kaninja

Baltothewolf

kaninja
Did you do both upper and lower rear control arms? Which brand did you get? I remember the massive improvement it made in my car.....it took the jello like right out of the rear.

SVE tubular, they came from latemodelrestoration.com. And Yea man, they made a massive difference. I literally redid the entire rear end of the car haha. I wish I had done it sooner!

Yeah, single biggest improvement was replacing the marshmallows that Ford used.  Seriously though, the next thing that will make a big difference is the shift kit once you get around to it.  It shifts so much better, firmer, quicker that it will shave 3/10ths off in the 1/4 mile alone.
 
Hey which Edelbrock manifold are you installing?  Also, you did get weld in subframe connectors right?

I don't know which Edelbrock it is, and no, they aren't weldable ones, I'll get those in the future. I'll take a pic next time I'm over there of them.

As for the shift kit, trust me I know. Now with these 4.10's it hops gears even faster now ahahaha.

bill1024
Or get a lift that lifts the car by its wheels,. Welded in wrong can make the doors not work right and line up wrong.
Lift the carpet up out of the way or have some water handy.

  Absolutely, suspension must be fully loaded with the cars weight.
 
 

Yesterday I got the oil changed, tranny fluid changed (even drained the torque inverter), new rims mounted and an alignment. Man what a difference! My shifts are Soooo much smoother and the ride quality due to not being ok bent rims is wonderful. I also found out the rack and pinion is the primary leak. I had filled it up just 2 weeks ago to the 'full hot' line and it was almost bone dry when my mechanic friend checked it.

There is one problem, however. My rear end is 'howling' when I let off the throttle at above 2100rpm in 3rd and 4th. There is also a 'whine' sound when accelerating. I have a feeling there is to much backlash, or the carrier bearing is going out (or both). My buddy who sold me this rear end has 3.73's. I don't want it, but if it's not a cheap fix then I'll have no choice. Sucks I love these 4.10's. Drove it all the way down the hill (70 miles) and back without being annoyed by the higher revs. Even got good mileage too.

Looks good! Don't worry about thise who judge. It's what you want and you're not in over your ass in debt. Some of the best cars you'll ever own is the ones you work the hardest on.
 
Did you check the fluid in the rear axle? Could be cavitating causing that noise. I've seen them get all foamy inside and have serious noise issues. Definitely worth a check. Another way it to see if there's any play on the yoke going in and out. You can check with a large screwdriver or even a small pry bar.

DenyGFX
Looks good! Don't worry about thise who judge. It's what you want and you're not in over your ass in debt. Some of the best cars you'll ever own is the ones you work the hardest on.
 
Did you check the fluid in the rear axle? Could be cavitating causing that noise. I've seen them get all foamy inside and have serious noise issues. Definitely worth a check. Another way it to see if there's any play on the yoke going in and out. You can check with a large screwdriver or even a small pry bar.

 
My buddy who sold the rear end to me and myself pulled the cover off before we put it in the car and inspected it. The fluid level was good and the ring/pinion gear looked like it was spot on in the middle, so that's why the issue is evading me. It ONLY does it in overdrive to, not in D or 1st gear. I don't understand it. 

bill1024
Just do what you can when you can. I admire people who takes a car and bit by bit makes it better by restoring it.
Anyone can buy a new car and never turn a wrench on  it and win a car show or beat a slower car in a race.
You want to make it safe and road worthy first of all. Take care of any mechanical issues, then get any rust under control. Then go for the "mods"
Read, do a lot of research, ask questions from several sources. Have realistic goals.
Most of all, it's your car, have fun with it. Make it so that you like it!!!!!
 

Thanks guys for the kind words. I just see so many nice ones up here, and when I ask them what they do for a living, they all do really high end jobs (like my buddy who is a high up manager for Wal-Mart). 
 
As for road worthyness, the brakes situation has been taken care of, and it being a 100% california car, it has absolutely no rust, anywhere. It's nice to live in Cali and not worry about such things haha.

A LOT of progress has been made since the last update. Some good, some not so good (gonna take pics tomorrow).
 
I have gotten installed/cleaned ready for installed.
BBK Equal length tube headers (man that was a b*tch).
Aluminum driveshaft. (10lbs lighter than stock steel one).
SVE cold air intake (econo kit only 62$ rofl).
Stage 8 bolts for the headers.
140 AMP Alternator. SO MUCH BETTER THAN STOCK OMG. I used to dip to around 11.5v with heater on full black, headlights and blinker and radio, now I never dip under 13 even at idle.
Edelbrock intake is ready for installation (cleaned and stuff).
Subframe connectors are gonna be sand blasted sometime in the next couple weeks and painted.
Koni adjustable front shocks(struts?) are ready for installation.
Adjusted TV cable (must better shifting now).
 
I know a lot of you objected to the subframe connectors, but I got them for free, and all my buddies at the shop I work at (I'm a mechanic now) say they won't be as good as weld on, but they are good enough and will make a difference while I wait to get weldable ones.
 
Things I will be getting soon.
70mm TB with 70mm EGR spacer.
Underdrive pullies.
Electric fan.
New o2 sensors.
Plasti-dip hood.
 
 
 
That's all I'll be doing to the car for a while. I'm fairly happy with the way it is now, and I know it's going to be even better once I put the TB, underdrive pullies and intake on. I need to calm down and get some money saved up incase something happens, plus I am still looking into tossing a turbo on my insight.
 
 
Almost forgot to mention, the aluminum driveshaft all but eliminated my growling problems coming from the rear end. There is some vibration with the car at speed, I think it's my worn front suspension components though. Before I could feel it in the shifter and pedal (probably driveshaft) and it's gone now. Now I only feel it coming from the front end. I just put new tires on it and balanced them (did the work myself), along with an alignment so I know that aspect of it is right. I notice my car dips way to much when I brake, and I believe my front right shock(strut?) is leaking so that might be part of the problem.
 
 
 

I really don't think I need #42 injectors for 5lbs of boost, do I? My friend ran the same injectors with 10lbs of boost and an FMU unit and his ran fine

Also, I have the option to get known working good 24lb injectors for 80$ for all 8. I don't really fancy spending 300$+ for injectors. The point of my build is a very conservative low boost daily driver.

moar pics!

bill1024
Or find a nice used set of aluminum heads and pick up an explorer intake and swap cam. HCI is always an option.
That will get you 300w HP. or more
Plus it's better to have aluminum heads for when you add the blower down the road.
Cause you will want to, it's never enough.
 

Also, I have edlebrok upper and lower intake ready to go on.

This intake manifold: http://www.latemodelresto...ifold-Titanium-Poweder

bill1024
Pounds of boost on a gauge is just reading how much back pressure there is.
The better your motor breaths (better heads, bigger exhaust/intake) you will see less boost on the gauge.
The more you mod your motor you will see less boost, but it will amplify the HP gains from it.
It's all about the flow through the motor, not the built up pressure that can't flow through.
 
 

I'll be putting on the intake before the super, and I already have BBK equal length tube headers on there, plus sometime this year or early next year, I plan on getting a California legal X-pipe and catback, due to mine starting to fail.

As for heads, I have been looking for good used trick flow heads or something of the sorts. I know the vortech will work with what I have now, but that is definitely in the future. I also have my insight I need to turbo, so I really need to do something to this car, then something to that car, and back and forth.

42# injectors it is then. If I can get this supercharger for 1200 I'll be tickled pink. As for how much HP I want, 400 is my goal target. Nothing more. I'm not one for 'gotta have more' it's more of 'I have a dream car in my head and I want to make it happen'.

kaninja

Baltothewolf
42# injectors it is then. If I can get this supercharger for 1200 I'll be tickled pink. As for how much HP I want, 400 is my goal target. Nothing more. I'm not one for 'gotta have more' it's more of 'I have a dream car in my head and I want to make it happen'.

400hp in a 3,200 lb car BWAHAHAHAHA BEAST!!  I was pushing right around 560whp with a Novi 2000 and 60lb injectors with a built 331cu.in short block...aluminum heads and I could barely keep the rear end under the car with the stickiest tires on the street.  400hp on the street is the sweet spot for a properly sorted out Fox.

Exactly. I drove my friends Fox today that has a vortech v1, 42# injectors, some crazy cam in it, and straight piped 3". It was 435HP, and it was perfect. It's exactly what I want. (minus the straight pipe).

bill1024
I am so tempted to make you an offer for the 8 and 3.25 pullies and mondo bypass if you buy that kit.
But then I can see my block sitting on the ground in two pieces and a 408 being lowered in its place.
 

Yup, those blocks like to split right down the valley.  I really wish Ford would have made a few thousand more sportsman blocks.  I was lucky enough to grab them when they were dirt cheap and in abundance...around $900.....then after they were discontinued they were going for over $1800.  They had more material in the webbing and in the valley and could realistically handle about 150hp more than the standard 5.0 roller block.

Don't think I'll be getting that supercharger. It's already at 1425 with 2 days left. Oh well. I was only willing to go 1500.

I guess I'll just buy a turbo for the insight in this case. - shrugs-

EDIT: For all you who see this thread, can you look around in your local area for vortech v1 superchargers? If one pops up let me know and I'll either drive out, or fly out to pick it up.

those vortech v1 superchargers, aren't those the belt driven chargers(pretty much a belted turbo)? Just for 5.0's, think I've seen them on a few I6's too?
 
 EDIT:
http://www.jegs.com/p/Vortech/Vortech-Ford-Superchargers/1137093/10002/-1
 
Damn, don't remember those being that much gold, last time I looked at a turbo setup for my RIP Integra, you could do a chipped ECU, and a simple fuel setup for under $3K, not much difference in parts and setup for a single turbo for a lite boosted FoxBox. But it's been a few years...