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budget street mod warrior (yeah, like that'll happen)

6K views 43 replies 9 participants last post by  Paladin 
#1 · (Edited)
a long time ago a swapped my stock powertrain for the svt powertrain coupled with a lightweight aluminum flywheel and a decent tune. nothing insane, just makes the car more fun. that threw me into street modified where it is hard to compete on a budget. for a while i havent been auto-xing or doing lapping days becasue i got kinda bummed about not being competitive. then it it hit me. try and make a car that can run street mod well. and still be a daily. forget winning, just see whats possible.

some key things need to be nailed down before proceeding.

1. i dont want to run slick tires yet. i feel there is a bit more to be had with getting suspension fine tuned first. plus i cant afford them this year.

2. no coil overs.... i know this limits adjustability and i cant corner weight the car. but its a street car first and formost. and i want street car manners (as close to it as possible anyways) plus that whole budget thing.

3. it still needs to be a proper hot hatch. not a stripped out racer.



ok those three things firmly in place i have a list of things for this year to do to the car.

4. check over braking system and adress any issues. (wisconsin car..) good for another year maybe.
5. rebuild cooling system with new parts (12 years old on some of this stuff)
6. relocate battery to trunk without cutting or messing up the stock wiring.

those are immediate attention items. and will be followed with pics and all the fun happy bleeding knuckles wrenching on your car brings.
things marked with green are completed and ready to go.


after this is done i will begin prepping for part two.
that involves getting clean subframes, more bracing, adjustable arms where i can safely, and poly bushings to replace my 300,000 mile stock pieces. maybe a diff and some more power as long as the engine survives. this will be ongoing so i should be updating the thread as time and completed projects allow.






both rear rotors look like that. i think its time for new pads and rotors.

that would explain the lackluster handling. the front struts are leaking which means they ahve failed in a little over 2 years. i blame the saleen springs. they are just too soft causing damage to the damper.

(weekend prior to and easter weekend. 2014) suspension install, driveway style....




old and busted next to the new hotness.

internal spring compressor and a truck jack make rear springs a breeze.

it may look sketchy but its fool proof

a subframe restoration is in the works. and a total restoration of the car will happen when i ahve a new garage built. then she will not see snow again.
btw still on stock bushings!!!



so when doing the wheel studs o was stupid and put a pad in backwards. this was the result after a week of driving on it. flipped it back and its all good.




proof that sportlines break shit. this was after 5 minutes it sitting after i pushed it in by hand. also this partially solved the mystery clunk up front (i need to re grease my endlinks next weekend here and see if it totally goes away.

all done and back to sporty feeling. if you want i can break down a parts list with numbers if my setup proves to be a good one.
 
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#36 ·
yup. i could really use better rubber. there is some maintenece stuff to do. (cooling system related) and a few other bits and bobs.

question on tire section width. should i step down to a 205 series with my next set of tires? i have 215's on now and i dont think its really doing any good on a 7" wheel. some of my squirming under braking and turn in may be from sidewall flex.
 
#37 ·
LOve it when my inch and a half drop springs sit lower in the rear than my 2 inch ones did. NOT. something is wrong... the front went up and the back.... didnt. something better not be broken. or i'm going to get pretty steamed at ford racing.
 
#38 ·
turns out the springs just do that... some people get lucky others dont. looks like i'll be moving to coils soon instead of getting better tires. for now i guess i'll just run these springs. planning on getting some kontrol pros unless someone cant alk me out of them cant really find anything that works as well for the cash outlay, and has the features i want.
 
#42 ·
^^ so that didnt happen, well the pics anyways. its hiatus month for autox up here. so i ahve some down time to work on some stuff (like brakes, and rolling the rear fenders. figuring out what to do with my battery)
i'll get pics up tomorrow as this thread is useless without them.
 
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