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

[Ron Earp]

Finally, a GOOD second stang has been acquired. False alarm on the other one. The tub was whacked so bad we completely stripped it for parts.

Now we have the Christmas duo, red and green.

[Ron Earp]

Last weekend the green Mustang came back from Competition Cages with a nicely done roll cage. It is fairly minimalistic to cut back on some weight but still well-designed and safe. Yesterday Jeff Y and I painted the cage and it went well despite being only my third or fourth time using a spray gun for automotive work. We shot a two part lacquer on, a medium silver color, with the $15 HF gun.

• Wiped everything down with lacquer thinner and used abrasive wire brushes to remove as much sound residue as possible.
• Wiped everything dry.
• Vacuumed the car.
• Wiped all metal surfaces with oil/residue remover that we bought with the paint.
• Sanded bare metal (cage) with 400 grit
• Wiped the cage down again, did a bit of vacuuming
• Let it dry in the sun and sprayed the inside at about 45 psi and somewhat of a medium coverage/pattern from the gun.

So now the real fun can begin. We've got a number of parts/projects that are inbound or sitting here waiting for work - engine, transmission rebuild, rear axle, shocks, roll bars, etc. and I suspect progress will be fairly repaid from here on out.










I set the dash and seat in place just for pics, still much work to do on the firewall with wiring and the heater box. Man this car has a lot of room inside! You are far away from the door bars which is a good thing. I have a passenger seat for the car too in case my daughter gets interested in getting on track.

[SPiFF]

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with RaceTech .....

Looking good.

[billf]

Ron,

That thing looks soooooo good!!! Sorry to see that you placed te dash in for the photo shoot...I'd have liked to see the tubing you used behind the dash.

If I had seen this car before I bought the prospective ITR car, I'd still be working on a Mustang!!

keep up the good work!!!

Bill

[Ron Earp]

Ron,

That thing looks soooooo good!!! Sorry to see that you placed te dash in for the photo shoot...I'd have liked to see the tubing you used behind the dash.

If I had seen this car before I bought the prospective ITR car, I'd still be working on a Mustang!!

keep up the good work!!!

Bill

Thanks for the RaceTech suggestion Zsolt. I like that seat, very nice. Very.

The dash will be in and out lots over the next few weeks so I'll take some pictures of the area. I already put the gutted heater box back in and will be making a holder for the ECU off the roll cage.

It is coming along nicely. I'll weigh it once everything gets back in the car. I really think we'll hit 26XX lbs with driver and using the stock tank. About where the car should be classed if the engine performs like I think it should.

RE: comments on weight and CF - the hood is fiberglass and is a bit heavy at around 23 lbs, but the fenders are steel and as light as can be for steel pieces. No extra heft there.

Ron

[benspeed]

Keep the updates flowing, fantastic build. What do you expect the wear items will be? At 2700 ish that's pretty light so maybe brakes won't roast...

[Ron Earp]

Wear items? Now, you need to understand my point of reference as I don't view it as "what will wear on this Mustang" but more from the viewpoint of "what won't wear compared to my old Z".

This car has modern inventions like:

Vented rotors!
Large rotors!
Rear disc brakes!
EFI!

So that means no more rebuilding carbs, drum brake assemblies, or replacing pads every two races. For me that is a 100% bag of win.

With an OHV valve train and hydraulic lifters no more adjusting the valves - more time to relax, win!

Low RPM slightly over-square motor means low mean piston speed and less wear - less time swapping motors, win!

Solid axle with few moving parts and no joints means a long lived assembly - set it and forget it, win!

Seriously, I suspect front pads will be worn at a rate similar to other 2700 lbs ITS cars which will be manageable. But I do anticipate maintenance on the car should be substantially less than the Z.

[JLawton]

Wear items? Now, you need to understand my point of reference as I don't view it as "what will wear on this Mustang" but more from the viewpoint of "what won't wear compared to my old Z".

This car has modern inventions like:

Vented rotors!
Large rotors!
Rear disc brakes!
EFI!

So that means no more rebuilding carbs, drum brake assemblies, or replacing pads every two races. For me that is a 100% bag of win.

With an OHV valve train and hydraulic lifters no more adjusting the valves - more time to relax, win!

Low RPM slightly over-square motor means low mean piston speed and less wear - less time swapping motors, win!

Solid axle with few moving parts and no joints means a long lived assembly - set it and forget it, win!

Seriously, I suspect front pads will be worn at a rate similar to other 2700 lbs ITS cars which will be manageable. But I do anticipate maintenance on the car should be substantially less than the Z.

Hell, even if stuff wears it's gonna be cheaper than most of our other cars!! And easier to source! For the cost of them you could probably drive a running parts car to the track every weekend!



.

[Ron Earp]

For the cost of them you could probably drive a running parts car to the track every weekend!
.

Or use one nearby. Believe me, I've made note of how many SN95s are near VIR, CMP, and RRR. A very common car and I suspect that some of the observed examples could be had for a couple of Benjamins.

[Ron Earp]

Made a bit more progress last night. Fitted the dash about a hundred times and got a good bit of the factory harness back in place along with the heater box. The ECU is located in the stock housing and a-pillar location and the pared down wiring harness for that is installed put in place. The good news is the car fires right up just like stock, which it is except for all the disentanglement of non-essential systems that have been removed.

[benspeed]

Ron - I thought as much - so inexpensive to run.

Keep rockin on that project

[red986s]

Really nice work! I spy the RCR! Another impressive ride!

[Ron Earp]

I'm away for some R&R and work but Mustang work continues. Stang number two is officially under construction with a 1996 red coupe being the donor.





Reports thus far indicate the car is sound and will be a good basis for Stripper Stang 2. We're hoping to get both of these rustangs out on track by March but it'll be a challenge for sure.

[Ron Earp]

More progress, stang2 is ready for a cage with all the floors being scraped up and the interior gutted.







and apparently my garage got a bit cluttered as well!

[FLATKITTY]

Ron ... It's been awhile since I have run IT, so a # of new rules have been written. However, my son is tearing apart his '96Mustang GTS for drag racing so I have had a chance to peek underneath. One thing that popped up was where do you plan on placing the now mandated towing eyes (GCR 9.3.48). Obviously, this rule came down thru the GT/Production classes where the full cage offers easy mounting for towing eyes. As IT cages don't run as far to the front/rear as a GT/Production car, where does one attach them? The Mustang bumper is your basic 2.5 mph crush bumper that is 'protected' by the bumper skin & about 6" of styrofoam. Forgetting that the design concept of these bumpers has no provision for pulling (only collapsing under impact), running an 'I' bolt long enough to reach from from the metal bumper to the front/rear of the vehicle would really create some damage if pulled the least little bit off center. I am not questioning the rule as I do understand why it was put into place, just the application of it as it applies to your Mustang (or any other IT car). Talk to me, Ron?

[titanium]

I'll pop in on this one for Ron.
The bumper support is stronger that you think.
I have been using it as the anchor for my ISC Racing Tow hook since 2006 and it has been used on multiple occasions.
(I even use it to hook the cable to when I have to winch it on the trailer)
It may have a problem if your axle-deep in gravel, but they would most likely be pulling you out from the back at that point anyway.




There is a zip-tie that keeps it tight to the bumper, and from blowing backwards.

[Ron Earp]

One thing that popped up was where do you plan on placing the now mandated towing eyes (GCR 9.3.48).

As you have observed, the Mustang doesn't have dedicated towing bosses/hooks. Mustangs don't break, crash, wreck, or die like imports do so there wasn't a need to include provisions for towing.

I think the bumper is strong enough for light towing duty. We planned on using nylon straps wrapped around the bumpers that would pull out 24" when hooked up and the zip tie was broken. The straps have 2" eyes that would protrude through holes cut in the bumper cover. In fact they are probably on my doorstep right now.

It isn't ideal but will meet the letter of the law and allow towing for offs that aren't in a berm or tree. If in a berm or tree I don't care if the bumper gets pulled left or right a bit. Other bad shit has occurred.

If metal tow points need to be used we'll use aluminum parts from:

http://www.racecartowhooks.com/

And mount them to the front of the bumper bolts.

[FLATKITTY]

Whoa ... Mongo like Titanium's pretty red tow straps. What is the OA length?

Ron, asuming that your straps did arrive today, how similar/different are yours from Titanium's?

[titanium]

It's about 10 inches overall.
Mike does not list the length on his website
http://www.iscracing.net/accessories.html

[titanium]

Ron, your car is coming along nicely.
My car, while not built as an IT car, may have some SN95 features that you can copy.
I do not know if you plan on reusing the stock tilt column setup, but I did see in your parts pile the metal dash structure that it bolts to.
I reused my stock column by cutting out its mounting structure and welding that to the cage crossbar behind the dash.





You can see all my build pictures on my website.
http://www.titaniummotorsports.com/i...ce/Race03.html