TacoBill

Thanks for posting!

I agree, the 12" stripes are phat (as in very cool)!

After the stripes are on, your GT is just begging for a CDC spoiler and a mild drop (Tom- Back me up on this)! Back this up with your Shaker and it'll be .

I know you're concerned about the roads, but you can cut a coil off your front and rear springs and see if it's something you can live with. Then decide to keep it like that or replace them with a set of Ultralites. Worst case, you can always replace them back with the OEM springs (if Tom cuts loose of his stockers).

Now, I can't wait to see the 12" Gloss Whites on my TR!

TacoBill

* Daryl is busy with his stripe install this morning *

89Trooper

Ever since seeing Mike's bearing assemblies come apart, I just HAD to check mine. I was removing the strut assemblies anyway, to put in the nylon "spacers" to perfectly center the strut assemblies when tightening the nuts on the strut towers.

Here is the (1) bearing assembly with one of my cheap cigars, (2) the two halves taken apart, (3) the outer race removed, and (4) the bearings and the retainer. I cleaned everything, put in new synthetic grease, and put it all back together. When the races are in place, and the ball bearings are all greased up and in the retainer, the two halves just snap back together. And they should rotate VERY smoothly.

Attachment 1481Attachment 1482Attachment 1483Attachment 1484

The vibration from using the air tool to compress the stock springs is what separated Mike's halves and allowed the ball bearings to fall out of that retainer. When I installed my springs, I also used the air tool to compress the springs, so I just had to check.

Here's how I used the nylon spacers on all 4 studs to perfectly center the strut assembly (don't worry, the billet covers do cover all the missing paint!) I tightend the nut which compresses the nylon, used some touch-up paint around the nut, then put on the decorative billet covers.

Attachment 1486

Why did I do this? Now I know both sides are exactly the same and centered... and any camber adjustments will be made with the cam bolts (which still haven't arrived yet).

89Trooper

Here is the adjustable sway bar link compared to stock:

Attachment 1491

The ACTUAL purpose of these is to "neutralize" the sway bar. I know there is pre-load on the sway bar since my car is almost level with the links not installed. (When I install the fixed links, the sway bar is pre-loaded, and the body tilts - this is why 99.9% of Mustangs are higher on one side - even Bill's garage queenie. )

I'm going to use the factory link on the driver's side as my "fixed length" link. Then I will slightly lengthen the passenger side link 1/2 turn at a time. This can be done with the adjustable link installed since one side has left-handed threads. This will ever so slightly lower the passenger side while at the same time ever so slightly raise the driver's side. When the car sits level I'll be done.

Here it is in position (nothing tight).

Attachment 1492

OKCMustangGT

Holy moly this stuff is time consuming. After about 5½ Hours I have the Roof, Rear Deck, Rear Bumper and Spoiler done.
I am finished until I receive the replacement hood stripe. I think it will be much easier if I have them both at the same time.
Well here is some pics and I will do a semi write-up later, but I am relaxing now, it's HOT out.
Attachment 1501Attachment 1502Attachment 1503Attachment 1504

OKCMustangGT

You see what this guy did with the Shaker Unit. He has PC'd Cam Covers ready to install. I will be interested to see that all put together.

89Trooper

Wow, Daryl! I'm impressed! Not that I didn't think you could do it, but that sure looks like a professional install! Did you have to remove the rear emblem or does it butt up againt it?

I'm glad the shaker mostly covers the cam covers. That looks like a task changing those out! Looking forward to the write-up from Bill!

OKCMustangGT

Roof was easy, I measured and marked the center of the roof in 5 different places. Front, back, middle and in between the front & middle and in between the back & middle.
Attachment 1507
I used Bill's Idea of marking the center of the masking tape, which is 36mm (18mm center)
I then ran the masking tape the length of the roof, aligning my marks on the roof with the center marks of the tape. (Hard part done)
Attachment 1506
The longer pieces are definitely a little tricky handling and I thought I screwed the first one up as I had some serious wrinkles in it after pulling it from the backing paper. These did not lay down at first and I thought crap guess I got to buy another piece. But they did lay down after it dried a bit. Spray the solution heavily on the car and then the back of the piece (sticky side) once you get it off the backing paper. DO NOT get the backing paper wet while the decal is still on it as the backing paper seems to stick to the vinyl and causes problems. I might have to replace the first roof piece because of this.
Slide the piece into position (leave some overhang at the front and rear) and squeegee the water out starting in the middle center and working your way outward and to each end.
Tuck the extra in the slot in between the rear glass and the roof. The extra in the front is a little more tricky.
You have to lift the rubber seal up and put the stripe under it. What I found to work the best was two vinyl squeegees.
Attachment 1509Attachment 1508
Lift the seal with one of the squeegees and press the stripe behind the seal with the other one.
Try to work any remaining bubbles out with your fingers.

Roof looks like this when done.
Attachment 1510

OKCMustangGT

Thanks Tom, but trust me there a couple screw ups that I was not happy with, but not much I can do about it. You can't see any of them from 5ft away but if you get up real close you will notice.
I did not take off the emblem and all I can say about the area right there is it is a PAIN IN THE A**. Spent most of my day there and I couldn't get it all to line up. I had to deviate from the instructions on that area I will explain when I do that portion of the write-up.

TacoBill

D A M N! good job, Daryl!!

5.5 hours including the layout and masking? That's flying compared to the 12+ hour jobs that I've read about.

Okay, here comes the questions...

How did you determine the CL on the roof?

What did you use to mark the CL on the paint? Grease pencil?

I see you marked strips of green tape and placed them in several places on the roof. Now what did you do after that exactly? Run a long piece of tape OVER the small strips that maked the CL?

In hinesight, would you recommend doing the rear emblem and 3rd brake light first because that'll dictate the exact gap spacing?

What were the issues you came across besides not getting the backing wet while still on the vinyl?

On the rear spoiler, does the vinyl stop short right before the forward and 'valleys'?


On the westcoast today...
I did my test stripe today (sorry, no pics) on my front bumper. Keep in mind that my test stripe was only 6.5" wide. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I used 3 types of squeegies and found the most pliable to work the best (like the yellow one provided). When I used the stiffer one, it 'chattered' on the vinyl over dried areas and made some marks on the vinyl.
The top section of the bumper was a piece of cake. I used a blow dryer to heat up the vinyl right at the first step and squirted it down and squeegied it down, came out tight with no air bubbles. Repeated the same process til I got down to the bottom grille.
I too discovered about not getting the backing wet. It sort off came off, but not cleanly at all, rendering the rest of the vinyl useless.
Overall, my first experience with the front bumper was pleasant. But, I know that working with a 12" wide stripe will be another story.

TacoBill

The Green tape is 36mm width?

If my converter is correct, that's only 1.42". Close enough for Gov't work?

How did laying the vinyl at 0.25" away from the tape work out? Good or is there a better way?

TacoBill

I'm looking at approx 4 weeks til the cam covers happen.

TacoBill

Tom-
I'm not ignoring the posts above (I have STRIPES on the brain!) about the strut bearings, nylon spacer washers, and sway bar link.

Glad they all worked out for you.

Guess you're at the 'trial and error' stage in adjusting the link to level the L&R sides out.

Any plans on the FRPP dampeners or you going to wait on it? I know you have the Shaker on the front burners.

89Trooper

Just to make sure the adjustable links "worked" the way I wanted them to, I lengthened the passenger side link 2 full turns. It leaned the car just how I wanted it, but made the passenger side 1/2" lower than the driver's side!

It shows how little is needed to put the car EXACTLY where you want it. I took a full turn back off and it's very close. I'll tweak it over the next few days after driving. It's funny... the directions tell you to install one side as "fixed" and to adjust the other side. So, why NOT use the factory link as the fixed side? They should sell them as 1 link, and not as a pair.

I'll wait on the FRPP dampers for now... mostly because I don't want to do the front springs over again so soon. But, I'm glad I did what I did... those strut bearing assemblies are so smooth now. (And I checked... they have the part number on them that they changed the older ones over to in the TSB about the popping during turning.)

TacoBill

After they're adjusted, hope they'll stay put and won't need constant adjustment.

Hope my bearings are okay...

89Trooper

Once adjusted, they will keep the car right where I want it (just like the fixed links kept the car right where I didn't want it). After I did this in my '89 and '03, they never moved. I just had to learn the new set-up for this car.

My bearings were probably fine, but I was taking them out anyway to put in the nylon spacers. They were really simple to check since I didn't need a spring compressor for the shorter springs.

If you change struts down the road, I would take them all apart, clean them really good, and pack them with some high quality synthetic grease. If nothing else, it will make you feel good!

TacoBill

That, I will do. May be some Mobil 1 synthetic grease?

Nothing says 'feel good' than having your ball bearings cleaned and greased!

TacoBill

* Daryl is passed out cold on his couch from the stress of installing his new stripes. *

89Trooper

That would work! I had some Valvoline synthetic grease that I used.

TacoBill

I have some of that too in the garage, but sometime I get stuck on using Mobil 1 for everything.

Any word on the Shaker deal?