Build Thread : Project Crowdmower : Ford Chassis, Nissan Trans, And Chevy motor

[laextreme5]

SHE IS HOME





That is all.


new computer (1 of 2) by lawrx, on Flickr


new computer (2 of 2) by lawrx, on Flickr

 

[laextreme5]

Had a fairly productive weekend.

To start Friday night I was able to pull the dash and fenders. Reason being was 1 to pull rest of ac system out, and number two for access to the back of future welds. Ill be shaving and plugging holes in the dash and I wanted access for proper corrosion protection back there.

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After getting the dash out I started pulling out/off the engine bay harness. Whats not needed will be stripped and taken out. The rest of the useable stuff will be lengthened/shortened when necessary to tuck it nice and neatly after tube front end is on. Have an idea for where im going to mount most of the major components, just have to test it out and see if it will work.


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[laextreme5]

Saturday I spent most of the day helping out a friend with his Ls swapped turbo SN95 PROJECT. he just got it up and running and we were cleaning some things up and starting the tune process on it. Gave me some motivation for mine haha. While there I also picked up a set of wheels. They are junk XXR rep wheels (if you know me I **** replica wheels) but there sole purpose is to mount a set of tires on and drive on them while I sort everything out once its up and running. Basically a set of street wheels I will upgrade later down the road. He also had a spare truck oil pan that I picked up. I ended up selling the moroso to a local who needed it in a hurry.


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Come Sunday I was able to get some more work done while the baby and wife took a nap. First up I mocked up the new to me wheels. Perfect fit. I also had a new 5.3 harness come in ill be using for the pigtails to wire up the MS3 harness.Got it for pennies on the dollar so I don't feel bad chopping it up.

new computer (24 of 24) by lawrx, on Flickr

Next I mocked the motor up for various reasons. Plan out the turbo setup, plan where through the firewall I will be putting the harness etc. I also checked hood clearance to see if I had enough space for the high-rise. Looks like with some crossmember spacers I will be able to make it work.

new computer (4 of 18) by lawrx, on Flickr


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[paulyboy928]

Awesome! Love the attention to detail!

 

[laextreme5]

Alright, picking up where we left off somewhat.

Started working on the ms3pro harness. Pulled it inside, pages out of the manual in hand and started sorting through the wires. I had previously grouped all the specific type of wires together, analog inputs together, injectors, ignition, etc etc to make it a bit easier when I got this point.

Keep in mind. This is my first time ever building an engine harness. Ive done a few smal harness stuff here and there for headlights etc, but nothing like this. Still trying to figure out whats the best process and way to do this. Im still missing a few key components that help figure out exact wire length needed and whatnot, but those will come in time. I promise even tho all these pictures look the same progress is being made.... I hope.


new computer (1 of 18)-2 by lawrx, on Flickr



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With wires sorted, labels, grouped together etc it was time to bring it to the car and start laying it out. The ecu itself will be mounted just behind the glovebox for easy access incase it needs accessing. I tie strapped the plug there and started fishing the wires through. Initially I was going to run the harness through the firewall directly behind the intake manifold. But upon mocking it up, the harness will be too big and bulky and simply be too crammed in that tight space. So I will be using the large open area from the ac setup. Once its welded up ill be putting my plug there. It will be somewhat hidden as my catch can setup will be mounted in that little corner area between the firewall and the strut tower.

new computer (8 of 18)-2 by lawrx, on Flickr



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[laextreme5]

Once the ECU, firewall thru placement finalized and the harness ready to be strung out everywhere, I sat down and went through the manual to start drawing the few diagrams I would need to reference during the wiring process. this would make it easier as they would all be own one place in my notebook vs spread out over the manual on multiple pages. After that it was time to start stringing out the harness for lengths and routing. currently im running the signal wires that all go to the ecu. Once all routing and locations are finalized ill add in the 12v and sensor ground wires that all tie in to each other.


new computer (11 of 18)-2 by lawrx, on Flickr



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[laextreme5]

Alright. Large update from the past week.

First few new things. Made a list etc. Picked up some wire, need more wire. Everytime I read another section again of my MS3Pro manual I find another inout/output I want to add. Im here in it now I may as well add in every option I may want in the future as I don't want to tear my harness apart just to add in something in the future I didn't need at the time. I also picked up a "new" air shutter off a 17 crv. By new I mean we ordered a new one at work for a car and we only needed the shroud. Good news is we were about to throw it away and I had the grand Idea to make this build even more complicated and added it to the mustang.

If your not familiar with how these work, basically they are added to the front grill area, and above a certain speed they are activated and close, reducing the air going through the front end and reducing colling of the rad and condensor. They usually only come on on the interstate so cooling performance really isn't affected much. There are also a multitude of supercars that use similar systems. Pagani, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. as a active aero system to add/decrease downforce/drag for more cornering force. I intend to use it in the front upper grill opening on my front bumper in the scenario that honda uses it. To cut off a flow of air to through the front end to reduce lift, improver areo, and reduce drag. Obviously mine will be triggered at a much higher MPH than theirs, but its the same principle.


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Next I started on the dash to take a break from wiring a bit. I knew I was deleting the ac system, airbags etc to reduce weight. But I also wanted to see how much weight I could drop from the dash assembly. I knew I wouldn't be able to match the 6-10lb carbon skin replacements as I needed to leave in the crossbar for the steering column to bolt to. But I could remove all the radio, ac ducts, some bracing, airbags, and unused wiring etc to save some more weight.



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[laextreme5]

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[laextreme5]

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Alright, back to the main wiring. When id last left off id finished running all the signal wires. Or so I thought. (see list in first few images, which has been added to even more as typing this post haha)Picked up by starting to add in the sensor ground wires and 12v power wires, as well as the coil pack wiring. I started out running all the wires ad realized after adding them all in, there is ALOT more signal and 12c wires, which I will combining multiple wires into less so as less weight, less complexity, and fewer terminals needed on the firewall connection. SO far everything is running pretty smoothly. Ive changed a few routing of some wires but nothing major that required a major overhaul or entire restart.


new computer (1 of 36) by lawrx, on Flickr



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[laextreme5]

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[awful knawful]

Holy wires man!

 

[paulyboy928]

That's insane. You are one talented man taking on that wiring.

 

[laextreme5]

Was able to get a decent bit of work done the other night.

Started out by pulling the front lower control arms off. The wheels I previously posted about were in trade for these. I was planning on getting adjustable ones anyway so it worked out well. With the arms pulled I started with running the rest of the signal wires. With everything I've added in I've just about used up every available wire. The harness size continues to grow and grow.


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Also had another part come in. Some in the Facebook group LS Mustangs is good friends with one of the guys over at FCS fab, and got together and designed a catch can setup to fit in the space between the firewall and strut tower. It was originally designed for a fox body, but with some minor trimming it will easily work in my new edge.


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[laextreme5]

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new computer (13 of 25) by lawrx, on Flickr




With the new part mocked up it was back to running wires. As I've been going along I've been writing down on my tape list what needs to be done wiring wise. Happy to say that list is MUCH shorter now. Running all the wires is nearing completion. Im pretty much to the point where I need to buy more parts before I can make any more progress wiring wise.


new computer (17 of 25) by lawrx, on Flickr


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[laextreme5]

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[laextreme5]

Guys, its ****ing hot.

Last weekend I went out to work on the car, and just couldn't. It was sweltering. It doesn't help in the afternoon my garage is just beat on by the sun. I ended up running to Home Depot and picking up a saw to cut up the wood to make some stands. Other than that I did som mocking up on the water pump (sold the mezeire) and figuring out the alt. placement.


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Also was able to take som epics of the Solar eclipse today while at work. We only got 75% coverage here in New Orleans. Was still pretty neat regardless.




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[laextreme5]

It finally feels like fall down here in the south, finally. Only took till nearly ****ing November.

Got a few things knocked out. Buddy of mine has a new edge as well that was originally a v6 that he swapped to a v8, and his is a MUCH more street oriented car than mine, and he wanted my factory MACH sound system. It was def weight to me so I was more than hoary for him to take it off my hands and get some use out of it. That amp rack and HU were some heavy pieces. Had no clue how much weight was in them. Over the last serval months my garage has become increasingly full and I've ran out of places to put stuff. So I had to resort to stuffing things in the trunk.

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For now I pulled the harness back and out of the way. Wanted to be able to get. more clear look at a few things. Measured out where I could slightly modify to get the motor a little farther back etc. I want as much room as possible in front the motor for the turbo setup and ducting for the radiator.

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While outside for a bit the wife and son came out to enjoy the weather. Earlier in the day we had some rain with a cool front come through so it felt amazing outside. With the harness out of the way I turned my attention to the front suspension. In the coming week or so ill be ordering my tube front end, and i removed the front suspension for day acces all around it for fitting and welding it on. Sadly due to a previous owner wrecking the car im going to have to tow it to work and get it on the frame machine to pull and correct the damaged frame rail on the passenger side. Not a major issue, but a hinderance of an relatively easy install on the tube front end.

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[laextreme5]

Got a bit more done over the weekend, had some nice weather.

Had some staring rack bushings come in. These will allow me to mount the steering rack and show me max depth I can mount the motor with the motor plates. I also pulled the motor and trans so I can start shaving the firewall and clearancing for setting the motor back a tad bit more. AS well as prepping for the 417 motorsports front end currently en route. With the motor out I gave the engine bay a quick bath as it had dort and grim built up from over the years. Make it much easier to work on as well. As always I had my little helper out there with me. I also had to pull the motor with my jack and trans jack because a friend if mine is using it to work on his Foxbody Thanks a lot Blaine.

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[laextreme5]

Alright, a bit of catching up. Tube front end arrived. Stock stuff is cut off and tube front end is mocked up. Also threw on the fenders and grill for good measure. Just to make sure it looks like a car still after all this time.

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Next up was mocking up the motor and new radiator. The rad is from a 66 mustang. I opted for the billet rad lower mounts with the tube front end, and im happy that I did. Super nice pieces and one less thing to fab. Also had to cut a hole in the firewall to set the motor back as far as I would like. Also played with some ducting out the hood ideas. That will be figured out once fan setup is determined.

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With the motor, tube front end, and rad mocked up I threw the hood and bumper on to check some clearances. I had a somewhat accurate measurement how tall the engine setup will be so I was checking ground clearance with hood height etc.

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[TooFast98Cobra]

Love this build! Keep it up. We are in process of putting a coyote in a 55 chevy truck on bags. Haters always gonnna hate.