ReplicaR's Time Trial Mustang build *Engine Rebuild*

OLD H2S

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I agree, now I am running a VW R32 sometimes and think well this is better then jump in the Mustang and enter turn 11 at 98 MPH and say this one is better. So what is the answer? I need more cars.
 

g36 monkey

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Honestly, I don't see it that way. I respect all kinds of performance, and I realize that given a lot of money, you can make just about anything fast. it won't necessarily handle well, but it will go around the lap quick AF. For example, I enjoy going to autox events in my G37 much more than Mustang, mostly because it actually feels better, and it's more comfortable, etc. Mustang may be really fast, but some things it will just never do, like be able to put the power down out of the corner like a mid or rear engine car. So you kinda have to pick your battles, figure out what's the strength and work on optimizing that. I've talked to one of those Porsche guys, and they said that they were losing time in slaloms due to engine position, however my car was sublime in that section, totally balanced and composed, very easy to drive. Funny to think of Mustang as a momentum car, but it kind of became that over time.

I 100% agree with this. I recognize the Mustang's shortcomings when compared to other things. It is funny to imagine the Porsche not performing as well in the slalom. Either way, I'm still happy for you!
 
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ReplicaR

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It was one of the earlier 911s, they are a bit challenging when you change directions rapidly. Maybe driver's fault, but from what I've heard, the earlier cars are very difficult to control because of all the weight in rear. The new ones don't have that issue anymore, they've really cracked it over past 70 years (if you start counting back from first production 356).
 
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ReplicaR

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Gearing up for another track day in 3 weeks. The car has proven to be reliable enough not to blow up on first lap, so I'm taking it where it all started, Streets Of Willow, doing the counter clockwise rotation this time. I'll be sure to have videos per usual. After the track day is complete, I will begin the exterior makeover, which I am very excited about. It's something I wanted to do for the majority of my time owning this car, and I can't believe that it's finally happening.
 

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Good to see a bunch of OG’s are still active on here . Cars came along way in my absence looks great
 
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ReplicaR

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It's about to look even greater. I'll just leave these here, coming February 2020...

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ReplicaR

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The wing actually came in today. Decided to test fit it, while I have a chance. Using original parts where possible, the only thing that won't be a Saleen original part is this S351 wing, which they don't make anymore. Luckily Rocketz Autosport made a very good reproduction of the wing. The fitment is pretty good, some holes will have to be opened up for better bolt alignment, but otherwise, I'm pretty happy with my choice. The wing has a pretty strong lip, which combined with a small Gurney flap, should generate some decent downforce. More pictures of the progress to come shortly

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g36 monkey

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Well, I guess we will have to change your username to ReplicaSaleenS351 - I can live with that. Excited to see it all come together!
 
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ReplicaR

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Well, I guess we will have to change your username to ReplicaSaleenS351 - I can live with that. Excited to see it all come together!

Doesn't really roll off the tongue as well lol. Yeah, I'm very excited as well. I bought some studs that I will install into the wing, because the bolt in method drives me nuts. It is so much easier to have a stud to go through the trunk lid like the OEM spoiler does.
 
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ReplicaR

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Threaded in the studs today to replace the bolt in method, clearanced the holes in the trunk lid, made sure that the spoiler lines up properly, seems to be good to go.

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Oh, and this is what 200 dollars of vinyl looks like, when you pay the Saleen tax lol

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searay86

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I finally did it. Read all 46 pages of your build lol. Learned the real amount of head aches it takes to build a race car. I'll stick with my boring stock car on 200tws for now thats for sure. Reading it though makes me excited to see my own journey of building a car
 
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ReplicaR

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Yeah, it's all trial and error method for a lot of these, because unfortunately there are only so many things that are under personal control and even then I'm not an automotive engineer (software engineer by trade), so I make a lot of mistakes myself. Another conclusion I came to is that I'm way better off buying something that's better right out of the box, and would require minor suspension tuning in order to get what I need
 
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searay86

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I think a lot in trial and error, just praying the final product works.. I graduated last spring as an engineer.. civil though lol. More or less I want a car that I can let my ideas run crazy and that seems what your build has been. Not following class rules but creating your own car that you want.
 
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ReplicaR

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That's a really good way to put it. It's also good that someone like me can document the process and outcome in order to give others an idea about where certain ventures will take you
 
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ReplicaR

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Got the OEM Saleen side skirts today. Pretty impressed with the quality overall. Unlike aftermarket copies, Saleen parts use OEM mounting points in pinch rail and bottom rocker panel. Pretty impressed overall. I will probably put the car into the shop after tax season, but before that, I will be doing a track day this weekend. Very excited about that.

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You can see that aftermarket side skirts were meant to be drilled into the bottom rocker in the gap between the door and bottom rocker. Saleen stuff mounts up using the push pins just like OEM side skirt would.
 
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ReplicaR

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Looking forward to the finished product. S351 looks good.

Yeah, me too. The other thing that's special for Saleen is the white face gauges, which have a 200 mph speedometer (S351 only) and Saleen logo on both tachometer and speedometer. As much as I would love to have that too, it poses a few problems. First, they are impossible to find for 94-95 cars. I found some that came in S281, but from my previous research, they aren't compatible, and they only go to 150 mph (not that I can go faster than that anyway). The other thing is, they are white face gaugues, which means they won't match any of my other gauges in the car already, primarily AutoMeter GS oil temp, water temp, and oil pressure. Sure, I can spend a lot of money to try and match things up, but in all honesty, to do all that just to have my gauge cluster say Saleen on it, that seemed excessive. So, I went on ebay, found a decal of right size and in white, and I'll just apply that to my stock gauge cluster. $4.95 problem solved.
 
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ReplicaR

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A quick recap of yesterday. Went to the track, and got mechanical flag right in the middle of the first session. I was dropping oil and smoking it, had to come back immediately and investigate. The culprit turned out to be a valve cover gasket on the passenger side, which is a pretty straight forward job, and luckily AutoZone nearby had a set in stock, so after missing one session, I successfully buttoned the car up with my basic small tool set, and ran the rest of the day reliably.

The bumper vents helped tremendously, as I was pushing the car really hard, and the water temps never got over 200, with oil getting only to 240. There was still detonation, as I saw wideband get into mid 13s AFR during wide open, so I decided to cut the sessions short. I've noticed that the mixture would change after a few laps in the session, after the car would get hot, so maybe the fuel pump isn't cutting it anymore. Another problem that came back was fuel pressure building up in the fuel tank and me dropping gasoline through the fuel filler cap. That will be fun to diagnose again.

The upside to the day was that I ran 1:31.2xx towards the end of the day, when everyone was starting to slow down due to high track temps (faster times usually happen early in the day). It's not too bad considering that I fully cooked the brakes, driving was still a mess because I've never ran this configuration before, and I'm on 5 year old NT01s that might be all cycled out by now. More updates to come soon. Oh and just for Tillerman77, the night shot.

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ReplicaR

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Yeah, nice and even. This is the prototype set, so newer sets will have better finish, but it's still pretty great.
 

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