mustanggt500 Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Okay this may be very long winded (I get that way when typing stuff) and might not have any relevance but hey what are forums for right? First I would like to give a HUGE thanks to my dad (he will never read this but has to be said) because without him making me hang out with him in his garage during my teen years I would not have had the b*lls to deconstruct a 2 day old, 75 miles on the clock $50k car by myself. He was able to hold my attention long enough to teach me a lot of damn good tool turning stuff. Next to my wife for the bad*ss car that makes this chevy guy giggle everytime i go into my garage now, and for the garage full of tools to make it even more fun now than 7 days ago when it got dropped off at my house. Now to the good stuff. I got the car dropped off to me by car carrier, there was sand ALL in the front end and engine bay, SAND?!?! Rocks 3/8 minus type gravel all over the hood (like 10-15 pieces) and pebbles in MANY various places of the front end from front of doors to the bumper, and water spots on it that i still have not been able to get out. Despite all of that, wife manages to take this picture as I sit for the first time in my new car (notice my shirt?? NOT a coincidence lol) : I get the car out and about then pull out in front our house for some quick pictures for the books, parents and TS members (remember these because it will look a bit different soon): With a workbench full of parts I just couldn't wait any longer to break into this baby and turn some wrenches (aside from any hickups it is so enjoyable/relaxing to be out there wrenching on something): In the garage, tight fit but have a few feet on all sides to work, climate controlled, carpeted and it looks VERY cool when the cover is off of the 68 RS/SS 396 Camaro: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 So daughter and I start into it with L&M 66MM TB and the JLT res eliminator, OMG it is a damn good looking combo: After that we went ahead with the pullies from Lethal Performance, the LP 2.6 is sexy, at first I was thinking try to make everything look stock, but after a VERY BRIEF moment I figured I don't care if anyone knows I did mods, matter of fact I want them to know so when that hood is up they "ooooh aaaaah" and it starts up shop talk which is what I enjoy the most when at shows. Good down home car guy shop talk. So daughter and I decided to go the billet alum pulleys and polished TB instead: The painted strut bar and Redline Elite hood lifts arrived the next day after the mods so we went ahead and put the bar in and began drilling the hood and fenders. I'm tellin ya, drilling holes in a brand new car that you worked your ass off for was a little unnerving to say the least. But all went well and very easy actually after it was all said and done with. If you go with the JLT tube and the strut bar I have on here then make sure you put the JLT tube on, clamp the clamp at the TB tight, and the clamp at the air collector tight, leave the two clamps connected to the tube itself loose as you can, then grasp the tube and "wiggle" it while pushing it down into the motor away from the strut bar. This will insure it is in its furthest "down" position AWAY from the strut bar and closest to the coil covers. I did not do this and thought I had enough clearance and my bar and tube rubbed and scuffed the tube up some: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 So at this point we flashed the computer with a Lund tune from Lethal and drove the car for a few days. OMG what an increase in power. I mean it was not just a noticable amount but rather a HUGE jump. I will get a bit of Dyno time in April when I get back home but it was/is a HUGE jump in power. At this point I was ready to get into the Heat Exchanger, but we had to deal with a few shipping hangups first. After the dust settled the HE finally gets to my house: As some of you may notice it looks like some others that have been posted here, primarily by Magilla. I used his "how to" post at times that I was unsure or wanted some backup on what I thought needed to be done next, great help. So the process begins to pull apart the front of the car. The provided directions where OK, the posts helped a good bit too. Together, with a little confidence in being in your garage it was enough to get the car apart with no damage and minimal headaches: Started putting it all back together with the new dual fan HE (MUCH BIGGER HE than stock): Got everything back in, few hangups with the pump going on the new HE and the fitting of the new HE and the splash guard/shroud on the passenger side but Magilla's post covered those pretty well. I will note that the pump has a bracket on it, and that bracket is secured to the pump VIA a rubber housing. It will be different for each person but mine was EXTREMELY tight on the pump. I thought it was attached some how and it was not. Some have been able to just twist theirs the 6-8 degrees to make it fit on the HE but I had to pull my pump completely out of the rubber housing, rotate the pump and then slide the housing back on. I suppose you could have put some sort of lubrication on it but i didnt want there to be ANY reason for it to not be tight after reassembly. Looks awesome after install: Started the car up while disassembled still, and got it up to operating temps. The dual fans kicked in (rather loud but I love that about them too) and it pulled down every ounce of fluid from the HE tank, had a gallon of pre mixed Motorcraft gold standing by and filled it up while running. Let it run for 10 more minutes to "burp" the system, nothing more than letting it pull in fluid on its own and push out all the air from the system all on its own as you watch and add fluid if you need to. Put everything back on the car, SUPER quick after you spent all that time taking it apart for the first paranoid time. And of course, at 8pm last night went out for a drive with the wife. Flawless. Oh, for the front clip removal. After you remove the couple of bolts that guys have covered in the forums, there is the whole "pull out on the clip by the front of the fender will and it will pop out" thing/issue. This scared the crap out of me because that just sounded like a recipe for breakage. The first one i did just that and it "popped" out with a rather unnerving snap. Once I noticed how it was assembled the passenger side was much more gentle and easier: That is a picture of the point that you are pulling out on. Those 3 slots there are held in with 3 plastic uhm.... snap/tabs that slip into place and out of place when the clip is pushed or pulled from is position. Not much I can do to help you do this in a gentle way but to show you what it is that you are releasing and where it is at. After you do one side the other side will be much easier and more gentle I am sure as mine was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Well that about covers everything. Gunna go clean up my garage then clean up the front end from all my big ol hand prints and enjoy my last day driving till I get home from my 5 week trip. Thanks to all those that helped with my questions and if anyone has questions please email me at lawson029@hotmail.com or feel free to call me at home (pacific time) just email me and I will give you my number, will be happy to help with anything I can. Nic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burning Blue Star IV Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Great informative, well organized, detailed post of your modifications, Mustanggt500. I'm sure it is of great help to many members here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magilla12 Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Nice job Nic, glad you got her back together, enjoy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inyadreems Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedyman Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Excellent write up. Hope you have a great time with the new 500. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Nice job. I sure wish I had the tools and knowledge to do work like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torched10 Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Excellent---you have a very handy daughter.Keep safe in Iraq,and let us know how the dyno run goes---bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Morris Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Great Job Nic!!! I wish you would have let me know about the SAND!! I will shot you an email about it. Car looks great. Im glad you didnt have any extra pieces!!! MM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Great Job Nic!!! I wish you would have let me know about the SAND!! I will shot you an email about it. Car looks great. Im glad you didnt have any extra pieces!!! MM Yeah, it was weird, there was grass/vegetation up behind the wheel well splash guards and sand and pebbles all over. Took off the splash guards and there was collected sand around the retainers. I assume its from being on the car carrier across country and just getting all that splash from the semi trailer tires??? Guess you cant see it totally clear but that is not dirty water, that is full on sand. Has to be from the car carrier throwing muck/debris off the tires up to the under carriage and onto the nose? Dunno. Either way, cleans off, but maybe good for you to know in the future if you have to cross country ship in the winter Nic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Looks and I'm sure runs GREAT. Enjoy it and have fun Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awakeinAZ Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Great post, thanks a lot!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nothing Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Yeah, it was weird, there was grass/vegetation up behind the wheel well splash guards and sand and pebbles all over. Took off the splash guards and there was collected sand around the retainers. I assume its from being on the car carrier across country and just getting all that splash from the semi trailer tires??? Guess you cant see it totally clear but that is not dirty water, that is full on sand. Has to be from the car carrier throwing muck/debris off the tires up to the under carriage and onto the nose? Dunno. Either way, cleans off, but maybe good for you to know in the future if you have to cross country ship in the winter Nic when mine was delivered it was the exact same way..sand and small pebbles all over it...thank god no scratches or anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65427cobra Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Thanks MustangGT500 for the detailed post and hope you enjoy the car. You can see the excitement of getting your car in your post and that is what makes the forum. It is an opportunity for car guys and gals to share their experiences with others who can relate to each other. We are living in good car times...factory 550 hp cars that for a thousand bucks or so you can add another 100 hp. Enjoy...beautiful car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkGT500nCA Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Yeah, it was weird, there was grass/vegetation up behind the wheel well splash guards and sand and pebbles all over. Took off the splash guards and there was collected sand around the retainers. I assume its from being on the car carrier across country and just getting all that splash from the semi trailer tires??? Guess you cant see it totally clear but that is not dirty water, that is full on sand. Has to be from the car carrier throwing muck/debris off the tires up to the under carriage and onto the nose? Dunno. Either way, cleans off, but maybe good for you to know in the future if you have to cross country ship in the winter Nic Sounds like someone broke your baby in for ya. How many miles did it come to you with? Either way, nice color combo and nice first set of mods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Morris Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 It came in here at the dealership dirty! We washed the car, but of course we didnt take it apart! I think it was a combo of coming down from MI in the winter and shipping cross country! MM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Congrats and good luck with your mods....nice colour...enjoy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitman007 Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 All I can add is "You da man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDan Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 Maybe the rocks came from the undercarrage of the car that was parked above your gt500 on the transport. I see alot of dealer trade in's mixed along with brand new ones on the auto transports out where I live. Great write up and pics. Have you felt a difference since you added the extra cooling? I wonder if the new 2011 IC can handle a pulley and tune as good as aftermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted March 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 Maybe the rocks came from the undercarrage of the car that was parked above your gt500 on the transport. I see alot of dealer trade in's mixed along with brand new ones on the auto transports out where I live. Great write up and pics. Have you felt a difference since you added the extra cooling? I wonder if the new 2011 IC can handle a pulley and tune as good as aftermarket. Nod probably did come from 'above' as there wasn't any damage that I have been able to see. Only had the car for 7 days before I had to leave so dont have a lot of inspection time on it yet. Lots of tool time but not eye and hand to paint time. Honestly, I only got to drive it for about 10 miles after I finished everything. I left the next day for a 5 week trip. So it is sitting in the garage with about 290 miles on it and a lot of brand new parts with less than 75 miles on any of them at most. I would have LOVED to have had the money and time to add a part, DYNO it, add a part DYNO it and so on to see which parts added what HP and Torque. That would have been a lot of fun. But after adding the new HE it makes you VERY aware at how often the HE pump comes on to cool things off. If you are sensitive to the feel of your car you can actually feel the fans come on through the stearing wheel, just an every so slight (i mean so slight that if you didn't know better you wouldn't notice) vibration. But you can definatly hear the fans come on! I can only assume that hearing it come on often as it does that it is GREATLY improving the cooling though because by the factory set up we are only drawing in fresh air when we are in forward motion. I hear the fans come on frequently when just sitting waiting for a light to change. That being the case we are sitting still and our factory HE is trying to cool off with no air flow, the dual fan system pulls in an enormous amount of fresh air. You can feel from the front of the car about 12-16 inches away the air flow being pulled into the HE. Pretty awesome peice of equipment. I think for the $650-$750 you spend and the 8-12 hours it takes you to do everything by yourself, it is extremely worth it. Plus seeing that "SHELBY" through the front of the nose looks really damn cool. (no pun intended!) Nic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nothing Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 really damn cool. (no pun intended!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Nice write up on your mods. I like what you have done. I also like the Grabber Blue color you chose. What part of WA re you in ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Nice write up on your mods. I like what you have done. I also like the Grabber Blue color you chose. What part of WA re you in ? Grabber! Been wanting to get in touch with you. I live in Graham/Spanaway, 224th and Meridian area. I REALLY want to come to your may event so please let me know when to RSVP and dates. Also I would REALLY like to talk to you on the phone about where you got your ClearView installed and maybe arrange for you to be there when I drop mine off here in a couple weeks to make sure I convey to the shop what I want and not make any mistakes. I think I kinda dig those fender stripes, gunna pass that idea to the wife and see if she will buy off on the idea. That and you did an awesome write up on it and I would like to try it out! Drop me an email at lawson029@hotmail.com Nic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisssss Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Nic, great write up I am interested in what your dyno #s are going to be. Looks killer, better hope the wife & daughter arn't putting miles on it while you are gone....lol. Can't wain until I'm back so we can go tear it up. You are going to have a great time at Grabbers, my favorite meet of the season by far, the drive is killer too. Have fun there and fill me in on all the details as I will miss it this year. Again, car looks killer, I will have to have you come over to the house and help me put my HE in when I get back, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustanggt500 Posted March 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Nic, great write up I am interested in what your dyno #s are going to be. Looks killer, better hope the wife & daughter arn't putting miles on it while you are gone....lol. Can't wain until I'm back so we can go tear it up. You are going to have a great time at Grabbers, my favorite meet of the season by far, the drive is killer too. Have fun there and fill me in on all the details as I will miss it this year. Again, car looks killer, I will have to have you come over to the house and help me put my HE in when I get back, Mark. Lol, naw Di is afraid of it as of yet and won't drive it. And heck yes please get in touch with me when you get back because that would be good fun doing the HE install. Nic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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