Comparison of old and new.
Old
Process of tearing down the IRS.
Back in a Cobra
- Thread starter RichM1983
- Start date
Comparison of old and new.
Old
Process of tearing down the IRS.
More.
Heres the pumpkin. It was leaking from the cover and both seals for the axles. I put new seals and new lub, cleaned it all up and got it ready to go back in.
IRS cradle naked.
Piles of IRS parts.
The beginnings of cleaning and painting the IRS parts.
Pumpkin cleanup process.
New bearings and seals being pressed in.
Pumpkin done.
Cradle done.
A bunch of freshened up IRS parts.
So here is where I made another huge mistake…I thought it would be easier to put back in partially done….BIG mistake. It make it way more difficult in the end putting it together. I thought the weight I was saving would help me in the long run with getting the cradle bolted in. It didn’t. The cradle was still a bitch. Be sure to put the front cradle bolts in first then the back two.
Cradle done.
A bunch of freshened up IRS parts.
So here is where I made another huge mistake…I thought it would be easier to put back in partially done….BIG mistake. It make it way more difficult in the end putting it together. I thought the weight I was saving would help me in the long run with getting the cradle bolted in. It didn’t. The cradle was still a bitch. Be sure to put the front cradle bolts in first then the back two.
Here is the knuckle before cleaning and installing.
Here is the completely finished IRS. I painted the stock springs and put back in and freshened up the calipers. Everything was painted/cleaned. It was a lot of work.
Now the trans goes back in. It was tough to do by myself. I got it though. I put in a new throw-out bearing and pilot bearing but the clutch and pressure plate was still good so back in they went. I also got the driveshaft put back in at this time.
Then I moved to the front suspension. Here is the old splash shields. I replaced them.
Under the front end.
Here is the completely finished IRS. I painted the stock springs and put back in and freshened up the calipers. Everything was painted/cleaned. It was a lot of work.
Now the trans goes back in. It was tough to do by myself. I got it though. I put in a new throw-out bearing and pilot bearing but the clutch and pressure plate was still good so back in they went. I also got the driveshaft put back in at this time.
Then I moved to the front suspension. Here is the old splash shields. I replaced them.
Under the front end.
Disassembly. To get the front a-arm off you must remove one of the bolts for the K member and remove the bolts for the steering rack and push it forward.
Eibach lowering springs I removed. I know people will say 4x4 look and all that but I have a long steep gravel driveway and I was picking rocks out of the undercarriage the entire time I was doing this work because it was so low. So in went stockers.
Cleaning the wheel well.
Some paint in on the K member.
Front end parts cleaned up and painted. Or just cleaned.
Most of the parts cleaned/painted.
Everything cleaned/painted and installed.
I then began the exhaust cleaning. I wasn’t going to spend the time to polish it out like some have but I wanted it to look nice. It’s a Borla cat back with stock midpipes. It took 6 hours total for this result. It took a whole can of polish and several scotch brite pads. My process was to use polish on a scotch brite pad that was green, not a log of grit. I think this would make the polishing process easier in the end but I won’t be doing it. It looks good enough for me.
Next I want to get my OEM chrome wheels cleaned up and ready to go on. Some of you may remember I got a set of OEM machined wheels but I just had the have the chrome ones. So I found a set in Cincinnati and went and picked them up. The chrome face is in great shape but the backs were terrible. I know that from the factory the whole wheel is chromed with a coating on the barrel in the back. Well these came off of a low mile car but they never took the tire off to clean the dust and grime off. It peeled the chrome badly in the back so peeled all the loose chrome off and cleaned them up really well and then painted them so they would look nice.
I taped the front off to keep the paint off.
They cleaned up well. Especially for the money. I love the stock chrome wheels. Other than a nice set of forged wheels in chrome I don’t think you could have a better wheel on a Cobra. That’s me though.
Next was the dirty interior. The carpet was torn bad by the drivers seat. I could have cleaned the stains and stuff but I wanted the hole to be gone. So I found an online guy to buy OEM carpet from. He ripped me off kind of. I paid $200 shipped for “mint” carpet and nice stock mats. I got carpet with a hole just like I was replacing and aftermarket shitty mats. So to make it right he sent me new carpet. He didn’t have mats so he sent me a stock Mach faceplate for the radio. The replacement carpet still had a small hole that I had to have an upholstery shop fix. It was a small hole and you wouldn’t know it was there but that’s BS that I had to do it. And the next best thing is that the faceplate wasn’t even for a Mustang! I bought the carpet in the fall and didn’t start the process of putting the radio in til recently. That’s when I realized the faceplate was wrong. So whatever I moved on. I made the stuff work. I don’t even remember the name of the company at this point. The guy was a douche though…..
On to pics. Seats removed just the dirty old carpet.
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So for some reason the door cups, the center console bezel, and the shifter bezel were a different color black. They were all OEM parts though??? Strange. So I pulled them and painted them with LMR dark charcoal spray paint. I loved this stuff. It worked great.
Link: https://lmr.com/item/MET-FV38/01-04-Mustang-Dark-Charcoal-Vinyl-Interior-Paint
See how dark it is?
OEM part number. I’m not sure if you can see it.
All the parts cleaned up and painted. You will also notice the dual gauge pod. I picked up a dual Aeroforce Interceptor kit.
Brand spankin new shift knob. These are getting harder to find.
The plastic on my gas pedal was cracked so I had a spare one laying around that matched from an 01 Bullitt I had. Notice the difference. Broken Cobra one to the right, Bullitt one on the left. So the Cobra one has the pedal further out to match the brake and clutch. This does set back a bit further but I don’t notice it in the foot well. I don’t suppose I’ll be doing much heel/toe driving anyway lol.
When removing my carpet I found this. It’s pretty cool. It was in the driver foot well. It was a sheet used to checklist the paint. My car was noted as not having clear under the decklid. When looking under the decklid it has clear now lol.
Link: https://lmr.com/item/MET-FV38/01-04-Mustang-Dark-Charcoal-Vinyl-Interior-Paint
See how dark it is?
OEM part number. I’m not sure if you can see it.
All the parts cleaned up and painted. You will also notice the dual gauge pod. I picked up a dual Aeroforce Interceptor kit.
Brand spankin new shift knob. These are getting harder to find.
The plastic on my gas pedal was cracked so I had a spare one laying around that matched from an 01 Bullitt I had. Notice the difference. Broken Cobra one to the right, Bullitt one on the left. So the Cobra one has the pedal further out to match the brake and clutch. This does set back a bit further but I don’t notice it in the foot well. I don’t suppose I’ll be doing much heel/toe driving anyway lol.
When removing my carpet I found this. It’s pretty cool. It was in the driver foot well. It was a sheet used to checklist the paint. My car was noted as not having clear under the decklid. When looking under the decklid it has clear now lol.
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I also installed a brand new clear lens over the cluster. Holy crap was it a bitch to get the boost gauge line off and back on when the time came. It made the job a PITA. Look how clear 
Process of cleaning and installing stuff back in the interior.
The carpet looks great. I like the OEM because it is precut, has tabs on the side to hold the sides, is very thick, and has extra material for sound deadening/insulation.
Cleaning under the rear seat.
Door cups back in. Notice the paint match is great with the LMR paint.
Parts going back in.
Process of cleaning and installing stuff back in the interior.
The carpet looks great. I like the OEM because it is precut, has tabs on the side to hold the sides, is very thick, and has extra material for sound deadening/insulation.
Cleaning under the rear seat.
Door cups back in. Notice the paint match is great with the LMR paint.
Parts going back in.
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The trunk was a mess too. I pulled it all out and cleaned it and cleaned up the carpeted panels. The floor carpet was gone though. It couldn’t be saved. I had to buy new carpet from an online vendor. All of the online Mustang vendors have it. It looks good as new again.
The interior is completely done. Totally cleaned and like new. The seats aren’t perfect but they look nice. Look on page two of the thread to see how to remove all the fuzzies from your seat.
Back to the outside of the car. The only thing I don’t like about the OEM chrome wheels is they set to far in. I want them as close to flush as possible. So I picked up a set of H&R 1” spacers.
Before the spacer.
After the spacer.
I also went with new lug nuts.
The interior is completely done. Totally cleaned and like new. The seats aren’t perfect but they look nice. Look on page two of the thread to see how to remove all the fuzzies from your seat.
Back to the outside of the car. The only thing I don’t like about the OEM chrome wheels is they set to far in. I want them as close to flush as possible. So I picked up a set of H&R 1” spacers.
Before the spacer.
After the spacer.
I also went with new lug nuts.
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The next thing I did was put all new brake fluid in. To this point everything I’ve touched with fluid will get new. There won’t be an old fluid left in the car when I’m done.
To do the brakes I got a set of speed bleeders from NAPA. They work with a one way valve in the nipple. They didn’t work well on the back but worked great on the front for some reason? I didn’t leave them in. I used one and moved it from wheel to wheel and put the stock one back in when I was done with that wheel. I started with the furthest wheel from the master and worked toward it. Some pics.
And here is the gross brake fluid. I’d venture to say it has never been changed out. I flushed it as good as I could.
Here is the car currently.
I still have a lot left to do. I have an AC problem. I believe it needs a new compressor or clutch. Not sure yet. I still have to diagnose it. I also know I need a new alternator. I want to pull the heat exchanger and brackets to paint them and flush the system as well. I may need a new pump as well. It works when you jump it but flow doesn’t seem great. I also want to flush the coolant and put in new. Then flush and refill the power steering fluid as well. I also need to rebuild the oil cooler with the Speed Concepts kit. Then it is just cleaning and things like that.
Before anyone says anything remember a few things. This was not a high horsepower unlimited budget build. I just want a nice stock reliable car. It won’t ever be a show car but it will never be a daily again either. I went with stock replacement when needed and aftermarket when I had to. Everything will be as good as it was when it left Ford and that’s all I want. Down the road I may up the ante but for now this is what I want.
To do the brakes I got a set of speed bleeders from NAPA. They work with a one way valve in the nipple. They didn’t work well on the back but worked great on the front for some reason? I didn’t leave them in. I used one and moved it from wheel to wheel and put the stock one back in when I was done with that wheel. I started with the furthest wheel from the master and worked toward it. Some pics.
And here is the gross brake fluid. I’d venture to say it has never been changed out. I flushed it as good as I could.
Here is the car currently.
I still have a lot left to do. I have an AC problem. I believe it needs a new compressor or clutch. Not sure yet. I still have to diagnose it. I also know I need a new alternator. I want to pull the heat exchanger and brackets to paint them and flush the system as well. I may need a new pump as well. It works when you jump it but flow doesn’t seem great. I also want to flush the coolant and put in new. Then flush and refill the power steering fluid as well. I also need to rebuild the oil cooler with the Speed Concepts kit. Then it is just cleaning and things like that.
Before anyone says anything remember a few things. This was not a high horsepower unlimited budget build. I just want a nice stock reliable car. It won’t ever be a show car but it will never be a daily again either. I went with stock replacement when needed and aftermarket when I had to. Everything will be as good as it was when it left Ford and that’s all I want. Down the road I may up the ante but for now this is what I want.
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You've done a great job bringing that car back to life. Looking back to page one vs now. Once I have a house with a garage, my goal is to do the same as you. Looks great, and keep at it!
I'm Very impressed with your determination and quality of work.
What brand of brakes are those ?
What brand of brakes are those ?
Man Im really impressed. Its cool seeing how much stuff you are doing that I never would think of doing unless I was upgrading.
Looks great!
Looks great!
That was a great work thread you posted up. Awesome job on your part. I'm digging the peaceful setting you have up there in the mountains. Must look great in Fall and in Winter with snowfall.
Unfortuneately they are an eBay rotor and pad set. They are called Brake Motive but the pads were branded with PowerStop on all of them and rotors look like PowerStop ones that I've seen. Either way they were cheap. They seem like a good product. The coating is nice and the fit is nice. As best as I can tell they seem to turn true. For what I paid they were cheaper than stock replacements, which is really what I wanted. If they are junk I'll only be out a little and it will give me time to save for a good OEM replacement. Once I get a chance to drive the car I'll come back in and let everyone know my real world thoughts.
Thanks and yes I do love West Virginia. Very low population and in places pretty remote. That has its ups and downs tho for sure lol.
I love project cars as long as the price reflects it. In the end you finish up with a "newer" car than others of the same year in "good" condition and you still even out in price or sometimes even save money! Plus you learn the car 100%, so I call that a win-win. Keep up the good work, I know budget is budget and since it has a catback I'd save for a JLT intake/pulley/tune and enjoy the hell out of it!!
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Missed it already has a air intake on it.
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Missed it already has a air intake on it.
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Yeah when I'm done I'll have less than or right about what its current value is right now. At least I think. lol I will for sure know nearly every inch of the car and it will be in very nice condition.
I do plan to go with a 2.93 pulley and tune and stop there for now.
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