On my first build, HM1078, the car came with a Lokar #EHB-7000F, flat-mounted eBrake handle. The originals angled up and there was definitely room for improvement. My first pass was to modify the mounting of it and the way it attached to the cables. The Ford TBird IRS eBrake system was pretty in-efficient and this mod was marginal, at best. This is a link to the earlier posting. After multiple attempts to make it work, I found a Lokar #EHB-7016 Transmission mount handle. This provided a longer handle which increased the leverage. I modified it to fit the Hurricane frame which became Mod level#2. ThisRead More →

You’ve got to get the power to the ground. Clutch & Slave Transmission Driveshaft Differential 2015 IRS Differential YokeRead More →

This is where I made my first mistake. The thinking – brakes aren’t that big a deal. I got lucky on wheels and 15″ tires are, well, hard to find. But brakes, well the second set is only additional money on top of what you ‘ve already spent on the first set. BRAKES ARE IMPORTANT on these cars. Don’t cheap out. Brakes e-Brake Rotors & mounting Alignment came kind of easy for me due to my professional background, but I did learn a few new things. Bumpsteer Alignment Corner Weight WheelsRead More →

When Ford designed the S550 driveline, they chose to use a ‘Guibo’ joint just ahead of the differential. Probably done for Noise/Vibration, it just adds another joint when adapting to our toys. Depending on whether the diff came from a manual or automatic vehicle, the joint was a different size, requiring a different adapter. Created a lot of confusion in the Factory Five world. Ford supplies the cast iron differential to the aftermarket and seems they may have changed the joint (for standardization?) and didn’t tell anyone. There still is a lot of confusion over this. I came across a post on the FFCars forumRead More →

In the process of developing a brake set for 15″ pin-drive wheels, I was introduced to the world of brake rotors and brake hubs. No more single cast units, no more factory stock units. I chose Wilwood as a supplier and as I got into it, I learned there are a number of little tricks to attaching the rotors to the hats. The hats (front and rear) use eight 5/18-18 bolts to attach the rotor to the hat. Many are using red loctite to assemble these and ‘calling it good’. But a recent article in Hot Rod (Jan, 2019; High-Tech Braking Systems) caught my eyeRead More →

Spindle Replacement The tapered joints of the balljoint are pulled into the spindle with 100 ft/lbs of torque. These joints are tight! To remove or replace parts, some recommend putting a pickle fork tool between the ball joint and hit it with the biggest hammer you can find. I was concerned this would destroy the rubber boot that surrounds the balljoint. A jacking screw generates the necessary forces to safely take the joint apart without destroying anything. I made the screw using a 3″ piece of 1/2-13 threaded rod and two coupling nuts. I cut a couple 1/4″ pieces of the rod and threaded themRead More →

Wheel alignment “Stringing” a car is the way racer’s do wheel alignment. You don’t need a fancy (expensive) computer aligner if you are willing to do some setup and understand basic measurements. Setup: Prior to starting the alignment process, you need to determine the desired ride height of the vehicle. Adjust your coil-overs to the height you want and the vehicle is setting at the desired ride height. You should know the rolling radius of your tires. (It is not the diameter of the tire divided in half). To do the alignment, the frame should be setting level. I cut up some 2 x 6Read More →

Staying with the period correct theme, your selection of wheels is pretty narrow. I chose Trigo wheels, now being produced by SoCal Speedshops. (They’ve purchased the line from Lynn Park) The system uses an adapter that bolts to various bolt patterns and provides the large center thread for the knock-off. The pins serve as a lugnut to hold the adapter on but also serve as the drive pin in the wheel. As such, their location must be pretty exact. All five need to line up just right so they will slip into the recesses in the wheel. Trigo makes a bolt spacer template that helpsRead More →

Transmission I chose the TKO 600 transmission to handle the torque generated by my motor. Installing to a FE, you have two options on the input shaft Order the standard TKO and purchase a 3/4″ thick spacer plate to mount between the transmission and bell housing. Lakewood makes one of these. Order a short input shaft version of the transmission and fore-go the spacer plate. I felt the fewer pieces the better so purchased the short shaft version. I also intended to take my car on longer (4+ hours) road trips so opted for the .64 ratio over-drive. I have a 3.50:1 rear end ratioRead More →

Driveshaft Man, it sure is short ! (how many times have you heard that?) One of the benefits of using an independent rear suspension is you don’t get any third member movement. I can’t imagine the arc one of these driveshaft’s move thru when a live axle moves thru its normal range. I am fortunate to live only a few miles from a very good driveshaft firm. A quick jaunt with my axle flange and transmission yoke and I was in business. One of the beauties of the HMS design is the “X” frame that mounts under the transmission. Easy to drop and remove componentsRead More →