My car was made street legal only recently, so not really a great deal of seat time yet. Take my words with a grain of salt. I'm planning to drive her in GelCoat for a few months while I try to find the right body and paint guy. But.. it occurred to me that some of the things the "internet" told me.. simply were not true.. or.. were at least over exaggerated. So.. I thought I'd share what I have found as a result of my build. The idea being anybody else who finds themselves pondering a few of these questions as they plan and build... might benefit from what I found. Pay it forward if you will.

Since context is everything... obviously the details of my build, my driving style and typical use of my car will matter.

Like so many of us here.. it'll be no surprise to anybody to learn I've been a "gear head" most of my life. Wrenching on cars in various forms since the mid 80s. Motor rebuilds, transmissions, rear-end.. brake... Superchargers.. you know..GearHead stuff. I'm the guy my friends call when they have a car issue. My daily driver is 18 years old, because I don't sweat fixing things that break. Also, like many of us.. I've been a fan of the Shelby Cobra since I fist saw one at a big car show when I was about 9. Saved up my $$$ and snagged me an F5 Mk4. Lets do this thing I said!!

It's a budget build staring with the base kit. Not to be mistaken for a "cheap" build mind you. I have a tight budget, and I try to keep as close to it as possible. But.. I also believe in spending the necessary money for the "right" part, not the "cheapest" part. In other words... I try to spend a great deal of time researching and learning about the various options and choices, and try to make the "best" decision based on my main concerns... the right part.. for the right price.

It has a 302 from a 99 Explorer. Explorer accessories. GT40p heads. Weiand Stealth Intake. Summit Racing 600CFM Vac Secondary Carb. E303 Cam. F5 BBK 4into4 headers. F5 side pipes. T5z transmission. 4-wheel disks. Vacuum Power Brakes. Power Steering (cut spring mod). 8.8 with 3.55 gears and F5 3-link. SN95 5-stud Axles. F5 Konis coil-overs all around. F5 front lower control arms. SN95 Spindles. 17" FR500 wheels. 315 rears, 275 fronts. SpeedHut gauges. Universal Roadster Wiring Harness from Speedway.

This car is going to be a mostly street car, with a few AutoX events each year. But.. really.. I'm going to drive this car around town, to and from work (yes, I'm going to commute it). to the store. The odd out-of-town trip with my wife for a weekend getaway. I'm too old and wise (haha... yeah right) to drive this car like a would have in my younger years.. trying to prove something. In short... a driver. This is my dream car, and I want to drive it!!

Caveat: The following are my opinions.. and not to be mistaken for expert facts... oh no.. I just realized.. I'm adding to "Internet Lore". haha.. oh well.

1. Nothing wrong with Vacuum Secondary Carbs. If like me, you've researched and researched and googled for "best carb for 302 with GT40p heads and mild cam".. you've come across countless threads here, and on the other form about how our cars are so light, a mechanical 2ndary carb is the better choice. I'm willing to accept that is true. In fact, I'm sure it is true. But I can tell you right now, the vac secondary carb I have works perfectly, feels butter smooth, has no issues creating plenty of power and just feels perfectly fine in all typical driving situations and when slamming the loud pedal. I'll grant I've not raced my car yet.. but I've stood on the loud-pedal plenty of times... and I feel nothing but crisp response and smooth power from this carb. I do not for a second regret going with a Vac Secondary carb.

2. Noting wrong with the E303 cam. The mustang forums seem to all agree. Ditch the dinosaur Ford Alphabet cams... and go get a TFS stage 1 cam. The B303, E303, F303 cams.. don't waste your money on them!! Just do the TFS cam and that's final. Or better yet, a custom grind!! Again.. I'll grant.. I'm sure the TFS1, the CompCamps.. Lunati cams are indeed a far superior cam in many ways. I'm sure the split-pattern is a benefit on a 302. I'm sure if put side by side on a dyno, it would out perform the Alphabet cams by ford. But.. the idea that the dinosaur cams are actually junk.. is flat out wrong. Well. at least if we're talking about the one I have (E303). In my setup, it has a nice loppy idle.. something I won't deny I was looking for. And pulls like a freight train well past 6000rpm easily. I don't actually know where my redline is yet because it just seems to keep pulling. It's power feels linear and smooth during gentle roll-ons anywhere above 1200rpm. Start going bast 2500 and it's really winding up. At 50mph in 5th gear, I'm spinning 1500rpm, and this cam still feels just fine for driving around. It doesn't feel like I'm in the wrong gear at all for just cruizin. No issue putting more gas pedal down to pass someone. It's easy to drive around parking lots with low rpms high-vac situation. It produces plenty of vacuum to power my brake booster. The main reason I went with the E303 though is because I got it for less than 1/2 price. Bought it used from the Corral forum and it was in fantastic condition. I know not everybody is willing to buy a used cam.. but I was. The price of the E303 new and a TFS1 new is pretty close mind you. But, the E303 new is quite a few $$ less than a Lunati or Custom grind. I'm just sayin'... I do not regret going with the E303 one bit. I got the performance I wanted, at a price I wanted to pay.

3. The Stock F5 side pipes are not "THAT" loud. This one I'll grant is quite a bit more subjective... with just around town high-vacuum crusing, or highway crusing.. the stock F5 side pipes are not that loud at all. Yeah... when you press down the gas pedal, they bark pretty loud. In a good way if you ask me!! But.. if you drive like I do, that's only for a short shot up to speed. Not a big issue IMO. Then.. throw it up a gear and just driving around. Not too loud. Highway speeds (70-80).. again.. not really loud if you're just cruizin' . Like many have said... the wind noise and traffic noise seems to be much louder than the pipes. Do I see myself perhaps one day retrofitting something more quiet? Honestly .. no. That is.. unless I fail the decibel meter test at the AutoX.. but until then. I'm good with the stock pipes.

4. 315 rear tires on 17" FR500 wheels can fit with SN95 axles and disk brakes. This one will also be ride-height subjective. How much gap you like between the edge of the wheel well and your tire. How much space between the edge of the tire, and the edge of the fender lip. I happen to not like the slammed look.. nor do I like tires tucked way under the fenders. I like to see the whole wheel with an even gap. I have about 1.5" gaps on mine, and I'm loving how it looks to me so far. I have the ride height set to just shy of 4" out front, and just over 4 out back. I also have the Koni coil-overs all around, and the upgraded 3-link rear. I have no doubt those helps. The edge of the fender and the edge of the tire are almost flush, but not quite. The tire sits just a little bit inside. So, if you're building a "street" car, this combo can fit without rubbing even on reasonably quick corners. Now... what is going to happen when I go to my first AutoX? We'll see.. and I'll amend this post with my results. I won't be surprised if I find some rubbing. But.. on the street? It's fine.

5. 275 front tires on 17" FR500 wheels "can" fit with SN95 spindles. Emphasis on the word "can". These tires are not small. I had to put steering rack limiters to keep from hitting my F-Panels on full-lock turns. And they sit just a bit past flush with the outside edge of the wheel well. Might not be everyones favorite look. When the day comes I need new front, I think I might try 255s. We'll see though. That said, I've not managed to induce any rubbing yet with just street driving. Like the rears, I have about a 1.5" gap tire to fender lip. Like the rears, I don't know what to expect at AutoX. Once again, I won't be surprised if I find some rubbing on the track. On the street though? So far.. just fine. You'll have to be OK with the tires sticking out just past the fender though. Doesn't bother me yet. We'll see what time tells.

cont...