$5000 budget Mustang by Ron S

6 minute(s) of a 178 minute read

Amen brother.The car has floated around $9000 until the brake dilema.Just to upgrade the brakes required different wheels,Wheels- $2900,I should be able to offset that by selling the old ones.I really ended up getting the 15" front brakes for $1400,the guy gave me a rebate because the one rotor was crusty,the rear brakes are Baer 14"- 6 piston at $1670. So no it was $6000 budget brakes.I can offset that also by selling the old ones. I knew once the car was built, I'd make some upgrades,I didn't think they be so quick and costly though.

Long story short,I just tripled the original budget minus about $1500 I'll probably get for the old wheels and brakes.Handling of the car has been phenomenal,power-respectable but not great,the only weak spot was the brakes,which should be excellent now.I'm hoping this upgrade will balance the car, and make it alot more competitive.Once I get the rest of the bugs out,I really want to do more on the road courses(that was a ball). Ron

Someone wanted weights on the new wheels. The 11" are 22lbs and the 13" are 26 lbs. I'll weigh the old ones once the tires are off them. Ron

7-30-2009

Got the car pushed out for a few picks.Got the grill in it the thing ,not sure if I like it or not.Still need to paint the hood. Ron

8-10-2009

Here is the a list of the build pics
http://57hemicuda.smugmug.com/gallery/6357389_pKQdb

8-20-2009

New back brakes came in today,14" Baers nice quality peices,but what a nightmare to install.If you are in the mist of narrowing or ordering a new rear,be sure to order the axles with the extra hole,for installing bolts(usually no extra charge,but you have to ask for it) Without that hole you can't install the E-brake without pressing the bearings off.And look at the housing ends to be sure they have the flat spots ground in them where the bolts go though.Mine did not have these flat spots,so the housing had to be clearanced so the bolt would clear.If these things would have been done on my rear it would have been an eay install. Ron

8-26-2009

After I desided what parts I was using,(C5 front/truck arm rear)I did set down with a ruler and a peice of graph paper and design it.I did make some mistakes along the way,if you remember all the ride height issues I had when the body got set on.Had to pull the chassis back out of the car, and lower the front frame horns 3 inches.(It looked good on paper,sure didn't in reality).

As far as the truck arms go ,they probably slope at roughly 10 degrees down to the back,depending on the ride height.You'd never see it because of how low the car sets. Ron

9-3-2009

While I'm waiting for my front wheels to get back from CCW,started cleaning up some loose ends. The side scoops kept filling full of gravel when I drove the car,so I desided to make some grills.Got the stainless mesh from Motorstate Dist. for $10, the rest was scrap.Had to make a wooden buck to shape the mesh,and tig together some scrap aluminum as a frame to go behind it (I didn't want any exposed screws).Kinda a pain in the but,but what isn't? I still have to spray the inside of the opening flat black. Ron

I counter sunk screws from behind to sandwich mesh to the frame,and screwed the frame to the body from the inside the car.I powder coated the center of the frame flat black so you couldn't see it,and the outside of the frame silver.The pics still show the zip ties that I was using as handles for installing them into place.Ron

9-4-2009

T1 Corvette sway bar came in today,had no idea how big it was.Its hollow but measures about 1.5 inches,the contrast with the old one is giant.The front wheels came in,but CCW forgot to send my tires back with them,ARGH,feels like I'll never drive this thing again.Ron

9-21-2009

OH THE HUMANITY!!!!

Got home about 1 am this morning,just woke up and unloaded the car.Thought I would snap this shot of my weekend fun.Looks like a rod bolt broke under extreme duress.Why didn't I take up golf??

9-24-2009

Thanks John, I bought this pic from one of the companies in the Smoky mountains as we were coming back at RTTH,best pick I've ever seen of the car,it actually doesn't look like that big of a peice of crap.Goes to show you that if you move quickly the flaws don't show.