FoxBody Red Fox Build Thread Profile - Fox Body Mustangs

[Peter92lx]

I got the mini towers in the car today and the kmember squared to the car. Everything went good just took longer then I wanted so I didn't get a chance to install the upper and lower control arms. I'm going to try and get that done tomorrow. I also made two brackets to support the kmember. The first one I mentioned before I used a piece of angle iron to close up the gap between the frame rail and the kmember.



Then the rear mount of the kmember had a big gap between it so I got piece of iron bar to fill in the gap.



I did test fit the upper arm on the driver side since it was easy.



I need to install the bushings into the lower control arms to get them in the car. They are a really tight fit. I tried to freeze them but they still wouldn't install. I think I need to press them in. Unfortunately my press isn't easy to get out. I'm hoping to get it finished up over the next couple weeks.

 

[Peter92lx]

I got the lower and upper arms built so I could mock up the front suspension.



I didn't install the shock yet I just wanted to get an idea of a few things that I thought might be problems. It turns out they are problems. Nothing that can't be over come it will just take some adjustments. The first thing is the lower control arm length. I know from research the Maximum Motorsports lower control arms are about 1/4 longer. I wanted to see if could make it work without adjusting the lower arms to make them longer but it looks like I will have change the length of the arms. The next is wheel offset this one I was thinking about but wasn't sure if it would be a problem. It's going to be a problem the tire was sticking out I would say more then an inch past the fender when it used to sit about a 1/4 inch inside the fender. I might need to find a wheel with a 40mm-52mm offset. I still need to check the steering rack and a couple other things but so far I will need to adjust a few things.

 

[Peter92lx]

I got the driver side mocked up. I had to make a few adjustments to the lower arms but it all went in really easy. I'm currently looking at another set of wheels since its obvious the ones I have right now in the front won't work. I think a 40mm offset wheel will work but I'm going to go with a 52mm offset wheel so I could move it in further if I had to. I'm hoping to have it all installed by the end of the weekend so I can get started on finishing up the steering.

 

[TYancy]

I got the driver side mocked up. I had to make a few adjustments to the lower arms but it all went in really easy. I'm currently looking at another set of wheels since its obvious the ones I have right now in the front won't work. I think a 40mm offset wheel will work but I'm going to go with a 52mm offset wheel so I could move it in further if I had to. I'm hoping to have it all installed by the end of the weekend so I can get started on finishing up the steering.

Love it! I would darn near build your car's twin if I didn't have two small children. I personally still haven't made my mind up over IRs vs solid rear axle.

 

[Peter92lx]

Finally have some small updates on the car. I was on vacation with the family for a week so I really haven't made much progress on the car. I did get the power steering lines built I just need to clean them up so they are not flopping around.





The lines were easier to make then I thought considering the amount of pressure they can handle. I used the Aeroquip hose and fittings KRC recommends. I also got the Apex wheels for the car I went with the SM-10 in a 18x11 52 offset. They work perfect for the front but the rear needs an 1-1/2 spacer which I'm not a big fan of running. I have enough thread engagement for the lugs just don't feel comfortable about it. Unfortunately from my research so far it looks like if I want something with two different offsets I will have to go custom.



I still have a lot to do on the car but hoping it will go quick. I need to make a check list tonight so I can start focusing better. I hope to have it back on the ground on Sunday but that might be a long shot.

 

[Peter92lx]

I'm finally starting to check things off the list of things that need to get done. I have most of the front suspension installed and torqued down. I still need to finish a couple things with the brake calipers but it's all coming together. I got the brake calipers mounted so I could figure out where to mount the the hard lines to keep everything away from the suspension and tire. I found a spot and started to make the hard lines and figure out how long of a flex line I will need.



The hard line was really easy to make on the driver side but I know the passenger side is going to be a bit harder.



I put a cover over the line to protect it from damage. I'm hoping to get the passenger side built tonight so I can be ready to bleed the brakes tomorrow night.

 

[Dave_W]

Just a note on one of my pet peeves - that upper shock mount bolt is in single-shear.

Fasteners in single-shear suffer from both shear and bending loads; in double-shear they only see shear loads and the total load is distrubuted to two shear locations, halving the shear load through each fastener cross-section. Every road imperfection and body roll that moves the wheel relative to the body is trying to bend that bolt. If the loads are too high for the fastener, it will deform and eventually fracture.

Here's an article from industrial fastener distributor Fastenal that includes the formulas, if you want to calculate the load capacity of a bolt in single shear and double shear.

https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article%20-%20Bolted%20Joint%20Design.pdf

Now, all that said, the folks at MM are very likely to have run the numbers and sized that bolt appropriately so that expected loads are in the elastic range. But it might still be good to remove it every so often to check that it's not bent. Probably do that for the bump steer / steering bolt as well. Seems like as you go from street car to race car, more and more things become "consumables" that need to be regularly checked and replaced.

 

[PatientZero]

Now, all that said, the folks at MM are very likely to have run the numbers and sized that bolt appropriately so that expected loads are in the elastic range.

Maximum Motorsports doesn't make the SLA kit.

 

[Dave_W]

Ah, sorry, I saw the logo in the pic and thought everything was from the same company. I read back through the thread and saw it's actually a Griggs SLA kit and an MM K-member. I would trust Griggs to run the numbers as well, but personally I'd still check it every so often.

PS - When you have time, you can add the Griggs SLA kit to the list of suspension items on the Specs & Mods page.

 

[Peter92lx]

Ah, sorry, I saw the logo in the pic and thought everything was from the same company. I read back through the thread and saw it's actually a Griggs SLA kit and an MM K-member. I would trust Griggs to run the numbers as well, but personally I'd still check it every so often.

PS - When you have time, you can add the Griggs SLA kit to the list of suspension items on the Specs & Mods page.

Sorry I forget about the the Specs & Mods it really needed some updating. If it wasn't for the fact it's Griggs and this is the same basic tower design he's been using since the early 2000s I would be more concerned about it. Something I haven't asked him is why with the Fox Body tower he uses the single-shear mounting but with the SN-95 tower he uses double-shear. It seems to me it would be easy to change the fox one to match the SN95 tower. But with that I've added that bolt to the list of ones I will be checking. I normally like to check the Bump steer bolt like you mentioned and the IRS lower shock mount bolt.

 

[Peter92lx]

The car is back on the ground finally after sitting on Jack stands since the beginning of June.



Not the best picture of the car. I got all the finishing stuff done pretty quick yesterday so I took the car over to JBA for an alignment. I decided against driving it over and took it over on my trailer. As you can tell from the picture we have a bit of positive camber going right now. I got the toe close but it all needs a lot of work. After they are done I will get it home hook my string alignment stuff and camber gauges take measurements so I can make my own adjustments as needed. The rest of the events this year will be working on the setup of the car. I'm going to start out with the same spring rate and shock setting I was using before with the strut setup then work from there.

When I get the car back I still have a few thing I need to do. The car needs an oil change I hadn't done one yet since I had to disconnect the oil cooler because the lines ran right where the sway bar mounts. It should be easy to reroute the lines. I also need to make some brackets to mount the ABS sensors on the front of the car. I guess Griggs never made a bracket for the SN95 ABS sensor for their spindle. I still have plans to install the MK60e5 ABS module but not sure when I'm going to make that happen.