EvanZR1
09-26-2019, 10:13 AM
Had Steve pick up the car a few weeks ago to fix a few issues and just got it back yesterday. I have to say, it is great to have such a diligent and communicative shop reasonably close (and willing to pick up/return). They worked through all my issues and communicated everything that was happening on a regular basis (sometime multiple texts a day).
General overview of work done:
Replace low oil sensor. Had developed a serious leak and was also intermittently coming on even if oil level was fine.
AC repair (lot's of issues with the AC system on this car, but I think we're finally good). Dryer, screen o-ring, vacuum leak, fan motor, cleaning evaporator. We all know the AC on these cars is not great, but Steve and his team spent a lot of time chasing down all the issues and making it as good as it can be.
Installed catch can. Was having a little bit of oil push through at high rpm and this seems to have solved it.
Installed Corsa exhaust. Let me just say, this exhaust is AWESOME! I was worried it'd be too quiet at idle, but with the cams it still has a very nice lope. It's not as deep as the B&B, but that's a trade-off I can live with to get rid of the drone. On the highway, I can now use 6th gear again, which is great! It's not quiet in 6th, you can still hear it, but it's not that super annoying drone of the early B&B. And when you got full throttle, WOW!
Lowered coilovers to be even and balanced (1" rake front to rear)
Replaced plugs and O2 sensors due to running rich (which Pete did intentionally on base tune to make sure it was safe since he had not had anyone run these cams in a 391 before)
Dyno tune: Communicating a lot with Pete on it to make sure it was done right. Since Steve has a Mustang dyno, it's not a straight comparison to previous numbers, but we were up about 20HP from baseline before tuning and AFR is now perfect. He also made a HUGE improvement in <2000rpm drivability. It was drivable before, but had some slight hesitation, now it's like a stock car.
On top of that he went through and replaced/repaired anything else he found, including serpentine belt, dip stick tube (to get it to proper angle/position) and pilot bushing on clutch (was causing a knock once warmed up).
At this point, the car is pretty much perfect, and basically fully restored. Full professional repaint in 2017, low mileage donor interior in 2017, 391 engine in 2018, and absolutely everything gone through and working at this point.
Only thing left is I'll probably have a local stereo shop that knows C4s pull the stock Bose system and replace with a modern setup with bluetooth. The stock Bose works, but it's an early 90s Bose system (no highs, no lows...).
Since I've been missing it, decided to take it to work today, and it did great even in some light stop and go traffic. Here's a obligatory pic and a link to the video of it backing out of Steve's trailer:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3u14b89nokzzyl7/IMG_20190926_081327.jpg?raw=1
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iQEToyeh5sdKFs1j9
General overview of work done:
Replace low oil sensor. Had developed a serious leak and was also intermittently coming on even if oil level was fine.
AC repair (lot's of issues with the AC system on this car, but I think we're finally good). Dryer, screen o-ring, vacuum leak, fan motor, cleaning evaporator. We all know the AC on these cars is not great, but Steve and his team spent a lot of time chasing down all the issues and making it as good as it can be.
Installed catch can. Was having a little bit of oil push through at high rpm and this seems to have solved it.
Installed Corsa exhaust. Let me just say, this exhaust is AWESOME! I was worried it'd be too quiet at idle, but with the cams it still has a very nice lope. It's not as deep as the B&B, but that's a trade-off I can live with to get rid of the drone. On the highway, I can now use 6th gear again, which is great! It's not quiet in 6th, you can still hear it, but it's not that super annoying drone of the early B&B. And when you got full throttle, WOW!
Lowered coilovers to be even and balanced (1" rake front to rear)
Replaced plugs and O2 sensors due to running rich (which Pete did intentionally on base tune to make sure it was safe since he had not had anyone run these cams in a 391 before)
Dyno tune: Communicating a lot with Pete on it to make sure it was done right. Since Steve has a Mustang dyno, it's not a straight comparison to previous numbers, but we were up about 20HP from baseline before tuning and AFR is now perfect. He also made a HUGE improvement in <2000rpm drivability. It was drivable before, but had some slight hesitation, now it's like a stock car.
On top of that he went through and replaced/repaired anything else he found, including serpentine belt, dip stick tube (to get it to proper angle/position) and pilot bushing on clutch (was causing a knock once warmed up).
At this point, the car is pretty much perfect, and basically fully restored. Full professional repaint in 2017, low mileage donor interior in 2017, 391 engine in 2018, and absolutely everything gone through and working at this point.
Only thing left is I'll probably have a local stereo shop that knows C4s pull the stock Bose system and replace with a modern setup with bluetooth. The stock Bose works, but it's an early 90s Bose system (no highs, no lows...).
Since I've been missing it, decided to take it to work today, and it did great even in some light stop and go traffic. Here's a obligatory pic and a link to the video of it backing out of Steve's trailer:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3u14b89nokzzyl7/IMG_20190926_081327.jpg?raw=1
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iQEToyeh5sdKFs1j9