1989 Mustang LX CMC Mustang Chronological Build

CMC #17

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BNS-Racing sponsored Camaro-Mustang Challenge 89LX

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Week 1 (May 10-16)

From Mike B. (BNS founder and driver of AI #16)

"Well, where do I start?  Some coworkers of mine, Eric Varner and Len, showed me a video of Eric's brother (Mark - or MAV for short) doing an HPDE (High Performance Driver's Education) event in California in his 2000 Cobra.  I took one look and asked "Why aren't we doing that!?".  We all agreed that it looked like great fun and wanted to get started.  I had a 94 Corvette, Eric had an 01 Cobra, and Len needed a ride but was looking in earnest.  We found some groups that did these things and it turned out they were doing them at Texas World Speedway which is right in our backyard!!  That was it, we scraped together the funds and got scheduled with NASA to go to the track.  BNS (Boys Need Speed) Racing was conceptually off of the ground."

After many weekends doing the open track events, Mike decided it was time to get serious and do some wheel-to-wheel racing. So, he build AI #16. A 95GT that is totally awesome! Not wanting to gut and modify my 88GT to fit either the AI/AIX or CMC rules, the idea of sponsoring a CMC race car came up. After throwing around the idea, a plan was formulated to have two BNS-Racing cars. One for AI and the other for CMC.

The following chronological build detail will be from inception to completion. Take a look and if you are interested in doing the same or want to know more, please feel free to contact us.

Let the fun begin....

05 May 2003 - Ideas were passed around to build a CMC Mustang. Finding a suitable donor can be a daunting task. This is compounded by the fact that if we are to make the August CMC race at Motorsports Ranch, we are going to have to turn up the burners to high.

06 May 2003 - The hunt was on for a Mustang that would fit the platform needs of a CMC Mustang. Scouring the Internet brought in many leads, but a lot of those leads lead to disappointment and dashed hopes trying to find a suitable Mustang.

10 May 2003 - Solid lead on an 89 Mustang LX x-DPS coupe. Woohoo! Time to advance towards its location and take a look.

                        10:45am - Arrived at destination. Initial thoughts varied as we approached the coupe. At the time when we arrived it hat 16" pony wheels on it. Didn't look too bad, but will need a lot of TLC.

When we asked about the condition, we were told right off the bat that the starter was bad, the synchros in the tranny were shot. Using some jumper cables, we were able to get the motor to turn over. It actually started right up, quick enough that it took us all by surprise. Note: the starter hasn't given any signs of going out or indications of starting to go out.

After negotiating with the seller, we were able to pick the Mustang up for $1,350. Of course this didn't include the Pony rims. But, this didn't matter as are going to change it over to 5-lug.

11 May 2003 - Found vacuum leak from upper intake to charcoal canister. Plugged vacuum line (charcoal canister is going bye-bye). Got CMC #17 in the garage and up on jack stands ready for some serious wrenching.

The engine seems to be pretty tight. Some preventative maintenance will be required along with making sure everything is a "go". A compression and/or leak-down test will be done to determine the health of the bottom end. With my un-calibrated ear, it sounds like the motor is healthy and firing on all cylinders. Yes, that's a good thing at this point in time.

The Mustang came with aftermarket headers. The CMC rules state that stock headers must be used. I have a set lined up already for $10 used. The only other component that needs attention to meet CMC rules is the MAF. The Pro-M 75mm has to be replaced with a stock unit. Again, finding a used stock MAF isn't a problem and they can be had for cheap $$.

12 May 2003

Time to get serious with the interior. Anything not necessary is either being salvaged for sale or scraped and tossed out.

Nasty!

Tackling the carpet and all sound proofing was a formidable challenge. I think OSHA would have something to say due to the fact I didn't have my biological and chemical suite dawned during the removal operation. Did I mention nasty yet?

The head liner had to go too. I would have shown a picture of it before removal. But, I'm trying to keep this site rated at least PG-13, so I won't show you the before pictures and me swearing while jumping up and down after the fallout from the foam (I think it was foam) enveloped me in a cloud of toxic debris.   

The driver seat bracket floor stud is going to need some serious attention.

With everything said and done, the only other pieces left are the door panels. These will be coming off during the next session. After that, the dash is about to undergo some serious renovation (heater core, wiring, or anything not necessary).

13 May 2003

Not much to report today. I was sidetracked taking a phone call that lasted quite a while. I also had to take care of some school work (1800 word team project due today). I did manage to totally FUBAR dismantling the dash. Ok, call it work-in-progress (i.e. mess).

14 May 2003

First shipment of parts have arrived!!! Woohoo!! Time to get crackin' on this thing! First list of parts include; BBK adj. clutch kit, Kirban FPR, 155lph fuel pump, aluminum D/S, A/C and smog pump eliminators. The only item out of this first shipment that we absolutely needed for our car is the BBK adj. clutch kit. The existing clutch cable had frayed apart near the bellhousing. This caused the cable to stretch and not engage the clutch. The rest of the parts are for preventative maintenance (FPR and Fuel Pump). The A/C and smog pump eliminators are needed to keep the stock pulley locations intact when we remove both pieces of hardware.

Time to get busy and finish removing the dash. What a pain in A$$! Finally got it out and what a mess behind it. Good gosh almighty!! I had to try and see if it would start with such a mangled set of wires. Hooked up the battery and the engine would turn over, but wouldn't start. Uh oh! I checked the FP relay with a voltmeter. It's engaging like it should. Long story short, there was a fuel pump cut off switch installed somewhere in the car. I found the wires in the trunk and spliced them together. Voila'!! We now have fuel pumpage! Motor fired right up..scary eh?

Once I knew the motor was going to run in its current state, I proceeded to install the BBK adj. clutch cable. I chose to go ahead and install the clutch cable to try and verify if the transmission is experiencing any issues with the synchros and/or gear changes. I won't know 100% until I can get it on the ground and out on the road to warm it up and see how it shifts.

Wow! Much easier with the dash completely apart. Didn't have to lay on my back straining and twisting the ancient muscles and tendons! Installation took 15min from start to finish. Time to adjust it and see how the tranny is going to behave. Clutch first grabbed a little high, readjusted cable and much better the second time around. Ok, sitting on a towel, I let the tranny warm up a little in first gear to get the fluids going. Shifting to second resulted in a smooth engagement. Third and forth were ok as long as I didn't hurry. Once I get this thing on the road, I will be able to tell more. But, the initial trouble we were having with it not wanting to go in any gear was due to a stretched cable. Woohoo!!! Rock on!

Time to tackle the heater core. <gulp>  Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Once I located all of the mounting nuts and brackets it was a piece of cake. I had to disconnect the A/C line to the core. This was done using a quick disconnect tool and the hose slid right off.  It's looking better!! BTW. The CMC rules state that the stock dash must remain in the car. The components behind the dash may be removed. I will be painting the dash (something other than puke beige) and reinstalling it.

Time to call it a night. Progress is steady as she goes.

15 May 2003

Ever get the feeling something that looks simple, actually isn't? My friend Len took it upon himself to help out and scoured the local salvage yard for a donor Mustang. We need the seat stud mount in order to replace the broken and totally mess up one on the driver side (see pic above 12 May 2003 log). I can't thank Len enough for doing the leg work getting the needed piece. The salvage yard cut the floor pan around the front seat mounting studs.

I spend a considerable amount of time grinding away what wasn't needed. Two side cutter blades later, I had a piece that I could finally start fitting in the Mustang. The whole time I was thinking about the massive amount of sparks and noise emanating from my garage (bet my neighbors luv me). Ok, where was I? Oh, I'm not a fabricator by any stretch of the imagination. I do what I can and most of the time it's not quite right. Good thing I don't own a welder.

Back to my original thought about a small task that can consume many hours. I managed to use up two and a half hours cutting, grinding, fitting, grinding some more, walking around wondering what the heck I'm doing and then finally seeing it come together. Hot dang!!!

16 May 2003

Nothing major to report. Worked on getting the A/C compressor off and the smog pump. Both are now off the car and in a box. I also worked on cleaning up the driver-side floor pan. I did install all of the nuts holding the steering column up. The plan is to remove and replace the steering column with a tilt/non-airbag one.

 

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