ITS Ford Mustang(s) Build - Stripper Stang Part II

[Ron Earp]

Lots of things are happening with the build but I'm not doing all of them. Rear end is being assembled, cage being installed, and engine being built. The engine builder is about half way through the build and sent a few pictures. Heads are rebuilt and parts are all about ready to go back in.

I hope the rear axle will be done this weekend and I suspect the cage is a few weeks out. I've got the transmission apart and will rebuild it myself. So in theory sometime in November I should have lots of sub assemblies to reassemble.





I've collected a great many of Mustang parts via the second hand market - numerous camber/caster plates, multiple intakes, heads, shocks, struts, bearings, and the list goes on. Typically fairly inexpensive but good quality parts. Having a large number of different items available allows you to pick and choose for your criteria.

For example, I had the standard issue Maximum Motorsports camber/caster plates and they are nice pieces, but, VERY heavy. All steel. A Mustang strut isn't like a standard McPherson strut car because the spring isn't on the strut itself, therefore you can use a lighter piece. The Hotchkis parts are all ally and much lighter than the MM plates which are really designed for a full coilover conversion, which I can't do.

[Ron Earp]

Still waiting for the cage to be finished up and that should be done next weekend. However, in the meantime Jeff G procured another ITS Mustang and it is in my garage being prepped for cage installation. Invasion of the domestics into ITS has begun.



Unfortunately it is exactly the same year and color - 1998 Ford FU, a dark green color. He's going to have the entire car repainted though. White or yellow are the current choices.

2012 might see three new Mustangs debuting in the NCR SCCA. Two ITS Mustangs and one ITR Mustang (V8, not V6). Should be interesting.

[CRallo]

LOVE it!! Keep up the good work!

[FLATKITTY]

Just a couple of pennies worth of thought here ... 1) The dead pedal is retained w/3 sheet metal screws. You might consider replacing them w/larger (grade 5) nuts & bolts; 2) The more weight you remove, the worse your F/R weight distribution becomes. Kind of a odd Catch 22 for prepping a race car. Factory spec (SN95 Mustang w/V6), based upon a weight of 3,071 lbs, is 56.4/43.6 (F/R). After removing everything from the trunk & interior (except the OE driver's seat, door panels & dash), the weight distribution was 59.1/40.9 (F/R) w/out driver. It will be interesting to see how much your roll cage will factor into this. Anyone looked at FIA approved carbon-fiber roll cages for IT? Maybe it can be approved along w/the requested C/F hood & fenders for the ITS Mustang.

[Matt93SE]

Or maybe they could just build a car that wasn't a nose-heavy pig.

[Russ Myers]

Remember, they laughed at IT Volvos, too.

Russ

[Ron Earp]

You never know how it'll turn out unless you try. We're not sparing any effort in the build as I know if it doesn't work out for ITS it is really simple to move the car into a bunch of other SCCA or NASA classes. I like SN95s so it is a platform I can work with for years to come and be happy.

I'm hoping to have the car back with cage in the next week or so. I'll be interested to see how much weight we've added with the cage.