convinced that it shaved a full 5 seconds off my normal time.

C010F1C4-01EF-4A90-8B78-B2DC992E2FE6.jpeg
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Do you know what caused original motor to blow up?
No, I would really like to have torn it apart to find out. My son would probably have enjoyed and learned from it. I turned it in right away to avoid the $1,500 core charge. I watched back the few laps leading up to the failure. Nothing I can see or hear that would suggest a cause. But when you look up through the quarter-sized hole in the oil pan, you can see all the way through to the valves (I guess cylinder #1, the front driver-side).
 
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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Toughest part coming will be the break in miles on the new motor for 500-1000 miles .......
Yes. I have Summit Point coming up on the 5th, with a week in Mendocino/San Mateo prior (but after I get the car back). Looks like I’ll be driving a lot, daily and as erratically as possible, for a week. 🤪
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
With a hole in the pan and serious internal damage, you will still receive credit for that core!
I talked to the guy at Ford who sold me the new motor. He asked me if I knew what caused it. I told him that there was a big “bang”, then smoke and flames out the back.
 

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