Plans For The Near Future

Two weeks ago I ordered a 2014 Mustang GT. I never was interested in the Premium model since that seemed to be all about bells and whistles, therefore I got a Sterling Grey base GT with a 6spd manual with only three options:

• Brembo Brakes
• Recaro Seats
• Tech Package (301A)

The Tech package has more than I wanted in it (specifically the voice control stuff) but long gone are the days where you could cherry pick amongst all the available options. I just wanted to be able to use my phone with the stereo system. Sounds a lot like a first world problem, huh?

I waffled for many weeks over whether or not to get the Track Pack. I ultimately decided against it because I would simply never need it. I will never drive it hard enough to require an oil cooler and the other neat toys it includes. Granted, it does get hot down here in Hell…..err I mean Florida…..but the cost of the package did not seem worth it for my use case. I will certainly use the Brembos ( I am very happy they are available by themselves) while avoiding the vast amount of teens who text while driving, not to mention our beloved Senior Citizens ( no jokes about how close I am to that label! ).

Since I'll be using the new GT as my daily driver, that will allow me to park the 65 and attend to the little problems that persist but are not enough to force me to park it. I still have not replaced the top and that needs to be done. Each rain storm leaks into the trunk. I also want to yank out all of the engine/computer wiring harness. I want to remove all of circuits I don't need and I want to clean the wiring up. I read an article in a recent "Modified Mustangs and Fords" that did a How-To on the Telorvek break-out board for the EEC-IV. When I saw that I jumped for joy because I had planned on doing the same thing but all on my own. There is a wrinkle though. The 94-95 harness is $839 versus $569 for the 89-93.

The 94-95 use the Constant Control Relay module to run the electric fan according to need, and power the fuel pump and A/C (if memory serves). The 89-93 used a belt driven fan. I'll need to look at the wiring diagrams but my plan is to use the 89-93 harness and simply change whatever needs to be changed. The CCRM needs a fan capable of multiple speeds and my fan is not. I guess I could buy the motor for a 95 fan but....

It is probably obvious I have not thought this all the way through yet but I'll do my research before whipping out the old tired Visa card.

Small Inconveniences

After driving 80mph for an hour, the engine started to sputter as if I lost spark in one cylinder. The sputter lasted for about two minutes then disappeared. Approximately 10 minutes later, it returned. I was not far from my Dad's place at that point so I made a detour and did some diagnosis once there.

The car would not restart once I turned it off. After cajoling Dad to take a break from the White Sox game, he came out and took a peek. As I cranked it, he noticed quite a few sparks emanating from the coil and dancing over to the coil mount. Seems the casing of the coil had a hair-line crack. Plastic lives a hard life under the hood of a car. Eighteen years was all it could muster.

Once I obtained a replacement coil from the neighborhood auto parts emporium, the old Stang fired right up.

This has got me thinking about what will be needed in terms of a new engine wiring harness. I've found some for 89-93 and the ones that say they are for 94-95 require you to change over to an 89-93 distributor and TFI. If I do that, I won't have a 94-95 anymore! Perhaps I just need to do some more searching on this new fangled Internet thing.

Dare I say, trouble free driving has arrived?

It has been a while since my last post, mainly because the car has been working great. It seems I have all of the kinks worked out and it has become a great daily driver. I still have to put the new top on it, but the old one works, it is just no longer white. Twenty years of dirt and use has left it well worn and dingy colored.

I drive it every day and enjoy it thoroughly. I have no regrets at this point with all of the modern updates and changes I have made to the car.

Pedal Play and Trans Rebuild

The Mustang Steve pedal bearing kit worked as expected. I simply drilled out the old bushings and welded on the bearing keepers and reassembled everything. That said, I did deviate some from the instructions. I moved the pedal spindle toward the rear of the car 1/2 inch. This was to allow some wiggle room for my hydraulic clutch master cylinder. Before, the adjustable push-rod was set at its minimum size and I still had to shim the MC off the firewall 1/4 inch to get it to work. Now, the MC is flush on the firewall and the clutch works great.

The old bushings were worn out and I had substantial lateral pedal movement. Now, the pedals only move in the plane that they are supposed to move in.



My Tremec 3550 had slightly less than 10,000 miles on it before its rebuild. Tremec transmissions enjoy a well deserved reputation for being solid transmissions. My friend at Mr. Transmission was skeptical that my shifting problem was transmission related since I have a custom clutch actuation setup. After all, it is much more likely that I messed that up than getting a faulty 3550.

Note: I do not abuse transmissions. I am past the age where street racing and power shifts are fun.

Once they tore it apart, it was apparent that I was not the guilty party. I was told that the run-out for second gear was twice the maximum called for in the specifications. That led to the dogs being able to pass each other which ground them down, or at least that is my understanding of what they told me. Also, 5th gear was missing one of its needles in the needle bearing, and it was not found in the case. I guess my transmission was the last build on Christmas Eve at the factory. With the fresh rebuild, the trans works great.

Winter in Florida often makes for perfect top-down driving, so I am once again thoroughly enjoying driving the car.