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1992 LX The street to track to street again build.

173K views 1K replies 49 participants last post by  Peter92lx 
#1 ·
This is the story of my 1992 LX fox body and my plan to rebuild it. Fair warning it long so grab your favorite beverage and I hope you enjoy.

The Story

1995-1996

I bought my mustang back in 1995 it was used with just over 8k miles on it. It wasn’t very sought after on the dealer lot since it had an automatic installed in it. I didn’t really mind at the time since I had planned on drag racing it. I did some of the normal mods to it at first cat back exhaust, 3.55 gears, JBA headers and subframe connectors. I then lowered the car on suspension technics springs, front and rear sway bars and tokico illumina shocks. I really only added the suspension to it because I liked the looks of the lowered car wasn’t thinking about handling at the time. That changed when I went to a local car show and met a guy with a 1965 GT350 he was autocross racing. He told me all about it sounded like fun so I thought I would check it out. it looked like fun but I realized the automatic was really not going to be good for autocross racing.

1997-1998

After checking out the autocross I decided that is what I wanted to do with the car. The company I worked for got internet access and I found the corral I used to go under a screen name 92lx. I searched all over the net to find the parts I would need to swap the car over to manual. So I bought all the parts I needed to convert the car from automatic to manual. I picked up everything I needed from a salvage yard the only parts I bought that were new was the tranny, clutch quadrant, clutch and flywheel. Then I added JBA racing springs, global west camber plates and hotchkis upper and lower control arms and got the car aligned for autocross. I also added Baer Racing brakes so it would stop. I started autocross racing and loved it. I met a few other guys that raced fox body mustangs and they helped me out getting the car setup. I found out quick that the rear control arms mixed with the bigger rear sway bar can make the rear of the car bind up really bad. The car had really bad wheel hop all over the place. I left the lower arms in but pulled the uppers out and put the factory arms back in and took off the rear sway bar which helped. I added clutches to the diff to tighten it up and the car started to work pretty well but I wanted more.

1999-2000

I started to look around for what I wanted to do next suspension when one of the guys I raced with got a new front suspension that turned it into a SLA front suspension. The kit added a upper control arm to the front of the car and I hadn’t seen anything like it for a mustang. The company that made it also had a complete kmember kit for the front. The kit was made by a guy named Corey Shaw at IPS suspension. Now if you have been on this site long enough you probably recognize the name. The problem at the time was the cost it was way out of my league. But while searching the for sale forums some one was selling a almost complete front an rear IPS setup. I say almost complete since it was missing the front sway bar and the brackets that held it on the car. I didn’t care and bought it. I got the rest of the parts from IPS and installed the front suspension on the car. I didn’t get the rear installed for another 6 months after the front suspension. I had my issues with it but it really worked good on the car.

2001-2003

After I installed the suspension I ran into a problem the car wasn’t legal for most SCCA classes other the CP which the car had no chance in with full interior. This when I made the worst choice I could I turned the car into a track only car. I pulled out my 4 point autopiler roll bar and added a full cage to the car and took it off the street. I thought at the time it would be super cool to own a race car. I bought a full size truck and trailer then started building my race car. it never made it to CP I started to run a local class called SU aka Street Unlimited you could do anything you wanted to the car you just had to run on a DOT approved tire. The class worked great for me so I ran it for the next few years. During the next few years I ended up breaking the rear suspension at the upper mounts and the front spindle adapters. I added a maximum motorsports panhard bar to the car to fix the rear. The front parts were going to take some real fab work with the creator and the company gone I decided to look else where for the front suspension.

2004-2006

I decided to look at all the parts MM had to offer. They were getting ready to release there own kmember and control arm setup so as soon as they released it and started taking orders I bought it. I ended up getting everything they made for the front and rear suspension except the torque arm. I still had the parallel 4 link in the car and decided to stick with it. I raced the car in this configuration until the end of 2006 and the car was great.

2007-now

Then in 2007 I started to realize having a track only car was expensive with the cost of the full size truck and renting a place to store my trailer. I wanted to buy a house get out of CC debit so I decided to sell the truck and trailer and put the car on jack stands. I bought a 2007 Subaru STI so I could still autocross in stock class without doing anything to the car. The mustang remained on jack stands only leaving them when I had to move it to a new place. The years that followed I got out of debit met my wife bought a house and became a dad. I planned on selling the car a few times because I thought my wife was tired of me toting the car around. She told me not to sell it she said if you think I’m mad about you owning that car and it just sitting around your wrong I will be mad if you sell it and try to buy another one later on. I’m lucky to have a wife that likes to autocross race with me its how we met but more on that another time. Now I have the ability to do what I wanted for the past 10 years rebuild the car.

Here's some pictures of how the car sits now. I'm trying to find some old pictures of the car I have some from my second autocross event that I will post once I find them. I also have one from a few months after I bought the car.





 
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#63 ·
So not much has happened with the car lately with my work schedule and the holidays. Unfortunately the work part isn't going to let up until Feb so not much is going to happen until then I've been mostly getting parts so when the time comes i can go straight to work on it non stop. I did it out and do a few exterior I cleaned up the manual mirrors I got and fixed up some of the trim but nothing major.

I did get a chance to start measuring the main journals of the crank. It was a bit tricky at first but I'm starting to get the hang of it now.



Its easy to do the first one but man the second one is hard with counter weight in your way.

I also noticed some surface rust on the engine block. It doesn't help it can't get humid where I live and I'm only a couple miles from the ocean. So I cleaned it off wiped down the surfaces with some oil and wrapped it in a bag to protect them for now. I had it wrapped up before in a black bag but decided to go clear this time so I can see if surface rust starts to happen again.



Like I said not much going on right now but hopefully next month I will really get a chance to work on the car.
 
#64 ·
Not to much going on with the car right now. I did finish measuring all the main and rod journals that was a long process or it seemed long since I only got to work on it for about an hour each night. I also started playing around with my bore gauge so I can start to measure the rod and main bores it took some practice but I think I'm ready to start measuring. I'm hoping in the next couple weeks I will have allot of time to work on the car and I can get this project moving again. I'm shooting for April/May time frame to get it running and ready to register.

I did add some whoa to the go I found these on here and decided to buy them.



I was at one time going to buy the kit but all I really wanted was the calipers so I've been looking off and on for a bit for a used set.
 
#66 ·
Im going to run 13 inch rotors on the front. I have a couple sets of rotors I used to run one for autocross and the other for open track. There Baer racing eradaspeed rotors that should work with these calipers. I have a set that are barely used maybe 4 or 5 autocross events so I’m going to clean them up and use them.
 
#67 ·
Small update on the car. I'm starting to do more work on the engine I got the bore gage figured out so I decided to pull all the rods apart clean them and set the torque on the rod bolts to get them ready to measure with the bore gage. I'm hoping to measure them tonight or tomorrow. It seems pretty easy to do I think the hardest part was getting the bore gage zeroed out it takes a bit to get it right. my hope is over the next week or two I can get all the bores measured so I can start to set my bearing clearance. I would love to have the bottom end built by the end of February. Here's a shot of the fun I was having last night.



Before I started this project it had been so many years since I had sat down and worked on this car I forgot how relaxing it can be to sit down and work on a it or maybe that's just me.
 
#68 ·
I got more work done on the engine this weekend. I finished up measuring the rod housing bores and everything looks good. Then worked on the bearing clearance on the rods which didn't come out to good there a little bit tight so I have to get a few new bearings that Clevite has that helps open the bearing clearance a bit. I started on measuring the mains last night I got though the first two and so far so good. This is me doing what my son tells me all the time "I'm making a mess".



I'll tell you what the 4 bolt main caps on this block are no joke didn't realize how heavy they are.



I'm hoping to get through the rest this week if I'm lucky. But by the end of this week my work schedule will go back to normal and I should be able to get some time off.
 
#69 ·
I finally got all the bearing measurements done on the engine. I found out my rod and main clearances were to tight so I'm going to have to switch to a new bearing that will give me more clearance. Its going to take a couple days to get them so I decided to work on the interior. I put the carpet in the car and found a glove box it was grey but I had some black interior paint so I got it painted. Not sure what I'm going to do around the shifter area since I'm not going to run a center console.



I also mocked up the brakes to make sure the calipers work with my rotors and cleared the my wheels.



The rotors I have will work fine so that's good since I really didn't feel like getting new ones. Then test fitted the wheels and had tons of clearance.





I'm going to work on some of the interior stuff over the next few days to start getting that done. I still have to get seats for the car been looking at getting the Corbeau A4 seats but not sure just yet. There the last part I need for the interior. Now that my work schedule is back to normal I should be able get more done on the car.
 
#72 ·
I finally got to work on the motor and finished up measuring the bearing clearances on the mains and setting the thrust on the crank. I also got the crank installed this weekend.



Its feels like I'm making progress on the motor. I'm working on the rod bearing clearance now hoping to have that done by this weekend so I can start hanging pistons. Then I need to start on filing rings for the pistons which seems like a pain in the ass.

i still need to do some more work on the interior of the car. I'm starting to look more at seats for the car I'm not completely sold on the Corbeau A4 just yet. I've been looking around at a few others.

I found this one from OMP and it looks pretty good not a bad price.

https://www.carid.com/1992-ford-mustang-seats/omp-style-series-tuning-seat-735691785.html

These also look good but I know nothing about NRG seats.

https://www.carid.com/nrg-innovations/nrg-innovations-rsc-400-frp-bucket-seat-universal-672145494.html

I also looked at going fixed back with Kirkey road race a Sparco Evo2 or Cobra Imola which I had before and it was a good seat. I've also owned an Ultra shield fixed back aluminum seat which was also good.

https://www.kirkeyracing.com/product/10/47500/SEAT-ALUMINUM-16-INTERMEDIATE-15-LAYBACK-ROAD-RACE

https://www.sparcousa.com/evo-ii-us

https://www.subesports.com/cobra/imola-pro-fit-gt/cob-6050

I'm not sure about the fixed back seats. I still want to use the factory seat belts when I drive to the track then harnesses when I'm at the track. The one thing I used to run into when I had fixed back seats with the factory seat belts is they wouldn't sit around my waist. Since the lap belt would be held up by the sides of the seats. I'm not to worried about the seats right now since the car won't be driving until some time in May hopefully. Progress is moving slower then I would like on the car.
 
#73 ·
The more I watch your build the more ashamed of mine I get. You're doing a killer job! I'm looking forward to losing to this car.

I'm curious as to what you land on for seat choice. I'm running some eBay seats that were in the car when I bought it... and after I cage my car some proper seats are on the list.
 
#74 ·
The more I watch your build the more ashamed of mine I get. You're doing a killer job! I'm looking forward to losing to this car.
Your car is what pushes me to get mine up and running. Every time I see it all I can think is I need to get my car moving. I might need something to drive this weekend let me know if you want a co-driver. I saw in your build thread you mentioned some fresher tires if you have any 315 take offs you want to unload let me know. I need a couple 315 BFG for test fitting on the front and back.
 
#75 · (Edited)
I got more work done on the motor. I got the pistons hung on the rods and the all the ring gaps set. Now after allot of work I have all the rods and pistons installed in the block.

Here's the pistons on the rods. There a Wiseco 4.125 I got from fordstrokers.



I found it wasn't to hard to get them in the block I used a tapered ring compressor from ARP and it worked great.



I got off them torqued down and ready to go. I rotated the assembly a few times and it moves really smooth.



Now it's time to move on to the cam. I'm hoping from here the engine build will start to go faster but we will see still allot of work to do.

I did make a decision on the seats for the car I ended up getting a Sparco Evo 2 US for my driver seat and a Corbeau FX1 for my passenger seat. The club I race with was hosting the event so I work tech inspection so I got to sit in every version of the FX1 and a few Evo 2 and I liked how the Evo 2 fit me better then the FX1. I ordered those last night they should be here in the next few weeks.
 
#76 ·
That shortblock is a thing of beauty. Those are such nice blocks and internals.

One thing I have yet to conquer on my own is dialing in a cam and degreeing it. I know how it works, I know what to do, but I've never attempted to do it. I've never had a motor that really would of benefited from it. Hell, I was half concerned my setup now was one bad day away from bending a valve haha! But I'm glad to see yours is coming along. Before you know it, it'll be making good power.
 
#77 ·
Thanks man its coming along. It felt really good to get the motor this far since I have never built one to this extent myself. I'm in the same boat I've never dialed in a cam before the last one I put in the motor all I did was install it and a friend set it up for me. I put the cam in last night but that was as far as I got. I have the timing set just need to get that in and check the cam thrust. I bought most of the parts for the engine from fordstrokers and Woody has been such a huge help getting this motor together answering all my dumb questions. I just can't wait to get this thing up and running.
 
#78 ·
Why the dished pistons? Are there plans for a blower? I used flat tops in my 363 (also with 58cc AFR heads), I do run 93 octane. Also curious about the 3.25" stroke, and why you chose to give up the displacement of the 3.4" crank? Cost is the same.

Just curious, I think you're doing a fabulous job on the car!

Jay
 
#79 ·
To be honest not doing better research before buying parts is why its a 347 and not a 363. When I first started this build I wanted to build a 347 the plan was to do it in a stock block. I decided to go aftermarket since I worried about the stock block not being able to handle the power and abuse. It probably would have been fine in a stock block but I wanted the piece of mind the Dart SHP block provided. When I saw how heavy the Dart block was I wanted to see what could be done to make it lighter. I found the big bore version was 10lb lighter then the standard bore. I did think at this point why not go 363 if I do a big bore block but worried about it passing smog in CA and I didn’t think the AFR heads would be able to flow enough for the 363. I think I was wrong on both counts. The dish pistons were planned I wanted to keep the compression around 9.5:1-9.8:1 so I could run the crappy 91 octane gas we have in CA fine.

If I had to do it over again it would most likely be a 363 but I would keep the lower compression. I'm planning later on down the road to either rebuild it and turn it into a 363 or I have thought about a small Vortech 5psi kit but first I need to get the car up and running.
 
#80 ·
Started working on the fenders last night. I taped up on the front of the car to start figuring out how I'm going to get them fitted to the body. I focused on the front of the car first since its going to take the most work. The rear should be pretty easy the only hard part is the cutting up of the body. I first started by getting all the molding pieces off the front fenders. Then I taped up the flares on the side of the car.









The tough part about the front is the MM suspension adding an 1 1/2 inches to the wheel base and getting a 315/18 tire to swing under the fender in the front. I had to do allot of work to get a 275/17 to fit. The main problem is the lower part of the fender where it curls in just below the molding. I'm thinking about following the fender arch all the way down the fender which would trim about 2 inches of the edge fender then cover it up with the molding and adding the Cervini's Saleen front air dam. The lower fender moldings are attached to the air dam so I could use that to flare out the bottom and use strips of aluminum to hold it out so the tire can swing under the fender.

Side note I did order seats for the car. I decided to go with a Sparco Evo 2 US for the driver seat and a Corbeau FX1 for the passenger seat. I tech inspection at the local autocross and I got to sit in every version of the FX1 and the Sparco Evo seat and I found the Sparco fit me the best. I should have the Sparco on Monday I'll get some pictures when it comes in.
 
#81 ·
I keep wanting to flare my car, but then I stop when I realize the work involved. Then I forget, and start all over again lol.

I need to work on fender clearance on my car as is, but I really would love to square a set of 315's just like you plan. I can only imagine how much of an improvement in front grip it provides.
 
#82 ·
#86 ·
Yeah when you mock them up you can start to really tell how bad they fit. Its going to take some work to get them mounted right.

It was such a weird failure to have I've never had that happen before. I felt so bad when I opened the hood to see the huge mess that was made. No worries about the runs it was just a blast to get a chance to drive it. I didn't realize the car had that much grip in it. When its done you will definitely have to drive it.
 
#87 ·
Did some more work on the flares last night. I mocked them up on the rear of the car to start getting an idea of what I'm going to have to do to get them to fit right. I can see now its going to take allot of work to get these things to fit nice.





I think I'm going to end up cutting off the bottom part of the flares right at the bottom of the molding. That part doesn't do anything and it seems like the part that fits the worst. Then I'm going to use some 3M panel bonding and rivets to attach them to the body. Before I really dig into it I will have to get some tires for mock up. I'm going to wait until the beginning of April to get the tires for the car. No need to get them now since I have plenty to do on the engine and interior.
 
#88 ·
Got some more work done on the engine this weekend. I got the cam installed and the degree set. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be to setup. It took me longer to get the cam thrust set.



Then I had to stop on the engine I need push rod length checking tools which I have on order and should be in next week. Since I couldn't go any further on the engine I decided to move on to the interior of the car. I got the passenger seat for the car so I test fitted it to the car.



It might be bit on the tail side but it seems to work fine. The driver seat is coming in on Monday. I already got the mounting bracket but it was wrong or something went to put it in and nothing lined up.



The bracket is way to big so I will have to return it. I'm going to look at getting a planted bracket for the car. I did get some work done on the door panels I got the driver and passenger side laid out started working on the driver door but my drill bit broke.





I might have gone a bit overboard with the rivets. I spaced them 2 inches apart I probably should have done 3 inches. I really hope nothing happens in the door which causes me to have to take the panel off it will suck to have to remove all those rivets. I'm going to get a some new drill bits tomorrow and hopefully complete the door panels tomorrow night. This week I'm hoping to have more of the interior done and the push rods on order for the engine.
 
#89 ·
I finished up the doors last night pretty happy with the way they turned out.





the window crank holes didn't line up perfectly but I kind of expected that so it was no big deal I had to open them up a bit but you can't tell since there covered up by the handle. I have a few more things to do on the front part of the interior then it should be done. I have some stuff I needed for the motor so I'm going to move back to working on that tonight. I need to figure out my push rod length then work on piston to valve clearance.
 
#90 ·
I got some work done on the motor over the rest of this week its starting to look like something. I figured out the push rod length and the piston to valve clearance. I got the heads installed and torqued down.



Then I got the all valve train setup.



Everything is looking good so far I need to start pulling a few things from the motor in the car like the valve covers and intake so I can make sure the factory valve covers will work with the roller rockers. Plus I want to clean them up there look a little beat up. I'm hoping in the next few weeks I can pull the old motor out of the car and get the new one installed.
 
#91 ·
Now that I'm starting to get far along in the build of the new engine there are a few things I need off of the old motor so last night I decided to start tearing it down to get it ready to remove in the next couple weeks.



I was planning on using the stock valve covers but found out last night they won't fit. I'm starting to look into options now which ever way I go I'm probably going to have to raise my upper intake to clear they which I didn't want to do but I should have enough clearance to the hood. I looked at a set from ford but I don't think there going to be any better. I also looked at spacers LMR sells but there $149 I can get a set of Holley or Anderson motorsports valve covers for that much.
 
#98 ·
The cam I ended up using was from CHP it was based on there 347E cam. I was having a hard time finding a good 347 cam that was smog legal so I contacted them since I knew they had a 347 they sold that has a CARB number. The cam is on the mid to mild side its really not that aggressive since I want the car to blow clean so I can smog it. I might go a bit more aggressive in the future but we will see.
 
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