Great work buddy! What a fun weekend, had a blast. Will send some pics your way once i get them on the computer. Cheers!

Congrats on a successful weekend!!!

Was there but didn't get a chance to meet you. Funny, i was with some friends across from where you guys were staged on Saturday and kept looking at it thinking to myself "is that the one from Lat'g?"...funny cause for me it didn't look the same for what ever reason. You guys weren't around other wise i woulda come over anyway and introduced myself (and to Dan too as i did recoginze the Charger, his friends right?

Anyways, Congrats....

Congrats on the great weekend! :thumbsup: Your truck is awesome!

Very cool, congrats! You've earned all of it.

I'm interested to see what you do for a seat

Great story. Sticking with it paid off. Congrats!

Huge congratulations Sean! I spoke with Michael Morrow afterwards and totally support his decision, which isn't an easy one for him.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...PnPGQ84-X2.jpg

Nice shot Sieg but I feel like you're holding out....

What a great weekend!

Hey Sean!
 

Gotta love the elbow in the window!

Thanks man, it was great to meet you and get to shoot the **** for a little bit. Appreciate the kind words and you are right, I had an awesome time out there and was happy to be beating on the truck. More to come soon!!

Unfortunately I did not get it judged before the seat swap....I will next time though. The seat swap was rad, I actually enjoy working on stuff like that and it made a huge difference, I think people were looking at us like what are these guys doing on that old farm truck?

Thank you, Thrust is what we think is shot in the engine, it has excessive crankshaft end play and that also leads us to believe that it was from the wreck. The other indicator is that when you pushed in the clutch just a little bit the noise would get a lot quieter, all the way in and it was there and all the way out it was there.

Thank you!! I am over the bad motor, live and learn right? I had a smile from ear to ear. Dan told me before we even went, I just need to show up with a working truck and a good attitude and I think I did both pretty well =)

Thank you.....so will I finally get to meet you in Vegas? Colorado? I hear good things about your BBQ skills :sieg:

I plan on it and thank you for the compliments, Next track day coming up soon..

To say the last 6 months of building this truck has burned me out was an understatement!!!! I feel like I have been sleep deprived for the past 6 months (I actually have been)

The last week and a half I have not done a damn thing, lots of work, getting some things caught up around the house and stuff but barely went into the garage at all. Even all weekend, not much.

I am not done with this build though, even though its on the road and made it to the first event I have a lot more work to do.

I did manage to get it to shred a new power steering belt in like 10 miles. So I tore the pump and bracket off cause I feel like I have an alignment issue. When I got the bracket off I saw I had a problem. The dowel pins that are supposed to locate the bracket to the block were in the bracket, not holding the bracket to block in the right location.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pslvjlxgrc.jpg

I put the dowells in the block first, then in the bracket and made sure that it is going to stay in the right spot. Have probably 25 miles on it and no signs of a problem.

Also knew that I was going to need to do something with the brakes as they got a bit hot on the track at Thunder Hill. So a little tip from a fellow forum goer and I was lead to some killer brackets that allow you to run 14" GT500 rotors and C5 corvette calipers and pads on the crown vic frontend. Not only will this be a big upgrade in stopping power, I should have a lot less brake fade but also a chance to run a huge variety of brake pads, the stock crown vic setup, not so much.

Dont worry, Ill make sure that the calipers dont say corvette on them.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pswx6jlomr.jpg

Brackets should be here in the next few days, I need to order some pads and get them installed so I can mock them up.

Also, needed to get the new bigger and better offset steering wheel painted up and installed.

I also got the horn button to work. This is a factory ford horn button, mated up to a Grant Mustang steering wheel. There was some cut and chop with the horn buttons and I needed a horn itself so I got that installed and all wired up, the horn even works to boot!!!

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4ehrrfry.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pstluhzkdv.jpg

Also got this and the cover yesterday so got a little bit of mockup done. It sucks...but man it holds you in the seat right where you should be, pain in the ass to get in and out of but Ill take that if I can focus on steering.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psdhaddckr.jpg

Next track day is on the 20th of March, should have a little more time to get things done before then. Might even come up with some kind of roll bar/harness bar.

So in mounting the seats and thinking about a harness bar, I am wondering what exactly I should do to mount the harnesses? I am struggling with the height of the harness bar as it needs to allow the harness to be less than a 20 degree angle to the bar from my shoulder, but that would actually put the bar above the top of the seat with the low back buckets and the cab being right behind me. I think I am just going to build something and see where it lands and hopefully nobody hassles me too much about it. Any input on this from someone that is more experienced with these than me?

Thanks again for all the nice words and encouragement, keeps me motivated.

Sean

Obviously its for safety, but not the kind of safety a massive regulation roll cage offers. If its just to keep you planted in the seat (more or less) does it need to be exactly to what a crazy cage requires? What are the main points of having a harness with a 20 degree shoulder angle? Mostly this is me adding to your thoughts with mine.

Should've built a crew cab.:lol:

The back of the cab is double walled correct? :superhack: You may not be able to get to 20 but I think as long as it looks correct you won't have a problem in tech.

One option may be to install the harness bar where it needs to be but fabricate it in a way it can be removed when not needed.

http://www.tmrcustoms.com/store/inde...dc5cd3d722a651

Looking forward to seeing how the brakes preform for my own project.
As for the harness bar, that is a tough one.

Not too sure what to do about the harness stuff...still thinking about it.

Probably going to have to roll with the 3 point until after next weekend.

Messed around the garage today for a little bit after a really rough night last night.

What I started with this morning.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psh5s9ndvq.jpg

So you can see the brackets here in the photos, they are really nice quality and the hardware came with them. They adapt the crown vic frontend to the C5 corvette PBR aluminum calipers and run the 14" GT500 rotors.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psu4btmeee.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psdv6u9t1c.jpg

The Rotors needed to be opened up at the center of the hub to fit over the crown vic.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psmegijbqe.jpg

You can get the idea from the photos of the size difference from the photos. Stockers are 12" and the upgrades are 14"

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1qcyymuu.jpg

I had to make some provisions to the calipers for the smaller wheels..you can see I made some changes with the grinder to these. I have about 2mm clearance now to the caliper from the wheel...its tight but it should be just fine.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psepuzubwk.jpg

I love the fact that it is OEM looking but biggg..

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pske8a1sff.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pskdlvmgcv.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psqfxosxff.jpg

I likey.

Nice brake solution!

Now duct some air to them and you're good to go. :thumbsup:

Before and after says it all! Damn nice. Im surprised you had to modify the caliper, but i guess that is due to the high offset wheels.

Excellent work. I admire your determination. :)

I thought so too and kept with the OEM Theme of the truck. Thanks Sieg and appreciate you sharing some killer photos with me.

I am working on the brake ducts this week, hope to have them done before next weekend.

Actually the fins are on the back side of the caliper where the mods had to be. Its likely because of the aftermarket 18" wheels have a thicker hoop than the OEM ones. I have seen a couple people be able to run this setup with 18" FORD wheels. It is also a 14" rotor, its pretty good size.

Thank you, I have lots of that whole determination thing going for me.....some people call it stuborn, I like determination better.

Sean

They look like a great solution.

Brakes look good! Funny I mentioned be interested in what seats you were going to choose and you went with the one I'm currently most interested in. Did you get the padding for it? My concern is I'll be doing some longer drives (5hrs) so I need something comfortable for that length of time.

You might wanna try these seats with the 3 point and see how that works out for you unless the series you plan to compete in requires more. Harness bar could be a non-issue.

Good luck!

I did order the padded cover for it and to be honest its pretty comfortable. I am not sure about a 5 hour drive comfortable but Ill know more after this weekend.

I want to be safe in the seats and held in place really well. This thing has a lot of traction and it throws you around the cab pretty good. Good Seat and good harness are worth its weight in gold for this stuff.

Had a little time in the shop last night, well enough to get frustrated with a few things then get over it. I really want to get some harnesses to hold me into the seat for track days but I also dont want this to turn into a track truck only and a full cage gets pretty hard to live with on a day to day basis.

So here is the aftermath.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psqucfsvh5.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pscjbusl8x.jpg



The plan is to run some support rods from the center of the bar down next to the seats and tie into the floor to add some triangulation. All mounts will be double shear and it should be more than sufficient to hold me in place and deal with the forces of any crash. The tube is 1.75 .120 wall DOM not some lightweight weenie stuff that I have seen other bars built from.

Also since I was going gung ho on the Brakes, I figured the rear needs an upgrade as well. So I ordered the rear caliper brackets for the GT500 rear brakes and some new rear rotors for the GT500 stuff. Rear will be 13.8" now.

Hope to get this wrapped up tonight and get the truck back road worthy with the seat bolted in and the harness bar in place.

Sean

How far off the ground do you plan on making this?

The truck itself?

It has about 3.5" of ground clearance to the lowest point and that is the bottom of the cross member and the bottom of the old radius arm mounts. Bigger tires are going to raise it up a little bit too.

Sean

Worked on this a little bit more last night, just kind of tinkering but realizing I need to have this **** done in a day or two for Sundays track day.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psgvrmvzlt.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pstytvftig.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psfklbbeeg.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psdojxpgol.jpg

I did a lot of reading on harness bars before building this, and saw a few of them that had actually collapsed in the center from an impact. I do not want that to happen and want to be safe so I built this to tie in the center to the floor boards.

I think it turned out really well, is very unobtrusive into the passenger area and is still keeping it classy.

I got everything welded out last night and even got a few things painted. I need to get the main bar painted and install everything. I need to break in the brakes and make sure all is still functional and the damn thing stops.

I got some brake ducting from Summit last night, probably will not be permanent but should have something rigged up for the front brakes.

Sean

Looks great! With the new seat and harness you'll be more comfortable and confident out on track.

Do me a favor....bring an extra ps belt, maybe two. :action-smiley-027:

It looks good, that should stiffen it up.

Managed to get everything painted up and installed with new hardware.

Turned out pretty good in my opinion.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psmrjdc6nh.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psxuvimgkf.jpg

Well good news and bad news. I got the pads bed in last night and holy **** does this thing stop, and that is with the stock rear rotors on it, should get a little better with the 14's on the back. I have to adjust some rear bias as the fronts were able to lock up pretty easy now but not going to adjust it until I get the rears on there.

The pedal feel is actually quite a bit improved from before, a little stiffer a little higher off the floor so all around pretty damn happy.

Hanging out between runs after letting the pads cool down.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6faw4dmd.jpg

The bad news is that I cannot keep a damn power steering belt on this bitch. This time it just flew off, there was no evidence of any kind of damage to it other than the chew marks where it hit the stock belt.

Apparently Ford offers a tensioner kit and pulley to work with the AC pump, so I ordered that, hope it shows up tomorrow, if not I think I am screwed for the weekend.

Handling and braking on this old turd is incredible, you would never know you were in an old truck unless you got out and looked at the inside.

Seating is much better, I am lower in the cab with more leg room and its pretty comfy too. Not sure I am ever going to take it out.

Sean

I really like that harness bar. I may have to do something like it in my truck.

Was it a kit?

No sir, like everything else on the truck all built from scratch in my garage.

So I bought 2 belts, got one installed, changed the oil and filter tonight....no metal in this one =) and got these little guys installed in the front bumper. I did not have much choice in the placement of them as they needed to be outside of the framerails as I would not be able to get the ducts under the frame without them really dragging on the ground or getting in the way of the engine or steering. Now to figure out how to get the hose between the wheel, tire, sway bar, strut, coil spring and all that crap.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7zebmylh.jpg

Looks pretty cool.

Took the truck to dinner, without issue this time with the wife. I have a tough time driving this thing not like an idiot and its fast. Not supercar fast, but damn fast for an old pickup truck.

I wanted to see what she thought of it so we found a little back road and did some spirited acceleration and braking. One time of that and she wanted out of the truck. It does good 1,2 burnouts even with granny shifting the thing and comes to a stop right now... It was awesome =)

Gotta get my **** together and make sure I can tow the trailer with the camper and the extended stinger now.

Happy Friday to everyone.

Sean

You made the bungs and joints? :hairpullout:

(Kidding).

I get the DOM and bending the tube, the plates for the a-pillars, etc.

Speed holes in the front bumper! Sweet!

Good luck with the PS belt, hope it stays together for you. Love the harness bar, very nice work. I bet that truck is a blast to drive...

Show some pics of your camper setup, that's my next project...getting my car trailer setup for long hauls behind our RV.

Have fun at ORP this weekend! It'll be good to hear what the instructors think about running around the track that fast in a truck.:confused59:

:thumbsup:

That is a deeper conversation that just one post my friend.....Let me clarify.

I bought the tube, the heims and the inserts. I bent up the tube off of my plans and drawings, Cut out the brackets, built the links with bungs and tube I bought and welded it all up.

It was not a kit that I bought from a shop or prefabricated from someone else trimmed to fit.

I ordered in a new power steering pulley last night and it somehow showed up this morning at Oreiley's....,.,I never buy anything there but they said they could get it there in the morning and they actually did that. It was the right one to boot.

While I was at my normal parts store visiting my buddy Andrew, I asked about a proper pulley installation tool and looked around on his shelf of tools and low and behold there was a whole kit that had the 8x1.25 one in it that I needed. So I got my crap and headed on my way. I used my Garage heater (Hair Drier and a Towel) to heat up the pulley. You would not believe how hot it will get things, hotter than it should.

The pulley installer was key, and I think was my problem all along (Hopefully) It has a bolt that threads into the pump, then a thrust washer, a bearing and then the threaded rod and press portion. It takes all the rotational torque out of the equation. Got it all ready and with the hot ass pulley, I tossed it on there, got the tool installed and pressed on the new pulley, there was no drama like the first time, no washers getting stacked up. I guess you live and learn.

The pulley went on at least 1/4" or more further than the last one. I am pretty sure that was causing some alignment issues. That combined with a much higher quality belt, I never new that Gates made a regular 6 groove and a green label six groove belt, there is a difference in the backing, the depth of the grooves and the thickness of the belt as well. Still learning.

Got the belt routed and installed and fired it up with no drama. Also finally installed the covers on the battery while I had that disconnected, looks more finished now than before.

Also got some brake ducts installed, not happy with them at all but they should work for the weekend no problem.

So a trip around the block filled up with fuel and onto the trailer.

First time towing with the camper, the hitch extension and the trailer, truck did remarably well considering that there was a massive headwind all the way out here.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pssdqm41m6.jpg

Arrived without issue, got the truck unloaded and the registration done, chatted with a few others that were here and spending some quality time with the wife in the camper.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psczl9uc5m.jpg

All in all a great day...we are pretty tired though :D

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psjycrwqw7.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pskp241blc.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psga1qktdv.jpg

Looking forward to track updates!

Andrew

Beautiful.

And yes, I know what you meant :)

Looks like the makings of a great weekend!!

Thanks for following along everyone.

What a weekend...my instructor for the day on Sunday was Peter and he is a very, very experienced driver and racer. I was fortunate to have him as I know him from the Volvo world and he was eager to see what I and the truck could do.

It was a whirlwind schedule, drivers meeting, then classroom, then on track, then classroom, then on track then classroom. We were hustling all day long from about 7 am to about 4 pm when the rain really rolled in hard and I put the truck on the trailer.

I learned a ton, both on the track and in the classroom. I am getting more comfortable in the truck each time its on the track and my efforts to fix things are paying off big time. I had no power steering issues, even on the rev limiter by accident a few times, no leaks or other issues. The brakes performed awesome. The switch to the bigger front rotors and calipers was impressive, late braking was much easier and the motul dot 4 660 fluid, and brake ducts did their job and there was zero brake fade all day.

Truck was an absolute blast on the track, it just kept getting faster and faster the harder we pushed it, its very well balanced and turn in is excellent. We were both impressed at just how quick the truck could go around the track. So was the guy in the c7 corvette that had a rearview mirror full of 68 ford pickup for lap after lap =)

Another epic weekend. The wife had a great time, we got to use the camper, the truck , the trailer and spent a weekend at a beautiful track.

I would call it a total success!!!! Not to mention beating the snot out of the truck and all I did was check the lugnuts all day.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0ofwd3pv.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psdfxtnps8.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psvfjqpkxp.jpg

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...pspz1vnbqi.jpg

Messing around with this all day on the track was just stupid fun for us. Probably not being driven to its limits as we were both in group 1, but he had a lot of track experience and the car was fast. He could pull on me just al ittle on the front straight when he was really getting into it, but I could reel him in in the first couple of corners after that and be right on his rear bumper. I am sure I dont have a chance against some of the fast guys in a fast car but it sure was fun.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...psfdi8gzbw.jpg

Going to do the rear brakes this week, order some harnesses and get on the front brake ducts...they are hammered and rub the wheels at anywhere close to full lock.

Another epic weekend......now to prep for April Optima in Vegas in 3 weeks.

Sean

You had to be hella fast to keep up with a Z06 with the Z07 package!