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I've been an occasional poster on here for almost 10 years, but never posted anything of substance- this thread will document the build of my 1989 mustang notchback!
The Car:
1989 Notchback - factory 4cyl 5sp car
103xxx miles
Rust Free! (not free of spray paint however)
The Goal:
To build a completely street-able car which occasionally will see a dragstrip, autocross event, or road course. Car will have full interior (minus rear seats), air conditioning, power brakes/steering, harness bar with main hoop, ect.
Drivetrain:
GM LQ4/9
T56 or TR6060
As you can see, the entire car has been doused in blue rattle can paint. The first portion of this build will include a full repair/respray of paint.
Tear Down:
The nice blue interior lol (will be converted to black)
This 4cyl motor ran surprisingly well!
Front end out along with the drivetrain
Interior gone
And the final picture from the first day of tear down....
Not too bad for a day's work!
Update 2 coming soon.
Last edited by Z28-4-Chris; 12-01-2017 at 09:23 AM.
The car was purchased at the beginning of October, and this update will put this build current.
As one could guess, stripping spray paint from a car is very difficult. Also, if not properly handled, it could cause big issues for the new coat going on the vehicle. After talking with Jesse about how to approach the bodywork and paint, he thought it was best to try and get the entire car down to bare metal. This way there would be no potential for the new paint to not adhere correctly to the panels. Since it was stripped down to sheetmetal, the name "NakedFox" was fitting.
I probably spent 8 hours using a DA to try and knock off as much spray paint as I could. My time felt wasted as it merely dulled the thick spray paint, but alas it had to be done.
The bay sanded out pretty good, as you can see it is in very good condition. There was a little surface rust under the battery tray, but that was the only issue to speak of.
Rear panel down to bare metal
The entire shell was very straight. There was no signs of prior accidents or repairs to any side of the vehicle. The passenger side however, had a long deep scratch that ran from the side mirror to the gas tank. Looked like someone's ex had fun with a key.
I went with a Maximum Motorsports swap K, had to make my own mounts using 4.6 plates and Jeep isolators also did the 351 swap header thing, came out real nice and you just cant beat MM stuff even though it blows the budget all too hell.
I went with a Maximum Motorsports swap K, had to make my own mounts using 4.6 plates and Jeep isolators also did the 351 swap header thing, came out real nice and you just cant beat MM stuff even though it blows the budget all too hell.
School me on the 351 header / LS flange thing. How well did they fit with that k member?
Regardless, it seems that after some research, fitting headers with the Max K member is more of a pain in the butt than it's worth. I will probably end up ordering Afco's Perfect Fit kit which includes the swap headers.
The shell was painted a few weeks ago, but I haven't had the chance to take some good pictures of the whole car. Here is a shot of the strut tower....The color is a very light, understated gray which will compliment the other pieces of the vehicle when assembled (matte black wheels, door handles)
I went with a Maximum Motorsports swap K, had to make my own mounts using 4.6 plates and Jeep isolators also did the 351 swap header thing, came out real nice and you just cant beat MM stuff even though it blows the budget all too hell.
Regardless, it seems that after some research, fitting headers with the Max K member is more of a pain in the butt than it's worth. I will probably end up ordering Afco's Perfect Fit kit which includes the swap headers.
Why not go AJE and use AJE trans cross member ? The last 3 i have used where great and the motor trans ended up at the right angle....and theres 3 different sets of headers that work.......Dynatach,,,,Kooks and if your on a budget........ http://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman-Husler/...ductId=2167916
Why not go AJE and use AJE trans cross member ? The last 3 i have used where great and the motor trans ended up at the right angle....and theres 3 different sets of headers that work.......Dynatach,,,,Kooks and if your on a budget........ http://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman-Husler/...ductId=2167916
Is the aje suitable for autox or road racing? It will rarely see the drag strip.
Here is a shot of the strut tower....The color is a very light, understated gray which will compliment the other pieces of the vehicle when assembled (matte black wheels, door handles)
Is that the factory Dove Grey/Light Grey/Smoke color or just something else you came up with? Based on that teaser shot I think it should look awesome with everything else matte black.
Is that the factory Dove Grey/Light Grey/Smoke color or just something else you came up with? Based on that teaser shot I think it should look awesome with everything else matte black.
It is very close to dove gray, but a few shades lighter. I will have a few more pictures to add tomorrow.
Is the aje suitable for autox or road racing? It will rarely see the drag strip.
If you are really building the car for an autocross or road course type event, in the long run you will be better off with the Max Motorsports or Griggs k member and custom motor mounts with cast iron exhaust manifolds. The value in the k member is that the revised suspension geometry in the areas of steering rack placement and control arm placement will help alot with better bump steer and better turn in and probably tire life. You will sacrifice a small amount of maximum power by running the cast iron manifolds, but their durability will be vastly better long term. This is only if you want to bolt everything together and are not willing to fab your own headers. If you are willing to fab your own headers, either complete DIY or by 351w flange swap, then youwon't be down the power. Frankly, on a road course, being down 20hp at high RPM is not going to hurt you a whole bunch.
I have had an AJE k member and I would not personally use one on a road course car. Frankly I did not buy another AJE because of my previous experience with AJE.
You may want to contact AFCO and see what they are actually doing with their k member. See if they relocated the steering rack upwards or if the control arms are pushed forwards or if the control arms are rotated slightly. If not, it's not a road course style k member.
Every manufacturer you call will tell you their k member is great for a road race car or autocross car. You should look at which manufacturers actually road race their Mustangs. There are only a handful: Maximum Motorsports, Griggs, Agent47 (expensive SLA), Steeda (performance benefit questionable?).
If you want a drag car any k member will work fine.
If you want a street car, the road course k member will handle better but any k member will be fine.
However, there is no point in running a road course style k member if you plan to run skinny front tires because the tires will just be overloaded and the front end will push.
If you are really building the car for an autocross or road course type event, in the long run you will be better off with the Max Motorsports or Griggs k member and custom motor mounts with cast iron exhaust manifolds. The value in the k member is that the revised suspension geometry in the areas of steering rack placement and control arm placement will help alot with better bump steer and better turn in and probably tire life. You will sacrifice a small amount of maximum power by running the cast iron manifolds, but their durability will be vastly better long term. This is only if you want to bolt everything together and are not willing to fab your own headers. If you are willing to fab your own headers, either complete DIY or by 351w flange swap, then youwon't be down the power. Frankly, on a road course, being down 20hp at high RPM is not going to hurt you a whole bunch.
I have had an AJE k member and I would not personally use one on a road course car. Frankly I did not buy another AJE because of my previous experience with AJE.
You may want to contact AFCO and see what they are actually doing with their k member. See if they relocated the steering rack upwards or if the control arms are pushed forwards or if the control arms are rotated slightly. If not, it's not a road course style k member.
Every manufacturer you call will tell you their k member is great for a road race car or autocross car. You should look at which manufacturers actually road race their Mustangs. There are only a handful: Maximum Motorsports, Griggs, Agent47 (expensive SLA), Steeda (performance benefit questionable?).
If you want a drag car any k member will work fine.
If you want a street car, the road course k member will handle better but any k member will be fine.
However, there is no point in running a road course style k member if you plan to run skinny front tires because the tires will just be overloaded and the front end will push.
Funny you mentioned that any manufacturer said theirs would be the strongest, and best for my application...Afco said the same thing. Although I do feel that their A Arm mount points look a lot more sturdier than most.
Small update.... I purchased a complete IRS setup (less calipers, and springs) from a local guy. It came out of his 2004 Cobra with 24k miles and already had Maximum Motorsports bushing kit and toe bars installed, along with an FRPP diff cover. Grabbed it all for $1k....
Also got another picture of the shell painted....
Doors and fenders will be painted and hung, along with undercoating the front wheel wells and the bottom side of the car this week.
Here is another cool project that the shop is working on....1949 suburban with a full Roadster Shop Revo front end, maggie'd 6.0L, 4 link, ect.
Wheels are 20" American Racing Salt Flats wrapped in Nitto NT05's. This will be one of the vehicles accompanying us on the Power Tour. Should turn some heads!
Nice find on the IRS. My IRS was out of an 04 Cobra as well but it was all stock. I swapped in the Max Motorsports urethane cradle bushings and bought brakes from Rockauto. I will do the Delrin control arm bushings and aftermarket diff cover later. I guess I should update my build thread, I have not in a while. Running MM coil overs on the rear with 575 in-lb springs on Koni yellows.
If the guy you bought it from had it in his 2004, you may want to call MM and have them send you the 12mm bushing sleeves for the front mounts. Otherwise you can drill the body side LCA holes to 14mm or 9/16" and use the 2004 bushing sleeves. Otherwise, a 12mm bolt in that 14mm sleeve and you are going to end up with the Cobra clunk.
01-01-2015, 08:04 PM
LSA Blower Swapped '89 Mustang Notch 
