S550 Honey Badger GT350 Build Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

[honeybadger]

How old is yours? Rescue?

he just turned 3 months today - he's a big baby. We thought long and hard about rescue (this was over two years in the making), but ended up with a baby (better fit for our family). We'll see what the future brings - I'm always open. We'll have to see about the wife unit tho

 

[Vettel-ish]

he just turned 3 months today - he's a big baby. We thought long and hard about rescue (this was over two years in the making), but ended up with a baby (better fit for our family). We'll see what the future brings - I'm always open. We'll have to see about the wife unit tho

They are a lot of fun and needs mega attention. His teen years will be rough. Dont say I did not warn you

Also after molting season. Make sure you have lots of milk caps around. They like to shred them.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Birds are interesting creatures. I have a few in my life nowadays but much smaller, haha. Have fun!

 

[honeybadger]

'Twas a very busy holiday break as I was finally able to dive back into the car building. First, I finally got around to addressing the doors. I had a couple goals - maximize weight reduction, make it so I can add an interior AL or CF panel to help fill in the hole, and re-paint the doors.

I was able to remove quite bit a material - weight out of the door came in around 17lbs per door, so they weight about 33 lbs now. Still heavier than I want - but pretty good for stilling using the metal shell. Plus, they're good to make molds for CF doors in the future.



During the door project, I made the decision to change the chassis paint color. Originally I went with white exterior because I want something easy to repair when it gets damaged or I need to put on new parts (will be wrapped over, too). But I've really started to love the Steel-It finish for the base. So I sanded down and repainted.

Hard to believe this comes out of a rattle can


I also added a rain light to the rear bumper and flipped the tow hook upside down. This is going to look sickkkk


Next, I started working on the center console controls. This is where I ended up. The blink keypad will control everything with the ecu/PDM - ign, start/stop, tc mode, headlight, hazards, steering mode, etc. The red square next to it is the water pump controller, and the row of knobs/breakers are for the ABS - adjust ABS intervention, turn it on/off, and three resettable breakers for the power in case it trips.

Finally, bottom has master power and fire. Wanted fire within reach of a passenger, but not in a place likely to be pushed. This panel will be made of CF during final install


For corner worker access - I've used the cowl since that's the common area for them to look right now. I am thinking about adding another set by the headrest area on the driver side in case the car is upside down


Finally, I started on the wiring. This is something I've been putting off/procrastinating on for about a year. For the last 6 months, I've been educating myself on designing, implementation, and problem solving all the various aspects - integration of CANs between modules (ABS, ECU, PDM, EPAS, etc.), wiring, engine harnesses (from spark to injection to sensors), chassis harnesses, etc. HP Academy has some really great courses and a ton you can learn from. I've learned the majority from that with some ancillary learning on YouTube and Facebook groups.

I'm a visual project starter, so once I had designed my harnesses/assigned inputs, etc., I begun by running the various wires to their locations. This helped me identify if there would be any issues - nothing major came up, but it did give me an idea of how to tackle and encourage me to move some stuff around. I did find that I re-used a couple of inputs on the ECU, so I had to make some changes there.


Once I labeled everything, it was time to start mocking up the actual harness routing and distances. I used rope for this. Here's what the engine harness looked like. But I did the same for the rear chassis harness, rear cabin/trunk harness, and front chassis harness as well.


Once those were done - I would draw it on paper with precise measurements. This is what I used during the actual harness building to ensure consistency of wire lengths, measure the proper lengths for heat shrinking, etc. I plan to go into this in more detail in a future post.



Right now I have two harnesses done outside a few boots/connectors.

Rear cabin/trunk harness


Front chassis harness


Frank has been hanging out in the garage with me and Major. He's a pretty terrible shop supervisor - but he's learning. He hasn't crapped on the car yet, so that's a bonus

 

[honeybadger]

Here's my wiring source of truth for anyone interested in seeing the madness

Honey Badger Wiring.xlsx

1drv.ms

 

[honeybadger]

Also - here's a quick overview of the wiring for the brake lights and head lights

 

[twistedneck]

Appreciate the kind words! Thanks!


I went with the CJ/lowering mounts. They lowered it about an inch - it's a lot more than you think. Really gave a ton of room around the firewall. One thing to keep in mind - the clearance around the dry sump pan up front is pretty tight. I don't think I'll have an issue with everything solid mounted, but we'll see.

View attachment 90108

I have stock k-member for now. Couldn't convince myself to spend big money on one just to cut up if I didn't know it would work. I might switch later...but chose to stick it out with the OEM one for now. I have to be reasonable in at least a few areas.

Can you explain what handling improvements you would see on our cars by lowering it 1 inch and i'm also assuming this wont even work with a big wet sump system.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

The engine weighs around 500lbs dressed, so if you lower that an inch, you are also lowering the resultant CG of the vehicle, which will reduce the lever effect of the CG on the suspension as the car rolls, pitches, and dives.

 

[Fabman]

The engine weighs around 500lbs dressed, so if you lower that an inch, you are also lowering the resultant CG of the vehicle, which will reduce the lever effect of the CG on the suspension as the car rolls, pitches, and dives.

However, if you leave the motor at stock height and lower the whole car 1" there is way more benefit, provided you don't screw up the geometry while doing it.

 

[honeybadger]

Made moar progress over the weekend. I continue to need to order parts (boots, connectors, terminals, pins, sockets, etc. IT NEVER ENDS), so I haven't been able to finish any single individual harness. But making huge progress.

Here's where I currently stand:

Rear cabin/trunk harness that powers tail lights and fuel pumps is 99% done. Just waiting on two boots and the resin I need to recover the main boon.


The rear end/sub frame harness is very close. Waiting on a wye boot, some 1/8 raychem for the smaller wires, and some DT connectors for the pumps and fans. Oh - and a bulkhead that will go through the trunk floor.


Front chassis harness just needs a boot for the bulkhead and a couple boots for the headlight connectors


Intake sub harness is done outside of the bulkhead boot and connector terminals. Fitment came out perfect. Can't wait to show you the full thing


The monster engine harness has all the hard work done - just waiting on yet moar boots and a couple transitions. Then I can pin the bulkhead and terminal each of the OEM plugs. I think I found a solution for the OEM solenoids that we all trouble with. Will share my solution once the parts come in.


Next up is to tackle the integration mess inside the cabin - PDM and ECU connectors. These all have to intertwine. PDM powers the ignition coils, injectors, VVT/EPAS, and starter solenoid - all of which go through the ECU engine harness bulkheads. And course they all come from different plugs - so literally all 4 plugs go to basically all bulkheads - plus 5 main cabin plugs. It's not going to be super clean given my ECU/PDM mounting locations, but it'll be good enough and serviceable.



I ended up modifying both flying leads pretty extensively to remove some unused pins and to clean up the branching. I'll post those by Friday (waiting on more boots, shocker I know).

 

[Jbg0137]

'Twas a very busy holiday break as I was finally able to dive back into the car building. First, I finally got around to addressing the doors. I had a couple goals - maximize weight reduction, make it so I can add an interior AL or CF panel to help fill in the hole, and re-paint the doors.

I was able to remove quite bit a material - weight out of the door came in around 17lbs per door, so they weight about 33 lbs now. Still heavier than I want - but pretty good for stilling using the metal shell. Plus, they're good to make molds for CF doors in the future.

View attachment 92303

During the door project, I made the decision to change the chassis paint color. Originally I went with white exterior because I want something easy to repair when it gets damaged or I need to put on new parts (will be wrapped over, too). But I've really started to love the Steel-It finish for the base. So I sanded down and repainted.

Hard to believe this comes out of a rattle can
View attachment 92302

I also added a rain light to the rear bumper and flipped the tow hook upside down. This is going to look sickkkk
View attachment 92301

Next, I started working on the center console controls. This is where I ended up. The blink keypad will control everything with the ecu/PDM - ign, start/stop, tc mode, headlight, hazards, steering mode, etc. The red square next to it is the water pump controller, and the row of knobs/breakers are for the ABS - adjust ABS intervention, turn it on/off, and three resettable breakers for the power in case it trips.

Finally, bottom has master power and fire. Wanted fire within reach of a passenger, but not in a place likely to be pushed. This panel will be made of CF during final install
View attachment 92299

For corner worker access - I've used the cowl since that's the common area for them to look right now. I am thinking about adding another set by the headrest area on the driver side in case the car is upside down
View attachment 92300

Finally, I started on the wiring. This is something I've been putting off/procrastinating on for about a year. For the last 6 months, I've been educating myself on designing, implementation, and problem solving all the various aspects - integration of CANs between modules (ABS, ECU, PDM, EPAS, etc.), wiring, engine harnesses (from spark to injection to sensors), chassis harnesses, etc. HP Academy has some really great courses and a ton you can learn from. I've learned the majority from that with some ancillary learning on YouTube and Facebook groups.

I'm a visual project starter, so once I had designed my harnesses/assigned inputs, etc., I begun by running the various wires to their locations. This helped me identify if there would be any issues - nothing major came up, but it did give me an idea of how to tackle and encourage me to move some stuff around. I did find that I re-used a couple of inputs on the ECU, so I had to make some changes there.

View attachment 92295View attachment 92296
Once I labeled everything, it was time to start mocking up the actual harness routing and distances. I used rope for this. Here's what the engine harness looked like. But I did the same for the rear chassis harness, rear cabin/trunk harness, and front chassis harness as well.

View attachment 92288View attachment 92289
Once those were done - I would draw it on paper with precise measurements. This is what I used during the actual harness building to ensure consistency of wire lengths, measure the proper lengths for heat shrinking, etc. I plan to go into this in more detail in a future post.

View attachment 92293

Right now I have two harnesses done outside a few boots/connectors.

Rear cabin/trunk harness
View attachment 92290

Front chassis harness
View attachment 92291

Frank has been hanging out in the garage with me and Major. He's a pretty terrible shop supervisor - but he's learning. He hasn't crapped on the car yet, so that's a bonus
View attachment 92297

What tool did you cut the door panel with?

 

[honeybadger]

What tool did you cut the door panel with?

Just a cut off wheel on my Makita cordless angle grinder. I've gotten pretty accurate with it these days - just need to tape and take it slow.

 

[honeybadger]

Made more progress - but as has been the process so far, waiting on more parts

Once everything is final, I'll post details how things are actually done. But for now, more fragmented shots of partial harnesses!

I finally got my bulkheads in for the rear harness. Downside is I forgot or already used the boots - so they're full ready to go - just need boots. I've tested and made sure the contacts are in the right spots. The top photo is the section that runs from the PDM to the trunk area. It terminates in a bulkhead.



This section goes under the car - powering the diff fan/pump, trans fan/pump, rain light and diff temp sensor.



I used my first raychem tri transition boot (about 8in below the bulkhead). These things are awesome and provide a really clean look with a great water tight seal (which is critical since its under the car).



I used another Raychem transition boot on the main engine harness. Due to where my bulkheads are mounted on the firewall, I am working in some pretty awkward spaces behind the Bank 1 cylinder head. So I need to take a hard right out of the bulkhead and then split to run down Bank 1 and 2. This requires the Bank 1 trunk to double back. Obviously this is a huge opportunity for failure due to fatigue. So a Raychem boot will provide a rigid transition with excellent strain relief.

Here's how its routed under the boot


And with the boot recovered



Full harness is looking good - just needs terminations now - waiting on bulkhead before I terminate to fine tune sensor lengths



Labels on everything



My intake sub harness is also done. Just waiting to recover the boot until I can get the ECU powered and everything tested. Similarly to the main engine harness, I had another tight split, so another Raychem boot was used. Super sleek and tightly tucked away.



I've also made progress on the ECU and PDM harnesses. Just waiting on two large boots to cover the intersections. Then I can terminate everything and pin the bulkheads. These two photos might look fairly inconspicuous, but there's probably 8 hours work just in these two sets of connectors. Super tedious work and a ton of integration between the two.



Hopefully finished harnesses to come in a couple days

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Wiring looks like pro-level work. Great stuff man.

 

[honeybadger]

Wiring looks like pro-level work. Great stuff man.

Been a real learning curve - but happy with the results. Soon we'll see if it works

 

[honeybadger]

Successful weekend making some work in-between watching the Rolex. On Friday, I got a chance to setup a new toy *cough cough* I mean tool. I'm late to the 3D printing party, but diving in head first now.



A couple months back, I reached out to @5.2 liters of democracy for some help re-creating some GT4 secret sauce. With the sequential setup, I was worried about cracking the block since Ford had some issues with that and I've already had my block repaired for a crack. These reinforce the ears on the block by tying into the bottom of the bellhousing and the oil pan. MMR makes their own version, but it doesn't fit the Dailey Drysump pan I have



Here's a pic of the GT4 braces for reference


Test fit the 3d printed ones - took us a few tries. But they fit now. Now I just need to clean up the design a bit and then will send off for CNCing.



Also - I finally got my first harness completely finished. This one goes from the PDM to control the diff cooler pump/fan, trans cooler pump/fan, rain light, and diff temp sensor. Split into two parts - one going through the cabin and terminating in a bulkhead - and the other under the car.

 

[Fabman]

Successful weekend making some work in-between watching the Rolex. On Friday, I got a chance to setup a new toy *cough cough* I mean tool. I'm late to the 3D printing party, but diving in head first now.

View attachment 92811

A couple months back, I reached out to @5.2 liters of democracy for some help re-creating some GT4 secret sauce. With the sequential setup, I was worried about cracking the block since Ford had some issues with that and I've already had my block repaired for a crack. These reinforce the ears on the block by tying into the bottom of the bellhousing and the oil pan. MMR makes their own version, but it doesn't fit the Dailey Drysump pan I have

View attachment 92812

Here's a pic of the GT4 braces for reference
View attachment 92808

Test fit the 3d printed ones - took us a few tries. But they fit now. Now I just need to clean up the design a bit and then will send off for CNCing.

View attachment 92806

Also - I finally got my first harness completely finished. This one goes from the PDM to control the diff cooler pump/fan, trans cooler pump/fan, rain light, and diff temp sensor. Split into two parts - one going through the cabin and terminating in a bulkhead - and the other under the car.


View attachment 92809

View attachment 92810

What an amazingly useful tool that 3d printer is...I should have one here at the shop but I'm too dumb to use it.

 

[honeybadger]

What an amazingly useful tool that 3d printer is...I should have one here at the shop but I'm too dumb to use it.

I was really intimidated, but once Shane started prototyping stuff for me and I saw the value, I knew I needed to learn. So cool and I've already started printing all kinds of stuff.

FWIW, I've learned a ton off HP Academy - all my wiring knowledge came from their courses. And I'm taking their CAD course now to learn how to design stuff.

And the printer I bought takes all of the guess work out of the printer part - I don't have to tweak anything. I just send it the file and hit printer. its wild

Between the two - the barrier is a lot lower than I realized

 

[5.2 liters of democracy]

What an amazingly useful tool that 3d printer is...I should have one here at the shop but I'm too dumb to use it.

I hated 3D printing at first because of the difficulty and constant tinkering involved. That new Bambu Lab printer that Kevin has is incredible and the printers now are far better than they used to be. I'm always happy to step anyone through the process as well.

 

[honeybadger]

Did a test fit of the center console tonight. Looking good, I think.



Every day getting a bit closer to power up. I am 99% done with the battery disconnect and fire supression install, but waiting until I button it up before posting so I can show the full walkthrough. It's come out pretty good, imho.

Tomorrow I get the parts to finish the PDM/ECU integration and then Wednesday I get the tool I need to pin the remaining bulkheads. Getting closer!