SOLD
Where do I begin... well, for starters, this is the last thread I ever thought I would be posting on this forum. I bought this car with all intent of keeping it forever, which is why I went to the extent i did to make it what it is. That aside, let’s get right to it...
My car is 03 Redfire vert with ~69k on the clock. I am the second owner - purchased it at 37k. The first owner was an older gentelman who took great care of it and i continued the care. Car (in my hands - shop let it sit outside) has always been garage kept.
$22,500
List of Mods:
Engine (less than 700miles on shortblock)
-MMR 5.3L Ford Racing BOSS 302 Stroker Mod 1000S
-9:1 Compression
-JE Pistons
-ARP Main studs / ARP Head studs / ARP 2000 Rod Bolts / MMR Side Bolts
-Manley High Performance 4v Springs and Titanium retainers
-MMR Stage 3 Custom Turbo Cams
-Triange Speed Shop (TSS) Oil pump
-ATI Balancer 6.75, 6 rib, Aluminum center, steel outer
-Cometic Head gaskets
-Moroso Power Steering reservoir (powdercoated black)
-Moroso Fuse box cover (powdercoated black)
-Black Powder coated Valve Covers
Turbo
-Hellion Single Turbo kit
-76mm Precision CEA Billet Wheel Turbo
-Ceramic coated hot side
-Ball Bearing upgrade
-Turbosmart E boost 2 controller
-Blow through conversion
-SCT MAF sensor
-99/01 Intake Powder coated black
-MMR Intake Spacer
-Accufab Mustang Cobra 99/01 Throttle Body
-Fore Boost Vacuum Manifold
Transmission
-Spec 3 Clutch (~2k miles)
-Fidanza Flyhwheel
-Ford Racing Throw out bearing
-MGW Short throw Shifter
Suspension
-Maximum Motorsport K member
-Maximum Motorsport Coil over kit
-Maximum Motorsport Camber Plates
-Maximum Motorsport Front Control Arms
-IRS Brace (Redfire)
-HR Race Springs in rear
-Low Profile IRS Brace
-18” Black Chrome FR500
-Toyo R888 Rear (~1500 miles) / Nitto 555s Front (15k miles)
Interior
-Speed of Sound Gauge Pillar
-Speedhut Gauges color matched factor gauge cluster
-Oil Temp
-Fuel Pressure
-Wideband (Air/Fuel)
-Boost
-Raptor Shiftlight (blue)
Fuel System
-Return Setup
-Walbro 465 pumps
-Fore SN95 Fuel Hat (dual)
-Fore Fuel Filter
-Aeromotive Y Block
-Fore Fuel Rails (black)
-Fore F4i Fuel Pressure Regulator
- 8an Stainless Steel Braided Fuel lines (Feed and return)
-Bosch 105 Fuel Injectors
Cooling
-Fluidyne Performance Radiator
Exhaust
-Bassani Polished Catback
-Stock Manifolds and Bassani Turbo piping
Car made 700/681 on 93 and 857/831 on E85
Now for the story...
I bought this motor from MMR and had it dropped shipped to DGR for the install. After about 2 months, I get the call that the car is running and because I wanted to follow the directions provided by MMR, I came to pick it up and put 400 miles on it. The car had a basic break in tune (600/600) which I drove it on. The shop is 90 miles from my house so between picking it up, running a couple errands and driving it to work for 3 days (60 miles round trip) I was back at the shop in a week for my high boost tune. When I arrived, I was just over 400 miles and we strapped it to the dyno and made some power.
[youtube_browser]tIhARnBKFXs&list[/youtube_browser]
After draining the tank, we moved on to the E85 tune and made more power.
[youtube_browser]BYlNawK_usI&list[/youtube_browser]
Drained the tanks, put 5gals of 93 back into it and babied it home due to the mixed blend of fuel. On my way of course I was about to run out of gas so I had to stop and put more gas into it – another 5 gals. That gas got me right home (gas light on) where I immediately went to the gas station and filled it up. That night I went out with a buddy of mine and enjoyed the car. The next day I took a buddy for a spin and the car was blowing a bit of white smoke out of the exhaust, which I didn’t think much of because it did the same on the dyno. On the way home I did a 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear pull and when in fourth I heard a puddering sound, the car fell on its face with power and a huge cloud of smoke came out the exhaust. I didn’t understand what happened so I immediately parked it and left it until I spoke with DGR. That Monday I spoke with Dave and explained what I experienced. He told me that the smoke is blow by and is a common adjustment that needs to be made with a nitrous jet in the oil turbo feed line. As far as the sputtering sound, he’s not sure. I told him my buddy suggested that maybe I mis-shifted from 3rd to 6th, which didn’t really sound plausible but possible, so he told me to drive it again just to be sure. I took the car out that following weekend with my wife to see some houses and boosted the car… same sound… same drop in power. I knew something was wrong so after returning home from house shopping, I put the car up and waited to tell him what happened. After speaking to him, he told me to bring the car back to him. After dropping the car off, I received a call after a few days to some terrible news… the motor was detonating and the 7 and 8 pistons were shot. (only gave me back 7… said he didn’t know where the other one was)
Dumbfounded how this happened and the cause of it, I asked him what are we going to do about this. I just spent close to $5k having this motor put in and it broke the very next day. He told me he found things that were very surprising to him about the MMR build, but because my warranty was voided when he took it apart, it needs to be rebuilt and he would cover the entire thing. He said it would be great if I covered the parts but he would take care of the entire labor charge. Because I didn’t want a shop to cut corners and put used stuff in my car, I offered to cover the parts, which was quoted to be around $800 (half a set of pistons, ARP2000 rod bolts, gaskets and misc parts). Over the next 6 months, my car slowly made its way back together and everything was done through DGR… install, motor rebuild, installation, break in and tune. Before getting the car back, I was told the car was overheating sitting in traffic with the A/C on after doing a pull. It was recommended that I do a bigger radiator, which I did. When I came to pick the car up, it was all back together, running fine and after another $2,200 I was ready to put this behind me… or so I thought.
I picked the car up on Saturday, cleaned it up and prepared for a great Sunday on the road. The next day, I went out with a few friends and enjoyed some spirited runs. I ran a buddy of mine’s STI 3 or 4 times – won each one and went to a sports bar to watch some football. We went our separate ways from the sports bar and I went home. As the night fall approached I went outside to put the car in the garage and after starting it, I heard this knocking sound:
[youtube_browser]cjSQFxeYkaM&list[/youtube_browser]
Of course I’m totally unsure of myself now since I’ve been through so much with the car, so I made the video above and planned on calling DGR the very next morning. I got a call in the morning from Dave looking for some feedback on how the car was running and to his surprise, all he got was an earful about the sound I’m now hearing. I explained to him that I ran a buddy of mine 3 or 4 times back to back – 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear pulls, each ending with me ahead… slowed down to do it again. If you’re wondering why I raced him several times… his STI is also built so I wasn’t out there beating up on a completely inferior car. He told me if I think something is wrong then bring it back and he’ll take a look at it. I took the car back up there the next day and waited to hear from him. Turns out the cars compression is right where it was when he dyno’d it (145 all cylinders), pistons looked new, spark plugs were fine, oil is fine (no metal) but it was knocking. He said the next step is to take the transmission apart from the car and start the motor to eliminate the possibility of the sound resonating from the tranny, which it wasn’t. So the next time we spoke, he had no answers, just a theory that “the motor overheated after doing those runs and messed up a piston skirt, now the sound is coming from piston slap.”
I told myself if I had anymore issues with this car, I was not taking it back to DGR and the car was going bye bye. Well, that’s where I am and why you’re reading this. I’m done, moving on… it wasn’t in the cards for me. Whatever the cause, who knows… what I do know is I spent over $27k over a year ago building this car and never got to enjoy it.
So for the car:
Exterior 8.5/10
Interior 9/10
-Rag top is 10/10... no leaks
-Couple of small impressions around the car
-Front bumper/Hood rock chips
-Brand new OEM front bumper that comes with the car along with everything else listed:
-California Car cover (Dust)
-7 VP Racing gas cans
-Convertible boot
-SCT X3 Handheld
(don't want anything)
The car is easily worth over ~15k in stock form (refreshed stock shortblock) and for .50 cents on the dollar for all the mods, the price is more than fair.
Whatever comes of this, I will be buying an investment property so I’m done with cars for a very long time. If the car doesn’t sell in its current form, I’ll be pulling the MMR block, put the stock motor back in, and sell for $26k.
Ill post more pics of the car when its cleaned up... its raining out here now.
Where do I begin... well, for starters, this is the last thread I ever thought I would be posting on this forum. I bought this car with all intent of keeping it forever, which is why I went to the extent i did to make it what it is. That aside, let’s get right to it...
My car is 03 Redfire vert with ~69k on the clock. I am the second owner - purchased it at 37k. The first owner was an older gentelman who took great care of it and i continued the care. Car (in my hands - shop let it sit outside) has always been garage kept.
$22,500
List of Mods:
Engine (less than 700miles on shortblock)
-MMR 5.3L Ford Racing BOSS 302 Stroker Mod 1000S
-9:1 Compression
-JE Pistons
-ARP Main studs / ARP Head studs / ARP 2000 Rod Bolts / MMR Side Bolts
-Manley High Performance 4v Springs and Titanium retainers
-MMR Stage 3 Custom Turbo Cams
-Triange Speed Shop (TSS) Oil pump
-ATI Balancer 6.75, 6 rib, Aluminum center, steel outer
-Cometic Head gaskets
-Moroso Power Steering reservoir (powdercoated black)
-Moroso Fuse box cover (powdercoated black)
-Black Powder coated Valve Covers
Turbo
-Hellion Single Turbo kit
-76mm Precision CEA Billet Wheel Turbo
-Ceramic coated hot side
-Ball Bearing upgrade
-Turbosmart E boost 2 controller
-Blow through conversion
-SCT MAF sensor
-99/01 Intake Powder coated black
-MMR Intake Spacer
-Accufab Mustang Cobra 99/01 Throttle Body
-Fore Boost Vacuum Manifold
Transmission
-Spec 3 Clutch (~2k miles)
-Fidanza Flyhwheel
-Ford Racing Throw out bearing
-MGW Short throw Shifter
Suspension
-Maximum Motorsport K member
-Maximum Motorsport Coil over kit
-Maximum Motorsport Camber Plates
-Maximum Motorsport Front Control Arms
-IRS Brace (Redfire)
-HR Race Springs in rear
-Low Profile IRS Brace
-18” Black Chrome FR500
-Toyo R888 Rear (~1500 miles) / Nitto 555s Front (15k miles)
Interior
-Speed of Sound Gauge Pillar
-Speedhut Gauges color matched factor gauge cluster
-Oil Temp
-Fuel Pressure
-Wideband (Air/Fuel)
-Boost
-Raptor Shiftlight (blue)
Fuel System
-Return Setup
-Walbro 465 pumps
-Fore SN95 Fuel Hat (dual)
-Fore Fuel Filter
-Aeromotive Y Block
-Fore Fuel Rails (black)
-Fore F4i Fuel Pressure Regulator
- 8an Stainless Steel Braided Fuel lines (Feed and return)
-Bosch 105 Fuel Injectors
Cooling
-Fluidyne Performance Radiator
Exhaust
-Bassani Polished Catback
-Stock Manifolds and Bassani Turbo piping
Car made 700/681 on 93 and 857/831 on E85
Now for the story...
I bought this motor from MMR and had it dropped shipped to DGR for the install. After about 2 months, I get the call that the car is running and because I wanted to follow the directions provided by MMR, I came to pick it up and put 400 miles on it. The car had a basic break in tune (600/600) which I drove it on. The shop is 90 miles from my house so between picking it up, running a couple errands and driving it to work for 3 days (60 miles round trip) I was back at the shop in a week for my high boost tune. When I arrived, I was just over 400 miles and we strapped it to the dyno and made some power.
[youtube_browser]tIhARnBKFXs&list[/youtube_browser]
After draining the tank, we moved on to the E85 tune and made more power.
[youtube_browser]BYlNawK_usI&list[/youtube_browser]
Drained the tanks, put 5gals of 93 back into it and babied it home due to the mixed blend of fuel. On my way of course I was about to run out of gas so I had to stop and put more gas into it – another 5 gals. That gas got me right home (gas light on) where I immediately went to the gas station and filled it up. That night I went out with a buddy of mine and enjoyed the car. The next day I took a buddy for a spin and the car was blowing a bit of white smoke out of the exhaust, which I didn’t think much of because it did the same on the dyno. On the way home I did a 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear pull and when in fourth I heard a puddering sound, the car fell on its face with power and a huge cloud of smoke came out the exhaust. I didn’t understand what happened so I immediately parked it and left it until I spoke with DGR. That Monday I spoke with Dave and explained what I experienced. He told me that the smoke is blow by and is a common adjustment that needs to be made with a nitrous jet in the oil turbo feed line. As far as the sputtering sound, he’s not sure. I told him my buddy suggested that maybe I mis-shifted from 3rd to 6th, which didn’t really sound plausible but possible, so he told me to drive it again just to be sure. I took the car out that following weekend with my wife to see some houses and boosted the car… same sound… same drop in power. I knew something was wrong so after returning home from house shopping, I put the car up and waited to tell him what happened. After speaking to him, he told me to bring the car back to him. After dropping the car off, I received a call after a few days to some terrible news… the motor was detonating and the 7 and 8 pistons were shot. (only gave me back 7… said he didn’t know where the other one was)
Dumbfounded how this happened and the cause of it, I asked him what are we going to do about this. I just spent close to $5k having this motor put in and it broke the very next day. He told me he found things that were very surprising to him about the MMR build, but because my warranty was voided when he took it apart, it needs to be rebuilt and he would cover the entire thing. He said it would be great if I covered the parts but he would take care of the entire labor charge. Because I didn’t want a shop to cut corners and put used stuff in my car, I offered to cover the parts, which was quoted to be around $800 (half a set of pistons, ARP2000 rod bolts, gaskets and misc parts). Over the next 6 months, my car slowly made its way back together and everything was done through DGR… install, motor rebuild, installation, break in and tune. Before getting the car back, I was told the car was overheating sitting in traffic with the A/C on after doing a pull. It was recommended that I do a bigger radiator, which I did. When I came to pick the car up, it was all back together, running fine and after another $2,200 I was ready to put this behind me… or so I thought.
I picked the car up on Saturday, cleaned it up and prepared for a great Sunday on the road. The next day, I went out with a few friends and enjoyed some spirited runs. I ran a buddy of mine’s STI 3 or 4 times – won each one and went to a sports bar to watch some football. We went our separate ways from the sports bar and I went home. As the night fall approached I went outside to put the car in the garage and after starting it, I heard this knocking sound:
[youtube_browser]cjSQFxeYkaM&list[/youtube_browser]
Of course I’m totally unsure of myself now since I’ve been through so much with the car, so I made the video above and planned on calling DGR the very next morning. I got a call in the morning from Dave looking for some feedback on how the car was running and to his surprise, all he got was an earful about the sound I’m now hearing. I explained to him that I ran a buddy of mine 3 or 4 times back to back – 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear pulls, each ending with me ahead… slowed down to do it again. If you’re wondering why I raced him several times… his STI is also built so I wasn’t out there beating up on a completely inferior car. He told me if I think something is wrong then bring it back and he’ll take a look at it. I took the car back up there the next day and waited to hear from him. Turns out the cars compression is right where it was when he dyno’d it (145 all cylinders), pistons looked new, spark plugs were fine, oil is fine (no metal) but it was knocking. He said the next step is to take the transmission apart from the car and start the motor to eliminate the possibility of the sound resonating from the tranny, which it wasn’t. So the next time we spoke, he had no answers, just a theory that “the motor overheated after doing those runs and messed up a piston skirt, now the sound is coming from piston slap.”
I told myself if I had anymore issues with this car, I was not taking it back to DGR and the car was going bye bye. Well, that’s where I am and why you’re reading this. I’m done, moving on… it wasn’t in the cards for me. Whatever the cause, who knows… what I do know is I spent over $27k over a year ago building this car and never got to enjoy it.
So for the car:
Exterior 8.5/10
Interior 9/10
-Rag top is 10/10... no leaks
-Couple of small impressions around the car
-Front bumper/Hood rock chips
-Brand new OEM front bumper that comes with the car along with everything else listed:
-California Car cover (Dust)
-7 VP Racing gas cans
-Convertible boot
-SCT X3 Handheld
(don't want anything)
The car is easily worth over ~15k in stock form (refreshed stock shortblock) and for .50 cents on the dollar for all the mods, the price is more than fair.
Whatever comes of this, I will be buying an investment property so I’m done with cars for a very long time. If the car doesn’t sell in its current form, I’ll be pulling the MMR block, put the stock motor back in, and sell for $26k.
Ill post more pics of the car when its cleaned up... its raining out here now.
Last edited:
