October journal

10/6/00	Picked up the driveshaft from being shortened. I had it cut down to 7.5" at the centerlines of the U-joints. This is about 1/4" shorter than the FFR spec. Some others have reported that the driveshaft will bottom out in the transmission tail shaft if it is cut to FFR's spec. I also had new U-joints installed while it was at the shop. Total cost was only $95.
10/10/00	Spent some time trying to figure out why the car was running so rich. I initially blamed it on the lack of O2 sensors, but it was running WAY richer than that -- looked like a over the road diesel! With some help from the 5.0 boys on www.corral.net, I finally figured it out. In my haste to fire this thing up, I forgot to hook up the vacuum line to the MAP sensor (Speed Density system, NOT Mass Air!). Therefore the sensor was seeing atmospheric pressure all the time which makes the computer think the throttle is wide open. Then it dumps fuel in as if the engine was wide open! Connected the vacuum line and it runs perfect!
10/11-10/13/00	The FFR uses the factory Mustang wiring harness. Obviously, the factory harness includes for things like radio, A/C, interior lights, rear defroster, trunk release, etc, etc. About 50% of the circuits in the harness are not needed for the FFR. Some people just stuff the harness in where they can, and don't worry about the extra circuits. However, I want mine to be a nice clean harness, so I'm unwrapping it and stripping out all of the unused circuits. It's a HUGE undertaking, but so far it's been fairly straightforward. An absolute must is the factory wiring diagram from Helm, Inc. It's only $12, and is worth about 10x that. I've heard from others who have done this, that there is about 20# of un-needed wire in the factory harness!! Just out of curiosity, I'm saving all mine to weigh when I'm done ;-)
10/14-10/15/00	Well, it wasn't 20#. It ended up being about 14# of wire! This is about a 5 gallon bucket packed full. There was also another half bucket of wire wrap and that sticky, gooey, nasty, "won't wash off" fabric tape that Ford uses on their harnesses. There are some pics in the wiring section that show the pile of wire that was removed. I have to say that this was one of the areas of the build that I least looked forward to. However, having just finished, I can honestly say I enjoyed it and it was probably the most satisfying milestone to date (other than the first start!!). The wiring was most of my spare time this weekend, although I also wrapped, routed, and secured the rear wiring harness and transmission harness. I used the FFR-supplied wire loom and it is very well protected. I also painted and installed the shortened driveshaft. I cut the rubber bellows off the quad shocks and mounted them. Boy are they tight! With my oversized 295 series rear tires, I have about 1/8" of clearance. Yikes!
10/16-10/22/00	Not a terribly productive week. I spent some time laying out my dash and cutting the holes for the gages. I found that an adjustable hole cutter (for wood) works incredibly well to cut aluminum sheet metal. The holes turned out perfect. I still need to add the switches, ignition, etc. I removed the TAD/TAB solenoid connections from the factory wiring since I'm removing most of the smog stuff, and the air pump is long gone. I learned from the gurus on cobraforum that you can fake out the computer by soldering in 10k ohm resistors where the solenoids used to be. I wired the FFR-supplied electric fan using the old fog-light circuit from the Mustang. Used the fog-light switch too. When I first tested it, I forgot that the original foglights were only allowed to come on when the lights were on! Hence, my fan only worked when the lights were on. Doh!! A couple of quick snips and I was back in business. The fan ships with a relay, although I decided not to use it. I measured the current draw at the fan and I found it was about 12A to start and then 6-7A running. I used a 15A fused circuit for power. Works great! I've heard from others that the big 5" Autometers that I'm using are awfully bright at night, so I elected to keep the stock Mustang dash light dimmer. I snapped the pot-metal pegs off it and screwed it in between the 3/4" dash hoop edge and windshield frame support to the left of the steering shaft bearing. It's out of sight, just behind the dash, but still easy to reach. Spent some time "thinking" about how to wire the Lucas wiper motor. Supposedly, you need a $42 switch from Finishline to be able to have the motor "park" the wipers when you shut them off. However, I think I figured out a way to make it work with two cheap switches instead. I'll have one for on/off, and one for high/low speed. I'll post a schematic if it works. FIRST DRIVE!!! Well, the big go-kart ride finally happened. I buttoned everything up temporarily and took my buddy Ron Smith for a little spin around the neighborhood. With no seats we slid around a bit on the bare aluminum floorpan!! What a blast! I can honestly say, that even at half throttle, this car accelerates faster than any other vehicle I've ever ridden in. Unbelievable! Never got it out of third gear since we tried to keep a reasonable speed around the neighborhood. First gear is a waste due to the 4.10 rear. However, second gear is a blast and this thing will spin the tires at will by just dropping the hammer! Still have that stupid grin on my face as I sit here typing this! See a few pictures here.
10/23-11/5/00	Gosh, I've been really bad about updating here. Oh well, I'd rather be in the garage than sitting at the computer! Update on the wiper switch thing. The two switch arrangement worked great, but I figured out a way to make it work with both high and low speed, and automatic park by using one DPDT CO switch and a pair of SPDT relays. I'll post the schematic when I have a chance to draw it out. The wiring is basically done. I still need to wrap and do some final routing, but everything's in and it all WORKS! The Autometer gauges went in without a hitch. Just traced out the Mustang gauge pod circuits on the wiring diagram, snipped and wired to the Autometers. I used 30A relays for the high and low beams, as well as the wipers. The Radioshack switches are only good for about 6A. The two speed heater fan motor only draws 4A on high and 2A on low. I elected to skip the relay arrangement for the fan. I picked up a universal aftermarket ignition switch for a whopping $6. Works great and looks period correct. Better than mounting the original Mustang switch under the dash in my opinion. I added a 12V power outlet up under the dash to power my cell phone. It's complete hidden, but still accessible. All of the dash wiring is connected to the rest of the harness by a couple of 12 pin molex connectors. They are a bit of a pain to work with, but the end result is nice and it allows me to unplug the whole dash with just two connectors. I painted and installed my modified heater box. I welded a couple of pieces of angle iron on the sides for support at the firewall. The box is screwed down through the bottom into the 2" dash hoop, and then a couple of 3/16" rivets hold the angle iron mounts. Finally, a thin bead of silicone around the box on the engine compartment side gives it a nice finished look. Still have to figure out the ductwork for driver's side heat and defrost. The wiper motor is mounted for the purposes of wiring only. I'll finish it after the body is mounted. I finished drilling, mounting and riveting all of the trunk aluminum. Also drilled and mounted the rollbar, mounted the fuel pump inertia switch, and ran the wires for the license plate holder. Next steps -- emergency brake cables, mount fuse-box, mount seats, MOUNT BODY!!!!