At this stage we are simply looking her over and getting to know her as we make ready to put her under the proverbial knife. It was during this process that we found something very interesting.

Here we are inspecting her engine bay and found that the Whipple belt wrap pulley is missing; now initially we thought that the installer had elected not to use it and incorporated a smaller belt to compensate for this however after a few phone calls it was confirmed that the belt wrap idler pulley was in fact installed as such has come off at some point in time. We can see no associated damage with it doing so but suspect that we will find it within the belly pans once removed. [ View Pictures ]
We are now placing her on fixtures and removing her clamshell so that we can begin the process of removing her transaxle. It will during this process that we will also be looking for evidence that a Whipple belt wrap snout pulley existed.
Here we have her on fixtures and the process is unfolding. [ View Pictures ]
Once on fixtures we removed the remaining belly pan and here is what we found; the mystery Whipple belt wrap snout pulley; a replacement has been ordered as we would not take a chance on these pieces having been damaged during their travels. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are removing and disassembling the driver seat so that it can be lowered. We were told that up until now every time this gal is at an event where the use of a helmet is desirable an alternate seat has had to be put in place; once the lowering process has been completed this should no longer be required. [ View Pictures ]
We will now be preparing the engine bay by masking all exposed areas to insure that no secondary damage occurs during the process of removing the transaxle. Our major objective is always to have the gal once completed appear as though no one has touched her.
Here we are beginning the process of protecting the surfaces within the gal's engine bay. [ View Pictures ]
Here is one of 6 examples of stainless steel hardware that either twisted off aka broke or had to be cut off because stainless steel and exhaust do not play well together; in fact in almost all cases the process of galling occurs making future servicing difficult at best. [ View Pictures ]
Here is one of the baffles as originally placed in the IDA "X pipe"; as with every one of these systems the baffles design that they used not only did not work but always burned out. [ View Pictures ]
Here the IDA "X pipe" has finally; after much effort been successfully removed. [ View Pictures ]
Here we have removed the transaxle cooler hoses as we get closer to removing the transaxle; we protect the exposed threaded bungs in the transaxle case with AN caps and then cover the caps with rubber boots so that no damage is caused because if any they will leak. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are in a very careful and methodical manner removing the transaxle. The process is not mechanically difficult however the extra care taken insures that no secondary damage is caused during the process. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are removing the OEM clutch stack because we will be tending to the flywheel prior to installing the new performance AP clutch as offered by Stillen. During this process all of the securing hardware will be replaced with new OEM hardware. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are removing the OEM flywheel; we will be closely inspecting its overall condition and as long as it is within OEM specifications it will be machine surfaced otherwise it will be replaced with a new OEM flywheel. During this process all of the securing hardware will be replaced with new OEM hardware. [ View Pictures ]
Here her engine bay has been freed of all the protective blankets and the bulk of the protective materials. As can be seen, she came through the process completed unscathed. Now prior to integrating the transaxle back into her we will once again mask and protect all of the exposed surfaces. The reason that we do not leave her wrapped aka protect until that time is because now we can detail her engine bay so that once the transaxle is back in position she will appear fresh; as if new. [ View Pictures ]
Now we will be removing several of the interior pieces as we make her ready to receive the cool 30 PSI vacuum/boost gauge as created by Michael aka FreeFlyer. During this phase there is no such thing as using too much protective paper tape and cloth covers because we will be removing the OEM magnesium center console followed by the instrument cluster.
Here we have removed the OEM Macintosh subwoofer and amp assembly so as to create the space required to easily remove the OEM magnesium center console. [ View Pictures ]
Here after methodically wrapping the exposed surfaces of the OEM magnesium center console so as to insure that no secondary damage occurred it has been removed affording us the access needed to route the custom wiring harness for the custom vacuum/boost gauge. [ View Pictures ]
Here after carefully protecting the OEM gauges and the surrounding surfaces the instrument cluster was removed. Now we will make it ready to receive the OEM appearing 30 PSI vacuum/boost gauge. [ View Pictures ]
During the process of massaging this gal other performance and personal touch items were considered as such she is now to receive the very cool rear bumper delete system as created by The GT Guys and a wonderful set of thermal ceramic coated headers. It is as the direct result of these additions that we have not set her transaxle back into place wanting to take advantage of the additional room to work with it out. We have however continued to tend to the other items as we continue to make her ready to be exercised.
Here we are installing the OEM flywheel along with new OEM hardware after having the surface of it prepared for the new Stillen/AP performance clutch assembly. [ View Pictures ]
Here the new Stillen/AP clutch assembly is being methodically integrated. During this process we used all new OEM hardware and then methodically torque everything into place as recommended. [ View Pictures ]
Here we have the OEM bulkhead access panel removed so that we could route the custom wing harness for the wonderful OEM appearing 30 PSI vacuum/boost gauge as created by Michael aka FreeFlyer. The custom harness is a plug and play setup at the instrument cluster however within the gal's engine bay it connects to a 3bar MAP sensor used exclusively for the new custom gauge. In addition having the bulkhead access panel removed gives us the access needed to bleed the high point of the clutch system. Once the bulkhead access panel was removed we went through the process of removing the very messy OEM urethane substance used to seal it and will use a very nice reusable molded seal as created by Jay aka GT Saver when we seal this area. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are integrating the custom OEM appearing 30 PSI vacuum/boost gauge into the OEM instrument cluster. During this process we take great measures to insure that no secondary damage is caused. [ View Pictures ]
Here the OEM half shaft hardware is being removed; these pieces are Ford's 3 rd Generation system and likely a good system and yet since we have continued to use and recommend the hardware as furnished by AccuFab because to date there have been no failures. The hardware as presented by AccuFab was created as a joint venture between AccuFab and ARP with ARP likely being the world's most recognized performance hardware supplier. In one of the pictures you can see spikes coming off the washer; this is the OEM sealant TA-16 and demonstrates how it is migrated into the half shaft coupler splines so as to insure that no transaxle oil is able to migrate out. [ View Pictures ]
We are expecting the headers back from the coaters as well as the rear bumper delete system from The GT Guys any day at which point we will promptly be making her ready to have her transaxle put back into place.
We will now be installing the AccuFab half shaft hardware, removing the OEM exhaust manifolds, and putting the gal's transaxle back into place. Along with these items we will also be completing as few other items within the gal's engine bay such as the custom vacuum/boost gauge integration by installing the custom machined and polished MAP sensor bracket and completing the associated plumbing and wiring and then also installing the new Whipple supercharger belt wrap pulley because as stated early on in this project the original had fallen off during days gone past. During this project the driver seat was lowered as such we will be assembling and installing it back in the car during which time we will also be able to completely reassemble her interior.
Here we are methodically installing the AccuFab half shaft hardware. [ View Pictures ]
Here we have removed the OEM exhaust manifolds as we make her ready to received her new header back exhaust system. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are installing the custom machined and polished MAP bracket, the MAP sensor, and the associated plumbing and wiring. [ View Pictures ]
Here we have installed the new Whipple supercharger belt wrap pulley. [ View Pictures ]
Here we have reassembled the interior leaving only the lowered driver seat to follow. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are reassembling and installing the driver the seat after it was lowered. [ View Pictures ]
Here the very careful and methodical process of installing the transaxle back into the gal is being completed. During this process you will see that we use an extreme measures that include a large number of protective blankets to insure that no secondary damage occurs; the process of removing and installing a transaxle back into these gals is not terribly difficult however the risk of secondary damage is very high if one is not very careful. [ View Pictures ]
We finally received the headers back from the coater and even though we were a bit frustrated because of the timeline associated with the process the results were nothing less than stellar; as such we can finally get this gal closer to being exercised again. The frustration in this case stemmed from the fact that a mere 12 hours after the exhaust arrived she was scheduled to be on the dyno being tuned; nothing like down to the proverbial wire. We completed the integration process and fired her at 6:00am; a mere 4 hours before her date with the dyno.
Here the transaxle has been completely installed along with all associated hardware; all that remains as this time is the integrating of the new exhaust and the installation of the transaxle cross-member. [ View Pictures ]
Here is the new thermal ceramic coated exhaust is being integrated into the gal; great care is taken during this process to insure that no secondary cosmetic damage is caused to the engine bay as well as the new exhaust system. We also installed a thermal wrapping on the collector portion of the exhaust next to the starter solenoid so as to protect it and the associated wiring from the heat. [ View Pictures ]
Here the OEM transaxle cross-member has been completed installed and all of the OEM torque values were used during this process; there are 8 smaller bolts that receive a modest torque value however the primary bolt at the upper center receives a healthy torque value. [ View Pictures ]
One of the many items to tend to while this gal is here is the tuning of her. Knowing this in advance we coordinated our schedule so we could tend to a few gals at the same time; in this case we had 3 wonderful gals to massage. Now we want to share a special thank you to TonY G of HP Performance who is both a great friend and a bit of a GURU when it comes to manipulating PCM bits and bytes; he magnanimously agreed to fly across the country to spend a very full the day with us during which it became a wonderful combined effort that produced stellar results.
Here she is being tuned; her rear bumper assembly and the clamshell was left off during this process because she is about to become bumper-less however the hardware simply did not arrive in time. [ View Pictures ]
As we shared there were 2 other gals massaged at the same time as such here are a few pictures of them participating in the dyno/tuning process as well as a video of one of them; sadly the video recording of the white gal was corrupted during the file transfer process as such cannot be shared. [ View Pictures ]
Now we will be integrating the wonderful rear bumper delete as created by The GT Guys. In addition we will also be putting fresh oil and a new filter in her so as to make her ready to be exercised.
Here we are integrating the rear bumper delete system; during this phase we will be disconnecting the OEM wiring harness from both bumper frame rail extensions and then removing the OEM bumper frame rail extensions which will be replaced with a pair of modified OEM bumper frame rail extensions. In addition we will be removing the OEM two piece rear screen and replacing it with the custom one piece screen. [ View Pictures ]
Here she is in all her glory now that the rear bumper delete system has been fully integrated. [ View Pictures ]
Sadly when installing the rear under body panel we found that one of the aluminum Nutserts was striped as such had to be drilled out and replaced with a new OEM Nutsert. We see this far too often and is typically caused by the Torx being over tightened when the under body panels are installed. [ View Pictures ]
Here we are upgrading the clamshell spring or better said; we are removing the OEM fixed point clamshell bump stop and it their place will be the springs as installed on the late 05 and 06 gals. This makes both the opening and closing of the clamshell easier and eliminate secondary noises associated when the fixed point clamshell bump stop and the clamshell rub against each other. [ View Pictures ]
Here she is receiving a fresh load of OEM oil and a new OEM oil filter. [ View Pictures ]
The day is near for this gal to travel back home to be exercised and enjoyed. The project as originally defined as well as the additional personal touch items added along the way have all been completed and now the clock is ticking as she is only hours away from leaving us. It was a wonderful project and the results are nothing less than stellar.
Here she is dialed to the 9's awaiting here carriage ride back home. [ View Pictures ]
The hour is upon us for this gal to be loaded and made ready for her journey back home. With rain and snow all around us we were fortunate to have a small window of dry to do so within. As she sat by the door awaiting this moment there was no doubt that even though she enjoyed her stay with us she was very anxious and excited to be heading back home where she will soon be able to play again.
Here she is being loaded and properly secured before her voyage home begins. [ View Pictures ]

[ Previous Section | Next Section ]