Not a lot of work recently due to weather. I did take it out for it's first big test drive on Wednesday. I had to take it to the DMV to do a VIN and emissions certification, so that I could get it registered as "Planned Non-Operation". The front suspension was a little squirly, i'm sure that there's a lot of bushings that will eventually need to be replaced.
I finally got to experience was was described to me by my brother as a "miss above 35 mph". Once the car gets up to operating temperature, as you run up through the gears, in 3rd and above once it gets above about 2500 rpm the car just falls flat, no power and you can hear a miss with the engine. I didn't do it until it got to full operating temperature. Not sure what that is yet, it will be interesting to try and troubleshoot that once I'm fully registered and able to run test drives on the road.
The rain cleared up this holiday weekend and I was able to replace the broken wheel stud on the left front. I've never had to replace a wheel stud before, and it was surprisingly easy. I snagged the replacement from the junkyard when I got my headlights.
Thank you. I much prefer the look of the stock headlights compared to the angel eye headlights. I just installed LED angel eyes on my Magnum SRT8 a few weeks back, and those look great. Some headlights shapes work well for the angel eyes, the long narrow Mustang's just don't IMHO
I finally got to experience was was described to me by my brother as a "miss above 35 mph". Once the car gets up to operating temperature, as you run up through the gears, in 3rd and above once it gets above about 2500 rpm the car just falls flat, no power and you can hear a miss with the engine. I didn't do it until it got to full operating temperature. Not sure what that is yet, it will be interesting to try and troubleshoot that once I'm fully registered and able to run test drives on the road.
Misfiring under load in a high gear could be either a bad plug(s) or coil pack(s), or not.
A shop that my brother took the Bullitt to gutted the catalytic converters to try and fix the engine miss under load. It didn't fix the issue, and now the car doesn't have working cats. When you run the car, it's pretty clear that the cats have been gutted based on the smell. Since I live in California, I knew before buying the car back that this issue would have to be corrected before I would be able to get the car to pass a smog check and to get it fully registered.
Living in California also means that engine and emissions parts have to be direct replacement (OE specs) or any performance improvements have to be certified by the California Air Resource Board and come with an Executive Order (EO) number. The factory cat'd H-pipe for the 4.6 GT/Bullitt is no longer produced by the factory, so to the aftermarket I went looking.
I found that Magnaflow makes a 50-state legal replacement catalytic converter X-pipe, part # 441114 (Link here). Every place that I looked (Late Model Restoration, Autozone, Amazon, etc) all carry the part for the same price of $1,281. I waited to see if any place would have a good % off during either Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but not deal.
During my Black Friday deal hunting, I also checked out RockAuto.com. They didn't carry the Magnaflow, but I did see this when I was shopping. Rock Auto also carries a 50-state legal cat'd X-pipe, but from a company called Bosal which I had never heard of before. The price was much nicer at $826.
I checked the emissions label under the hood to confirm the engine family. Yes, this will work on the Bullitt. I went back in to do some more research. I snagged the EO # D-193-97 and plugged it into Google to verify that it was a legit EO number.
The first thing that I read was Car Sound Exhaust Systems, Inc. (d.b.a. Magnaflow) . Wait, what?!? Magnaflow?? I went back to the other sites who were selling the Magnaflow branded cat'd X-pipe, and sure enough the same EO number. Turns out Bosal was acquired by Magnaflow a couple of years ago. Knowing what I know about EO numbers, these surely would have to be the same parts. So I took the plunge and purchased the Bosal ones from Rock Auto.
They arrived yesterday. The outside box had a few labels ripped off of them, one of which had a part number. I could only see part of the number, but it was clear the last digits were 1114 (same as the Magnaflow part number). Open the box, and the cats are stamped with "MF". The paperwork and warranty are all Magnaflow. So I just scored over $400 off of the part buy buying a no-name brand that really is a Magnaflow part. :surprise::surprise::surprise:
Not much progress on the car... holidays and now about to take a couple weeks of vacation. But, I did manage to get the garage cleaned out for a spot to put the Bullitt in to work on it when I get back. Had to move 4 pallets of concrete block to the side yard of the house to make room.
Now that the car is in the garage, it's time to start pulling things apart to replace the gutted cats. Here are a few pics from under the car. Pipes are rusty, and the no-name mufflers and x-pipe are all welded together, and dump right in front of the rear axle. This was done by the original owner, as it was this way when we first bought the car back in 2004. Although I didnt realize it was all welded together.
Also noticed that the rear end cover is leaking and will need some attention at some point.
I was able to get all the O2 sensors unplugged, except for the forward driver's side. My hands were just too big to fit between the trans tunnel and the trans. i was able to pull the wiring harness away from it's clip, so there is enough play that when I ultimately drop the cats i can unplug it. I was able to get three of the 4 cats-to-exhaust manifold bolts removed, but one is blocked by the starter. By the time I got to that point, I needed to stop and get ready for dinner plans.
Since the O2 sensors are who knows how many years old, ordered some NTK replacements from Rock Auto. Those will go in with the new cat pipes. Since the mufflers are welded to the old cats, the car will be unmuffled until I order the cat-back exhaust pieces. Looking at going with Borla. I've had Borlas on my '01 Mustang GT, '06 Mustang GT, and my '06 Magnum SRT8. I love the sound. Unless one of you wants to convince me for something different. :-D
Here are a couple shots of the factory rear pipes. They were left in place as decoys. They were cut off just before the hanger behind the rear axle.
Brian, If you are serious about your "Plans for the future" and you are going to get a 03/04 bumper. Here is the super deal on ebay. 140.00 Shipped. I bought one a few weeks ago and it was 170.00. Bumper is great I just got mine returned from paint shop today. I will post some pics.
With the lockdown for coronavirus, things have slowed even further than they had been. The Bullitt has taken a back seat to more pressing issues, but I'm still doing what little I can when I can.
Rear Differential Fluid and Seal
From one of my last posts, you could see that the rear end has been leaking, and for quite some time. I ordered a fluid/gasket set from Late Model Restoration. Tackled that job this weekend.
Car up in the air on ramps/jackstands for easier access to that dirty rear end.
You can see how nasty the leak has been. You can also get a pretty good shot of the exhaust that is still on the car. Gutted factory cats, welded to no-name mufflers, dumps right before the rear axle.
What's left of the fluid. Who knows how long it's been since this was changed.
This would be the first time I've ever seen inside the rear end of any of my vehicles.
All buttoned back up, a bit cleaner, and no leaks.
The final pieces of the exhaust system have arrived!! The full system will consist of the Magnaflow 50-state legal catt'd X-pipe, 4 brand new 02 sensors and the Borla "Type S" Stinger cat-back system. I've had Borla's on all of my V8 powered cars.
I never did get the cat pipes removed, just couldn't get that last bolt off the header. I tried and tried and finally gave up in frustration. Time for someone else to take care of it.
Will be taking the car to an exhaust shop for installation of the full system.
Yesterday I took the Bullitt down to a local exhaust shop and all all the parts installed. I also installed 4 new O2 sensors while the exhaust was out. Got a few photos of the system installed while it up was up on the lift.
I'll post up some sound clips as soon as I get them uploaded to Youtube.
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