Details 110...

More progress this weekend. Got the fan reinstalled...

the fan shroud cleaned up

(as removed from the car)

(after a good soaking in Mean Green Super Solution

and then scrubbed with a nylon bristle brush)

(after gingerly scraping off the decals and then the

entire shroud scrubbed with a burgundy scotch

brite pad and WD40. Wiped down and again

coated with WD40 and allowed to soak in and dry)

and set in place, then the drain petcock installed...

radiator mounted and everything reconnected to it.

Next week check all clamps are tight and add coolant!!

Until next installment.....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Detail 109....

Well had a fairly productive couple days working on the Torino. Friday I got the oil pan all buttoned up, the sway bar rehung, the engine filled with oil, battery charged and engine lit off. On Saturday, I removed the engine block drain plug to insure all the water was out of the motor, got the driver side fender hung and the front wheels back on the car.

Since no one locally carries any quality radiator drain cocks (just the Dorman HELP POS's!), I checked and the fitting was still in my old original radiator, so I removed it, blasted it, wire wheeled the brass and painted the steel ears so it can be installed in the new radiator next weekend before dropping it in the car.

Picture wise, not a lot to show for myself.....

Next weekend I plan to get the radiator installed and the cooling system filled so I can start the engine and let it run for a good bit to insure everything is sealed tight.

Until next time....

ZENRA 3 OUT

Details 108...

MAN, can't believe it's been over a month since my last update... seems like life doesn't want me to get this project completed! LOL

Well since my last installment, not a lot has been done on the Tomato. I did get the engine lifted and blocked up so I could once again remove the sway bar and the oil pan to replace the pan gasket. Got the old gasket and RTV scrapped off, the new end seals RTVed into place and using gasket alignment pins, got the side gaskets RTVed at the corners and the pan repositioned.

Last weekend, my buddy Jim and I set about installing the Blowfish Racing MT82 transmission bracket kit...

Hurst Competition Plus shifter...

on my '13 Mustang. Got the car up in the air and started removing the old stuff and hanging the new brackets only to find the hardware had not been put into the kit. 😡 So we installed what we could and rehung the old until the hardware arrived. I was able to get the shifter put together so it was ready to go into the car once the brackets were installed to the transmission.

This week the hardware arrived, so we were able to get the car up on the lift and the brackets installed on the transmission on Friday evening...

On Saturday, I went over to the shop and got the shifter installed after working thru a few gremlins with the shifter install..... someone at Ford should have their ass reamed for not moving/increasing the size of the shifter floor cutout so all 4 bolts could be accessed from above. One hole was partially cover by the sheetmetal, so using a pair of channelocks, I rolled the sheetmetal up out of the way so I could get the fourth bolt out.

Also, someone should be chewed out for hard attaching the floor wire harness connector to the console shifter bezel rather than the console harness connector so it could be unplugged and removed for bench work. Was trying to get the shifter boot unsnapped from the bezel with it tethered to the floor, but after a while, I finally bit the bullet and cut the floor connector loose from the bezel and unhooked the console harness and went over to the workbench so I could flip the bezel completely over and see/access all the clips that retain the boot to the bezel. Was finally able to get the boot freed up so it could be modified a bit to fit over the Hurst shifter base.

With the shifter installed and everything put away, I went upstairs and finished installing the oil pan on the engine. I plan on taking this Friday (day after Thanksgiving) off so I can go over and put in a full day on the Tomato dropping the engine back into place and rehanging the sway bar. Then on Saturday, reinstall the driver side fender, headlight buckets, grill header and the hood in preparation for setting the car back on the ground for the first time in several YEARS!

Stay tuned........

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 107....

WOW, can't believe it's been over a month since my last update! We've had a simple home improvement project blow up into an all out renovation, so my priorities have been elsewhere, but here is what has transpired in my time away....

Well I got the pan reinstalled, but I still have a slight leak at the back of the engine, so I plan to once more pull the sway bar, jack up the engine and drop the pan out and replace the once piece Ford Racing oil pan gasket with a 4 piece Fel-Pro gasket. That way, I can secure the gasket around the crank to the engine and attach the side gaskets to the pan rail and then hit the corners good with RTV just before lifting the pan into position and installing.

The following weekend, I got the multi-point distribution block mounted, supply cable ran and designed a bracket to hold the relay box.

I also dragged out the radiator and flushed the antifreeze out of it as well as running the power steering lines.

The weekend after that, I got the power steering belt and water pump pulley installed, put a bit of fluid in the reservoir to make sure pump case wouldn't leak and trimmed the collector reducers to allow the 2 1/2"OD exhaust pipe to snuggly fit inside so I can determine the proper exhaust run.

The weekend before last, I got the radiator drain drilled out and retapped to accept a normal brass petcock rather than the plastic POS the radiator came with, got it scuffed and the first coat of paint applied.

I will hit the core again from an angle to try and get all the fins lightly covered. I then installed the thermostat and snugged up all the hose clamps on the smaller hoses and then got the radiator upper and lower hoses installed.

I then played around a bit with the collectors and transition pipes to try and determine the angle I needed to get so the remaining exhaust ran parallel to the driveshaft before calling it a day.

This weekend, I had snuck over earlier and hit the fins with a second coat of paint, so I was able to get the transmission bungs installed in the radiator...

but the ears on the drain petcock broke free and would not operate the drain, so I picked up a new one to install next weekend.

I also put together the exhaust cutouts...

and played around with seeing what I needed to get them installed. I believe I'm going to use a braided flex pipe between the collector and the cutout due to the slight bend out of the collector to run parallel with the driveshaft and use a new style rod hanger welded to the cutout pipe with rubber grommeted hanger attached to the floorpan to support the exhaust back to the mufflers.

I also decided to resolve the oil leak before installing the radiator and filling the engine with coolant. I'd rather do it now than after the car has been painted!

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 106...

Well after wasting over an hour trying to position the oil pan gasket onto the engine from below, I finally realized it would be much simpler to remove the pan, stick the gasket onto the pan, RTV the corners on the engine and the pan and then preposition the pan onto the motor, so I pulled the front sway bar off and got the pan out and prepped for the install next weekend.

I'll finish cleaning the cured RTV from the engine next week as well.

Until then.....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 105...

Well had to back track a bit this weekend.... was under the car last Saturday and noticed a puddle of oil at the front and back of the engine block right on the centerline. Upon closer inspection, I could see a drop at the pan/timing cover seam as well as a drop coming from the weep hole in the flywheel inspection plate.

Wracked my brain as well as going back thru my pictures and I couldn't remember shooting a blob of RTV sealant into the corners where the oil pan gasket chan...ges direction to go around the timing cover or the rear main at the crank, so today I jacked the engine up a bit and dropped the pan.

My suspicions were correct.... I must have dry fit the oil pan gasket and pan on weekend and the following weekend, buttoned everything up thinking I was done.... WRONG

Saturday I got the pan dropped, the gasket and corners cleaned and sprayed several times with brake clean to get rid of any oil residue so the RTV and gasket will adhere nicely to the block sealing the corners and then left everything opened up so the cleaner can evaporate away.

Next weekend I'll hit the corners with a good blob of Ultra Seal, reinstall the pan gasket, button up the oil pan and set the engine back down into the frame and reassemble everything removed to allow the engine to be raised.... then I'll be back on track to getting her ready to turn over to the body shop!

Until next episode...

ZEBRA 3 OUT