accobra66
09-14-2016, 10:40 PM
Thought I would drop a thread out there summarizing my project last winter of installing Levy's Stage V 408.
About a year ago to date I placed an order with Gordon for a new motor to replace the original 351W I purchased back in 1999 through Jasper Performance (~ 370 hp). Part of the agreement was Gordon agreed to travel to northern Michigan (for a reasonable agreed upon sum of money) to assist with the following:
1. Start up of motor
2. Any tuning needed
3. Help with adjustment of 4 piston brake system purchased year prior when I did the pin-drive conversion (ended up not needing any help as I replaced the older 1984 Mustang SVO master cylinder this last winter with a new Wilwood also purchased through Gordon). I had been having lots of trouble with brake bias even with the proportioning valve but the proper master cylinder magically made this problem disappear.
4. Help with ride height adjustment of his Koni shocks purchased a few years ago. (Within 5 minutes Gordon convinced me I had been over thinking it and had them adjusted properly).
5. Help with adjustment of pinion angle. Since the pin drive conversion I had not been able to eliminate the vibration under braking and or (depending on adjustment) acceleration. After several calls last fall this had me really frustrated as I never had this issue in the past. Within minutes Gordon was adjusting the lower control arms rather than the 3rd link which I had been adjusting. He explained to me that it was going to be nearly impossible to get the pinion angle correct with the 3rd link adjustment on its own. Had I known this last fall I am sure I could have adjusted this out myself.
6. Wanted Gordon to look at the frame (Mark I - built the car back in 1999) as I suspected it had some twist to it. Upon looking at it Gordon found nothing alarming - again a case of me over thinking things it seems.
Like any project with the car this one had project creep to include:
1. New Levy radiator
2. Modification of old fan shroud
3. Detailing of engine area including removal of powder coating from the center portion of the frame (in front of motor) connecting the two round tubes. I removed the old powder coating with a wheel then carefully prepped and painted with POR-15. (Man I have to tell you this stuff is absolutely amazing and I really would consider using it over powder coating on a subsequent build.)
4. New stainless steel headers from GP Headers (http://www.gpheaders.com) - Attached is a picture of the mock up process allowing the headers to be custom manufactured to fit correctly along with the finished product. I cannot say enough what a pleasure it has been to work with Zach. Prior to purchasing I visited their shop in northwestern MN and was very impressed with what the produce working from a shop on a farm. Just had the right feel to it.
5. New ignition system
6. New throttle cable
7. Replace most of interior carpeting as now was the time to remake the transmission tunnel cover that had been modified to allow for the different transmission shiftier location the Richmond 5 speed had over the T-5.
Overall assessment of the motor is it is fantastic. After about 400 miles of driving the weekend Gordon was in town we had the motor pretty well dialed in. I have had to re-torque the intake manifold gasket but outside of that I have not touched much of anything. The motor sounds great and is a bit louder than I had expected (I am running the Gas-N pipes). It pulls hard and sucks fuel like it is going out of style.)
I am running Gordon's Super Alloy T-5 transmission (third year on this after replacing my Richmond 5 speed) with a 3:27:1 gear. I can foresee this winter changing the rear end to a 3:73:1 as I have found that at 60 mph I am running about 2,000 rpm and the motor really wants to run at 2,200 rpm and above.
Overall I would not do anything different if I were to do the project again. Having Gordon in for two days to work through open issues issues I had been fighting was worth every penny. Reality was I originally insisted he be here for three days but after two we were completely finished.
By the way Gordon...Dede said you made the list.
Attached are some pictures of the process.
5858258579585765858358580585775858158578
About a year ago to date I placed an order with Gordon for a new motor to replace the original 351W I purchased back in 1999 through Jasper Performance (~ 370 hp). Part of the agreement was Gordon agreed to travel to northern Michigan (for a reasonable agreed upon sum of money) to assist with the following:
1. Start up of motor
2. Any tuning needed
3. Help with adjustment of 4 piston brake system purchased year prior when I did the pin-drive conversion (ended up not needing any help as I replaced the older 1984 Mustang SVO master cylinder this last winter with a new Wilwood also purchased through Gordon). I had been having lots of trouble with brake bias even with the proportioning valve but the proper master cylinder magically made this problem disappear.
4. Help with ride height adjustment of his Koni shocks purchased a few years ago. (Within 5 minutes Gordon convinced me I had been over thinking it and had them adjusted properly).
5. Help with adjustment of pinion angle. Since the pin drive conversion I had not been able to eliminate the vibration under braking and or (depending on adjustment) acceleration. After several calls last fall this had me really frustrated as I never had this issue in the past. Within minutes Gordon was adjusting the lower control arms rather than the 3rd link which I had been adjusting. He explained to me that it was going to be nearly impossible to get the pinion angle correct with the 3rd link adjustment on its own. Had I known this last fall I am sure I could have adjusted this out myself.
6. Wanted Gordon to look at the frame (Mark I - built the car back in 1999) as I suspected it had some twist to it. Upon looking at it Gordon found nothing alarming - again a case of me over thinking things it seems.
Like any project with the car this one had project creep to include:
1. New Levy radiator
2. Modification of old fan shroud
3. Detailing of engine area including removal of powder coating from the center portion of the frame (in front of motor) connecting the two round tubes. I removed the old powder coating with a wheel then carefully prepped and painted with POR-15. (Man I have to tell you this stuff is absolutely amazing and I really would consider using it over powder coating on a subsequent build.)
4. New stainless steel headers from GP Headers (http://www.gpheaders.com) - Attached is a picture of the mock up process allowing the headers to be custom manufactured to fit correctly along with the finished product. I cannot say enough what a pleasure it has been to work with Zach. Prior to purchasing I visited their shop in northwestern MN and was very impressed with what the produce working from a shop on a farm. Just had the right feel to it.
5. New ignition system
6. New throttle cable
7. Replace most of interior carpeting as now was the time to remake the transmission tunnel cover that had been modified to allow for the different transmission shiftier location the Richmond 5 speed had over the T-5.
Overall assessment of the motor is it is fantastic. After about 400 miles of driving the weekend Gordon was in town we had the motor pretty well dialed in. I have had to re-torque the intake manifold gasket but outside of that I have not touched much of anything. The motor sounds great and is a bit louder than I had expected (I am running the Gas-N pipes). It pulls hard and sucks fuel like it is going out of style.)
I am running Gordon's Super Alloy T-5 transmission (third year on this after replacing my Richmond 5 speed) with a 3:27:1 gear. I can foresee this winter changing the rear end to a 3:73:1 as I have found that at 60 mph I am running about 2,000 rpm and the motor really wants to run at 2,200 rpm and above.
Overall I would not do anything different if I were to do the project again. Having Gordon in for two days to work through open issues issues I had been fighting was worth every penny. Reality was I originally insisted he be here for three days but after two we were completely finished.
By the way Gordon...Dede said you made the list.
Attached are some pictures of the process.
5858258579585765858358580585775858158578