Rustoration of 1991 FOXBODY Mustang GT as a Cobra Clone

 Some wire brush, flap disc, a little weld, a shot of primer and black paint and I have added an inch and a half to the passenger side tank strap. The new tank is just a little more round where the pump sits. I cut the old tank up to recycle it and the old baffle had also broken off on 1 side and would probably have worked it's way loose.  There was some good rust at the bottom where the water was gathered under the gas.

So I had to take a break from the project. Working on my back on the gas tank caused some tension in my lower left shoulder and after a nap the next day it went into a knot/spasm. Instead of jumping back on the tank I did some wiring. I didn't like the loose spade connectors at the ignition coil so I replaced it with a new pigtail. At the same time the tach signal wire which went to the msd box was wrapped and re ran to the drivers side fender and spliced into the negative side of the coil. Now it's all wrapped and clean. While I was under the dash I found the reason why the car would start without the clutch pedal being depressed. You can clearly see the jumper wire scabbed with good old twist and tape method to the saftey switch which was plugged into the clutch pedal. Before fixing I tested the switch with a multimeter for connection when pressed and it worked just fine.  I could understand if the switch was broken and they needed it to run, but this unsafe hack is finally g...

Tomorrow the new neoprene will come for the pads. I measured the straps and marked my cut lines, the other vertical line is just a size measurement for the piece i am going to scab in. The strap measures 1.5 mm thick and I have some 18 gauge that is 1.4 mm thick which should be perfectly strong.  I put my hands above the tank and the tank hits right were the pads sit so it's not crushing a line or miss aligned just taller.   

So I tore the neoprene tank pad, not bad but it will trap water. I removed the rest of the pads with a razor scraper. I looked for replacement and I found a $55 pad kit and 1/4 inch thick neoprene roll for $18 shipped. I think I can handle cutting the 3 shapes since I have the old pads to trace.

So not a smooth process, but it's getting done.  The old tank came out pretty easy. Shuffled it down with some scrap wood, the floor jack and a skate board. Taking the old tank out I stuck a wooded block between theneck and the frame rail lower the drivers side and pryed a 2x3 board between the tank and the frame. I took the tank to the outside work bench, aka the trash can tops, brushed the dirty off. Drained about 2 gallons of some pretty nasty fuel. I mean it half smelled like fuel looked like milky whiskey.  The fuel filter was on backwards so that might have been my flow problem. Changed that for a nice new wix filter. The fuel sender top is pretty rusty but the pump assembly was ok. Swapped in the new pump, hose, clamps and screen. I'd change both housings next time I was in there but I will be treating rust in that area in the future. No holes in the trunk floor yet but it needs roughly 3 small patches and a good clean and paint, so I will get under there again.  I...

 So I grabbed a fuel pump from a friend with a new edge gt. I forgot the new edges use a return less fuel system. The pump doesn't run all the time so it's in debate if it will work. In a foxbody housing. I'd hate to put her together and it doesn't work so it's worth the money to get the right part. If it was more accessible I would mess with making the new edge pump work. With some clever shopping I found a fuel pump delivered for $40. The Delphi and Denzo pumps are basically double the price.

So while I await the fuel system stuff, I am solving the dome light staying on problem.  The door switches prove out and break the circuit.  The wiring from the drivers seat to the hatch is questionable at best. I thought I had it solved but I must have made a mistake. I know where the splice is under the drivers seat and I found the cut connector on the hatch latch. I also found yee ole speaker wire from the corner of the hatch, through to the third brake light. Its passed through a bolt hole with no protection from rubbing.

So after the second run I was able set the base timing, it is clear the fuel system is not providing enough fuel. It hunts for idle because of the cam, runs happy for 10 seconds and starts starving for fuel and running lean. That guess is based on headers getting super hot in the 30 seconds its actually running. The cause is certainly a clogged filter, but that clogged filter is caused by rust in the tank which I saw when draining the old fuel. I ordered a new filter and screen but without dropping the tank i decided to just replace the tank and the pressure regulator in 1 go.  The filter and screen are coming from rockauto and the tank, fill grommet and pressure regulator are from amazon.  I have an old stock pump from a friend that will be plenty for a street car and was upgraded out of a running low mile car. The only other part i might need is the in tank connector hose. I also ordered a new coil connector to finish up the engine bay wiring. I need to tie all the wires bac...

After the first start I noticed the speedo cable touching the headers. The solution although a bit hackish, is a section of hose placed over the front brake line coming off the stock proportioning valve, a hose clamp and a bit of galvanized mechanics wire looped around the speedo cable holding it a half inch away from the header.  The battery relocation is complete. Now that I have the final wire length i drilled 2 holes in the sail panel and will come up with a bit of trim to cover the wires on top of the hatch carpet.  A good threaded hold down bracket holds the battery firmly inside a marine box The box is trimmed to sit around the hold down. The 140 amp breaker is missing the cover and will get a rubber battery terminal cover. 

So I decided to smoke test the intake and the vacuum system. After sending 4 minutes of constant smoke through the vacuum tree the only little wisps I see are at the TPS and IAC and they are so minor I wouldn't try to improve the seal. I sealed the throttle body with a ziplock bag under under the intake pipe. Then I decided to start it again and other then a little smoke from the headers and the throttle cable touching it idles enough to set the timing. It doesn't like when you give it gas because the timing is out. (I later find out a clogged fuel system is probably the culprit) You see the speedo cable touching the drivers side header.