Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Garage

Look at me, blogging away...

Looked (and put an offer in) at a house today.  Is it sad that the first place I want to check out is the garage? Maybe...

This house is the old 2-car-garage with 2 separate doors. Now everyone has the big 16' or 18' wide door. The garage is about 17 feet deep, and for the mustang being 15.2' long, you're not talking about a lot of space to move around. Otherwise the house is perfect.

What to do, what to do...(build a giant workshop in the backyard? Well okay!)

Monday, May 5, 2014

Finally, it has arrived.

For about 4 years now, I've been searching for the perfect (and perfectly-priced) T5 transmission.  Specifically, a WC (World Class) T-5 from a 4-cylinder Mustang. 3 or 4 years ago, you could get one of these for about $325 rebuilt.  Now you can't even buy a used, broken T-5 for less than $400 it seems. And good luck trying to find one for a 4-cylinder.

Well last week, while in Germany, I found one listed on Craigslist.  It's out of an '87 2.3L 4-cyl, shifts well, but it's nearly 30 years old. I'll probably still rebuild it. Seeing as most rebuild kits are about $250 or so these days, probably looking at $450 total.  But, everything else is basically done, so the engine & trans can go back into the car once finished. Very exciting.


Sunday, May 4, 2014

How time flies

Wow...it's been a while, to say the least. Warning: by updating this, I'm not promising to "get back in the swing of things" (because I know I'll fail miserably). A lot has changed since the last update. Kiddo #1, Kiddo #2 (on the way). Sold our house/mini-farm and moved out. That, specifically, is what led me back to this blog. As many of you know, moving is not fun. Packing every earthly possession into boxes, driving it (somewhere), and putting it somewhere new is a hassle. Especially when that possession is a giant hunk of metal, up on jackstands (with no suspension/wheels). So, over the last 9 months - year, here are some things that have been done to the Mustang:


  • Radiator Support Panel removed from front end 
  • New Radiator Support Panel welded on 
  • Arning ("Shelby") Drop performed 
  • Front end (frame rails and firewall -> forward) coated with Southern Polyurethanes (SPI) Epoxy Primer & Eastwood 2K Ceramic Underhood Black paint. 
  • Rear end primed/painted with SPI epoxy primer 


Installed:
  • NPD 480# coil springs 
  • Roller bearing spring perches 
  • CSRP Disk Brake Swap 
  • Power brake booster & dual Master Cylinder 
  • New brake lines 
  • 4.5 Leaf mid-eye leaf springs
  • Ford 8" rear end with 2.79 gears (to be upgraded at a later date) 
  • 15x7 wheels with 205/75r15 tires (temporary)
  • Export Brace 


All this was done in preparation for us moving from our current house (future house yet to be found...but it will have a bigger garage!). The stance on the Mustang - with the 480# springs and Arning drop - looks incredible. I figure once the engine and transmission are put into the engine bay, the car should drop another .5-.625", which would be about 2-1/4" total drop. Looks fantastic. I'm stoked. So for now, I'll go ahead and close out this post... gotta recover some old documents and get back out there house hunting.