1979 Mustang Indy Pace Car: Tubbed/Caged: The Pacecar Chronicles

The word perseverance comes to mind. I'm sure there are others with similar stories but you have certainly done a good job keeping the car through all that. Nice combination for running gear although I will point out the 'weak link' is the traction lok (if it's a stock Ford). With your combination I could see some rpm and side stepping the clutch? The only Ford re I ever broke was a traction lok, maybe you could find a locker? Went low 11's with a 3278 lb. car stock Ford locker and never broke it. They do make a little noise while cornering but I think the grin on your face when you get it all together and running will allow you to ignore the clunk?
 
ssmustang said:
The word perseverance comes to mind. I'm sure there are others with similar stories but you have certainly done a good job keeping the car through all that. Nice combination for running gear although I will point out the 'weak link' is the traction lok (if it's a stock Ford). With your combination I could see some rpm and side stepping the clutch? The only Ford re I ever broke was a traction lok, maybe you could find a locker? Went low 11's with a 3278 lb. car stock Ford locker and never broke it. They do make a little noise while cornering but I think the grin on your face when you get it all together and running will allow you to ignore the clunk?
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The traction lok center section is my street gears, I actually have a nodular case, and a Detroit locker, but the race gears will end up on an aftermarket case with a spool. Once you see an aftermarket case next to a production "N" case, you'll ask yourself what all the fuss was about with the "N" cases, cuzz there is no comparison to an aftermarket case. The weakest link on the production case is the little "nub" hanging out in space that the end of the pinon (ie: the end opposite the yoke) rides in. There is substantially more material around the bore the bearing rides in on the aftermarket case vs the "N" case.
And at some point after it's running and driving, the 3500 lb disc & PP will get broomed, and I'll put some more modern technology in there. Something that is no where near as harsh on the launch, and adjustable. My buddy Stacey has a last gen Nova (75-79?) that he's run for years with a 327/stick (ST-10), and he finally stepped up several seasons back and put a Nash 5 spd in the car. (And if all goes to plan, by spring, his Nova will be BBC/5 spd. But through all his research we've learned a bunch about the newer stuff, much more forgiving to the drivetrain, and tuneable for track conditions and the power level of the car. But, DAMN, the new stuff is not for the feint of wallet:)
**Forgot to mention, the Detroit Locker that I have was previously in a '78 or '79 F150 4x4 (not OEM), and I rode in the truck a couple times. Driving down the main street in G.P., lets off the gas, coasts, then turns right, about mid corner....BANG !! that was the Locker unlocking:) A bit unnerving, but I'm sure you'd get used to it. He was also telling that if we went into that same corner and hammered the gas at the apex, we'd of ended up in the brick wall of the bank across the street:) Under power, they're locked and you ain't going anywhere but STRAIGHT !

James
 
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I had one in a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. They can be a handful in the rain as I found out the first day I drove the Boss home from the dealership.

I also have one in the 57 in my avatar. It has a mildish 502 BBF, C6, 31-spline, 3.70 gears in it. Seems to be holding up fine in drag strip launches with MT 275 radial pro's.
 
rmk57 said:
I had one in a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. They can be a handful in the rain as I found out the first day I drove the Boss home from the dealership.

I also have one in the 57 in my avatar. It has a mildish 502 BBF, C6, 31-spline, 3.70 gears in it. Seems to be holding up fine in drag strip launches with MT 275 radial pro's.
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The DL's seem to be pretty robust, but I do recall reading one write-up in (IIRC) Street Rodder magazine, one of the staffers had a fairly quick '32, '33, or '34 ford coupe, capable of low tens, and he told the story of his last days running it on the track with a DL. He made the pass, went through the traps, and when he lifted, & the DL unlocked, he ending up doing a 360 spin at the top end of the track. After that, he swapped to a center section with a spool:) I dunno if that was a one-off deal, but not something I care to experience. There's GOOD adrenaline, and there's BAD adrenaline, this would fall on the BAD side of the scale:)

James
 
Alright, PART 3:

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A view in front portion of passenger wheel tub, showing filler pieces below wheel tub to floor, and from quarter panel to lower.

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Looking forward inside passenger wheel well, the left side of the large flat piece attaches to the kickup in the frame rails & fills in from tub down to floor. The two pieces on right side fill in from quarter to B pillar & tub.

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Tinwork for rear floor, with hatch to access fuel filler.

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The flat plate below tail light is the backside of the battery box, made from heavy (12g, IIRC) "Satin Coat" material, one tray on each side of car.

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A view with the passenger door open, looking inside towards the back of car, shows the front of the tub, the tin between the kickup in the rail and the B pillar, and the tin that fills in the kickup between the rails.
 
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The piece welded to bottom of RH rail is a receiver for the Factory 5 MPH bumper shocks.

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Partially finished tin.

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Looking rearward, diff housing, Strange 31 spline axles, coil overs, fuel tank.

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Passenger QP: Wheel tubs were spot welded to inside of quarters. In retrospect, I would not do that if I was at this stage today.

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Harwood fiberglass 6" extended rear wheel openings. Seemed like a good idea @ the time, and if the wheel tubs were not already installed, I'd probably do the stretch in steel, like I did on Steve R's 1988 Mustang.

https://tinyurl.com/wheelwell-stretch

Damn! Can't get that url to work, so unless Frank can do some Voodoo, you'll have to mouse over, right click, then select "go to"

....and that ends todays festivities:)

22 more pics to go !!
 
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Sassy said:
VERY MUCH ENJOY READING 351C, TOPLOADER, NARROWED 9, VGATE!!
Been there!
Fred
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Fred: It was a C4 before we started hackin'.....but I still like stick cars. Some day if the funds were available, I'd love to put a Doug Nash/Richmond/G Force, etc in there, but I have bigger fish to fry before we get to that part:) But I do have one complete spare toploader, and another that's wounded, so @ some point some bits may get sent to Liberty;)

**Saw this on bangshift today, but you have to call just to get a price quote, so I already know I can't afford one:) But sounds pretty wicked!!

bangshift.com

Full Sequential Billet Tremec 6-Speed The Ultimate 6-Speed Transmission! Check It Out Right Here! - BangShift.com

Dude! This is one killer Tremec 6-Speed and you can get it from American Powertrain. We dig this thing and are super excited to get behind the wheel of something that has one in it. This is no joke, but rather serious bad ass parts. This isn’t a Sequential Shifter, like you get from some […]
bangshift.com bangshift.com

James
 
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OK, sounds like you have a good plan going, just with your combination the traction lok seemed weak. You sound younger than me (most are) as you are embracing more modern technology which I totally agree with although some of us old guys are pretty much stuck liking the old stuff. I subscribe to Engine Professional and am amazed at the engine technology out there these days. Some 'knew' or 'theorized' of these tricks but now they have put actual testing and data out to prove what works and why.

While cool (and pricey), transmissions with wires coming out scare me! Carry on, enjoying watching from afar.
 
ssmustang said:
OK, sounds like you have a good plan going, just with your combination the traction lok seemed weak. You sound younger than me (most are) as you are embracing more modern technology which I totally agree with although some of us old guys are pretty much stuck liking the old stuff. I subscribe to Engine Professional and am amazed at the engine technology out there these days. Some 'knew' or 'theorized' of these tricks but now they have put actual testing and data out to prove what works and why.

While cool (and pricey), transmissions with wires coming out scare me! Carry on, enjoying watching from afar.
Click to expand...

ssmustang: Well, I guess it's all relative, but I'm a 1961 model, so far from brand new:)

James
 
Tonight !is Part 4 !

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Driver's Side QP: Wheel tubs were spot welded to inside of quarters. In retrospect, I would not do that if I was at this stage today.

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Chassiswork and the bulk of tinwork finished, being moved to the quonset on my friend Ken's acreage for storage. Nose high, cuzz no engine or trans. **And I just spotted the squarebody Chev in the background.....that truck belonged to my oldest brother Rick. Ken stuck a cylinder head on it, and Rick moved to Penticton, the same summer I moved to Edmonton. Looking back, I guess we know for certain now he's the smart one:)

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That rear view!! Looks like it means business !

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Big's n littles :) 15" x 15" rear rims, 15" x 3-1/2" front rims.

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Top view of tires:)
 
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Swapped to Ranger rotors to allow use of 5 bolt wheels. Have since sourced all the bits off an early SN95 Mustang, they use a "hub" and "hat" style rotor. This will simplify stepping up to larger dia. rotors & better calipers at some point in the future.

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Front 5 bolt wheel installed after 5 bolt rotor swap.

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Marine tank, hanger straps fab'd, rear sump with FNPT bungs welded in.

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Rear view while still attached to "Poor man's chassis table".


I'll end it here for tonight. As mentioned in one of my responses to previous posts, the remainder of the pics are engine stuff, and were taken a looong time after the chassiswork pics, while the car was back up north @ Steve's acreage, Circa '02-'03-ish.

James
 
Part 4: This is the last thirteen pics, anything added after this will be pics I take with my phone.

Which will be ironic, because all the pics posted thus far were taken eons ago, mostly with a 35mm film camera,(but to post them, I had to take pics of the hardcopy pics with my phone, then crop the background out of the .jpg image. Or in the case of the ones I'm about to post, with my Sony Mavica FD-95 digital camera....BUT, it's old enough that it doesn't use an SD card, it stores the images on a 3.5" Floppy disc:) (Actually takes quite good quality pics, an has a great zoom, but it's a big bulky thing, which has seen almost no use since I got a phone with a camera in it)

**And as has also been mentioned in a previous post, the pics to follow were taken in the early 2000's when the car went back up north to Steve's acreage to get a bunch of stuff dealt with......

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Steve-built Crank Trigger, tone ring, billet coil mount, etc

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Steve-built Carb spacer, Throttle cable mount, Serpentine belt drive, Alternator brackets, SS Hex torque strap, etc.

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All fasteners for Valve Covers, Intake, Water Pump, Alternator, Headers, etc are (or will be) ARP 12 point SS. At the time this work was done, ARP did not offer 12 point SS nuts, so Steve used his milling machine, his indexing table, and some 6 point SS nuts to make some. The ones you see on top of rad (RH side) were "dead soldiers" (trial run ones that didn't make the grade).

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If you look behind drivers side shock tower, you might spot the hydraulic clutch M/C, on a custom Steve-built dual m/c mounting plate (Brakes & Clutch).

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Another view of Serpentine belt setup. And poking through the Apron above the voltage regulator is the fill neck for a windshield washer reservoir from a later model Fox Mustang. IIRC, the original sat on the apron in front of shock tower, right about where that little black junction box is.
 
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Dual 1/2" SS Fuel Lines from tank to engine bay protruding through apron (above rad hose). Steve-built billet thermostat housing/water neck.

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Another view of Serp. belt & SS hex Torque Strap.

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Taylor Rocker Switch Panel, outside dimensions of panel were milled by Steve to fit the opening where the stereo used to go. Contains, Ign, Start, Fans, Fuel, etc.

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Trans Tunnel "bulged" for vertical gate shifter clearance.

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Another view of tunnel bulge
 
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**Seat mount frame had to have floor mounting holes milled by Steve to become slots so that seat could be offset towards drivers door to clear tunnel bulge.

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**Hole in bulge is for adjusting shifter linkage. A Blind Grommet will keep the weather out:) .... now all I need to do is figure out HTH I'm going to access it after the carpet goes in :)


So, as mentioned at the top, this is all the pics I have ATM, so don't hold your breath while you wait for the next batch, cuzz you might end up looking like this guiy!! lol

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Cheers!
James
 
Had to run out to the garage earlier to grab something, so I snapped four pics while I was out there, sorry, no pro photographer lighting equipment around here, just a cordless trouble light with weak batteries.....

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A (slightly) better view of the dual master cylinders. Big one is brakes, small one is clutch.

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Back when we started this project, all the Kool Kids had Kool Cans.......today, not so much....maybe I'll grow my mullet back too?? lol

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The Brake Proportioning Valve is mounted to the back of the Passenger side shock tower. I bought it from the Lincoln/Mercury dealer in G.P., it cam in a Ford Motorsport box....but when we opened the box, it had a Direct Connection Sticker on it!! lol I was laughing so hard, I almost fell off the stool I was sitting on @ the parts counter. I guess someone @ Kelsey-Hayes thought it would be funny to put a part destined for Direct Connection/Mopar Performance in a Ford Motorsport box?? Well, it kind of was:)

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The MSD 6AL Ignition Module is mounted to the tin on the frame kickup, just behind the passenger seat.

James
 
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