Project "Anna"

[zx2reme]

I just ran the cables along the harness behind the strut and everything then to the remote positive terminal that they show going into the core support and the negative into the bumper bar bolt. For the harness itself I cut the tape that is wrapped around the rubber boot so I could pull it out a bit further and get it back into place. Then I just re-taped it. If you're running a wide tire make sure you tuck things tightly. Took me a lot of trial and error to get it all to clear the front tire on full lock.

Cool. Thanks man. I'll definitely check that before buttoning everything up. I went to O'Reilly and they only had 4 gauge battery cables in the length I need. Does our system require 2 gauge? Thanks for the assist. The directions provided are pretty vague throughout.

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Cool. Thanks man. I'll definitely check that before buttoning everything up. I went to O'Reilly and they only had 4 gauge battery cables in the length I need. Does our system require 2 gauge? Thanks for the assist. The directions provided are pretty vague throughout.

No problem
Ground isn't super particular on gauge, but for the positive cable I would prefer 2 gauge.

 

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Now since the headers are in and the cats are out, I figure it's a good time to pick up some more habits. Getting away from Octanium and all the additional MMT and switching over to something a little worse for the teeth...

Snow Performance stage 2 kit. I knew I did not like the controller of the stage 3, but was interested in learning more about their new stage 4 kit. After doing some research and speaking with Matt Snow, I landed on the stage 2. Basically the same kit, with the stage 4 controller being setup for remote tuners. The standard pod mount gauge just works better for me. While I'm in there might as well upgrade to a real tank for the setup, too...

7 gallon tank- so it should be good for quite a while. However the giraffe neck isn't winning any awards with me. Not only looks funny, but doesn't clear the decklid well. So, since I don't leave anything else alone, not going to start now. Ordered a flush mount fuel cell cap and marked everything and started cutting. End result fits better, and just looks better.

And a little paintwork:

And just sitting in what I think will be the final position. Probably just remove the Lloyd cargo mat, but maybe trim it to fit around the reservoir:

Have to get everything installed this weekend, but then I can finally drop down to my 4.38 pulley

 

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Wrapped up the install of the Snow kit this week, along with a couple other details. Curious to see what happens with this- but hopefully it puts me close to the 1k wheel goal...

Some of the plumbing:

And routed in the engine bay. Thinking the braided lines need to be black... And the plug harness and water lines definitely need to be rerouted into the valley. Just too busy looking.

Also, something finally showed up...

Ben Calimer stage 2 T56, ready to go. Thinking I'm going to mate it to a Mantic triple disc clutch/flywheel kit and 4" driveshaft with Strange chromoly yoke. Now I just need a G-Force 9" conversion

 

[Velgen]

Car looks amazing! one of the best build threads here. The black t bolt clamps give it a great small little touch

 

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Car looks amazing! one of the best build threads here. The black t bolt clamps give it a great small little touch

Appreciate that, thank you! Wanted to try to keep all the details as clean and matched as possible.

 

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Also made a couple smaller changes. Swapped out the Stainless Power headers for some Corsa goodness. Quality difference between the two is unreal. Went ahead and dropped down from my 4.88 pulley to a 4.38. Should make some decent power with meth.

And added some sequential rear markers to give it just a little more flavor

 

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Ran into some tuning issues after swapping to the 4.38 pulley...
Doing some logging with the base tune, the front O2s were shutting off and the car would dump fuel thinking the system was full lean. After a lot of checking and going through things I found the issue. As soon as traction control or any of the nannies were turned off, it would shut the O2s off along with them. Shutting off the car or turning back on Adv Trac did nothing to help the issues- only reloading the tune would reset things. Loading my previous tune and trying, everything was fine. Unfortunately, after that, my tuner stopped responding...

So, with that, I decided to park the car for the winter early and get to work.

Started with pulling the dash and wrapping it in Avery Dennison white vinyl I had. Really wish I had done this sooner. While I had things apart decided to put in my mount for an Boost2 controller. Also threw in a carbon AC vent to tie in with the other carbon accents. Hit the PP gauges with a little carbon as well.

Moving to the center console, a matching carbon shifter bezel helps brings things together a bit more. Still have to do the cupholder, though...

With that done, it seemed like a good time to start ripping panels out. Back seat, quarter panel plastics and trunk panels have all been removed as well as the harness bar. Currently looking for a company to wrap the quarter panel plastics in leather/alcantara to match the doors and center console up front. Rear seats are staying out this time, however. A GT350 delete will be taking their place, along with a true 4 point roll bar. The headliner will be the next to come out for some alcantara treatment, as well.

A Watson Racing trunk mounted battery kit is also being mounted in the trunk while everything is apart. Have decided to switch out to breathers on the engine and use that OE battery space for something a little better. Not to mention, it looks far cleaner with just breathers now instead of braided hoses. Seems like a good time to hide those coolant hoses in the intake valley along with the engine harness and meth lines. And don't worry, those breathers aren't staying chrome

Needless to say, I'm going to have a busy winter

 

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Took a few spare minutes to swap out my smoked Diode Dynamics rear markers for their clear ones. Not a big change, but I think it ties in with the euros much better, and blends a bit more with the car.

Before:

After:

Couldn't take looking at the chrome caps on the breathers anymore, either lol. Just laid the panels on there, but already a lot better

Also decided to revisit something that I've been wanting to do for a very long time. With the "Coyote" badges becoming more popular, I think it's time to return the car to its 50 Year roots- just with a little twist...

Won't be keeping that decklid panel, though. Have something else in mind. But, gives an idea for how it'll look

 

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Little more progress. Headliner and the rest of the rear interior pieces out.

Picked up some OE style cloth wiring tape for the additional harnesses that are in the car. Not necessary by any means, but looks cleaner

 

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Been a while since the last update... Warning- this is going to be lengthy.

Picked up Boomba's dipstick handle a while back... finally got it on. Small thing, but a really nice improvement. Angular design looks a lot better in the engine bay and it's a much nicer way to delete the yellow handle vs painting.

Also took some time to finish up my decklid idea that's been rolling around in my head for god knows how long now. Surprisingly, I don't think I've seen anyone color fill the lines in the 18+ panels. Looks good, and ties in nicely with the 50th Anniversary grille. Next step is having some fender emblems made up.

And the biggest update: interior is finally back together. It's been an interesting experience, but it's done. Being that JPM Coachworks is no more, Joe wasn't an option. 90% of the interior companies that I had reached out either didn't respond, or stopped responding as soon they got details on the job. The remaining responses were pretty astronomical, ranging between $5-7k. So I decided screw it, I'll buy the stuff and some extra materials and teach myself.

Started at the top with the headliner and worked my way down. Everything went fairly smooth and I was off to a solid start. Probably only used about a yard and a half for the headliner. After that, the visors were stripped down and fully recovered. I've pulled a few visors apart before, but these were the most complex ones I've dealt with. Ford definitely made sure that they won't just pop open.

Moving down, the B and C pillars were next. C pillars were real tough . The quarter window trims actually were a bit tricky at first.

Just about all of the alcantara work was done, so it was time to switch over to leather. I didn't use actual leather for the panels (other than the white perf I had left over), but sim-leather. Few reasons for this- it will hold up to wear better than actual leather, require less conditioning and most importantly- it doesn't shrink. Went with Spradling's simulated Napa.

After covering the door sills and kick panels I jumped over to the quarter panels. Figured the cleanest way to do the inserts in white was to make an actual insert for the panel and then attach it to the quarter. Also decided to turn the rear seatbelt trims into block off plates since the belts weren't going back in the car. Covered them in alcantara to contrast.

Last piece of the puzzle was getting the cage mocked up and ready to go. Have to give Pete and the guys from @CompetitionMotorsport a huge thanks for all of the help.
Drilling the crossmember was a bit tedious. Stepping up in bit sizes and going slow made it a lot easier.

It was nice to see the interior finally go back together. After getting the panels, seat delete and cage in, I finished it up with color-matched trim rings to tie it all together.

 

[Jmeo]

Nice work buddy, can't wait to see it in person

 

[CompetitionMotorsport]

Now that is a super-clean roll bar installation! Love the look of the trim rings and rubber sleeves around the four legs of the bar. Nice work!

 

[Terminated]

Nice work buddy, can't wait to see it in person

Thanks bud! Can't wait to get it finished up and dialed in. You'll have to drive it and see if there's a difference

Now that is a super-clean roll bar installation! Love the look of the trim rings and rubber sleeves around the four legs of the bar. Nice work!

Thank you, sir! Pictures don't do the roll bar justice.

 

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Little more progress...

Wrapped the trunk lid liner in matching leather. Ties in with the rest of the interior now. May add some Mustang stitching or something to it

Finished up the camber arms, toe-links and vertical links. Should be a nice improvement.

And broke down the BCs. Stripping and re-coating them with a different color combo.

Lot of detail stuff left to finish up- but should have the car together and ready for tuning by the first week of May

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