Once again, coming in a big lump, not quite as bad as last time though. Had a few people asking about progress so I'll update with what I have so far.

OK, been a while on updates as there wasn't a whole lot to report. Made the Ozarks run, only problem was a blown front tire. Have a little over 4000 miles on it with no significant problems.

Done working the extra job for the year, bought axles, rear end and assorted parts to do the five lug/LSD swap with the the big bearing rear end and rear suspension revisions, as well as desperately needed bigger brakes.

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Picked up an 85 GSL SE rear diff. Had a little problem with the first diff I picked up. It was out of an 84 gsl. It would have worked fine, but found that someone had swapped an 83 gsl rear into it at sometime so the rear did not have the big bearings.

Took it back to Kyle at Rotary Doctor in Neosho, Mo. and he gave me the '85 GSL SE rear in it's place. Good guy, this one had us both scratching our heads for a while, **** happens.

Trial fitting bigger rear discs while I'm waiting on parts to arrive. Want to swap brakes over from the 95 Cobra R suspension I have. Rear 11.5" discs won't be too bad, although they look to be only marginally better then the FC rears (Cobra on left, FC on right). The front 13" discs will take a little thinking on.

Modifying Spring mounts to accept the Mustang springs. I know, I'm insane.

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The beauty of the Mustang springs is that they come in the spring rates I was shooting for anyway (approx. 150#).

Oh! and I already have them, broke ***** unite!

 

For those still interested and in keeping with my penchant for doing things the hard way. (Don't try this at home kids, I'm a Prof-*er*-masochist).

Getting the spring buckets and adjusters in car. Had to raise the spring mounting point ala FC & FD. Semi-final placement on the spring perch is about 4 inches higher than original. Need to be able to lower it without going to ridiculously stiff springs.

Used adjusters so I can alter ride height and weight jack for suspension tuning.

Guess what? 5" diameter springs don't quite fit between the frame rail and wheel opening, such a surprise . Now know why Mazda used those oddball diameter springs.

Had to notch the frame rails as I didn't want to take up any valuable tire space in the wheel wells.

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Have to get it closed up and the final welds done, after check fit, then onto the other side. Back to work...

 

Well life's been throwing me a few curves lately, but still making progress. I got my set of wheels I plan on using. I got the wheels and tires used from sockstheninja from his FD.

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(stole the picture from Sean, cause he takes much prettier pictures than I do.)

Rears are 275/40R17, yes I'm going with 17s. Not enough room in the wheel wells (width) and my measurement was a little off for lowering. Again, such a surprise.

Have to extend the rear buckets upward another 2-3 inches and cut my wheel wells moving them in about 1.5 - 2 inches. Such fun. Luckily I waited on final welding until the trial fit, so not as big of a problem as it could have been.

Rear brake adapter plates back from the machine shop and fitted, good clearance all around with the SSRs.

Also changing over to a 3 link setup in the rear to eliminate those pesky upper control arms, (snap oversteer is such a drag), also to free up room for MOAR TIRE.

 

FINALLY! Got one side fabricated and welded in. Needs a lot of cleanup before I prime the rest of it and apply seam sealer. Some of my welds got mighty ugly, but they'll do the job.

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Now working on getting the other side closed up (trying to mirror the other side is taking a lot of remeasuring), then lower control arms, shocks, and remount the panhard bar. Freezing my butt off in the shop is definitely slowing down progress though.

 

^ i like

 

Thanks. I told you I was OCD.

 

WOW! That's some seriously cool stuff! I'm interested to see how it turns out. Very creative and inspiring. Great job!

 

Your build is awesome and the way you did the gauges is great looks almost factory. The duals look sweet too, bet it sounds mean any video?

 

Again thanks guys. This swap has been done by others many times, but I don't know if anyone has been dumb enough to do it in quite this way. No video unfortunately since I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to cameras. It is a LITTLE loud though. 91db outside at idle up to 118db at 7000rpm. Inside it's 81db at idle. The SpinTechs may not have been the best choice for sound supression. Have a few ideas to address the problem later when I have the car back on the road.

 

Just read through this thread, nice work! I always like seeing other solutions.

 

Thanks 82transam. OK.. who's the smart *** that put the BFH tag at the bottom? It has come in handy.

 

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Driver's side wheel housing fabricated, welded, and etching primer applied. Ready to bolt back in and weld tomorrow. Did my best to mirror the passenger side.

 

err wow dude

 

An almost confrontation with a deer led to.. I need better brakes, which led to.. need moar tire, which led to.. need moar room, which led to..

 

I'm trying to find 150 -175 lb rear springs too but was looking for an easier way out. Its great that you will have adjustment though. I was wondering how to do change the spring perches so I could use conventional five inch rear springs. You can find them easily at most rates. Now that I've seen your photos it has inspired me. I should be able to change the top and bottom perches for five inch springs.
Great job!

 

If you can find a spring that is not flat on the bottom it will probably drop onto your existing bottom perches as is. The top perch will most likely have to be modified as the bump stop is integrated into the perch. If you have enough room behind the tire you may not need to notch the frame rails like I did. I was worried about the lack of clearance and didn't want the spring hitting the frame rail under compression. OCD.

 

Wheel tub is looking good. What gauge metal are you using?

 

Using 18ga. A little heavier than the sheetmetal, but much easier to work with.

 

I've driven an '83 GSL FB, '84 GSL-SE FB, and a few different FCs... I wonder how your car would compare. I always thought the FC felt too heavy (Especially the GXL). And the only thing that pissed me off about the FB was the shitty steering and somewhat soft rear suspension. Looks like you'll be fixing those problems... You'll feel a world of difference if you switch to rack and pinion steering.

Keep the loud exhaust. It scares the deer away.

I have a profound desire to see/hear this car in person. (I love 1st gens!!!) next time you're going near KC hit me up...

 

Yes plans for the front suspension include rack and pinion. In fact it will probably be even more involved than the rear suspension. I was in KC for a meet last July, will try to make another sometime this year I hope. The exhaust noise isn't bad on short jaunts. I'll have to see if it gets too annoying on a long drive.

 

When I raced motocross in my younger years, I used ear plugs. It took a while to get used to but after a while you will drive more by feel and not so fatigued after.
Keep it loud!

 

EH? what did ya say?

 

OK. I've spent way too much time on this part, but it's done, except for seam seal and undercoating. All fitted, welded, cleaned up, and primed. Have to build the enclosure for the third link in the middle and I'm done inside the car.

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with spring perch installed.

It's amazing how much longer things take than what you had planned for.

 

I like the inner fender wells but, are you and if yes how are you going to cover them inside the car? Those wheels look sweet too.

 

Plan on trimming the plastic side pieces and stitching up carpeting to go over the wells as part of the rear carpet piece. Hopefully it will look like something the factory might have done, we'll see if I'm that good though.