Project " Preparation H "...preparing a 2005 Mustang GT

[ALMACK]

After searching the net for a roll bar kit, I felt the 8 point S&W Race Parts kit was best suited for how I wanted the bar fit the car.
My primary goal was to retain the factory seats and not have to cut the door arm rests for the side bars.
Mission accomplished on both.

Dealing with S&W was a great experience. Very professional and knowledgeable.



I was concerned how I was going to be able to lower the main hoop down to weld the rear bars to the top of the hoop, but luckily Ford already provided me with the answer.
These plugs pop out and with a slight stretch of the feet of the main hoop, they fit thru the holes.

[ALMACK]

This was my very first time installing a roll bar, and I have to admit it was very intimidating to me at first until I tackled the job.

It gets tedious. Lots of fitting, remove, grind, re-fit, grind some more....and so on, and so on.

Now I know why chassis and fab shops charge what they do for a roll bar installation. A lot of time is involved to get it to fit within the tight confines of these late model cars.

I could have just hacked up the back seat and drove the rear bar thru the cushion, or replace that lightweight seat with carpeting, but I love the look of the car's factory interior. Besides, the rear seats all combined can't be more than 20 lbs.




What I liked about the S&W kit was how the rear bars worked in the car...thru the package tray.




As a racer that works by myself quite a bit, I have to get inventive on how to hold items without a second set of hands.
I fabbed up 2 brackets that bolted to the factory seat belt anchors and was fully adjustable.
I could now move the main hoop forward or backwards or left to right to obtain a perfect and consistent position:



Now I had the ability to hold the hoop in the same position all the time. I had to revise it a couple of times, but this would turn out to be one of the best tools I built for this build.

[ALMACK]

At this point it is taking up a lot of my evenings after work. Plus I have to deal with mother nature as I do not have a garage.
My "garage" is well ventilated and well lit on sunny days...lol





Another set back was figuring out the head rest problem. These cars come from the factory with forward angled headrests, but when the rear seat back angle cannot be reclined due to the seat bar, the head rest is too far forward.





I tried figuring out how to pull them out, but no luck.
Finally, as a last resort, I went on you tube and found the answer. A piece of wire stuck into the little hole is what released the headrest.
I just turned them around for now. There is a company that makes adjustable versions, but they are not in my budget for now.





Next came fitting the side bars. I was relieved to see that the bars do not interfere with the arm rests and I can sit in the seat comfortably.

[ALMACK]

I had a set back with getting an appointment with my welder, so I lost a week. In the meantime I was buying as much used parts as I could to keep the costs down.

Luckily for me, the 2005-2009 GT parts are getting cheaper because alot of guys are stepping up to the 2011-2014 Coyote Mustang GT and selling off their 3 valve stuff.

I got a hardly used JLT series 3 Cold Air Intake for $ 150.00 delivered around the same time I bought the wheel studs. Super nice condition. They sell for $ 240 new plus shipping.
I had to get my CAI before I could order my tuner because they need to know what type of CAI you are using before they can program the tuner.





No discount on the X4 tuner. Everybody pretty much sells them for the same price. Besides, this was one item I had no interest in buying as a used item.

[ALMACK]

So my day at the welder came. Everything went perfect. All the planning and prep work paid off.

From the time the car went into his shop until I drove out was 2 1/2 hours.
Everything fitted perfect and I was super happy there were not any burn marks on the interior panels.
He had done alot of roll bar installations before, so he had all the right protective equipment.

These pics were taken the day after the welding was done, and within 24 hours of getting back from his shop, the interior was all back in the car.







I had the passenger side seat belt tabs welded on while there so in the future they will be there when I drive this car on the street.




Trunk area rear bar mounts







I found this at Lowes and really like this paint. Goes on nice and is great on touch ups as it blends well with the existing paint. Plus, that satin look is my favorite look for a roll bar.

[ALMACK]

When it came time for the seat belt installation, I had to fab up a h.d. 1/2 inch bolt bracket for the belt on the trans tunnel side. (I used the factory seat belt bolt hole on the door side)

The factory seat belts anchor to the seat. The 3 inch racing belts need to be alot better than that.

So I took a piece of 1/4 in. steel plate and bent it to the shape of the floor. Then I welded a 1/4 inch bolt to the plate to help hold the assembly to the floor.

The grade-8 1/2 inch bolt is captured by the welded tab on the backside. This prevents the 1/2 bolt from turning when I tighten down the nut. No welding on the grade 8 bolt means no loss of strength.





Here is a shot from under the car after installation:

[ALMACK]

Wrapping up the interior: