16 Mustang GT Premium & PP Conversion & Flood/wreck rebuild

[Vroom]

Very impressive work! I'm gonna keep watching this thread! Thanks for posting.

Thanks, next up will hopefully be some fun upgrades instead of me just fixing my mistakes.

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[Vroom]

Corbeau LG1 Suede standard width/anti-sub slot
Finally got some new seats, they are not as light as id like them to be weighing in at 43 lbs per seat fully assembled but they are nice and don’t smell like my oem flood seat. In the seats defense I do have sliders, a decent amount of wiring, lumbar, heat & a buckle. This was on a bathroom scale so the weight is just a ballpark. I scavenged the wiring harness from my old seats trimming off what I did not need, soldering in a 2.2 ohm 1 watt resistor in place of airbags, and wiring the power for the seat heaters through what used to be power for the seat motors/controller. I did have to keep the seat position sensor and the passenger occupancy sensor bladder since they are wired into airbag system. For the occupancy sensor bladder I had to cut the hog rings and install under seat, first time using hog ring pliers and everything works so far. I looked into trying to make the corbeau seats work with the stock seat heater controls in sync 3 but from what I gather in ford’s electrical diagrams and the way the car communicates over can-bus it would not work unless you ripped out the stock seat heaters and installed those. I did have to de-pin & swap two of corbeau’s seat heater wiring connectors in order to run it in the car the way I wanted with the power source located at the seat with on/off switch remote mounted, typically the power is on the same end of harness as the switch. This power is always on so I need to find a way to swap it to acc further down the harness as to not kill my battery on accident. As for the on/off switch I still have not decided on a permanent location. Only need seat heaters a couple days out of the year here in texas so I don’t know why I bothered…. As for the seats I think they are comfortable and superior to the base GT cloth seats in terms of bolstering and hold me in place. Eventually I am going to get a Watkins bar and ditch the stock seat belts.

 

[Vroom]

Barton Hibrid 3 Flat stick Shifter (black/black shift ball)
Since it’s very convenient to do this mod with the driveshaft/exhaust already off (see below posts) I decided it was worth the effort to do this now. I went with the flat stick option mostly because I was curious and secondly because I think it looks good. For the install everything was very simple till I started infinitely turning the top bolt/pin of the linkage on top of transmission. This is a very common issue because the tight tolerance of the shift linkage pin hole on the transmission. To remove you have to be extremely lucky and apply force up as you also turn with a wrench. I used a mini pry bar from harbor freight to lightly pry up at base of bolt head and with other hand turn the bolt with a wrench. Do not pry extremely hard, you could break something or worse get this pin stuck. It took forever, was frustrating and I hate that bolt as it is the worst part of the install. The tight hole and stock linkage weight puts the pin in a bind on removal so you may have to wiggle the shifter asm around. Installing the barton shifter was equally frustrating due to that same pin/linkage hole. I’d recommend threading the pin in and out of the barton shifter a few times since it’s a fresh part before you try installing on the car, it will make it so the threads engage a bit easier. I’d also apply a small amount of grease to the transmission linkage hole to make it go in easier. After attaching the shifter to linkage and getting the pin on by hand/tapping it down, it was still difficult to get this pin to start threading so I had to use the same mini pry bar/ wrench at same time to push the bolt down while turning. I could have used three hands as I had to wiggle around the barton asm at same time to get things to cooperate but I eventually got it. I decided to trans mount it and so far the shifter feels good and is not vibrating/moving around much at all. For the flat stick style you will not install the cartridge the same as the ones with reverse lockouts on install videos, you will see a groove/notch cut into base of shifter lever that obviously will have to face the driver in order to go into reverse. I did install the two extra springs below shifter cartridge and holy hell you have to push down hard to get it into reverse. Hopefully the springs wear a bit or I might remove them all (second set of springs on cartridge top). For shifting I noticed that getting into 2nd gear is a bit notchy for me and 6th is a bit tight as well. For The rest of the gears it is extremely accurate, but a little difficult to tell which gear I am in/going in compared to stock. Hopefully breaking it in, spring & top plate adjustment can cure this but it is not that bad at all just being picky.
(02/24/2021 EDIT: After a few weeks/months of use the springs are easier to compress so I will not be removing them - with the flat stick option I'm not sure if you can remove them. Also after this break in period I am not experiencing a notchy feeling getting in or out of any gears - great purchase and I'm glad I installed.)

 

[Vroom]

Steeda Ultra low profile jacking rails
My Cervini side exit exhaust blocks the rear jack stand position in front of the rear wheel so I have to jack up car at middle of pinch welds and since that’s not a good idea I decided to give these a try. The Install was pretty straightforward besides me removing a few unnecessary bolts towards rear by accident. I installed with the car on the ground as recommended and it was a bit awkward to blindly peel away seem sealer at front. You will also absolutely have to remove the seam sealer at the front of the vehicle for the rails to sit properly, easy with a razor blade/flat head screw driver and it just peels off. It is very easy to jack up vehicle in middle now, but my jack stands have a U/V shape at their tops which runs into pinch weld and it does not sit perfectly due to the square tubing on jacking rails being angled and low profile in respect to frame of vehicle. It's solid enough but it could be worlds better, it’s a bit awkward and I can't help but wish it were round tubing or at least angled to compensate for the car’s angled frame behind pinch welds with maybe a 1/4" lower to ground design. It’s very possible that my harbor freight jack stands are just junk. I don't really see the allure in this product other than using with a lift or being able to abusively jack the car up in the middle without much accuracy on jack placement. I will keep using them since I do that often and another plus is they clear my side exit cervini exhaust by miles. Didn't really take any pictures of these directly but i did use them to install below and didn't die.

QA1 SFI Carbon Fiber mt82 6spd Driveshaft
Ever since I got my car moving I've been chasing a scratching/grinding noise in brakes or driveline and even swapped a front wheel bearing in the process thinking that would solve it. Finally found the culprit by putting the car on stands and manually turning the driveshaft by hand while in Neutral and the carrier bearing on the stock drive shaft was it. Thought it was time for an upgrade. I'll never need the 1,400 HP rating of this thing but its half the weight of stock and the carbon fiber is supposedly much less harsh on a manual transmission. QA1s quality is also great and this thing is a piece of art. For uninstalling oem you will ditch the rubber thing at trans (I forget what it’s called) fyi. For installing I’d recommend trying to find the shortest and longest 3/8” drive (Hex 8mm & 10mm) that you can find, as clearance is an issue when tightening/torqueing bolts from shaft to adapter and 3 bolts at yoke. After install the noises were gone and no added nvh at all, this thing is buttery smooth.

Exhaust wrap near driveshaft, diff & fuel tank
A few pieces of heat shielding was damaged/stretched under the car when it was plunged into a river and I wanted to protect the expensive driveshaft from the heat so I decided to wrap the exhaust. Never wrapped an exhaust before so I watched a few instructional videos and away I went. Very easy besides the metal ties not getting as tight as id like - used a lot of them. I think it came out looking decent enough, but I wish I had known to wear gloves before, hands were on fire and red after. Dumb move on my part since it’s basically fiberglass (lava wrap in my case). Eventually I’ll wrap the ends near fuel tank.

I know this post is getting long but i was asked by someone to review the CERVINI exhaust system:

I have mixed feelings about this exhaust. I love it some days and others I want to sell it so I can drop the car a few inches with a performance suspension. But I love the sound, look of it and the relative uniqueness in my area and most of this forum. I opted not to install the extra lowered side skirts and rear exhaust opening covers that are included for no particular reason. Great exhaust besides the ground clearance issue, which isn't an issue at stock height to me. I'd say you can still drop the vehicle height 0.5"-1.0" somewhat safely.

Pros:
-With stock headers its still fairly loud without being obnoxious. Sounds great in my opinion. Couple bangs and nice pops here and there on shifts and deceleration but that's partly due to my tune.
-Unique
-Lighter than stock by a small margin and gets rid of stock resonator.
-I haven't burnt my ankles on them yet.
-Hasn't melted any plastic or discolored any paint or plastic.
-Its built really well and the welds, hardware and materials are top notch, when the occasionally impact with a traffic cone or scrape happens its unfazed.
Cons:
-A bit on the Expensive side
-I am on stock suspension and tires height and speed bumps occasionally scrape if the PSI in tires is too low or if its just a very large speed bump. Easy avoidance usually and I clear most of them fine going slow.
-With the exhaust exit location you sometimes have to deal with exhaust fumes while stationary or door open, running E85 makes this a non-issue. Also considering the exhaust exit location, it can get loud for the driver(windows up if you want to be able to hear later on in life).
- not really a con but on install, use blue loctite on hangers and wherever you can. Occasionally need to retighten if not.

 

[HTX.S550]

How did you resolve the P0457 code? I have the same issue and have found ZERO answers or anything on it. Any help will be appreciated

 

[BeastAR]

Good work so far! I've wrapped a few exhaust manifolds and exhaust with lava wrap. Its amazing how cool things are after their wrapped. And how much better things get wrapped after each component.

 

[Coosawjack]

GREAT work and kudos for your enthusiasm!!

Many would have quit by now.......GOOD LUCK finishing her up!!

 

[Vroom]

How did you resolve the P0457 code? I have the same issue and have found ZERO answers or anything on it. Any help will be appreciated

In short it ended up being a dirty gas tank pump/sender ring that wasn't sealing properly. My cars a very dirty example though, so its unlikely for most people unless ford F'd up in assembly or you have previously accessed the tank rings before. I opened both tank rings up and cleaned the ring, gasket and tank surface thoroughly and applied a bit of grease to help them not grip the tank when tightening so i can tighten them fully/easier with the OEM tank ring tool. In order i tried these unsuccessfully before solving the code: replaced a bad intake fuel vent valve, then the charcoal canister and it still did not fix it. I kept barely smelling gas occasionally so i rechecked the top of the tanks and found their to be a few small damp spots near the fuel pump/sender rings. The code is essentially saying that it is not able to pressurize the tank anywhere between the filler neck valve which is unlikely or the small valve at the intake, or even the charcoal canister. Your best bet is to just start sniffing around till you smell fuel.
List to go through in order.
1)Check and replace gas fume vent valve at intake, its a valve that is normally closed without power so just unplug the hose and pwr cable to it, start car and see if you feel it pulling vacuum with your finger. Then plug power back in and see if it changes. If you feel it pulling vacuum on your hand when its unplugged then it is bad. Your car will run bad during this but it will be fine.
2)Start smelling around the entire car. Look for any damp spots. You might even smell fuel when you open up your hood which you shouldn't be smelling it anywhere.
3)If you have a large amount of miles on your car or your car drove it into a river like mine then it might be the charcoal canister, i believe their is a valve that can go bad there. These can go bad really quickly. I replaced the entire assembly and not just the valve because of what happened to my car.
4)The fuel filler neck might be dirty, these cap-less fuel filler systems on newer cars have a flap that can get dirty. The cure is to take the small white filler neck that's located around the spare tire area and make sure no neighbors are watching and literally bang the f out of it with a little WD-40. It's called funnel banging and yes it is a thing.

Anyways i hope that helps.

 

[Vroom]

Good work so far! I've wrapped a few exhaust manifolds and exhaust with lava wrap. Its amazing how cool things are after their wrapped. And how much better things get wrapped after each component.

Thanks, my first time wrapping anything but its still holding together even after driving through a rain many times. I could have done a better job i think, kept misjudging the correct length of wrap to use and had to double up occasionally, used a load of stainless zip ties and did not wear gloves "what was i thinking-fiberglass".

 

[Vroom]

GREAT work and kudos for your enthusiasm!!

Many would have quit by now.......GOOD LUCK finishing her up!!

I've taken a long break since my last mod, need to get back to work. Don't want too many X-wives though so my kids and wife have been taking priority over my car. I think ill be sending it to a body shop soon enough to work out all the dents since i have no time, hopefully. Thanks though

 

[sw686blue]

Man you have balls the size of watermelons to take on a project like this. Spectacular work!

 

[Vroom]

Man you have balls the size of watermelons to take on a project like this. Spectacular work!

Thanks. I try.

 

[808donovan79]

wow the transformation is incredible!

 

[Vroom]

Unexciting post here as I have not had the chance to do a whole lot since last update. Got a new boy last year and holy shit we boys are loud and wild. With all these kids and covid being a thing and market/job uncertainty I've just been laying low doing small things. Ended up with covid over christmas and new years and that was no fun fyi. Trying to sell a hood, that extra driveshaft and a 7000LB quickjack if anyone is interested(see my other posts).... anyways on to business.

Updates:
Cut a hole in my roof of my car to add GPS antenna(nerve racking but the roof is already dented so i said why the hell not) Used some string and weighted items at each end to get a line tight from front to rear of car and measured from the roof seams, cut it with a dremel, used a bit of rtv and got it perfect.

-Firewall K brace and an aluminum gt350 strut brace installed. I feel the difference driving believe it or not. Feels like I lost alot(not all) of the unstable wiggle when hauling ass. I have an extra GT one that a friend gave me if anyone wants it.

-Replaced E-brake and it's boot(was functional, but you can see why), shifter trim and boot replaced also(These break easy as i have found out).

-Replaced center console for a better version with colored stitching and lighting(I like nice things dont judge, also these match my doors and rear gt350 seats).

-Permanently mounted aftermarket heated seat controls and immediately forgot to turn off killing my battery lol (damnit ford why do the seats have constant power and not acc). Drilled those small plastic peices and had to make some minor clearancing on my new center console where they mount.

-Replaced passenger knee airbag(glove box).
-Sent out my SRS Unit under Console to be reprogrammed and reinstalled.(had to delete crash history of donor cars SRS unit).
- replaced all the seat belts and finally will have zero lights on dash pending a steering column airbag ignitor replacement(threw my good one away when I tossed my original steering column in the garbage, this is why you keep everything until a car is done)
-Fixed abs issue by reinstalling my old original ABS module(updated original post as to why)
-Boring forscan stuff having to do with ABS and SRS again.

END, have a nice day yall.

EASY MOD BELOW:

 

[EmCel]

Impressive...

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