Toph's All Out Turbo Build

Started working on more of the interior wiring last night for the gauges and the pigtail harness from the control pack (starter control, auxillaries, ac request, fuel pump, etc etc).

Its nice having the dash out of the car so that I can throw it up on the dining room table to do the wiring. Overall I was able to find the wiring diagrams that I needed pretty easily, so hopefully everything goes well.

I made up my own wiring diagram for everything. I will have a couple of deutsch connectors throughout that way if I have to remove the dash again I don't have to go in and cut wires/resplice. A bit longer and more planning involved, but a much cleaner install in the end. The battle is figuring out where all I need connectors, and what is "dash side" vs "body side".

Diagram


Pinouts


Hoping to finish up this part and the transmission harness on Thursday, then finish all the little things (final fuel tank install, reinstall dash, install steering, prime engine oil, fill radiator/transmission, refinish rotors, blah blah blah) and actually fire it up this weekend. Fingers crossed.

 

Got the wiring for some more of the gauges done last night. New deutsch connectors are taking a bit of time to wire but they make it a lot cleaner and a lot easier to deal with assembly/disassembly in the future.

Also looked at multiple tuning options. Lund canned tune would be $350 for a control pack/coyote swap car, bleh. Talked to Brian at DTM, and while his price is good, its a bit much right now to just get the car rolling.

My main issue with needing tuning was because the stock 15-17 mustang airbox that came with the control pack kit is way too big to fit in the car. I had purchased a JLT air intake, which is roughly 4.5" diameter at the maf instead of the stock 3.5" diameter, so I needed the tuning to account for the maf readings.

I took a better look at the stock air intake pipe, and with a lot of dremmel work I was able to get a nice tube section to hold the maf but also allow me to fit a 3.5" K&N air filter on the end, so I will do that for the time being and run teh stock tune from the control pack, then get the car dyno tuned later on down the line for maximum power. I'm sure I will have little things I need to adjust here and there once the car is running, and I don't want to put it on the dyno until the car is tried and true.

Top of stock box


Bottom of stock box. Here you can see the tube molded in for the airflow direction to the maf.


Lots of dremmel work later




Stock-ish set up for the time being:


Will be working on it tomorrow, so will pick up a filter and the couple fittings/plugs I need to make the stock pipe work. After that just more wiring and reinstalling the dash/fuel tank/finish wiring/fluids. Hoping for startup on Sunday.

 

Spent a lot of time on the car this weekend. Still not quite finished, but we are getting close. Wiring takes a LONG time haha.

First up we finished the air intake real quick. I had busted some of the vacuum tabs off accidentally before, so I bought some brass, drilled out the plastic base (thick nylon) and then threaded in the brass fittings and sealed with silicone. Also bought a K&N air filter and made a quick bracket which WILL get changed in the future for less jankiness.





Then spent a lot of time doing wiring. Like A LONG time. Sat we started 1pm and finished at 12:30am, then Sun we started at 1pm and ended at 9pm.

Tach Box installed (this picks up the coil firing signal and puts into an rpm signal wire for my autometer tach).


Also installed my t56 reverse lock out solenoid box in the footwell where the original ecu used to be, fits in nicely. But not easy to get pictures of. I also finished off the transmission harness.

Finally finished all the power wires for the new fuse box that goes to the batter, alternator to fuse box, and the other miscellaneous harness thats needed for all the external sensors and whatnot. This crows nest is what will ultimately be under the passenger fender.



Lots of ground in stock location on either side (engine, starter, coyote ecu ground, 2x original harness grounds, etc):


And then finally last night we got the dash back in and started making all the connections. I have two pigtails to finish off for wiring in here which will be quick now that I have a proper seat to sit in, and then finish off the wiring for the fuel pump and the wiring will FINALLY be done.


We also got the roll bar final mounted, interior panels cut, and rollbar back out for me to take to my welder to weld the rear supports onto the main hoop and then I can final assemble that back into the car.



Still need fluids and to prime the engine, and the little bit of wiring left. Then we can voltage check connections, set the fuel regulator, and finally start this thing.

 

So remember when I planned on doing all the wiring in like one day? So far we are at day 8 of wiring haha.

Got all the internal gauges done, and most of the signal wires done for the new control pack.


While I did that my friends put the new lower door hinge on the drivers door since the old one has sagged for the past year or two, its much nicer having a proper hinge back in it.


The wiring that remains is 3 signal wires for key position (the green, blue, and yellow lines in the picture above, so those go on when the wheel goes back in) and then a couple splices for the fuel pump, and the wiring will FINALLY be done. After those couple connections, its just a matter of fluids, checking a couple voltages here and there when we put the battery in, and then turning the key.

Will take the roll bar up to my welder on saturday to get that set up, so probably will work on the car again on Sunday.

 

Didn't really take any photos of the last weekend because honestly its all boring stuff.

I got the roll bar welded up at a buddies place who has been welding for 40+ years. Looks awesome. Then got the roll bar and base plates all painted up for final install.

Mounted the gauges in the glove box with some new gauge pods/screws. Good enough for ones that I only really need at the track. Also got the key ignition wires done up and then steering wheel back in. Then I finished up the wiring for the fuel pump and after 9 days the wiring is FINALLY done.

Sunday we got the car in the air and then started working on fluids. Got the coolant in fine enough even though my vacuum filler didn't want to work with the style of the overflow tank since its pressurized. It still took around 4 gallons, so it shouldn't have any issues. Then we filled up the gallon of trans fluid in the T56, then topped off the ps reservoir.

Drained the engine oil, and used a -8 to -10 fitting, a -8 hose end, some left over -8 hose, and a garden sprayer to make an improptu oil priming jug. It worked well enough. Pulled the coils / plugs, put about 4 quarts into the engine with that and topped the rest off through the valve cover. And it took 9 QUARTS. Gonna be fun doing oil changes in the future, bah.

Put the battery on, checked voltages between all the grounds and battery terminal and everything looked great, no crazy sounds of anything doing anything weird and everything acting like it should, other than the fact that the auxillary wires I used to power the gauges off of the control pack fuse box were hot at all time (HAAT) so they were always on. Will reroute those to be on fuses that are only powered with key on.

Anyways, finally said F it, lets try it. Turn the key, NOTHING. ****.

SPent 3 hours figuring out that the key ignition wires I tapped into were backwards due to a bad wiring diagram online. The control pack needs to know "run" position vs "start" position, so I got that all figured out. Then I realized one of the clutch position switches (there are two, one at top travel and one at bottom) was wrong, so it didn't know the clutch was down. Took the two wires and tied them together to bypass haha.

At this time it was right when all those alarms were going off for the tornado. We set the fuel pressure real quick at 55psi (engine off) and then said **** THE TORNADO, we gonna light this up.

Turned the key quickly and back off and heard the starter fire. FINALLY. Turned the key and held it to actually start and it fired right up, running really nice and smooth, and LOUD. We set off my buddies car alarm that was about 20ft away haha. Cold starts are gonna be exciting.

Went inside to escape the potential tornados, then after it cleared up we came out and checked it all again.



Everything is running, but we have some odds and ends to figure out.
1) alternator doesn't seem to be charging. Only showing about 12volts at the battery, so that will take some doing.
2) oil pressure and oil temp gauges don't read anything bc it looks like they aren't grounded. Easy fix.
3) Like I said earlier, gauges need to be switched from hot at all times to key switch power, easy fix.
4) the frustrating one, all the lights work as they should except the brights and the rear passenger brake light when braking/turn signal. Front signal works fine, and with the lights on the three bulbs light up, just not when pressing the brake pedal. So it probably is the switch on the panel. IDK, not the biggest issue right now. Will fix the other three things first, then see if its an issue wiht the switch on the column or somewhere else down the line. I shouldn't have interrupted anything else on the car.

Anyways, will spend the next couple days fixing these couple small items then hopefully get the thing on the road and get some miles on it before the autox on the 23rd with UFO.

 

Worked on cleaning up a couple things on the car last night.

Redid the power wires for the gauges to switched power taht way they aren't on all the time.

Fixed the clutch switch issue by getting a new plug and touching up the wiring.

Fixed my issues with the oil pressure gauge pegging when on. The metal bracket that holds it in was contacting the grounding screw, so it was grounding out early. Also had to put "ground straps" on the oil temp and oil pressure senders to get them to work. If it looks stupid, but works, it isn't stupid (FYI, not my gauges, but its how I grounded them)




We had a bad hose clamp on the return of the powersteering, so it had a small leak. Fixed that with a new hose clamp.

Friend came over and we installed the roll bar and the rear interior. Went in super easy with the two of us. I had painted the backing plates that go under the car and I also put RTV all over the bottom of it to hopefully keep everything out from those holes we drilled/painted.

Started the car up to check the alternator, and its still only showing 12V on the gauge. Checked the battery, 12V. Checked the alternator post to ground, 12V. I also tried unplugging the 3 pin connector as some control pack guys have said that can cause issues, but still 12V at all locations. So I'm thinking now its a bad alternator. Easy enough to pull it off and then get it checked down the street. Otherwise, I'll order another pigtail off of amazon and hardwire the alternator myself instead of going through the control pack. Any other thoughts I am open to.

After all that, we started up the engine and tried to burp the coolant a bit. Noticed there was a small oil leak at the oil filter relocation, so turned it off. Turns out the oil temp sender backed out a touch when I was putting the wire on for the sender. Tightened it up and it was good till the oil got warm and thinned out enough to still leak past it, so I will have to put some sealant on those senders. Joy.

Anyways, heres a sound clip at "warm" idle and some 2500 - 3500rpm sweeps, maybe 1/3-1/2 throttle.

 

Over the past couple days we have gotten a lot done on the car.

Fixed up the oil filter relocation leaks by taking everything apart, cleaning it really well, using new fittings/sensors, and then using a good high temp oil resistant RTV. Set that all up and let it cure overnight. Last night we ran the engine, no leaks all the way up to operating temp, so I think we are finally past this bit. Below you can see also the grounds I made for the sensors lol, just clamps around the sensor body.


Hard to see but here is the new alternator wiring. Red is the power off of the alternator, and the most forward black line with corrugated cover is connected to the alternator mounting bolt that grounds it so it actually charges the battery. When I have the 3pin connector from the coyote control pack, the alternator charges at 15V, if I leave it off the alternator charges at 13.7-13.8V. A lot of swap guys have had this issue and just leave the connector off and use volt gauges to make sure nothing is going crazy.


Installed my 250A breaker between the alternator and control pack fuse box. Right now the battery is in the back, connected up front at a power point. From the power point, there is an individual power wire to both the stock and coyote fuse boxes. The starter and the alternator connect to the coyote fuse box since they are on the passenger side.


Biggest update for the week is THE INTERIOR IS ALL IN. Finally. Cut the carpet to fit around the roll bars, rear seat delete panels only needed a small notch, and then got the rest of the panels, weatherstripping, consoles, seats and whatnot all in and the wiring tucked up nicely.




Also, a nice overhead shot of the entire engine with everything more or less "working". Plan for sunday is to try to get the exterior panels and whatnot all back on. Should hopefully go faster than the interior.


One issue I ran into last night is that my starter isn't getting enough power to turn the engine over. Solenoid works, and the starter tries to turn the engine over, but no go. It will get maybe one crank then nothing. Ultimately, I think the battery is done-zo. Its been through 4-5 full charge to dead cycles in the past couple weeks, not to mention being pretty much dead all winter, so I will confirm the wiring tonight and then go get a new battery hopefully. Thankfully my warranty is still good.

 

Long weekend of wedding stuff, but still managed to get stuff done.

First a look at the parts room, Only an old exhaust and empty gauge boxes left


because everything is now more or less on the car, minus the front bumper cover and passenger fender well (to check for fuel leaks after driving)




Engine bay "complete"


Off with the training wheels!


Been about 6 months since she was on the ground on her own.


Road Test:


Video: (FYI, speedo is not calibrated, apparently 15-20mph is now 60mph haha)
Coyote swapped new edge first drive - YouTube

And after road test!


Turned out to be a bit of power steering fluid leaking from the hydroboost due to an OEM spring clamp around a not as snug as I would like powersteering drain hose. So I will get a worm gear clamp on there to better tighten it down.

Hopefully will get more driving in this week around town and get it out on the highway. So far everything is going very well. Goal is to make an autocross for a proper shakedown on 4/23.

 

Fixed the leak on the hydrboost, turns out it was the teflon seal on the high pressure out to the steering rack that let go. Pulled it off, cleaned, lots of teflon tape, and tightened up it held like a charm.

Drove it around the block and got the speedo calibrated, then managed to just make it back into the garage before running out of gas. Only put about 2.5-3 gallons in it and have had it running off and on for the past 2-3 weeks, so not bad and was expected. No I can calibrate the fuel level gauge and hopefully start getting it out of the development and onto the road.

Was getting one check engine light, P0116, which is for the coolant temp sensor. Essentially when ford made the control pack, they didn't add any dwell time into the coolant sensor start up temp so that it tracks coolant temp vs amount of time since last start up. So it sends the code when I turn it off hot and then try to turn it back on again bc it sees the coolant temp is higher than the intake air temp and freaks out. I just have to ship my ecu to Ford and then they send it back to me with a new flash to take care of this. Still, its downtime in the car though. I will probably send it out after the wedding and hopefully get it back when I get back from the honeymoon.

 

Last week we managed to get the rest of the car together. Got the bumper on, an additional ground ran from the negative terminal on the battery in the trunk to the engine block to help with hot starting issues. Seems to be a thing of the past now so thats good.

The only real pain in getting the front end together was the fender well liner, bc of all the wiring/fuel hoses its a bit snug, but we got it all to fit.

Car was a bit low too, so we raised it up about 0.5" just to make sure there was no rubbing and gain a bit of clearance for the low oil pan haha. Now it just DESPERATLEY needs a bath.



During the week I got my buddies garage cleaned out (been about 5-6 months since that table has been cleared off)


And made the short drive home, maybe 8-10 miles


Took it out last night and everything is working well, so decided to bring it into work today. Hopefully get a lot more miles on it over the next couple weeks.

 

Over the weekend I fixed up an annoying but not overly difficult issue. My starter always had trouble firing up after the engine was warm/car ran for more than 5 mins and eventually we came to the solution of running a new dedicated feed from the battery in the trunk to the starter.

Ultimately, the original starter wire I was using was 4 gauge, but from the battery it went to a junction box (~15ft) then to a fuse box (another ~8ft) then from the fuse box to the starter (~2ft). We decided that was asking a lot out of 4 gauge wire.

I bought some 2 gauge wire (bc I don't want this problem anymore) and ran a dedicated line from the battery up the starter, ~12ft total. So we cut out about half the length and bumped up from 4gauge to 2 gauge. Starts like a champ now when its already hot.

Also got an engine cover from Stretch, much appreciated. Spent sunday night test fitting and clearancing to get it to fit, the issue being my strut tower brace. originally was gonna try to fit over the strut brace, but I would have to cut out too much. Decided best thing was to go under, for minimum cutting and to make sure I would be able to close the hood. I'm really happy with how it came out.



Drove it into work this morning, drives great. Starting to get on it a bit more here and there and its really working well and pulls great. Only have had it up to about 4-4.5k so far. Gonna get some more break in miles, check the oil filter, then finally take it out for some runs.

 

For some reason the photos drop off quickly. They are attached via Facebook link, but apparently this forum blocks them quickly compared to other forums.

Took the car to my tuner today to get it tuned. While he set up the base tune with HP tuners I put on the JLT cold air intake. We adjusted the radiator fan on/off temp too so that the fan isn't always on (thermostat is a 195*F, but the fan would turn on and stay on after 180*F).



Once he had the tune set up we got it on the dyno.


It spun the wheels a lot since the tires were a bit cold. After some salt bags and whatnot in the back we got the final numbers:


416hp, 375ftlbs at the wheels. Its really loud in that room haha.

Bad photo of dyno graph:


Made power all the way to 7k rpms, so I was pretty happy with that. Will get the first break in at BMC next weekend, then gingerman track day for memorial day weekend.