S197 Blue Baron Update: New SVE R355 19x11 wheels

 Quick update to share on my bro's S197 3V Mustang GT, I call "Blue Baron"! He has done a bunch of updates to this car and the now retired "Red Baron"! Go check out his S197 videos through this link HERE.

The most obvious updates you can see from the outside are the 19x11 +50 SVE R355 5 spoke wheels in Satin Bronze! Lots of concavity to enjoy!!!

The Windveil Blue with bronze wheels is a great combo!

The other update you'll see is the MMD color matched duck tail spoiler out back!

Some large and in charge 6 piston "Brembo" calipers from Rockauto/the Roush RS V6 car are now up front in black with some new 15" rotors and the tried and true "Track Day Pads" from PowerStop!

Do yourself a favor and check out the youtube videos Brent did to highlight all that has been done to this car. Recaros are coming soon (swapping the K-link rear suspension bits for some Boss Recaro buckets!). 

OLD CROW 3V Mustang: Buttonwillow CW13 The Photo!

 This photo deserves its own post. Cali Photography is out on the track taking photos of every single car on track and you can buy package deals for like $90 or you can buy your first individual photo for $25 and then any additional photo for $15. Most of the photos looked at this basic angle of the car and I liked this one the best because it looked like a good action shot, coming down the small hill, more like a bump, on the section of the track at Buttonwillow Raceway Park called "Grapevine". 

This photo represents the last 20+ years of dreaming of tracking a car, of all the hours watching YouTube videos of cars running CW13, all the planning and scheming and wishful thinking during my ownership of my other cars, especially the last few, the Silver 2002 WRX, the red Civic EK Hatchback, but even the 330Ci BMW that I autocrossed and all the way back to my first 2002 WRX which I modified a good amount and took to Miller Motorsports Park back in like 2010 for a Wide Open Wednesday event. I would say what got me over the edge to actually do a track day was my brother Brent, who paved the way by tracking his red 2005 Mustang GT RED BARON and his encouragement and example. I just copied him and it 100% worked like a champ to get me out there! 

I'm planning to do a Track Day out at UMC (Utah Motorsports Campus) next year! 

Enjoy!

OLD CROW 3V Mustang: Suspension Parts Arrive and Wheels/Tires Mounted

 Parts have been arriving for Old Crow the last month plus. I wanted to show them off here. The plan is to start installing the rear end parts first as I'm still waiting for Maximum Motorsports to ship the last of the parts for the brake upgrade. The Stainless Steel lines are a week plus out still. MM will ship the lines, the Dot4 fluid and HP+ front brake pads all together. So, I'll do the front suspension parts and brakes all at the same time in a week or 2. 

First up are the wheels and tires. I didn't want to go to Burt Bros again for mounting and balance. Last time I went there, the balance weights fell off before they even got home. I got a recommendation from Bryce C to go to Discount Tire in Layton where he takes his Porsche track wheels and tires. 

Here's a good look at the view of the tire shoulder as it relates to the wheel lip. It's a very slight stretch to fit a 295mm (theoretical 11.61" width) to an 11.0" wide wheel. Technically the wheels are 12" wide from the outer edge of the wheel lips. The 11" width is from the inside of the wheel lip. Interesting tidbit.

Front brakes were actually the first thing to arrive. I probably didn't need to do these just yet but I shopped on Rockauto.com and the price was so good I couldn't pass it up. It was $290 for both sets of 4 piston calipers and 14" steel blank rotors shipped. The rotors were actually $13/ea. The calipers have a nice black gloss paint applied. They are remanufactured and they are one of the alternate brands for replacement parts for the S197 Boss 302, GT500 and 2011-14 Performance Pack 4 piston/14" brake set up.

Here's the box of Cortex Racing parts. 19mm black anodized spacers for the front along with open ended lug nuts, front sway bar end links and front bumper steer kit.

I ordered a set of front hubs from LMR. They are Ford Racing new units with ARP extended studs. I went this route because of the simplicity of the assembly already with pressed in studs. The car has 131k miles on the front hubs and I was looking for an easier assembly. 

As part of the Maximum Motorsports Road & Track Grip kit for the 2005-2010 GT, it comes with this Eibach adjustable front sway bar that measures 36mm in diameter. It is a beefy piece. I'm sure it adds weight haha. 

For sway bar bushings, the unit on the left is the MM supplied poly bushing. The one of the right I bought from Kenny Brown and is also poly. In my research I didn't see mention of poly bushings coming with the Eibach sway bar. I believe the bushing I bought from KB on the right is meant for a stock sway bar diameter. It may fit thicker bars with the slit you can see in the picture. Who knows. I'm going to run what MM provided.

Here are pics of the Koni single adjustable front struts and rear shocks that come with the Maximum Motorsports Road&Track Grip kit. These are spec'd out specifically by MM for the S197 with their spec'd springs, rear control arms and panhard bar. 

Springs are progressive spring rates as you can see by the shape and have the following specs:

Lowering

• 1.8"-2.0" front
• 1.9"-2.1" rear

Lowering amounts are approximate and will vary with year and model due to differences in car weight.

Spring rates

• Front: 320-360 lb/in. The rate is progressive and approximate, ramping up from 320 lb/in at ride height to 360 lb/in at 2" of spring compression (about 1.9" of wheel travel).
• Rear: 260-380 lb/in. The rate is progressive and approximate, ramping up from 260 lb/in at ride height to approximately 380 lb/in at 2" spring compression. Wheel travel is also 2" because the rear spring is on the axle.

Here's the aluminum adjustable panhard bar from MM as well. This polished aluminum panhard rod features PTFE-lined spherical bearing rod ends with machined aluminum inserts.

To supplement the MM Grip kit, I ordered up Kenny Brown rear lower relocation brackets. These drop the control arm mounting location to improve the geometry.

This is the Kenny Brown U-link, which is the rear upper control arm or the "3rd member" for the 3-link rear end Ford designed for the Mustangs solid rear axle. The KB unit changes/improves the geometry of the stock arm and adds the spherical bearing. These are nice pieces and look good in the dark grey paint. They kind of match the wheels! 

Finally, I also ordered up a new passenger front fender from LMR. This is a nice OEM replacement fender. 

Also from LMR.com is this OEM replacement rear bumper cover. 

These body pieces will be painted in a couple months after weather warms up here in Utah. I'll be doing these in Corey's garage. What a good friend! haha I'll buy the paint supplies from a local paint shop in Centerville. It should really get the Old Crow looking sharp!

Stay tuned for the install pics!