GT500 Clone Project

[AJxtcman]

Hey everyone this is a Gooooood Story.

I good friend of mine (Highline Cady) was looking at purchasing a 2007 STS-V. We took out a customers STS-V and test beat it. Hmmmmm.
I said this car is slower than your 2003 Cadillac DHS. Last time at the track we ran a 13.5 in the DHS.
That ended that thought and he moved on to a Mustang. He was looking at a GT500 (I think), but the insurance was pretty high. He found a 2007 GT500 Clone with 3800 miles on it. hmmmmmmmmm. I told him not to buy a POS F.O.R.D. and prayed he would hold out and get a 2009 CTS-V.

He flew out to Michigan and pick this turd up. He drove from Flint to Muskegon to catch the ferry, but it was canceled do to high winds on the lake. Then he had to drive around the lake. Highline drives just a little fast. He cruise back at Mach Speed and got back to Milwaukee about Midnight.

He brought it in to me to look it over, but I turned my nose up and I was to busy. He found that the coolant was low and the drivers seat was loose.

I told him to take it to a Ford dealer. They topped off the coolant and they had to drill the seat bolt out and install a new one. This was not covered by Warranty because it has GT500 seats in the car front and rear. They did an alignment also. don't know why?

I finally had a chance to look at the car. I install a Steeda Shifter and park the car outside. The next day at lunch I took it for a test drive.
I called Highline and told him that I was driving his car and it was pinging soooooooooooooo bad that if it was a Northstar it would have blown a head gasket. It was pinging in Neutral!

I got back to the Caddy dealer and check the head gaskets with a block tester. Now the car has about 4500 miles on it.


The Car goes to another ford dealer for a week, but they said that the head gaskets were fine and it wasn't pinging.

We picked up the car and a few days later I drove it back over too the ford dealer and took the Tech for a ride. Wow it is pinging the Tech said.

Um it isn't covered under warranty.

[AJxtcman]

List of modes done to the car before Highline purchased it.

GT500 front and back seats
GT500 rear bumper
GT500 Spoiler
GT500 Wheel, but it has the same size tires on all 4's
GT500 SVT head lights
GT500 Grill
GT500 Front Facia
GT500 Hood
GT500 Badges
GT500 Tail lights (I think)
Ford Racing Springs, but not the struts or shocks
Roush M90 Super Charger and water to air intercooler
Roush PCM
Roush CIA, but not the box. just a filter on the end of the tube
2.57" super charger pulley
It was on a Dyno and had the PCM reworked. Bung weled in the pipe.
Brembo front brakes.

I bet I am missing a ton more.

[AJxtcman]

Head gasket test

Test #1



OK I pumped it a few time and it change to green. If I pumped it some more it would go to Yellow.


4500 miles on this POS and the engine is out

[AJxtcman]

Now you know why I added the trip from flint to Milwaukee to the story. It was pinging the whole trip. He told me that it was surging at a cruise.
OUCH

When I tore the engine down I found 2 of the spark plugs had been changed. Hmmmmm 3800 miles and it had 2 plugs changed. What going on here. Hmmmmm

[n0dih]

This one is at home here in the dealership back lot....

[Fox95]

Wtf?

[n0dih]

Car has 4K miles on it and engine has been out 2x so far....

[AJxtcman]

Like I said 2 of the spark plugs were different, so I think someone knew the car had issuses.

When the car was at the SECOND F.O.R.D. dealer they talked Higghline into another new shifter. They didn't like the Steeda shifter (niether did I) and they installed a Ford Racing Hurst shifter. On the ride back too the Caddy dealer Highline nailed the gas at the shifter buzzed. Whe I pulled the engine and trans out I found that the ball socket was loose. He took that shifter back to the Ford Dealer and they gave him another shifter. That shifter is loose also. The Steeda is back in the car.

[AJxtcman]

List of Mods done to the car when the Engine was out.

I had Cometic build some head gaskets to lower the compression from 9.8 to 1 down to 9 to 1. The stock head gaskets wear about .036 and the new ones are about .070

The raised Deck height made the already too tight Roush drive belt a tick tighter.

Steeda CIA box. I used a Cadillac Part to connect the Box to the Roush pipe.

Roush Spark Plugs

Spec Aluminum Flywheel and Clutch.

Pypes Headers. I killed the left O2 sensor setting the body down on the engine. Beware. The Left O2 has to come out to change the engine

Pype X pipe, over axle pipes, and Muffler delete pipes. BTW it had Slowmasters on it before and it sounded like crap.

Ford Racing 3.73 Gear Set

Steeda Shocks and Struts to match the springs.

Steeda Strut mounts. To get rid of a clunk/pop over bumps

Ford Racing rear diff cover

Ford Racing (I think) adjustable track bar, rear lower control arms, third link with a pinion snubber, and a sway bar. Most the parts are blue and I think that was the reason for installing them.

Ford Racing Boost Gauge. It fits in one of the dash Vents.

Ford Racing Push Button start.

Ford Racing Door sills that Light up Red and Blue Ford Racing IMO they look GAY.

He got another set of OEM GT500 rims and tires. This set has the 285's on the rears

And for the best part

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HP Tuners

Sorry Programmer aka Lyndon I like HPT setup better than buying a Diablo Sport and you emailing tunes and info back and forth

[AJxtcman]

I will get pictures posted of all of this.

BTW I only charged him 40 hours to do all of this.

The plan was to not run the car until I knocked out 20% of the timing, but I needed to get it on the alignment rack. so I fired it up. I aligned it and drove it back in my stall.

The next morning I tried to check out the boost gauge, but the lot was wet.
Later in the afternoon I tried that boost gauge one more time. I was looking down at the Gauge it was only at 0, I could hear the Super-Charger zinging, but no boost. I let of the gas and the car snapped straight. I was driving the car sideways between 2 rows of cars looking down. I had no idea until I looked in the rear view mirror that I was laying a patch of rubber. Not good. The Body Shop Manager had ran out of his office to watch this. Not good.
Bad part of it I heard the car ping.
Well no more Parking lot test drives.

Almost forgot I tapped into the wrong vacuum line and that is why I had no Boost on the gauge. I fix that. We are getting about 7 psi

[AJxtcman]

Today is the big day I that the HP Tuners package comes today.

I wanted to buy it last week, but SEMA was going on.

I didn't have the spare cash to buy the setup. I wanted Highline to buy it on line, but the licence in my name. I figure Jay could help up out, but he was at SEMA and away a few extra days. Highline Gave me the cash and I ordered it last week. Everyone at HP Tuners has been really good about getting back to me on this and I and very happy so far. I that every thing goes just fine this afternoon

Highlines been down about all of this. Bought a car, Drove it at Mach Speed back to Milwaukee. I thought the Mach speed with a bad tune blew the head gasket until I found the 2 spark plugs had been changed. He waisted a $1000 + at two Ford Dealers trying to show them he would spend cash if they would fix the car. Then he dropped about another $5000 or more in bolt ons.
He bought the Tires and rims off eBay they were supposed to be take offs, but they are worn down about 1/2 way and some of the rims are scuffed.
Then it started snowing up here and I couldn't get a hold of HPT last week.
I hope today will be good medicine for him.

[AJxtcman]

Engine on the way in


Engine in the car

[AJxtcman]

This is what I did to HighLine's Caddy

[ElecTech]

Good luck on the tuning. I think you'll like the HPTuners for the Ford. Just keep in mind, the scanner does not put out data very fast so log the least amount of PID's necessary to keep the frame rate up. Unless you have another scan tool.

[AJxtcman]

Good luck on the tuning. I think you'll like the HPTuners for the Ford. Just keep in mind, the scanner does not put out data very fast so log the least amount of PID's necessary to keep the frame rate up. Unless you have another scan tool.

Thank.

[AJxtcman]

Edit It has all changed

[AJxtcman]

It just hit the door step

[n0dih]

How much boost does that little M90 push with the 4.6L and 2.57" pulley??

I thought the GT500's (maybe real ones?) came with M112's....

[AJxtcman]

How much boost does that little M90 push with the 4.6L and 2.57" pulley??

I thought the GT500's (maybe real ones?) came with M112's....

7 psi with no effort

Tom the HPT is a little different

BTW I think it change all my bin icons

[n0dih]

I see around 9-10 psi with my stock 3.8" pulley on a M90 and 3.8L. I have bumped 170kPA a few times. I guess technically it matters the baro pressure which I wasn't monitoring.

So 170 kPA * .14503773773020923. = 24.65 - Baro = 9.9 psi. Not bad for a stock L67 with a stock pulley.