2010-11 Front L-P Bracket No-Drill mtg ...
5/31/10, 11:27 AM
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2010-11 Front L-P Bracket No-Drill mtg ...
Rigged up the factory front plate bracket to mount to the lower honeycomb grill.
1) I found some rubber oil cooler mounting blocks in my junk box (approx. 7/8" x 1-1/8" x 2" long with 5/16" hole thru center) and cut a 3/8" wedge off one end to match the lower grill angle (1-5/8" long top / 2" long bottom with the 1-1/8" block dim vertical).
2) Then cut a strip of 3/8" plywood I had laying around to 1-1/2" wide x 11" inches long.
3) Drilled 2 1/8" finder holes in the plywood at the same centers of the bracket mtg. holes.
4) Removed the upper flat panel between the top of the grill & radiator support to gain access to the back of the lower grill.
5) Then used 2 4" long drywall screws with big fender washers at the bracket that pass thru the bracket, the rubber blocks, then thru the honeycomb grill and into the plywood behind the grill.
** Note that bracket is installed up-side down compared to how it normally would be mounted to the bumper.
Kind of a pita getting it lined up, centered, and level but the effort was worth it to avoid holes in my bumber cover !!
When I get the chance I'll swap out the piece of plywood & drywall screws for a strip of 1/8" x 1" x 11" S.S. and S.S. 10-32 screws. Then drill & tap 10-32 on an angle in the S.S. strip so the screws are more perpendicular to the honey comb openings.
I had previously posted this in another thread, but felt it was appropriate to post it over in "V6 Mods" too.
Doug
1) I found some rubber oil cooler mounting blocks in my junk box (approx. 7/8" x 1-1/8" x 2" long with 5/16" hole thru center) and cut a 3/8" wedge off one end to match the lower grill angle (1-5/8" long top / 2" long bottom with the 1-1/8" block dim vertical).
2) Then cut a strip of 3/8" plywood I had laying around to 1-1/2" wide x 11" inches long.
3) Drilled 2 1/8" finder holes in the plywood at the same centers of the bracket mtg. holes.
4) Removed the upper flat panel between the top of the grill & radiator support to gain access to the back of the lower grill.
5) Then used 2 4" long drywall screws with big fender washers at the bracket that pass thru the bracket, the rubber blocks, then thru the honeycomb grill and into the plywood behind the grill.
** Note that bracket is installed up-side down compared to how it normally would be mounted to the bumper.
Kind of a pita getting it lined up, centered, and level but the effort was worth it to avoid holes in my bumber cover !!
When I get the chance I'll swap out the piece of plywood & drywall screws for a strip of 1/8" x 1" x 11" S.S. and S.S. 10-32 screws. Then drill & tap 10-32 on an angle in the S.S. strip so the screws are more perpendicular to the honey comb openings.
I had previously posted this in another thread, but felt it was appropriate to post it over in "V6 Mods" too.
Doug
Last edited by orange3.9stang; 5/31/10 at 11:29 AM.
5/31/10, 01:00 PM
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I got the 2.73's because the RPM off the line is within 1% of what the '04 was when you do all the comparitive math of tire dia, 1st gear & FD. The 04's torque off the line was decent enough and wanted the reduced RPM's at 75 MPH more than I wanted the increased torque off the line.
It is fun enough off the line however I have not driven it with T-C disabled yet. Figured I'd get past 1k miles and 1st oil change before I see what it will REALLY do off the line ... as in with that bloody T-C off !! I'll then have a better opinion on whether the 3.31's are really needed for improved "off-the-line" performance.
Have only driven it the past two weekends so far, around 200 mi total. I'll be taking it to work this week though so it will get my normal 400 mi commute less one day. Will be hard not just setting the cruise on the Interstate like normal though ... I should still be varring my speed & RPM past 500 miles anyway.
Doug
7/8/10, 12:01 PM
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UPDATE ...
Converted over to "Stainless Steel" mounting hardware today.
* Strip of 1/8" x 1" S.S. x 11" long (cut from a piece of 304 S.S. I found at work)
* 2) 18-8 S.S. M6 x 90MM Long Pan Head Phillips Screws (McMaster Carr # 92000A470, $5.03 per pack of 5)
* 2) 18-8 S.S. #10 Size 1" O.D. Fender Washers (from local hardware store, $0.19 each)
* 2) 1" O.D. x 1/16" thick rubber washers (made from rubber sheet stock) to go between plate bracket & Fender Washers
* 4 Strips of 1/8" x 1" Adhesive Backed Closed Cell Neoprene to wrap around ends of S.S. Strip (roll from McMaster Carr); not really neccessary but help in positioning / holding strip in place as you tighten down the screws.
* Mark the 2 mounting holes in the S.S. strip 8-11/16" apart (centered).
* Drill the 2 holes using a 5MM drill (at 90 Degrees 1st).
* Then put it in the angle vise at 30Deg off of 90. With a hand drill run the drill bit thru starting at 90Deg to the strip and slowly work the drill bit until it is vertical and 30Deg to the strip.
* Now comes the tough part ... tapping the M6x1 thread on a 30Deg angle !! I chucked the tap in my drill press and with the chuck key slowly turned the chuck by hand ... use plenty of tapping fluid (in my case at home ... motor oil). 1st one went pretty smooth, but went too fast on the 2nd one and broke the tap. Got the broken part out and somewhat salvaged the tap by grinding down and re-chamfered end. With this fixed tap I had to go extra slow, but I got it to finish the job.
I wanted to use 10-32 srews (more threads than 10-24), but was having a hard time finding screws long enough and 1/4" was too big for L-P bracket. The M6 ended up being the best bet, it is midway in size between 10 & 1/4" and they just barely fit thru the size 10 fender washers (had to spin them on) and the 90 MM length (3.54") was perfect. Probably would not have been able to sucessfully tap the smaller 10-32 on the 30Deg angle anyway.
Doug
** One other thing ... plate bracket is NOT UP-SIDE-DOWN as I originally stated. As I was taking the pics & putting it back on I noticed the Ford writing on the back was right-side-up. Sure enough, my top IS the original top ... don't know why I thought it was inverted.
Pics below ...
Converted over to "Stainless Steel" mounting hardware today.
* Strip of 1/8" x 1" S.S. x 11" long (cut from a piece of 304 S.S. I found at work)
* 2) 18-8 S.S. M6 x 90MM Long Pan Head Phillips Screws (McMaster Carr # 92000A470, $5.03 per pack of 5)
* 2) 18-8 S.S. #10 Size 1" O.D. Fender Washers (from local hardware store, $0.19 each)
* 2) 1" O.D. x 1/16" thick rubber washers (made from rubber sheet stock) to go between plate bracket & Fender Washers
* 4 Strips of 1/8" x 1" Adhesive Backed Closed Cell Neoprene to wrap around ends of S.S. Strip (roll from McMaster Carr); not really neccessary but help in positioning / holding strip in place as you tighten down the screws.
* Mark the 2 mounting holes in the S.S. strip 8-11/16" apart (centered).
* Drill the 2 holes using a 5MM drill (at 90 Degrees 1st).
* Then put it in the angle vise at 30Deg off of 90. With a hand drill run the drill bit thru starting at 90Deg to the strip and slowly work the drill bit until it is vertical and 30Deg to the strip.
* Now comes the tough part ... tapping the M6x1 thread on a 30Deg angle !! I chucked the tap in my drill press and with the chuck key slowly turned the chuck by hand ... use plenty of tapping fluid (in my case at home ... motor oil). 1st one went pretty smooth, but went too fast on the 2nd one and broke the tap. Got the broken part out and somewhat salvaged the tap by grinding down and re-chamfered end. With this fixed tap I had to go extra slow, but I got it to finish the job.
I wanted to use 10-32 srews (more threads than 10-24), but was having a hard time finding screws long enough and 1/4" was too big for L-P bracket. The M6 ended up being the best bet, it is midway in size between 10 & 1/4" and they just barely fit thru the size 10 fender washers (had to spin them on) and the 90 MM length (3.54") was perfect. Probably would not have been able to sucessfully tap the smaller 10-32 on the 30Deg angle anyway.
Doug
** One other thing ... plate bracket is NOT UP-SIDE-DOWN as I originally stated. As I was taking the pics & putting it back on I noticed the Ford writing on the back was right-side-up. Sure enough, my top IS the original top ... don't know why I thought it was inverted.
Pics below ...
Last edited by orange3.9stang; 7/8/10 at 12:42 PM.
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