8.10.2007: did some work on the car yesterday: removed fender well plastic and used it to make air dam, cleaned ICS and TB, replaced ignition cylinder, tried to remove caliper to replace hubs with no luck, removed seal in front of cowl to try and get more air into engine bay. i'm dropping the car off this weekend for a thorough look-over by springfield motorsport.

8.7.2007: well i bought a 1994 Mustang GT to use as a track car. I'll try to keep track of the work that I do on it so I can remember where I've been. Currently the car needs new hubs, gauges, window motor teeth, ignition cylinder, some sort of suspension fixing in front and rear, and some other stuff to make it merely reliable. then come the things that make it a track car, but those are a little down the road. here's the car.

and here's the look i'm going for [although believe it or not i just realized that my car is a totally different color!].

7.6.2007:
so here's how i ruined. . . er. . . painted my fanblades. i started off buying some brush applied primer for bare metal. i did one wheel like that and said screw that! had to wait 24 hours for it to dry. so i bought some rattle cans of Krylon Fusion Satin Black and some fine grit sandpaper [don't remember the grit]. i sanded the wheels to scuff them up good. i cleaned them with slightly soapy water in a spray bottle in between sandings for good measure. i let them dry and made sure i didn't miss any spots. i masked off the tires with blue painters tape first, then with newspaper as well. then i started spraying!!!! i used about 5 cans of spray. i highly recommend doing this in an area that's ventilated but not so ventilated that everything settles on them as they dry. sand between coats to get rid of "impurities". then i sprayed them with Krylon clear coat, but it's not very good. i'd recommend something stronger from an auto parts store to do a better job. feel free to ask questions at jon_r_dawes@yahoo.com. here are some pics [larger format at http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s181/northy_polk/black%20fanblade%20wheels/?action=view¤t=61ee61f9.pbw ]:

4.24.2007:
hey all, some have asked about how much the wheels/powdercoating/tires cost. here you go.

1) wheels were about a grand from lakeshorewheelandtire.com
2) powdercoating was $500 at eastcoastpowdercoating. the cost will vary depending on where you live
3) tires were a whopping $450 SHIPPED off of ebay!!!!!
4) mounting/balancing was $150 at the local goodyear place.

total was about $2,100 and worth every penny.

4.10.2007:
hey all, i have had some inquiries about the wheels. here's some info for you:

1) these are saleen 20s. you can get them 9/10 staggered. mine are all 9s for ease of rotation and tire life. they come in chrome. i got mine from www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com and they also have them at www.oewheelsdirect.com [style 330] you can get them with tires mounted already.

2) i had them shipped to www.eastcoastpowdercoating.com. scott schnell does awesome work and people from literally all over the country send him just about ANYTHING [lawn chairs, motorcycle wheels, gas tanks, toothbrushes] for custom powdercoating. mine are a flat/satin black coating.

3) tires are just dunlop sp sport 8000. they're 265/35ZR20s and were so cheap i couldn't pass them up on ebay.

IF ANY OF YOU ARE AUTOCROSSERS/HPDE/Open Track DRIVERS PLEASE GIVE ME SOME INFO. I'm interested in getting involved but am totally new to this. I'm in Maryland.

any other questions just email me at jon_r_dawes@yahoo.com

4.1.2007:
finally got the wheels on there. man they're awesome! those tires are super soft, too. . .

3.7.2007:
here are some pictures of the wheels and tires i will put on for the summer. hopefully be a little lower by then, too.

3.2.2007:
Just added pics of what used to be my truck, and of my family's boat. If you look closely you can see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the distance!

So far, I've managed to cut off the stock h-pipe and replace it with a Bassani X pipe with the stock cats remaining. I put on a K&N FIPK and some MAC axle back mufflers. Finally, the BBK headers which were my only new purchase! All the rest was either slightly used or purchased and never installed before the owner sold it on ebay. Their loss, my gain.

This car has the Black/Chamois interior, which is why I bought this particular car. My first choice was an Alloy Clearcoat with the 18 inch Bullitts, but this is what they had and I was tired of waiting! Since then the redfire has grown on me.

Future plans: a tune, a tint, 20" flat black powdercoated Saleen 7 spokes, 255/35 Contiextreme Contact rubber, Cervini chin spoiler, Cervini rear pedestal, Pro-Kit or Steeda springs, UD pulleys, throttle body, and probably some other stuff, too! I really like the Glassback roof and the superchargers out there, but can't justify the cost [yet]. I'm going to see how much power I can get without crushing my powertrain warranty. Once that's gone, who knows what I'll do?!

Installing the Xpipe was much, much more difficult than I anticipated. The biggest problem was that the stock post-cat pipes were a half inch wider than the Xpipe. I ended up [after MANY hours of cursing and head scratching under the car] using ratcheting tie-downs to pull the pipes together: worked like a charm. Then I did the same to get the Xpipe on the rest of the way. Very handy tools, those tie downs. I noticed a bit more of a grumble with the Xpipe, but the MAC axle backs were impossible to miss. Almost TOO impossible to miss, especially at 1800-2100 RPMs when the rearview mirror was shaking and my eardrums were about to burst from the drone.

The last piece, the BBK shorties, were supposed to kill that drone. They sort of did, but not completely. I've never had headers and I feel like I'm driving a race car. It's rediculous, though, because I'm in stop and go traffic everywhere I drive!!! I need to find a place to open it up and see what it can do. Any suggestions from folks in the DC metro area or Maryland anywhere I'm all ears.

I got the idea for the BBK/Bassani/MAC combo from a guy named John who posted his stuff on youtube. If you just search for Mustang MAC you'll find his series of three videos with his 2005 Mach 1 style GT. Very, very sweet.

If you're reading this, stop wasting your time and do something worthwhile!!!1

here are some pics in no particular order. The bearded guy under the car is Matt who owns the baddest Snap-on tool collection this side of somewhere far away, and the other dude is Curt the man with the skills to do car stuff good.

The last few pics are in Old Lyme, CT. The sunset on the beach was great, albeit FRIGID. While in Old Lyme, I took advantage of the sale at Sears and got myself some jack stands and a hydraulic jack, along with one of those cool padded roller things that help you get under the car easier. I tightened some header bolts and took off the sway bar. The latter was an attempt to get rid of the horrid clunking. Didn't work. The headers still sound like they're leaking a tiny bit, but only occasionally. I'll get under there and check them again soon. . .