New project

[modmachR]

The Mach 1 is almost as far as I want to take it for now, the next step
will require the car to be down for some surgery, and I have to have
something to take to the track next year.
So starts another project, I just acquired a 85 Mustang LX 4 cyl
for 400$.
After years of working on everyone else's cars, This will be
my first ground up complete build for myself, not a car with a few mods thrown at it.
It's time to put all the things I've learned into one car.

The plan is to build an unequal length wishbone front end, IRS out back,
full chassis and a fully finished interior, 6 speed transmission.
The brakes will be based on the Cobra system from 03.
The car will be built to drive to the track, beat on it hard,
then drive it back home or were-ever else you want.
The power plant, by the standards most use, will be tiny
I've got most the parts already so I'm keeping the 4cyl and
taking it to 2.5L and helping it breath with a SVO turbo.
The four banger will let me put the front rails were I want them to make
room for the long arm fe I have in mind.

[XcYZ]

Definitely interested to see/hear how the 4 cylinder works out for you, how much the car ends up weighing, etc.

[modmachR]

I've got a proven engine formula thats good for
410 at 8500rpm but it needs some work to make it street friendly.
That was with a air resurch unit @ 20 lbs boost on a blow through.
The plan is for a tube chassis car that basically uses the stock firewall
and floor boards to behind the front seat, from there on the car is all fab-ed with factory tin hanging off of it.
Helped put one together that was similar, wet with driver it weighed 2950.
I love a good challenge.

[ArisESQ]

I had no idea that the original four cylinder engines were capable of making that kind of power, or even winding up that high. For some reason I recall of hearing a lot of horror stories about the bottom end of those motors, but I could be wrong.

Nontheless, I really like that your sticking with the original motor. It should make for a unique car. I look forward to updates!

[modmachR]

The horror stories are all true, it requires a trick crank, or some cross drilling
of the original and a modified retainer/thrust washer on the cam.
there are also some oil pump issues.
It's not easy or every body would do it.
It's better now since the SVO days because the engine got a lot of
R&D thanks to NASCAR's mini stock program years ago.
I crewed one for several years, had a stand in driver for a race once that hot lapped the car, came in and said "I can not drive the thing with the tack
reading so high(9500)". So I did what any good crew chief would do and unhooked the tack.
Those were n/a motors running 12.5:1 cr. We didn't do much dyno back then
but the wieght and speed calculations had them near 300 with a 500cfm
carb limit. We ran a modded 400cfm 2bbl.