Dyno session with V8

Today was dyno day and things went great. A stock 5.0 makes 165 hp at the wheels so with aluminum heads and new cam I was hoping for 265 at the wheels, and that is also what a computer simulation said I would get. I got 264.8 hp @ 5307 rpm and 271.6 ft/lb @ 4839 rpm and a power curve that rises extremely smooth and linear. It showed no signs of a misfire so either the new plugs fixed it or my ram air system is so effective that it's putting the engine into a lean condition at speed. Here's video of the dyno session and a picture of the power curve.  Video of dyno session

On the track for a shakedown

I had my first shakedown test of the Pink Panther on the road course and it went very well. Nothing broke and the car has no strange handling vices but I learned some interesting things, like that the diffuser really works and you can feel the extra grip with it. The ignition would start to break up above 5000 rpm, which prevented me from exceeding 110 mph (175 kmh) on the straight. Up until that point it pulls like a freight train and once the tires are warm, I can stand on the throttle coming out of turns as long as I am in 2nd gear or higher. The rear of the car jumps going over bumps and I will try to tame that with shock tuning. Neither Briget or myself were brave enough to drive the car at even 8/10's. We both felt that the limits of the car are a lot higher than ours but we will be ready to push in Lincoln.

The rear tires rub on the inside of the wheel well but a spacer should fix that. The aluminum mesh I used in the grille does not let enough air through but the coolant temp only rose too high after 3 or 4 hard laps, and dropped as soon as I took it easy. Even when I push the car too far, it comes back fairly easily but does get twitchy above 100 mph. I attribute this to the aero on the car, I think it starts to push one end down harder than the other at high speeds. On the way home I called the guy who did my engine tune and he immediately diagnosed my problem: I have the wrong spark plugs in the car. If it clears up the misfire, that car is going to be seriously fun.

 It was a lot of fun and if we can move our hands fast enough, it should do ok at autocross. However, the pivot cones are going to be a problem but fortunately, that is only a local problem.  I only have video of my very first drive of the car and Briget's first 3 drives because the battery in my GoPro crapped out. 

Briget on the track
 Mark on track
 Drive-by

Videos of running, driving and launching

 I got the new engine together and installed then took it for a little drive. Everything was looking good so I bolted the fenders on and tested components by launching the car hard at 3000 rpm. The sparks coming off the tires are from bits of metal shavings stuck in the slicks. Also, this T5 transmission always grinds going into reverse but I later found out that shifting into 5th before going into reverse cures the grindage.

Video of first start up of new engine

Video of first drive

Video of first hard launch

Video of second hard launch

Video of third hard launch

Video of fourth hard launch

Epic Fail

I installed the fuel rail and  hooked up the wiring to the injectors and was bolting on the upper intake manifold when disaster struck. The book calls for 34 Nm torque on the intake bolts and my 3/8" clicker torque wrench has the gradients etched into the shaft (10,20,30, etc) and smaller gradients (1,2,3 etc) in the part that twists around. The top gradient in the shaft is 29 Nm so I turned the handle up to that, then added 5 more to get 34 Nm, the recommended torque. The wrench definitely clicked but then I felt a pop, the pictures explain the rest.

So, the intake is junk and it's cast aluminum that is difficult to weld.

Pushrods and rocker arms

On a small block Ford, getting the right pushrod length is critical to engine longevity. since I changed the heads, I needed to re-check pushrod length.  I neglected to take pictures of a lot of the process but will try to explain it properly without them. I began by disassembling one of the hydraulic lifters and placing washers inside to simulate the lifter being in the pumped up position while the engine was running. Then I cut a stock pushrod in half, drilled and tapped it for a small threaded rod and made it's length adjustable. I could have purchased an adjustable pushrod but then I would have had to order it, pay $35 and wait several weeks for it to arrive.

Adjustable pushrod

I took a Sharpie and made the top of the valve stem black, then installed the pushrod and the roller rockers according to the manufacturers instructions. After turning the engine over four full rotations, a line would be worn in the Sharpie ink. By adjusting the length of the pushrod and repeating the process, I could determine what length I needed to get the rocker arm pushing down directly in the middle of the valve stem. Once I had that, I could measure the pushrod and order the length I needed.

I ordered these Manley 6.5" pushrods from Kens Kustom Machine

And installed all the pushrods and rockers per Comp Cams instructions.

Porting the GT40 Intake

The GT40 intake manifold was available on 5.0 powered Ford Explorers, and it didn't take long for Mustang guys to figure out that it makes more power than the Mustang intake. It was a cheap improvement for my stock Mustang 5.0 but with the new heads and cam, it wasn't enough. I looked at some aftermarket intake manifolds and they are all so expensive. Then I stumbled upon a guy who claims to port GT40 intakes to make the same or more power than aftermarket intakes, with dozens of dyno graphs to prove it. His method of porting is written up here: How to port GT40 intake

I followed the directions and here are some pictures:

I took an intake gasket and glued it onto a new head

Then I used a die grinder to open the gasket up to match the port shape and size

I transfered the shape to the intake manifold

And opened it up with the die grinder. I did a bunch more smoothing out of the port after this picture was taken

Before

After

Bushings and balljoints

With the engine out, it was easier to replace the suspension bushings and ball joints.

The old upper control arm bushings were rubber and falling apart

The new ones are polyurethane and considerably harder, which should be better for handling

 

 

The old rubber lower control arm bushing

And the new one

Here is the lower control arm in place. There is a single shaft that goes through both ends of the inside lower control arm and the shaft on each side of the car was seized in place. It took a lot of heat and hammering to get them out. On the original Jag, the shaft slid in from the engine side but I reversed that so I can remove the lower control arm with the engine still in.

The old ball joint is on the right and it was adjusted by changing shims. The ball is actually in very good shape but I replaced them with a sealed until like the one on the left, which weighs less, too.