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95opal

Opals rebirth

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Alright never made a thread first time around and dont know how much time Ill get to update this but I will even if I finish the car before updating lol

First off you guys are probably wondering why someone would strip a feature car down and start over. Well The first time I put this car together I was just doing a quick clean up as the car was in need of some tlc when I got it. So I threw the body kit on and had it painted once that was done I started a motor build and that snow balled into a smooth bay. From there it all kinda started to go a bit overboard after attending Carlisle in 07. After that show I started plucking away at all the little bs that was driving me crazy. By the end of 08 the car was getting so much recognition I kinda just rolled with it and stopped modding as I was consistently winning shows and grabbing mag press. After going threw a divorce in 09 I pretty much gave up on the car and put it off to the side as life was getting a bit crazy. Not shortly after that I almost sold it but decided I wanted to do the car the right way this time as the first time was all pretty much made up on the fly. So here we are going for a second shot at it,this time I pretty much planned out the hole build with exactly everything I wanted to do and what parts were going to go back in.

The plan... a block strong enough to hold whatever I decided to throw at it which ment getting a dart block. A tire big enough to put the power to the ground which ment minitubbin it. An interior that would not only look good but also be functional for me and some subtle changes to the body that would make it pop a bit more than it did. With that in mind the journey begins.

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I think its a rule somewhere that you can't start a build thread without pics.

Regardless, I can't wait to follow this! I'll be bugging for updates so don't get mad :)

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I remember when the divorce went down, but didn't know it almost led to you giving up on the opal. I'm glad you found a second wind on it, this car will be a game changer from what I've seen of its current build so far.

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First up was mocking up some things in the bay.

Tucking the rad into the support would give me a bit more room in the bay

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then starting to rework the bay I really wanted it

that ment filling the remaing holes from the first time around

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yup no heat lol

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also say goodbye to all the crap on the pinch weld

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All in all I did a ton of welding lol

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One thing that really bugged me was all the bs and large holes behind the shock towers so that had to be taken care of

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That also ment getting rid of the the main harness on the driverside also

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then the worst part of the bay project... filling it all in...never thought That would come to an end

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seemed lke thats all I did for like a month fill and sand fill and sand lol

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Just my luck I have some time today to do this as Im cleaning up the office for my up coming work season a photobucket decides to bug out go figure. See what I can do a bit later

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Once the bay was done it was time to start getting the front suspension back in

Team z auto x kmember and a-arms

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Also decided to try and keep the bay clutter free as possible so out went the power steering and brakes. They will be replaced by a flaming river quick ratio rack and a maximum motor sports manual brake set up.

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The rest of the front suspension will consist of maximummotorsports sport coilovers made by bilstien for higher spring rates as Ill be running 375 upfront to leave me with the proper balance to run coil overs out back. Ill be reusing my steeda sway bar and endliks along with my max motorsports CC plates.

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this was the preliminary look but Ive since changed them and will update with pics when I take some.

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For the powerplant I called on a guy youve all heard of Ed C at flowtech inductions. I told him my goal was to be 650rwhp with a 331 and 16 pounds of boost and be emissions legal as I need to pass smog one more time before Im exempt. Ed just chuckled and said no problem lol.

So he set me up with a set of AFR renagade 195 competition heads with all the bells and wistles including titanium keepers, along with some comp cams ultra pro rockers and a very healthy custom cam. He also wanted to port my lower intake so off it went.

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The shortblock is being taken care of by woody over at ford strokers and will be at 9:2:1 per eds request.

Heres the run down on the block

331 Liberator Dar Shortblock

Dart SHP Machined Block

FordStrokers/RPM 4340 Forged Steel 3.250 Crankshaft -

INTERNAL

FordStrokers/RPM 4340 Forged Steel H Beam Connecting

Rods 5.400

Wiseco 2618 Forged Pistons (14cc, Inline) 4.030

Wiseco GFX Ring Package

Clevite 77 H Main Bearings

Clevite 77 H Rod Bearings

Dart Coated Cam Bearings

Screw in Oil Galley Plugs

Fel Pro Rear Main Seal

ARP Main Studs

Freeze Plugs

Cam Bolt

Cam Retainer Plate

SA Gear Billet Timing Chain w/Torrington Bearing

Melling Oil Pump M68

ARP Oil Pump Bolts

Moroso Oil Pump Pick up 24519

ARP Billet Oil Pumpshaft

Fel Pro 1 Piece Pan Gasket

Moroso 7qt Oil Pan - 20511

and for shitz and giggles here was my original mock up back in june using my old shortblock. Ive changed a bunch since then but you get the idea. The alt will be were the fox power steering bracket is and everything else will be gone as the only acc will be the blower and alt.

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Just awesome stuff Rich. Are you planning to run meth?

Those are the same heads Paul has on his yellow vert right?

Dan I will be running a progressive meth set up along with keeping my 100 shot of n2o for those just incase moments lol. As far as the heads go I think him and ryan are running the comp 185s these are one step up from those.

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As some of you already know Im almost done getting the tubs in as I ran into some snags along the way being I have a vert and want my top fully functional when completed. Funny thing is there just isnt any available info out there for putting them in a sn vert. Even team z couldnt help me as they never did one. The only thing I got out of them was " we dont know , your in uncharted waters" lol anyway I did figure out what had to be done to make everything work so I will be getting that finished up in the next week or so and yes pics will be coming.

In the mean time ive been collecting other parts to finish this thing the right way

some teasers

cobra mirrors which are currently out for paint

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part of the fuel system

A1000 pump

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Some saleen recaros I got lucky enough to stumble upon..Just need to send them out for some custom work along with some other interior parts Ive been fabing.

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lol steve the heartache was tearing into this lol

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opal the thing i dont get is how you come up with ideas and schemes for these engine bays, lol. i cant get past looking at the sea of crap everywhere enough to even start an idea or plan out a scheme. just amazing dude.
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lol Tony first thing is to keep in mind exactly what you need to run the car then take all the other crap ford put in and throw it in the garbage. Once thats done there aint much left lol.

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Just got off the phone with the guy whos shortning my rear, welder will be up and running this week. Going to hopefully get up there next weekend to pick it up so I can get it mocked up to order my wheels and finish stuffing it with a ne center section and some 31 spline axles. Pretty happy about that as it was one of those hold ups you cant control.

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Just got off the phone with the guy whos shortning my rear, welder will be up and running this week. Going to hopefully get up there next weekend to pick it up so I can get it mocked up to order my wheels and finish stuffing it with a ne center section and some 31 spline axles. Pretty happy about that as it was one of those hold ups you cant control.
what wheels are you getting? is this a wait and see thing, lol?
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what wheels are you getting? is this a wait and see thing, lol?

Haha dam do I have to spill all the beans already ....I think youll have to wait until Im ready to let the cat out of the bag on those lol. I wasnt even gonna let anybody know about the recaros but I figured what the heck there getting custom covered so no harm no foul as thell look totally different when done. The wheels on the other hand mmmmmmmmmmm no.

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Haha dam do I have to spill all the beans already ....I think youll have to wait until Im ready to let the cat out of the bag on those lol. I wasnt even gonna let anybody know about the recaros but I figured what the heck there getting custom covered so no harm no foul as thell look totally different when done. The wheels on the other hand mmmmmmmmmmm no.
yea i figured ya werent gonna spill the beans. so with the shortened rear end i'm assuming the will be nice and fat. man would i love to see some 19x12 fn deeeeep dish wheels tucked under there. aight homie, i wont hound ya. :biggrin1:
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yea i figured ya werent gonna spill the beans. so with the shortened rear end i'm assuming the will be nice and fat. man would i love to see some 19x12 fn deeeeep dish wheels tucked under there. aight homie, i wont hound ya. :biggrin1:

Well thats the plan 19x12 with a 345/30 out back.

This isnt mine but it will be very similar

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lol steve the heartache was tearing into this lol

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I know this is offtopic and i appoligize, ive always liked those couplings or clamps, whatever u call them that u used for your upper hose, mind telling me where u got them? Ive looked around but cant find them

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I know this is offtopic and i appoligize, ive always liked those couplings or clamps, whatever u call them that u used for your upper hose, mind telling me where u got them? Ive looked around but cant find them
yea, plus how the hell did ya get the cai tube to have the same couplings, lol? matching upper radiator hose and cai. that's some vision right there, lol.
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Sub'd to another :bowdown: :notworthy: thread.... you and Dan are going to be the death of me....

Opal, I've always loved your car and what you've done with it. I expect to see nothing but the best from you once again. I can't wait and I'm glad you're willing to share it with us here!!

SN95Source.com is honored to have you among us

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