The Octane Project

[97 Octane]

Alignment Done!


After all the suspension mods and repairs out of the way, Octane was ready
to get the alignment done. I took some advice from members here at
LvC regarding pre-alignment preparations . Since correct alignment can be achieved with
whatever wheels are on the car, I went ahead and had The Tire Pro's in Chattanooga
do the work using the factory snowflake wheels and with properly inflated tires. I just wasn't
sure how the shops wheel guide equipment attatches to the wheels and if it would
scratch my new wheels. I was pleasantly surprised that the guide did not have any sharp
barbs to scratch the wheels.

I also took a video of the steering wheels' position
as I was driving that day to the shop. I showed the technician the video and he was able to see
firsthand that the Lincoln star on the steering wheel airbag was slightly pointed to the
left as I was driving in a straightaway.
The shop did a great work and got everything done
right the first time.


I found out about the shop by a chance meeting with David, one of the
shop's technician while out on lunch break from work. Asked if he knew about
alignment and told me to visit his shop because they just got a new, 3 week
old $30K, State-of-the-Art Hunter laser alignment machine. Shop was 25 minutes drive
from home but I was willing to get it done properly. Can't go wrong with laser alignment, right?


Here are a few pics of the new Hunter equipment. The black bucket-like contraption next to the ramps are
the laser target and are placed on the outer part of each wheel. The old alignment jig is in the bay to the left my car.

I was in awe at the technology that are being used in todays automotive industry. The
car is raised up to the laser emitter trajectory, the buckets reflect the wheels
position back to the laser sensors telling the tech what
to adjust and how much correction must be done. The car is lowered to
access the mechanical adjustment then raised again for laser confirmation.
Repeat several times until the car is within specs.

This machine is a mammoth compared to the
old analog alignment jig in the next service bay.

Wheels and tires will be the focus next....




Ren

 

[chris2523]

nice shock tower plate.

 

[98lincmk7lsc]

nice shock tower plate.

I've seen better...

I might be a little partial though... :shifty:

 

[UltimateSVT]

Octanes Air Spring Mod Pictorial
These are the air springs in my car now. I came up with this modification
because I wanted to maintain the ride quality on the Mark as I lowered the
ride stance and to increase its all around performance especially during lateral
maneuvers. I was not satisfied with the car's performance with just the sensor mod
after lowering the ride. The Mark would oscillate or bounce excessively when going
over ruts, bumps and dips. Cornering was sloppy. Confidence in the car is poor
when going through twisty mountain roads as there are plenty in my area.

To regain confidence back, I needed the airsprings to ride firmer as the car is
lowered. The solution is simple. As you trim the bottom seat section of the airspring,
this allows the bladder to accomodate more air and more air increases the air pressure.
You now regain much of the air pressure you lost when you did your sensor
lowering mod. This brings the rear suspension air pressure back to specs,
eliminating that mushy ride and increasing the Marks performance.

This is how the finished product looked after the modification.
It is ready to go back in the car.

To accomplish this modification you can use any tool you have or have access to.
I am using the tools I have in my garage at this time. To begin, I clamped
the airspring securely to a board under the blue tarp. The blue tarp will keep the shavings
cleanup to a minimum.

Next, I took a measuring tape and marked where my cut line will be.
The cut line is 11/16" from the bottom edge of the airspring seat.

Adjusted my Porter Cable trimmer guard stop at 11/16" from the router bits
cutting edge.

Made a series of plunge cuts stopping every few inches.
This maintains the edge material for the trimmer to guide from.

Trimmed off 11/16" all the way around.

Lopped off the remaining material with a flush trimmer snips.

To allow the bottom bulb section to sit flush to the lower control arm surface,
the angled supports are removed with a flush trimmer snips.

The airsprings bottom edge and all cut surfaces were sanded smooth.

Cut off 1/2" from the centering tube. A hacksaw is sufficient to make this cut.
Do this to reduce its underhang once it is installed through the lower control arm.

The finished airspring after the cut
surfaces have been sanded smooth.

A belt sander was used to smooth out all the rough surfaces.

Left and Right set, ready for installation.

Ren/Octane

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to do this to my black 93. However it's the front suspension that feels horrible on the car so the 2nd holes you made are also an amazing idea.

 

[97 Octane]

Alex, having that second hole will firm-up the front end of your sensor-lowered ride a little more.
While both mods were two of the most rewarding mods I've done to mine.


Ren

 

[97 Octane]

Headlight Restoration and Tail Light De-label



I managed to get a couple of projects that needed to be done and out of
the way before starting on the new wheel/tire mounting project.

Now that I've been able to drive the car around, I needed to improve
the car's night illumination capabilities. It is difficult to see at night especially
when driving around the ridge and hills out here on rainy nights when the
headlights are so foggy like mine.

I started the restoration by taping the body panels around the headlights
with 3M green masking tape to avoid scratching the paint. I used five abrasive grit sizes.
I kept a water hose and a chamois towel nearby. Wetsanding began with 600 grit at the
parts where most of the sun damage were. This was followed by 800 grit abrasive to blend
in the area that was initially wetsanded.

The entire headlight surface were wetsanded with 1000 grit to get most of the oxidation out.
At this point, the headlight lens assembly were completely opaque.
The final wetsanding process were done by using 1500 grit and then followed
with 2000 grit for a silky smooth surface.

The cutting process was done by using McGuires Ultimate Compound (part#17216) on a
Dual Action orbiting polisher. I spent extra time on this process to make sure I got
the surface super smooth. I polished the surface to a high lustre using
McGuires Scratch-X micro polishing compound (part# 07103). Finally, to
keep the headlights protected from the elements and to keep it looking
shiny, I used McGuires DeepCrystal Carnauba wax (part# 12216).

Now, the car looks like new again. It's great to be able to see clearly at night.
I plan on applying the carnauba wax on the lens a dozen times a year.
It adds peace of mind for me to know that my wife can safely see
whenever she drives the car and whenever driving conditions are poor.






De-Labeling the Mark


This is the easiest mod any Mark VIII owner can do.
I do not like the over-badging concept manufacturers are doing
with new cars today. I do not like stickers on cars either.
I like the look of the clean lines of our Marks without the distraction
of so many labels everywhere. So here are the before and after pics.

I simply used a heat gun set at the low setting to heat up the
letters enough to soften them. Next, I just peeled the letters off
using my fingernails. And it's done. No more labels and advtisements.

Before and After

Before and After

Before and After

Last step - Polish and shine.




Ren

 

[slowmkviii]

Love the tail light without letters did mine 2-3 years ago and will never go back

 

[UltimateSVT]

Lovin it all!

 

[97 Octane]

New Wheels / New Tires



I have come full circle with this project. The car is getting a new set of
wheels and tires. Ironic because I originally purchased the car only for
its wheels and tires to replace the aging set on my '94 Mark.

The decision in choosing this tire weighed heavily on the general purpose
duties for the car and where we live geographically. It will see mostly street
duties on alot of winding roads, many times in wet road conditions.
We also live in a part of the country where drivers have complete disregard
to your presence and like to dive into your lane without the use of
their blinker lights thus having to hit your brakes hard from time to time
to avoid rearend collisions.

The Nitto 555 Extreme have an excellent grip on dry pavement and
performs great in the rain. Four tires were ordered from
Discounttiredirect for $800. with really fast free shipping. I tried
the staggered setup with 275/40 up front and 285/40 in the rear. That
didn't work out very well so its 275/40-18s all around instead.

The 18 x 9 chrome Saleen Speedstars were purchased from Thecustomwheelshop, in
Washington state.

The wheel weighs in at 26 pounds each. Together, a Speedstar and
a Nitto weigh in at about 56.5 lbs. each. Visible in the pic above is the back
side of the hidden valve stem. They are all located at the same spot on
each and every wheel and its location is not calibrated for radial runout. This
will play a minor role during the wheel balancing portion.


The hidden valve stem. Up-close and personal.

I spoke with James and I included in the order;
Four hidden valve stems with covers, four extra rubber stem seals, chrome
lug nut set with the key, a pair of hidden valve adapters and a set of
hub-centric centering rings. The decorative center hub covers comes
with the wheels.

If you are a new Mark VIII owner and are in need of wheels with the correct
bolt pattern, contact James or Brad at (509) 843-1401. Great people to work with. Or you
can click on to their website. The wheels were shipped in pairs for free
and were packaged with extra protection to prevent damage during shipping.


Each set of Tire/Wheel combo added about 20 pounds to the factory
wheel setup. The added weight is not too much of a concern for me because
a larger set of brake rotors will be used to compensate for the extra
rolling mass.



Ren

 

[97 Octane]

The Balancing Act



There are two tire manufacturers that I know of that use a small half inch
yellow circle mark on their tires; Sumitomo and Nitto. These marks designate
the lightest part, in weight, of the tire. These removable marks helps with
the ideal tire placement over the wheel as each individual tire is radially
tested at the factory for even weight distribution. But because of the
difficulty in distributing even amounts of rubber during the vulcanizing
process, there may be slight differences in the total weight distribution
for each tire.

There are no international standard for this process yet but several tire
manufacturers have adopted similar types of marking designation for either
the heavy part or the light part of a tire. Some use a solid color as a mark
and others that I have seen use a small round red ring.

A tire shop balance technician should be able to compensate for the tires
light spot by lining it up with the heavy part of the wheel so to minimize the
excessive use of wheel weights on your wheels.


Initially, I took one set of tire and wheel to National Tire and Battery (NTB)
locally, to see if they can accomplish what I'd like to be done. I have
plans on taking Octane to several car shows and I'd like to give the wheels
a nice clean look without wheel weights around the rim in plain view.

After being promised that they could do it. I was extremely dissapointed when
I got the wheels back with over 4 ounces of stick-on weights across the
exposed radial length of the wheel. That's 12 quarter oz. weight nuggets in
plain view, showing between the speedstar's spokes...wow. Why so many?
The technician failed to match the heavy part of the rim with the lightest part
of the tire. So naturally, after I inquired, they blamed their machines' inability
to do what I asked them to do.

This is a picture of the machine similar to the one used at NTB.
A Coats 1050 wheel balancer.

I haven't gone back to NTB since then.


Between my wheel shop visits, I decided to clean-up the look of each
of my tires by snipping off those little injection mold leftovers. I removed
the ones from the inboard side of the tire as well as the ones outboard.
This helps with applying wheel dressing a bit easier and it makes the wheel will look
better after its cleaned and polished

Ren

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Look for a shop that has the Hunter gsp9700 machine.

http://www.gsp9700.com/

P.s. Never knew 275's fit up front. Wow.

 

[chris2523]

P.s. Never knew 275's fit up front. Wow.

they sure do. i ran 275 40 17s up front for awhile without any problem. they actually rub more in the rear i think. might be my completely useless rear shocks..
seriously considering 275s on all four corners.

laser had 275 40 18s (slightly taller on the 18 inch wheel) on the front of his white car for awhile cuz he had a flat and his spare wouldn't fit over the front brakes.

 

[DieselDan]

How much did the wheel package run you, minus the tires, to your door?

 

[Lownslowlsc]

I'm pretty sure they are 210 shipped each. So 840 shipped.

 

[DieselDan]

I am mostly interested in those eccentric rings...

 

[97 Octane]

Thanks everyone for responding.

I'll post more pictures with the 275s up front with the lowered
suspension later.

The Nittos tend to be narrower in tire width than other makes but it
works beautifully on a Mark VIII.

DieselDan - When I ordered everything with all the accessories from
TCWS, my cost came out to be just a tad over $1K. That, I remember
because I got alot of flak from the missus when it showed up at the
doorstep. : )

It arrived at my front door with only 2 large shrink wrapped boxes and
shipping from Washington state to Tennessee took about 5 business days .





Ren

 

[97 Octane]

Balanced



Well , It has been a couple days since I got my wheels back from NTB.
I took the opportunity during my down time to make several pertinent
markings to aid in mounting accuracy.

The yellow ring markings from the Nitto 555 directionals are
Balance Indicators found only on one side of the tire. There are no yellow
markings on the drivers' side so I had to draw it in from the opposite
with my Sharpie pen. The tires that will be mounted on the drivers side will
now have a hand drawn silver ring to help guide the balance technician.



Incidentally, the mounting lip on the 275/40 Nittos are 9" wide, exactly
the same width as the mounting lip on the 18"x 9" Saleen Speedstars.

The markings will definitely help when I take all four wheels back to
The Tire Pros.

I've gone back to The Tire Pros here in town where I had my alignment
done earlier. Even though the one wheel mounted by NTB is balanced, I had
Dave, my tire technician dismount the tire from the wheel to be re-done.

Unlike my experience from NTB, Dave knew exactly what
I was looking for when I told him I planned to take the car to a few car
shows. He was able to explain to me, without disparagement
to NTB, about the limitations their technicians were under without the
correct equipment to get the job done properly. I know that I must
have been a pain as a customer asking so many questions but he was
able to convey the science of balancing to me in laymans terms.


The equipment we will be using today is the
Hunter RoadForce GPS9700 wheel balancer.

There are a number of special features on this machine that the Coats
1050 does not have. It can measure radial and lateral tire forces.
It has a loaded roller that can apply up to 1400 pounds to the tires
surface to detect a tires construction variation and uniformity. It is
computer programmable for inputing the number of spokes of a wheel.
It is also laser guided for weight placement accuracy.

It has the ability to split the weights so if it calls for weights being centered
in between spokes, it can calculate the amount of weights that would
be needed if it had to be split and placed behind the spokes.


Dave starts out by placing the wheel/tire on the GSP 9700 to perform
a Runout and Road Force detection. He is able to find and mark the
heavy part of the wheel with a grease pen. Dave dismounts the tire and
lines-up the heavy part of the wheel to the yellow circle on the tire. He
re-mounts the tire with 40 psi of 80% Nitrogen, 19% Oxygen. Programs the
balancer to recognize and align a five spoke wheel with the help of a
laser line centered over a spoke.

With a laser guided computer balancer, I know I am getting a wheel that will look good
and wear evenly for a long time. The screen tells Dave if and what corrections he will need to
make before placing the weights behind the five spoke Saleen Speedstars.

Dave places the wheel weights behind
the spokes of one of the driver side wheels.

The first of the four wheels is done.

Dave works on the remaining driver and passenger side wheels.

A closer look at the wheel weights that are hidden behind the spokes.
It will give it a cleaner look once they are mounted to the car.

Final assembly prior to mounting the wheels to the car. Insert the hub centric
centering ring the the wheel.

Saleen Speedstar/Nitto 555 rolling stock ready to be mounted to Octane.
I wanted a slight sidewall bulge for a better look and to protect the rim
from damage from curb rash. Lovin' the hidden weights and hidden valve stem.

The tires will be protected from the elements with McGuires NXT Generation Insane
Shine tire coating (part# 15131).

Ren

 

[Right on the Mark]

All that for a wheel balance. Can't wait to read the novel on engine build. Or should I say novelS!! LOL Just messin with ya.

 

[chris2523]

you're attention to detail is fantastic. i was happy when i found a place that did stick on weights at all!

 

[97 Octane]

Chris2523 - Thanks. I love these cars and I hope you and everyone
else, especially newcomers to Mark VIII ownership, enjoy this build chronicle
to gain as much knowledge as much as I have learned from LvC members
like you.



Right on the Mark - No Problem. I am no mechanic. Engine build-up is
the least of my expertese but wait till I get into the audio-video system build.
Actually, I've already started on my audio system build. You'll just have
to stay tuned for that. hehe
BTW, Do you know of a good Mark VIII - Kenne Bell supercharger installer? : )

 

[97 Octane]

Factory Option



Chrome Center Caps

This is the look that I want from my Chrome Speedstars - Centercaps without
graphics or badges. A de-badged cap. There is nothing wrong with the centercaps that
everyone else is sporting on their wheels. I just want that option had
the factory made them available. Now I'll make a set.




I haven't seen this done before to a Speedstar so I am going to do this little write-up
in case any of you may want to attempt this and be more unique among peers.

The project begins by gathering the tools and materials needed to get
this accomplished.


- Four Center Hub Caps
- Heatgun
- Power Drill
- Router w/ 1/4" Flush Trim bit
- Paint Scraper
- Spackle Spreader
- Two part Epoxy and Hardener kit
- 3M Green Automotive Tape
- Box Cutter
- Latex or Nitrile Gloves
- Oil
- Marker/Pen
- Scissors
- Cotton Buffing Wheel
- 3M Rubbing Compound
- 3M Super 90 Adhesive
- Adhesion Promoter
- Safety Goggles
- Phillips Bit
- Phillips Screws
- Poly Sheeting
- Shop Cloths
- Scrap Plywood
- Belt Sander
- 120 Grit Sanding Belt
- 240 Grit Sanding Belt
- Replacement Mirror

These are the center caps with the embossed zig-zag graphics on the
topper as they came with the Speedstars. The textured surface does not
make for a good contact point for any overlay material
so they are coming off.

The caps aluminum topper is held in place with a thin foam dual-side
adhesive tape. To promote safety, wear safety goggles. Start by heating
up the aluminum cap topper with the Heatgun until the sticky tape adhesive
is soft and is easily peeled up using your Paint Scraper. Be careful here
because the topper is hot. This step exposes the two empty outer channels
within the top part of the cap that will be filled in later with resin.

Once all four cap toppers are removed, layer the cap's side with 3M
Automotive Tape by wrapping it all around with approximately 2-1/2 foot
length of the tape to build up the cap's side. Slice the excess end of the tape at the point
where the tape originally began so you do not end up with a step down surface. It is important
to keep the tape transition flat and even because the Flush Trimmer will be riding over the
tape surface. The flat tape transition will give mirror material a true round trim cut.

The 3M Automotive Tape has five critical purposes.


- For the best fit possible, it is used to extend the trim line
further out rather than actually flush trimming the mirror material.
The final fit and finish relies on this tape layer.

-The tape is used to keep excess epoxy from dripping on the cap's sides.

-Sanding debris is kept to a minimum around all the crevices.

-It will give the Phillips screws something to grip onto as an anchor.

-Shields cap's sides from Adhesive overspray.



With a Spackle Spreader or similar tool, thoroughly mix a 50/50 combination
of Epoxy Resin and Hardener to fill the outer two cavities of the caps. Work the
Epoxy Resin in the cavity and be careful to not create or leave any bubbles.
It will become more difficult working with the epoxy after one minute. Mix only
enough Epoxy Resin and Hardener to fill one cap at a time. Repeat the process
until all four center caps are filled with resin.
For best sanding results, let it cure for at least 6-8 hours.

After the resin has hardened, sand it down with the 120 grit abrasive until it
is nearly flush with the cap's original surface. Complete the sanding process with
the 240 grit abrasive until it is fully flush with the cap's original surface.

Buff the resin to a shine using 3M's Rubbing Compound
on a Cotton Buffing Wheel attatchement and a Power Drill.

Draw four outlines of the cap over the mirror material.
Cut out all four mirror material and set aside.

Wrap Poly Sheeting or Seran Wrap over the Scrap Plywood to
prevent debris from the plywood from contaminating the caps
shiny surface.

Anchor the four center caps to the plywood by the pressure of the
screwhead against the taped side of the caps. Do not drill through
the caps.

Prepare the Adhesion Promoter and the 3M Super 90 Adhesive. Shake well.
Place the mirror material back-side up against the now-anchored caps.

Spray two thin coats of Adhesion promoter to the cap and Mirror Material simultaneously at about four minutes apart.

Wait four minutes.

Apply one generous coat of 3M's Super 90 Adhesive to the cap and Mirror
Material simultaneously. Let it tack for 30-40 seconds then place the sticky
side of the Mirror Material to the sticky side of the cap. Apply pressure over
the Mirror Material. Let it cure for about an hour.

Place several drops of lubricating oil on top of the Mirror Cap. This aids in a smooth, non-stop,
fluid motion as the router bit is guided around the outside surface of the cap. Repeat for all remaining caps.

Remove Mirror Caps from the plywood. Bevel or Chamfer the mirror edge at 45 degrees to smooth-out
any rough or sharp edges while keeping the mirror protective film in place.

Remove and discard the 3M Automotive tape from the cap and begin the cleaning process.

These caps are nearly finished. I purposely left the plastic protective layer
over the last three caps until after I cleaned and removed the residual
sanding dust.

I had the camera focused on the cap body on the left pic to show how easy it was to clean its sides.

On the right pic, I focused the camera through the cap surface looking at the tree in the background to show the caps reflectivity.

All four center caps are cleaned and polished.
They are all perfectly round without any blemishes.
These are now ready to be mounted to the wheels.

Before I started on this project, I had envisioned this in my mind. It is amazing how it looks so much
better in real life than you could have imagined.

The final product looking like a factory option! I think it came out great!

I am so stoked at the way it came out!






Ren

 

[LaserSVT]

I am mostly interested in those eccentric rings...

Centric.

 

[98lincmk7lsc]

Centric.

hub-centric.

 

[UltimateSVT]

umm, wow!

 

[mossbergman]

any updates for us? of at least a pic of the car with the new shoes?