ECORS Class A race rig build

[broncosbybart]

Yeah- this is the third time this has happened to me. The first time was my fault- I wasn't wearing eye protection while drilling out a broken exhaust manifold bolt in a cylinder head. I was working with it in the vehicle and was well above and away from the area I was working on, but still got metal in my eye somehow.

This time I don't know when it happened, but I did have my goggles on while grinding and cutting. Hard to say. It had a chance to rust already. I got a little queezy this time. It was right in the middle of my eye and I could see what he was doing and could watch things deform and move around as he poked at my eye. No fun indeed... Got it out though and I'm back to wrenching. Should post some progress pics soon!

[broncosbybart]

Ok, pic time.

I stripped it down somewhat for paint. Primed the cage, interior metal, hood, and engine compartment.



Got the rear bumper fabbed, spare tire mount fabbed, and jack mount fabbed. I forgot to take pics of all that. Here is a pic of the rear, primed up.

[broncosbybart]

Here it is painted up. Looks really good for now. Problem is that I just used Rustoleum. Rustoleum paint is garbage. Comes right back off.. I didn't have the time or want to spend the extra money for good paint though.

[broncosbybart]

I got it all painted Wednesday night- in the midst of the tornado warnings and everything else. Super windy and pollen/tree crap everywhere. Oh well. At least it is done. Now comes the fun stuff!!!

I had to cut the brake booster bracket to modify the angle to keep it away from the front hoop bars.




Installed:



Also got the rear firewall fitted and installed:

[broncosbybart]

Began putting the upper engine stuff together. I torqued the intake down and got rid of the cast intake elbow for the Explorer intake. I can't remember if i posted this before or not, but I did tap and plug the EGR hole in the upper intake where it meets the lower intake so that exhaust gasses would not be directly against the throttle body.




Next, I welded the linkage arm for the BC Broncos throttle kit onto the original Explorer throttle body arm. It should work fine and was a lot quicker than trying to remove the original arm and attaching this one. Turns out that the BC kit actually fit ok how I did it. I am not overly fond of their long and stiff return spring though. I can't quite get full throttle out of it. I did have to heat and bend the throttle pedal a little bit as well. The EFI setup uses a lot more pedal swing than the linkage type carb setup does.




Here is the throttle body bolted up. I had to use the original TPS sensor, as the bolt holes were different for a Mustang type TPS. From what I have read, some actually will interchange. My luck once again was for the worse... So, we used the original TPS connector from the Explorer harness. We also used the original IAB plug from the Explorer harness, as that was different as well. If you do the Explorer intakes and such, keep this in mind and try to get as many of the electrical plugs as you can.

[broncosbybart]

Shimano cable cutters (bicycle repair parts) come in very handy for dealing with frayed cable ends. I am not a fan of the cable setup, but it should hopefully work. I did use setscrews from both sides of the cable clamps. They are drilled and tapped straight thru, but only come with 1 setscrew per end. The setscrew is supposed to mash the cable down to secure it. I don't like it much at all. Seen bicycle brakes like that and they always manage to slip.





Cable was then run through the firewall and attached to the gas pedal. I had my wife press the pedal to check travel and to make sure I cut the cable to the right length. If I cut it too short, I'd be screwed..






And, yes, the brake pedal is A LOT wider than stock

[broncosbybart]

Next came the intake hose. I didn't realize that I had it on backwards when I mocked it up. So, out came the razor knife and the grinder...

[broncosbybart]

The MAF sensor came off of a 94 or so Crown Vic that I found in a boneyard. It is supposed to work with the 19 lb injectors. The stock 55mm Mustang MAF is supposed to only work with 17 lb injectors. We will see what happens. I also bought a $20 shipped air cleaner and adapter to the MAF off of ebay. Quality stuff right there...




Here it is all cut.

[broncosbybart]

I was going to have the MAF in the cab, but it works out just as well in the engine compartment and the intake in the cab now. This is how it turned out:





I also got the computer mounted. Still working on the relays and fuse holder. The wires weren't very long, so I need to get creative in making them fit and be easy to access and not look to ghetto...

[broncosbybart]

Got the fuel cell in and mounted





Trans cooler is mounted but not plumbed yet