Author Topic: '68 Mustang Coupe Drag Car (Read 23014 times)

mbrunson427 · « **on:** April 20, 2021, 10:08:43 AM »

We finally have enough done on the car that I figured I would share some pictures. This car came from Richie Pauley in California. I had heard that he may be interested in selling it, I spoke with him 2-3 times over the course of a couple years and he was finally ready to let it go. Bought it as a roller, without engine or trans. It was run in NHRA stock class, B/SA. We will not use it for that initially but may get back to that over the course of a few years. For now we're trying to run with a local group of nostalgia racers. The first engine that will go in it is the tunnelport that Blair recently built for us, it was intended for a Galaxie but will go in this for now. We'll replace the wonky dual plane intake and install a single plane 2x4.

Right now the only modifications we are making to the car are purely for looks. Removing the front fender emblems and adding GT badges, adding GT fog lights, putting on C-stripes, and painting the black cobra jet stripe up the hood. We also had a friend make some "Cobra Jet" script stickers for the rear quarters.

475fetoploader · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2021, 10:34:32 AM »

Looks sharp! Tunnel port, how cool is that going to be.

Gregwill16 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2021, 10:38:57 AM »

Very nice! Perfect place for that TP

WConley · « **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2021, 10:48:42 AM »

That is going to look and run awesome!

turbohunter · « **Reply #4 on:** April 20, 2021, 12:29:29 PM »

I love how in the second picture the Galaxie has its mouth wide open complaining, hey you stole my engine. WTF.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 20, 2021, 02:16:13 PM »

Quote from: turbohunter on April 20, 2021, 12:29:29 PM

I love how in the second picture the Galaxie has its mouth wide open complaining, hey you stole my engine. WTF.

HA! That's actually exactly what is happening. That white Galaxie is what that TP engine is intended for. It's 100% running and driving. Figured we have 5 other more pressing things to work on before that car get's pulled apart. Going to enjoy it with the 352 2-barrel for now.

mike7570 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 20, 2021, 02:52:33 PM »

I have a soft spot for tunnel port coupes

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2021, 03:05:53 PM »

Quote from: mike7570 on April 20, 2021, 02:52:33 PM

I have a soft spot for tunnel port coupes

That's neat!

You're going to love the wheels we picked out! Bogart "Bolted Fly Solid", aka centerline lookalike.
http://bogartracingwheels.com/fly-series/

mike7570 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 20, 2021, 05:54:30 PM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on April 20, 2021, 03:05:53 PM

Quote from: mike7570 on April 20, 2021, 02:52:33 PM
I have a soft spot for tunnel port coupes

That's neat!

You're going to love the wheels we picked out! Bogart "Bolted Fly Solid", aka centerline lookalike.
http://bogartracingwheels.com/fly-series/

That should be 9 second ride when finished! My tunnel port, when it was in the '67 coupe was a stock Ford version. It was 427ci, stock heads, intake, rockers, NASCAR crank & rods and a cam of .577 lift.
it ran in the 10.70 range with 3500 stall C-6 and 4.56 gears. What trans and gears are you going to run? Are you planning on running the 9" stocker tires or something bigger?
I'm staying with centerlines on the new build only they're a bit different.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 21, 2021, 09:01:20 AM »

Quote from: mike7570 on April 20, 2021, 05:54:30 PM

That should be 9 second ride when finished! My tunnel port, when it was in the '67 coupe was a stock Ford version. It was 427ci, stock heads, intake, rockers, NASCAR crank & rods and a cam of .577 lift.
it ran in the 10.70 range with 3500 stall C-6 and 4.56 gears. What trans and gears are you going to run? Are you planning on running the 9" stocker tires or something bigger?
I'm staying with centerlines on the new build only they're a bit different.

That's right, you're building the stock class Shelby. Our local track is Bandimere, so we'll be running at altitude, times won't be that great unless we take the car somewhere. Richie told us he came here with his car one year and he thought he had taken off in 2nd gear. For here we are planning on a 4.71 gear to start out. Running the 9" radial tire to start out as well. I may change it to a 275 radial, but won't do that until we get some runs in. The transmission is coming from Joel's, its a c4. The trans is the last piece we need before we can get it back together.

Cobrajet2 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 22, 2021, 09:06:32 AM »

Should be a fun ride. What color "Cobra Jet" lettering are you using on the White body? I can't quite tell with the decals still wrapped.

Mike

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 22, 2021, 10:20:49 AM »

Quote from: Cobrajet2 on April 22, 2021, 09:06:32 AM

Should be a fun ride. What color "Cobra Jet" lettering are you using on the White body? I can't quite tell with the decals still wrapped.

Mike

The background is black and the center is gold leaf print. I hope the gold leaf looks somewhat legitimate.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 03, 2021, 10:07:39 AM »

Stripes and lettering happened Saturday. Still working up the design on the door decals. Wheels/Tires are supposed to show up this week!

Gregwill16 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 03, 2021, 04:17:02 PM »

Looks great!

Cobrajet2 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 04, 2021, 03:23:47 PM »

Very nice!

WConley · « **Reply #15 on:** May 04, 2021, 03:42:52 PM »

Yes - Super cool! That's going to be a fun one

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 05, 2021, 08:50:05 AM »

Thanks guys! I'm pressing hard to get this car out at the track this summer. My '62 Galaxie is taking a bit of a sideline to it.

Nightmist66 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 06, 2021, 08:33:46 PM »

No shortage of cool projects at your place.

bobb428 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 10, 2021, 12:56:57 PM »

Mike, are you going to keep the 29" front tire? Also I would take the 69/70 insert out of the scoop so it looks more 68ish.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #19 on:** May 10, 2021, 03:17:48 PM »

Quote from: Nightmist66 on May 06, 2021, 08:33:46 PM

No shortage of cool projects at your place.

Thanks Jared. They don't get done very fast but I swear I work on them!

Quote from: bobb428 on May 10, 2021, 12:56:57 PM

Mike, are you going to keep the 29" front tire? Also I would take the 69/70 insert out of the scoop so it looks more 68ish.

We ordered M/T 29" front runners for it and got the same M/T tires Richie runs for the back. Should look much better with the new wheels/tires. Richie just slapped that set on there for shipping it here. The wheels he had on it were nice but not very nostalgic.

I didn't realize the scoop insert was a 69-70 thing. I'll take it off!

mike7570 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 10, 2021, 04:24:54 PM »

Will 29" fit a '68? I thought 28" was going to be a bit tight. Those front tires in the pictures look a lot smaller.
This is a 27" at full compression without springs.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 10, 2021, 05:46:41 PM »

Quote from: mike7570 on May 10, 2021, 04:24:54 PM

Will 29" fit a '68? I thought 28" was going to be a bit tight. Those front tires in the pictures look a lot smaller.
This is a 27" at full compression without springs.

Mike, look at the front fender closely. It's been massaged in the front of the wheel well to make the bigger tires work. The wheel well lip has all been pinched too.

bobb428 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 10, 2021, 06:11:22 PM »

Did you do bias or radials? For Bandimere I would start out on bias slicks because of how they prep.

bobb428 · « **Reply #23 on:** May 10, 2021, 06:13:49 PM »

Quote from: mike7570 on May 10, 2021, 04:24:54 PM

Will 29" fit a '68? I thought 28" was going to be a bit tight. Those front tires in the pictures look a lot smaller.
This is a 27" at full compression without springs.

Most stockers ran 29's now. On this coupe, they really folded the opening outwards. On Richie's car, he cut the fender opening. A 28" is as tight as you can go with the factory opening.

bobb428 · « **Reply #24 on:** May 10, 2021, 06:18:34 PM »

You can see how they opened the front by bending outward.

166706152_10218258722081236_5531579689067251767_o by Bob Smith, on Flickr

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 10, 2021, 06:49:12 PM »

Quote from: bobb428 on May 10, 2021, 06:11:22 PM

Did you do bias or radials? For Bandimere I would start out on bias slicks because of how they prep.

Richie had radials on it, we were going to run the same ones. I have also thought about buying some 275's for it, little wider, little shorter tire.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #26 on:** May 10, 2021, 06:50:26 PM »

By the way Mike, Bob is a good resource for the stock class stuff! Not sure if you've met him.

FE4SPDMustang · « **Reply #27 on:** May 10, 2021, 07:55:26 PM »

There are some very nice builds going on. How many are a decade or further into their build and still not done?

bobb428 · « **Reply #28 on:** May 10, 2021, 08:37:38 PM »

Mike, who did the decals? I have always wanted to do a smaller version to put on my cowl.

DSC_0405 (2) by Bob Smith, on Flickr

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #29 on:** May 10, 2021, 10:28:25 PM »

Quote from: bobb428 on May 10, 2021, 08:37:38 PM

Mike, who did the decals? I have always wanted to do a smaller version to put on my cowl.

Our friend Jolene. Her dad was a stock class guy, last name is Novak, I don't remember his first name. She has the design now, I'm sure she could shrink it down.

mike7570 · « **Reply #30 on:** May 11, 2021, 07:06:43 PM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on May 10, 2021, 06:50:26 PM

By the way Mike, Bob is a good resource for the stock class stuff! Not sure if you've met him.

No I haven't met him yet, maybe after I get the car on the track we will cross paths. I was looking at the wheels up launch he posted of Richie's (Your New) car. Other than the Wheelie bar my car looks almost identical underneath, does it have the Shelby drop?
If it wasn't for your tunnel port going in there we could set up a newbie B/SA match race. As it is you need to spot me 3-4 tenths.

bobb428 · « **Reply #31 on:** May 12, 2021, 11:04:41 AM »

Quote from: mike7570 on May 11, 2021, 07:06:43 PM

Quote from: mbrunson427 on May 10, 2021, 06:50:26 PM
By the way Mike, Bob is a good resource for the stock class stuff! Not sure if you've met him.
No I haven't met him yet, maybe after I get the car on the track we will cross paths. I was looking at the wheels up launch he posted of Richie's (Your New) car. Other than the Wheelie bar my car looks almost identical underneath, does it have the Shelby drop?
If it wasn't for your tunnel port going in there we could set up a newbie B/SA match race. As it is you need to spot me 3-4 tenths.

I am the guy on FB that has the NHRA S/SS & Cobra Jet groups.

mike7570 · « **Reply #32 on:** May 12, 2021, 03:50:28 PM »

Quote from: bobb428 on May 12, 2021, 11:04:41 AM

Quote from: mike7570 on May 11, 2021, 07:06:43 PM
Quote from: mbrunson427 on May 10, 2021, 06:50:26 PM
By the way Mike, Bob is a good resource for the stock class stuff! Not sure if you've met him.
No I haven't met him yet, maybe after I get the car on the track we will cross paths. I was looking at the wheels up launch he posted of Richie's (Your New) car. Other than the Wheelie bar my car looks almost identical underneath, does it have the Shelby drop?
If it wasn't for your tunnel port going in there we could set up a newbie B/SA match race. As it is you need to spot me 3-4 tenths.

I am the guy on FB that has the NHRA S/SS & Cobra Jet groups.

I'm not on FB very often, I'll take a look around to see if I can find it. Have seen your post over on ClassRacer.

bobb428 · « **Reply #33 on:** May 13, 2021, 03:57:54 PM »

Mike, I would assume her dad was/is Joe Novak. Can you ask her if she could scale the COBRA JET down to 2-3/4" tall? That scoop on there is a 69/70 that came on a lot of non Ram Air models. A lot of people throw them on 68's because they look really similar but have a few different measurements. On the 68's they were all open since they were all Ram Air cars. Finding a real 68 scoop starts around 2,500 and up when they do show up.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #34 on:** May 17, 2021, 09:29:44 AM »

We received the new wheel & tire setup this weekend, had to get them slapped on immediately! Richie gave us all the wheel dimensions, they worked out just right.

I am detailing the engine compartment now, should have that done by the end of the week and then I can put the whole front end back on and start focusing on the interior.

turbohunter · « **Reply #35 on:** May 17, 2021, 09:31:27 AM »

Would love to see your engine room detail.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #36 on:** May 17, 2021, 03:04:09 PM »

Quote from: turbohunter on May 17, 2021, 09:31:27 AM

Would love to see your engine room detail.

I'll snap some pictures while I'm at it. I'm half way done already, stayed up wayyy too late on Saturday night sanding and priming. Then I did nothing yesterday because I stayed up too late

e philpott · « **Reply #37 on:** May 17, 2021, 04:03:26 PM »

What kind of ET times are you expecting or would like to see with this combo ? Should scoot and looks fabulous

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 17, 2021, 05:34:42 PM »

I'd hate to toss out ET's and be sadly disappointed! I don't have a good feel for what it will run just yet, I guess that depends on how big of a fight it gives us before we get it sorted out!

My uncles old drag car, '64 Fairlane with about 75hp less than this ran 11.20 fairly consistently at Bandimere (5800 ft elevation). I think it weighed 3300 pounds. We're expecting this car to be a little faster than that if we can get it set up. This should put us in the proper range for running with the nostalgia guys out here. They have a 9.50-12.50 range that they like the cars to run in.

e philpott · « **Reply #39 on:** May 17, 2021, 08:56:26 PM »

I hear you on that but figured you had a good idea , my bet is it’s impressive . The ET number game has sure hurt feelings over the years . Forgot about the high elevation there , my car wouldn’t need a roll bar at your track , lol

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #40 on:** May 18, 2021, 01:01:33 PM »

Based on what the Fairlane use to run, I was hoping it would run mid-high 10's here. At a sea level track maybe, just maybe, fight it's way into a 9.99 pass. The first few times out I won't expect much out of it. We'll have some learning to do.

bobb428 · « **Reply #41 on:** May 22, 2021, 07:37:47 PM »

Hey Mike, let me know when it's complete and I will come up and get some pics for you!

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #42 on:** May 24, 2021, 12:22:43 PM »

Quote from: bobb428 on May 22, 2021, 07:37:47 PM

Hey Mike, let me know when it's complete and I will come up and get some pics for you!

That would be awesome! I'll keep you updated.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #43 on:** May 24, 2021, 01:14:10 PM »

Here's an instrument cluster update. We were able to get SW gauges stuck into the top holes and stuck in, an oil pressure light, and shift light. I looked up factory tachs for it and couldn't believe the expense of them, they are starting to get outrageous! Because of that, we blanked out the right hand hole and will mount up a tach on the steering column that sits in front of that hole.

Here's what the dash looked like when we got the car. Tach was mounted off of a plate that took place of the center dash trim panel. We'll be sticking that center trim panel back in.

We have a radio delete plate for it. More gauges will go in under the dash (trans temp, oil temp, volts).

mike7570 · « **Reply #44 on:** May 25, 2021, 02:28:42 PM »

Mike, we think alike
I'm just trying to figure out how to put an AutoMeter tach in the speedometer opening.

can't get picture to post

XR7 · « **Reply #45 on:** May 25, 2021, 03:20:15 PM »

I would sure think that will run well into the nines all day long, at any track near sea level and decent air. I think it will pleasantly surprise you! The chassis is pretty well sorted out, and you will have good power. I think it will get "dialed in" pretty quick. You will have to de-tune it and/or put a restrictor on it to stay out of the nines. You might have to re-gear it also because it will want to MPH.

I realize a 9 won't be happening at a mile high altitude, but should still run hard.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #46 on:** May 25, 2021, 03:48:03 PM »

Quote from: mike7570 on May 25, 2021, 02:28:42 PM

Mike, we think alike
I'm just trying to figure out how to put an AutoMeter tach in the speedometer opening.

can't get picture to post

Mike, the only tach I could find that had the correct dimensions was a smaller auto meter white face gauge. There's a couple companies that sell the whole instrument cluster with new auto meter gauges in all the holes, but that was a bit overboard for what's needed here.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #47 on:** May 25, 2021, 04:08:10 PM »

Quote from: XR7 on May 25, 2021, 03:20:15 PM

I would sure think that will run well into the nines all day long, at any track near sea level and decent air. I think it will pleasantly surprise you! The chassis is pretty well sorted out, and you will have good power. I think it will get "dialed in" pretty quick. You will have to de-tune it and/or put a restrictor on it to stay out of the nines. You might have to re-gear it also because it will want to MPH.

I realize a 9 won't be happening at a mile high altitude, but should still run hard.

Thanks for the input Thor! The main thing I have been worried about is the car seems pretty wheelie happy. I don't know what to expect out of it when we toss some more power at it. Are we going to end up pulling ballast out of the trunk? I'm not very savvy at this sort of thing. What corrections would you expect are coming our way with the added power?

475fetoploader · « **Reply #48 on:** May 25, 2021, 04:31:19 PM »

May be a situation where changing pinion angle can ‘soften’ the hit on the tire. If you’re running caltracs, tuning the preload on the bars could take hit away.

mike7570 · « **Reply #49 on:** May 25, 2021, 06:22:03 PM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on May 25, 2021, 03:48:03 PM

Quote from: mike7570 on May 25, 2021, 02:28:42 PM
Mike, we think alike
I'm just trying to figure out how to put an AutoMeter tach in the speedometer opening.

can't get picture to post
Mike, the only tach I could find that had the correct dimensions was a smaller auto meter white face gauge. There's a couple companies that sell the whole instrument cluster with new auto meter gauges in all the holes, but that was a bit overboard for what's needed here.

I put AutoMeter gauges in the top 3 openings the same way you did. The matching tach is too large to fit in the existing opening but enough of it should show to be readable. I have a spare junk dash that I might try modifying by cutting the opening larger from the back to see if I can get it to look decent. There is plenty of room behind the dash face since I'm not using any of the stock internals or wiring.

mike7570 · « **Reply #50 on:** May 25, 2021, 06:30:15 PM »

create image url

bobb428 · « **Reply #51 on:** May 28, 2021, 10:29:10 PM »

Calverts dash with the 5" installed

154 by Bob Smith, on Flickr

bobb428 · « **Reply #52 on:** May 28, 2021, 10:34:22 PM »

Quote from: XR7 on May 25, 2021, 03:20:15 PM

I would sure think that will run well into the nines all day long, at any track near sea level and decent air. I think it will pleasantly surprise you! The chassis is pretty well sorted out, and you will have good power. I think it will get "dialed in" pretty quick. You will have to de-tune it and/or put a restrictor on it to stay out of the nines. You might have to re-gear it also because it will want to MPH.

I realize a 9 won't be happening at a mile high altitude, but should still run hard.

Bandimere, while being at 5,800' is never corrected at that. We really don't have any mindshaft conditions here. My best pass, the altitude corrected @9,400'. I have to spin the ever living crap out of mine to get a decent time here.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #53 on:** June 13, 2021, 03:34:35 PM »

Marc, here are some engine compartment detail pictures as requested! We welded shut quite a few holes. I did a quick job of some shade tree bodywork before spraying it black. This week the goal is to get the whole front end of the car back together and get the trunk buttoned up (fuel cell and battery tray). We had to weld tabs onto the fuel cell because it didn't come with any sort of mounting provision.

Stangman · « **Reply #54 on:** June 13, 2021, 08:04:33 PM »

I’m curious about the ballast. How much is in the back of the car. Is it enough to get the rear to be the same weight as the front. Ya know we always try to get our cars as light as possible but I know the front of my car is like 450 lbs heavier than the back. I always wondered if the weight to get the car at 50/50 hurts the ET or helps.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #55 on:** June 14, 2021, 09:07:23 AM »

Quote from: Stangman on June 13, 2021, 08:04:33 PM

I’m curious about the ballast. How much is in the back of the car. Is it enough to get the rear to be the same weight as the front. Ya know we always try to get our cars as light as possible but I know the front of my car is like 450 lbs heavier than the back. I always wondered if the weight to get the car at 50/50 hurts the ET or helps.

There was a considerable amount of weight added to the trunk of the car. Between the battery, ballast bars, ballast box, and the mounting frame that was back there I would guess 200 pounds? To run B/SA the car needed to weigh in at over 3300 pounds. Not sure that the extra weight would have been added if there wasn't a requirement. I think in this case the car needed to be heavier and the trunk was the convenient place to put the weight.

I don't think we will end up using ballast. We are putting the box and the ballast mounts back in just for the sake of being able to easily convert it back to stock class configuration if we want to.

bobb428 · « **Reply #56 on:** June 14, 2021, 06:36:43 PM »

The weights for the CJ combo's are just ridiculous! You look at the Richie in C, almost 3,600#s vs RA2 Pontiac's at 3,200#s.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #57 on:** June 18, 2021, 03:07:45 PM »

More progress from yesterday, should be further this weekend!

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #58 on:** June 24, 2021, 03:24:04 PM »

I ordered a roll bar mounted switch panel for the car. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, figured I'd show you guys. Jolt Systems is where I ordered it from, Ryan was super good to deal with.
https://joltsystems.net/collections/switch-panels

WConley · « **Reply #59 on:** June 24, 2021, 06:25:57 PM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on June 24, 2021, 03:24:04 PM

I ordered a roll bar mounted switch panel for the car. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, figured I'd show you guys. Jolt Systems is where I ordered it from, Ryan was super good to deal with.
https://joltsystems.net/collections/switch-panels

That looks da business! Car is coming along great

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #60 on:** June 25, 2021, 08:49:57 AM »

That looks da business! Car is coming along great

[/quote]

Thanks Bill! Bunch of painting the interior this weekend and we should be able to bolt a bunch of parts on!

ron bidstrup · « **Reply #61 on:** June 25, 2021, 05:16:54 PM »

where did you get the adjustable quick release shock tower braces? i need a set of those.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #62 on:** June 28, 2021, 08:36:01 AM »

Quote from: ron bidstrup on June 25, 2021, 05:16:54 PM

where did you get the adjustable quick release shock tower braces? i need a set of those.

Ron, these were on the car when we got it. From looking at it, I would guess that it was a custom made deal.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #63 on:** June 30, 2021, 03:59:47 PM »

Here is a before/after of the trunk.

JohnN-1BADFE · « **Reply #64 on:** June 30, 2021, 06:18:43 PM »

Looking good Mike! Ken and I were talking about seeing if you would be around and available for us to come up this weekend....

John

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #65 on:** June 30, 2021, 10:20:42 PM »

Hey John! I should be around on Saturday. Actually, we're thinking of going to the race Saturday night at CNS. They have the "King of the Wings" race, the 410 sprint cars and then fireworks after. I'll text you guys.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #66 on:** August 16, 2021, 09:20:11 AM »

Alright guys, I'm back at it! The last couple months have been completely booked for me, my wedding, a friends wedding, and moving my Grandpa. The Mustang has gotten almost zero attention. I'm hoping to thrash real hard at it for the next week or two and have it ready to take to my buddies house so he can do all the wiring (he's one of those odd people that enjoy vehicle wiring).

This weekend I took a few hours and replaced some of the old light fluorescent light bulbs with LED retrofit bulbs. These have been sitting around for quite a while and I figured I'd at least do the fixtures near the Mustang for a bit better lighting.

I also have the gauge panel ready to mount up. Once the dash is painted later this week I will get it installed.

WConley · « **Reply #67 on:** August 16, 2021, 10:53:53 AM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on August 16, 2021, 09:20:11 AM

(he's one of those odd people that enjoy vehicle wiring).

Strange friends sure do come in handy!! Congrats on the nuptials, Mike.

jmlay · « **Reply #68 on:** August 16, 2021, 11:51:59 AM »

MAN DOWN! https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e1def08b-7b8c-4ca0-9d93-07cee5530aae

turbohunter · « **Reply #69 on:** August 16, 2021, 12:23:42 PM »

Spot on, on the SW gauges.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #70 on:** August 16, 2021, 01:10:55 PM »

Haha, thanks guys!

Once the interior is done and put back together and the car is wired, the portion of work at my house is complete and we'll take it up to my uncles for engine and trans. His shop is much better equipped for that.

After that, back on my '62 Galaxie anddddd........I hope to pull the '68 Cougar out of my uncles and bring it to my place, set it where the Mustang currently is. That'll be another project thread

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #71 on:** August 23, 2021, 02:21:33 PM »

We had a pretty good weekend of progress. Started with painting the dash, then cage, next will be floor. A friend of ours told us he painted the under-side of the dash white on his car to make working under there easier, I thought it was a good idea so we tried it here. That made things take a little longer because it required an extra step of masking and added time to dry, but we'll see how we like it. I shined a light under there just to see if it was worth anything and I think it's noticeably brighter.

In between watching paint dry I fooled with the dash trim, we had an old 428 cobra jet pin and my uncle had the idea to replace the red mustang logo with it. Turned out fairly well!

Tonight the roll cage should be dry and I can mask it and finish up the interior paint on the floor. Carpet/seats/seatbelts will be tomorrow night.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #72 on:** August 25, 2021, 09:38:53 AM »

Got a little more done. The passenger seat is intentionally left out for now until wiring is done. If you have a good eye, you can see the wiring panel on the passenger kick panel. I'll keep chugging at it tonight, get a bunch of parts mounted up (switch panel, gauges, MSD box, etc). Hoping to load it up and get it out of the shop by Friday night!

JohnN-1BADFE · « **Reply #73 on:** August 25, 2021, 03:34:15 PM »

Do you need me and Ken to come up to cut a hole in the trans tunnel for the 4-speed?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #74 on:** August 25, 2021, 05:02:41 PM »

Quote from: JohnN-1BADFE on August 25, 2021, 03:34:15 PM

Do you need me and Ken to come up to cut a hole in the trans tunnel for the 4-speed?

HA! We have too many things to work on as-is, I don't need to be fixing the 4-speed aftermath on this car all the time! This car was a 4-speed at one point in it's life, so there is a shifter hole in the floor with a blank cover that we made for it. Also has the proper pedal assembly but with the 3rd pedal removed. Maybe someday......

Haley is gone in Africa with her family so I'm home with the dogs for 2 more weeks (this is why I have been getting things done). You guys should stop up. Saturday I'm free all day and then I'm going to watch a friend Saturday night at CNS race his legend car.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #75 on:** August 30, 2021, 03:33:35 PM »

There's only a few small details to button up on the interior now. Need to mount up the tach and finish the back seat, I have a chunk of carpet ordered for that. The main thing I'm dreading right now is re-installing the vent wing windows. I'll probably bite the bullet and mess with that tonight. Once those are in, door panels can be slapped back on.

Wiring is going to be waiting a couple weeks now. My buddies shop is full of cars that he's waiting on parts for (way too common of a complaint right now).

475fetoploader · « **Reply #76 on:** August 30, 2021, 03:55:23 PM »

Great project! Great progress. I won’t argue, wing windows are not my favorite.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #77 on:** August 30, 2021, 04:44:20 PM »

Quote from: 475fetoploader on August 30, 2021, 03:55:23 PM

Great project! Great progress. I won’t argue, wing windows are not my favorite.

Thanks! I appreciate it.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #78 on:** September 13, 2021, 11:25:04 AM »

Ready for wiring. Behind schedule (as usual), but still moving forward. Dropping it off tomorrow, hopefully he can knock it out in a couple weeks. I can't wait until the engine and trans are in the car and the front end sits down, then we'll see how it looks.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #79 on:** September 16, 2021, 08:36:29 AM »

Made it to my friend Taylor's house for wiring. It's funny, the car is now parked in a shop full of Honda's. He was showing us some of the wiring harness patterns he has made for car types or engine types that he does frequently. The Mustang is a cakewalk compared to the all the data acquisition wiring he does on a modern turbocharged car. Excited to see his work when he's done.

WConley · « **Reply #80 on:** September 16, 2021, 09:56:48 AM »

Very nice Mike! That thing is going to be so sweet

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #81 on:** October 01, 2021, 11:40:26 AM »

I received some wiring progress pictures. 3rd Picture is the master wiring board with inputs/outputs/relays/fuses/etc, its mounted to the passenger kick panel.

Rory428 · « **Reply #82 on:** October 01, 2021, 05:28:11 PM »

Coming along nicely! do you have any close ups of the new Centerline copies? I have had Centerline AutoDrags on several cars since the mid 70s, the same set of AutoDrags have been on my Fairmont drag car since the mid 80s. Funny how so many people like the old Modified Production look of the Fairmont, including the Centerlines and Harwood snorkle scoop, but they were actually "state of the art" at that time, and I never felt any need to update them.
Also, I know they are not really thick, but when it comes time to install the headers on your Mustang, I am sure that you will be glad that you don`t have real Cobra Jet reinforced shock towers to deal with. Every 1/4" of room helps in that department!

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #83 on:** October 04, 2021, 08:50:50 AM »

Rory, I don't have any real good pictures of the wheels, but I was able to take a higher quality photo and zoom in on the front wheel. These wheels were my uncles choice. He had been on ebay hunting for a set of autodrags but none of them were the proper size.

Funny you mention the shock tower reinforcement. On our black '67 we installed a shock tower reinforcement kit, this one doesn't have that. We have the same exact REF headers for both cars, this one is noticeably easier to install the headers on. When we mocked up the '67 we had to get the grinder out and clearance parts of the reinforcement plates.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #84 on:** October 05, 2021, 10:35:44 AM »

Well we have power! Few things left to button up on the wiring and we'll have the car back! Getting more and more excited here

mike7570 · « **Reply #85 on:** October 05, 2021, 01:24:57 PM »

A little longer wheel stud will make the tech inspectors happier

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #86 on:** October 05, 2021, 02:56:45 PM »

Quote from: mike7570 on October 05, 2021, 01:24:57 PM

A little longer wheel stud will make the tech inspectors happier

Haha, yes or a shorter nut. These ones are 2-3 threads from sticking out, kind of annoying

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #87 on:** October 18, 2021, 09:00:13 AM »

Engine is ready to hit the dyno again this Thursday. Last time we had a dual plane intake on it that had been highly modified and worked OK-ish but was definitely holding it back. This time its a normal tunnel wedge style intake. Thursday we will test an un-touched intake manifold, Friday we will test one the my uncle Bob has modified a ton by widening the ports and installing these pretty crazy looking 3D printed air foils around the pushrod tubes.

We are still waiting on the transmission for the car. All wiring will be complete this week, and pending the engine dyno works out, the trans will be the final hurdle before we can have the car in one piece.

Gregwill16 · « **Reply #88 on:** October 18, 2021, 02:24:23 PM »

Beautiful engine!

XR7 · « **Reply #89 on:** October 18, 2021, 06:22:33 PM »

Love those dyno headers! Sure look great, EGT bungs too. What kit did you use? Most likely for a BBC then just used FE flanges? What diameter are they, and with a step? Did you weld them up or have someone build them?

hbstang · « **Reply #90 on:** October 18, 2021, 07:33:34 PM »

really nice project and high quality workmanship.
can you tell me is that an elimimator fuel pump you are using?how do they work with carbs?are they quiet and streetable?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #91 on:** October 19, 2021, 08:39:07 AM »

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

The dyno headers were made by REF. We called him up and asked if he could make a set because the FE headers that our local shop has don't have the EGT bungs, only have the O2, and they are smaller diameter. We also had kind of a crude setup for the run stand, those were Galaxie headers flipped upside down. These headers should work for both dyno and our run stand. They are 2" all the way, no step. They may not be optimal for all applications, but we needed a one-size-fits-all set.

The fuel tank is an Aeromotive deal. Ordered the tank complete. It works with carbs and EFI, just have to run the correct regulator at the front of the car. We haven't run it yet so I can't say how loud it is. In this case I wasn't worried about noise at all, but I thought the in-tank pump made packaging much nicer.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #92 on:** November 01, 2021, 08:45:51 AM »

The car is back at my place! Wiring done and the new front valence was reworked and painted. Transmission should be here today or tomorrow. I have about a weeks worth of random things to button up (like fuel system) then the car goes up to my uncles shop where the engine/trans will be dropped in.

Next Saturday the maroon '69 Fairlane on the lift is going away. It's an original 428 cobra jet car, the numbers matching standard bore engine is sitting underneath the shelf to the left. The guy who we got it from wanted it back really badly, and we weren't going to get it built anytime soon. He is local to us so it will be fun to see it all together and on the road.

bobb428 · « **Reply #93 on:** November 01, 2021, 08:35:36 PM »

Excited to see it done!

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #94 on:** December 27, 2021, 10:25:12 AM »

The holidays afforded me some more time to pick away at the Mustang. I have about 1 days worth of work at my place and it is going to get hauled off to my uncle Bob's shop. I'll take a day and completely clean out the workshop and pull something else in. We'll do the engine and trans at Bob's house.

Things I need to complete this week: Hang fuel lines under car, weld out shock brackets on rear of car and paint, change out front tie rods, mount catch can.

mike7570 · « **Reply #95 on:** December 27, 2021, 02:22:36 PM »

Really coming out nice!

Stangman · « **Reply #96 on:** December 27, 2021, 08:53:28 PM »

Yes coming out real nice. What’s with the motor mounts they are kinda funky lookin. Whatever happened to the motor getting dynoed with the different intakes

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #97 on:** December 28, 2021, 01:10:36 PM »

Thanks guys!

Quote from: Stangman on December 27, 2021, 08:53:28 PM

Yes coming out real nice. What’s with the motor mounts they are kinda funky lookin. Whatever happened to the motor getting dynoed with the different intakes

The motor mounts came with the car. They are solid fairly lightweight fabricated mounts. I just tossed the bolt through them and placed them there for now so they don't get lost. Engine had some trouble on the dyno. We ordered new pistons and rings for it, waiting on those to come in and we'll try over again. One step forward two steps back.

Stangman · « **Reply #98 on:** December 28, 2021, 08:14:32 PM »

Sorry to hear about motor is that the new one with the cut divider. Hopefully it will all be good soon.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #99 on:** January 10, 2022, 10:47:00 AM »

It was cold here yesterday and I didn't have any motivation to go out to the cold side of the barn and work on anything so I found this to mess with. Fuel, valve cover breather, and water pump braided line material should be here within a day or two and I'll go ahead and make those pieces while I have some time. Will make it go together faster when the engine is ready.

bobb428 · « **Reply #100 on:** February 28, 2022, 12:16:18 AM »

Carbs fit under that scoop?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #101 on:** February 28, 2022, 04:57:04 PM »

They fit perfect! Tunnelport intakes are shorter than you would figure, within a 1/4" height of a medium riser 2x4 C7ZX intake. I need to make one small cut in the back of the opening because the rear vent tube touches it. The hood wont go down with those blue and black carb hats on there.

bobb428 · « **Reply #102 on:** June 25, 2022, 07:54:15 PM »

Any news on the engine?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #103 on:** June 28, 2022, 04:22:50 PM »

Yeah I have a bit of news, most is good.....

Got the engine block back from Madcap, they bored and honed it out to 4.31". We did this because the most readily available ring size we could find was a 4.31" big block Chevy setup. So this is a 496" engine now. The bottom end is ready to final clean and assemble now.

The heads are under the knife....they wouldn't hold a pressure test, were leaking from the intake seats. We have a guy in Fort Collins that is going to fix them and do a valve job. Hopefully get those buttoned up within a few weeks and we can assemble this thing.

I'd love to hear it run by August.

bobb428 · « **Reply #104 on:** December 10, 2022, 02:51:37 AM »

I thought this was a Blair Patrick engine? What happened with it?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #105 on:** April 04, 2023, 02:45:04 PM »

I haven't updated this in quite some time..... feels like we've been making positive progress recently. The engine received a new set of tunnelport heads, these were hand ported by my uncle and look to flow very well. 390cfm on the intake side, 237 on the exhaust. I'll update again when we have this thing on the dyno.

The downtime has allowed me to make some modifications to the car and to take care of some maintenance. I shipped the brakes off to TBM this week to have serviced. Funkhouser Racecars makes Cal-trac lower brackets that relocate the shocks, I got those installed and made some frame mounting points. I have Viking double adjustable shocks on the way to replace the Calvert gas shocks. I'm kicking around the idea of installing a rear anti roll bar, but that's only if we're dealt even more downtime.

Also, the car got to be the feature of my nephews 1st birthday party. Being up on the lift, the car lent itself as a banner hanger for the party

jayb · « **Reply #106 on:** April 04, 2023, 03:49:09 PM »

Car looks great. 390 cfm out of tunnel port heads is really good!

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #107 on:** April 06, 2023, 10:48:09 AM »

Thanks Jay. The short turn is where 80% of the flow is gained on that head. Bob wore himself out getting the head flowed. I think he had the head on and off the flow bench 100 times making very slight changes to the short turn, afraid of going too far. I'm excited to see how it pans out on the dyno.

mike7570 · « **Reply #108 on:** October 04, 2023, 11:10:57 PM »

Any dyno numbers?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #109 on:** October 05, 2023, 11:26:54 AM »

Quote from: mike7570 on October 04, 2023, 11:10:57 PM

Any dyno numbers?

Mike, as the saying goes "if it wasn't for bad luck I would have none at all". The heads were ported and showed great flow numbers, we were very thrilled to get the engine going. Our friend John digitized the ports and CNC'd the rest of the ports. WELL, out of 8 holes, 1 of them got into a water jacket. That deflated us quite a bit. We didn't want to send another head out there and potentially ruin another very expensive tunnelport head.

There's more to this story that I hope we can share soon. But we're working on a resolution. In the meantime the car is parked at my house and I'm continuing to pick away at things that I can make nicer.

mike7570 · « **Reply #110 on:** October 05, 2023, 02:32:37 PM »

Ouch, I feel your pain. When I had a shop working on the BBM lifter bores for my new trick DLC coated shell lifters they hit a thin spot and broke into the water passage. The solution was to sleeve the lifter bores with bronze bushings which required cutting farther into thin area. It was after installation we found the lifters were misidentified and would not fit the bores. Trying to get new lifters after Covid was impossible and I finally found a solution with a Chrysler lifter. That hiccup took 17 months to sort out.

Heo · « **Reply #111 on:** October 05, 2023, 05:08:50 PM »

Mike, If you get hold of some that have a Castolin metalspray equipment
they can fix that
https://www.castolin.com/products-finder?filters=field_product_type,Flame+Spray+Equipment

Tunnelwedge · « **Reply #112 on:** October 06, 2023, 05:35:30 AM »

Quote from: mbrunson427 on December 28, 2021, 01:10:36 PM

Thanks guys!

Quote from: Stangman on December 27, 2021, 08:53:28 PM
Yes coming out real nice. What’s with the motor mounts they are kinda funky lookin. Whatever happened to the motor getting dynoed with the different intakes

The motor mounts came with the car. They are solid fairly lightweight fabricated mounts. I just tossed the bolt through them and placed them there for now so they don't get lost. Engine had some trouble on the dyno. We ordered new pistons and rings for it, waiting on those to come in and we'll try over again. One step forward two steps back.

The car looks spectacular.
Those engine mounts look like they will lift the engine up some. The stock mounts are lower. I have a Z's crossmember in my 68. It replaces the stock crossmember and ties the lower control arm eccentric bolt into the crossmember. I has locks for the eccentric bolt also. It also gave me the clearance I needed for my Canton T oil pan and screen. I did not get the jack pad. It does not clear the Canton on a 427. I have the Arning/Shelby drop as well and drive around with -2* of camber and love it. My car is more a road/off road tow car. Your car looks like a wheelie machine, but it may still help.

https://opentrackerracing.com/shop/mustang-streetcompetition-cross-member-fits-hi-po-boss-302-shelby-gt350gt500-1967-1970/

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #113 on:** October 06, 2023, 10:30:13 AM »

Thanks, I'll look into this! A jack pad under there would be nice.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #114 on:** October 25, 2023, 09:28:17 AM »

New shocks and leaf spring sliders are complete now. I'm starting to run low on miscellaneous to-do's. I might install my dummy block and mount up the trans so I can handle trans cooler stuff next.

Tunnelwedge · « **Reply #115 on:** October 27, 2023, 05:30:51 AM »

With the new Vikings the piston looks like it is pretty much all the way down at ride height.
Compared to the Calvert shock which show the piston about halfway in the tube .
I don't see that you would have much if any travel.
Is there something I'm not seeing?

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #116 on:** October 27, 2023, 08:08:50 AM »

The downward travel of the suspension is very limited. I still have about 1" of adjustment on the lower brackets that I can lower the body of the shock down and extend the shock out if necessary. I was going to wait until the engine and trans are in the car to see how all this stuff shakes out.

With the Calvert bars, when launched the rear end will separate from the body. So 80% of the shock movement is extension.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #117 on:** October 27, 2023, 08:10:33 AM »

Also, in the above pictures, the suspension was in full droop with the calvert shocks on it. I only set the shocks up to have about 1" or 1-1/2" of shock showing at ride height.

mbrunson427 · « **Reply #118 on:** April 02, 2024, 08:39:24 AM »

It's been a bit since I've put much effort into the race car. I decided a few weeks ago to complete an engine. I had been waiting on our new head castings to come out and put on this short block, but made the choice to put a normal set of edelbrocks on it and will switch them out when our castings are here.

Here's some of the progress as of recent.
-Engine is together, waiting on a torque converter now, then I can drop it in.
-Rear leaf sliders are installed
-trans brake is figured out

News:

Author Topic: '68 Mustang Coupe Drag Car (Read 23014 times)

mike7570

mike7570

mike7570

FE4SPDMustang

mike7570

mike7570

mike7570

mike7570

mike7570