BBR's 83GT - 552 BBF version 3.0 (at least)

[TheSilverBuick]

Not to mention a sheet of plywood should reduce the amount of road grime build up on the front of the box during Drag Week rain driving. Looks like it's all angle iron framed ready for a sheet to be laid in there. Why isn't this done yet??

[BBR]

Because I have a real job to tend to occasionally!

I've been flip flopping about whether to run the springs I got from Bill or not. They are blue, but are not Eibach drag springs because Eibach's are progressive rate and these are straight rate. They are marked "CCM DRAG FRONT". After looking at a bunch of pics, they look all the world like 4cyl Mustang springs that have been powder coated blue. The are made of thinner wire than the 92 GT springs that are currently in my car. Since CCM has been out of business for a while, there is absolutely ZERO info on the web about these.

Reason for the flip-flop: Changing Fox springs is a pain in the butt and I dont want to have to do it again if I put these in and the car's nose if back in 4x4 mode like it was for a while.



Never mind the short springs in the pic, I was using them for scale to compare to some older pics I have.

[squirrel]

I have a moog spring catalog...it has some useful info, and I think it goes all the way up to the 80s, probably not the 90s though. here you go...

[BBR]

Cool charts, thanks! I find it interesting that the blue springs are 0.625" wire, which coincides with the non-GT spring, but the GT springs that are in my car now measure 0.675" and that diameter does is not on the list.

[BBR]

More springs, only these are much smaller!

[BBR]

I relocated the O2 relocated to clear a deep trans pan....... man I hate welding on exhaust under a car, but it's done. I also started disassembling the front suspension to swap the struts and springs.

Tightened up the bolts holding the S-Box in. Several were loose, but I figured they would loosen up a bit after a few hard launches.

Speaking of hard launches, the crack in the floor pan just under the front of the rear seat has grown a bit. The crack has been there since I have owned the car, but it was definitely not 2.5" long. I think I will just hammer it back and weld it up.



The way my August calendar is looking, Tulsa may be the first time I get this thing down a track with the new cam..... Yikes.

[Beagle]

Remind me if you have sub frame connectors?

[BBR]

Yes it does. They are bolt-in sfc's that I welded in. At this level though, it probably should have thru floor sfc's installed.

[STINEY]

I recall under-car weld-ons, iirc. Might be time for something more beefy?

[BBR]

Maybe, but given the limited use of this car, not likely.

[squirrel]

get some 1/8" x 4" wide flat steel strap, about 6" long, weld it on top of the floor above the crack. long dimension along the same axis as the car.

[DanStokes]

Jim beat me to it. Seems like a gusset is in order.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

Looks like a fore/aft flex.. Just welding the crack will only break at the weld.. Jim's got it..

[CDMBill]

I like the plate idea too for reinforcement. I'd drill some holes over the flanges of the unibody frame and add rosettes to burn through and tie into the thicker material. I put Wolfe's pre cut LCA mount reinforcing plates on the bottom side of my Fox. At $25 they were worth it to me for the time savings.

James, I'll check with Dennis, former owner of Central Coast Mustang to see where the springs actually came from.

On the tire hold down for the trailer I used a length of PVC over the steel tube to avoid beating up the inner diameter of the wheels as they register pretty snugly on my partticular axles.

[BBR]

The PVC is a great idea and it would be cool to know more about the spring origin/rate, thanks!

I almost had the deep trans pan installed tonight before the rain came, but realized I forgot to get an O2 bung plug for the old sensor location. This pan is deep and requires you to use a 4x4 filter and suction tube. The problem with this is the suction tube is no longer available. I found the dimensions of the tube online and ended up making one from a short section of 1" OD pipe. Looks like it will work ok. When I realized I forgot the plug, I decided to start pulling the front end apart. Dropped the struts, pulled the springs and installed the other struts. By then I was out of daylight and the storms were getting near. I smashed the CRAP out of my pinkie with one of the springs and seriously thought I might need to see a doctor for a while. It swelled up like crazy. I thought it was gonna pop! It seems to be better now, less swelling, but it sure is purple!