Putting the 2001 Bullitt under the knife; IRS swap, and more...

[keitho64]

2001 Bullitt IRS swap, and more...

Late last year my son's 2001 Bullitt developed an issue with 4th gear. You cannot downshift from 5 to 4 and the upshift from 3 to 4 is virtually impossible. Since we knew we had to pull the trans we decided to do a bit more...

So we have the trans out and the verdict is the synchros were starting to fail but the rest of the trans is good. We took it to DRC in Elk Grove and they will rebuild it for us.

While the car is laid up he installed new Koni adjustable struts, all poly bushings and braided brake lines.

The rear is a bit more involved. Last year we got a 2003 Cobra IRS. We installed all poly bushings and are going to install it this week. The Cobra has a 3:55 gear vs. the Bullitt's 3:27 so that will help a little as well. The rear end also came with a flowmaster cat back exhaust specific for the Cobra and an aluminum driveshaft. I think we have everything we need.

We are about ready to drop the solid rear axle out and then we can start the assembly process.

If all goes as planned we should have the car on the road in a couple of weeks. I'll have him come with me one Sunday to Cars & Coffee.

I am anxious to see what the car is like when done. The chassis in the Bullitt was very good to begin with and the IRS should really help when cornering. We tend to like cars with more cornering, braking and balance vs. pure straight line power.

Here are some pictures of the current project.

Click to read more...

 

[IDAFC21]

Nice!

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

That's sweet

 

[GLIGTO]

Awesome! Hope to see this thing at a C&C soon!

 

[wolfe]

Very cool! I would look into just swapping a T56 trans in it instead of rebuilding the 5 speed that's in it.

 

[RICH17]

Sweet mods

 

[Pressure Ratio]

Nice build

 

[keitho64]

Quick update. Took the trans to DRC in Elk Grove. I was very curious what they would find since there wasn't any sign of metal in the oil. Well the 4th gear synchro was bad but not the teeth. There is a fiber material on the back side of the synchro that wore off. You can see in the attached pictures of 3rd and 4th side by side.

The trans was completely rebuilt with new bearings and synchros.

We installed the trans tonight and my son has the solid axle out. He is cleaning up the underside and treating it with por15 since it is apart. Tomorrow we install the IRS and hope to have the car all done by Sunday.

Monday it goes in for a 4 wheel alignment and then drive time. We should have it at Cars and Coffee in another week.

It will be very interesting to see how the car handles with all the new bushings and the IRS.

 

[keitho64]

Well the rear end is in but we didn't get it all done. Still need to get the new brake lines installed, remainder of the brake parts and a couple of bolts for the lower shock mount.

One really good piece of news is we can use the aluminum drive shaft that came with the rear end.

At least the trans is sitting in the right spot and the IRS looks at home in the Bullitt.

I'm trying to get the tie bars apart. They are aftermarket aluminum and whoever put the together didn't live them. Aluminum and steel not a good match to be installed dry. Need to figure this one out. For now they are soaking in Kroil.

Since we didn't make it for tomorrow it may be another week.

 

[Chet Donnelly]

Nice! I love those 01 Bullitts!

 

[nytebyte]

Nice...

You're gonna like that IRS, especially after going over your first curved bumpy road.

 

[keitho64]

My son has been busy lately. The car is 99% complete. The rear end, aluminum drive shaft and flow master exhaust is complete.

He finished it late last night so today he plans to check all the bolts, connect the battery, fire it up, test drive and get it in for an alignment.

I envision many miles of driving this weekend!

 

[Gav'sPurpleZ]

 

[Spivitz]

:likes:

 

[keitho64]

Quick update on the Bullitt. He has been driving the wheels off the car this summer. The transformation is amazing. The car is very planted and does not get upset in the corners.

I am VERY impressed with how well the car handles. He is running stock Cobra springs in the rear, all the IRS bushings are poly and the struts/shocks are Koni adjustable.

If you have an Edge Mustang and are into corner carving, this is an easy job and worth it in every way.

 

[willdrumforfood92]

Quick update on the Bullitt. He has been driving the wheels off the car this summer. The transformation is amazing. The car is very planted and does not get upset in the corners.

I am VERY impressed with how well the car handles. He is running stock Cobra springs in the rear, all the IRS bushings are poly and the struts/shocks are Koni adjustable.

If you have an Edge Mustang and are into corner carving, this is an easy job and worth it in every way.

Nice build you've got here, very cool stuff! It's everything good about the Cobra without the requisite 'I have a Terminator underhood' price tag.

What sort of time/$$ commitment are you looking at for an IRS swap, soup to nuts? I'm weighing out my options for a new car come springtime.

 

[GLIGTO]

Awesome stuff! I've always wanted to build an SN95 Cobra for HPDE and do a Cobra IRS swap (amongst other things).

 

[keitho64]

Nice build you've got here, very cool stuff! It's everything good about the Cobra without the requisite 'I have a Terminator underhood' price tag.

What sort of time/$$ commitment are you looking at for an IRS swap, soup to nuts? I'm weighing out my options for a new car come springtime.

My son found the IRS on the Chicagoland Mustang forums. He bought the complete diff assembly, aluminum drive shaft, springs, adjustable toe bars, adjustable sway bar end links, sway bar, cat back exhaust, brakes, rotors, hangers etc. This diff had most of the maximum motor sports bushings installed. 95% of the parts were purchased at that time

We bought:
Koni adjustable shocks
u-Joint to adapt the TR3650 yolk to the aluminum driveshaft for the IRS
misc. maximum motorsports bushings

All in he has about $1,500 in the swap. We did all the work ourselves. Since the swap he sold his old solid axle and a few other left over parts. My guess is he sold $350-400 worth of stuff.

So for about $1,000 he has a Bullitt that corners like no Mustang I've ever been in. the car is comfortable to drive, NEVER gets upset cornering on rough surfaces, and sticks amazingly well.

I highly recommend this swap. I'm sure he be happy to offer up a ride if someone wanted to look at what he did.

 

[willdrumforfood92]

My son found the IRS on the Chicagoland Mustang forums. He bought the complete diff assembly, aluminum drive shaft, springs, adjustable toe bars, adjustable sway bar end links, sway bar, cat back exhaust, brakes, rotors, hangers etc. This diff had most of the maximum motor sports bushings installed. 95% of the parts were purchased at that time

We bought:
Koni adjustable shocks
u-Joint to adapt the TR3650 yolk to the aluminum driveshaft for the IRS
misc. maximum motorsports bushings

All in he has about $1,500 in the swap. We did all the work ourselves. Since the swap he sold his old solid axle and a few other left over parts. My guess is he sold $350-400 worth of stuff.

So for about $1,000 he has a Bullitt that corners like no Mustang I've ever been in. the car is comfortable to drive, NEVER gets upset cornering on rough surfaces, and sticks amazingly well.

I highly recommend this swap. I'm sure he be happy to offer up a ride if someone wanted to look at what he did.

Now THAT is badass - few things I love more than a Mustang that handles. I'm PM-ing you my contact info - let's see if we can't make that happen!