Last month, we installed the Kenny Brown Extreme Matrix chassis-stiffening system on our latest project, an '85 LX coupe. We also bolted in the six-point Kenny Brown street cage. The still-unnamed project will feature an FRPP Coyote crate engine and a Tremec T-56 Magnum six-speed transmission from American Powertrain, and will serve as an open track car that will also be assigned street duty.
This month, our goal was to wrap up our pre-paint duties, including smoothing the engine bay and mocking up the drivetrain. In our first installment, we stripped the engine bay of its wiring harness, and last month we cleaned it with a pressure washer. So with a blank slate in hand, we dug in.
The previous owner had begun smoothing the engine bay by welding in a couple of custom-made inner fender panels. To take care of the rest, we contacted Scott Rod Fabrications. SRF is based in Sylvania, Ohio, and caters to racers by manufacturing sheetmetal panels for the interior, exterior, and underhood of Fox-body and SN-95 Mustangs, among others.
We used an SRF rear-seat delete in project Repeat Offender; they fit really well and look awesome. Not only does SRF make rivet-in aluminum panels available in both natural and matte black, but it also offers weld-in steel versions of all of its popular pieces. We ordered up the pieces we needed and began welding them in.
We called up Scott Rod Fabrications...
We called up Scott Rod Fabrications for a slew of its weld-in steel panels. Prices for these steel pieces range from $15 for the A/C block-off plate to $135 for a pair of the inner fender panels (not shown). The aluminum rivet-in pieces are a few dollars more, and are listed on the SRF website.
With everything out of the way, the task didn't look too daunting in the beginning. However, stitch welding every piece turned out to be very time consuming. If you're going for a show-car look, it's the only way. But in hindsight, for our application, the rivet-in panels would have been a more efficient way to go. And the rivets would have added a racy look as well.
With all the pieces tacked in and some of the stitch welding complete, we moved on to mocking up the engine and transmission. We plan to send the car to paint soon, and we don't want to run into problems with engine/transmission fitment with fresh paint. We also want to go ahead and weld in the transmission crossmember, and finish any other welding that might be needed.
We broke out our Kenny Brown K-member to fit it first. With a little massaging of the gussets on the frame rails, it bolted right in place. Then we bolted the T-56 Magnum to our new Quick Time bellhousing and mated it to the engine. Our friend Dennis Ramsey of Ramsey's Performance lent us a set of '96-'04 engine mounts to use until our new ones arrive.
As the most exciting moment in this build without a doubt, we dropped the engine and transmission in place for the first time. Next, we had to modify the crossmember to fit. The brackets are made to bolt to the framerails like the '96-'98 Cobra crossmember. But since we welded in our Kenny Brown subframe connectors, the brackets wouldn't work as designed. To remedy this, we simply cut the C-channel off and welded the brackets directly to the framerails and subframe connectors. We then mounted the transmission to the crossmember.
Later, we finished stitch-welding the sheetmetal and smoothed the welds out with an air sander and 180-grit sanding wheels. Again, this is not a show car, so we're going to leave most of the welds visible to add a racy look.
Over the next few months, our coupe will be spending some time in the paint booth. Also, since last month, we found the pinion seal leaking on our rearend. So we'll be tearing into that as well to give it a refresh.
1. We began by sanding away...
1. We began by sanding away the paint where the panels were to be welded.
2. Here is a view of the...
2. Here is a view of the upper firewall panel before.
3. We then fit the panel,...
3. We then fit the panel, clamped it into place, and tacked it in with a MIG welder.
4. Due to model-year changes...
4. Due to model-year changes and wear and tear, no two Fox-bodies are identical, so some of the pieces (like this rear inner fender cover) are cut-to-fit. We test-fit the pieces, and then trimmed them with tin snips.
5. We then made sure the...
5. We then made sure the pieces fit properly and tacked them in place.
6. The framerail pieces do...
6. The framerail pieces do not have cut-outs for the sway bar mounts. So if you’re a drag racer and have your sway bar completely removed, you can give your framerails a smooth, clean look. Otherwise, you must notch the panels to fit around the mounts. We began by holding the panel in place and marking it with a permanent marker.
7. We then cut them with...
7. We then cut them with tin snips.
8. Before completely removing...
8. Before completely removing the material, we test-fit the panel once again to ensure proper fitment.
9. Since the inner panels...
9. Since the inner panels were already installed, we just left them. SRF offers a few different iterations of these. Though ours were previously welded in, we ground down the welds to allow the framerail panels to fit properly.
10. Here is the before shot...
10. Here is the before shot of the right framerail before installing the panel. Note all the holes that we won’t be using.
11. Here is the same framerail...
11. Here is the same framerail with the panel tacked in. We’ll go back and stitch-weld it in completely before the car goes to paint.
12. Our next task was to...
12. Our next task was to mock up the engine and transmission. We started by dropping the old K-member and setting it aside.
13. Then, after trimming...
13. Then, after trimming the gussets on the framerails, we bolted the Kenny Brown K-member in place.
14. We then installed the...
14. We then installed the block plate, which is included with bellhousing.
15. Next, we bolted the bellhousing...
15. Next, we bolted the bellhousing to the transmission and mated the transmission to the engine. The Quick Time bellhousing (PN RM-8080; $587.95) is SFI approved, and comes with the block plate and hardware.
16. Since we don't have our...
16. Since we don't have our new engine mounts in hand yet, we borrowed a pair of ’96-’04 mounts from Ramsey’s Performance. These mounts bolt right to the block, and work with any ’96-’04 K-member.
17. We then lowered the engine...
17. We then lowered the engine and transmission into place.
18. We then supported the...
18. We then supported the tailshaft housing and raised the car to fit transmission crossmember.
19. Our new crossmember functions...
19. Our new crossmember functions like ’96-’98 Cobra crossmember, bolting to the subframe. Since our subframe connectors would interfere, we trimmed the subframe connectors to fit.
20. Then we welded the crossmember...
20. Then we welded the crossmember in place...
21. ...and bolted the transmission...
21. ...and bolted the transmission to it.
22. Here is our Coyote in place in the engine bay. Though this is only temporary, it won’t be long before it finds its way here permanently.