April 2002 Archive

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April 29th, 2002

Slept in, registered for next semester, and researched the electrical system. I now have a very clear idea of how to wire up the starter, battery, and alternator, and I plan to complete that Wednesday. Hopefully I'll also be able to start up the car Wednesday as well, which will allow me to fix any problems that arn't currently visible. Tomorrow I'll install the fuel filter for the nitrous line, as it didn't arrive today.

April 28th, 2002

Another beautiful day out, although not as productive. Didn't bother with a trip to the junk-yard, and instead just made a stop a Canadian Tire. Those small electrical peices really add up quick.

Completed the ignition, in which I basically just had to extend two wires which connect to the battery. Then I wired up the electric-fan manual over-ride switch..Well, not the switch yet, just the wire.

Moved onto the nitrous fuel pump, where I conviently found a grommet in the frame. I ran the wires from the pump, through the frame and into the trunk. From there they manouver along trim and under the driver's seat and end up at the center console, where I'll rough in a switch later on.

For the primary fuel pump, I simply tapped into the stock fuel pump wires, and cleaned everything up with tape and zip-ties. Also, some minor wiring is required under the hood on the harness, but I have yet to get the correct information on which wires.

Spent a few minutes cleaning up after the remote starter that I had removed earlier. Hopefully I havn't fucked anything up while *CAREFULLY* cutting it out. I'd hate to replace the dash wiring, which would require me removing a dash and harness from the junk-yard, as well as from my own car... Sick.

Didn't approve of the hack job of wiring on the nitrous solenoids. Mis-matched scraps of wire and various types of connectors. Cleaned it up with NEW scrap wire and connectors, as well as ran a line into the passenger compartment for arming purposes.

Nearly completed the gauge wiring. Wired all three sets of gauges (Vent-cage, pillar-pod, and tach), into one set of positive and negative leads. All that remains is grounding the negative wire, and finding a suitable place to tap the positive wire into for lighting. Also, I need to confirm that the yellow wire from the stereo harness IS the ignition ON wire, and not the constant voltage wire which I believe to be the red one.

Tomorrow I hope to start and get a good amount done on the charging system, which is the only thing that prevents me from starting this bad-boy up and seeing if I've done good. I believe I have the hi-torque mini-starter, which requires slightly different wiring than my old one. I'm still un-sure of my alternator, as I initially believed it was the upgraded 3g unit from 94+ stangs, but it only appears to be from the 87-93 Mustangs. Either way, the wiring is still different compared to my old 2.3L alt. Also need to pick up a starter solenoid, as well as the necessary wires, and I should probably start slow-charging that battery.

You know it's updated.

April 27th, 2002

One of the most enjoyable days yet. Started off pretty cold, around 3° celcius, and probably topped out around 7°. I started the day out with a quick install of my new filter for the main fuel pump. It's really something else. I then went to loosen up the secondary fuel pump's line in anticipation of another filter arriving Monday. While twisting the nut, I hadn't noticed that the braided line was binding, and I ended up crimping it. I'm hoping that no serious damage occured, as in, leakage... Cosmetic I can handle. Also, while I was there, I noticed that I didn't bolt up the gas cap, so I took care of that.

While looking under that dash I discovered that we had forgotten to install the brake pedal switch for the tail-lights. Although severly frusrating, I did come out victorious soon enough.

Reinstalled the vent gauge cage. Also completed the nitrous lines, and most of the gauge wiring. I just have to tap into a ground as well as a dash lighing link.

There was no problem with the rear brake lines, they were simply dry, and required some serious pedal stomping to get the fluid through them. Although I did attempt to properly bleed the brakes and I did them in the correct sequence, I'm concerned about air in the lines. While stomping on the brake pedal to fill the rear lines, fluid was leaking in several spots in the engine bay hard-lines. At first I thought I had either cracked a line, or had poorly flared a line, but both cases turned out to be loose nuts. I ought to be more careful, hey? Either way, the brakes are done for now, and they're good enough to drive on until I can bleed 'em better.

Re-mounted the nitrous fuel pressure regulator, and also bolted up the fuel pressure isolator. I have yet to decide which fuel line I want to monitor, as having the correct fuel pressure for the nitrous is CRITICAL. I'll probably end up shelling out a few more bucks for a NOS fuel pressure safety switch.

Decided to finally dive into the ignition wiring. The instructions were VERY straight-forward, and I never really ran into any problems. Most of the hardware necessary was supplied, and if not, I already had it handy. I spent most of the time simply choosing an eye-pleasing route for the wires, as well as splicing, cutting, taping, and zip-tying them.

I'm very pleased with the progress that I made today, and look forward to more tomorrow. I may need to stop by the junk-yard early on in the day to get a visual on how the alternator, starter, and battery are wired, and perhaps gank some peices. Also a trip to Canadian Tire for more wire and accessories will definately be necessary. Oh yeah, and zip-ties... VERY handy invention. I go through a lot of those.

Also...Forgot to mention, [Conversion Tech] is now up to date.

April 26th, 2002

Another miserable day outside. I have zero drive to go out in this blowing cold wind and snow and work under the car, so instead, I purchased more necessities. Picked up a really...REALLY nice in-line fuel filter, actually two. It looks similar to this one, only with steel braided line, and before the fuel pump at the rear of the car. Yeah, they're not cheap either. Okay, so I decided upon one filter before the fuel pump, and one filter before the secondary nitrous fuel pump. I've pretty much decided against going with a second filter on the nitrous line just before the fuel solenoid, as it's probably not necessary, and would cost me another $110 CDN. I'm probably going to reinstall new carb filters however, just for safety's sake.

Also FINALLY found the nitrous arming switch, here's a [pic]. I've been flipping the cover and flicking the switch for hours now.

Also picked up the necessary fuel fittings and nitrous fittings from Hose Headquarters.

I REALLY hope tomorrow warms up, as I'm sick of this garbage, it's late April for Chirst's sake. Either way, updated the [Conversion Tech] with tomorrow's agenda and today's less than spectacular results.

April 25th, 2002

Spent another four hours outside working on the car, well, mostly...UNDER the car. Took the coolant resevior to the car-wash and spent a buck blasting it inside and out. There was some sort of build-up in the bottom, but it's long gone now. The outside wasn't up to par though, so I used some GT-88 scratch remover and it worked like a chrarm. Chewed right through the stains.

Installing the fan thermostat took the majority of my time, as I had a hell of a time screwing the unit to the engine bay. I broke two drill bits, and the holes I ended up with were too small for the screws I had so they stripped all to hell. I'm not sure if I want/need a remote switch for the fan, I'll have to look into the benefits of having a manual option.

Securing the fan took all of ten minutes, simply required two holes drilled, and two screws....screwed.

Rigged up the resevior, one screw, one zip-tie. Feels pretty secure. Maybe I'll add another zip-tie later, but to be honest, I don't see any other way to mount it.

Bolted in the fuel pressure regulator for the nitrous fuel line, however, it's a bit out of reach for the supply line, and will have to be moved.

Tomorrow I'll pick-up fuel filters and the fittings I'll need, and install those. Perhaps I'll finally bleed those brakes, as well as finish the nitrous lines, and get on those gauges and their respective wiring. Maybe.

[Conversion Tech] has been updated.

April 24th, 2002

Neither studied nor worked on the car yesterday.

Today I picked up the hardware needed to build the bracket for the dual pumps. Everything cut and bolted up really nicely, and I wish I could post some pics. The pumps are mounted, and the lines are secured, and I also mounted the primary fuel pressure regulator. Tomorrow I'll knock off the second one, and call the fuel system complete (Minus filters?).

I also called about my Corbeau Targa RS seats, but my call was not returned. It's been almost two months since I order them, and although they've been back-ordered since early April, I'm getting concerned.

Tomorrow I'll FINALLY install the coolant resevior, the fan thermostat, bleed and brakes, and mount that other regulator.

Also, [Conversion Tech] was tweaked.

April 22nd, 2002

As planned, I did make it outside and perform some work on the car. I FINALLY completed those pesky fuel lines. The compression fittings went on nicely, as I remembered not to "over-tighten", which was way too easy. I used liquid teflon on almost all the threads, whether or not it was needed, I won't know. I really lucked out on the length of the lines, or perhaps good estimating. I measured quite roughly, and then added half a foot. Boy did I need that extra six inches. PERFECT.

All that remains for the fuel system is to mount the pumps, regulators, and filters. For the pumps I plan to pick up some generic peices of metal from Canadian tire and bend, drill, and bolt it. I don't feel like having anything welded up unless it's necessary. Those pumps aren't load bearing or anything, they weigh perhaps five pounds each, and the lines are under a maximum of 10 psi. The regulators have their own mounts, and require four screws each...very straight forward. Still not sure about fuel filters, and where to mount them. I need a specific thread size, and I've seen them mounted BEFORE the pumps, as well as just before the CARB. I also need to flush out the fuel system (lines) before I start up that motor. I have a feeling that there is a lot of metal filings in that hard line.

Tomorrow I'll (Complete) the nitrous lines, fan thermostat, resevior, and *POSSIBLY* mount the fuel pumps, but I should be studying tomorrow.

Hey! Updated [Conversion Tech]!

April 20th, 2002

Whoa, another week with no updates. This is essentially what I did in this last week


Sunday, April 14th - Slept in, worked. Essentially did not complete the planned work on the car, which were the brakes.

Monday, April 15th - Stopped by Pick Your Part to grab the three pieces of rear drum brake hardware that I needed.

Then made a quick stop at Hose Headquarters and purchased four more braided stainless steel fuel lines. Two 3.5 foot sections to run from the fuel-pumps, over the axle, and to the hard-line, as well as two 2.5 foot sections to run from the hard-line into the engine bay, avoiding the headers, and to the fuel pressure regulators.

I attempted to complete the drums, however, I was still missing one itsy-bitsy peice necessary for the brake adjustment. So, brakes were again, delayed.

Tuesday, April 16th - No work, but the day was a complete write-off. Excessive binge drinking from 9:00am to 8:00pm at the University of Calgary.

Wednesday, April 17th - No work again because my Escort was sitting 30 mins away at the UofC and I was at the mercy of friends to drive me up there... so, the day was wasted again. I also broke the left seat mount in my Escort while getting in after filling up with gas. Very uncomfortable trying to drive a standard when the seat wants to tilt into the backseat, and gives no support. I decided to fix it later.

Thursday, April 18th - I was, uh... sick. Nothing done.

Friday, April 19th - Started the day off early, and spent an hour at Pick Your Part removing a "new" seat mount for the Escort. It's from a newer year, and it appears that Ford recognized a defect in their mounts, as this one is beefier in the area that mine broke. While I was there I picked up the last remaining peice of hardware that I needed to complete the rear brakes.

Replaced the broken mount in the Escort. Good as new.

Completed the rear drum brakes. Better than new.

Trevor actually stopped by, and we attempted to bleed the brakes. Something is horribly wrong. The rear drums won't bleed. They're not recieving any pressure. Hmm... the front discs are fine. I'm very concerned that the rear flexible brake line or adaptor hardware is blocked, clogged, or fucked. I'll have to work on that later.

The hard fuel lines were a snap to install once I purchased a small drill-bit for the self-tapping screws. While twisting on one of four compression fittings onto the hardline, I may have over-torqued it, causing the hardware to slip off, and causing me to flip out. I'll be more careful on the others.

Today - The flexible lines should be easy to install, but mounting the dual fuel pumps is causing me some concern. They need to be mounted vertical, as close to the tank as possible, with the shortest possible length of line to the tank. They bottom of the pump must also be lower than the bottom of the tank/pick-up tube, BUT, not too low as to cause clearence problems with the ground. Also, nothing can interfere with the rear suspension or exhaust. I may have to get two different custom mounts welded up somewhere.

Updated the [Conversion Tech] with the current plan. But why bother, as I never seem to adhere to it. I'll tell you why...it gives me guidance and hope.

Next update in a week, but hopefully sooner.

April 13th, 2002

Almost a week without an update, so here's what's been happening.


Last Sunday, April 7th - Ugly weather, cold, windy, and besides that I was completely drained. The last thing I wanted to do was work under a car all day in the cold. Lost interest in the car.


April 8th-12th - Avoided working on the car, and instead, worked out. Picked up a few misc. peices, liquid teflon for the nitrous lines, and my Holley Blue fuel pump.


Yesterday, April 12th - Spent about four hours with the car. Very frustrating day. Tried to install the hard fuel lines, took my time mesasuring and bending the line, adjusting the jack stands, cutting, etc.. While trying to manouver the line in, I bent the line too much, and it cracked, rendering it utterly useless. I took care of that line real good after that, 25' of mangled 5/8" garbage.

Tried to remove the triple gauge cage, however, two of the eight screws would turn endlessly. I suppose that during installation we over-tightened them, breaking the "nuts" on the other side. I do believe that it's Autometer's fault, but I'm not going to pursue it. Either way, I had no choice but to break out the Dremel and cut the heads off the screws. Naturally, the Dremel is only so precise, and thus totally fucked up the cage surface. I plan to use the other side which is similar but without the logo, who knows what about the screws.

Realized the belt STILL wasn't the right size, as the tension pulley was near it's maximum swing.

Hmmm..Forgot to plug in the key ignition wire, now where the fuck does it go... I better not have to take apart the entire dash! I'll figure that one out later.

I did manage to finish the rear brake hard line, and all that remains for the brakes are the three small peices for the drums that we accidently threw out.

Today - I'll hit up the junk-yard tomorrow and grab that drum brake hardware I need, rush home and finish the brakes, and then bleed the system.

As for the future of the fuel line, I've decided against trying to bend up the hard line for the entire length of the car. It's basically impossible with the rear suspension and engine installed. Instead, I'm going to use hard line for the majority of the way, with the minimum amount of bends, and then get some more braided steel flexible line made up. Flex-line will be used to connect the fuel pumps to the hard lines, and must be long enough to not interfere with the rear suspension/axle. As a bonus, the flexible lines will dampen the noise from the pumps. Flex-line will also be used to continue the hard line at the front of the car through the engine bay, avoiding the headers, and the to the fuel pressure regulators. Going this route will cost more than I expected, but will save me the pure frustration hard-lines provide, and look better anyway. I'd love to go the entire length with flex line, perhaps I'll get a quote for that.

It's so nice out, I better get my ass back in gear and get this car going!

April 6th, 2002

Started early today, 10am, and spent a few hours driving around the city picking up various parts. I FINALLY found the 90 degree elbow that I needed to complete the heater hose. I also lucked out and finally bought the correct length serpentine belt. 73.5 inches.

I stared at the Hayes manual rearding the rear drums for quite some time. Disc brakes are way less complicated, but I did manage to figure it out, and it ended up being easier than I thought it would be. During the dump run last week I think we threw out some crucial pieces, so I'm off to pick-your-part tomorrow morning for a few pieces. I'm also going to return the coolant over-flow tank that I purchased, as it wouldn't fit, and I ended up buying the correct 5.0 one from The Mustang Shop anyway.

Reinstalled the pick-up tube, and then the fuel tank. Very frustrating trying to hold up the tank by myself AND ratchet in the strap bolts. I then cut, mangled, bend, tore, and pulled out the old EFI hardware, mainly the two fuel lines, the fuel filter and clamp, as well as the vent line that runs from the tank to the front of the car. I started bending the new fuel line a bit, but nothing serious.

Tomorrow I'll finish the drums, the fuel system, install the coolant overflow resevior, as well as wire in the fan thermostat. Check the Conversion Tech section for the updated plan.

April 5th, 2002

Spent most of the day at Pick A Part and at Canadian Tire. When we did the dump run I forgot to remove the hard brake line off the axle. It was not fun trying to remove rusty lines from rusty Mustangs at the junk-yard in cold windy weather. I also snagged a 2.3L resevior, as I also threw out my old one last summer. Picked up a few misc. interior screws and bolts, just incase I'm missing any. Also purchased a battery tray and hold-down. My old one was VERY crusty, and we chucked it as well.

At Canadian Tire I was able to pick up the necessary brake fittings to bolt in the V8 distribution block, as the old one's fittings are stripped, and had to be cut out. I also picked up the wrong size belt, again. I think I'm on the fifth or sixth belt already. They all seem to be way too big, or way too small, no matter what size I get. The second last belt I had was in the wrong package. So... it'll have to wait again.

Cutting and flaring the distribution block into the car was fairly straight forward, but did consume a few hours. I ran into a few snags bolting in the rear hard-line. At first, the left and right lines refused to loosen off the brake line block. Once I finally removed them via a bench vice and raw power, and bolted them into the axle, I discovered that the new line has two different size threads. I'm assuming that's to differentiate between the equal length left and right lines found on V8 cars, but that doesn't apply here as my 2.3L lines are very different in length. A simple adaptor will do the trick, Canadian Tire will probably have it, if not, Hose Headquarters.

Tightened up a few more of those header flange to cylinder-head bolts. Only two remain that I'm unable to access with a wrench. I tried modifying my dad's 3/16" wrench on the closed 12-point end with the Dremel, and it did work, but the increasing torque eventually beat it. I need to tighten them up just a bit more yet.

Still no more pictures, perhaps tomorrow night.

I'll definately get a lot more accomplished tomorrow, hopefully I'll finish the brakes, as well as the fuel and nitrous systems. The plan for Sunday is to leave it open to finish all those little things, like various underhood wiring and last minute things. Check the Conversion Tech section for the updated plan.

April 3rd, 2002

Got quite a bit accomplished today even though it's cold again. I'm on the FOURTH serpentine belt, and it's the wrong size, again. The last belt was in the wrong package, way too big. The one before that was a few inches too big. The one before that was a few inches short as well. Hopefully I've narrowed down the size enough to get lucky tomorrow.

The radiator install didn't quite happen today, mostly because I must have thrown out the old lower radiator mounts when I tossed the old rad. I'm going to pick up some used ones while I'm picking up the head-light switch at the junk-yard. I also need a few more adaptors for one of the heater-core hoses. Other then that, I'm good to go on Friday.

Installed the header-collector gaskets, the process was slightly more annoying than I expected. While prying and squeezing the headers together, and hammering away on the h-pipe, we managed to fuck up one of the bolts just enough so that the nut would cross-thread. I ended up using the Dremel to cut off half an inch, and that worked quite well, four cutting dics later.

Hose Headquarters hooked me up with the necessary adaptor to attach the heater-core hose to the lower intake manifold, where the water-temp sender was. The sender moved to the driver's side of the manifold with one of the supplied threaded adaptors. Hose HQ also had the fitting I needed to install my oil-pressure sender, as the old sender had a larger male thread. I also had them whip me up a braided line for the nitrous fuel solenoid to fuel regulator.

Decided to go with the triple gauge pod rather than the dual w/ vents, as the tripple was actually in stock, and I didn't feel like waiting any longer. Of course, that also meant that I needed another 2 5/8" gauge. I went with the voltmeter, as it was also in stock, and almost rids me of that near useless gauge cluster. The Speedometer, and fuel-level remain...but not for long. The install was fairly straight forward, and only required a little easy modification of the air-duct behind the gauges...

No picture gallery today, perhaps tomorrow.

April 1st, 2002

Spent a few hours today tracking down various peices needed for my fuel and nitrous systems. My first stop was Western Motorsports to order another Holley "Blue" fuel pump, as well as pick-up the header-collector gaskets that I needed.

In the same building, a few shops down I stopped by at "Hose Headquarters". They were able to build me the exact lines I needed for the fuel-pickup-tube to pump(s). They also built me the line I needed from the fuel-pressure-regulator to the gauge isolator. While I was there I picked up the necessary t-fittings for the nitrous and fuel gauge feeds.

Gregg Distributors was able to set me up with the 25' worth of 3/8" i.d. hard fuel-line, as well as the necessary fittings and clips to make the system work.

Advantage Ford was actually able to find the part in their system that I need to bolt the rear brake-line to the hard-line. Apparently it's a common adaptor found on all 5.0 Mustangs. It should be here by Friday when I need it.

Still waiting on those Corbeau Targa seats, anyday now.

Archived last months updates.

Gallery of fuel-lines, etc.