Dean's GT-R build thread

[mark b.]

Mark,

Lots of hose connections are much easier to access than the bottom of the rad sitting on a front splitter in a semi sealed area

Roger that.

Dean, something I'd thought of earlier, since your gel coat and everything looks so good, have you considered using stick on material? A local guy has a machine and prints his own stuff, made blue flames for the hulls on his catamaran to match his sails. Looks good. Don't know how much curvature the material can handle, guess it would depend on the thickness. Then if you tear something up, or somebody else buys it, easily removed, repaired, etc.

 

[Dean Lampe]

Mark, I thought about something like that. I even ordered a case of Orange plastidip to do the stripe. In the end I think I'll just paint every thing and clear coat it all. It's just the right way to do it. This is what it should look like.

 

[Ron R.]

Nice scheme. The tail looks good, too.

 

[Ron McCall]

Here you go Dean!

 

[Dean Lampe]

The body lines on my car are better than that! I also didn't realize the exhaust came out so low. I was going to run my pipes out were the plate is.

Fran, any discussion of a rear diffuser in the future?

 

[Kevin L]

Not that it matters but i like the black wheels with that paint scheme more than the orange wheels.

 

[Chris Kouba]

This is what it should look like.

Except I have all confidence you'll do a much better job with the ride height/fender gaps!

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

The gaps are better right from the molds

 

[Mark Setter]

Thanks, Dean, for such awesome photos and description on your build. You have experience that certainly helps us newcomers. I am sure there are many like me, eager to see your next entry. I think I am GT-R #10. Really glad you started before me. Beautiful!

 

[Dean Lampe]

I want to step away from the car this morning and show you some progress on the drive train. As you remember from earlier, I'm going with a stock 2015 coyote. There are a few things I learned from this process about this engine.

Pro's
Heads cast from the Boss 302
Bigger intake and exhaust valves
More lift in the cam profile
Updated wiring harness with performance tune (different than 2015 Mustang)

Con's
Only one exhaust header. The cat is built into the driver's side and not included
The intake can not be turned around so you must use a performance upgrade

Here you can see the vacuum canisters that are a molded part of the intake to control the Charge Motion Control Plates built into the intake runners.



So off with the intake!



I ordered to correct bolts to correctly attach the flywheel and clutch pack so that is on and torqued for the final time. One note here is that Fran's pilot bearing fits in the flywheel, not the crank. I thought it was the wrong size but it is not. It works perfectly.



So now I can pull the gearbox and see how this is going to fit up with the coyote.

So here is a shot of the car with the gearbox out. This should be super easy to put the drive train back in. There is nothing in the way. Much easier than dropping a 427 in a cobra!



They went together perfectly!



This Graziano gearbox is really a nice piece. The next step will be to finish up as much of the front accessories as possible before putting it in the car.

 

[Dean Lampe]

One thing I forgot to mention was clearance for the AWD shaft that comes out of the gearbox. I could have cut this off but since it is a new gearbox with a warranty, I decided to leave it alone. The only modification you will need to make is to the lip of the oil pan. There is a little grinding to do on the pan that hangs down. It might have fit without that but it would have been very close so I removed about an 1/8 inch and it worked great.

 

[Mike Giblin]

Dean,
I am enjoying your build! I did not realize that you can not reverse the intake manifold on the '15 Coyote. What is the "performance upgrade" that you intend?
Thanks again,
Mike

 

[Dean Lampe]

sorry Mike, no skipping ahead!:lipsrsealed:

 

[Mike Giblin]

As Charlie Brown would say, RATS!!

 

[Mark Setter]

Did the rear suspension springs come in red "out of the box" or did you have to request that color change? I am looking to have my engine bay have red as an accent color. They look great!

 

[Dean Lampe]

Yes they were red as it was delivered.

 

[Mark Setter]

Thanks Dean. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate and enjoy your build. You are a master. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[Dean Lampe]

I have the front of the engine almost finished up to the point I will be ready to put it in the car. I am trying to do as much out of the car as I can just because it is easier to reach. The A/C compressor from Vintage Air will not work unless you create a bracket. The one available from Vintage Air only comes with a power steering pump which we don't need and it is extremely over priced. I decided to go with a Ford replacement compressor and use the Ford belt.



I hope you can see the belt number.



Here is the compressor I bought. I also bought the lines that fit this compressor. They will be cut and new ends crimped on to mate to the included lines.



The Boss alternator kit was easy to install.



This is the upper radiator hose you will need to make the connection to the crate engine. It will need to be trimmed and hoses will need to be customized once the engine is in the car.

 

[Jason Ferraro]

Car is looking great Dean. Having the power in a slightly larger car than a 40 will be great. Can I ask why you did not run another Ricardo transaxle? Performance, packaging space, spares, cost?

 

[Dean Lampe]

That's a fair question. There are a couple reasons. The biggest reason was I didn't have one! They are getting hard to find and I didn't want to run into trouble trying to get one fixed. I hear people say they are bullet proof. I have seen a lot of bullet proof stuff break at the track. I like the idea of a new unit and the graz is really the best of both worlds. For me, it is a close ratio box that will work good behind the higher revving coyote for a track car. If that's not your thing, use the drop gears and you have a wide ratio box for less than the recardo that weighs less and is a zero mile unit that's still in production with great part availability.

It is really the best option out there in my humble opinion.