Over the past few days I have been slowly going over the engine bay looking for wiring problems. A combo of the heat generated in the engine bay and age of the car resulted in a bunch of wires needing replacement. I am replacing a few of the key wires completely and repairing others where needed. I ran a new 4 gauge alternator wire to the starter solenoid (where power is then distributed). The reason I went with a 4 gauge is so if I decide to go with a 3g alternator you need the bigger wire to support the increased amps. I still need to get a fuse before I finish hooking it up. I was reading that the 3g alternators give you the same amp’s at idle then a stock alternator at 5000 rpm’s, I think that may be my next upgrade.
The old wiring harness, pulled it out so I could get working on cleaning it up and re-routing it. I had to extend a few wires so I could tuck it into the fender.
The new alternator wires, I have them nice and high away from the exhaust so they wont fry like the last ones.
Below is where I still have to clean up wires, however its showing the new 4 gauge wire that needs to be terminated at the solenoid still.
So, everything is running. I’ve been babying it around trying to break in the clutch. Everything seemed OK until I went out to belmore last Friday. I literally pulled in the lot, parked, then the car died. It would turn over, but would not start! So after freaking out for a little, my buddy came over and we ran to 7-11 to get a flash light. Checked everything, and we noticed there was some arching going on near the coil. After it cooled down, the car started up.
I changed the coil to a MSD Blaster 3 (hoping that was the issue). I also changed the plugs, cap and rotor. I went out the other night in the car for a ride, and when I got back home it died again. This time I was out in the street right in front of my house. Again it wouldn’t fire up. I let it sit for 20 min, then bamm it fired right up.
After searching the net, it seems that this could be a TFI issue (Ignition Module). The issue seems to be heat related, because when the car is cold it’s fine. So I ran out to SK-Speed and picked up a new Accel TFI module, a set of wires, and a ground strap. I installed the new TFI and wires tonight, hopefully tomorrow I’ll do the new ground strap. I need to figure out where to put it. So hopefully the issue is the TFI, once this rain stops I’ll be able to test it out. If it runs well, it might be time for a dyno tune!
Here are some pics from last weekend.
Oh, and I also re-organized my shed. Built a work bench, tool/rake holder and a short bench (to keep stuff off the floor). Came out pretty good, shed is nice and clean/organized now.
Figured I’d post some before and aftershots of the the new Headlights I just put on my Mustang. The ones that were on there were these Euro on piece designs that looked like crap. They were also cracked and leaking, when I washed the car it was like a fish tank in there. (pictures below)
Just a small update on the project also… Rear main seal, new clutch (MMR RBT700), pilot bearing (Ford), throw out bearing (Ford), and flywheel (Ford) are in. I have to bolt up the cross member to the tranny, I had to modify it for the new 3550 TREMEC that we put in. Down the road I’ll have to get that welded so there is no shifting. I also need to hook up the clutch cable and make sure that’s OK and test it before I bolt the exhaust back up. After that I should be good to go, and hopefully no problems. The new clutch requires a 450 mile break in of stop and go. The clutch should handle the power OK, it seemed to get good reviews on the various mustang forums.
During some of the downtime I clayed the car and used a paint cleaner. It looks pretty good for its age, hopefully tonight I’ll apply the polish and get the wax on sometime this weekend. The car has a ton of scratches and other issues, but for a 23 year old car it looks pretty good. If I have everything rolling this weekend I’l really like to get the undercarrige of the car cleaned up, I was thinking of putting it on jack stands in the driveway and getting some engine degreeser underthere and spraying it down. I tried to wipe most of the old oil off around the tranny area from the old rear main seal leaking with some break cleaner when I was putting in the tranny. I need to read up more on detailing the engine bay as well, its pretty dirty in there. (any suggestions welcome!)
Headlight pictures
Old Look:
New Look:
With Parking Lights On:
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