17 years and counting...

[svono50]

I figured I would start up my own thread on my 86 1C. I will work my way from most recent projects (shifter, steering shaft & wheels) to older as I get time to pull together the project info I have collected over the years.

I have owned my 86 since September 1991 with 57K miles on the clock and have done a few projects since first opening my toolbox as you can expect. I am now sitting just under 104K miles and still counting on the factory short block, which isn't too bad in my estimation as I haven't always been 'nice' with my right foot. Hope you enjoy.

[Ford Builder]

Congratulations, this must mean that its fine replacement,I have had good luck with Ford reman replacements.

[svono50]

MGW Shifter Install w/Hurst T-handle

If you have some time to read up on the details, please do. Otherwise the pics show some of the highlights of the install in my 86.

• You would think this would be a simple bolt-in kind of thing, maybe if it wasn’t in my SVO it would be. The MGW unit is quite a fine piece of machined artwork, it is almost a shame it has to be covered up by the boot. The shifter install was fairly straight forward. I started by unpacking the MGW unit and inner dust boot option and went on to read all the enclosed instructions (no snickering) and just getting familiar with the unit in general. I decided to not use the shifter stops supplied with the unit and go ‘naked’. This was prompted by reading up on some other installs on the ‘net and MGW’s own notes about the fact that if they are not set up properly, you could cause damage to your tranny (i.e.- not allowing full engagement of the gears). Also noted in MGW’s instructions was the fact that the factory unit doesn’t come with stops, so unless you are beating the shifter into gear, the chance of bending a shift fork should not be a concern. I first noted and snapped a couple of pics to show where the factory Hurst short-throw unit had the handle for 1st gear, so I could try and set up the MGW unit to a similar location to start with. I removed the shifter knob, the center console, shifter boot & seal then the factory unit. I then cleaned the shifter mounting surface on the tranny and inspected the nylon cup insert that remained in the tranny. I had replaced the cup a while ago and it still appeared fine with virtually no wear, so back in it went with some fresh grease. I placed a light bead of the supplied RTV silicone on the mounting surface and mounted the shifter with the supplied screws and lock washers. Next on was the inner dust boot (I would recommend this for keeping dust out of the pivot point of the shifter) and on top of that the factory dust boot. Luckily the shifter arm mounting shaft is as long as it is, so the dust boots can sit under the shifter arm, as seen in the attached pics. I then put on the shifter arm and adjusted it position to as close to factory for 1st gear as it will go. Next up was the ‘creative’ or fun part where how do you finish off the shifter boot against the new threaded knob shaft. When I swapped in the Hurst leather wrapped t-handle on my stock shifter, I had to devise a way to clamp or hold the shifter boot in place and have it look somewhat finished. To accomplish that I placed a fender washer over the shaft, then the shifter boot, then a large brass washer, then the non-threaded part of a brass pipe nipple, then a jam nut and on top the shifter handle. It wasn’t the most dazzling solution, but it worked nicely for 10+ years. I decided to try a similar setup on the new handle and after futzing with it for ~1 hour I threw in the towel and walked away till the next evening. I came back and saw a new solution that ended up being what I have on there today. This consisted of installing the MGW supplied rubber grommet into the top opening of the shifter boot to start with. I then threaded on (2) plain SS hex nuts onto the shaft, pushed the rubber grommet over the nuts, placed a hardened flat washer on top of the grommet, placed the re-used brass pipe nipple spacer on top of the washer, threaded the jam nut on next and on top of that went the shifter knob (more on the knob later). Once I got the knob in the right orientation and snugged up with the jam nut, I then snugged the brass spacer against the bottom of the jam nut with the SS nuts and locked everything together. I think I ended up with another clean looking install.

• Here comes the ‘project’ part of this. My stock shifter had a ½-13 thread for mounting the handle and my Hurst t-handle had an M12 x 1.75 internal thread. My solution, back in the day, was to drill out the M12 thread, grind the hex points off of a ½” hex nut and hammer (i.e.- press fit) it into the aluminum core of the handle. Mind you this worked flawlessly for 10+ years, but I am a bit older, wiser and am not afraid to spend some time and disposable income to find a ‘better’ solution to adapt the handle back to an M12 thread. Where I now work I have access to a decent Tool & Die machine shop and have made friends with the T&D machinists there for situations just like this. I ended up determining that one of the best solutions would be to install a threaded insert into the handle. Knowing my machine shop folks avoid metric threads like the plague I researched and found a Jergens brand threaded insert that had English external threads and Metric internal threads. All I needed to do was drill and tap the handle to match the insert. The drilling went OK, but when we tried to thread the handle it shifted in the vice and we cut into the side of the new hole (DOH!). I then took re-tapped the hole by hand straight into what was left of the hole. The threaded insert has (4) locking barbs that are driven down in after the insert is threaded in to lock it into place. Well, because there was a large chunk of the bore missing, the locking barbs didn’t hold and the handle threaded right off of the insert when I locked the jam nut against the insert…CRAP! JB Weld to the rescue!! I mixed up some of the magic repair elixir, filled in the missing material in the handle core along with around the remaining threads in the bore, threaded in the insert, drove in the locking barbs again and let it set for a couple of days. The insert is now very securely held into the handle and working very nicely indeed.

• What is amazing is that the MGW shifter’s throws do not appear to be much, if any, shorter than the factory Hurst unit. I didn’t measure the throw distance of the Hurst unit, so I could quantitatively compare it to the MGW unit, so I can’t say if I have a shorter or longer throw. I will need to measure someone else’s factory unit at the Reunion to get some numbers. I can say that the now slightly reward placement of the shifter handle is a nice change, as it is closer to me, which I do like. I have driven in an auto-x and a track day event since the install and haven’t missed a shift, so it does work very smoothly and reliably. One other thing that it does is insulate the transmission noise from the cabin and some vibration from your hand compared to the stock unit with the rubber isolation bushings removed. All-in-all I give this one two thumbs up!!

Pics include; 1) sexy unit pic, 2) bottom comparison to stock Hurst unit, 3) side comparison, 4) tranny ready for new unit and shifter ball cup insert with arrow and 5) base unit mounted to tranny...

[svono50]

MGW Shifter Install w/Hurst T-handle #2

More install pics...1) inner dust boot top view, 2) inner dust boot side view, 3) factory dust boot top view, 4) factory dust boot side view and 5) shifter arm installed top view...

[svono50]

MGW Shifter Install w/Hurst T-handle #3

More install pics...1) shifter arm installed side view, 2) closeup of lower jam nuts, 3) MGW rubber grommet installed in factory leather boot, 4) rubber grommet placed over lower jam nuts and 5) hardened washer, brass spacer and upper jam nut in place...

[svono50]

MGW Shifter Install w/Hurst T-handle #4

More install pics...1) T-handle in place and spacer locked in, 2) finished install of new shifter prior to console install, 3) top view of Hurst leather wrapped t-handle knob (slightly worn) and 4) bottom view of t-handle knob showing the Jergens threaded insert...

[svono50]

MGW Shifter Install w/Hurst T-handle #5

Last pics on this one...1) Jergens install/removal sheet for insert, 2) Jergens sheet showing specific insert used on my project (purchased from MSC Industrial Supply), 3) home grown pressed in solid bushings in stock shifter handle, 4) home grown washer plate and grade 12.9 shifter handle mounting screws with lock washers and 5) home grown solid shifter handle install(don't forget to use some Loctite on the screw threads even with locking washers!)...

[svono50]

Maximum Motorsports Solid Steering Shaft

There are not a lot of pics on this one, but then again there isn’t a lot to this install. Part installed was MMST-11 for reference

• This really was a pretty straight forward install with only one tip/hint to help someone else’s install. First off, note that I DID NOT need to unbolt my steering rack to install this unit, as described in the MM installation instructions. I put the car up on jack stands and removed the oil filter to gain vision and hand access to the mounting points. Also make sure your steering wheel is locked in the centered position, so you don’t end up with a crooked wheel at the end of the project! I also used soapstone to mark the relationship of the rack’s spline shaft to the rack housing, in case I bumped the wheels with the shaft disconnected. Start by unscrewing the rag joint and pulling the plates apart from each other to allow as much movement of the upper shaft as possible. Then remove the upper mounting screw and nut and also the lower mounting screw, spray both ends with some penetrating oil (WD-40, Kroil, etc) to help the parts slide apart. I tapped out the upper end of the shaft from the steering column tube. Make sure your steering column tube doesn’t just extend out, since it is a telescoping tube for safety reasons in a crash. If the steering shaft sticks in the column tube you may need to let the oil sit longer or hit it with some gentle heat from your ‘flame wrench’ (careful not to catch anything on fire or melt anything). I then moved to getting the lower collar off of the rack’s spline input shaft with some gentle coaxing from a screwdriver and hammer. I chose to clean and paint my MM shaft, since it is supplied without any coating other than some light oil. I could see this unit rusting in the first season of using it without something on it. I sprayed it down with brake cleaner, let it dry, hit it with some primer and a quick top coat of satin black. I would recommend performing the next step PRIOR to painting your shaft. The lower mounting collar was supplied to me a little undersized and I could not get it to slide onto the rack’s spline shaft no matter how I tried. I removed the pinch screw and took a large flat screw driver and tapped it into the split of the collar to spread it just enough to get it to slide onto the spline shaft. That worked like a charm. Because the MM unit has a telescopic shaft it gives you enough clearance to get the top shaft into the steering column tube without having to unbolt the rack from the k-member…nice! I also coated the rack’s spline shaft, the MM shaft’s male end and all fastener threads with anti-seize to help make sure I can take them apart at some point in the future if needed. Make sure both mounting screws are nice and tight, reassembly everything else and take out for a test drive.

• Personally I didn’t notice much change in the precision of my turning, probably likely because my rag joint was still in good shape. Where I did notice it was in how much my car squirms around when it tramlines on the grooves in the road. With the stock rag joint my car would dodge right/left a decent amount and require a fair amount of steering input to correct. With the MM unit the amount my car jukes right/left is reduced along with the amount of input I have to apply to correct it. This change proves out that there is much less play in the steering system with the MM unit. One thing I have noticed with the MM unit is that am now getting more steering pump noise in the cabin of the car when moving slowly, but don’t notice any additional noise while at cruising speeds above 30mph. Kind of strange, but it makes sense now that I don’t have a silicone insulator between the rack and steering wheel.

Pics include; 1) MM unit as shipped, 2) closeup of Borgeson bearing mark, 3) primed unit, 4) painted unit and 5) comparison of stock to MM units.

[svono50]

Maximum Motorsports Solid Steering Shaft #2

Some addtional pics showing; 1) comparison between MM & Stock collar ends, 2) stock shaft in place, 3) soapstone alignment reference marking, 4) rack spline shaft coated with anti-seize compound and 5) MM unit in place...

[svono50]

TSW Nurburgring Rims w/Bridgestone RE-01R Tires

Well this project has the most visual impact on your ride short of a new paint job or custom body work. I have been toying around with getting new wheels for a few years now and am very pleased with my selection. I hope you enjoy the results of the change.

• I chose 17x8” rims with a 35mm offset and mounted 245/45ZR17 tires on them. They have a machined face with a gunmetal insets that are close to the color of our gray trim. They came in at 18 lbs for the rim alone and 46 lbs for the mounted wheel assembly or ~4 lbs lighter than the Cobra units. The Cobra wheel offset is ~30mm, so these wheels are tucked in ~5mm or just over 3/16” more, which would still require rolling of the rear fender lips with a 245 width tire, but may not with a narrower 235 or 225 tire. My local Discount Tire store quoted me a price ~$45/rim less than their own online price, so it pays to visit your local store rather than order online sometimes. What was cool is that they were excited about getting these new wheels, since they hadn’t seen them in person yet. Now I need to get back over there so they can see how they look on an actual car, as I picked them up with my daily driver.

• I ran the stock SVO wheels on my car for the first 11 years of owning it. I stripped off the aged factory clear coat, hand polished the surface and painted the insets black to set them off better along with hiding the usual brake dust/dirt accumulation. In 2002 I switched to a set of 1996 Mustang Cobra wheels to change the look and move up to 17” wheels for the possible SN95 Cobra front brake upgrade. The Cobra wheels with Yokohama A520’s were 2 lbs lighter that the stock wheels with BFG Comp T/A’s, so I lightened my unsprung weight by 8 lbs, not great but not bad either considering I went from a 16x7” rim/225 tire combo up to a 17x8” rim/245 tire combo. Along with the slightly lighter weight the Cobra wheels ‘breathed’ much better and helped keep my brake temps a bit cooler than the folks with stock wheels on the road course at TGPR in 2002. The Cobra wheel offset did, however, require me to roll my rear fender lips to prevent cutting the sidewalls of the tires when I hit anything other than a light bump.

• Move along another 4 or so years and along came the S197 Mustangs with wheel offsets that almost exactly match what we have on our mid-80’s SVO’s. What’s old is new again I guess. Now the aftermarket wheel selection has opened up with a LOT more options for us including some really nice looking factory takeoff units. While I liked several of the factory S197 units, I also knew there wouldn’t be anything much to gain from a weight savings standpoint of the Cobra units I had on already, so I moved back over to the aftermarket. I ended up finding a set of lightweight forged units from Motegi Racing, which happens to be owned by the same company that my wife works for (i.e.- an investment conglomerate). That connection gave me an employee purchase program to get a nice discount. Unfortunately I hemmed and hawed too long an missed out on the opportunity to get a set of the Motegi’s due to various reasons…drat! Move up to 2008 and Bridgestone replacing the ‘hot’ RE-01R with the RE-11, so Tire Rack had a closeout on 245/45ZR17’s…my exact size. I jumped on the deal and put them away for the ‘right’ set of rims. I started looking for other ultra lightweight wheels but not much was available for mucho $$$. Since I don’t seriously auto-x or track my car I really don’t need a high dollar set of wheels, just something lighter than the Cobra wheels for a reasonable price. Later in 2009 I started eyeing TSW wheels as they had some cool styles and they seemed like they should be lighter considering the founder’s racing background. It turns out that they were either the same or heavier than the factory Cobra units, not what I was looking for. Jump into early 2010 as I start looking forward to spring and check into the TSW website…what’s this…a new wheel that is “rotary forged” and promising lighter weight?!? It is the Nurburgring wheel that is actually cast then the barrel of the wheel is rotary forged (another term for the metal forming process called spinning) to help thin out the material furthest from the hub, not a bad thing from a mechanical standpoint. While TSW makes this process seem ‘exotic’ consider that the factory wheels on my run-of-the-mill Subaru Legacy are rotary forged, so not really that ‘special’ but it is still a good design and manufacturing process.

• As far as I can tell they perform very well and have crazy brake caliper clearance to the point where they really make the stock brake setup look quite small. They also look larger than 17” due to their design and how the machined surface appears compared to the gunmetal insets. I personally like how flat faced they are, kind of similar to the stock wheels. Only issue is that they have a shallow hub section with doesn’t allow the TSW center cap to fit up front with the stock spindle/rotor setup. I am working on coming up with a better solution than painting the bearing cups, but it may have to wait till I get more time to find a solution other than switching over to the SN95 setup. That would be another project…

Pics here include; 1) just like Christmas!, 2) protected and marketing placement, 3) nothing like brand new in the box, 4) quick test fit BEFORE tire install and 5) darn stock spindles...

[svono50]

TSW Nurburgring Rims w/Bridgestone RE-01R Tires #2

More pics...1) checking clearance to front strut, 2) stance on rear wheels, 3) front brakes now look 'small', 4) hey, not too bad looking, eh? and 5) I really need to re-adjust my windshield spray nozzle...

[svono50]

TSW Nurburgring Rims w/Bridgestone RE-01R Tires #3

More pics...1) RE-01R tire weight, 2) TSW rim weight, 3) TSW/RE-01R wheel weight, 4) well worn Cobra/A520 wheel weight and 5) comparison between RE-01R [left] and A520 [right] thread patterns...

[svono50]

TSW Nurburgring Rims w/Bridgestone RE-01R Tires #4

Last set of pics...1) low rear 3/4 shot, 2) action shot @ auto-x with new boots, 3) action shot @ Autobahn track day, 4) another action shot @ Autobahn track day and 5) close-up action shot @ Autobahn...

[SergeantZ]

Wow, great pictures and super nice SVO! I love the wheels, they match perfectly with the color of the car. I also want to do the solid steering shaft if I end up keeping my car.

[svono50]

TSW Nurburgring Rim Center Caps

As I mentioned in my original TSW project, the stock center caps won’t fit over our stock bearing caps on the front wheels. My original solution was to leave them off and just paint the bearing caps to help ‘disguise’ them. From a distance this was OK, but up close it looked pretty unfinished and bothered me. I called TSW and discussed my potential options with a Customer Service tech who was surprisingly familiar with our SVO’s. Unfortunately he could not offer me a solution as they don’t have an offset center cap.

I searched for an offset center cap that would hopefully fit my TSW wheels. After some searching I came across an SR cap option on the American Muscle website, which is their self-branded wheels, so I ordered up a set. They were chrome as compared to the machined finish of the wheels, but I was willing to see how they would look. As luck would have it, the SR wheels have a slightly smaller center cap hole, so the locking tabs didn’t engage at all on the TSW wheels. Otherwise they were not a bad size/look.

Seeing the design of the SR center caps helped spark an idea for a custom design. The stock TSW center caps are a two piece design with a plastic locking insert and a logo plate that come unassembled. I came up with the idea to modify the TSW locking insert by cutting out the center to just clear the bearing cap. I then designed a hollow backed spacer, modeled it up in 3D CAD and brought it to the machine shop at work. They agreed to machine up the spacers from some scrap aluminum pieces as a ‘government job’…it helps to be friends with Machinists. I stuck the spacers to the locking inserts with some 3M VHB (Very High Bond) double-sided adhesive tape, similar to what they use on outdoor signs and semi trailers. I then stuck the TSW logo plate onto the spacer to come up with a custom offset center cap. The machined aluminum spacer matches the machined aluminum surface of the wheel and logo cap, so it looks like a factory piece and makes my front wheels now look ‘complete’.

I have been using these center caps for ~3 years now and they have held up great. They do weigh just a bit more than the stock center caps, so I was a bit concerned if they would stay put. So far street/highway use hasn’t dislodged them and I have even left them in during a couple of auto-x events and few track days without losing one (knock on wood).