Good idea! I had a guy suggest to me to try cutting down a PCV grommet and sticking that in there. I dug around in one of my extra stuff drawers and found this rubber plug, I think was from one of the times I bought a new power steering pump, and it was used to plug off the nipple on the bottom of the reservoir. I put that in there but it did still leave a bit of a gap. Your solution is perfect!
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Alright, so I've got my days planned in the coming week for my valvetrain to be finished up, and first startup of the engine. Pretty exciting! I have yet to plan the engine going in the car day in between there, but my wife helped me last time, so I'm not worried about it!
Today, I thought I would lay out and start planning my exhaust. Maybe even start cutting. Here's my new LMR h-pipe with my old one. I like how the LMR one has an additional joint on each side, so you can get things fitting just right.
It's kind of interesting how different the rear section is from the old one. Anyway, on the driver's side, it doesn't appear I'll have any trouble splicing the cat in.
The passenger side though... I don't know what I'm going to do about this one...
Remember, I don't weld. This stuff will be held together with band clamps. So, I really can't do any major redesigning here. Plus with so many joints as it is, I'd like to limit the number of new ones I add. You might notice though, I solved the AIR system problem by threading a bolt into the little pipe. I'll go back and cut the head off, and it should look decent.
With the engine, transmission crossmember, and catbacks all sitting in positions they would not have been in a late Fox Mustang, I guess maybe I should wait to cut until I know just exactly what I'll need to shorten. Although, the cats are going in regardless... hmmm... trying to save time down the line here...
Last edited by ZephyrEFI; 08-30-2019 at 03:20 PM.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Well, the only reason I bring it up is hoisting an engine into a car really isn't something you should do by yourself, or more specifically, not something I should do. The vast majority of the time, I do the work by myself though. I've tried having her hang out while I work too, but I'm not a guy who can multitask. I really need to focus on what I'm doing.
As for the cats, Minnesota does not do emissions checks, but I thought I would try this and see how much it quiets the car down. I've decided it's too loud for as much as I want to drive it. And if I can help the earth out at the same time, so much the better. Adding cats this way isn't prohibitively expensive, so it's worth a try, in my opinion. Not like buying the BBK h-pipe for FIVE HUNDO or trying to find a stock h-pipe in decent condition... I don't trust the cheap ones. So many guys modify these cars so they don't run right (too big injectors and so on), I see any used cats as ticking time bombs. Plus these cats are newer tech, so they're not as restrictive as the factory ones, and don't require AIR to work right. Win-win. Probably.
I may end up surrendering and having them welded by someone. It may be the only way I can fit everything like I want.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
instead of cats maybe you could use a resonators
2017 Ford Explorer Sport (DD) 1986 Capri 5.0 Silver/Red
1969 Falcon XW GTHO coupe (SOLD) went to Australia
Past 4 eyes-
4th. 1981 Capri "White" Black Magic I6
3rd. 1984 Capri RS V8 Black/grey
2nd. 1984 Capri RS V8 White/red
1st. 1984 SVO Grey/grey (traded it for a worn out 1970 BOSS 302)
Both '84 Capri's vin# were 10 away from each other
U.S. NAVY 1980-2009
Well, I already have the cats. I have some resonators picked out if it's not quiet enough. Also recently found out about some drone eliminator thingies I'm curious about.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
I was gonna go quiet too. I had similar plans and I still may go through with them but I kinda got used to the loud and I like the way it turns heads. Surely yours does the same. A boxtop with the rumble must turn heads! The real problem I think is the interior sound deadening. My brother has a 2017 GT350 with an exhaust and if you are outside the car it hurts... but inside! Inside is not bad at all! You can whisper a conversation.
I have some added insulation on mine. It's definitely a good thing.
It does turn heads. I just don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention, y'know?
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
I have a BBK catted H pipe if you're interested...but be warned...maybe it's my car, but it doesn't fit MY exhaust right. SO when my car SITS in the GARAGE for the last 4 years, it has no tails on it. LOL. But I bought it used by never used and maybe put 500 miles at the most on it. I'm either getting mien back driving and selling for a drag car or gutting it into a drag car, so I'm selling a ton of stuff off it either way.
And I would suggest, if you modify the one you have, get it the way you want, shoot a couple of self tapping screws into each side to hold in place, then take to a muffler shop or find someone with a MIG welder in their garage. Pay them in $$, kindness, or beg, but get the cats welded in. Or go to Harbor Freight, buy the new $149 inverter flux MIG machine and some scrap tubing, watch some vids and learn to weld. Or pay the person you found with a MIG in their garage to teach you!! LOL
Last edited by droopie85gt; 09-01-2019 at 07:37 AM.
1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes
Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll forge ahead with what I've got. That's a great tip about the screws though. I'd been starting to wonder how I'd hold stuff together just how I want it when I bring it to the welder.
I do like the idea of getting an affordable welder too, and if it's going to work decently on anything, you'd think nice, thin exhaust tubing would be one of those things it does. Maybe when I price the work, I'll weigh my options.
I did already buy the band clamps though, and they weren't cheap themselves.
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Last edited by ZephyrEFI; 09-01-2019 at 10:21 AM.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Valvetrain is assembled. Ooooo, look at the pretty rocker arms.
Engine went into the car today.
I hadn't opened up the flywheel package until I went to install it, and it turns out the thing didn't come with dowel pins. I tried seeing if local parts stores would have them, and as far as I can tell no one does. I may still go visit a few when I go out later. But that's frustrating. Maybe no startup tomorrow without the clutch and trans installed. We'll see what happens. There's always something isn't there?
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
It's always that obscure accessory/ancilary part too. Frustrated for ya!
But wait... there's more! I went to the Ford dealer, and the guy there didn't seem to think there even were dowel pins on the flywheel, but it didn't matter they wouldn't have had it anyway. Went to Autozone, and nothing. Gave up. Was on Summit just now ordering. I was looking at shipping, when I noticed it was coming from a warehouse in Georgia instead of the usual Ohio one my parts come from. I thought I would try Jegs for the heck of it and see if i could see where it was coming from. Jegs doesn't tell you, and their price was higher. So, I went back to Summit. I noticed there was a "Next Day Saturday" option on the shipping list. There's a disclaimer if it's after 7:00, they can't do it, but that sounds great, right? Nope. In the time it took me to go over to Jegs and come back, it turned over 7:00 Eastern. AAAAAA!!!!!!!! That is some bullsh** right there.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Yeah... well at least I can take my time a bit more this way.
I got most of the way there today with reassembly.
Just upper intake, heater hoses, battery, and a few other things left. If you don't count trans or exhaust, which I don't. Can't install the trans until the clutch is there.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Looks good! Won't be long til it sees a road test!
1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes
Yeah! I think the thing I'm most excited about at this point is getting all the parts piled around it up off the floor and back on the car though.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
DO you mean installed on the car or just sitting on the car? I make tremendous use of my car as a fantastic shelf!
1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes
Installed on the car.
I tackled the heater hoses first thing today. It's a WHOLE lot easier doing this job with the hood and upper intake off!
I had to look up how to position the stupid things. Again. I can never remember, so I took this picture.
I put the upper intake back on next, and all 5,000 connections it has. With less room behind the engine, that's always fun. You have to arrange everything just right, or it gets too crowded behind.
Just a few things to go! I think I'm going to get a new teflon seal for the power steering line. I don't like how you can see it with the line tightened down. I feel like it should all fit inside there.
I'm hesitant to install the headers because I feel like the bolts at the header to h-pipe connections are hard to get to with my engine moved back. I may get stuck just doing it anyway. I guess you're supposed to run a new engine for a while when you first start it up, and I guess I'd prefer my neighbors not hate me. I'll probably have to install the old h-pipe temporarily so the full exhaust is installed, and then make my changes after the fact. Maybe after the end of the season, we'll see.
Other than that, my stupid flywheel dowel pins are coming at a snail's pace from Georgia. The estimate I was given was they'll be here by Tuesday, but now the tracking page says Wednesday. It never ceases to amaze me how they can call it "2-day shipping" when it takes FIVE. And it's not even Fedex this time, it's UPS! So, when my help shows up on Wednesday, I may be farting around installing the trans instead of starting the car up right away!
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
Well, everything is all back together, except some of the exhaust and I need to stab in the distributor.
I think I'm going to do its first startup tomorrow. I'm trying to make it to a show that's on Sunday, and then another one Tuesday. We'll see how much of the exhaust I feel like putting back on. I have these neighbors that have these stupid, obnoxious fart cannon cars, you see. Right now it's just headers and a short length of h-pipe with the O2 sensors.
I'm waiting until after the season to do the cats and stuff. I'm installing the old h-pipe for now. I'm a bit overwhelmed finding all the things I hadn't done yet while re-assembling. That's why it's taken me a week. So yeah, we don't need to go down that road quite yet.
What do you guys think about how this pressure plate looks?
I didn't replace the clutch itself as part of my upgrades. It wasn't giving me trouble before, besides being heavy, so I was hoping it would have more life in it. Pulling and installing the trans is really a lot of trouble now with the engine moved back. It's really difficult to get things to line up. The engine doesn't tip back far enough for the angles to work out, and you have to have the trans itself sitting pretty high, so if you have the shifter installed, it will do all kindsa interferin' with stuff.
Brad
'79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
'17 Ford Focus ST
'14 Ford Fusion SE Manual
the plate seems to look like you may have done a few (or a lot) of the release the smoke act......
2017 Ford Explorer Sport (DD) 1986 Capri 5.0 Silver/Red
1969 Falcon XW GTHO coupe (SOLD) went to Australia
Past 4 eyes-
4th. 1981 Capri "White" Black Magic I6
3rd. 1984 Capri RS V8 Black/grey
2nd. 1984 Capri RS V8 White/red
1st. 1984 SVO Grey/grey (traded it for a worn out 1970 BOSS 302)
Both '84 Capri's vin# were 10 away from each other
U.S. NAVY 1980-2009
As for your transmission install . . . Do you have the motor mount nuts installed and tightened? If so, loosen the nuts all the way until the head of the nut is flush with the end of the stud. That should allow the engine to tilt back, but still be secure.
Next go pick up (4) 7/16" bolts, at least 6 inches long. Cut the head off the bolt, hand thread a bolt into the top two holes at the back of the block and then one on either side. These will be guide pins for installing the bellhousing and transmission. This allows you to set the bellhousing onto the bolts and align with the block with only having to support the back of the combo. Slide the assembly into place as you rotate the tail shaft to align the input shaft splines to the clutch disc (transmission in 2nd or 3rd gear). If the transmission won't seat flush to the back of the block, install a pair of bellhousing bolts in the remain bolt holes then wiggle the transmission until it sits flush. Snug up the two bolts then remove the guide pin bolts and install the remaining bellhousing bolts.
If there just isn't enough clearance with shifter base installed, you may just have to pull it off and install it thru the transmission opening after everything is bolted back up. One of the reasons I generally install the engine and transmission as a single unit when possible. Good luck!
Trey
"I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"
"I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."
Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
Current Mustangs:
1969 Mach 1
1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently
Current Capris:
1981 Capri Roller
1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts
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