Donor advice and "must have" options

[AnthonyS]

Dear All,

First off, long time reader; first post. I'm picking up my '94 GT donor this weekend. My goals are simple. I want to build a nice FFR Cobra using quite a bit from the donor. Then once she is up and running I can worry about modifications and more horsepower. I have owned 8 Mustangs including several SN95s, 5.0s, a few Cobras and one Coyote 5.0 too. My kit will be ordered around my birthday in November or as a reward for finishing Ironman Florida in November.

What advice do you all have for stripping and cleaning donor car parts? I've already figured out I'm going to need to narrow the rear end to '87 to '93 specs with an axle change and offset the brakes. I plan to install all new rotors and pads front and rear. I will also check wheel bearings, change fluids, and all seals, etc. I will probably do the same on the front.

My goal is to get my kit to my house and worry about add on later (windwings, floor mats, chrome parts, etc.) Friends and family can gift those types of options to me.

So what are the "must have" upgrades? This is my thinking. 1) 3 link, because I hate the Ford quadrabind 2) tubular front arms (no need for the stamped ones going coilover) 3) manual rack steering (no need for all that excess weight and PS from stock GT), 4) powdercoated frame (worth every penny IMO), all body cut outs done (also worth the small sum IMO).

I will of course compression test my donor engine. If it's out of spec I have another 5.0 engine in the garage. My plan was to get the car up and running on a fairly stock 5.0 maybe GT40P heads, Explorer intake and 1.7RRs and then use my spare engine to build up an aluminum headed 331 as funds allow later.

My hope is to continue to learn from your experience and do a good job harvesting my donor and order the needed stuff for my roadster kit. I'm hoping to learn from your experience and have fun in the process.

My son will hopefully participate in the build with me. He is 15 and likes cars but doesn't have much experience with them. My wife will also help. She has green lighted the project. So now I just need to save my quarterly bonuses this year, and viola.

I would like to have this project completed by June 2017 and go on the Hot Rod Power tour. If that isn't possible 2018 will work too. I'd like to have a fun father son week before he gets too old and has his own family someday.

[skullandbones]

Hi Anthony,

I'm assuming you are not going with the complete kit. It's funny that your description of your build is similar to what I did. I got a donor pallet. If I had been better informed I would have gone with an SN95 like you. I even like the rear end. My tires and wheels are working fine without the narrow fox width. Good idea to go with new rotors/pads. I would go with the 4 into 4 headers. It makes for a very simple and elegant look. Sounds like you are going EFI. I ported the GT40P heads and shaved them. If you keep the donor engine add a nice cam like one of the Ford Racings. It will definitely help the heads breath better. Upgrade the injectors to 24 or 30 lb with the matching MAF. That will give you enough power for now. If you are interested, I will give you a link to my custom three link with Watt's link (about $600). You should go 3 link or 5 link. If you get the 50% discount on components you will do well with the FFR 3 link. Do the driver's footbox mod on the left side to give your left foot some breathing space. You can do a mod or kit for the passenger side if you need that for a long legged person. I would do the dropped battery box in the trunk or mount it in front with a Breeze kit. That is an important decision. Also, remote terminals if in the trunk. I did a quick release steering wheel. It is wonderful to be able to change wheels and remove for various tasks.

I think using the donor engine is good if you are doing the mods and refreshing it where needed. I wish I had done that. I chickened out at the last minute and got a long block. The one thing it saved me was installing an upgraded cam. When I tore down the donor, it looked like new (oh well). I would probably go with the Wilwood pedal box and MCs as it is a great design and very nice if you are going to do any high performance driving. That's one that could go either way as the donor box can be upgraded to work well. I just found it much more straight forward to go with the Wilwood.

Sounds like you will have a very good start. I have under 30K in mine at this time with a home grown black lacquer paint job and body work. That will be the final upgrade to finish this project. Some drive in gelcoat for a couple of years. This was my way to make it look a little better until I can do the nice job. That's another big decision: the paint/body work. It accounts for the most money invested besides the engine combo in a lot of builds. Here's something I have found about my little paint/body work experiment. If you have a disposable paint job, you can make all the mistakes before the good one. It hurts to find out the hard way (e.g. running the nose into a parking curb).

Good luck and keep us updated.

WEK.

[Avalanche325]

Welcome.

One warning about the 94. The transmission is unique in 94/95. You can use it without issues. But if you ever decide to upgrade the transmission (long input shaft), you will be throwing away the bellhousing (longer) and driveshaft (shorter) with it.

I agree with 3-link, tubular control arms, and powder-coating.

If you are going to autocross or track the car, install power steering! I would do it for a cruiser too. Wide sticky tires and parking lots will give you a workout. Ironman or not.

Body cutouts. You are building a car. You should be able to cut a few holes in the right places and save a few dollars. They are even marked for you.

I would recommend a new wiring harness. A new car with 20 year old wiring may not be the best thing.

I would also install a heater, seat heaters, and a footbox fresh air system (Cobra Earls).

You mentioned chrome parts. If you want chrome roll bars, it is cheaper to do it now.

If you are looking at November, FFR usually has a killer year end sale. Your build schedule will be pretty tight for an order in Nov 2015 and completion in June 2017. It can be done, especially with donor parts prepped, and not straying into custom items.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Welcome!
As mentioned there are a few nuances to be aware of when using a '94/'95 donor; nothing insurmountable, just different than the more common Fox configurations. The trans & bellhousing as mentioned, a somewhat more complex wiring harness that is kind of hybrid between OBD-1 and OBD-2 and a unique front dress setup on the engine. Member "Frankeeski" is the resident '94/'95 expert and I'm sure he'd be happy to help with any questions you may have.

You'll get varying opinions on power steering. I'm one of the biggest power steering cheerleaders you'll find here, especially if you intend to do any track or autocross work in which case I consider it almost mandatory. I've built customer cars with PS that see street use only and the owners' love it. I had a customer car delivered to me for paint last week that has the FFR manual rack...had not driven one for a while as most of them that I get in are PS equipped. When moving it around the garage I was immediately reminded that while they steer smoothly and without an excessive amount of effort they are slooooooow to respond. That's not my personal preference but I'm not you! There are tons of threads on the PS or Non-PS topic both here and on http://www.ffcars.com/ Search them out and you'll have plenty of reading to do between now and November!

Cheers,
Jeff

[CraigS]

Welcome to the forum. My first thought is can you bale out of the 94 purchase? I don't think a donor is worth doing any more. When FFR started in 99 or so donors were a great way to go but even then you ended up w/ mustang control arms and drum brakes. Now you really don't use much from the donor even when doing a budget build like you are planning. Everything on that car is 21 yrs old. And a 94 is not a good year as already mentioned. I will add a little more. The front cover, water pump and all the brackets are different on 94s and 95s. So, if you want to change something later there is very little available. Search for aftermarket alternator mounts for instance. A lot of that stuff is listed as up to 93 and then a different number for 96 and later. They just didn't bother tooling up to make something that fits only two years. Also I recommend you re-think power steering. Do it, you will be glad you did later.

[Bren]

Body cutouts. You are building a car. You should be able to cut a few holes in the right places and save a few dollars. They are even marked for you.

When I ordered my kit, my thinking was the same as yours. It's not that expensive, and I'd rather the professionals do the cutting.

As it turns out, that was the worst decision I made (but, all in all, not a terrible one) on my initial order. The cut outs by FFR are only rough cutouts, so you'll have to modify them anyway. And, the cuts weren't even centered. I could have done a MUCH better job myself from the beginning, even though I have absolutely no body work experience. I ended up re-doing every single cut out. Don't waste the money.

[Avalanche325]

I second the FFMetals in-trunk battery box.

[AnthonyS]

Thanks all for the tips and advice. I will make my own cutouts! I was already eyeing the FFmetals battery box. I will also get an '87-'93 bellhousing and main shaft. This looks like an easy fix really. I'm getting the donor for $2000 and it has 97k miles on it. It's really a bargain. If the compression checks out it will run a long time on that short block. I'm also thinking of saving the power steering now and ABS.

Thanks for the tips on the front accessories too. Scrounging up '79 to '93 brackets shouldn't be hard at all here in DFW. I will have lots of spares to trade for them etc.

I'm dreading the wire diet, but it doesn't scare me. I rewired my old '85 Mustang SVO to run on a newer '88 turbo coupe computer back in the day. I had to repin the harness and add an ACT sensor. I'm also not too worried about the state of the harness this car looks bone stock, but the TX weather has done in the interior and paint which is why it's such a cheap donor. I will probably upgrade the brakes to '94 Cobra spec too and I may narrow the rear to '79-'93 width too.

I was considering the Wilwood box, because face it a hydraulic clutch is a nice luxury to have as one ages. I may add this to my list of must have options. The wife is asking for AC/Heat and heated seats.

[AnthonyS]

So after looking at all the things I want to do to my engine, heads, cam, intake, bigger injectors etc., I have decided my first modification will be more education! Yes education. I'm going to spend 3 days in LA at an EEC IV tuning school. I will be able to tell the computer I've removed the EGR, smog pump and a lot of other things that will happen when I move the drivetrain to the Roadster too. So in March I go to school to learn to tune. Once I'm an experienced EEC tuner, I should be able to assist those still running that antiquated engine management system too.

[MPTech]

I agree with what the others have said. I bought the Base Kit with a couple FFR upgrades, and pieced together the parts I needed (got a great deal on a '93 5.0L with GT40P ported heads, FMS F cam, calibrated Pro-m meter, and new clutch, I added a GT-40 intake, new injectors and had it re-tuned. Runs GREAT!). I installed a later model T5 w/ S-10 mid-shift conversion and a '94 bellhousing). I like the '94 tranny because it has an extended clutch-fork and requires less effort (I also used the '94 pedal box).
1. Don't bother with the cutouts, really doesn't save any time and you may have to repair one of their holes.
2. Go with the Power Steering
3. Lookup the Driver Side and Passenger Side footbox mods and incorporate them.
4. I recommend new: radiator, fuel tank and pump, and master cylinder. (these are things you don't want to replace after your first go-kart!) (I went ahead and installed re-man'd calipers and booster too!)
5. Definitely seat heaters, heater is nice, A/C: (lot of work, cost, lot of engine bay real-estate that doesn't look so nice, and the effectiveness is not really worth it (I drove a Camaro convertible for 15 years, the air wasn't worth turning on with the top down).
6. I installed and really like my Painless wiring harness
7. I also installed the Breeze engine bay battery box (also like it)
8. Don't forget a Russ Thompson throttle pedal!
9. I also like (and installed) the FFR LCAs and 4-into-4 headers (both of these could be done later, but I wanted them from the start).

Here was my plan, if it helps you:
MPTech Build Plan (http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/264052-mptech-build-plan-revision-9-counting.html)

[Avalanche325]

Good catch MP Tech: "Don't forget a Russ Thompson throttle pedal!"

I would also add the Russ Thompson self cancelling turn signal. Must have! I went on a 2 day Cobra rally with 18 cars. Someone's turn signal was flashing pretty much the whole time. NOT MINE THOUGH! Thanks Russ!

Here is a nice to have, and cheap too, that I added. I have a buzzer that lets me know if I turn the ignition off and the headlights are still on. My DD has automatic headlights, so they are easy to forget.

[AnthonyS]

MPTech and Avalanche thank you for more suggestions! Now I have a bit more reading and research to do. MPTech my engine is going to be very similar to yours. I'm actually going to tuning school in March to learn to tune it myself so as I make changes and build my replacement engine I can just reflash my own EEC chip. I hauled home the donor today and I already have pictures and stories... oh let the fun begin. I'm going to replace the clutch and flywheel in it and drive it around and get all the codes I can out of it and see what needs fixed. I will fix all the engine stuff and then start tearing it apart.

[bcovell]

I had a 95 Mustang GT and the Engine management system was unique to that year. It was a bear to modify the computer to accommodate any performance upgrades. The harness on that year is also unique. I would look for a pre-94 if you want to avoid a lot of frustration.