Well it was an extremely long weekend, not to mention a long 10 weeks! It has taken me the past week of trying to relax around my full time job to adapt to my new found extra time! The weather has been beautiful and it has been nice to be able to take a break for once. As for the show, everything was a great success. Thursday morning of March 11th, we were on the road by 9:30am and had a nice easy ride all the way to the International Center in Toronto. I ended up driving my 2000 Lightning and the ACS and Mustang followed on car trailers.

The rest of the day was spent detailing and setting up at the show. It was nice that all 3 cars managed to be positioned next to each other to make set-up and sharing of detailing products very easy! I had a few friends help me out, so big thanks to: Mike, Chuck, Andrew, Jordan and my Wife! Everything went smoothly, just took up a lot of time. Had to jack up the cars once they were inside to adjust the coil overs and of course the detailing took forever! The cars had collected quite a bit of dirt, dust etc. I would like to give a huge thanks to Carpolish.CA for providing the ZAINO products used to detail the cars. The instructions were intense but WOW does it ever work great!

Friday was the first day of the show and it was great to meet people and answer questions to those who had been following the project along. It was also my Birthday so I managed to take full advantage of free meals at local restaurants. Saturday and Sunday were some long days but friends, family and fans kept me busy. Here you can see a few pictures taken by myself, friends and others who have been kind enough to send over their pics.

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Sunday was the awards day and I am pleased to say that the 1992 BMW ACS and the 2000 Ford SVT Lightning came Runner-Up in their respected classes. Unfortunately the Mustang was up against some pretty fierce competition and did not bring home any awards. I am very proud to have not come home empty handed, it’s been a long few months but I feel great knowing I had finished this project and possibly look forward to another in the future!

I want to personally thank everyone who has sponsored, contributed and/or followed along fun. You all definitely made this project worth while and kept me motivated to work on these cars every night after my full time job! TIP2?

So in addition to the Rear Disc brake installation we did last week it was time to button up the heart of the braking system. For those that aren’t familiar with the set-up on this car, I have installed SN95 front brakes and used North Racecars rear Cobra Disc conversion. When you decide to upgrade your rear brakes to disc it will cause issues with your stock Master Cylinder and Proportioning Valve set-up.

After much research online it was clear that the stock Brake Booster would suffice with this setup and that most people like the pedal feel it gives. The Master Cylinder was however in need of an upgrade. For this, I used a 1993 Mustang Cobra master as they came with 4 wheel disc from the factory. These units can be bought from your local parts store and the “D” code is what you need to give them to specify it to be the Cobra master. I believe it is the 7th character in the VIN number. The 93 Cobra Master bolts right up to your stock booster and mine even came with a new reservoir You will need to bench bleed the master prior to installation to ensure you do not get any unwanted air in your brake system.

The next component to consider is how are you going to control the fluid bias for the rear brakes. Obviously we want to take full advantage of the rear discs without having them lock up before the front brakes do. On the internet you will find lots of talk about taking your stock Proportioning valve and gutting it out to perform a “3-2 conversion”. Since the 93 Cobra master cylinder only has 2 ports on it (one for front, one for rear) the stock proportioning valve must be modified to accept the new configuration. Some people will gut their stock valve and use a T fitting to compensate for the extra line and then install an adjustable proportioning valve at the firewall where the coupling is found from factory.

My friend however, found a better solution! He found this very impressive piece by SSBC which replaces your factory valve and no T-fittings, extra valves, no gutting are necessary.

The SSBC unit has 2 inputs, one for the front brakes and one for the rear, just like our new 1993 Cobra Master Cylinder. It also feature 2 front outs (one for each side) which flow direct. Finally, the unit has 1 rear out which is controlled by the adjuster, making this piece an “all in one” solution. It even features a brake light switch if you can believe it. This piece I believe was upwards of $150 but considering the ease and simplicity of install, worth the money.

There was a bit of flaring involved in this process to have all the right ends on the lines, some bending and shaping of the stock lines was needed also. After everything was flared and bent I was left with this prior to installation of the other components.

Finally it was time to install our new items! Be careful to put some rags down to avoid brake fluid from getting on your paint. The install was straight forward and everything went together well. I did have a bit of a leak from one connector at first as I didn’t notice it had a single flare instead of a double that was needed. After a new flare, it was a success.

Finally after all the connections were checked for leaks, I had a friend come help me bleed out the system. Starting from the furthest point from the Master Cylinder and working closer (Passenger Rear, Drivers Rear, Passenger Front, Drivers Front). I used DOT4 synthetic fluid as I had it in the shop, and very pleased with the outcome. Once the roads are nice it will be time to take the car to an empty parking lot and get the setting on the proportioning valve set for the rear brakes to make sure they don’t lock up before the front.

I still can’t believe there is only 2 weeks left until I will be scrambling to get the cars ready for transportation to the show! I am really hoping the weather is agreeable as driving the cars not only shows success of the projects, but it makes it easier than having to deal with trailers. I am confident the project will complete successfully. There have been a few delays on parts but other little things have managed to help pass that time.  The Mustang is coming out great and I have managed to tuck all the wiring away in the inner fenders. (Don’t mind the strut not being installed and the coil wires)

Nick from Peterborough Powdercoating came by tonight to lend a hand and brought the part I have been waiting for! The GT-40 intake manifold. He was kind enough to stick around and help install the intake and the piping for the supercharger. I must say it looks great!

The master cylinder and proportioning valve have been delayed but should arrive for tomorrow as promised from the parts guy! We managed to start the car up momentarily just to check that all the wiring, fuel, ignition was connected properly. The belts and tensioners still need to be installed. Finally some final suspension pieces are needed to bolt the DECH Grabbers in place properly with the correct bolts and to try and raise the front of the car up by an inch. Unfortunately I will need to be able to steer the car.

So as the last few weeks pass I truly can’t believe how fast it went and the persistence and dedication I have had to this project. I am hoping to be able to bring the BMW back into the shop for the weekend to finalize a few things such as; Custom Chip from Mark D, Strut Tower Brace, Mirrors, Stereo and Clean up. After that will be a few days dedicated to the Lightning.

As I get ready for bed I just want to say thank you to all who have followed along, contributed in any way shape or form, and finally to my sponsors who have been so great throughout these builds. I look forward to being able to show these cars and perhaps a TIP2 is in order? Here is a quick pic of the engine bay as it was tonight before leaving!

Some people may know and some not, of a company called DECH who made custom suspension parts for Fox Body and SN95 Mustangs back in the 80′s/90′s. Derek Hanson who founded the company just outside of Toronto Ontario was all about handling and performance, creating some unique and still desirable suspension components and body kits. A DECH body kit is shown below of my old 1991 5.0 Coupe.

Installation of these Grabbers the first time I did it on my 1991 coupe was a bit of a pain but this time around was a breeze! Basically you jam the grabber onto your stock LCA mount and line up the rear shock mount hole. mark the 4 holes and start with a smaller drill bit and then go through with a 3/4″ bit to finish things off. Drilling slowly through metal is key. I had both sides done pretty quickly and you will need to drill from the back sides unless all your brake/back plate components are removed.

These grabbers basically reposition the mount point of the LCA down by about 3/4″. This allows for the pinion angle to change allowing for not only a 3/4″ drop in the rear but also helps eliminate nose dive. You will see in the following pics the installation process used to install the Grabbers and also my custom lower control arms.

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The control arms used were once stock and then boxed up with plates for reinforcement. I then added a coil over sleeve from a generic coil over kit and ground off the original spring perches mounting the coil over sleeve to the LCA directly. With the use of washers and long bolt through from top to bottom we now have a adjustable spring perch for the rear! Plans to lower the car a little more are in the works however, I need to see how it will sit once all the weight is added back to the trunk of the car. The stereo, full tank of gas, spare tire and some other factors such as the convertible top down may just have the car sitting right in the back!

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Well the day I have been looking forward to forever has finally come! The day to lower the Stang. It’s been an extremely long day (about 14 hours at the shop) but well worth the progress. I even managed to get the BMW in the shop too and have some work done to it. I had lots of help come in to help get some things done as time is ticking until show time. The drop spindle install was flawless!

Racecraft Inc. Was kind enough to sponsor The Infamous Project with a set of their custom built 2″ drop spindles. They offer them for 4 bolt Fox Bodies, SN95 and newer Mustangs. I wanted to do a 5 bolt conversion to this project so I went with the SN95 pair as shown above! These are definitely some high quality pieces and come powdercoated too.  Installation was a breeze, once you removed the caliper, sway bar link, strut and spring, you can get access to remove the ball-joint and tie-rod end. I discarded all the old stuff and bolted the spindles with SN95 brakes and rotors with ease. Racecraft uses their own hub bolt which is MUCH easier to use then the factory stacked nut design. They also provide the spacing washer for the balljoint nut!

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You can see that the project car is sitting VERY low! That is because not only do we have the 2″ drop spindles installed, but also, FMS C Springs with a coil cut as well. This is easily a 5″ drop to our Mustang. I will be raising the car up about 1″ via spring modification in order to be able to somewhat steer this car. But I am very happy with the outcome and this product is a MUST for those wanting to lower their Mustang without having to modify their suspension geometry. Also keep in mind that if you are converting to 5 bolt that buying the SN95 spindles will take care of your upgrade and lower your car at the same time.

A big thank you to Racecraft Inc. once again. I have been dealing with Mark who is very friendly and knows his stuff. I highly recommend them for any racing needs you may have, or in my case, severe lowering of your ride. You can watch the installation of these spindles HERE live!

I would like to give a big thanks to Richard from North Racecars who was kind enough to help out with the rear disc conversion kit for the Mustang. This was a must considering the car will be making some serious power, and like any fast car, it should be able to stop! North Racecars has a huge selection of different kits to suit your application and I went with the complete Cobra rear kit with the 11″ rotors minus the axles. I had access to a set of Aerostar axles here from a local friend who owns a wrecking yard (Tripps Auto Recyclers) so went with them.

You can use 2 left axles out of older 80′s Rangers and Bronco II’s or you can use 2 right axles from 86-97 Ford Aerostar Vans. They are the same length as a Fox Body axle and therefore will pop right into your differential housing. The axles that North Racecars provide are actually better as they come custom fabricated to be hubcentric to make wheel installation a little easier. In the end our main concern was to save a few bucks and achieve a 5 bolt conversion while getting some rear brakes out back.

Here is a list of what I got in the kit:

• New Rotors
• New Calipers
• New Brake Pads
• New Flex Lines w/ brackets
• All new banjo bolts and crush washers
• New E-brake Cables
• New line fittings (to cut and flange existing brake line)
• New Caliper mounting plates (mount to axle tube bracket where the old backing plate was)

In the following pictures you will see detailed pictures of what was done to bolt this kit on. Everything from removing the differential cover, retaining clips, axles, old brakes, installation of brackets, lines, calipers etc. Be sure to read the captions of the pictures as they explain what each picture is focused on. You can also watch the installation of these components live on my Previous Recordings Page.

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I did take the time to mock everything up prior to the installation and I must say that this is a “complete” kit. The only thing I need to do is paint the calipers. Words of advice from the installation is to make sure that once you have the brackets bolted onto your differential, install your axles right away with their C-Clips and the Center PIN! (you don’t need to put the cover back on or fill with fluid yet). This will allow for your axles to be sitting in the proper place to be able to place the caliper mount onto the main bracket. This is necessary in order to center and space your rotor between the caliper mount! Lastly, I just need to cut/flare the original brake lines to accommodate for the new flex lines. I will update the pictures and captions of all this progress on the Photo Galleries page for the Mustang.

Again, thank you to North Racecars for helping out with this kit. Your product is great, awesome customer service, fast shipping and just great to talk to. It is a pleasure dealing with great companies that can relate to the average car enthusiast/builder.

So with one month left until Performance World 2010 the major painting components to the project are now over. After many days of prepping, masking and research on how to find the best “Satin Black” paint option, the car is finally painted. It took a few nights of patience and persistence to get the car masked off, the little chips filled, final sanding done and shop cleaned. Since I was painting in a garage, lighting and cleanliness play very important roles for painting! A big thanks to my buddies Mike and Nick for stopping by and helping me get out of the shop before Midnight last night!

So after extensive research online and by phone to different paint suppliers it was concluded that PPG was the best way to go in terms of achieving the “almost” semi-gloss look I was after. Lots of paint manufacturers offer what’s called a “hot rod black” in a single stage or clear coats that are simply matte. Finally I found that PPG has a “flattening agent” which allows you to control how matte you want your overall finish to be. Most did not know the difference between flat, satin and eggshell automotive paints. Finally, I found a supplier who knew what I was after.  In the pic below you can see the supplies I ended up using for this job:

• Jet Black Base Coat
• Medium Reducer
• Clear Coat
• Matting Agent
• Hardner

The clear and matting agent came with a 3 page document on how to mix and the proper ratios to use in order to achieve finishes between Flat, Eggshell and Semi-Gloss. I went with the upwards ratio for “Eggshell” and did not spray any test panels due to time. Had there been more time to do so, it would have saved me a lot of lost sleep last night!

As you can see in the pictures below, the Base Coat went on nicely as base should. I mixed up the clear and filled my gun and mixed up another batch as believe it or not, the flash time is only 5 minutes between coats! So pretty much they expect you to go round and round. They call for 2 coats and I did read online that more coats equals more gloss etc etc. I did not like the way the clear was laying down and was afraid to lay it down “wet” as I thought it would look too shiny. After the 2^nd coat I had no choice but to lay it on nice and wet. I ended up doing 4 coats in total and walked away from the shop just before midnight to a GLOSS BLACK car.

After I left I called Nick and needed to vent as I was a little worried that the matting agent was a waste and that I was going to end up with a gloss black car and not the Satin I had hoped for. Had I mixed it wrong? Did I need to wait? There were no clear answers so I decided to go to bed by 2am and got up for work at 7:30. I called my dad in the morning to ask him to look at the car and tell me if it was shiny and he said “nope”. This gave me a bit of relief but I needed to see the car for myself.

Finally at 5pm tonight I got to see the car and I must say the end finish is “exactly” what I was hoping for! The finish is smooth and looks like satin. I started some assembly of trim after unmasking the car and had a few people pop in to have a look. I also fixed the taillights as they needed to be resealed into their housings and played with some powder coated goodies under the hood! I can’t wait to see this car come together!!

More pictures of the car can be seen in the photo gallery page for the car and the whole painting process can be seen on Feb 10th’s video on the previous recordings page! Be sure to check them out!

So tonight I didn’t really get much done other than clean up and masking. Convertible are nice for the fact that you have less surface area to paint, however masking the tops off can be a little tricky! I got one door jam done on the passenger side as I ran out of tape before I could do the drivers side. The car is coming along well and the final masking and prep will take place tomorrow.

I will need to sand out a little bit of primer i sprayed on Saturday and I will need to spray a few tiny spots and sand where I filled a few minor stone chips. All the little tiny things that take so much work! On a positive note I did get word back from Nick at Peterborough Powder Coating and he will be dropping off some parts tomorrow for us! We won’t be installing them until the car is painted but it’s nice to know they are there ready to bolt on.

Our 4 wheel disc conversion is in transit courtesy of North Racecars, our 2″ drop spindles from Racecraft Inc and a set of Maximum Motorsports Caster/Camber plates. Providing all goes as planned all the fun stuff will be happening this weekend and next week! The re-assembly! Gonna get this car dropped down sitting on its 18″ Saleens. I have been away from the Mustang game for a while and I must say I am pretty excited to see the outcome of this car.

Well I managed to put in a solid 7 hours today/tonight on the Mustang. I had a few moments where I felt like too much was happening and that this project is much larger than it seemed to be. So many different areas and things are currently in progress it just seems like the car is in shambles! From parts that are being shipped like, the Racecraft drop spindles and the North Racecars 4 wheel disc conversion to having to roll the fender lips, paint the engine, parts that are getting powder coated, trim that needs painting, final sanding for paint etc etc etc… It is sometimes hard to focus.

Tonight was all about productivity tho, as I managed to prep the engine and paint the old blue parts in a Satin Black Engine Enamel and get the engine bay finalized for paint. I also managed to get all the trim primed and painted back to OEM satin black! It is nice to get this stuff done and out of the way first so that’s its ready for installation after paint!

Although I never managed to pick up the Eastwood Fender Roller, I was able to successfully roll the fenders front and rear with ease! Be sure to check today’s video for that. Some patience and consistent strikes with some hammers can go a long way! It is much easier when you don’t have to worry about cracking paint and marking anything as the car is getting painted anyways. The lips turned out great and will make a world of difference with our drop and 18″ Saleen wheels.

The car was sanded down tonight with 600 grit sand paper to pretty much prep it for paint. A few spots were touched up with some more primer and will be sanded on Monday when I return back to the shop. Monday will also consist of clean up and masking of the car to get it ready for paint for Tuesday or Wednesday night! You won’t want to miss the transformation of this cars skin.

To finish off the evening the front suspension was removed to allow the removal of the Strut hats so that the tops of the strut towers can be painted when the car is sprayed. You can see more pics of today’s progress and productivity HERE

So we’re 1 month in! Lots of hours, lots of dedication, lots of persistence but I am managing to stay focused and on track. As some know, the project has changed slightly to accommodate the official entry of 3 vehicles into Performance World now. There will be the 1992 ACS BMW which we have almost completed. The car will be brought in at the end of February for clean up and finalization of some parts, installs, fluid change etc! The 89 Mustang has been exchanged for my old 87 Mustang convertible now owned by a close friend who has never had the opportunity to make the car what it is capable of being… a fast, sleek, street chewing show piece. Finally, my 2000 SVT Lightning will be entered in the show which a few days will be spent on it in order to get it ready for the show. Here is a picture of the ACS car “chilling” outside:

As I was working 7 days a week on the project I have decided that I will now only work 6 days and leave Sunday as an “unscheduled” day, meaning I may or may not work on the cars that day. Working full time and managing the project is a lot of work.  The Mustang is coming along nicely as most of the body work is now done and paint will be soon to come. Have had to wait until the custom fuel door was installed behind the license plate area and to complete the Power Pipe install for the Vortech Supercharger in the inner fender well of the engine bay.

I am awaiting the arrival of the Racecraft 2″ drop spindles so that we can get SLAMMING this car even more to the ground, complete the 5 bolt conversion and 4 wheel disc upgrade so we can get the 18″  Saleen wheels installed. I am really looking forward to the outcome of this car. All the progress pictures of the Mustang can be seen in the Photo Gallery page.

I hope you have all been enjoying the Project so far and again, please inform all your friends and I encourage feedback and comments If you have missed an episode be sure to check out the Previously Recorded page for all the broadcasts.