MY pursuit for CMC/AutoX build

[pgfdv6]

Hey guys i just wanted to give some of you some insight to what will be going on in the near future and was just hoping for a little feedback and pointers.
so here it goes
*my plan will be to autocross this car for seat time until I have my comp license and car is within spec for CMC*
as some of you know I have been taking my 2000 3.8 v6 out on some open driving sessions such as hpde's and others when I started I was in a 4 cylinder SE R sentra then the mustang
I have just recently picked up a 95' GT shell with a roll cage welded in there (the down side is the cage is not legal for road racing) but seeing as how I am still at least a year if not more out from getting my competition license with NASA or SCCA i figure i wont invest the money in getting a legal one put in yet.
the car also has adjustable coilover suspension (73/30 Lakewood shocks) up front and a 03-04 Cobra IRS with 355 or 373's in it (which sucks since I just found out that u need a solid rear for CMC) but i will keep it in for the autocross for the time being until I refresh and complete
the motor that I have to start off with is is that out of a 88' lincoln town car (which someone correct me if i'm wrong but is the 302 windsor motor ~160HP/~280 lb-ft Torque)
bbk headers with a full 3in' exhaust.
any ideas for anything else I might need? my first autox Im shooting for in june so I am hoping to have the car dialed in by then
any help or guidance is appreciated thanks.
:wave:

 

[Burninrock24]

Freaking sweet! If you're running that motor I would go with 3.73s or higher. Anything less and you're not going to be using enough gear. But not too high because you'll be shifting too much.

My best advice for small tracks and autocross is to make sure your suspension is 'faster' than your car. Meaning, keep your motor relatively stock until your suspension is really capable. And you're definitely on the right track with the IRS. My track car is at a 40hp loss to the others but I hold right up with them because I have my suspension/chassis set up right.

The best way to get these mustangs to turn is to stiffen the piss out of the chassis. Subframe connectors and upper subframe connectors too. The uppers require you to basically gut the interior to install, but you can reinstall the interior after.

You can put cobra control arms on the front too to decrease your turning radius by 10% which will lead to less turns to lock and a faster steering response.

Lastly, take a look at my thread here to set up your cars geometry. http://sn95forums.com/showthread.ph...metry-for-road-racing-And-which-parts-do-what

I'm super excited to see this build!

 

[pgfdv6]

Freaking sweet! If you're running that motor I would go with 3.73s or higher. Anything less and you're not going to be using enough gear. But not too high because you'll be shifting too much.

My best advice for small tracks and autocross is to make sure your suspension is 'faster' than your car. Meaning, keep your motor relatively stock until your suspension is really capable. And you're definitely on the right track with the IRS. My track car is at a 40hp loss to the others but I hold right up with them because I have my suspension/chassis set up right.

The best way to get these mustangs to turn is to stiffen the piss out of the chassis. Subframe connectors and upper subframe connectors too. The uppers require you to basically gut the interior to install, but you can reinstall the interior after.

You can put cobra control arms on the front too to decrease your turning radius by 10% which will lead to less turns to lock and a faster steering response.

Lastly, take a look at my thread here to set up your cars geometry. http://sn95forums.com/showthread.ph...metry-for-road-racing-And-which-parts-do-what

I'm super excited to see this build!

thanks will definitely check it out I forgot to mention that both sub frame connectors are already installed I have to say this car is tied together relatively tight.

 

[Burninrock24]

Nice! Then you're really ahead of the curve! That's more than most people can say. Check out Griggs Racing products. They have the best handling related components for SN95s. Expensive, but they really are the best.

 

[RichV]

Nice! Another CMC candidate!

On the coilovers ... are they a drag setup? C/Os are not CMC legal, these may work for you now, but Lakewood builds drag stuff right? Billstein and H&R Super Race.

IRS, you can use it for now, although not CMC legal, you may want to swap it just to get used to the car with SRA. The SRA will likely be better on track anyway. PHB, SRA, MM LCAs.

Check your bushings everywhere and replace them with poly, at least. Is the cage welded? Is it just missing the NASCAR door bars? Why is it not legal? You can take it to a cage builder and they can add to it, or make it legal. Talk to other racers in your are on who they use.

Cooling needs to be a priority, make sure you have plenty of radiator. Oil/water get some gauges. Autometers preferably to monitor oil temp/pressure and coolant temp/pressure, yes I said coolant pressure. Ask me how I killed a perfecly good motor, radiator hose blew, didn't know till it was too late. I got a coolant pressure gauge, and last year I noticed pressure at zero. I pulled in to the pits and saw my alternator pulley had cut into my upper hose. That $30 gauge saved a motor that day. Longacre sells idiot lights for coolant pressure too. Same with oil pressure and temperature. They will tell you if there's a problem because you don't have much time to glance at gauges when at 5000+RPM for 20 minutes straight.

The Towncar motor should be fine. IIRC they are a HO motor with a different cam and heads, is the firing order the same as a 95 GT? You'll need a e-cam and GT40 heads anyway, and GT40 intake. Explorer stuff is fine. I'm still back-and-forth on the 3:73s, almost too much gear. I may swap to 3:27s or get a road race 5th. 4th gear runs out too fast, but shifting to 5th is like dropping an anchor out the window.

Get the basics, get the safety stuff, and get your license. Then just add to your car every year. Seems easy, but there's allways something broken or needs attention.

 

[Burninrock24]

The Towncar motor should be fine. IIRC they are a HO motor with a different cam and heads, is the firing order the same as a 95 GT? You'll need a e-cam and GT40 heads anyway, and GT40 intake. Explorer stuff is fine. I'm still back-and-forth on the 3:73s, almost too much gear. I may swap to 3:27s or get a road race 5th. 4th gear runs out too fast, but shifting to 5th is like dropping an anchor out the window.

To be honest I'm amazed your 5th gear hasn't shit out on you completely by now. I've heard they can't handle much abuse.

 

[RichV]

Yea, that's because I hate using it. I rev 4th to the moon rather than hitting 5th.

 

[pgfdv6]

Nice! Another CMC candidate!

On the coilovers ... are they a drag setup? C/Os are not CMC legal, these may work for you now, but Lakewood builds drag stuff right? Billstein and H&R Super Race.

IRS, you can use it for now, although not CMC legal, you may want to swap it just to get used to the car with SRA. The SRA will likely be better on track anyway. PHB, SRA, MM LCAs.

Check your bushings everywhere and replace them with poly, at least. Is the cage welded? Is it just missing the NASCAR door bars? Why is it not legal? You can take it to a cage builder and they can add to it, or make it legal. Talk to other racers in your are on who they use.

Cooling needs to be a priority, make sure you have plenty of radiator. Oil/water get some gauges. Autometers preferably to monitor oil temp/pressure and coolant temp/pressure, yes I said coolant pressure. Ask me how I killed a perfecly good motor, radiator hose blew, didn't know till it was too late. I got a coolant pressure gauge, and last year I noticed pressure at zero. I pulled in to the pits and saw my alternator pulley had cut into my upper hose. That $30 gauge saved a motor that day. Longacre sells idiot lights for coolant pressure too. Same with oil pressure and temperature. They will tell you if there's a problem because you don't have much time to glance at gauges when at 5000+RPM for 20 minutes straight.

The Towncar motor should be fine. IIRC they are a HO motor with a different cam and heads, is the firing order the same as a 95 GT? You'll need a e-cam and GT40 heads anyway, and GT40 intake. Explorer stuff is fine. I'm still back-and-forth on the 3:73s, almost too much gear. I may swap to 3:27s or get a road race 5th. 4th gear runs out too fast, but shifting to 5th is like dropping an anchor out the window.

Get the basics, get the safety stuff, and get your license. Then just add to your car every year. Seems easy, but there's allways something broken or needs attention.

its very possible that they are a drag setup since the car was being built for a drag car and then turned mid project. I've still got my solid rear from v6 which I had changed to 8.8 with 3:27's i believe so will rebuild that and throw it in eventually.
the cage is not leagal because....well not entirly sure why but I know that a NASA tech said it would not pass it dose not have the NASCAR doorbars has two down bars welded in the rear to the frame the hoop over the roof and two side bars at an angle across the doors that u have to clime over to get in.
i have a hand full of Automeeter gauges alreadyt tach/oil/water ECT. will check in to the coolant preassure gauge and idiot lights
as for the heads I believe I have a set of GT40 heads but not GT40P and i have the intake as well but if I come across the GT40P at a good price then I might grab them since mine need to rebuilt anyways.

 

[RichV]

Just rebuild the 40s, the P's are a PITA with headers and wires.

You need a road cage, it sounds like you have drag doorbars. A cage shop should be able to modify it to work. But have them give you an estimate 1st, because you can buy made to order cages as well. Make a decision based on cost.

Last thing is brakes, make 100% sure you change out all fluid with some fresh synthetic. Get some PBR GT front calipers and good pads all the way round. If they did a IRS, why the hell was it setup for drag racing? Does it have rear Cobra brakes and front GT? If yes, change fronts to Cobra and the m/c as well.

 

[pgfdv6]

Just rebuild the 40s, the P's are a PITA with headers and wires.

You need a road cage, it sounds like you have drag doorbars. A cage shop should be able to modify it to work. But have them give you an estimate 1st, because you can buy made to order cages as well. Make a decision based on cost.

Last thing is brakes, make 100% sure you change out all fluid with some fresh synthetic. Get some PBR GT front calipers and good pads all the way round. If they did a IRS, why the hell was it setup for drag racing? Does it have rear Cobra brakes and front GT? If yes, change fronts to Cobra and the m/c as well.

Well the car started as drag and I think was being converted to road that why the cage is the way it is I have the PBR calipers that I thought were from a cobra but I guess were from a GT the only reason i prefer them is because they weigh NEXT TO NOTHING!!!! I found a complete Cobra setup with drilled and slotted rotors for $450 but thought i would invest in big brakes later down the road.
any noticeable difference in the 40's Vs. the P's?

 

[sldghmr]

Well the car started as drag and I think was being converted to road that why the cage is the way it is I have the PBR calipers that I thought were from a cobra but I guess were from a GT the only reason i prefer them is because they weigh NEXT TO NOTHING!!!! I found a complete Cobra setup with drilled and slotted rotors for $450 but thought i would invest in big brakes later down the road.
any noticeable difference in the 40's Vs. the P's?

I think I remember seeing this car couple of years ago (it was for sale then also). Owner had decided to just sell it, guess it never got sold and he tried to go road race with it... Anyhow, I remember it having welded in lower subframe connecters, torque boxes were welded also, and the 8pt drag race rollbar (not a cage) had the two inside legs of the hoop welded, not to the floor, but THROUGH the floor to the subframe connectors. A very SOLID setup!! Sounds like you're on track to getting it running...nice :thumbsup:

 

[pgfdv6]

so turns out that the 88' lincoln motor is not the HO motor but just the regular one which i am being told will put out great torque for the autocrossing but my question is what are thoughts on hpde's and eventually CMC was wondering if maybe my wait would pick up the lack of power by any seeing as the car is currently fully gutted with only bars welded in.

 

[MustangChris]

nice man!!

 

[RichV]

so turns out that the 88' lincoln motor is not the HO motor but just the regular one which i am being told will put out great torque for the autocrossing but my question is what are thoughts on hpde's and eventually CMC was wondering if maybe my wait would pick up the lack of power by any seeing as the car is currently fully gutted with only bars welded in.

If it's a roller 5.0, you're good. You can build anything from it. Find out if the pistons are same for HO and non-HO, if they are, all you need is the GT40s, a cam, and intake. Use your 95 ECU and wiring if you have it.

What exactly is your plan with the engine? As far as what do you need to get the 95 running/driving?

 

[pgfdv6]

If it's a roller 5.0, you're good. You can build anything from it. Find out if the pistons are same for HO and non-HO, if they are, all you need is the GT40s, a cam, and intake. Use your 95 ECU and wiring if you have it.

What exactly is your plan with the engine? As far as what do you need to get the 95 running/driving?

the plan with the engine is to just sit it in and go dont plan on doing anything big with it. in order to be running/ driving I need to get the computer back in the car pedals up and all electrical wiring needs to be done i believe I have a stock wiring harness but also my father has a painless harness so we will be trying to make that one work first
there is a lot of work to be done and I am pushing hard to get it done I was planning to have my first AutoX in early june but not so sure anymore about that with the way progress is looking lately.