Hellraiser - 1969 Mustang back from the dead with attitude
Discussion
So a bit of background on me, my mate lets call him BadHand and the name. Yonks ago a Bachand built an '05 Mustang street/track car that ended up being known as Hell Yeah. He hit hard times and had to sell it on, but always said as soon as things got better, He'd be back bigger and better with something even more special.
So things got better and Badhand started thinking about a project. Having always loved the classic 'Stangs, but wanting something that handled as well as the S197 he'd lost and even as good as the S550 which was just coming out, He came up with the idea of building something along the lines of the Agent 47 Harbinger, Ken Block's Hoonigan or Vaughn Gittins RTR-X. A '69 pro-tourer basically. Classic body but modern motor and suspension.
We decided it would be fun to combine as many generations as possible into one as a Forum Project car. Realistically though, (and should I say this openly?) there's not much from 1970 to 2005 We' d want on it! I considered the classic Mustang2 front end upgrade, but then thought stuff it, we can make something better than that!
we' always had a thing for coupes and decided, as they are always cheaper than the Fastbacks, he'd start looking around for a good half-finished '69 coupe project for as few dollars as possible. He started scribbling on napkins to get a feel for the project and to get some inspiration in the time it was taking to find something suitable.
So that's a '69 Mach 1 from Texas, which is the first spanner in the works - it's not a coupe - but was such a bargain he couldn't turn it down. And is where the name comes from, Hellraiser sounded cool. A project has to have a name right?
Then there's the second spanner, a Ford Racing Coyote crate engine, ECU, ancileries and T56 gearbox and my mates misses, Mrs Badhand.
So things got better and Badhand started thinking about a project. Having always loved the classic 'Stangs, but wanting something that handled as well as the S197 he'd lost and even as good as the S550 which was just coming out, He came up with the idea of building something along the lines of the Agent 47 Harbinger, Ken Block's Hoonigan or Vaughn Gittins RTR-X. A '69 pro-tourer basically. Classic body but modern motor and suspension.
We decided it would be fun to combine as many generations as possible into one as a Forum Project car. Realistically though, (and should I say this openly?) there's not much from 1970 to 2005 We' d want on it! I considered the classic Mustang2 front end upgrade, but then thought stuff it, we can make something better than that!
we' always had a thing for coupes and decided, as they are always cheaper than the Fastbacks, he'd start looking around for a good half-finished '69 coupe project for as few dollars as possible. He started scribbling on napkins to get a feel for the project and to get some inspiration in the time it was taking to find something suitable.
So that's a '69 Mach 1 from Texas, which is the first spanner in the works - it's not a coupe - but was such a bargain he couldn't turn it down. And is where the name comes from, Hellraiser sounded cool. A project has to have a name right?
Then there's the second spanner, a Ford Racing Coyote crate engine, ECU, ancileries and T56 gearbox and my mates misses, Mrs Badhand.
Edited by cati on Wednesday 30th September 10:01
So the second spanner in the works was when Mrs.Badhand discovered he'd spunked ten grand on a new motor without asking her. To say she was p!ssed is an understatement and he had to do some lengthy diplomatic work, well grovelling really, to get the 'Me or the car' sentence reduced to 'Sell the bloody engine and get the money back'. Which whilst not ideal, meant he could keep both car and wife.
So it's at this point that I come to the rescue and offers to cover the cost of the engine and get on board with the build. Result! Not only have i saved my mates bacon, but Badhand's a good mate and long term trackday buddy. I'm stoked. It'll be great having someone I know to share the pain and frustration through this project and also to share the driving to Spa and Nürburgring when its finished!!!
Anyway... on with the build. Or not. As the hulk has stayed in my garage all winter while we gather parts and try to figure out what the hell to do with the chassis. As it stands, the original body shell sits on a part Art Morrison, part unidentified chassis. The front clip looks like it has Mustang 2 set up and the back is all mahoosive Hoosier and Strange axle undrivability.
Up front. Plan is to work out where the wheels are going to sit. Then using something like KW Clubsport struts and with the car sitting at the right height (4") we'll work back from the fixed distances to get the dims for the bespoke made adjustable wishbones and mounts.
Up back, it's uncharted, but current thinking is to get hold of an S550 IRS unit and hook that up to some more KW Coilovers mounted internally on a bespoke made push rod cantilever system like the Maeir unit used on the RTR-X Lawman mentioned. Maier don't sell that unit anymore, but I have a very talented engineer friend sourcing the bilet and drawing up the plans for something even better...
Well we ended up finding a complete IRS subframe asssembly from the S550 on eBay and we've managed to shuv it in the back of the '69. Hooray!
Got the car sitting on blocks at its 5" ride height, have taken datum points and worked out most stuff will fit. We're planning on 18x12" rims at the rear and 18 x 10"s up front. We've mocked it up with 19"s from cati's S550 and have all the hubs/knuckles ready to take the Forgelines when we can get hold of them. We're pretty much building this car from them backwards. Our plans to use cati's S550 front struts has gone out the window though. Apart from anything else, at this ride height, the long struts will burst through the front wings.
Anyway, some photographic evidence that something has actually happened
So it's at this point that I come to the rescue and offers to cover the cost of the engine and get on board with the build. Result! Not only have i saved my mates bacon, but Badhand's a good mate and long term trackday buddy. I'm stoked. It'll be great having someone I know to share the pain and frustration through this project and also to share the driving to Spa and Nürburgring when its finished!!!
Anyway... on with the build. Or not. As the hulk has stayed in my garage all winter while we gather parts and try to figure out what the hell to do with the chassis. As it stands, the original body shell sits on a part Art Morrison, part unidentified chassis. The front clip looks like it has Mustang 2 set up and the back is all mahoosive Hoosier and Strange axle undrivability.
Up front. Plan is to work out where the wheels are going to sit. Then using something like KW Clubsport struts and with the car sitting at the right height (4") we'll work back from the fixed distances to get the dims for the bespoke made adjustable wishbones and mounts.
Up back, it's uncharted, but current thinking is to get hold of an S550 IRS unit and hook that up to some more KW Coilovers mounted internally on a bespoke made push rod cantilever system like the Maeir unit used on the RTR-X Lawman mentioned. Maier don't sell that unit anymore, but I have a very talented engineer friend sourcing the bilet and drawing up the plans for something even better...
Well we ended up finding a complete IRS subframe asssembly from the S550 on eBay and we've managed to shuv it in the back of the '69. Hooray!
Got the car sitting on blocks at its 5" ride height, have taken datum points and worked out most stuff will fit. We're planning on 18x12" rims at the rear and 18 x 10"s up front. We've mocked it up with 19"s from cati's S550 and have all the hubs/knuckles ready to take the Forgelines when we can get hold of them. We're pretty much building this car from them backwards. Our plans to use cati's S550 front struts has gone out the window though. Apart from anything else, at this ride height, the long struts will burst through the front wings.
Anyway, some photographic evidence that something has actually happened
Edited by cati on Thursday 26th October 22:10
Edited by cati on Thursday 26th October 22:44
So earlier this year, Hellraiser on FB, was moved to its new temporary home. Its no fun loading a car with no steering or brakes but it went surprisingly smoothly. Hope it's an Omen.
Badhand has been hard at working sorting stuff out. 2 days just measuring stuff. We now reckon we know how we can fit the IRS assembly and the huge 12" wide 18s in there. Chassis is now supported on on blocks to give us an idea of ride height and work out all the dimensions. It's not quite the ideal 4" we'd hoped for but that's probably just as well for a street car. It's 5" at the back, raking to 4.75 up front. We plan to use adjustable shocks so can dial her in for track work hopefully.
From the way she's sitting now, we'll need to tub it and the flares are going to be at least 4". You can't really see from the pic, but I reckon this is sitting nicely.
The IRS subframe is tacked in place, which makes me very happy. Hopefully you can see from the pic and sketches how it will fit into the existing frame once the cross members are cut in.
[pic] [/pic]
Badhand has been hard at working sorting stuff out. 2 days just measuring stuff. We now reckon we know how we can fit the IRS assembly and the huge 12" wide 18s in there. Chassis is now supported on on blocks to give us an idea of ride height and work out all the dimensions. It's not quite the ideal 4" we'd hoped for but that's probably just as well for a street car. It's 5" at the back, raking to 4.75 up front. We plan to use adjustable shocks so can dial her in for track work hopefully.
From the way she's sitting now, we'll need to tub it and the flares are going to be at least 4". You can't really see from the pic, but I reckon this is sitting nicely.
The IRS subframe is tacked in place, which makes me very happy. Hopefully you can see from the pic and sketches how it will fit into the existing frame once the cross members are cut in.
[pic] [/pic]
Edited by cati on Wednesday 30th September 10:01
Hmmm... With the rear subframe in position and a 19" rim and a block of wood, we worked out how our 18" wheels would sit once we'd dropped the car to our ride height. Which will be 3-degrees of camber.
So we now have two options:
1. Raise the subframe.
2. Use Steeda adjustable camber arms.
Option 1 is a massive pain in the arse as we'll need to seriously modify the chassis rails to accommodate the upwards move. See second photo. The cradle will interfere with the rails, so we'd need to cut them out and brace the top significantly. Apart from the hassle, it'll look butt ugly. Another potential hassle, is the raised height of the assembly will position the prop shaft at an angle which will hit our prop tunnel. Whilst not overcome-able, it's more work constructing a new one and faffing about.
Option 2, is a phone call to Steeda... Tough decision!
Steeda Autosports @steeda @steedaautosports #Steeda
Hit a roadblock. They say assumption is the mother of all feck ups, well they're right. After all our debating on whether we should use S550 Mac strut set up or go SLA, and deciding to go the S550 route, we realise we just can't. Bloody things are way too long, come up at the wrong angle and are just a load of balls to make work.
Back to the drawing board. More head scratchin
we scored some of these adjustable rear camber arm beauties from Steeda! who have kindly come on board as a sponsor of the build....
So we now have two options:
1. Raise the subframe.
2. Use Steeda adjustable camber arms.
Option 1 is a massive pain in the arse as we'll need to seriously modify the chassis rails to accommodate the upwards move. See second photo. The cradle will interfere with the rails, so we'd need to cut them out and brace the top significantly. Apart from the hassle, it'll look butt ugly. Another potential hassle, is the raised height of the assembly will position the prop shaft at an angle which will hit our prop tunnel. Whilst not overcome-able, it's more work constructing a new one and faffing about.
Option 2, is a phone call to Steeda... Tough decision!
Steeda Autosports @steeda @steedaautosports #Steeda
Hit a roadblock. They say assumption is the mother of all feck ups, well they're right. After all our debating on whether we should use S550 Mac strut set up or go SLA, and deciding to go the S550 route, we realise we just can't. Bloody things are way too long, come up at the wrong angle and are just a load of balls to make work.
Back to the drawing board. More head scratchin
we scored some of these adjustable rear camber arm beauties from Steeda! who have kindly come on board as a sponsor of the build....
so as the suspension was moving along we had to consider brakes etc so the build could continue
OK. Wilwood have the right product, so hats off there, but couldn't deal with me as a non US resident, so they passed me over to Summit Racing who were not only very, very helpful, but cheaper than the manufacturer too.
http://www.summitracing.com
Waiting now begins for a set of Wilwood Aero 6 pot callipers in custom colour (i know, flash aint we?), 14" two piece rotors, hubs and their Mustang II pro spindles with 2" drop. Plus line kit.
That not only means we can add another generation Mustang part to our component list, but that we can start speccing the front wishbones as soon as this lot got snuck it in the house while Mrs. Badhand was out, to unbox and inspect it all. Gotta say I'm so impressed with the Competition Orange callipers. Can't wait to get these behind the Forgelines.
pic]https://i.imgur.com/cIlTZQr.jpg[/pic]
OK. Wilwood have the right product, so hats off there, but couldn't deal with me as a non US resident, so they passed me over to Summit Racing who were not only very, very helpful, but cheaper than the manufacturer too.
http://www.summitracing.com
Waiting now begins for a set of Wilwood Aero 6 pot callipers in custom colour (i know, flash aint we?), 14" two piece rotors, hubs and their Mustang II pro spindles with 2" drop. Plus line kit.
That not only means we can add another generation Mustang part to our component list, but that we can start speccing the front wishbones as soon as this lot got snuck it in the house while Mrs. Badhand was out, to unbox and inspect it all. Gotta say I'm so impressed with the Competition Orange callipers. Can't wait to get these behind the Forgelines.
pic]https://i.imgur.com/cIlTZQr.jpg[/pic]
Dropping of this lot to the secret hideaway... the magic of M&K has massaged the steeda arms to the 2016 mustang IRS
[pic] https://i.imgur.com/La92S4v.jpg [/pic]
As the brain of the 69 in true zombie fashion, was completely missing..... well ECU in the 1969 stood for something back then but it was european currency unit, not ECU as we know know... anyhoo... long story short it is going to have the 2016 brain, so it made sense to at least have some safety and ABS... so the machine elves at M&K machined the hubs to take the ABS ring from 2016 hubs
[pic] https://i.imgur.com/La92S4v.jpg [/pic]
As the brain of the 69 in true zombie fashion, was completely missing..... well ECU in the 1969 stood for something back then but it was european currency unit, not ECU as we know know... anyhoo... long story short it is going to have the 2016 brain, so it made sense to at least have some safety and ABS... so the machine elves at M&K machined the hubs to take the ABS ring from 2016 hubs
Using the much too short and s
tty Mustang II 'bones that came with the car, we were able to mock up enough to get measurements for the new wishbones to give to....an old car racing and mustang fabricator who has moved to distant shores to build special things for kiwis - we shall refer to him as Spanner Monkey!
This is going to be interesting as the Monkey inhabits a secret lair in the Antipodes. But I know it's going to be worth the hassle as he knows his bananas and thanks to his opposable thumbs is quite a dab hand with the hammer and welder. He'll be building the upper and lower arms as well as the mounts. All fully adjustable. Once they're done, they'll be shipped back here for assembly. Careful measuring needed:
Bit of fiddling going on:
1. Working out the platform that will support the Spanner Monkey™ inboard cantilever suspension system.
2. Steel strip shows where floor will meet wheel tub and cross section of tub.
3. Profile and position of the arches which will be fabbed out os steel and either bolted on or blended in. Still to be decided. They'll be bolted on anyway, so we can decide once we've seen them...
4. All the steel tubing is in ready for the roll cage to be made.
5. We were stoked to discover this fibreglass cast from an original '69 Boss at the back of the workshop. I love the shape of the 69 dash so am really happy that we can get this lightweight alternative in the cockpit, cut around the new roll cage.
Oh, and we spunked some cash on some bits today too. Most of the underside panels of Hellraiser is rotten, so most of the day and yesterday was spent on phone and internet tracking down bits and pieces of fresh repro '69 metal.
Classic stuff is a new area for me, but it appears that Magnum are the go-to guys for replacement body panels over here. So through various retailers of their product I tracked down a bulkhead/firewall and a complete floor.
Inner fender aprons were harder to find so I ended up getting Dynacorn (I'd heard of them!) items from CJ Pony Parts. Shipping cost more than the parts...
It's all pretty cheap though
tty Mustang II 'bones that came with the car, we were able to mock up enough to get measurements for the new wishbones to give to....an old car racing and mustang fabricator who has moved to distant shores to build special things for kiwis - we shall refer to him as Spanner Monkey! This is going to be interesting as the Monkey inhabits a secret lair in the Antipodes. But I know it's going to be worth the hassle as he knows his bananas and thanks to his opposable thumbs is quite a dab hand with the hammer and welder. He'll be building the upper and lower arms as well as the mounts. All fully adjustable. Once they're done, they'll be shipped back here for assembly. Careful measuring needed:
Bit of fiddling going on:
1. Working out the platform that will support the Spanner Monkey™ inboard cantilever suspension system.
2. Steel strip shows where floor will meet wheel tub and cross section of tub.
3. Profile and position of the arches which will be fabbed out os steel and either bolted on or blended in. Still to be decided. They'll be bolted on anyway, so we can decide once we've seen them...
4. All the steel tubing is in ready for the roll cage to be made.
5. We were stoked to discover this fibreglass cast from an original '69 Boss at the back of the workshop. I love the shape of the 69 dash so am really happy that we can get this lightweight alternative in the cockpit, cut around the new roll cage.
Oh, and we spunked some cash on some bits today too. Most of the underside panels of Hellraiser is rotten, so most of the day and yesterday was spent on phone and internet tracking down bits and pieces of fresh repro '69 metal.
Classic stuff is a new area for me, but it appears that Magnum are the go-to guys for replacement body panels over here. So through various retailers of their product I tracked down a bulkhead/firewall and a complete floor.
Inner fender aprons were harder to find so I ended up getting Dynacorn (I'd heard of them!) items from CJ Pony Parts. Shipping cost more than the parts...
It's all pretty cheap though
Edited by cati on Thursday 26th October 23:21
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