Grabber Lime 2020 GT Build Thread

[WD Pro]

Thinners :

Iron remover :

More thinners needed :

The known active exhaust issue, this had loads of clearance when cold, but obviously not quite enough when hot (hence shortening the h pipe and exhaust) :

No structural damage though so all is good.

After a bit of tidying up :

I don’t think it will touch the frame again, but if it does it’s now got a cable tie and layer of tape to help protect it.

Exhaust bracket, the flash makes it look worse :

Blunted all the sharp edges with the die grinder :

Blasted :

I just need a dry evening now so I can mask and paint

My exhaust is now coated and it should be getting burnished and polished tomorrow. It’s being done Tech Line CermaKrome which is a metallic ceramic coating

WD

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[Tinpot]

Any news on the diff ?

 

[WD Pro]

Any news on the diff ?

Still waiting on a part, other than that there's not much to report.

I can say that they are being very good with me (and the car lol) and I am due another update this morning.

After seeing both my old M car in BMW (broken cam) and the GT in Ford, the care and attention being offered by the Ford tech far supersedes that offered by BMW. I was genuinely unimpressed with BMW (camshafts and cylinder head on the workshop floor ... )

WD

 

[WD Pro]

So the weather was kind to me

Three coats :

Flashed off and de masked :

Quite impressed, I just need them to harden now so this is their new home for the weekend :

Early next week (when the misses is out …) I will give them a low temp bake in the oven …

Horrible stinky stuff, but hopefully it will keep them nicer than the OE Ford finish was managing to do :

Used almost a full aerosol to paint the six brackets and a patch of chipping’s - thought it best to stir the chipping’s up before the misses spotted them …

WD

 

[Tinpot]

That’s a really good finish for a spray can !

 

[StangTime]

That’s a really good finish for a spray can !

Agreed. I was going to ask what sort of DIY sorcery is this until I scrolled down to the spray can. Professional results. Looks like it was powder coated.

 

[WD Pro]

That’s a really good finish for a spray can !

Agreed. I was going to ask what sort of DIY sorcery is this until I scrolled down to the spray can. Professional results. Looks like it was powder coated.

Thanks

They have cured a little more satin - which is exactly the description that it says on the tin.

Still a little soft with the fingernail test, so it looks like I will have to resort to the oven ... lol

Now the dreaded black crap has gone, they are finally looking a little better :

Part numbers for anyone that's interested in comparing to a Bullitt or any of the USDM variants. Other side part number is the same, just swap the 'L' for an 'R' :

I also fixed the tips up - much easier to do off the car (if you truly want to get all around them) :

People have asked before how I have done the brushed finish, this picture should make everything self explanatory :

Important notes :

A) 3M pads seem to last better than the Asda (Walmart) type, but I couldn't find any in time.

B) The repurposed dressing gown cord is very important - you need to source a red superman version just like mine ...

It’s going to look a little better and sound a little better once this finally goes in :

It should help the diff just a little too, I believe the thermal barrier metallic ceramic coating should reduce the efficiency of the factory fit diff warmer by around 20 to 30% :

I wrote this bit for another thread, but I might as well add it in here too :

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike the aftermarket active exhausts, the GT AE seems to hold the valves under tension, so once they are released it's tricky to get them lined up with the spring again (maybe this is Fords method to combat valve noise ?).

There is a procedure to reseat the springs :

But for my own reasons this just wasn't practical - I need the exhaust to be perfect when it goes back on, without having to drop it a little and re-secure the actuators after the seating / reset process.

So after unsuccessfully messing around with the spring pre mounted on the actuator, here's the only way I found I could do it :

1) Start by recording how your actuators and springs were when they were first removed - the GT's aren't handed :

2) Once everything has been stripped and cleaned and your ready for reassembly, make sure the actuator slides on and off it's mounting studs very easily. Re align the studs if needed. Use two M6 nuts and a deep socket to provide leverage without damaging the threads :

3) Ensure the valve is fully turned in the direction to line up with the actuator - in the case of the GT they were fully open :

4) Make sure the exhaust is level, and then carefully position the spring on the top of the valve :

5) Without disturbing the spring, carefully lower the actuator so it just rests on the spring :

6) Note I am working with the cut out of the actuator housing towards me, that's so I can peep under and see the actuator shaft and spring is 'almost' aligned. From 6 o clock :

And from four o clock :

7) If all looks OK, push the actuator down and wiggle / twist it a little it on its studs whilst maintaining downwards pressure. If you hear a fairly loud snap, then the spring has most likely seated in the actuator shaft.

8) Don't trust it the first time, open it back up and check its correct. Do it a few times to get a feel what it's like when it correctly seats.

The first indication that it has seated correctly, will be that the actuator goes tight on its studs as it's now fighting the spring a little - there will be some resistance to lift it of it's studs.

The second indication is that the spring is fully located in the actuator shaft when you lift it off :

9) Once you are confident you can do it right every time, bolt it down to stay (I know I have missed the little bracket from the inboard nut, it's paint is hardening) :

10) As a final check, fist your exhaust deep enough to twiddle the flap. In the case of the GT it's fully open, rock solid one way (it's up against it's stops), but it can be moved with firm spring resistance the other way - instantly returning to it's home position when you remove pressure on the butterfly.

Just as a heads up and I know I'm not alone with this, the inserts around the bolt holes in the plastic actuator body (to stop it getting overtightened) seem to corrode excessively and very easily (maybe a reaction to all the stainless in that area ?). I covered the bottom bit of the stud, the insert and all mating faces with high temp grease before tightening everything down.

WD

 

[Gregs24]

Hammerite doesn't like heat in my experience, unless you go for the special heat resistant version. The data sheet says up to 80C continuous and up to 150C intermittently.

 

[Tinpot]

Nice write up

 

[WD Pro]

Hammerite doesn't like heat in my experience, unless you go for the special heat resistant version. The data sheet says up to 80C continuous and up to 150C intermittently.

I don’t think it will see excessive heat in those areas. There are plastic and rubber inserts mounted in the brackets, plastic clips that mount onto those brackets (secured with standard loom tape), and plastic trim closer to the exhaust than those brackets (and the exhaust is now a little more insulated than standard)

Having said that, fingers crossed … lol

WD

 

[NGOT8R]

Great work WD! I like your style. You’re going to have a show quality undercarriage when all is said and done. Double thumbs up!

 

[WD Pro]

Great work WD! I like your style. You’re going to have a show quality undercarriage when all is said and done. Double thumbs up!

Thank you

Not sure it will be show quality though. We are hindered from new due to all the black crap and our 'damp' environment doesn't help either with exposed steel on bushings and the machined areas on the knuckles etc.

I will just continue to look after it as good as I can and prep / improve bits as and when the opportunity arises

I might as well add this info in here to, it was from a discussion on the internals of the active exhaust :

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note the spot welds around the box :

They hold an internal baffle plate. splitting the box into two chambers.

I will call the first smaller chamber number 1 and the second larger chamber number 2.

Chamber 1 has a condensation drain.

Here is the non valve outer exhaust pipe internals :

That's the outer box wall you can see (remember our euros have a GPF so the internals are pretty mush as clean as the day they were made).

That pipe is perforated and runs through both chambers, pretty much up to the outer box wall.

Here is the valve inner / central exhaust pipe internals :

Note it was really hard to get a good photo down there as the valve took all the flash and the focus.

By naked eye, you can see straight down it, out of the back of the box and right to the first bend in the exhaust tubing.

Like the outer pipe it's perforated and as best as my eye can make out, I think the pipe has a small gap in it that vents into chamber 1 i.e. rather than one continuous pipe, it looks like two pipes perfectly in line, but slightly separated.

So ...

Valve open = Gas is straight though both chambers with some pipe perforations.

Valve closed = Gas backs up behind the valve. (depending on the box stuffing in chamber 2) a small proportion of the gas will pass through the perforations into chamber 2 and out of the perforations into the other tailpipe. Majority of the gas will pass through the pipe separation into chamber 1, head to the back of the box, to exit the other tailpipe passing some more perforations on the way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WD

 

[Vlad Soare]

I seem to remember that you've also installed a strut tower brace. Was it worth it? Do you actually feel any improvement?
I'm considering the Steeda brace, because it seems not to interfere with the dipstick (I mean, I imagine I could pull and push the dipstick through it). But I'm not sure it's worth it just for street driving. Is it?

 

[WD Pro]

I seem to remember that you've also installed a strut tower brace. Was it worth it? Do you actually feel any improvement?
I'm considering the Steeda brace, because it seems not to interfere with the dipstick (I mean, I imagine I could pull and push the dipstick through it). But I'm not sure it's worth it just for street driving. Is it?

Yeah I have the two point Steeda lower brace and 350R upper brace.

Differences for road driving ... ? I would like to fit in with some reviews I read and say it's a night and day difference, but in reality and based on 'everyday' driving I'm not so sure. Maybe if you're a track rat, know a circuit inside out and normally drive it fully committed and then fitted both braces, it would make a difference.

Remember that as euro owners we are on PP1 spec cars anyway, so we already get two parts of the OE three part system and I believe the other two parts make the biggest difference.

The lower brace supposedly helps with tramlining - but until tyre compounds and widths go higher than the PP1 standard spec, I think the lower is probably just minimising any downsides of future front end traction updates.

If I'm totally honest :

• Upper brace because it should have had one and it looks cool.
• Lower brace because it's cheap (plus I got a good deal) and it would be rude not to pair it up with the rear IRS braces.
• For me, like a lot of what's going on the underside, it's future proofing it.

I guess this stuff will pay off more as the power and grip levels increase with future mods and at that point, any advantage they offer will probably be enhanced over putting the same items on a standard car.

It would be interesting to hop out of mine and get back in a totally standard MR car to see if the difference is discernible (rather than trying to judge it on small incremental 'improvements').

My current suspension spec (well, at least when I get it back) compared to a standard euro MR car :

• 350R upper brace.
• Steeda 2 point lower brace.
• Steeda diff inserts.
• Steeda alignment dowels (no dynamic differences).
• Steeda subframe bushing supports.
• Steeda IRS braces.
• J&M rear camber adjusters (no dynamic differences).
• Ford Performance spec alignment settings.

Proposed future spec before any major power adders :

• + Vertical links (probably the poly version).
• + Ford Performance MR kit (Springs, bars and electronics).
• + Front camber adjustment (Hopefully J&M caster & camber plates, but maybe just camber bolts)
• + Ford Performance Torsen
• + (maybe) wider wheels / gripper tyres.

I'm guessing the final future spec will be a huge difference to the standard car - but depending on your viewpoint, will it actually be 'better' ... ? lol

Don't worry about a solid upper brace blocking the dip stick, it was a pain at first but I stumbled on a method that makes it very easy :

1. Stand on the left side of the car level with the brace.
2. Right hand on the right side of the brace, down low just over the top of the dip stick tube.
3. Left hand on the left side of the brace holding the dipstick.
4. From the front of the car, point the end of the dipstick under the brace at your right hand.
5. Feed it down the dipstick hole with your right hand in small movements, maybe 75mm at a time.
6. Don't apply any force with the left hand, use that hand just to keep the dipstick as vertical as possible and to stop the top of the dipstick from flopping around and / or marking the strut bar.

That method is that easy, it really makes the position of the strut bar a non issue

WD

 

[MarkM]

The steeda lower G track brace is the best thing I’ve done to mine, noticed an instant improvement in turn in, I did the strut tower brace shortly after and I’m not sure it did anything, apart from look pretty……but it can’t hurt

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