The goals in this build:
- A reliable, low-maintenance 325-350 WHP. All systems in the car must support this power goal.
- Reduce weight by 200 Lbs.
- Recreate the red. Repaint the car with no masking lines.
- A show winning car.
- Fix the chassis failures inherent to the FOX.
- Improve the chassis, handling and brakes.
- Use newer, updated technologies where applicable.
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First modification is installing a Maximum Motorsports front suspension including FOX 5.0 tubular k-frame, MM front SN-95 a-arms, KONI Double-Adjustable front FOX struts and Maximum Motorsport's KONI Coil-Over kit.
Test fitment of the MM k-frame on the engine checking for any clearance issues. Outgoing engine test fit with stock mounts installed.
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With that much clearence under the oil pan Mike, did you give any thought to lowering the engine a little bit to help the center of gravity???
Just a thought.
^
I did not. Too many additional changes would be required: gearbox placement, shifter linkage changes, etc. That'd be a good idea if I had used a tall block (for hood clearance) though.
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Wanted to remove the wimpy stock FOX/SVO sun visors and put in a dual-panel visor assembly like the Taurus's have. Loved them in my SHOs.
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So I purchased a currently-available set of Taurus visors, iirc 2002 was the earliest available, and the interior body panels where they mounted to get the proper hole templates & spacing.
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Transferred the hole patterns to poster board, then to 0.015" sheet aluminum for the mockup.
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Test fit the template.
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Clearance the stock mounting holes using the carbide cutter, air rotary and Shop-R2 to keep the mess down.
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Unfortunately the mounting angle wouldn't work so I made mounting plates to weld-in at the proper angles. (This pattern always reminds me of Texas.)
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Test fit & label new mounting brackets.
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Bend & weld brackets, drill screw holes, test fit to inner roof. Add power wiring from the center dome light to each visor.
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The stock SVO radiator is 19x29" for the core size. I wanted to install a narrower radiator, in two-row aluminum, in the left-most position near the stock location. The new aluminum radiator uses a 19x22" core. This was done to allow an additional ~7" of clear air space on the right side of the radiator core opening. Removed stock spot-welded radiator mounts, and added new mounts for the new mounting pins on the aluminum radiator. The engine charge cooler will go in this new void. And installed a 16" curved-blade SPAL fan to the aluminum radiator.
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Time to seam-weld all the loose [spot-welded] panels in the front sheet metal and repair assorted stress cracks. Evidence this car has had a very hard life. A LOT of miscellaneous creaking went away from this process. Not to mention the major increase in chassis rigidity (and the jungle gym in the back helped with that also).
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Mike, how many miles / years old when you started this project?
Bad choices make great stories....!
I was somewhere under 50 ... with LOTS of miles too. Or were you asking about the car??
I started taking the car apart in late 2001 then took a couple years away from the project to recover from a heart surgery. The car saw ~170K street miles including about 500 hours of track time. It was my testbed for most all things SVO.
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Your welding of the panel seams gives me validation. I did the same when I replaced the front end (frame rails, aprons, shock towers, rad support) on my son's LX. I not only rosette welded the factory spot weld holes but I also seam welded for strength.
"Some trannys can operate both types of gearboxes but manual gearboxes with clutch pedals are more difficult to operate with heels on."
Wait until I get to the jungle gym installation.
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Moving on to prepping the front suspension modification parts. Here are the straight-arm SN-95 front spindles (1996+). The arms were abrasive blasted for inspection first. Then one of the two needed to have the caliper mounting bosses trimmed to mount the COBRA caliper, LOTS of sharp areas needed deburring, the tie-rod mounting holes were machined out to allow a 5/8" through bolt to mount the bump steer kit and then blasted again (using alumina media) and then painted gloss black.
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I used a 94 Cobra aluminum MC with a 15/16" bore, and needed to machine the snout down where it pushes into the booster (bolt pattern is same). 94 Cobra MC on left, SVO on right.
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Stock SVO on left, machined Cobra on right.
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I bought these for the front of the red car and some EradiSpeed+ 13" rotors.
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Milled off the raised COBRA lettering.
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Made a GIBBS program to CNC the "SVO" logo into the new face.
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Paint & bake.
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Cut the paint from the SVO logo recesses.
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Mount on car and hide inside wheel.
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Good lord... I want to praise and applaud you, but my jealous rage makes me want to harm you.Originally Posted by MikeFleming
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I'm very familiar with that Love-Hate kind of relationship.
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I don't wanna hijack your thread, so... http://www.svocop.com/forum/showthre...sion-Questions
Have you heard of or know anyone who runs manual brakes?
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Mike, do you have a part number for that radiator?? What core size did you use for your intercooler??
i just did the cobra MC swap, and found out that even with the bigger snout size, it still fits on the stock brake booster!
Stock core is 19 x 29 in copper with 2 rows. I used a 19x22 two-core aluminum unit with a 16" curved-blade SPAL fan. Seven inches narrower than stock.Mike, do you have a part number for that radiator?? What core size did you use for your intercooler??
Note that copper cores are ~3/8" wide while the aluminum ones are 1.25" wide.
Iirc I ordered it from here:
http://www.alumrad.com/ford.html
http://www.alumrad.com/fans.htm
Told him what I wanted size-wise and he made it up for me.
You will need to fabricate a mounting method as the stock brackets will not fit.
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More chassis crack repairs. This one is just behind the end of the center console, in the top of the tunnel just below the front of the rear lower seat. It will later get a larger plate welded over it, to reinforce the area and spread the load over a larger area, and where a portion of the jungle gym will attach. Img_2124.jpg
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Underneath shots.
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The fabrication shop. Some nice equipment lives here.
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Patch crack in tunnel area shown above.
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Prepping car for welding. Remove all paint and rubberized coatings.
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Attachment 3533
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Plate fitting. The plate were initially cut from some scrap (cheaper) thin sheet metal to fit the required size. Then cut from 0.085" 4130 place and welded in place.
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"X" marks where the upper rear suspension arm boxes attach. For reinforcement plates and tubes.
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1.75" x .090" and 1.0" x .090" 4130 tubing pieces.
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Center plate fitting.
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Tubing test fit.
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Tack welding tubes and mounting plates.
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More welding.
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