update on Rich's build

[57 imposter]

Good job Rich...Nothing beats the feeling of the first real drive in a car that you know you have touched, cleaned, modified, designed and built every single part in the thing. People that haven't done a complete build cannot even come close to understanding what it takes to get to where you are. Everything I have seen of your build looks first rate and you have done things I would never have thought of, much less attempted. Really looking forward to seeing it live.

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks Doug.....It got better today. Took it out on the highway (with my GPS this time)and ran it for 45 minutes at 70. LOL, I had a big rig pass me out beeping his horn, when I looked up it was one of my buddies just waving like crazy. I followed him for 15 minutes at 75, then hit 85 passing him. He was beeping his horn, waving and giving me the thumbs up! Still no vibrations! Just smooth as silk. All in all, I was out for about 1 1/2 hours.
My tach is definetly screwed up...it was fine, seems normal half the time, particularly when it's cold, but then does crazy things, like the needle going up 2k when I take my foot off the gas.
When it was acting normal, I was getting about 2300 at 75 mph.
Looking forward to seeing yours as well, Doug.
Guys, what Doug and I have been talking about is we've been trying to coordinate things when he makes his big looping drive around the country, so that he'll come thru Texas, or we'll meet somewhere, where Connie and I can join him and his wife for a few days. Wouldn't that be cool!

[57 imposter]

Rich... I think you used the Detail Zone harness. If you did, your aftermarket tach won't work without a tach driver  The stock harness sends 5 signals thru one wire to the gauge package where, by some kind of magic, it is decoded and sent to the right place. the tach signal is one of those. You probably already know that but thought I would mention it just in case..

[RICH MUISE]

Actually I didn't, I'll check into it. Maybe a difference in the 5.0 harness vs the 4.6. The instructions had info to connect the wiring from the patch panel to the tach, I'm not remembering if there was a distinction between a stock or aftermarket tach. The tach had been working until yesterday.
related (or not)...The pulse generator for the speedo that was supplied with the gauge kit was a Ford unit with the same pn as what was on the tranny, so I left the oem one on there.
I've got to fiddle with the speedo, pushing the button in certain sequences to reset it. It's what is required if the unit does not calibrate on the initial try. The only place I've found so far, other than I40, with highway mile markers has no breakdown lane and too much traffic to stop for more than a short time.

[57 imposter]

that info came from my 4.6 installation I used auto meter gauges and got the tach driver from them. If your tach did work before i doubt that you need a driver. Mine was specific to the 98 to 04 mustang so if your engine came from a different year or model, my info may not apply at all.

[RICH MUISE]

my engine/harness was '95 Lincoln Mark Viii. I don't remember if the Mark VIII's even had a tach, I think so, but not 100% sure.

[Ford Blue blood]

My 98 LSC had a tach......

[lalessi1]

Been offline for a couple of days... congrats to this point! 

[RICH MUISE]

I checked...all the Mark VIII's had tachs
Thanks Lynn
More than a step backwards today...took the car out for another test drive today. several things acting up on it. At one point the tranny wouldn't shift out of 2nd. I think it's the gearshift lever, I noticed the red plastic dot wasn't in it's usual position. Seems to be some/more play in the handle. I'll take the console apart a little so I can check that out, maybe crawl under the car to see if anything's loose on the tranny connection. I finally got it to shift into high gear by pushing the lever almost into what would have been the neutral poistion.
The thing that's a bit scary though...slowed me down quite a bit until I could get it the 20 miles back home. The steering wasn't as responsive as usual. There seemed to be more side to side play than it had. That was something I checked out the first day out on the loop....with no traffic around, at about 60, I was intentionally making back and forth turns on the wheel. Kinda driving drunk!, The response was immediate and firm. Not so today, starting when I got down to where I was going. My steering wheel had been cocked about 10 degrees. (My alignment guy was going to straighten that out, but got busy and put it off because he knew I was going to bring it back after the springs change). Anyway, I noticed the wheel was almost in the correct position, and I could move it back and forth more than previously without a whole lot of direction change. Everything under the car was checked last month when I had it aligned. It almost feels like a ujoint/steering shaft has loosened. They are all double d shafts, btw. After I made a few turns, the steering wheel returned to it's incorrect, cocked 10* position!! WTH?
Also...somewhere in the ignition/starter circuit, I'm starting to lose a connection. several times now I've had to turn the key 3 or 4 times before the starter engaged. Most everything is new except for the steering wheel components, so the key switch and the ignition switch are 'oem '96.
I need a nap. I think I'll adopt a new slogan:
"just because I built this thing doesn't mean I can fix it"

[57 imposter]

Ah yes! Exactly the reason we drive them a whole bunch close to home before we take off for parts unknown. Your probably right on the shifter something just slipped and will be pretty easy to spot and fix. The steering,however, is something else. with double d shafts, unless one has completely slipped out of a joint, which mine did BTW right in my garage, you can't get any play whether the set screws are loose or not. I use one double joint on mine and if I don't have the steering column pulled up as far as possible that joint will get slack in it and it kind of folds over on its self and screws up the steering. If you have R&P steering ,you may also have used one of those. I'm just shooting in the dark here but i know that when problems arise, a nap is a good first step.

[RICH MUISE]

With the way my u-joints are, all of them have to be loose to get a first one pulled from a shaft. So, with that in mind, and the fact we have snow headed this way tonight, I took it out again today. This time I went all the way to Dumas which is about 49 miles from my house, so drove it over a hundred miles today. One of the reasons I took it out was I got to thinking this is sorta a new car I'm just not use to...maybe it was ok and I'm just noticing things for the first time. Anyway I think that was the case. The steering was just fine, although I do think there is something loose enough to make the steering wheel shift positions a little. The alignment shop is going to check it out maybe Monday if he doesn't too busy. At any rate, I was noticing some wind noise I didn't hear before, but other than that nothing new. nothing new is good!

[RICH MUISE]

Probably found the issue with the steering not seeming to feel as responsive. I never checked/noticed the obvious...my front left tire is low. I noticed it when I pulled the car into the garage tonight. DUH!!
I also had a thirty second fix for the shifting issue. I noticed today the shifter's lock out button was sticky, and when it was sticking, it was preventing the shifter to lock into the detent. A little silicon spray took care of it.

[57 imposter]

See  Nothing to it! Driving them the first few times can be nerve wracking until you get some confidence it them. First time out with mine, a pebble came out of the tire and hit the body and the first thought thru my mind was "Oh god, what did I forget!" The more you drive them, the better it gets.

[lalessi1]

Rich, I had a similar starting issue.... I changed the solenoid, the battery, the ignition switch... it turned out to be the ground between the engine and the frame, it was loose. I know your car is completely different from mine but sometimes it is the simplest of issues that seem to be the hardest to identify

[hiball3985]

It sounds like you only have a few minor issues, congratulations. Those first few shake down trips are fun and enlightening, always something going on in the back of your mind wondering what if. My first was 140 miles round trip, went better then expected but I always take the wife with me, I can't push the thing by myself