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Coug misc build thread

FastFord

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
1,003
Location
Denver, CO
I have been wanting to start a thread over here on CEG to log my progress with my Cougar build and keep everything in one place, so here we go. Last pic I took of the car before it exploded in the garage.

IMG_20110510_191132.jpg


Its an 02 Cougar with 72k on the clock. Back in Jan I decided to take the car apart and off the road for good and start working on getting all the parts installed that have been laying around. Like any project, there are still plenty of things to purchase in order to finish most of this stuff. The car will be built mostly for track use, but also keep it drivable on the streets and something to look at during car shows.

Here is what the car already has
-2004 oval port 3L, SVT cams, escape pan, ST220 intake, 65mm TB
-02 MTX75 built by HMS, 3.5FDR, Quaife, keyed tower, Clutchnet stage 3, Fidanza flywheel and short shifter, 94A mounts
-Koni/GC, SFC, RSTB, TZT endlinks
-VIS carbon fiber hood and hatch

The list of parts to install/buy seems like it goes on forever

First on the list was the big brake kit I got from Gomach1, he built me a nice kit with 13" rotors up front and wilwood calipers, out back is 11.75" rotors on stock calipers with hawk pads to keep the park brake functional. Fitting large brakes always runs the risk of not clearing the wheels, and thats exactly what happened with my current wheels. So I ordered the 17x8 Team Dynamics pro race 1.2 wheels in black, still waiting for them to arrive from the UK.

Pics of the brakes as of today

BBK.jpg


And the wheels I have coming that still need tires

ProRace1_2_mattblack.jpg



The engine has been out of the car since Jan, tomorrow I should be putting it back in. That way when the car has brakes, tires, and wheels I can begin the install of the SHM headers which is a good sized project. Since the oil filter has to be relocated, and I have an accusump to install I might as well throw an oil cooler in the front bumper while I am running the hoses etc. From there I will be having a pretty loud illegal tru dual exhaust system built :laugh:. Not sure what I am doing about the intake setup, but once its done the car should be ready for a dyno tune. Which means I can finally move onto the suspension.


First will be the front suspension, I have stangkiller control arms that still need the heims and ball joints. And since the car currently has the 4 bolt subframe I picked up a 2 bolt subframe that will be getting seam welded with solid mounts from PRT. New tie rods are on the list and an SVT front sway bar is waiting in the garage.

The rear suspension has an aussie bar ready to go in, and thats it. Plan is to again seam weld the subframe and reinforce it, pickup some PRT control arms, toe arms, and reinforced trailing arms.

Once the suspension and engine are mechanically sound, it will be a big relief as I can then start working on the interior and body work.

Theres also plenty of little things to be done, like actually mounting the battery in the trunk, custom throttle cable bracket, and all the little crap I run into along the way. Progress will be slow as funds are sort of limited, but I do commit a lot of time and money into this car, stay tuned.
 
I know these are posted elsewhere, but heres pics of the engine out of the car. Later down the road when I go to paint the whole car I will worry about making everything look pretty, for now its just functionality. Deleted the AC this time around, and there are invisible basic parts on there.

ST2203.jpg


ST2201.jpg


ST2202.jpg




Here was the little problem I had with my 02 style alternator not clearing the header, you can see my somewhat ghetto solution of cutting away at the alt. I also used washers (not pictured) on the alt bolts to space it out as far away from the header as possible.

alternatorfitment3.jpg


alternatorfitment2.jpg




Last weekend I picked up some goodies for the car. I was hoping to get this forged hybrid engine and put it in the car, but there was damage done to the engine leaving me having to tear it down and extract the good parts off of it, which have only 900 miles. Really want to build up an all motor engine with these parts, get some high compression pistons made, PnP the 3L heads, and custom ground cams. Maybe waaay later after everything else haha.

engine102.jpg


Knife edged crank
aa2.jpg


Pauter rods
aa3.jpg


Also got ARP head studs, and these DSS stage 2 axles

DSSaxles.jpg
 
damn you have a lot on your plate!! nice work so far.
i havent seen those headers in yearsssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.....like back when gtopete had them on his silver csvt. iirc you have to cut away some of your subframe
 
damn you have a lot on your plate!! nice work so far.
i havent seen those headers in yearsssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.....like back when gtopete had them on his silver csvt. iirc you have to cut away some of your subframe

I do have a lot on my plate, its going to take a while haha. The subframe should be fine, talked to others that have or had them and they said their subframe was fine.


Send me the headers, let me get them replicated :)

PM me, I would be up for that if I get a set back with no dents in the #5 runner?
 
Didnt even think about the fact that I dont have a fat AC compressor down there anymore, so the oil filter is a piece of cake to get off with the SHMs. Yes engine is back in the car, pics to come later tonight.
 
Got the engine all plugged in ready to go, just need to have the EGR removed from the rear header before I can install it since it was welded all kinds of stupidness on. The front header however went in with the engine, looks very nice and the fitment is much better than what I expected. You can see in the pics there is plenty of room between the fans and the #5 runner, soo why the original owner dented them up right there doesnt make any sense. The oil filter fits fine other than you cant get it out between the subframe and the header if the AC was in the way, so again lets put dents in some $1200 headers because we are too lazy to either relocate the oil filter, or just remove the AC compressor every oil change, welcome to modding cars. Ranting over, on to some pics

today3.jpg


today2.jpg


today1.jpg



I know I saw this in Terry's build over on NECO but couldnt find it today. I plan on removing the heater and all that good stuff, so do I just run the coolant lines like I did in this pic? Also I am guessing the tiny grey/black vac line going into the firewall can be deleted as well, or is that for something else?

HVAChose.jpg


HVACtubes.jpg



I wont be running any fender liners, but will run the front splash guard to keep the radiator happy with air, so today when I went to install it I looked at it a little bit and decided to cut off the useless areas, looks much cleaner when installed.

splashguard.jpg
 
concerning the heater lines, there are 3 ways you can go about deleting it.
Pole120's suggestion was to cut up the hoses and you can reroute it for the SVT oil cooler.
my hacked attempt was to just attach a bit of hose and plug it with a big bolt for the rear most hose coming of the coolant crossover pipe (the one above the trans) and the one coming out the bottom of the water pump housing.
my clean attempt was I ground off those 2 mounts and intend on sending them out to have them welded shut. I never found anyone I trusted to weld them, so they sit on my mock-up engine.

I'll post up some pics later when my phone isnt dead.
 
Thats a good idea of having them welded shut, that can be a clean things up later project.

So those lines can just be plugged or routed to the oil cooler? So the way I did it just running a hose from the bottom of the water pump to the other port above the trans should work just fine for now I would think.

And do you know if the little vac line I have pictured is for the heater?
 
Shocked at how easy these headers were to install, all I needed for the rear was a 13mm wrench, no sockets, swivels, etc. The alternator had to come off but still thats not bad at all. Got the axles and everything put on today, just waiting on some little bolts for the brakes and the wheels to show up. After that the car will go to a fab shop to have a custom cold air intake made and the tru dual exhaust made, then all it needs is a tune to be back on the streets.

ps3.jpg


ps2.jpg


ps1.jpg
 
Get some kind of heat shied for the alternator and oil filter, fabric or metal like the exhaust system has behind it. The alternator windings won't survive in that heat for long. Not reason to heat up the oil filter either.
 
Get some kind of heat shied for the alternator and oil filter, fabric or metal like the exhaust system has behind it. The alternator windings won't survive in that heat for long. Not reason to heat up the oil filter either.

I really should have made up some kind of heat shield for the alternator before I put the engine in, especially since I plan on road coursing the car more than normal driving. I just tossed out some heat wrap I have had forever too.


those primaries look HUGE!

I just kind of noticed how big they are too, it amazes me how they managed to fit all this piping under the hood of this car. You can see in the pics that one of the primaries is touching the half shaft bracket, and how the other primary is less than 1/4" away from the actual half shaft same with the primary that is almost touching the subframe. The whole install was full of "holy crap is that going to fit?" and it ends up fitting perfectly with just enough room for everything to work together.
 
I can just wrap that primary tube with heat wrap near the alternator.

I am trying to decide on the exhaust. I have some stock SVT mufflers that I am planning on using one for each pipe, any reasons I shouldnt do that?
 
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