TwinTorino

[SVTforme]

Finally getting around to getting some real progress done on this project - so I figured it was time to start a thread. I have been a member of the site for a while now trying to get ideas of how to go about doing this project myself, and what parts to use.

This project is slightly different than most.. in that myself and a friend are both building similar cars at the same time, hence the "twin" Torino name. It took a couple of years to find two cars, round up all the moderns parts for both the cars, build a chassis fixture, etc. To date, one car has 95% of the parts needed, and the other is 85% there. For additional info on the cars and our builds - you can visit our site at www.twintorino.com (http://www.twintorino.com)

The goal is to have something that could be driven daily and hit open track road course days on the weekends. We also did not want to have the fuel mileage of a big block Ford.

The cars started life as 1968 Torino GT Fastbacks. Both were 289 cars with FMX auto transmissions backed by a Ford 8". They are not rare vehicles to start with, nor did they have desirable color combos or options, so they are perfect candidates. Both cars were bought on Ebay and are southern cars.. as we gave up early on the rusty northern cars.

We are building these cars on a pretty tight budget and are doing everything ourselves.. so it just tends to take a lot of time rather than money. We have been busy buying and sellings cars and parts to pay for most of the project to date. Keeping in the cost effective theme - most of the parts are used and came from Ebay, Craigslist, Kijiji and forums like this one.

The engines are 4.6L DOHC ones from a 2004 Mach 1 and the transmissions are T56 6-speed from a 2004 Cobra. We went with a Mach 1 as the engine is all aluminum, and are a lot cheaper than the Cobra supercharged motors. The supercharged motors use iron blocks. The rear ends are 2004 Cobra 8.8 (31 spline inner/outer) as part of the IRS assembly. Cooling comes from 2004 Cobra aluminum radiators (36mm core) and Mustang 2-speed cooling fans. Exhaust will use Bassani stainless steel headers, and a complete 2004 Cobra Bassani stainless steel system to start (modified to fit of course).

The front suspension is a modified 2004 Cobra McPherson strut setup. The rear suspension is a modified 2004 Cobra IRS. The steering rack comes from a 2004 Cobra. Front sway bar is a 35 mm Roush bar, and the rear is 26mm stock unit from the IRS. Koni DA's will be used at all 4 corners.

Front brakes are 2004 Cobra PBR front calipers with 13" Brembo rotors, and will have Carbotech AX6 street/track pads. Rear brakes are 11.65" disk from a 2004 Cobra. Brakes will be powered by a Cobra hydroboost unit. 2004 Mustang pedals are used under the dash.

Wheels for one car will be Ford FR500 18x9 front, and 18x10.5 rear. The other car will run Axis Hiro 18x9 front, and 19x10 rear. Tires are Michelin Pilot PS2 275's in the front, and 315 in the rear. Track tires are yet undecided, although they will be 18x9 and be 275's all round and road course slicks.

Seating will be modified 1969 Torino buckets for daily driving, and Sparco Torino's for track days (although they will likely stay in all the time). Interior will appear mostly stock looking. The gauges will be custom (using a Mustang gauge clsuter to start) with silkscreened faces to mimic the original ones. A/C and heating system will be based on a modified 2004 Mustang system.

Wiring will be modified 2004 Mach 1 harnesses. It is much cheaper that way in comparison to aftermarket setups. Also more complicated this way though.

Cars will retain the Cobra ABS brakes, traction control, PATS theft system (with key in the dash), keyless entry, and basically any other major electrical function a 2004 Cobra would have. We are getting rid of things like air bags, power mirrors and lots of other things that are not needed.

That is all for now.. here are some pictures:

Day 1 for both cars:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Georgia_Day1019.jpg

http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_Day1006.jpg

Powertrain:
2004 Mach 1 Engine
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_Mach1_001.jpg
2004 Cobra T56 6-speed
http://www.twintorino.com/images/t56_trans_no3_002.jpg
2004 Cobra IRS
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_irs004.jpg

[SVTforme]

2004 Cobra quick ratio steering rack
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_steering_001.jpg
Sparco Torino Seats
http://www.twintorino.com/images/sparco_torino_2.jpg
2004 Mach 1 wiring (ouch)
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_wiring_001.jpg
Stock wheels/tires beside FR500 wheels/315/30R18 Michelin Pilot PS2 tires
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_fr500_wheel_007.jpg

[SVTforme]

Custom chassis fixture we ended up building for setting up suspension and powertrain:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/chassis_jig_006.jpg

http://www.twintorino.com/images/chassis_jig_010.jpg

IRS cradle fixture:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/chassis_jig_irs_003.jpg

Vehicle in rough position:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_011.jpg

IRS moving into place..
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_008.jpg

[SVTforme]

This build required several donor vehicles along the way for parts..

2004 Cobra roller (this side makes the car look like it is in good condition).
http://www.twintorino.com/images/avon_cobra_001.jpg
2004 Mach 1 Powertrain
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_002.jpg

[SVTforme]

Got tired of trying to mock up the underhood area with a complete heavy engine, so I decided to make something a little more lightweight. A heavy engine was even more annoying to work with the car on a jig that is 18" off the ground. Since I am on a tight budget, I opted to use an old shipping crate and about $10 worth of fasteners from Home Depot. After careful measurements of the block and tracing out various components, a CAD model was created. This was then used to make up 1:1 scale prints, which were in turn pinned to 3/4 plywood and cut out. This allows the headers, cam covers, trans, front cover, upper intake manifold, manifolds, A/C compressor and power steering pump to be installed in the car.
http://twintorino.com/images/mock_mach_001.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/mock_mach_003.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/mock_mach_004.jpg
The shaker on the 2004 Mach 1 sits very far forward when in the Torino, so I had to take it apart and shift it back about 8" to make it look right. Not sure if I am going to keep it on the car or not. Engine does not like the factory shock towers as you can see - the cam covers won't fit. The plasma will make them go away so a pair of 2004 Mustang shock towers can be installed.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j106/SVTforme/Torino/machwoodinstalled.jpg

[syborg tt]

Looking forward to watching the build

[Roger M]

great projects and an awesome website to follow them with. Nice work.:thumbsup:

[Aschle]

Wow, That will be a fun ride when you finish !!!

Best of luck with the build and please keep the pictures coming !!!

Jason

[XcYZ]

That's really cool. Keep us posted. :cheers:

[Bowtieracing]

This is really intresting !! Keep us posted:hail:

[RedRyder]

I can't even tell you how cool that CAD idea is. hahaha. Looks like an good start and I'll definitely be following this thread.

[Kendall Burleson]

Killer setup the car will be a outstanding ride.will the jig move went you adjust the legs up or down?(side to side):bow: :bow:

[two68s]

These are definitely cool builds. I've been waiting to see a Torino build for a while. I like the shaker, reminds me of a torino cobra. It'd be awesome if there was a way to make it functional.

[SVTforme]

Thanks for all the great comments everyone - much appreciated!

Killer setup the car will be a outstanding ride.will the jig move went you adjust the legs up or down?(side to side):bow: :bow:

The jig allows you to adjust it so it is level to the world, and then there are separate levels for the body and the suspension to make sure everything is true. The fore aft and side to side are set when you initially place the vehicle on the stand using plumb bobs etc.

These are definitely cool builds. I've been waiting to see a Torino build for a while. I like the shaker, reminds me of a torino cobra. It'd be awesome if there was a way to make it functional.

Shaker will be fairly easy to make "functional" as it works on a stock 2003/2004 Mach 1. It pulls air from the hood and through the fender where a stock Mustang does as well. I think it is more of a novelty than it is a necessity with this setup.

I have some 3D models I am working on now using 3ds Max to see what a shaker will actually look like.. and I will decide from there.

[SVTforme]

Finished up the wooden mockup this week. Believe it or not, a std household copper pipe is the same size as a dowel pin, so this was easy to set up. This allowed the trans to be mounted to the buck motor. The motor mounts were set up, along with the exhaust, oil filter adapter (OFA) and the intake manifold. This allows everything to be mounted on the stock k-member for now. Starting to look like a real setup now, aside from the wood :). Next step it make up mounts for the chassis fixture to get the engine and trans at the correct position and angle.

http://twintorino.com/images/mock_mach_005.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/mock_mach_006.jpg

Finally started work on the underbody once again. Since the 315 or 335 tires will not clear the inner wheel wells, we needed to make some more room. The suspension will also move differently than a solid axle (you get camber change now with the IRS), so that further defines the need to minitub the rear of the car. Since there is no kit available (may be a while before DSE makes a Torino kit) - we need to just cut out an inch of floorpan and add an inch to the inner wheel wells. Finally got to put the plasma cutter to its first test - is worth its weight on gold during this step. It is very easy to cut straight lines this way too.

Had to cut holes in the trunk floor so the upper control arms on the IRS would fit. Also hitting the pinion snubber and will hit the jounce bumper brackets, so those will have to go away too. This all needs to be done so the car can have a lower stance and still sit at the correct "design" position as it was designed (and not just at some arbitrary control arm angle).

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_minitub_001.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_minitub_003.jpg

Also have a complete 3ds Max model to post up here within the next week to get some feedback on the final design for the cars.

[GvEman]

Wow! Awesome project! I love the mockup engine!! :D

[SVTforme]

Finally managed to get some additional work on the car over the holidays. We removed the pass side wheel tub and then moved onto the front to attack the suspension.

If you look at the previous pictures, you will see that a DOHC engine was not meant to fit within Torino shock towers. Easy solution there - get rid of them. They will be replaced with 2004 Mustang based ones.

I will say once again how great a tool a plasma cutter is!! This is by far one of the best and fastest tools I own. It makes cutting up cars a breeze. Once the shock towers were out, the stock Mustang k-member was modified to allow it to bolt into the Torino. A spare mockup steering rack was placed in position and will work perfect once in place which is another relief as we were not sure if it would hit anything.

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_minitub_005.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_002.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_004.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_005.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_006.jpg

[SVTforme]

Once the front shock towers were removed and the stock Mustang front suspension k-member was modified, the engine was placed in the car. Surprisingly, the engine and exhaust fit quite well, and should only require a few tweaks to make it work. This is a big relief as we had thought it was going to be necessary to widen the frame rails. The only thing that is really in the way is the old trans crossmember brackets which will be cut off anyway. The motor mounts on the crossmember will need to be adjusted as the engine needs to shift back at least 6". Things are finally starting to move along now!

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_engine_install_002.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_engine_install_001.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_engine_install_003.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_engine_install_004.jpg

[04Prox2]

cool and unique project, seeing that roller cobra makes me queasy

[71dusterjon]

how comfortable are those sparco seats? been looking at getting those or steeping up and getting the milano 2.

[groovyjay]

how comfortable are those sparco seats? been looking at getting those or steeping up and getting the milano 2.

I have the Milano's and absolutely love them. I did a 2500mile road trip and they were perfect, great support, great quality, great looks... :thumbsup:

As far as the car in this topic goes, great start with the project! I'll stick around to see how this turns out. KEEP US POSTED! :thumbsup:

[SVTforme]

cool and unique project, seeing that roller cobra makes me queasy

You can't see the other side from that shot. It had a fight with a guard rail and lost. The front right is completely destroyed as is the right rear. It would take a lot of time and money to fix that is for sure. I bought it as a roller minus engine, trans and rear, so all the big $$ stuff was gone anyway. I still have it - can't bring myself to the point of getting rid of it :).

how comfortable are those sparco seats? been looking at getting those or steeping up and getting the milano 2.

I really like them.. although can't comment on how they would be for a long haul. The nice thing is they work great on the street and on the track, and they also tilt forward to you can have people in the back seat too. The only thing I can say about them is they do not have very good fade resistance from what I have seen. Mine will never be outside long enough to have to worry about it.

[04Prox2]

You can't see the other side from that shot. It had a fight with a guard rail and lost. The front right is completely destroyed as is the right rear. It would take a lot of time and money to fix that is for sure. I bought it as a roller minus engine, trans and rear, so all the big $$ stuff was gone anyway. I still have it - can't bring myself to the point of getting rid of it :).



I figured it was pretty well hammered on the other side, it just sucks to see something that is still pretty new and must have been the pride and joy of whoever bought it new already deteriorated to that state.

[SVTforme]

Started to mock up the front suspension by putting the control arms in place as well as the spindles, hubs, struts, caster/camber plates and brakes. The suspension is sitting approx where it will in the shock tower area. Next step is to finalize these points with a plumb bob to match the same points as a stock 2004 Mustang. Then it is time to build up costom strut towers. The struts shown are just for mockup. In the end the car will be running coil over struts with adjustable rebound and compression (Koni or Tokico - haven't decided yet). The Maximum Motorsports caster camber plates will allow us to run 2-3° of camber at the track and then back to close to stock specs for the street. The only immediate problem is going to be with the hood hinges interfering with caster/camber plates. One thing we did figure out here is that a SN95 Mustang swaybar is not going to work here since the Torino framerails are much lower than the Mustang, so I think we are going to have to run an S197 Mustang bar instead.

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_007.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_suspension_mod_008.jpg

[godscountry]

Resurrection not restoration,this is the way to build a car.The CEO of Porsche would approve,get rid of the things that make the car a poor performing,ill handling and unstoppable beast.:yes:

[2L8IWON]

This build required several donor vehicles along the way for parts..

2004 Cobra roller
http://www.twintorino.com/images/avon_cobra_001.jpg


NO! :wow: Not a Comp O 04! Poor poor car :willy:

[GMracer]

awesome project, can't wait to see the progress

[city_ofthe_south]

i'll be watching. Great concept and some fun fab work.

[TonyG]

Great project.. I hate to see the Comp orange in that condition myself. But atleast it is going to a good cause. What happened to the engine from the Cobra?

[SVTforme]

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

As for the Comp orange car - I still have it, although it is a bare skeleton. The engine, trans, seats and IRS were long gone when I bought it. The powertrain from it now resides in a 1969 Mach 1. I got it for electrical system, cooling system, brakes, steering and lots of other odds and ends.

[SVTforme]

We have been spending some time lately figuring how we want to set the suspension up, and seeing what we want to run for hard points on the chassis etc. We also want to figure out how to set up the rear springs/shocks, since there is not a lot back there. We started to get the chassis points into the computer and figure out roughly how the car will behave when we set up the points the way we want to. The models is being created using program called Motionview (by Altair Engineering) which is for multibody dymanics. This is then sovled using a program called ADAMS.

Here is the model as it is today. The front and rear suspension have all the basics points in. Not much to see aside from the bare basics. You can clearly see all the main suspension parts for the front MacPherson strut suspension and SLA rear IRS. The key here is the info it spits out.. and not having detailed graphics. I will post some animations once they are up and running, as it makes more sense when you see things moving. Now it is time to determine the kinematic behavior of the car (camber/caster/toe curves) and them move onto the dynamic side of things (spring rates, shock rates etc). Also been spending some time with a complete 3D rendering of the car which should be ready to post in a week or two.

This is much easier to do now before everything is finished, and it is not really easy to guess how a car will behave by just looking at where points are. This will provide a starting point for setup, as it is much harder to move points when everything is welded in for good.
http://twintorino.com/images/suspension_simulation_001.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally got some renderings going for the cars.. figured I would post here as well as it goes along with the build progress of the cars. This was my first crack at 3D rendering.. just needed a good project to learn how to use it. More to come in the near future.

Also have lots more done on the front suspension and the subframe connectors. Pics to follow shortly.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/full%20vehicle%20renders.jpg

[SVTforme]

Couple more updates:

Three main things on the go right now - front suspension/steering/brakes, floor of car/subframe connectors and steering column/pedal setup and seat positioning. Rear suspension is on hold until custom bent tubes and rear coil overs arrive.

First the suspension. Have found most of the front suspension components online in the past month or so (nearly new for discounted prices of course). Nice thing here is since I am running SN95 (1994-2004) Mustang based suspension - the sky is the limit with aftermarket parts.

Front suspension will consist of (parts are on the way or in hand now for one car):
Maximum Motorsports front tubular lower control arms
Koni dual adjustable (DA) front struts with adjustable rebound and compression damping
Maximum Motorsports coil over kit
Maximum Motorsports caster camber plates
Stock Mustang front spindles/hubs
Hypercoil springs - have not decided on rate yet

Since the strut rods are no longer needed, the brackets that house the bushings were removed. Custom brackets will be made up to stiffen the area once again and also provide mounts for the radiator, A/C condensor and ABS unit.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_012.jpg

With the suspension almost in position, the stock control arms make contact with the frame. Tubular control arms correct this issue, although just barely. The goal here is to get the suspension in the exact same position as in a stock Mustang to keep the suspension geometry the same (easier said than done as we are finding out).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_013.jpg

Nearly new tubular control arms compared to the old ones. Since we are running coil overs, spring pockets are no longer needed. They are also lighter and much better looking.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_014.jpg

As for the subframe connectors - hoping to have them in within the next week or so. The passengers side is nearly ready to go in. Just have to jog the subframe connector 4" as the front subframe is 4" inboard of the rear (more to come on that shortly). As you can see, the front trans mount has been removed, and the remaining piece left will be used for welding to the connectors. A custom trans mount will need to be made for the 6-speed, and also a driveshaft loop needs to go in as well as seat mount supports. This will all make a bit more sense once they start going in.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_001.jpg

[SVTforme]

Got started on laying out the driving position this week as well.
Starting fitting the Sparco's into the car. They are extremely comfortable and will help keep a person planted when on the road course. Stangely enough, sparco does not make seat adapters to bolt into a Torino, even though the model name is Sparco Torino :).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_sparco_install_001.jpg

Started to fit the Mustang pedals into the car. Several reasons for using these instead of Torino ones. Mustang uses a cable clutch and Torino ones need significant mods to make work with the clutch quadrant. Want to be able to keep the stock Mustang pedal ratios going into the hydroboost. Want to be able to use the stock Mustang electronics since all the dash wiring is from a 2004 Mustang. Also like the pedal positions much more and they are much better for heel/toe driving on the track. Measurements were taken from a 2004 Mustang to be able to position the pedals the same distance from the firewall, height off the ground, and releationship to the steering wheel. The goal here is also to use a stock floor shift Torino column as I hate the look of a new column in an old car.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_mustang_pedals_001.jpg

Well.. here is the first issue as we were expecting. The clutch quadrant hits the windshield wiper motor area. This area will need to be modified to make it work. It is looking like we will end up grafting a Mustang firewall onto the Torino. That way everything will bolt right up (including brake clutch and gas pedals, steering column, hydroboost unit, heater box and all wiring and cable pass throughs) and look much cleaner. Since we have 2 complete Mustang firewall assemblies and a plasma cutter.. this should not be a big deal.. famous last words I guess.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_mustang_pedals_002.jpg
Stay tuned..

[SVTforme]

Made some more significant progress on the front suspension of the car. Koni dual adjustable struts came in (used of course) and also the Maximum Motorsports coil over conversion kit.

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_015.jpg

[SVTforme]

In order to get the suspension in place and get the suspension in the correct vehicle position, we needed to build a fixture that would work with our chassis jig. The k-member was used as reference and mounting points were chosen and located. Once this was built, it was placed on the vehicle so a tire and wheel could now be put into place. Finally starting to look like a real front suspension. Lets just say that 18x10's are a tight fit up front and will likely not fit. They will likely need to be narrowed as that is the only size they come in. They are Roush forged 18x10's and will likely be the track trims. Lots of new clearance issues came up with this.. and we be datailed as the install continues. The coil overs are going to prove to make matters worse for clearances. More carnage to come tomorrow (Torino Tuesday) as we start hacking up the firewall to fit all the Mustang components. Stay tuned..

http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_016.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_017.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_018.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_019.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_020.jpg

[fasterpatrick]

Now I know you already bought the struts and stuff for the front but they really do create issues with rim selection. Have you thought about using some parts from factory five racing, the kit car guys, they have parts that convert the mustang spindles into dual a-arm units. they have done a lot of work making these stout and setting them up for the track very easy.
http://www.ffcobra.com/photopost/data/531/medium/DSCN2671.JPG
http://www.ffcobra.com/photopost/data/504/medium/daytona_build_day_11-09.jpg

I'm not telling you what to do but some times you have to rethink rather than compromise
Thanks for listening,
Patrick

[SVTforme]

Patrick - I appreciate your input. I definitely hear what you are saying on that one. In the end it came down to two things for us - cost and project goals.

We determined that running coil overs on the front would likely limit us to 275's on the front, but in reality that is as wide as we would ever be running anyway. If we wanted to go wider, that would mean widening the fender flares which we are trying to avoid. The strut based suspension will take more fabrication in the end, but that only costs us time at this point. I also wanted to stick to a suspension setup I know a lot about and have experience with as far as tuning goes.

As for cost - by the time we add up the price of what we have into the front suspension parts, we could not even buy a set of front shocks that we would need (Koni 3012 based dual adjustables). I know this as I just had to order 3012's for the rear of the car as we have no choice and they are damn expensive.

[SVTforme]

Moving onto the powertrain - it is now time to rebuild the transmissions in the midst of things. Since we both bought known broken transmissions (to save money of course) we knew we would have to rebuild these anyway. We decided to upgrade the known weak points in the T56 transmission since these cars will see some track duty. The kit upgrades the trans with carbon kevlar synchronizer rings and replaces all of the typical wear items. There are two main weak points inside the case: 1) The stamped 1-2 and 3-4 keys are being replaced with billet ones as shown below. 2) The aluminum 3-4 shift forks are being replaced with steel pieces (from a Viper trans), and also replaced the plastic fork pads with brass ones.

http://twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_001.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_002.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_003.jpg

[SVTforme]

After going back and forth on how to make these pedals work out, along with the clutch cable, gas pedal & cable, heater box, wiring harnesses, steering column pass through etc. etc, we can to the conclusion that the firewall would likely be hacked to pieces by the time we got done with it. If only we had a firewall from a Mustang. We had two that were already part of a complete car, but those have lots of other pieces spot welded to them and they would likely be ruined trying to get the out, let alone how long it would take. I put a call into a friend who works at a dealer, and the next thing I know he was telling me that firewalls are available and are cheap! I guess when you think about it - how often would a firewall be replaced? Are car would likely be written off before needing to replace one. As you can see below - everything wil bolt up nicely and look like it was supposed to be there. Obviously this is not a quick bolt on modification and will require lots of cutting and welding, but it will be worth it in the end for sure. In the end, the cost of the firewall was less than 2 replacement Torino toe pans, so this was a no brainer.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_003.jpg

[SVTforme]

Been a while since I have posted.. project is moving right along..

Too late to turn back now. Firewall is now gone and there is now a large hole in the car . Surprisingly, with only some slight removal of material from the Mustang firewall, the piece started to fit up quite nicely. It will obviously need material added in certain places since the Mustang is a diffrerent size vehicle altogether. Started to install parts to see how they fit into the package and everything is finally falling into place. Pedals, hydroboost, steering shaft and heater box were all installed. Next the trans will be installed so we can see what is going to have the happen to the trans hump if anything. With the engine in, everything also fits nicely. The throttle and clutch cables also worked out quite nicely. The pedal spacing is much better compared to stock as well. Not sure what the pedal pads will look like in the end, but for now they will retain the 2004 SVT Cobra look.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_004.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_006.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_008.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_010.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally making some progress on stiffening up the chassis. Since the floors are cut out, we decided to run a full connector from the front torque box / frame rail to the rear one. The goal here is to make it look like the frames connect to one another and make it appear factory installed. First problem with that idea is the front subframe is offset 4" from the rear. We decided to add a 4" jog into the part as shown below. This involves calculating the angle to bend the material, measuring the width of the bandsaw blade, and then making the necessary cuts to get there. Then lots of miles on the TIG to attached everything together again. It is a rather long process in comparison to just notching it out, but looks much cleaner (even though noone will likely notice once installed).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_004.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_006.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_012.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_013.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_014.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_015.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_018.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_019.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_frame_connector_install_020.jpg

[SVTforme]

Well.. I typically run on a tight budget and hate to buy anything new.. but I had to make an exception. I found this set (technically 2 sets I guess) of Roush Alcon brakes at a great price on clearance. I just had to have them. The calipers and rotors and made by Alcon, and the misc hardware and mounting brackets are made by Roush. This kit is made for the Roush Stage 3 Mustangs from 1999-2004 (SN95). The front rotors are 14" (compared to the 13" Cobras) and the rears are 13" (compared to the 11.65" Cobras). The calipers are 4 piston with race/track pads. Can't wait to see how these work. The barely fit within the 18" FR500 wheels. I have had issues in the past with melting the dust boots on the Cobra brakes, so hopefully that problem will go away.

How big are 14" rotors? They are the same size as the rims on a 1969 Camaro..

http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_alcons_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_alcons_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_alcons_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_alcons_004.jpg

[SVTforme]

Managed to get the powertrain in it's actual position finally. Really starting to feel like a car now. Put the hood on to find that we actually have hood clearance which we were not really sure about it. Have around 15-20mm from the throttle body to the hood. Won't need to modify the hood thankfully. Still detaing on whether to run a shaker. Kinda leaning towards not using it and keeping the stock hood. The engine ended up 4" rearward of the front suspension in comparison to an SN95 Mustang.

Also got the 6-speed in. After struggling with getting it to work with the stock trans tunnel - it was clear that it was not going to fit. The plasma cutter made that go away quickly - A new custom tunnel will be made up. Otherwise, the shifter is in the perfect location and feels great going through the gears. The handle shown is just for mockup - I will likely modify a hurst shifter or something like that and then use a custom boot. Want to make it look somewhat period looking.

The headers are in and they fit surprising well. They are full length headers made by SLP Engineering and came with an engine we bought. The pass side clears everything, but the drivers side could get interesting with the steering shaft. Nothing major.. just will need some tweaking.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_powertrain_in_position_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_powertrain_in_position_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_powertrain_in_position_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_powertrain_in_position_004.jpg

[SVTforme]

We had custom 2.5" x 1/8 wall tubes CNC mandrel bent for this application to tie the independant rear into the car. They came out great as you can see. They tie into the existing leaf spring mount. We cut a section of 2" OD steel and notched out the 2.5" main tube - worked perfect. Getting closer to getting the car down on the ground. We decided to rigid mount these instead of using rubber bushings like the factory ones.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_009.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_010.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_012.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_013.jpg

[SVTforme]

I have been trying to figure out what the heck to do with my ignition switch on the dash.. as the electrical portion of the projects is quickly approaching. Since the entire car revolves around a 2004 Mustang's electrical system, I needed to use something that would allow me to use a Mustang key in the dash. Only problem is new Mustangs have their keys on the column, which means the mechanisms are totally different as is the electrical. After looking all over the place.. I found several Lincolns have a key in the dash. I found this 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII lately which fits quite nicely. Once the original ring is in place, should look close to stock. It fits and looks quite nicely. The goal here is to make it look close to stock.

These pics show how the part fits without any mods whatsoever. Just need to modify the part slightly so the stock ring will fit.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_wiring_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_wiring_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_wiring_004.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally time to start working on the fun part of this project - the powertrain. We have 2 kits to completely rebuild and upgrade the 6-speed transmissions, and the engines will just get a refreshing/upgrade and make sure everything is OK inside. After all, they are only 5 years old.

One of the engines we bought came from a car that was a write-off and have some issues with the front cover being cracked as you can see. We took a risk on this (since we only have pics to go by) and hoped that there was no internal damage from the timing chain coming off. Sure enough when we pulled the head off, all was well inside. Gotta love the 4 valve heads http://www.torinocobra.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_004.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_005.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_006.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_007.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/georgia_mach_engine_008.jpg

[SVTforme]

We bought 2 Tremec T56 6-speeds knowing there was some internal damage, and saved a lot of money by doing so. Symptoms were hard to shift into 3/4 gears, and also the transmission was popping out of 3rd and 4th while driving. This is a classic symptom in these transmission of failed stamped steel keys in the trans. This is a faily easy job as long as you have gear pullers available and heavy duty snap ring pliers.

As you can see below - the fragments found in the trans of the stamped steel keys, what the stamped steel keys originally looked like, and the upgraded billet keys. Also the difference between the bronze shift fork pads and the plastic originals (the other ones were in pieces all through the trans). Transmissions will also receive carbon kevlar synchronizer rings and an upgraded steel shift fork (from aluminum). Otherwise all the gears in the trans were in great shape with no noticeable wear.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_004.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_005.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_008.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_006.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_007.jpg

[SVTforme]

That pretty much brings me up to date on progress.

I finished up close to a final rendering of the car as you may have seen in the Artwork section of this site. Figured it belonged here in the thread as well. I like the stock looking C stripe the more I look at it.. glad I pryed myself away from the 2-tone. The background is in Arizona and was taken by a friend of mine.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_torino_rendering_twintorino_dot_com.jpg

[OLDFLM]

LOVE the whole concept and the rendering looks GREAT!! :thumbsup:

[tazzz2_ca]

That is one awesome looking project....Congratulations on a fantastic job so far and the rendering looks great.

[89 RS]

Cool build, look forward to seeing more. Judging by the rendering and build so far, that is going to be one sweet Torino.

[SVTforme]

Time for another update.. been a while.

Finished the rebuild of both T56 transmissions. Much easier than I had expected. They both had the same 3/4 stamped key issue, and one had a sheared up input shaft (Ford input shafts only use 10 spline instead of the GM 26 spline.. damn OEM cost reductions!).

Car was not going anywhere with this shaft. Ebay $13 replacement will do the trick. I will not be running enough power to replicate this failure (not yet at least).
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_009.jpg
Ebay used press coming in handy..
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_012.jpg
New sycro billet keys and blocker rings installed and ready to go:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_010.jpg
Measuring shaft preloads (since they use tapered roller bearings) and added shims to get 0.000 end play.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_011.jpg
All done, cleaned up and ready to install:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_013.jpg

Trans #2..

We bought this one from a guy in Ohio for very cheap.. he was fed up with the way it shifted and had brought it into the dealer to take a look. The dealer pulled it apart and found the stamped keys destroyed and pieces were all over the magnets (just like the other one we have). The blocker rings (shown below) were warn out and then some. Thankfully they did not wear down more or my gears would have been chewed up. At this point - I am guessing the dealer found it would be cheaper to just replace it, so they did. They quickly pieced it back together (leaving several key pieces out) and that is how we bought it.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_014.jpg
Here is a pic of everything disassembled and in the parts washer. Still amazed they can actually make these thing work.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_015.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_016.jpg

[SVTforme]

Now back to the interior once again. The top portions of the subframe connectors are now completely welded in, so it is time to finish up the firewall and the floors. The firewall was trimmed to fit around the torque box and was adjusted to the final position both side to side and up and down. The floor needed to be slotted to clear the subframe connectors both front and back. We ended up lowering the floor 3/4" to get everything where we wanted it. Just need to add an inch or two to the front pan so it will mate up with the firewall. This works out great and will no longer require toe pans. I had to pull out the hammer and dolly set to get the profile of the front of the floor pan to match the firewall - worked out quite well in the end.
Just need to make up extensions for both sides of the firewall and make up a tranmission hump, then everything can be welded in for good. Finally starting to feel like we are getting somewhere.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_018.jpg http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_013.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_014.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_015.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_016.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_017.jpg

[xagtfalcon351]

Been watching your progress with utter amazement!Since I dont have any fabrication skills such as you my friend,I cant believe how you have just attacked this project with a take no prisoners approach.Things that just refused to work or parts that refused to co-operate with your vision were simply made to WORK!.This kind of enthusiasm and your engenuity in making all melt and fit together is truly unbelievable in my eyes.Im new here and cant believe the amount of work and time you have invested and must say your Torino or should I say Torino's X 2 will truly be a sight to behold when finished.
This post is written to egg you on and I watch in amazement at your incredible workmanship.Well done sir..well done!:thumbsup:

I paint cars for a living and this as labour intensive as it is--but your project is mind blowing to see..the evolution of your Torino is incredible..Keep up your excellent work.
Nick:bow:

[SVTforme]

Wow - thanks!

Before we bought these cars.. we really did not know how to weld very well, nor did we have any of the tools or equipment to do so. This project gave us an excuse to hunt down all the used tools we needed and also gave us some seat time behind them. Just trying to document these things and hoping to inspire others to try something similar :D .

[wedged]

Ebay used press coming in handy..
http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_6speed_rebuild_012.jpg


The bearing puller in this picture is positioned incorrectly. The saddles, not the threaded shafts, should stradle the gap. Less chance of bending the threaded shafts.

[SVTforme]

Time for a couple more updates..

We started to lay out all of the wiring in the car as that stage is quickly appreaching. There is a lot more room to put everything in here compared to the original Mustang that it came off of. The big challenge here is going to be making room for everything once the HVAC is installed and in position. The computer processor, fuse panels, and lots of other items that wer never on the original Torino need to find home too. The Mach 1 cluster and all the wiring connectors will stay until the car is started for the first time.. and then everything will go on a diet. Al the wiring and connectors that are not needed will be cut out. The parts that remain as original Torino parts (very few pieces like the steering column and various lights) will be spliced in also.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_wiring_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_wiring_003.jpg

Got started on some of the smaller details of the project. In this case, the door locks. Every once and a while you are really surprised that something works for a change. In this case it was with the door locks. Believe it or not, a lock cylinder from a 2003 Mustang actually fits exactly into the stamped hole in the body of a 1968 Torino. It fits exactly with no mofifications - retainer clip and all. A custom rod is needed to connect it to the door latch - but that is to be expected. I ended up making a quick one with a welding rod, and the key now locks and unlocks the door.. kinda neat. Note that the lock is actually black - for some reason 2004 Mustangs are polished as we found out. Black will eventually be removed. Only one issue here - Mustangs do not have a lock cylinder on the pass side, and Torinos do. As luck would have it - a local Ford dealer was selling off excess stock this week on Ebay, and one of the parts they had was replacement Mustang lock sets. These come with 5 bags of key tumblers, and you simply select the tumblers to match the key you have, and then you assemble and install. This adds a cylinder to the pass side with ease.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_door_locks_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_door_locks_002.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally got the last of the firewall out.. had to remove the upper lip that ties into the cowl (gets rid of the 1" or so overhang too which is good). Kinda doing the opposite to what most people do when they remove the cowl panel :). Actually got a chance to put the stretcher shrinker to work since the upper lip of the firewall is curved. Have the drivers side almost ready to weld to the firewall.. just have to work on the pass side.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_011.jpg

There is and end in sight with the firewall mods. Almost getting ready to weld everything together and then weld it into the car. Once it is done it will be great as everything will bolt right in. Not sure what it would have looked like if we kept the original on there. Once everything is painted black should blend much better. Just need to extend the pass side floorpan and the fab work will be done for here. Rather than double up the material near the torque box like the stock setup, we figured we would just use them as is. Save a bit of material and make the process easier.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_014.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_015.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_016.jpg

[SVTforme]

In the meantime - it was time to get going on the steering since this was somewhat of an unknown. The steering will be a cross between a 1968 column and 2004 Mustang. The column needs to be shortened to clear the pedels like on a Mustang, and also to line up with the rest of the system correctly and clear the headers. Beleive it or the column shaft on both are exactly the same. They use a 3/4 double d spec. This way it will require very little mods to get the universal joint to work with it. We will also use the steady bearing at the end like a Mustang. Just need to fab up a collar. I sacraficed the stock column shoft for now.. as I will eventually be using a floor shift column.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_steering_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_steering_003.jpg

Found a home for the cruise control module behind the front wheel and inside the fender.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_cruise_control_001.jpg

Getting ready to get the shock towers in too. Have all the suspension and tools needed now, so this will start shortly. Too bad 315's won't fit on the front of the car :). Need to find the exact position of the upper mount. To do this we will be building a jig off the front clip we have.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_021.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_022.jpg

[SVTforme]

Next onto the driveshaft. Believe it or not, a Crown Vic aluminum driveshaft is the perfect length for our setup. Just had to swap out the slip yoke as the T56 uses the only 27 spline shaft in Ford's trans lineup (since it is a GM based trans). Has just enough clearance to the tunnel as well. Now that it is in.. time to get the tunnel made up. We have the rough shape made up.. just need to get it made out of sheetmetal. Note the difference in length from the Mustang one.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_driveshaft_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_driveshaft_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_floor_replace_022.jpg

[SVTforme]

Slight change in powertrain plans here.. have had one of these engines for a while now, and recently found a second one (both used of course). Could not pass up the deal on them. They are 4.6L 2V engines that use an Eaton M90 supercharger and were designed for use in a 2001-2004 Roush Stage 3 Mustang. Both setups are missing some parts and will require some custom fab to make fit.. but nothing too major. Should be good for over 400hp/400ftlb of torque and will still get great gas mileage (when not under boost at least). The rest of the powertrain is good for 500ish hp so we should be OK there. Two main concerns with this were hood clearance and alternator clearance to framerail. After mocking things up both seem within reason, so I think we are going ahead with it. They will add a bit of weight to the car which is not overly desirable.. but what can you do. The Mach motors will go on the shelf until the next project or sold to offset the cost of these engines. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_sc_engine_install_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_sc_engine_install_002.jpg

[NIL8R]

Is that one of those new high tec wooden modular blocks I've been hearing about?

Project looks fab by the way.

[SVTforme]

Couple more updates. Almost have the firewall ready to go in. Worked on getting the wiring pass throughs sorted out and the drivers side piece is now ready to weld to the center portion. Made up some simple carbboard templates to cut out the holes for the Mustang wiring harnesses. Worked great and was very fast. Note sure what I would have done otherwise. Rolled a couple of beads on the part and also step flanged the ends so everything will look flush from underhood after it is welded.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_017.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_018.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_019.jpg

[SVTforme]

A month or two ago we kinda ran into an interesting once in a lifetime situation and had to act fast. Been talking to a Torino guy on and off for several years now trying to find some parts. Just looking for a couple of odds and ends, nothing major though. The other day I got a call and the same guy asked if I was still interested in parts. I said sure and listed off the parts I was looking to get to finish up our projects.

Long story made short, he was moving out of the country with very little notice (moving within the week) and had to get rid of everything he had fast. I thought OK.. here is a good way to get some good parts to finish the car with and go from there. He said he had a lot of parts and could not list everything. I thought sure.. you have some parts.. but everyone says they have a lot of parts. I struck a deal on everything sight unseen. Little did we know what was to come...

Couple of conditions - we only had a couple days to pick up everything (required several long road trips), we had to take everything (and I mean everything), and we had to take a spare car with the deal (which just happens to be in the form of a 1969 Torino GT FB 351 4-speed car). We have more parts now than we know what to do with. Came with enough parts to almost complete the '69 and likely finish several other cars. Not sure what to do with the '69 yet, but it may become the next car to follow the TwinTorino project as I have plans for future cars. I'll let the pictures tell the rest.. and they only show a portion of what was there. Tons of sheetmetal, tons of NOS parts, etc, etc, etc. I am still sitting here pinching myself on this one.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/london_stash_004.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/london_stash_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/london_stash_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/london_stash_001.jpg

[SVTforme]

Back to the suspension once again. We cut the front strut towers out of the wrecked '04 Mustang we had (definitely not up there with the most fun activities to date). After they were out, we needed to drill out spot welds and cut off what we don't need to fit in the Torino. We also cut out the remaining pieces of the stock shock tower in the Torino. The last picture shows a quick mockup. Still need to trim off some material and determine where they have to go exactly. Very pleased with initial fitting - they actually look like they are supposed to be there. Believe it or not, the Torino and Mustang engine compartments are the exact same width (to an 1/8"), and the angle of the sheetmetal in the Torino in front of the strut tower exactly matches the Mustang so they should blend in nicely. The goal it to make it look like they were supposed to be there.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_023.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_024.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_025.jpg

[SVTforme]

Wanted to change things up and decided to do something other than suspension and floors. Time to add some lazy man options to the car, in this case power door locks. Since the rest of the car is based of a 2004 Mustang, it only makes sense to use parts we already had from our wrecked cars.

We removed the solenoid that comes on the door latch of a Mustang as you can see below, and bent up some steel brackets to attach them in a way similar to the Mustang (with retention tabs and everything). Also had to make up a tab to weld onto the door lock lever that the solenoid actuates and modified it to move with the geometry of the stock Torino door latch. Was even able to work one of the factory Torino plastic bushings into the mix to keep the steel from cutting the plastic solenoid lever. Plugged it into the Mustang door harness, flicked the switch and it works perfect. Everything fits nicely into the door. Just need to final weld everything, paint it up, grease it up and put it back in the car for good. Could just have easily bought an aftermarket solenoid kit.. but we got the parts basically free with the parts car Mustang. With this you just push the button on a stock Ford remote and the doors will open. They even sound "tinny" like they should.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_door_locks_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_door_locks_005.jpg

Got the cruise control module bracket fabbed up and temporarily stuck on the car. Module mounts up great and also started to get the wiring organized and in place.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_020.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_firewall_mods_021.jpg

Also found a set of rear tires for the car with only 10 miles on them. You can still see the stickers and glue on the treads. Lucked out on this one. Size is 315/30ZR18. They should give us some added traction :).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_michelin_tires_001.jpg

[SVTforme]

Moved back to the suspension side of things. Making some good progress up front. The main thing with the suspension was making sure the upper strut mount point on the Torino is the same relative to the lower control arms points as the Mustang. This way the geometry is retained, and the strut travel is maintained for both jounce and rebound. We went back and forth on this one and figured since we have a Mustang front clip, we may as well put it to good use. We made up a jig using some extra material we had, and also used the stock strut retainer braces from the Mustang for positioning the towers. We used sockets as dowel pins to line the jig up with the motor mount plates. Worked like a charm. Once we got this in.. we realized we had some issues with front tire clearance as we new we would. The suspension needs to be adjusted down about 1/2 an inch relative to the body and things should work out great. The tires touch the fender when under full lock and on their way up to full jounce. A combination of moving the suspension a bit, rolling the fenders and getting the correct offset should make things work out perfect. This will also buy us some much needed hood clearance for the supercharger. Shock towers will look nice and clean by the time we are done with everything.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_026.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_027.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_028.jpg

[SVTforme]

Been way too long since I posted an update on this site. Make lots of progress in the past months.. here goes:

Had my first issue with Ebay.. thankfully it turned out OK in the end. I bought a set of Fox body tubular front control arms which I thought were made by Maximumum Motorsports (one of the highest quality Mustang tubular control arms you can buy). Got them in and they did not look right or fit right. Sitting 5 feet away they looked like the real deal. Turns out in the end they were knock-offs from another company. Once I convinced the seller they were not legit (he was not aware either), I got my money back and send them back. In the meantime I was able to convince someone to trade me straight up for the ones I had already. As you can see, they are much shorter which works out perfect. I now have lots of tire clearance and should be able to fit 275's up front which was the original goal (2004 Cobra used this size).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_029.jpg

First problem after installing new arms - tire rods are too long. Solution - 1993 Taurus outer rod ends. Works great now.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_030.jpg

Also aborted mission for now on the tubular k-member. Too much time and money for the time being. The stock k-member is likely stronger regardless. In that case - started to work on getting the motor mount brackets modified to get the engine shifted back as far as possible.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_031.jpg

Unfortunately with the Fox control arms being used, this also means the upper strut mount needs to move inboard to be able to get the alignment settings right. This meant we needed to cut up the jig and make it adjustable using threaded rods and nuts.

The goal here is to be able to set the front wheels to 2-3° of neg camber for the track, and then adjust them back to 0.5° neg camber for the street. The caster is also being increased relative to stock. Looks like 275's will fit up front when using the 0.5° setting which is great news.

All that is needed to set things into position is to flip the camber plates upside down and swap side to side. This way they can be bolted to the jig. Next max the camber setting inboard and then take suspension measurements. Keep adjusting the fixture outboard until the max neg camber is achieved. After this, unbolt and put on shock towers. Lots more sheetmetal work ahead, but it should hopefully work out in the end. Turns out the inner surface of the shock towers is almost flush with the origional fram rail which make things easier fab wise.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_032.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_033.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_034.jpg

[SVTforme]

Got the point where we finalized the front strut mounts and achieved the desired caster and camber targets (took a lot more time than planned to manipulate everything to get it perfect). Now it is time to bridge the gap between the Mustang strut towers and the Torino. Went out and bought half a sheet of 16 gauge steel (same as the Mustang towers) and made up templates using cardboard. Just need to bend these up in steel, cut and weld into position.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_035.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_036.jpg

Also landed a couple of good deals in the past week or two. Bought a set of tires for the track for $100 - Michelin Pilot Sport Cups. These come new on the Porsche GT3 and the Viper ACR. These ones are 265/35 18's and have lots of life left on them. Will use these as fronts and track down a wider set of rears (or just use them all the way around around so they can be rotated). Also picked up a set of Rebco corner weight scales for setting up and weighing the cars. I bought them as non-functional for only $25. After and hour of troubleshooting and fixing as issue with the circuit board, I had them up and running. I always wanted a set, but could never justify the $1500 cost. Now I can weigh anything and everything on the car, and the car itself. Will be interesting to see the weight difference between the motors etc.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/michelin_pilot_sport_cup_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/rebco_scales_001.jpg

We made up the filler pieces for the strut towers this week. 16 gauge sheetmetal is definitely not as easy to work with as 20 gauge. Hope to get everything in and fit up this week and ready to weld in next week. Actually feels like I am getting somewhere now. The only pain with making these up was that none of the angles were 90 deg and each face of the strut tower has a slight crown - looks the like the stretcher/shrinker is going to get a good workout.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_037.jpg

Finally found another set of Konis for the front of the car. They almost never come up used as they are not very common since they are double adjustables (likely because they retail for close to $1k for a pair). Since we can't afford that.. or even close we just have to wait to get them for 20% of that. Easy way to pick out a double adjustable Koni is to look for the screw for adjustment on the bottom which both sets have. Single adjustables (rebound only) only have have sdjustments on the top of the strut rod.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_038.jpg

Dusted off the stretcher/shrinker and formed the sides and top of the strut towers. Also cut the bottom piece to fit and trimmed the shock tower to mate with the bottom piece. They should look factory stamped by the time we are done with them. Also made the filler panel for the section that was cut of from the original shock towers. Just need to trim things to fit and we will be ready to weld.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_039.jpg

[SVTforme]

Found a set of nearly new rear adjustable Konis specifically made for the IRS suspension. Just need to make some custom upper mounts.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_016.jpg

Also got the pass side upper shock tower piece bent up. Stretcher shrinker combo works miracles with ease. Also got the drivers side upper piece tacked in, and worked on the front filler panel. Most things are almost ready to weld in.. but I ran out of Argon so I have to wait another couple of days to get the bottle filled.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_040.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_041.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_042.jpg

Managed to work on the car a bit over Christmas. Hoping to maybe even get the car back down on the ground soon enough. I got a Longacre caster/camber gauge for Christmas this year so it was time to put it to the test. It is a nice billet piece with lots of bubble levels on it. The only unknown parameter in the mix was the caster that needed to be set for the vehicle (as camber is relatively easy to measure with a digital level). Ford recommends 3.6-4.3 deg caster on the Mustang. We are setting it to approx a min of 4.5 and max of whatever the caster/camber plates allow. The larger number will mainly be used on the track. These numbers are generally agreed upon in the Mustang world, and lower recommended numbers are based on the fact that the Mustang was designed with the "average" vehicle owner in mind. The shock towers were simply slid forward until we saw the measurements we wanted. They are now fixed in place.

Also managed to find a barely used pair of 275/35R18 Michelin Pilot PS2 tires to try out on the car (same size/model as a newer Viper so they are not that hard to find). They were mounted up on the car and we ran through a clearance check and they fit perfectly. The hardest part about getting a tire to fit is while turning the tire when the front suspension is compressed, and they also need to clear the coil-over suspension.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_043.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_044.jpg

Also moving right along on the front strut towers. Have all of the pieces tacked together on the driver's side and everything fits great. Should be able to weld these in soon. Just need to add a piece in the top corners and they should look factory stamped.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_045.jpg

[SVTforme]

I managed to find a set of barely used Schroth 4-point harnesses. They are the Rallye 4 models. They tie into the stock mounting points on the front, and use the rear lap belt anchors in the rear. They also have a buckle to detatch the shoulder harness so someone can sit in the back which is nice since they are designed to be installed with the rear lap belts still in place. These are actually DOT approved unlike many other racing harnesses out there. Since the cars will be driven regularly on the street and on the track - these seemed to make the most sense.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/sparco_torino_003.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/sparco_torino_004.jpg

Finished tacking in the rear side of the drivers side strut tower. Just need to make some small pieces to clean up the top of the strut tower and it will be time for final welding. Everything fit together and matched the contours much better than expected.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_046.jpg

Made a close-out panel at the rear of the pass side strut tower. In order to clear the air dryer for the A/C and to to mate up with the new firewall, it was just easier to make this from scratch. Once this piece is done, the strut tower can be finished as well.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_047.jpg

Decided to put everything together once again and check all the clearances one more time before we start welding parts to the car. The hydoboost unit and the hood hinges clear the new strut towers, so we can now proceed with them as in that location.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_048.jpg

[SVTforme]

Finally have the drivers side tower completely welded and finished up and ready to tack in.. it's about time! Pass side is welded and should be finished up tomorrow night. Just need to blast everything and paint it to get rid of all the contrasting colors. I quickly splashed some black primer on one of them to keep me insired :). Also have all of the close-outs done and ready to weld in too. Just need to make a jig to be able to plasma cut a k-member to fit and make it very easy to do more than one. Can't wait to actually get a real motor in there.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_049.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_050.jpg

Finally found a steering wheel for the cars.. been looking for a while on this one. Two reasons for this choice: the style is "somewhat" similar to the original with the single horizonal bar, and secondly Sparco has been clearing out some wheels on Ebay cheap so this made them affordable too. We'll see what it looks like in the car I guess. The model is called "Veloce" and is leather with the perforated leather strip at the top.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/sparco_veloce_wheel_001.jpg

Moving right along on the front suspension. Pass side strut tower is done and ready to tack in. Next step was to make a perfectly centered and tight fitting k-member. The one we have been using to date is hacked up and really only for setting things up. Time to make another jig for this. As you can see, nothing too elaborate, but it serves it's purpose. We used reference holes on the part used at the assembly plant to locate the jig. Then we made up 2x4's that are the exact width between the frame rails. Finally two pieces of plywood are used to conform to the curves of the part. To use, the jig is placed on a Mustang K-member, sockets are placed in the 4 holes to located jig and then a utility knife blade is used to scribe lines on the parts. After that, we break out the plasma cutter and trim/grind to suit. Works like a charm! Making one for car #2 is now a breeze.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_051.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_052.jpg

We used it to cut the k-member shown and it fits perfectly. That will make it very easy to weld in. Started on making up pieces to run under the frame rails to clean up the package and add a bit more stiffness. Kinda looks like the k-member was meant to be in there. Just need to make up the rear ones and the k-member will be ready to go in. Only thing left now is to weld in the filler panels and modify the motor mounts. After that, the front suspension is done!!
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_053.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_054.jpg

[SVTforme]

When we removed the shock towers the steel was flaking away a bit, but I thought it was nothing out of the oridinary. The more I picked away at it.. the larger the hole got. Have to attack this before the towers go back in. Should last a couple more years now. This also brings up the question - how the heck do you get at this area if the stock towers are still in the car? Most people do not have the novelty we do by not having them in the way. Still have to fix the underside where the rest of the water went and rotted things away. Once this is done, front suspension is ready to be welded in for good (finally).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_055.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_056.jpg

Since the front suspension is finishing up, time to move back to the rear once again. Had a lot of time to think about this one now, so time to put it in action. Biggest issue with designing anything in the rear is the tire clearance. Fitting the 315's back there requires lots of room. Couple of constraints here - the outer fender lip since the tire will sit within it, the springs and the shocks. We went back and forth on coil over shocks, but in the end they are expensive and take up precious tire clearance. The Koni 3012 dual adjutables we wanted were $500 each alone + springs and they are impossible to find used. As you may have noticed, we likely to track things down at discount prices. They also do not provide the most desirable load path as the shock mounting holes are outboard of the frame rail. Many of the aftermarket kits out there use single shear mounts on the outside of the frame rail which we are not big fans of. The shocks even without the coil-overs will require notching the frame, although very minimally. The result here.. the springs and shocks will mount in separate locations like the stock Mustang.

In the end, this is how we decided to mount the spring. We are using the stock spring pocket on the lower control arm, but using a much smaller spring. We started with 2 u-bends as you can see, and turned them into a doughnut. This way we maximize surface area to distribute the load. Just need to add a flat plate in the middle and a small wedge to angle the spring as required. In this configuratins, the springs sit directly under the frame rails. Then we simply add a mount to the frame rail. Notice we are also adding an adjustable sleeve for fine tuning the ride height. Since we are running fairly stiff springs all around, we will be using helper springs (very low stiffness) to keep the springs in place when the suspension goes into full rebound.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_017.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_018.jpg

[SVTforme]

Moving right along - have the Mustang K-member mounting tabs completed. Only thing left to do it shift the engine mounts back 3" to get the engine as far back as possible. Since the steel on the stock mounts is 3/16" thick, this means the std brake won't cut it. Have to move the the hydraulic press for these bends. Got them ready to weld in over the weekend. Will get them welded in this week and then it is finally time to weld the front suspension permanently into the car.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_057.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_058.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_059.jpg

Also found a complete vehicle wiring harness set from a Mustang GT and heater box / ducting parts.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/torino_wiring_005.jpg

You never know what you will find on Craiglist.. that is for sure. Responded to an ad for a Mustang rear suspension and a couple of hours later.. ended up with another Cobra IRS in the driveway. This one is out of a '99 Cobra (28 spline inner/outer axles). Could not pass up the deal at $175. Not sure where it will go or what to do with it.. but it will find it's way into another project - no worries there.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/IRS_99_stash_001.jpg

Got the motor mount extensions tacked in and ready to go. Likely won't go much further with these or drill motor mount holes until the actual engine goes in and we can check clearances. That way it can go back as far as possible. To do that we will just cut the studs off an old set of motor mounts which will allow the motor to easily slide back. K member is now ready to weld in. Just need to finish up the strut towers are front suspension will be almost done.. finally!

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_060.jpg

Started working on the strut tower stiffening braces. These will directly tie the strut towers to the upper "shotgun" pieces on the body. These tie into the reinforcements plates on the Mustang strut towers.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_061.jpg

[SVTforme]

Started pulling everything apart before the re-welding begins. This one definitely screamed Kodak moment. This is a close to a skeleton as it will go - will be a nice picture to look back on. The car sure looks awful like this :). Everything from now on will be an uphill battle and the car will start to look better by the day.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_064.jpg

Finally have the drivers side strut tower completed and ready to weld in. Got the stiffener plate welded on and have all the close-out panels welded in and ready to go. Hope to finish the pass side one this week and get them welded in for good. Only a year behind schedule on these :).

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_062.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_063.jpg

[SVTforme]

And that bring me up to progress made this afternoon..

Finally stuff on the front suspension is going in for good. Final prepped everything on the drivers side strut tower, drilled all kinds of holes for plug welds and welded everything in. We will wait until we get the car on a rotisserie to well all the way from top to bottom. With the plug welds ground down, it looks like the pieces were supposed to be there. Just need to weld in the pass side and it will be time to put the k-member in for good. Almost done with the front - hard to believe.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_065.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_front_susp_066.jpg

On that note - time to catch up on the rear suspension. Finally decided how to do the rear mounts on the IRS. We used one of the 2.5"x1/8" tubes we have made up for the front mounts, cut one in half and will use the 2 pieces to make up both rear mounts. We lucked out and it looks as though the rear tubes use the same 5" radius as our bends do. Big thing is the rear mount will still clear the 315's with stock wheel lips. Just need to go grab some more steel to make up the actual brackets that bolt to the frame as we used a scrap piece for now that was a bit too small. Next we need to make up pockets in the frame for the shocks and clearance for the upper control arms. We'll be on the ground in no time.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_019.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_020.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Texas_IRS_021.jpg

[FETorino]

I'm definitely taking the easy way out on my Torino build.

[waynieZ]

Very nice! sure looks bullit proof.

[70rs]

I just read this from start to finish. I like what you are doing with this. You should have two of the most unique Torinos out there when done. The Cobra IRS and modular motors are a great way to go.:thumbsup:

[SVPJason]

any updates??? :_paranoid :_paranoid

[SVPJason]

Anybody heard anything about these builds? A lot of great ideas, actually has been an inspiration on building my '66 Fairlane.

[DavidBoren]

I , too, would love to see some updates on this. None of the pictures showed up on my phone, but I still read the whole thing.

Liking what's going on here. Keep it up.