Howdy folks

This spring and summer the real mods will begin on my 05, my frist change will be to add a set of 4.10/4.11 gears next will be a CIA/tune.

I have 2 questions:

1 - Gear brands, locally I've heard lots of good things about Randy's ring and pinion but I would like some feed back from people that have done this mod and their likes/dislikes of the brand of gears they had installed.

2 - Shops in Seattle, I'm looking for a good shop for the gear install and will also be looking for a good shop with a dino for the CAI/tune tweaking after install. I'm a hands on kind of guy, but setting up a rear end should be left to the pros.

Thanks for any input!

 

Please post info when you get info. I have not had mine into any shops but I'd like to know this info as well.

I'd have to believe that Car Nutz in Bellevue is a good shop as it's part of Park Place Ltd. However, I have no idea what their familiarity is with the S197.

 

I called and had a long talk with the service manager at the Randy's ring and pinion in Everett location and he said that have done several S197 packages (gears + install) The gears are $250 and $86 for the install package (bearing shims ect) $300 for the install/setup. They have a really good rep with the 4x4 crowd out here, several of my truck nut buddies recomend them and say they stand behind there work.

Most of the sites I have checked have 4:10 gears in the $225-$300 range + install package, Randys has the gears in stock so I think I'm going to give them a shot and have the gears installed this comming Monday.

 

I was thinking of using them too Josh, what brand of gears are they?

 

I've heard plenty of good things about Randy's R&P in Everett, but I've never been there as it's a little too far away from me. I've also heard very good things about Brad's Custom Auto in Lake City. And, on the south end, I know plenty of people who trust their cars to Ryan at Lakewood Ford.

Here are several other shops in the Seattle area that I have personally done plenty of business with that are very, very good at gear installs (amongst other jobs)...

Blood Enterprises in Auburn, WA. Ask for Craig or Mark.
Tom Turner's Performance Prep in Federal Way, WA. Ask for Vince or Steve.
Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, WA. Ask for Bryan (their SVT tech).

Keep in mind that when you swap in the 4.10's, you'll need to recalibrate the speedometer (which can be done easily with a tuner), so you should get the tuner & CAI first (or at the same time as the gears), so that you can address this issue.

 

Good info Brian, thanks, as Everett is kind of a ways north for me.

 

CAI and tuner are being ordered next weekend and I have an appointment for Monday @ 8am for the gears, worst case is I'll have to live with my speedo being off for a week or so. I can live with that.

Randy's R&P uses Yukon gears.

 

A guy I work with has a '96 Impala SS with a lot of mods. He's a member of the local Impala club. I'll run the question by him as he probably knows some local shops used by that group. He lives in Everett too so he might know of some shops up in that area.

I'll post what I found out. Probably not until next week though.

 

I ended up selling a set of 4V 351C heads that I had kicking around, so that helped step up the moding process. Ordered the CAI from Modular Depot should be here end of next week I'll post pics and what not after the install.

 

4:10s are in, Randy's ring and pinion did a fantastic job, they carry both Yukon and FRPP gears, I opted for the FRPPs as they tend to make less noise due to the finish. I have zero whine or noise and the difference in 1-3 is very noticeable. I also haver noticed a much larger amount of torque available in 4th and 5th at lower speeds.

I am very happy with the gears

 

 

Looks good. You've got a couple more months to clean up the rest of the engine bay for Mustang show season (or racing season, depending on your preference!).

 

Yeah every time I clean it the weather acts up again and I'm right back where I started. Can't wait for the dry weather to show up.

 

The Mustang Shop in Auburn. That is the only place I take my car, they are the best when it comes to Mustangs. The best Mustang tuner in the area is John at The Horse Power Ranch.

Both shops know Mustangs inside and out.

The Mustang Shop has excellent service. When I blower broke, which was Vortech's fault, they took care of everything. They did all the arguing with Vortech for me, and they did all the labor for free. Not just that, they brought my car back to stock for free so I could drive around while Vortech had my blower. It doesnt get better than that. A few of the guys there were actually Ford tech previously, so they really know what they are doing. They also stock a ton of stuff, and they sell for great prices. If they dont have something there, they will for sure get it for you, and usually for a kick *** price. They cut almost $500 off the price of my supercharger. They also fabbed up my entire custom intercooler, and did an amazing job. They are also the host of the yearly mustang roundup here.

Furthermore, if you get TMS to set up the tune date for you at HPR, HPR will give you a great price for the tune (they seem to be partners or something, and they are only a few minutes away from each other). John has done a ton of tunes for me, all at $150 per tune. $150 is what I normally pay at shops just to dyno the car.

 

Brad's Custom Auto

 

x2

 

I totally forgot about them - my bad! TMS is relatively new, but I've heard plenty of good things about them. Sales, service, mods, restoration, etc. I've been there a few times and they are nice, knowledgable enthusiasts. Lots of stuff for the Fox-body crowd and early generations, from what I saw, but hopefully they're gearing up toward the SN95 and S197 Mustangs by now.

 

They do a lot of that kind of stuff in the off season. If you go during the race season, they are filled with New Edge's and s197's.