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Shelby GT350 Build..."HAN SOLO"

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50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
302 Hi Pro said:
Nice, looks great and hope she comes together so you can drive her very soon. We have 2 days here with temps forecasted in the 70's. Nicest February weather that I can remember, and no salt on the roads! Boss time for me.

Good Luck,
302 Hi Pro

Getting close!!

shiznit just got real! Finished up the transmission swap and getting the MGW all settled inside of the car. As well as a fresh oil change. So far it has been a very successful venture, but I need to get some miles on the car. Here are a few things I wanted to highlight...

Oil Change:
After seeing and experiencing the drama with messy oil changes I had a bit of an @Epiphany (see what I did there). I had a small funnel laying next to me as I pulled off the inspection cover and thought it would be a perfect way to catch oil coming out of the filter. Turns out I was right. The funnel is wide enough to catch all the droplets, and sits low enough to allow clearance to reach up behind the wheel and unscrew the filter. All the oil is directed into the pan and I had VERY LITTLE run off. I think all that try this will be pleased. Saved me a bunch of time.

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Oil Separator Draining
During the oil change I disconnected and drained both oil separators. This was after approximately 6500 miles of street driving. I was very surprised at the amount of fluid that came from the passenger side of the car. The driver side was bone dry. If you are operating your Shelby without one, I would purchase at least the passenger side ASAP.

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Driveshaft Install:
Ford has made all the driveshaft bolts one time use. Transmission flange, center bearing, and differential flange. The install instructions did not include the torque figures, but the Helm info I got from @Epiphany specified 41 ft/lbs. as I Installed the bolts to the differential they wouldn't thread. I looked a little closer and saw these 2 wax rings on them. Presumably to mark a used bolt, and prevent the bracket from coming off. In either case these need to be taken off before install. Peels off easy with a nail or screw driver.

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Transmission Fluid:
Once the transmission was all attached I went to add the required 3.3 quarts of fluid. I nestled in under the transmission with my fluid pump ready to go. The bolt was a little hard to remove so I had to muscle it. Then all of a sudden BOOM! Red transmission fluid all over my face, and now I know how a porn star feels. I thought Ford shipped these dry!, but I was very wrong. The transmissions comes filled to the top plug. Seeing as I am the guinea pig, the rest of you can save some money at the parts counter. I still needed to fire up the car up for 2 minutes with the clutch engaged so fluid could circulate and then recheck

MGW Install:
The interior portion of the install was easy thanks to the video. I managed to pull the center console and reinstall it without breaking any clips. The new boot @MGW includes went on in place of the foam contraption. I did need to adjust my lock out a tad, but once that was done it felt damn smooth. Cutting of the leather shift boot plastic was accomplished without fuss using my hack saw. Screwed on the shifter ball and marveled at the car. I have to applaud @MGW for all the forethought put into reducing NVH. The rubber gasket on the rear shifter mount plate, rubber caps on he shifter body, extra interior sound deadening. I am not an engineer so I wouldn't know what locations were susceptible to noise, but I see how much work that must take to identify. Fully installed I cant help but admire the craftsmanship on the shifter coin and base. So glad I had @MGW do the custom coloring for me. DEAD SEXY!

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I very nervously attached the battery cables, fired up the car, and it came to life. At this point I did not see any leaks and only the feint smell of transmission fluid as it began coursing through the coolers new vanes. No smoke, no bangs, no weird sounds. I hope the first drive goes well, but currently working on bleeding the clutch. pumping the pedal did not result in a proper bleed, going to need a vacuum pump.
 
Great job on getting this done in your garage. The custom highlights on the shifter look pretty sharp too!
 
VoodooBOSS said:
Great job on getting this done in your garage. The custom highlights on the shifter look pretty sharp too!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=where+does+he+get+those+wonderful+toys&view=detail&mid=90810CB2E20655A8AE2F90810CB2E20655A8AE2F&FORM=VIRE
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Nice use of the funnel for the oil change. Many of us use a Pig Form-A-Funnel. They come in several sizes

http://www.formafunnel.com

https://www.amazon.com/PIG-Form-A-Funnel-Flexible-Draining-Tool/dp/B003V9JWHO?th=1

I'm using the 6.5x14.5 one. Not a drop spilled on my last oil change.

Great build thread, btw...especially your trans and cooler update.
 

50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Grant 302 said:
Nice use of the funnel for the oil change. Many of us use a Pig Form-A-Funnel. They come in several sizes

http://www.formafunnel.com

https://www.amazon.com/PIG-Form-A-Funnel-Flexible-Draining-Tool/dp/B003V9JWHO?th=1

I'm using the 6.5x14.5 one. Not a drop spilled on my last oil change.

Great build thread, btw...especially your trans and cooler update.
I had seen that once before but had no idea of the name. Looks like a useful tool as well.

Figured documenting the swap would be good for others attempting to tackle it. Looking forward to some on track experience this year
 

50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Some new updates:

Through the relationships I have built with S550 Carbon / Carbon Cartel and ZL1 Addons I am able to bring some discount codes to the community. They are both good for 5% off your order.

ZL1 Addons 5% discount code: Hansologt350
S550 Carbon / Caron Cartel 5% discount code: CFCHS552

Been rolling the car around for about 1k miles since the transmission swap and hit the jackpot mileage. I also decided it was a good idea to buy some locking Gorilla lug nuts to keep the wheels on the car.

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Things have been working perfectly with the new coolers. Transmission is way cooler in traffic and the car held up beautifully during its first autocross event. More details on that to follow. The @MGW shifter is also well broken in and feels great on the road. No increased NVH and its a pleasure during hard shifting. Here are also a few photographs from my last photoshoot that I edited. Waiting on a few from the autocross event.

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50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Thanks for posting the discounts. Have you thought about getting your license plate in white instead of the vintage black? Might look better on your white car.

How did you do yesterday?
I have thought about it. Honestly I will probably switch back to the Han Solo plate for the Shelby and save the Jedi for another vehicle.
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
Hi 50Deep:

I have to say this again, your setup on the GT350 is stunning. The attention to detail along with the new wheels and stance is absolute automotive art!

Beautiful Shelby, thanks so much for sharing.
2HP
 

50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Well I finally got the Shelby out doing what it was meant to do... in a sense. How do I eloquently describe Autocross? To be direct it is a lot of four play, and a little bit of sex.

I ran with the SCCA Solo group for my region. 4 runs that lasted under 60 seconds a piece if you were doing it right. A good time, but a total tease compared to the 20 minute sessions you would get at a road course. That being said I had a BLAST. Had a great time with that group and met a lot of good people. Real laid back guys/gals out there just looking to have fun. I also loved seeing the different fields of cars. Everything from old school Datsun 510's to a new Viper GTS. If you have a chance to attend one I highly recommend it. I was lucky to have @straightliner1 attend and help me with tire pressures, photography, track tips, etc.

On the down side the autocross event really highlights how much this car is engineered for an open road course. The tall gearing and rev range are best suited for where the car can stretch it's legs. I found myself driving in 1st gear the entire run in order to get the best time. Just not enough room to get into 2nd gear, and if you did then the braking zone and downshift were coming so fast that you were just losing time. Not until now did I realize how much different a car setup for autocross and a road course could be.

Anyway enjoy these pics. The car ran great with no issues. Did everything I asked and never fought back. Even kept me from eating cones with the nannies on. Photos taken by @straightliner1 with some editing by me after.

Want to extend a thank you to all the guys here at TMO. I started out on this site with a tech package and a dream. Learning from you all I am starting to make progress into the road course world for the first time. Making good friends and memories along the way.

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50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Well my adventure continues. The car is over getting ceramic coated at Imperial Works in Sacramento. This is the last bit of preparation before the Fabulous Fords Forever show in Buena Park at the end of this month. I stopped in to check out the cars progress and drop off a few things. I have to say that the Ceramic coating has a definite effect on the depth of the paint, and shine on the exposed carbon fiber. I will highlight it more in a different post, but I wanted to show how my S550 Carbon mirror caps came out

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I also wanted to share some teaser photos of the new parts I am happily going to debut for S550 Carbon. They will be releasing a hood vent and fender vents for our cars. I provided some input on a new variation of the GT350 Hood Vent. This is an all carbon fiber piece with a metal black mesh screen. It is inspired by the 13-14 GT500 as to keep some mustang heritage. They have also sent me one of, if not the first, set of all carbon fiber fender vents. A second option for the fender vents will be a carbon fiber / plastic hybrid.

Overall impressions are very good. I will get more detailed about fitment and quality after they have been ceramic coated. I had to drop them off at the detail shop and did not get to do any test fitting or mocking up. Once I do I will provide a detailed review. S550 Carbon has been really good about taking my input on changes or improvements so I have enjoyed working with Dan. For now I will leave you with these, and please post your thoughts as they will be coming to market soon.

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50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Had the opportunity to visit Santa's workshop today. By that I mean the HQ of ZL1 Addons. Had the opportunity to meet the owner John, take a tour of his laboratory, and visit the nearby production facility in Poway. I will be writing a seperate article about my experience and the company here shortly. I also couldn't leave Santa's workshop without a few early Christmas gifts Might as well subscribe now. More to follow!
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50Deep

Jockin' GT350's
837
835
Sacramento
Got the car back from Imperial Works in Sacramento after the Ceramic Pro treatment. The end result and customer service were top notch. Will be going to them from here on out and recommend them for sure. They also did a little photo shoot with the car. Can't wait to get the rest of the pictures

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