2020 Project Thread

Duke5A

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It's that time of year again for another project thread. Going to be a short list this year, but not cheap.

  • Finalize the disc brake upgrades
  • New custom fuel tank with in-tank pump
  • Redo the front of the motors cooling setup
  • Finish the exhaust

Currently the car has rear disc using a Ford Explorer kit and the fronts are 11.75" drilled/slotted/plated rotors with factory calipers. I'm going to stick with the rotors and replace the calipers on the front with 4-piston units from Wilwood. Got the calipers and still need to get stainless flex hoses. I'm also going to take the opportunity to get rid of the power booster. My engine only pulls 13" of vacuum and the booster is nothing but a pain in the ass. Going manual brakes with a Baer master cylinder. Haven't done the math yet to figure out what piston bore diameter I need yet.

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It looks like this:

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If you followed my previous yearly project threads you'll remember I had a lot of issues with fuel sloshing in the tank after I fuel injected the car. Rather than retrofit the tank I'm going to have one made out of aluminum similar to those fuel cells you see on Summit. This way I'll gain enough clearance on the sides to run 3" exhaust pipes.

The cooling setup on the front of the motor needs to change. I originally used a passenger side inlet water housing so I could reuse my small block radiator. This worked, but it makes for a real pain in the ass trying to set the timing. I'll figure something out plumbing wise so I don't have to replace the radiator.

The exhaust still has 2.5" pipes and it's choking the motor. 40 wheel HP lost on the dyno through it. It's getting 3" pipes all the way back after the tank is done and I'll have my electric cutouts installed at the same time.

More to come!
 

Aspen500

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In my car's previous life, I had a drivers side pump housing and pass side radiator. Went to the store and eyeballed molded hoses and got a couple to cut that would work. Then, ran a stainless tube across, right above the t-bars. It worked for the time. Now I've got pass side housing and you're right about the timing but everything's a compromise, right? :D
 

Duke5A

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In my car's previous life, I had a drivers side pump housing and pass side radiator. Went to the store and eyeballed molded hoses and got a couple to cut that would work. Then, ran a stainless tube across, right above the t-bars. It worked for the time. Now I've got pass side housing and you're right about the timing but everything's a compromise, right? :D

It sure is! I've seen a couple clean installs using a pipe to cross over, so I'm going to give it a try. I'm converting to ECU controlled timing so this needs to be accurate, and I can't get it that way in it's current configuration.
 

Duke5A

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Mocked up the calipers on the front end today since time made itself available for once. Looks great. I can't wait for Spring.

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Aspen500

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At one point I had considered trying the lower hose from a '92-'97 Crown Vic. They go from one side to the other. It's 1 1/2" dia on both ends so it wouldn't fit on the 1 3/4" pump housing outlet. It's also longer so it'd have to be cut and spliced, which would take care of the problem of the extra hose that t's off of it.
With the pass. side outlet, I don't remember what hose I used. It's a molded hose that, IIRC, only needed a couple inches cut off the radiator end to fit perfectly. It was for some Mopar, maybe even a 360 F-body. Wish I could remember in case it ever needs replaced.

Side note: If you have A/C and the heater core nipples are behind the carb, molded heater hoses for a '90's Dodge van will work well. They have a 90 degrees bend where hooked to the core and solve the real estate problem back there.

Those brakes should do the trick and I'm with you, can't wait for spring either.



Just for the heck of it, my solution to the upper hose using a 90 degree coolant pipe from Speedway Motors.
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Crown Vic lower hose:
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Duke5A

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Not much to add, but I have been out in the garage. I made the mistake of not getting the rear rotors plated when I got the kit. Didn't take long for them to start rusting. Drive shaft was also starting to rust a bit. Out it all came and got cleaned up and painted. Got the calipers painted black to match the front Wilwood calipers too - would have looked goofy having black fronts and red rears.

Think I got axle sealed up too. This is what actually started this entire mess was a leaky passenger side axle seal.

Now I got to fix power steering pump. Already ordered a new unit from Bergman that is valved to match the Borgeson box I have. The old one decided to relieve itself of it's contents all over the garage floor during the winter.

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Duke5A

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New power steering pump is in. Neglected to notice this one uses a keyed pulley, so I needed to purchase a new one. In addition I needed to make a new pressure hose as the fittings changed a bit. Before I had a flow reducer in the pump that outputted to -6AN. This new one I'm not screwing with the pressure and flow valving at all, but I still wanted it to go to -6AN. Bergman sells a banjo that adapts this, but it dumps at 90 degrees, so new hose to reach.

The line is braided PTFE with the required fittings. These fittings are not regular AN fittings and can only be used with PTFE hose. They are actually a ton easier to assemble than traditional AN fittings on braided rubber hose. They're just damn expensive.

Hopefully this is it. I haven't even started any upgrades this year, just cleaning up shit that broke over the Winter. Should be out on the road tonight for a shakedown cruise. If everything is OK I'll be off to a custom radiator shop to inquire about getting a new fuel tank made up.

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Duke5A

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Brakes are finally installed. Had it out for an extended cruise on Woodward yesterday and they worked good. Might change out to a different master cylinder size in the future, but good for now. The biggest plus is that the calipers are dead nuts quiet driving over bumps. That was my biggest gripe with the factory brakes was the pad chatter. You could get them quiet with a hardware kit, but it never lasted long.

Next up is an LED headlight conversion and the fabricated fuel tank.

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