Rustoration of 1991 FOXBODY Mustang GT as a Cobra Clone

 It makes noise, runs, drives, stops and spins the tires. Clutch was super grabby for a while and didn't have nearly any slip window. After about 20 minutes of playing with it, it was slipping enough to hill start. I dumped the clutch once to see if both wheels would spin and they surely did. Took it around the block a few times. Now that it runs and idles it must have gotten out of closed loop so I have to solve a CEL light, probably EGR was freed up. Then I can get an alignment done and have it inspected. I need to tighten up a few things like seat belts, loose wires, swap out a few cheap worm clamps. Ill put the ground effects and the hood back on. I left it off to watch for leaks and while the exhaust smokes off the mud that was inside the passenger side catalytic converter.  

The cross member is back in. The transmission harrnesses are all connected with the speedometer. The clutch cable is secured and I added a touch of thread sealant at the end of the cable threads and put the dust shield back on. I tighten the h-pipe to the headers and reinstalled the O2 sensors.  I still need to cinch the transmission mount, reinstall the drive shaft, starter motor and cables, the mid pipes and of course the shifter handle.  There some small interior pieces like the drivers side knee plate, steering column trim, shifter seal, tighten the drivers seat.

I have won the great h-pipe fight for a second time. This time I didn’t mess up my neck and shoulders doing it.  I was able to lift the h-pipe with a jack and a board and get 3 of the 4 collector flange nuts started but the 4th one fought with all its might. I leaned the motor back and lifted the back of the of the h-pipe close the where it sits with a stack of scrap wood. I ended up using a pry bar against the bell housing with my other arm jammed into the transmission tunnel holding the flange. I didn't bother with washers because I can go back and add them now that it's seated on the studs. Now I can slip the cross member and transmission mount in and bolt it up to the bottom of the tranny and jack it all back into place.

So today I torqued the bell housing bolts, and put the transmission back in.  It went in without a struggle. I left the shifter on so there was some up and down to pump the jack a little as I slid it into the bell then the throwout bearing and the through the clutch disc. It stopped at the pilot bearing and I Un-strapped it from the cradle and lifted the shift fork while pushing up and forward on the tail shaft and it dropped into the pilot bearing. Then I put the two bottom bolts finger tight and pushed up to seat the top bolts. Tomorrow I will seat the drive shaft and shave an inch off the passenger h-pipe tube. I need that to clearance the exhaust from the gas tank.  The stock H-pipe will the be able to go back, this time with the hanger, tranny mount and crossmember in 1 piece instead of fighting with the hangers.  I want to check the rear caliper bleeder because it looked wet last time i saw it.  I want to make sure it doesn't leak and ruin the finish on my rims...

Its official, i glued the clutch to the flywheel. But it came apart with no issues, and then I had to pry the clutch disc from the fly wheel. Cleaned everything with a bit of brake and a razor for the flywheel. Slapped the bell and clutch cable back together and put a board on the clutch pedal. I had left the clutch alignment tool so it wouldn't move when the pedal was pressed and it spins by hand.

Without any major trouble the bellhousing is back out.  The clutch had no play when locked in the down position so the pressure plate is coming off next. Having the adjustable cable definitely made removal a lot easier especially since the transmission is still hanging around, taking up space under the car. It's a chore to get it aligned back on the jack cradle so that's where it will stay. A little heat as we go, and a breaker bar holding the crank bolt still and everything should come free.

 well the transmission is back out.  Ran a ratchet strap around my little jack cradle twice and pushed the jack in from under the rad support. Last bolt, they were tight but not unreasonable. Here it is on the jack. Honestly the end shaft play is too much now, so i need to change out the bearing retainer and re-shim it. I will look at the clutch action tomorrow.

 After 3 sittings I was finally able to get the stock h-pipe back off.  The hanger bracket had to be unbolted from the transmission to get enough side to side play to unbind the header flanges. I rested the transmission on a 14 inch board to remove the hanger and crossmember. Then a board on a jack let me drop the h-pipe down and slide it out. I'll use my make-shift transmission holder and ratchet strap the transmission to the jack.  I also am going to leave the bell housing so I can reconnect the clutch cable and watch it to see if its releasing properly on the back of the clutch disc. Then we get to see how much heat it takes to get the red locktight on the pressure plate bolts loose.