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The hybrid project of the 78 Mustang II Road Racer had several challenges to overcome. To start, there were several mods needed to transplant the base drivetrain from the 89 GT to the 78 Mustang II:
-- 6-8 hours to pull down 89 wiring harness and find correct power/ground/sensor leads, fit to 78 harness, strip out unneeded wiring and clean everything up with plugs for disconnection.
-- Change Auto brake pedal with Manual brake pedal/clutch pedal
-- Trans mount had to be moved back 2" to fit the T5; stock 4speed for 78 was shorter, so the chassis mounts for the trans crossmember were notched and the crossmember relocated.
-- Driveshaft had to be shortened 2" and balanced
-- Clutch cable shimmed and tweaked; the throwout arm on the 89 had a larger diameter cable ball than the 78. This is only a short term solution and will eventually replacing with a hydraulic system.
-- Modified factory Y-pipe with O2 sensor bungs. Later replaced factory manifolds with long tube headers and dual 3" racing glasspacks. Required heavy modification of the lead tube on the drivers side due to 89 bellhousing (78 had different positioning on clutch arm and starter). There are very few sets of headers available for the 74-78 Mustangs.
With the engine in and running, the car was driven for several months to ensure a solid running system. At this point, I decided to put it back in the shop and continue with the upgrades. Next in to the car was a top end engine upgrade. This consisted of mass air housing, throttle body, intake, fuel injectors, head work, camshaft, timing chain, valve springs, rockers, and pushrods. I retained the factory roller lifters, which were in good condition. The factory heads will be replaced with better quality aluminum heads, following the turbo upgrade.
After completing the engine upgrades, it was on to the saftey upgrades. Rather than starting from scratch on the roll cage, I used a premade kit from Jegs, that was easy to install with only minor upgrades and notching needed. This is a 10 point cage, which I tweaked to my needs, leaving in the door bars but adding a bend for ease of entry/exit of the car. I am currently fabricating the seat brackets for the adjustable racing seats, and will be installing 5 point harnesses.
Also included with the safety upgrades, was a half and half safety/performance upgrade of a racing Ford 9" full floater rear end, with disc brakes, 3.73 gears, and posi. This is a far superior rear axle to the stock Ford 8.8" used in the Mustang II's, which had a lower gear ratio, non-posi, and drum brakes. We had contemplated changing to a 4 link suspension, but decided to stay with the stock leaf spring setup for ease of setup and versatility. With the opposing side shock configuration, wheel hop isn't a real issue.
Tuning
The current stage of the project is tuning the car. This is accomplished with a few different tools: a Moates QuarterHorse tuning chip that connects to the stock Ford EEC computer, Clint Garrity's Binary Editor and EEC Analyzer software to datalog engine variables and present suggestiongs for tune changes, and an AEM UEGO Wideband O2 sensor to track detailed AFR. Currently waiting to get some good driving time logs, weather permitting.
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