Black Gold 380R's 65 Mustang Build Thread

Black Gold 380R

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So, on Saturday my Dad and brother came over and we were going to install the engine and transmission. During mock up, I installed the engine by itself and then installed the transmission from under the car because the clutch was not on it and I did not need to line anything up except the dowel pins on the transmission. No problem during mock up LOL.

However, during the assembly process I felt because of the clutch and hydraulic throwout bearing it would be easier to assemble everything as a unit.

Boy was I WRONG! We fought for 2 hours trying to get the engine and transmission in as a unit.

I apologize, but since I was fighting with this thing I did not take too many pictures of the installation process. I was stressing out trying to get this engine and transmissions in "while" keeping it from scratching my engine bay. More so the firewall than anything else.

I tried to get everything set up before my Dad and brother arrived so we could just focus on the install.
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My Dad and brother arrived around 9 AM and we went to work. I explained to them what the plan was and we tried to execute it. Once we got everything in the engine bay we could "NOT" get the oil pan behind the cross member mounts due to it being a rear sump oil pan and having kick outs for more oil. My Dad suggested we take the oil pan off and then place the oil pan on the cross member and then lower the engine on to it. However, we could not get the engine far enough back and high enough to fit the oil pan in it's location. So, after fighting with it for 2 hours I told them we have to install them separately as that's how I installed it during mock up.
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Now, once the engine and transmission were separated the engine itself dropped right into place. I was thinking the transmission was going to be a major headache. So, we loaded the transmission on to my floor jack and put it in place. I was on the driver's side, my brother on the passenger side and my Dad was working the jack. My brother was watching the input shaft alignment and I was watching the dowel pin/bellhousing alignment. As my Dad raised the transmission I seen that everything appeared to be lined up. So, I told my brother to push the transmission while I also pushed. The damn thing went right in with "NO" problems.

My Dad was asking me why we didn't do it this way in the first place. Said we wasted 2 hours trying to do it the other way. LMAO!!! All I could do was tell him I thought it would be more difficult doing it with the transmission and engine separate. However, it took us less than and hour to do them separately. And we were done with everything (to include cleanup by 12:30).

Now, I have to admit that trying to install the engine and transmission as a unit I put one very small nick on the firewall behind the passenger side head. I touched it up and you can't even see it. The hoist attachment mounted to the head went through the cardboard and barely touched the paint. Damn it! Oh well, it's all good....
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Black Gold 380R

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After my Dad and brother left I took a break and then went back in the garage to do a few more things.

First thing I did was to make sure my measurements panned out and I got my rack lines out of the way of my oil pan. SWEET! All the lines clear.....
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You know the next thing I did was put the stack injection set up on top of the engine LOL (It's just set up there. Not installed).
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After that I just had to remove the cardboard to see that engine up against the new paint. Look at that stack injection reflection in the paint.... Holy crap I love this!
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I still need to cut and buff the grill cover, but I just had to put it in place with the Ringbrother's hardware. Damn! This is so awesome!
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I still can't get over the reflection of the engine in the engine bay panel.....
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And this picture right here made up for all the stress I was going through during the install. This also made my disappointment with the minor scratch go away too. Man, I cannot tell you guys how happy I am with the results so far. Now this makes me proud of what I have accomplished thus far.

Time to finish the assembly process. The last major hurdle I have (besides making it run LOL) is getting my side stripes fixed. Oh well, I'm going to enjoy this before I decide to stress myself again LOL.

WOO HOO.... I love this!!!!! I have been dreaming of this inside my head for years. It's so awesome to be able to see my vision becoming a reality.....
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Black Gold 380R

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Oh my that is gorgeous looking engine compartment. And remember. View attachment 1708953View attachment 1708954

Thank you Grabber!

LOL, that is true. Some times there is no plan "B", because you were so sure plan "A" would work. But then plan "A" doesn't work and you're forced to come up with a new plan and realize you never should have attempted plan "A" in the first place LMAO!!!!!

Funny how life teaches you those lessons sometimes :D.
 
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Black Gold 380R

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Hello everyone,

I know some of you won't like this (I don't like the way it looks either), but this is a safety issue.

I do not want to put side view mirrors on this car. I think it will detract from the overall look I'm going for. I have put mirrors up against the side of the car just to see if I can find something that works and I just can't find anything I like. I even looked at the bullet style mirrors and they don't work for me either.

So, I was watching videos and seen a Mustang running something like this, so I decided to look into it. This doesn't look great at all, but the good thing is while I'm driving I'll be able to see and when I get home or to my destination I can remove it.

My wife is worried this may fly off, but the rubber base is sticky and it has a suction cup action. Once it was on I tried to take it off and it would not budge. Once I released the suction cup action I still needed to peel the rubber base off due to the stickiness of the base to the glass. I feel confident it will stay on during driving and can be removed once I'm at the show :D.

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Those of you with a sharp eye will notice me in the mirror. For those of you wondering what that is on my head, I received a set of Bose wireless headphones for Father's Day. So, I was wearing them while taking pictures LOL.
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Grabber70Mach

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I'm just spit balling here. Have you checked to see if any sort of side view cameras are offered that would be astectically pleasing and intregrate with your head unit in the center console. Wonder if through a relay setup if it could be activated to come on with turn signal activation.
 

Black Gold 380R

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I'm just spit balling here. Have you checked to see if any sort of side view cameras are offered that would be aesthetically pleasing and integrate with your head unit in the center console. Wonder if through a relay setup if it could be activated to come on with turn signal activation.

To be honest Grabber, I have not put a lot of thought into this. I wasn't going with anything at first. Figured I could just turn my head and check as I've never had side view mirrors on this car any way LOL. Then I seen the stick on side view mirrors and thought "Meh, that will work." LOL.

Even though a camera will be a lot smaller and give me a wider viewing field, I'm not sure I could find a place for it without it sticking out somewhere. I like the idea, but not sure how feasible it is in my application.

I'll have to do some research and see what's available.

Thank you sir! This is the part of this thread/build I enjoy the most. Feedback......
 

CobraBob

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That engine is, well, freaking stunning with those stacks. Wow!!!

Personally, I wouldn't overthink the side mirror. You found a solution that gives you visibility while driving and where you can remove the mirror when you get to the show venue. Sure, it's a bit fugly, but it's removable and accomplishes your goal. IMO leave it as two options. Install a year-correct mirror (which you don't want), or stick with the stick-on removable mirror.

This Mustang is going to be a real head turner when completed!
 

Black Gold 380R

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@Grabber70Mach,

I found these. They only need a 20MM hole to install. So, I picked them up. Figured I could find some place to mount them and if not they were only $26 and I'm sure I can find another use for them on a different vehicle.

I'm thinking of mounting them under the front bumper or under the rocker panel or under the side rear of the car and face them sideways to see how they work. I'll also run them in line with my back up camera so they will display on my head unit. I'll just hook them up to a switch to turn them on when I need to check my side view or blind spot. Knowing me if I tried to hook them up with my turn signals my image will be blinking with my turn signals LMAO!!!

We will see, but I think it's worth a shot and will be better than that stick on mirror LOL.....

Side view cameras.jpg
 

Black Gold 380R

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That engine is, well, freaking stunning with those stacks. Wow!!!

Personally, I wouldn't overthink the side mirror. You found a solution that gives you visibility while driving and where you can remove the mirror when you get to the show venue. Sure, it's a bit fugly, but it's removable and accomplishes your goal. IMO leave it as two options. Install a year-correct mirror (which you don't want), or stick with the stick-on removable mirror.

This Mustang is going to be a real head turner when completed!

Thank you Bob! You are always very kind my friend.

I hear you on the side view mirrors (I agree they are fugly LMAO). I wasn't going to spend too much time on it, but after reading @Grabber70Mach response I thought it might be kind of cool to get a little more technology integrated into this build. As mentioned above the cameras were very inexpensive and I can choose to run them or not if I can't find a suitable place to mount them.

I hope this car will get people's attention (It's nice when people appreciate your efforts). It did receive it's fair share of attention the last go around. But, as you mentioned, with those stacks it gets a lot more now. When I took the car to my fabricators shop all people noticed were the stacks and the engine bay wasn't even painted at the time LOL.

Thanks for the comments and discussions my friends.
 

01yellercobra

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I'm with Bob on the mirrors. Use the KISS idea for this one. At least for now. The side cameras are cool, but trying to blend them in will probably lead to more body work than you want to deal with right now. JMO.
 

Black Gold 380R

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I'm with Bob on the mirrors. Use the KISS idea for this one. At least for now. The side cameras are cool, but trying to blend them in will probably lead to more body work than you want to deal with right now. JMO.
I hear you Bob. I'll see how they work and look and go from there. I looked at a few places on the car that might work, but I'm not sure how the video will display at the angle I would have to place them on the car.

I may have to go with the KISS method, but will see how it goes.

Again, thanks for the conversation. I appreciate it.

Sent from my SM-G950U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

CobraBob

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Well, you've got the two options. If the camera idea doesn't work well for you, just KISS with the stick-on side mirrors.

Nice to see so many folks contributing with their ideas/thoughts as your project evolves.
 

Black Gold 380R

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Nice to see so many folks contributing with their ideas/thoughts as your project evolves.

I agree Bob. And it is very much appreciated! The set up of my center console and the back up camera are ideas that SVTP members have contributed too. So, there are things on my build that are there because of SVTP member contributions.
 

Black Gold 380R

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I just wanted to give everyone who is following this thread a heads up.

I'm going on 2 weeks vacation starting next week. During that time I will be spending most of the time working on the car, but will also be taking my wife on a mini trip to celebrate our anniversary.

Anyway, the way it may impact you guys is I will probably "not" be posting any updates for the next couple of Mondays. So, don't think I'm not doing anything LOL. I'm just on vacation :D.
 

01yellercobra

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I just wanted to give everyone who is following this thread a heads up.

I'm going on 2 weeks vacation starting next week. During that time I will be spending most of the time working on the car, but will also be taking my wife on a mini trip to celebrate our anniversary.

Anyway, the way it may impact you guys is I will probably "not" be posting any updates for the next couple of Mondays. So, don't think I'm not doing anything LOL. I'm just on vacation :D.
Llllaaaammmeeeee
 

Grabber70Mach

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I just wanted to give everyone who is following this thread a heads up.

I'm going on 2 weeks vacation starting next week. During that time I will be spending most of the time working on the car, but will also be taking my wife on a mini trip to celebrate our anniversary.

Anyway, the way it may impact you guys is I will probably "not" be posting any updates for the next couple of Mondays. So, don't think I'm not doing anything LOL. I'm just on vacation :D.
Really, who's got time for vacations when you've got a car to finish up?
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Seriously enjoy that time and the getaway with the better half. Happy Anniversary to you both.
 

Black Gold 380R

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Really, who's got time for vacations when you've got a car to finish up? Seriously enjoy that time and the getaway with the better half. Happy Anniversary to you both.

LMAO Grabber. I think the vacation time may get me ahead in the build time frame. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

Thank you for the well wishes for my anniversary. Greatly appreciated my friend.
 

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