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PostPosted: June 14, 2017, 10:36 pm 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
STranger 7 wrote:
Lonnie,
PATS cars, like the 1999 mustang the engine I have came out of, required the key, PCM, gauge cluster, and ECM to match, for the car to start. I thought that was part of the reason for going to such lengths to use the gauge cluster you have.
I was hoping you were on to an after market engine controller that would let me get the 190+ HP the 1999 3.8L is capable of without using the 1999 ECU ( which needs the rest of the PATS parts.)
Worth a try.... Thanks for replying.
Ron


I'm hardly an expert on the ECU for the Mustang, but there is a vast amount of information out there for the Mustang ECUs generally. The Ford system is supposed to one of the easiest to alter and reprogram. There are "jumper boards" that plug into the Mustang ECUs that allow very extensive reprogramming of the unit along with development software to match. I know the stuff is out there, but not what it can do and how much it would cost. My strategy is to get the basic units hooked up and talking to each other, then find a true expert who can take it the rest of the way, seeing to those kinds of details.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 14, 2017, 10:38 pm 
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turbo_bird wrote:
Check with a remote starter installation place, they will have a work around for the PATS system.
Kristian


Kristian's likely right about this. I would think that shops that install aftermarket security systems would potentially be another good source.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: June 15, 2017, 12:05 am 
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Lonnie,
Drop me a line when you're ready for your rear cover. I do have some hints and you won't need sewing skills. If you are interested.

Attachment:
IMG_0405.JPG


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PostPosted: June 15, 2017, 11:55 am 
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@benny_toe

Thanks, Larry. Yours sure looks nice.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 1, 2017, 8:19 pm 
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Boy, time sure goes fast. We have a family member going through a health crisis, and I thought it had been about a week since I worked on the build and posted. It's been more like 2 weeks. I've got several aspects of the build going: cockpit side of the steering setup; dash hoop; and tilt steering column. I'm inching my way along on all 3, trying to integrate them well as I build.

One problem I've been having is bending brackets out of thicker material. Mostly I use 16, 14 and 12 gauge mild steel sheet for stock. With 16 gauge, I can bend things pretty easily in my bench vise with an engineer's hammer and some heavy steel plate. With 14 and 12 gauge material it's not so easy. Since I believe I'll be doing this fabricating stuff until I fall over dead, I decided to help myself out and buy Eastwood's 4-Inch bender (http://www.eastwood.com/4-inch-metal-bender.html).
Attachment:
DSC03826.JPG


It tells you it will bend 3/8" thick steel, and it will, but only a strip 3/4" wide. Here's the spec breakdown:
- 3/4” wide, max. = 3/8” thick
- 2” wide, max. = 1/4” thick
- 4” wide, max. = 3/16” thick

I doubt I will ever bend something thicker than 3/16" thick, so I think I'll be fine.

I wasn't fully satisfied with the one die supplied as it does a minimum 1/4 inch radius. However, I've already though about how I can make new dies for thinner material with a smaller radius. I think it will be pretty easy. Here's the supplied die:
Attachment:
DSC03828.JPG


I didn't like the cheesy paint and the rough look of the die surface, so I stripped off the paint with a wire wheel.
Attachment:
DSC03834.JPG


From the texture of it, it looks like cast steel to me. On thick material the texture will matter little. But, on thinner stuff, it will get pressed into the metal surface. I decided to use a fine file and Emory cloth to clean it up.
Attachment:
DSC03835.JPG


I left the ridge of the die a little rough along the ridge centerline, so as to have a good line of sight along the ridge, and easy placement by eye. Here's how the machine works:
Attachment:
DSC03832.JPG


It has this scale up top to tell you how much you move the die when you crank the handle, but right now I don't see that as very useful. Mostly, you're concerned with the angle between the faces when you bend a bracket. Tomorrow I'll re-enforce my portable work table, mount the machine and try out some test pieces. I can already see that having square faces to measure to when setting a part up, will be lacking. :roll:
Attachment:
DSC03833.JPG


Upward and onward, eh? . . . . .


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 2, 2017, 7:35 am 
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Yo, Lonnie-
Nice bending rig you got there. Waaa-aaay better than C-clamping stuff to the tailgate of the Ford and beating hell out of it with a ball peen hammer and a 2X4. (Not that I know anybody that would do that...)

:cheers:
JD "Ball Peen Wizard" Kemp

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PostPosted: July 2, 2017, 10:06 am 
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GonzoRacer wrote:
Yo, Lonnie-
Nice bending rig you got there. Waaa-aaay better than C-clamping stuff to the tailgate of the Ford and beating hell out of it with a ball peen hammer and a 2X4. (Not that I know anybody that would do that...)

:cheers:
JD "Ball Peen Wizard" Kemp


:rofl: Yeah, I know just what you mean. Now, if a person has anger management issues, that kind of hammer work might be therapeutic. You and I are in the "angel" category, JD, so we definitely don't need that kind of aggravation, do we?

What I found even more frustrating is when I over-bent a thick piece and in order to save the bandsaw work and drilling I already completed on the original, flat plate, I had to unbend the silly thing. Somehow the unbending process just never turns out as nice. A metallurgist probably has a scientific explanation for that phenomenon, but I just call it Car-ma.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 2, 2017, 7:57 pm 
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Work hardening (OK, you already knew). It's why circus strongmen bent straight steel bars and then challenged anyone in the audience to straighten them. The other way (bent to straight) was probably beyond the strongman's capabilities.

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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


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PostPosted: July 4, 2017, 1:57 pm 
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Warren Nethercote wrote:
Work hardening (OK, you already knew). It's why circus strongmen bent straight steel bars and then challenged anyone in the audience to straighten them. The other way (bent to straight) was probably beyond the strongman's capabilities.


Hi Warren,

It's good to hear from you. I do know about work hardening, but I didn't consider it in this case - duh! It's almost always a case of going back to first principles when you're trying to explain something, isn't it? Thanks for the info (and reminder).

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 4, 2017, 2:20 pm 
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OK, this will be my last post about my silly new tool. I think I like making tools as much or more than making the car. I'll be back to real work tomorrow. :wink:

I have this HF work table that I bought at the start of the build, mostly out of desperation. I needed a portable table to mount a vise onto and do the final trimming and filing on various chassis members as I build them. It kept me from having to continually walk back and forth to my big workbench in front of the garage and the chassis itself on the build table. It was on sale and I found a super coupon for it, etc., etc., so I bought it. It has this weird kind of fibrous table top that I thought would last about 6 weeks. It's like super-compressed fiber in some kind of adhesive matrix. I've been treating it like I stole it for years and the silly thing just hangs in there and seems virtually indestructable.

Here it, but the white top is a piece of 1/2" marine grade plywood that I just put on it:
Attachment:
DSC03837.JPG


The top was only attached with 4 screws and they need to be tightened from time to time. I didn't think it would be stable enough or strong enough for the bracket bender, which is why I grafted the plywood on top of the original fiber top. I also re-enforced the connection between the fiber top and the stand with some 0.063 aluminum angle scrap from an old project.
Attachment:
DSC03839.JPG


Here's what the completed table modifications look like:
Attachment:
DSC03840.JPG

Attachment:
DSC03841.JPG


Anyway, back to real build work tomorrow. In the mean time, "Happy Birthday U.S.A." this July 4th.

Cheers,


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 9, 2017, 7:33 pm 
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Lonnie, I apologize if I missed it somewhere, but I have looked through your thread and can't seem to figure out if you have your front suspension design completed? If so, I'm curious how you mounted your lower ball joint, since the lower flange sits at an angle to the hub. If you haven't finished, maybe we could compare notes? I'm using a '96+ hub but for these purposes I have to think the same solution would work for both..


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PostPosted: July 10, 2017, 11:39 pm 
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You know Lonnie I wish we were nieghbors, I could borrow all kinds of great tools from you! :thmbsup:

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PostPosted: July 11, 2017, 8:08 am 
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Let us know how the bulldozer bender does in practice.

I bought a Metalcraft 2020 iron worker a few weeks ago. It's the bender Horrible Fright copied for their compact bender. It definitely takes up more space than your bulldozer. So far I've used it to make scrollwork letters for sale and a few small brackets for the car.

The main reason I bought it was the set of tube bending dies as I'll be building / rebuilding another A Mod / B Mod chassis this winter.

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OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

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http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216


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PostPosted: July 11, 2017, 2:12 pm 
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ZiG wrote:
Lonnie, I apologize if I missed it somewhere, but I have looked through your thread and can't seem to figure out if you have your front suspension design completed? If so, I'm curious how you mounted your lower ball joint, since the lower flange sits at an angle to the hub. If you haven't finished, maybe we could compare notes? I'm using a '96+ hub but for these purposes I have to think the same solution would work for both..


Sorry for the late reply. I've been largely offline dealing with the health of a family member.

No, I haven't designed my front suspension yet. I won't get to that until I move off the welding rotisserie and back onto the build table.

I do know that the 94-95 spindles do have slightly different geometry. Somewhere back in my build log (or it could be where we were discussing using Mustang suspension at front in general) I show photos of the 94-95 spindles, and the 96-04 (??) spindles. The biggest difference is the Ackerman geometry and the shape and dimensions of the arms where the tie rods attach. They're related, of course.

There may also be a slight difference in the Steering Axis Inclination (SAI), but it's minor. The Your spindles will take the larger Cobra brakes, while mine require re-work to do so. The final SAI you end up with will be a factor in determining the angle of the attachment plate for the lower ball joint. The issue as I recall (I'm about 85% confident) is avoiding interference of the control arms and ball joint travel at full bump or droop.

With either the Cobra Replica SAI kit (from Whitby), or the Factory Five SLA adapter, you will have a non-stock SAI. That's because the stock SAI for McPherson (SP?) struts was designed for a different situation, and the two adapters improve it substantially for SLA (Short arm/Long Arm independent) suspension, which is what we'll be designing and building.

I can look back in my notes and see if I have anything more specific tonight or tomorrow. I probably won't be on to my own front suspension for a few weeks yet.

Is there anything else you wanted to ask?

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: July 11, 2017, 2:15 pm 
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horchoha wrote:
You know Lonnie I wish we were nieghbors, I could borrow all kinds of great tools from you! :thmbsup:


You betchum, Perry. Then I could act real stupid, Tom Sawyer like, with all my tools and get a real craftsman to step me through all the sophisticated fab stuff. :mrgreen:

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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