The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

S197 Whiskey Lima Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,420
8,346
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Heh, 21, this is 22 and great color, great mods and looks like you got some weight out of her --- nice effective Weight Watchers diet, ha. Now you just need to get some sticky rubber as those Sumitomo 300TRW are not known for their stiction , and you can even stay with the same parent company if you get some Falkens ( the new RT660 is a good choice ). Sumitomo owns Falken and they have gotten pretty serious in the past few years to get a solid 200 TWR rubber donut. The RT615K was a good start, but the 660 looks like it will have better stick , and still lasting longer than some other gumballs!

Thanks for posting and did I mention what a lovely color your car is?!
 
Last edited:
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Bill, thank you for your informative response & kind comments. I don't know if color preference has anything to do with age, but I've been attracted to the calmer hues in my 50's - they're clean & fast. I've been perusing TMO for a few years, and always learn something from the smart track crowd here. I'm just beginning my HPDE track days - with 6 events logged in the Southeast so far. I just got cleared to solo while at Road Atlanta in July. I realize I have a tremendous amount to learn, and a lot of room to develop my skills & consistency. Having said that, I'm pretty sure I'm not pushing the limits of my Sumitomos (all 6 events) with any regularity - yet. I will definitely consider Falken 660s for my next set. Thanks for the recommendation, and your Boss looks fast on your trailer - awesome color. Cheers, Tom
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
6,518
8,154
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Pleasanton: 1/2 way between Sonoma and Laguna Seca
Everybody knows white is the fastest color.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,420
8,346
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
There are plenty of good tires out there and sounds like you have a great attitude about learning the craft and working on your skill level. Funny, over the years I found the drivers who work harder at hitting their apexes, cleaning up their bad habits and have a willingness to learn ( and often relearn ) end up being the quickest on the track as time goes by. I just brought up the Falkens as you are definitely tire deprived, but with your attitude it is easy to see you will go really fast when you do get some gummy black automotive donuts. Have fun and look forward to hear more about your new adventures in the Land of Trackrats and cone carving sickos, ha!

Had to look up Niceville , Florida as it sounds like a town within DisneyWorld, but it does exist and I am willing to bet it is a friendly place? Born in Florida , so I had to look it up out of Native curiosity.
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Finally had some time to install some new equipment: Setrab 925 w/ 180° t-stat; B302S grille; Blowfish front tow hook; #10 SS mesh screen behind upper & lower grilles; Vorshlag rear tie-down hooks.
Next up - some real gauges ( OT, OP, WT), and I'm on the fence installing Auto-Blip. Still learning to effectively h-t, albeit slowly.

20200825_191716.jpg

20200911_162957.jpg

20200920_174043.jpg
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Installed Auto-Blip today, and a check flight to verify operation -- works as advertised. Mounted controls in console rear storage compartment. Started out at Duration 11o'clock, & Delay 1130. Roebling Road Raceway is next on the schedule for 7-8 Nov, where I will fine tune the settings. Thanks for the informative tutorial threads & feedback. This is THE #1 site available for Mustang Track enthusiasts. Cheers20201011_151936.jpg20201011_151856.jpg20201011_151827.jpg

20201011_152239.jpg
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
6,518
8,154
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Pleasanton: 1/2 way between Sonoma and Laguna Seca
Installed Auto-Blip today, and a check flight to verify operation -- works as advertised. Mounted controls in console rear storage compartment. Started out at Duration 11o'clock, & Delay 1130. Roebling Road Raceway is next on the schedule for 7-8 Nov, where I will fine tune the settings. Thanks for the informative tutorial threads & feedback. This is THE #1 site available for Mustang Track enthusiasts. CheersView attachment 58839View attachment 58840View attachment 58841

View attachment 58842
I found the delay on zero and duration at about 11:00-12:00 to work best for me.

45640769_10156817094643535_2267624148240957440_n (1).jpg
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
During my tech Inspection prior to CMP, I realized the CV flange boot to the differential had failed (torn/cut w nickel size hole) & expelled all grease across the tunnel. I was planning to install new DS, Exedy clutch & MGW shifter after this event. Well, the FRPP 1- piece, 3.5" aluminum DS (M-4602-MGTM) was on tap and moved to the urgent list.

20210801_131415.jpg

20210802_073930.jpg
 
Last edited:
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Is the OEM driveshaft serviceable in this condition (torn boot)? Is the DS a R&R component? Just wondering if there is any point in holding on to it.
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Installed the Archetype Racing Oil Balancing hoses on my '12 GT Gen 1 cylinder heads this week. After removing the intake manifold, you will remove 4 x 1/4" NPT (hex) plugs. A 6mm hex wrench will suffice as well. Even with the IM removed, there is little room to remove the 4 x plugs & install the AR fittings. Have a rag ready below the ports: I lost ~6oz of oil total. Be patient, especially when installing the straight AR couplings to avoid cross threading. Be prepared to loosen & rotate the sensors (1/side) permitting the coupling to seat properly - no need to remove the sensor. The driver side lower plug was the most time consuming for me. Took WL out for a shake down & leak check this morning. Very satisfied with the quality of the parts, and relieved this component is available - thanks AR.

20210819_194723.jpg
 
Last edited:
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
There are plenty of good tires out there and sounds like you have a great attitude about learning the craft and working on your skill level. Funny, over the years I found the drivers who work harder at hitting their apexes, cleaning up their bad habits and have a willingness to learn ( and often relearn ) end up being the quickest on the track as time goes by. I just brought up the Falkens as you are definitely tire deprived, but with your attitude it is easy to see you will go really fast when you do get some gummy black automotive donuts. Have fun and look forward to hear more about your new adventures in the Land of Trackrats and cone carving sickos, ha!

Had to look up Niceville , Florida as it sounds like a town within DisneyWorld, but it does exist and I am willing to bet it is a friendly place? Born in Florida , so I had to look it up out of Native curiosity.
Hey Bill I was planning to update my build & just noticed your comment at the end -- my apologies. Yes it is a great place to live & raise a family. Surrounded by military bases here in the Panhandle, quite conservative & perhaps a bit too quiet on the glamour/glitter scene for a lot of folks - but we love it here. Closest track is NOLA and Barber at ~4 hr away; Road Atlanta is 5+30 - one helluva track. I'm willing to sacrifice the distance to live in paradise, cheers. 🇺🇸
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Buddy & I installed the Exedy Hyper Single w/ lightened flywheel, new Exedy slave cylinder & FP heavy duty pilot bearing. While all was disconnected, installed the MGW Race Spec shifter too - what a difference in the shifter: excellent quality and precision. Had clear access to the AR oil balancing hoses, and snugged those up properly. Had my FP driveshaft upgraded w/ a Sonnax yoke & balanced to 3000 rpms. Car is running fine during initial stage of break-in (<3500 rpms). Haven't figured out the crank relearn yet. The errors I get may be related to the out of date software on my SCTx4 - will try again this week. Thanks for the recommendations on clutch & shifter, cheers.

20210911_102033.jpg

20210919_145334.jpg
 
Last edited:
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Well, I reached my threshold of sliding around in my stock GT Premium leather seats, sore neck from the wonderful headrest, and bruised legs from bracing myself on track. I selected the Sparco Pro 2000 QRT seats after sitting in several non-HALO versions. I planned to install the Watson 4-point bar at the same time too. The long pole in the tent for me was sourcing a proper bottom/chassis mount bracket for the seats.
Huge kudos to Terry & crew at Vorshlag for ramping up their S197 production line, and providing superbly crafted and beefy mounts for 1/3 less cost than their previous run. I elected to use Sparco sliders (#493) with my setup, and Sabelt Enduro Silver series 2" belts. I tried the Sabelt Steel series first, but these do not work on dual purpose cars with a center console and door panels: they only come with one type of lap belt (pull up) and the adjusting loop is near the attachment eyebolt. The Enduro Silver comes with two types of lap belts: the pull down set has the adjusting loop at the waist buckle and works great.
For the seat mounts and especially the roll bar, don't rush the project. Take your time and make several measurements to ensure everything is square & lined up. There are at least 20 holes that have to line up perfectly for the roll bar. For the downtubes, I drilled the holes slightly larger than what the instructions called for to give me a little wiggle room.
Now I am getting use to the snug-fitting seats on the street, and scrubbing the new R-S4 tires a bit before Road Atlanta in July - can't wait.

20220304_205811_WRB-drvr.jpg

20220304_210348_WRB_downtubes.jpg

20220227_135409_gussets-paint.jpg

20220602_104544_seat+mount_bottom.jpg

20220618_172822_Sparco1.jpg
 
80
97
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Niceville, Fla.
Thank you Bill. I'm getting use to the seats on the street, and feel better connected to my Mustang -- like a custom "driver tune". Glad I tried various seats before choosing one. Looking forward to Road Atlanta in July with the safety upgrades & R-S4s. Cheers
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top