🔧 BUILD LikeABauce302's 427 SBF Twin Turbo Build. 404 Error: LS Content Not Found

General Information

Since I've been on this site for awhile now, I figured its time to post up the project I've been working on. Some of you may recognize the car. The previous owner raced it quite a bit and ran it in the IMSM series.

Here is my 90 Mustang LX hatchback:

Mod list:

Engine:
-Stock block bored .040" over
-Stock crank
-Forged rods
-Forged pistons
-Balanced, machined, and assembled by Opel Engineering
-Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads
-Edelbrock Performer RPM II Intake
-Basically your typical stock block H/C/I SBF

Transmission:
-Freddy Brown Built AOD
-Manual valve body
-Transbrake
-3200 RPM stall converter

Front Suspension:
-AJE K-member and A-Arms
-94/95 Mustang spindles
-Moroso Trick springs
-Lakewood 90/10 shocks
-UPR Castor/Camber plates

Rear Suspension:
-TRZ double adjustable upper control arms
-TRZ single adjustable lower control arms
-stock springs
-Lakewood 70/30 shocks

Chassis and Rearend:
-Welded full length subframe connectors
-Welded torque boxes
-Aluminum driveshaft and safety loop
-Custom 9" rear end
-Roll cage soon to be installed

Brakes:
-Maximum Motorsports manual conversion kit
-94 Cobra master cylinder
-Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve
-Maximum Motorsports braided lines
-99 to 04 GT brakes all around

Wheels and Tires:
-Chrome Pony R Wheels
-Rear: 17x10 with 275/40/17 M/T ET Street Radials
-Front: 17x5.5 (narrowed by Weldcraft) with M&H Racemaster Radial Front Runners

There are probably a few things I'm missing. I bought the car in December of 2009 and it's been a work in progress ever since. It was a solid well built car when I bought it, but it needed some work to make it street driveable.

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How the engine bay looked when I first started working on it:
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Teardown and preparation for cleaning up the engine bay:
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Beginning to fill in all of the holes in the engine bay:
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Engine bay all finished:
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5 lug swap time:
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94 spindles all cleaned up and new hubs installed:
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Maximum Motorsports manual brake conversion with 94 Cobra master cylinder, and new UPR castor/camber plates:
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Finishing installing new brakes up front:
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Test fitting the new wheels
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I've still got some work to go. Before spring I'm going to freshen up the rear end and I'm planning on installing a Holley EFI system. If I have enough time and funds left over, I want to install a roll cage of some sort since I'm planning on running at the drag strip quite a bit.

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LikeABauce302

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Damn Matt, love it!!!! I might need to swing by for a little TIG sesh to learn from you if you don’t mind!
Once I get my own garage set up, the bros are always welcome! I'm still working out of my parents house, but hoping to have my welders and tools at my place in the spring. You're always welcome to take my TIG welder for a spin.
 
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LikeABauce302

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I ended up going back to work on the car today. It was driving me nuts knowing I'm so close to having the hot side finished. I ended up sectioning in a small piece of scrap tubing into the passenger side mid pipe and everything fits the way it's supposed to now.

I'm super happy with how this turned out, especially since I was really doubting myself in the beginning when I decided to move forward with a turbo engine build rather than nitrous.

I still have some challenges ahead, but this is a huge milestone. The cold side is going to require some creativity because I don't have a lot of room to work with. I also have to figure out how to setup my turbo drains. I have a TurboWerx Exa scavenge pump that I need to mount somewhere and I'm debating if I should fab vented drain reservoirs under each turbo, or if I should just run the drains directly to the pump.
 

LikeABauce302

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Aug 27, 2013
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Not a ton of progress made this weekend, but I did get a little work done. Mostly I was just going over the car and planning what I need to do next.

I started mocking up cold side piping, but then stopped when I realized I should probably buy a bead roller for the ends that will go into silicone boots. I didn't want to weld everything together and then not be able to easily run the ends through a bead roller.

I did play around with the TIG welder and some scrap aluminum to get the settings dialed in and decide if I'm confident enough to weld the cold side myself. Once I got the settings adjusted to my liking, welding the aluminum tubing was pretty easy. Here's my first attempt at aluminum. Not perfect, but good enough for my purposes. I'm not building a show car.


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Since I decided to hold off on the cold side until I have a bead roller, I figured I should get something done. I started installing my parachute yesterday. Mostly because I was tired of seeing the boxes sitting on the garage floor. I didn't quite finish yesterday, but I did end up getting the bumper back on the car. Now I need to mount the parachute itself and figure out how and where to route the cable.


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LikeABauce302

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Looking great Matt!

If you are up to it and want to develop some forearm and hand strength you can make your own bead roller out of a electrical crimping tool using a grinder. I have one sitting in my garage you can pick up or I can mail to you.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm not that ambitious :LOL:. I saw the crimp tool trick on YouTube, but decided to just order a $150 vice mounted bead roller from Amazon. I'm sure I'll use it more than once because I'm already thinking about how I would redo things in the future after all of the lessons learned during my first attempt.
 
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greasy

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Thanks for the offer, but I'm not that ambitious :LOL:. I saw the crimp tool trick on YouTube, but decided to just order a $150 vice mounted bead roller from Amazon. I'm sure I'll use it more than once because I'm already thinking about how I would redo things in the future after all of the lessons learned during my first attempt.

All good and probably a better use of your time/energy! :ROFLMAO:
 
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LikeABauce302

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I want to come over with Greasy but I want to peek at that black GT you got there :giggle:
Man I have the worst ADD. I haven't done much to the GT in the last year because this turbo project has taken up most of my time. I still have my fox bodies in my parents garage, but I have my own 4 car garage now. I'm hoping by spring, I'll have my place better setup with tools so I can get the black car moved and start working on it again. I want to yank the engine and clean up the engine bay a little, then put my old heads, cam, and intake from the red car into the black one.
 
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LikeABauce302

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Just curious to why silicone couplers vs v bands or clamshells?

Mostly for ease of assembly, and having some buffer for vibration dampening and flex. I will have a V-band connection at the throttle body.

The charge pipe from the intercooler to the throttle body is going to have to be 2 pieces for ease of assembly, so I will probably have one coupler inside the fender and one coupler at the intercooler outlet.
 
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LikeABauce302

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Ive gone 2 seasons with sillicon couplers and T-Bolt clamps at over 20psi with zero issues. One day I would like to put a vband on my throttle body to look like the other cool racecar people
I have no concerns about reliability of couplers. I know we've both seen diesel engines running for hours and even days at a time at 40+ psi of boost and rarely if ever blowing couplers apart.
 

greasy

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The whole V-Band vs Silicone Couplers & T-Bolts subject was a hot one back in the day when I was putting a bead on my aluminum IC piping. 6 pages on that one! Not bad :ROFLMAO:

 

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