Selling Off Old Parts and Supplies

There are a number of parts for the Mustang that I have sitting around that I'm not using.  In order to make space, reclaim some money I've spent, and build funds for other work, I'm going to start selling off old parts.  I'll track what I sell here just to keep track of the value of it all.

Holley Street Avenger 670 - $460.00

Holley Street Avenger 570

Holley Throttle Solenoid 46-74

New Project & Thinking Ahead

The Mustang is a project that I've enjoyed for years.  My enjoyment of it has diminished over time as there are fewer items remaining on the car that I find rewarding to complete.  I've begun to create projects that are not as important as paint in a way to distract me with continued progress just not in the best direction.

I'm left with paint to consider it complete but can't do that myself and don't want to spend the $25k quoted locally for a top notch paint job.  The plan I'm going to move forward with is to address the remainder of the items with the car to make it an exceptional driver.  I'll then address the rust and see about getting paint work performed without completely taking it all apart to restore it fully.  

Instead of spending the money to paint it, I took the money I'd accumulated and purchased a 1993 Mustang.  That car has been attracting more of my time lately but I will ultimately return to get some more work done on the '67.

The 2027 Power Tour is likely to come back close enough to where I live to participate again.  I mentioned it to my son and he suggested he drive the '67 and I drive the '93 which would be pretty awesome.  However, there are a number of things I would want to accomplish on both cars for that to happen.  That said, I've a year to make all of those things happen which is certainly feasible.

What is on the to-do list:

• Front Brakes - Braking power is reduced and I suspect the rubber front lines.
• Parking Brake - The parking brake hasn't worked in years and he would need it.
• Radio Wiring - I placed the Alpine in the '93 for a bit and need to get this back right.
• Trunk Mat - I removed the amplifier and subwoofer and need a new trunk mat.
• Front Fuel Filter Mount - This is a residual project from the Sniper installation.
• Hood Alignment - A hood hinge needs to be adjusted so the hood closes properly.
• Clutch Reservoir - This needs a new mount and a replacement lid - hit by hinge.
• Headlight Wiring - Still remaining from the failure during Power Tour 2023
• New Tires - I expect I'll need new tires at least on the front as they are rather worn.
• Swap Thermostat Housing - Get AutoMeter gauge working again.
• Fix Leaks - I think I now have a leak at the power steering pump.
• Fan Wiring - Switch to Sniper controlled fans
• A/C Vent Tube - Swap to avoid condensation dripping into floorboard
• Battery Clamp - The positive side clamp is broken.
• Shock Tops & Strike Bar - This is clean up and touching up with paint.
• Fix Parking Brake - This never seems to want to work properly.
• EFI Wiring - Clean up the EFI wiring
• Driver Door Rust
• Rear Deck Lid Rust
• Repair Tail Light Panel
• Rear Quarter Panels
• Paint!

Holley Sniper Stealth EFI - Part 15 (Driving)

Today, I went on another drive in the Mustang since installing the Sniper system.  The Sniper system has met all of my expectations.  I anticipated some significant challenges as that is what I've always encountered with a carburetor.  It really does seem like you just drive it around and the tune constantly gets better.

Throttle response and power seem far better than before. Today, I left at full throttle from a stop and had nothing but wheel spin until 5,500 rpm.  I quickly shifted to second and had the same thing occur for the first time ever.  I shifted to third and I was off quick.  There are a few areas like 50mph in 4th and 60mph in 5th where I'm reaching 22% learned.  There are others like 3rd gear at around 35mph where it still states low single digits.

I've had it die when stopping on a few occasions.  When I push in the clutch, it doesn't know exactly what to think.  At times, it will immediately cause the AFR to go way lean (22:1) and the engine will die.  I'm still rolling to a stop and it will sometimes start back up.  Chat GPT, my new second hobby, suggested I change the Target Idle RPM from 850 to 900 or 950.  Additionally, it suggested changing the IAC Ramp Decay (from 4 to 5 seconds).  There is another setting I checked for IAC Hold Position which is set to 20% automatically when seems to be accurate.

ChatGPT thinks there is an issue with a setting called Decel Fuel Cut but that isn't anywhere in my settings.  That seems to indicate it was removed.  ChatGPT suggested testing a bit more and if that doesn't work perform a firmware update or adjust the tune on a laptop.

The only items I've changed so far is the Idle RPM to 930 and the IAC Ramp Decay to 5 seconds).  What I need to watch next is what happens to the idle when I push in the clutch.  I know it stops briefly before dropping completely when the engine stalls.  What is it dropping to briefly before the stall occurs?

Current mileage is at 8632 so I'm at about 100 miles since the Sniper was installed.  What is sad is after Power Tour, I did some basic maintenance and the mileage was 8401.  It was at 8535 when I installed the Sniper.  I've drove almost as much since the Sniper was installed as I did in the two years prior.  Damn carburetor problems.

Holley Sniper Stealth EFI - Part 14 (Start-Up)

This morning, I performed the start-up process as defined in the Sniper manual.  The steps primarily consist of using the Wizard to define some variables, confirming your throttle position sensor is reading properly (0 to 102% in my case), and checking for leaks.  When that is complete, you cycle power and then are ready to start the engine.

This is the point where you always hesitate just a little and start to think over everything that you just checked to make sure you feel good before turning the key.  I turned the key and it took between two and three seconds and the engine started.  It ran rather smooth and with the outside temp so low the coolant temp was at an initial 69 degrees.  The engine would not start to learn until it reached operating temperature of 180.

When the engine first started the idle was close to 1,200 RPM (set to decrease to 850 when warm).  As the engine began to warm up, the RPM increased a little and was closer to 1,600.  The AFR was initially around 12.5 at start up but slowly increased to where it was rather lean.  The average was probably around 15.5 but there were points it would spike much higher.  

The entire time the car was getting to temperature, the CL Status was OpenLP and it doesn't start learning until that states ClosedLP and the temp is above 180.  The temperature ultimately reached 186 but the CL Status didn't change to closed.  The idle also stayed at 1,600.  The AFR stayed rather high too and when I captured a few pictures it showed 16.8, 18.8, 16.6, and 17.1 (it was obviously changing rapidly so I took a few quick pictures in succession).

After letting the vehicle idle for a while at 1,600 RPM and above 180, I decided it wasn't going to switch to learn mode and turned the car off.  After researching it a little, I found that I need to adjust down the idle setting in order to get tuning to begin as my idle was too high for that to start.  I adjusted out the idle screen by a half turn, started the car, and it was still warm enough that it went straight to ClosedLP.  

I drove around a little amount found that the idle was still high (1,100) and didn't drop properly when I came to a stop.  That was because the IAC was better but still not set correctly.  The proper setting is between 2% and 10% and mine still read 0% which meant it was still out of range and the system couldn't then manage the idle RPM for me.  I turned out the idle screw another 3/4 turn or so and the IAC% was 4.  When the fans came on, it went to 9%.  The Sniper then controlled the idle properly at 850.

The car is running smoother at idle than I remember.  It seems to have really good throttle response.  I drove it another 18 miles (starting mileage at installation was 8535).  I'm rather impressed at how quickly it started and has been able to tune itself.  I'm quite glad to have the car running and driving again as it has been a while.  I moved to this new house a little over a year ago and have only really driven it 20 miles since because of the carburetor problems.

Holley Sniper Stealth EFI - Part 13 (Final Steps Before Start-Up)

The temperature has been in the low 30s or 20s all weekend with quite a bit of ice accumulation.  As a result, we have been mostly locked up in the house.  While the garage is cold, I've used a little Heater Buddy to keep the temperature to the point I can work off and on.

Over the weekend, I wired up a dedicated ground to the fuel sending unit.  I also filled a gas tank with 4 gallons of gas so I can add it to the tank when I'm ready to see the impact on the gauge.  I've not done it to this point as it will smell and probably not the best idea to have the heater going in those conditions.

I created a small mount for the fuel tank vent and ran it out of the old hole in the floor where the sending unit wires were originally routed.  It is mounted using the old exhaust hanger bolts so it is slightly close to the exhaust but not excessive.  I painted the bracket with more of the Kylon Matte Black paint.  The bracket already had holes in it but I figure having something that works for now is better than waiting for perfection in two weeks.  I can go back and make these various brackets perfect later if I choose.

I then worked to fasten the fuel lines along the underside of the car.  I used zip ties at the lower side of the fuel tank, made a couple of brackets around the axle (shown below), and then used some very large zip ties (#UL181B-C) that are super thick and made to hold HVAC ducting to hold the lines to the subframe connectors.

I still need to secure the line as it runs up the back of the transmission.  I also need to make a bracket which holds the fuel filter right behind the throttle body.