Project: 2002 GT Track Only Kar

[white_2kgt]

Well, it seems I never had a thread for the HPDE car I got. So here's some updates.

It's a 2002 GT that I got last year sans engine/trans.


This car will be my daily driver and HPDE fun car while I work on the race car. As you may remember it had a Solid Axle drag race rear (spool, c-clip elims, etc) Not good for street driving or HPDE at all. So I found a guy w/ an 04 cobra that wanted it, so I got his IRS.

Here's the solid,


and the IRS,


Fast forward a few months. Pete came up and we tore into it. Engine went in, IRS went in little bits went together here and there. Went it came to plug the engine into the car's wiring harness we hit a brick wall. Ford, decided to change the wiring for no good reason in 2002. So nothing plugged in. When I put the 01 4v in my 2000 GT everything just plugged in and we were ready to go. Not so w/ a 2002. So after screwing around with different wiring harnesses for a few hrs we gave up and started working on some other things.

Fast forward a few more months and I had tried to make an adapter harness for the engine so I wouldn't have to cut up my engine harness or the car's wiring harness. With pete there again and after we had buttoned up a few other little odds and ends we tried to crank it, I got an awful buzzing from a relay module that controls the fuel pump and spark, not good. So we ditched working on the 02 and started tearing the 2000 apart (cutting cage, etc).

Now, about a month ago I got serious about getting the car running b/c I wanted to make the MM show, so I started working on it. I had a 2002 GT engine harness that I modified to work on a 2001 Cobra engine, no adapter needed. I got it ready, plugged it up and still had the relay buzz. I worked on it for about 8hrs one day tracing down wiring (keep in mind I have a 3" thick binder with wiring diagrams, pinouts etc, not easy nor fun. This was 2 days before the show. When I didn't get it figured out I gave up, which is why I didn't make it. I finally traced down the problem (missing 2 grounds) fixed it tried to fire up the motor, no dice. Starter wouldn't engage. Back to the diagrams. Tracing the starting circuits, found out that 'something' wasn't sending +12v to the starter relay, so I did what any good mechanic would, jumped it (basically just bypassing part of the wiring harness that goes to the automatic transmission harness, remember the 2000 GT use to be an auto and so did the 2002). Got that fixed and started it up, On Sunday after the show, It sound like a 2 cent hooker getting beat up with a sack of nickels while a gang of whops have their way with her, yea missing about 3 cylinders (when a v8 is missing 3 cylinders it tries to rip itself from the motor mounts). I knew it was the bastard wiring harness I made, some of the plugs wouldn't engage the COPs (things on the spark plugs). So I found a guy w/ a 99 Cobra harness w/ the correct connectors this past Monday, made a new engine harness (22 connectors, ~50 solider points) on Tuesday, put it on last night and fired up the engine, all 8 cylinders kicking, everything working great!



So I put the exhaust back on and started really finishing things up, like putting the RADIO back in! Yea! Radio in a mustang that I own! OMG!!!



I still have to get some new calipers for the front, my brembo's won't clear the stock tires and I need to put the seats in, after I shampoo the carpet (a dirty little guido owned the car before me and it still kind of smells like a cannoli). Then figure out how to put the headliner in and make it look good w/ the sunroof. Should have my tags back next week sometime so I can start driving it around.

I'll get some more pics of the interior and rest of the car up soon, but that's where I stand now w/ the HPDE car.

[ScottyB]

sweet, i like reading about your builds...always something crazy

[PDenbigh]

Looks great man! Looking forward to hearing how it feels on the open road!

[Dave]

On Sunday after the show, It sound like a 2 cent hooker getting beat up with a sack of nickels while a gang of whops have their way with her.

Wow, that was pretty vivid.

Awesome to hear you got this going. How many mustangs does that leave now? My count is the HPDE/DD car, slimer, and old 007. So, will this be seeing track time at the HizzyFizzy?

[white_2kgt]

On Sunday after the show, It sound like a 2 cent hooker getting beat up with a sack of nickels while a gang of whops have their way with her.

Wow, that was pretty vivid.

Awesome to hear you got this going. How many mustangs does that leave now? My count is the HPDE/DD car, slimer, and old 007. So, will this be seeing track time at the HizzyFizzy?

yea, 007 is about to get the ax, once I get the HPDE car running and out of the garage 007 comes in and gets the sawzall then taken to the scrap yard, then I'll get to work on Slimer.

Yes, the 02GT will be seen at Hyperfest 8)

[Feersty]

Very nice. I'll keep you informed whether I may need some help with suspension stuff.

[white_2kgt]

Good Day,
Got most of the interior back together,


I have the drivers seat in now, just need to get some bolts for the passenger. And I need a seatbelt latch for the rear passenger,



Got the brakes on and gave them a quick bleed, must not have been good enough so I'll have to get the wife out there to pump a little. So I started filling it with fluids and wanted to bring the motor up to temp. After about 5 minute idling I looked under to check for leeks and found this,


Ah shit.

[ViPER1313]

Clogged cats or is it just running that rich?

[white_2kgt]

Clogged cats or is it just running that rich?

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I think I may still have a missing cylinder and the COP's not hitting and dumping raw fuel into the exhaust, then when it hits the cat gets trapped and burns.

[PDenbigh]

Wow! I've never seen that much exhaust glow! Not even on the XR!

Would that be a rich mixture, or a lean mixture, causing it to get that hot?

Did you have any cats on it when it flipped? If so, I'm sure all that oil wasn't good for them. I don't seem to remember you having any though.

Hmm. This is an interesting one...

[Ginger]

Wow, those are HOT. At first glance I was looking at the fluid on the garage floor and trying to figure out why Adam was talking about running rich.. I thought the big red thing was red anodized suspension member or something.

[white_2kgt]

Wow! I've never seen that much exhaust glow! Not even on the XR!

Would that be a rich mixture, or a lean mixture, causing it to get that hot?

Did you have any cats on it when it flipped? If so, I'm sure all that oil wasn't good for them. I don't seem to remember you having any though.

Hmm. This is an interesting one...

no, there were no cats on the car, hell there wasn't much of a muffler on it. I'm going to go out tomorrow and start pulling injector wires on that side (PITA b/c of the intake) and see if the engine sounds different when I start pulling. If nothing changes I'm going to order a new mid-pipe and assume it's a clogged cat.

[HAULN-SS]

heh, you should just leave it for cool looks ;x

[Dave]

that's nuts.
BTW, did the title change?

[Steve85]

How far down the exhaust is that?

Timing can cause that as well. Too late and combustion in process is pushed out of the exhaust valve. That usually shows up in the headers though.

[white_2kgt]

that's nuts.
BTW, did the title change?

Title? Of this thread? This is a new Thread.

How far down the exhaust is that?

Timing can cause that as well. Too late and combustion in process is pushed out of the exhaust valve. That usually shows up in the headers though.

Thats about 8" from the manifold so about 1 foot from the heads.

I was thinking timing but it only happened on one bank (passenger, not drivers side) and to effect individual cylinder timing isn't easy in these motors, and didn't change the global timing at all. I don't have long tube headers, just stock manifolds. I'm really starting to think it's a plug not firing and the spent gas is being pushed into the exhaust and the cat is catching it and trying to burn it, with a cylinders worth of gas coming every few seconds it would make sense.

[PDenbigh]

If it's an injector, wouldn't that have been happening for 1/2 of last season?

[Steve85]

Thats about 8" from the manifold so about 1 foot from the heads.

I was thinking timing but it only happened on one bank (passenger, not drivers side) and to effect individual cylinder timing isn't easy in these motors, and didn't change the global timing at all. I don't have long tube headers, just stock manifolds. I'm really starting to think it's a plug not firing and the spent gas is being pushed into the exhaust and the cat is catching it and trying to burn it, with a cylinders worth of gas coming every few seconds it would make sense.

I agree, if it's only in one bank, prolly not timing.

Do you have one of those infra-red thermometers? They are great for finding the misfires, especially in fords where the center exhaust ports aren't tied together. Point and shoot at the manifolds the misfirng cylinder will read 100+ degrees cooler.

[white_2kgt]

If it's an injector, wouldn't that have been happening for 1/2 of last season?

Well, ok, not the injector, but the wires going to the injector, remember, I'm running a Frankenstein wiring harness.

I agree, if it's only in one bank, prolly not timing.

Do you have one of those infra-red thermometers? They are great for finding the misfires, especially in fords where the center exhaust ports aren't tied together. Point and shoot at the manifolds the misfirng cylinder will read 100+ degrees cooler.

No infrared pyrometer but I do have a probe type that might just do the trick...

[white_2kgt]

Well after a lot of head (and butt) scratching I'm pretty sure I have it figured out. After talking to some 5.0 guys they said that they've had the same problem (cat on fire) when they switched 2 spark plug wires. So I pulled out the multimeter and checked all the COP's back to the ECU, sure enough I had #2/3 switched (the wires were red/white, white/red, so I'm sure I put them on backwards). I swapped them and started the car up but it still ran like crap, I couldn't give it any gas or it would bog down and die. I pulled the chip out and retuned it, this time disabling the Knock Sensors (they are no longer hooked up). Plugged the chip back in, started it up and now she revvs free and seems to be running pretty good. I'm having some problem w/ my datalogger software and wideband but as soon as I get that working and verify everything is ok, I'll get it to the dyno and confirm the engine's not hurt.

woohoo!