Fastback Finale

Ok.

The big turn.

Hey, do you recognize this car?

Well, probably not the way it looks. Now,

you see, it's part of our plan to build a special track car

built just for fun on the road course.

Now we built the engine first, a 347 small block using primo parts designed for power and durability.

And since the car is gonna be a tribute to Vic

Edelbrock ready for another one. You damn right. Bigger and better. We gave him the honor of running it on the

dyno

go baby. Go

518 horsepower out of 347 inches.

Wait till 40 years or so.

The body started life as a bare metal 68 mustang shell, pull it forward a little then after many hours pre assembling all the major drive train, suspension and safety stuff, we blew it apart

so Rick Bacon could do his thing, bringing our three color paint scheme to life.

He used a paint called PPG Del Fleet Evolution.

It's a thick industrial paint that's more likely to survive track abuse than others. A lot of Red

man. Rick and Tommy did a great job

even went the extra mile to cover the interior and undercarriage.

They've got a little touch up work to do, but

nothing to keep us from getting back to work. You got it. We're gonna start with the roll cage. Now, as you might remember, it came from auto power. It's all pre bent and it gets bolted together with supplied sleeves.

So all Chris and I have to do is slide it back in, hopefully without scarring up the paint.

The Kirky race seats with the frames attached can go back in next.

Now, time for a little elevation

and with the hood and fenders out of the way, there's plenty of room to reinstall the Global West stage five front suspension and will wood brakes.

Now, since we pulled them off as an assembly, they're gonna go back on the same exact way.

Well, now the rack and pinion unit can go back in place

along with the steering shaft

that wraps up our work up front for now.

Next, we can roll in our curry nine inch rear end position so that we can bolt up the leaf springs.

Can't believe how cool that color combination turned out.

That Mustang is gonna be almost too pretty to take to the road course. Meanwhile, I've been thinking about a question. I wanna ask you. How's putting that car back together

a lot like racing

dating and even eating reheated lasagna

simple. They're all easier and better. The second time around.

Hey, looks like Jazz got the memo about our red paint scheme.

Good. Match

this 347 can haul the mail inside just about any car and inside our strip down lightweight pony. It's gonna be like a go cart on steroids.

This PST drive shaft is the first thing to go on the car that we didn't pre ft before and I'd say we're making progress, especially since this is the last part of the drive train.

It's made from lightweight aluminum. And what that translates to is less reciprocating mass when you accelerate.

Well, before we can fire up the engine again, we got to feed it.

And for that, we're using one of El

Brock's electric fuel pumps that blows 80 gallons an hour at 6.5 P si,

it's preset at the factory at 12 P si, which means that we'll need to install their fuel pressure regulator up front to squeeze that down to about six for a carburetor. Now we'll get that mounted

and run our fuel lines

by the time we get back deal

our painted horsepower track pony rode back for final assembly on guys. Soon we were on a roll with the suspensions brake components

and our nine inch rear end,

the motor went back down in the bay,

the transmission back up underneath

and we capped off the drive train with a new aluminum shaft.

This fuel pressure regulator is the last link to our 340 sevens fuel system and we're gonna mount it right down here on the inner fender wheel. Now, this will also give us a clear path to run the line back up to the carburetor. Now, here's something that's really important when you run an aftermarket fuel system and it can be pretty critical at times

you need to use Gromit's in braided fuel lines that won't get cut or

chafed. Now, the fuel pump, it needs to be mounted so it's gravity fed and just above the chassis for protection.

Now run the lines away from heat or moving parts using the Dell clamps to keep them in place.

The fuel line leads to this fuel pressure regulator that's adjustable from 5 to 10 P si by turning the adjustment screw

with another clamp in place, we can run the line to a fuel filter, we've already mounted to the carb.

All right, the brake lines are next in line and anytime you're dealing with a custom set up like this, you're gonna have to do your own bending, cutting and flaring yourself. Of course, to make a double flare,

it all starts with a nice clean cut.

We're going to use this Mat co kit that comes with an assortment of adapters and dyes plus this hydraulic cylinder that does a lot of the critical work for us. First step is to put

the dyes in place.

Then the tube itself flush with the end here.

Tighten her down.

Now we take this first adapter,

place it inside the cylinder,

twist the handle.

All right.

Start compressing.

That'll be plenty.

Now we release it.

This first adapter creates a flare against the dye.

The second dye is shaped to roll it out.

And after following the same steps as before

there's the double flare,

then you slide a flare nut on

and you'll have the compression you need for brakes, that'll keep you out of the trunk of the car in front of you.

Now, with all the brake lines cut, bent and flared, we can run them along the frame rail, avoiding any places where they could get pinched.

Now for easier and neater installation, we're using clamps from a company called made for you

to keep the 347 cool during road course laps. We're using a Griffin aluminum radiator with twin 12 inch fans pre mounted to the back.

Now, we fed up our own factory style aluminum brackets to keep our radiator secured.

And the hole we're drilling down here is for the radiator overflow tank.

Now, we got it from Jazz and with it bolted in this way, we can drain it from the underneath and the cool

it stays out of the engine bay.

Since this motor is gonna be running at some high RPM. S the crank case pressure is gonna try to force oil out of the breather in the valve cover. So we're gonna run this moroso separate a breather in one to force that oil into a catch tank like this. Now, we're in it this way, prevents any possibility of oil running down the side of the valve cover getting on the header and possibly starting a fire.

First off, we mount the catch tank here on the driver's side, inner fender. Well, next, we go ahead and weld a bung into the driver side valve cover.

Now we can screw on the breather separator.

Now, just connect the dash 10 hose from the catch tank

to the breather. Now, some of you may be wondering how in the heck are you gonna remove the breather to put oil in the motor? Well, the answer is simple, just unscrew the top of the breather, remove the element and in goes the oil.

I guess it goes without saying that wiring for a track car is a lot easier than a street machine. No ac or definitely not a stereo

we were able to find in one box, a painless race kit with everything we need.

Now, this control panel has rocker switches for the usual start ignition,

fuel, electric fans lights

and one extra that we'll find some use for. Now, it also comes with this massive front mount fuse box. You can put it anywhere you want. But, uh, I think we'll tuck ours away under the dash

for easy access. We're mounting the switch panel on top of the roll bar

and a couple of ordinary hose clamps are perfect for keeping it secure.

We're covering up our harness wires with this painless power blade and this stuff's great for a nice clean installation.

Now, we're gonna run this first one from the control box

down the roll bar and we'll use zip ties along the way to keep it snug

mounting. The fuse box only takes a couple of holes in the firewall

and when the box is in place, another set of hands can tighten it down.

Meanwhile, Chris is getting the year one taillight assemblies installed and we're about ready to make all our wiring connections.

So, don't you blow a fuse? We'll be right back.

Hey, welcome back to horsepower. Well, the Mustang track cars racing down the home stretch

and we'll be a few laps from the finish line ourselves after the wiring.

Yeah, and we got a whole lot of it left. But, hey, trust me, it won't be that bad.

First step is easy enough hooking up this weather pack

with that connection.

The switch panel is wired to the fuse box. Now, we can start routing the rest of our wires from the harness to their sources. Now, some go through the firewall and into the engine compartment. Some go to the rear of the car for this. Just make sure you take your time and make everything as neat as possible.

That means keeping them wrapped in something like power braid, routing them along the floor pan seams and using clamps where needed.

After welding a small bracket to the roll bar on the driver's side, we can install a kill switch. This will let the driver quickly shut down the engine if needed.

The switch is wired to a solenoid that's connected to the battery and the starter,

ours is a lightweight pro torque starter from Summit with a 4.44 to 1 gear reduction ratio

and 342 ft pounds of cranking power.

And after wiring up the main lead from the solenoid and an ignition wire it's ready to use.

Then with the gromit in place, we start routing this bundle of wires through the firewall and on to their destinations.

One of those will be this

patrons

flame thrower coil. We're mounting it on the passenger side, fender wall as close as possible to the distributor.

Well, I think I'll get started mounting up the gauges. Of course, the tachometer is the most important one.

So we're gonna bolt it up right here for the driver's easy access. Now, we also need to fab up an aluminum panel to cover up this hole here for four other gauges

and to get our dimensions correct.

I'm gonna make a paper template.

Now, we're gonna add about an inch up here to take advantage of these bullet holes. So I'll go ahead and

mark them for reference.

Then we transfer the pattern to the sheet of aluminum

And after using one of the gauges to mark circles, I'm gonna use our drill press and a whole saw bit to cut the holes

and don't forget it's better to cut up a little on the small side to be safe. Then you can use a die grinder and some test fitting to get them. Perfect.

We got all these gauges including the tack from Stewart Warner, oil pressure, oil temperature, water, temperature

and voltage.

Well, that gauge panel fit in perfectly

and with the attack in place,

we'll be able to read all the race cars vital signs.

Now, I know right now what some of you are thinking? Where is the speedometer? Right.

Well, it's left out on purpose. You see, according to traditional racing wisdom, a

Speedo is a distraction for a driver. He should use the tack and what's ahead to judge speed. So, I guess if the rule is good enough for NASCAR, it's good enough for us. Right.

Well, now we can both the steering column to the bracket

and pop on the wheel.

Well, I'm proud to say the engine base still looks pretty neat and clean even after, uh, installing all this plumbing for the oil cooler. Yeah, it may look like a lot, but it's pretty simple. Come down here, I'll show you how it runs from the block. We come over to this bracket where the oil filter will actually mount and then from the other line that comes up to a cooler which is mounted on the front of the radiator. Now, the most important thing on this whole set up is you wanna make sure you remember how the flow direction goes. If not, it can be pretty catastrophic for the motor, I can imagine. Now, I know your daddy always said, Bill these full of oil before you install them. But the fact of the matter is we were gonna prime the entire oiling system before we even start the motor and check for leaks.

Next, we got to drill three more holes in the firewall, fill them with grommets, then run hoses from the front and rear brake master cylinders and the clutch slave cylinder

and connect all three to the respective reservoirs under the dash.

You know, no matter how much planning you do with a project like this one,

it's always gonna be surprises along the way. For example, pretend I'm the driver, I'm harnessed back in the seat. I reach down to bang gears and,

well, I can't make my arm any longer. So we had to do something about the shifter.

A problem. We shifted over to Chris.

Hey, what do you got? Well, I, uh, just came up with a bracket to move it back about eight inches since your arms are so short. So, uh, it should work for the

dyno run. Ok. It's pretty thick and I'm gonna hold up. Let's see what it is

better than what we got right.

Ok.

Well, it looks kind of weird but

actually works,

works pretty well.

They say the devil's in the details and we've covered quite a bit of them on our mustang today, but we're only a few details away from finishing it up. Are you guys down for that? Then? Stick with us.

You're watching Horsepower for a DVD copy of this episode. Just go to Power Block tv.com and order your copy for just 595 plus shipping and handling. Start your own horsepower collection delivered right to your door from the power block

today. On horsepower, we've been busting our bolts to wind up this Mustang track car project.

We just finished the exhaust and wired up our patrons

igniter three distributor before bringing in some outside help to install glass for the windshield and rear window. Yeah, it doesn't look right. Does it bubble top

or a lot of goo one of the two? Well, that's a real pain in the glass but you can't pre ft everything

that's not stopping us though. We're moving on to the body work, starting with the bumper assembly,

some trim

and some vintage bling,

including this rep pop gas cap. Even though it's just for looks,

if our fast back was destined for the street, we'd go ahead and run lock, tumblers in the doors and in the trunk. But who wants to carry around a set of keys at the track all day? So what we're gonna do is pretty simple. Utilize a piece that comes with the tumbler sets to make it easy to get in the trunk and refuel. This thing

with a hole drilled in the cotter pin and washer in place, slide the assembly through the tumbler hole.

Once to the mechanism, place a washer

and a cotter pin just like on the other side,

spread them out,

cut off the excess length,

place a groin

in the tumbler hole

and check this out.

Now on to the doors, we got all of our factory style replacement pieces from year one. Of course, and tell you what if you ever do a job like this one or a restoration job.

This is the most important part of your list, assembly manual. A lot of these things don't come with instructions.

Now, we don't want the original door panels of arm rests on this track car. So, since Chris has been so creative this weekend,

we got him to make a pair of lightweight door skins out of aluminum cool, go figure it fits.

And so does this cow cover? We got to keep water and other elements out of the cockpit.

Well, next, the Mustang makes a fast trip back in the air for some rear end gear, oil and manual transmission fluid.

Then we can bleed the brakes and finish filling up all the fluids

after a quick check of the fast backs, electrical system

time to bring this 347 beast back to life. All right. Let's go ahead and fire it.

Very cool.

First. Fire up in the car. Yeah, I'm happy with it. Got good oil pressure thing is loud.

Very cool.

We're now on to the front end finale.

So, what's next? Well, we're gonna book some track time for the mustang and in a few weeks you'll see what it takes to get a car and driver ready for the road course. Then we're gonna put it through some serious laps and prove that our little pony is track worthy.

After that, we'll load it up and bring it back for a sweepstakes giveaway where you could win this thing and we'll keep you updated on the power block tv.com website

if you want more performance, less weight and great looks in your next carb. You might wanna consider one of Holly's new ultras. This is the ultra Avenger comes with extra strong aluminum base plate,

metering blocks and a clear fuel level site window. Plus they come in colors, red, blue and this one black. Now check this out

an ultra version of the bad boy Dominator. Now, this thing is also lighter than ever before loaded down with billet and comes with hand polish venturas for maximum air flow. Now, this could be a sure way to make your race car ultra fast. Well, we've had a pretty fast day here in the horsepower shop and now we get to work on something for next week. We'll see you then.