Road Race Mustang Revisited

Today on muscle car, find out how to fab an SCCA row racer.

The secrets behind ceramic plating and do it yourself. Fiberglass

today in the shop, we're gonna recap one hell of a cool project. The road race Mustang built to run in the outlaw class of the N ASA. Now, every sanctioning body recognizes the SCCA safety rules and guidelines. Our road racer will be built to meet those specifications.

Anybody can restore a car but it takes a real man to chop one up after all, this is going to be a road racer. This Pony's fate will be at the track hitting the corners hard and fast

back in the beginning. This Mustang started out with a couple of problems, poor welds rust under the,

not to mention a little floor pan work was in order. This is just a hack job. The fast back also had some other problems like the 351 Windsor.

Now that just wasn't going to cut it. Who better to build a 408 for us than the guys down at horsepower. They started out with a rush

block.

So Mike, what was your reasoning for building this engine the way you did. Well, it's pretty simple. The lighter, the rotating assembly, piston crank and rods, the faster the engines on to accelerate. So if it's going in a road race car, the faster it comes out of the corner and down the straight away faster times it's going to turn

the rouse racer. 401 started out with a Ford SBO block with four bolt main for strength.

Then we threw in a lightweight forge rotating assembly for reliability and quicker acceleration. Due to the lighter rotating mass.

The pistons are flat tops and they're capped off with a set of

kinetic head gaskets to seal the rouse cylinder heads that have given us a compression ratio of 12 to 1.

We went with a hydraulic roller cam shaft using 16 stud mount roller rockers for minimal parasitic power loss to the valve train.

Finally, it was time to seal up the engine and we wanted something different that would be reliable, repetitive and have great throttle response. So we went with an eight stack electronic fuel injection system with eight milla

valves that act sort of like small one barrel carbs

and all that was worth it on the

dyno. It kicked out 534 horsepower and 533 ft pounds of torque

with the power plant ready. A T five from G Force was added, some welding still had to be done so it can run in the outlaw races that means safety and waste

with the jig and miles of mild steel tubing ready. The race chassis finally started coming together

endless measurements, heavy calculations, keeping it square and logging progress is key.

The engine was dropped back in to make better use of the weight.

The riot heights been set at 4.5 inches. The track width is going to be a scant 63 inches, tight turns means big loads. So port city was called

spindles,

hubs

and oversized bearings were ordered up. The lower arms were easy. Thanks to Afco

Lou found the uppers then made sure that everything was right for some real corner carving

after media blasting the fast back needed some protection. So Brent laid on a couple of coats of oxy primer

stick around because bending tubes, slinging glass and other strange behaviors coming up next, I'm looking forward to hearing this 408 fire up, put up, put up after the break.

Will the SCCA let our outlaw Mustang hit the track. Find out. Next we f

over

the good,

hey, we're back. Good thing you stuck around because next on our list is the roll cage. Every bar in a jungle gym has its purpose and a cage is no different.

The sec

is serious about safety. So the Chief Scrutineer was called to come out and take a look before things went any further

with the bars in the right places. It was time to take a look at the three link suspension.

And after that shock mounts, the torque link will absorb the back and forth movement giving maximum traction. So it's solid in and out of the turns

to top it all off. A quick change, rear end from Tiger. So gear

swaps will be a breeze at the track

with 530 horses and weighing just a hair over 2700 pounds. This Mustang has come a long way but stopping is a huge issue. A

12 inch slotted vented rotors from performance friction were installed

along with calipers and pads

because the brakes, they're going to see as much action as

gas pedal,

the steering was put in. Then the gauge housings were

fed up,

Brent and Lou were on a roll.

What better way to put out a fire than with a three nozzle

halon system.

Now with a blast of over 200 P si

the engine compartment, the driver's area and the fuel cell area are totally safe

with another safety issue put to rest. It's time to finish the headers and exhaust.

There's plenty of tin work around the wheels,

tranny tunnel and fuel cell that needs to be done

because this thing is so low and so wide. Some super size fender flares are next, but nobody makes them.

So with a little trial and error, Brent developed his own 5.5 inch guards.

It started with multiple layers of florist foam and various glues.

Then Brent landed the magic combination.

It was up to the calibrated eyeball

and a multitude of tools

to get the shape just right.

The next step, laying on a lot of fiberglass and a gallon of resin.

While Brent was working his glass off. Lou had plenty of work to do with the engine until it was finally time to fire it up.

No

oil pressure.

All right, Kelly,

after a bit of detective work, the culprit, the oil lines were reversed. I finally found the answer to my oil pressure problem. I should have put my line in here. Not here

a

project. This big takes a ton of man hours in research and planning. That's not counting the time you're gonna spend cutting and welding, you get the picture. This is no easy task and this road racing still has a lot of time left in the shop, but we'll get it done. So keep tuning in

ceramic plating is more than just a pretty finish. Find out why after the break.

Hey, welcome back to muscle car. We're taking a second look at our Mustang road racer. Now, you've all seen Louf have up the exhaust, but that's only half the story. We sent these bad boys off to get ceramic coated nitro plate, hooked us up and this is how they did it

naturally. This is anya

nitro plate is right up the road in Nashville, Tennessee and ceramic coin

is their specialty

using technology filtered out from the aerospace industry.

They co everything from hose clamps and screws

to full exhaust. Even turbo housing.

Not only does this stuff look great, it provides corrosion protection for parts up to 1300 degrees.

When a part shows up at nitro plate, it's etched and cataloged that way. You know, you're getting your part back

after etching,

the parts are baked in an oven for three hours at 750 degrees.

The bacon removes all the oils and impurities from the surface ensuring the longevity and quality of the coating.

Once all the impurities are cooked off,

each piece is media blasted with a 54 grid aluminum oxide

media blasting is done by hand and machine.

This achieves the proper surface profile for good adhesion of the coating.

The parts are then taken to the back and thoroughly hand sprayed with a waterborne base coating.

Nitro plate uses a special mix. It's about 80% aluminum. The rest of it is a special blend of ceramic bonders.

Once they're sprayed,

the parts are hung up on a line

and moved into an 80 ft oven.

The parts are cured in here for about 2.5 hours. It's 750 degrees.

When they come out of the oven, they look like they've been dipped in Kuwait.

But the next step, well, this is where the magic happens.

Exhaust is dropped into this vat full of vibrating four millimeter ceramic beads

along with the secret soapy mixture

almost immediately. The passive dull layer is buffed out and the shine starts to show

after about 10 minutes of vibrating

and the parts are removed,

rinsed off

and inspected for quality.

After that, the parts are packed up and shipped out.

So here they are, man. What do you think

they gonna look pretty good on the mustang? So, yeah. Nitro plate even throws in a three year warranty. They're gonna stay looking good for a long time to come. Not to mention the fact that it cuts our under temperatures in half and that means a lot more power at the back end. So, stick around and we got a lot more work coming up right after the break

up next. Afraid of cracking up your fiberglass parts. Rick shows you how to make, replacing them a lot easier.

Today, we're looking back at the mustang road racing,

you know, those fender flares take a lot of work. So to keep Brent and Rick from flipping out whenever that thing kisses the wall, they come up with a plan. I'm gonna sit here and sort wires and they're gonna take the scare out of fixing fender flares.

Now, one thing's for sure if you got a car that runs on the track and it's got fiberglass on it,

it's gonna get cracked up. Poor Brent. He's got dozens of hours into building the flares on that road. Race. Mustang,

man. There's no way I'm going through that every time this thing gets busted up, dude, I ain't gonna ask you to, man.

So, what we're gonna do is build reverse molds off of these. That way when these things get smashed up out on the track, we can build new ones.

The most important step of preparing a part for the mold process has given it a smooth surface. The easiest way to do that is to paint it

on what's in in the flare with 400 grid to get it ready for a coat of

thing.

After a quick rub down with pre cleaner,

I'll spray on the base coat.

I'm using black because it'll be easier to see any defects and correct them before we move forward with our mold.

After the base coat dries, a couple coats of clear will give it some shine.

The key to quality fiberglass work is having plenty of patience. If you rush anyone's debt, it can ruin all your hard work. And it's gonna put you right back to square one on a fresh part like this. You're gonna wanna put at least three or four good coats of wax.

Now, I gotta admit this isn't the easiest stuff in the world to work with, but if you don't get it on there, it's gonna ruin your original part.

Oh,

and don't use a petroleum based wax.

After the waxing is finished,

you can spray on the water based release agent.

A couple of tag coats, then a full wet coat will work,

let this fully dry

then lay on the gel coat.

The gel coat is mixed just like the fiberglass resin and spray it on with three coats.

Your goal should be about 25 mil thick.

Well, your gel coat is hardening up, but it's still tacky on the surface is when you want to lay down your first layer of resin and mat.

Now you could just lay down the mat,

but I've actually found it's easier to put a layer of resin down first, then just let the mat soak it up,

using one ounce glass, put down an even layer and work out the bubbles as you go, let this sit overnight,

then lay on another layer

one more day of waiting and you can lay down your last coat. If you don't wait between layers, it could build up too much heat and that's gonna warp you mold, which is gonna ruin all your work.

After stretching your patience for one more night, you can trim off the edges

after the glass is hardened and cold, you get to take out some pent up anger. Now you don't wanna beat this thing like I just tried to steal your bike, but you will have to get tough with it.

Now, once it starts to separate, you can use the blast of air to help them come apart.

I got pretty lucky on this one and it came apart on the first try. Our

mold is turning out great, but, you know, we're only about halfway there. Next. I need to come back and trim all this off and start waxing it and prepping it.

I'm leaving a little edge here. So I don't ch

the face of the mold

after the release agent is peeled off,

I'll come back and clean up the edge with sandpaper.

Once it's all cleaned up, it's time to get your wax on again.

Now, this time you're gonna have to put down 10 coats.

Yeah, I said 10. That's how I got these big guns.

Now, once you got all the wax done, apply the gel coat just like before.

Then it's time for you guessed it more resin and matte.

Now this is gonna be your new part. So make it as thick as it needs to be for a flare. Two layers will do

got it.

First coat is done.

Time for a beer.

We're not gonna pop it out the same way as before. So good toss to the floor should knock it loose.

A quick blast of air will finish the job

with just a little trimming. This flare could be painted and put on the car. Now, this does look labor intensive and believe me it is. But you can do this yourself. So don't be afraid to just give it a shot.

The mustang's got a lot of time left in the shop, but I don't. This is my last show. No, I'm not kicking the bucket, but I am going to kick up my heels and chase a few dreams. But don't worry like all good muscle cars. This show will only get better in time because it's in good hands, later,

later, later, later, later,

stop it

or later.

Are you ready?

This is gonna be a good one. This is gonna be a good one.

All right. Well, there's a lot to do before this gets in its new home. I

tell the camera

there's a lot to do before

that gets in

the four centers and all that.

But

it just came out.

Go.

I am your father. Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit,

sit, sit, sit,

sit, sit, sit, sit,

sit, sit,

sit,

sit.

I said

the

kid,

guess what?

I'm going to my trailer

later, later, later, later, later, later, later, later.