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Building a 2015 Super Snake Clone

56K views 391 replies 43 participants last post by  medwards 
#1 · (Edited)
I intend this thread to be a complete documentation of the building of a 2015 Shelby Super Snake clone (at least as close as I can come to it being a clone). The intention is to have a car as similar to my 2015 Shelby Super Snake as I can build. I plan on doing the entire build myself and then running this car both on road courses and drag strips.

I expect this to be a fairly long project in terms of time since there is a lot to do to the base car to convert it to a clone. Please be patient with me.

Attached is the list of parts. I'll be placing orders in the coming weeks or so.
 

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#344 ·
For what it's worth, & not to start an argument.....( have posted this on other sites as well )
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Custom tuning should be done on the street, the tuner drives the car, the tuner datalogs the car, the tuner makes adjustments. After the tuner is happy with what he has, it goes on the dyno for grooming / proofing.
Not many shops take the time to do this, & I'm happy to say both of my cars were tuned this way..
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#350 ·
And....I'm back.

Watson has the engine rebuilt and I'm trying to schedule time between the snow storms to go back out and run the car at Milan Dragway (Milan Dragway) They keep this dragstrip open year round due to the fact it's used by the auto manufacturers in the area constantly for testing.

So, nothing definitive to report just yet, but should have something within the next couple of weeks.
 
#356 · (Edited)
Pics of the day at Watson Racing.

Can't figure out why one of them is upside down in the post but rightside up if you click on it.

So, got there and did a compression check and leakdown test. Compression on every cylinder was 154lbs. Leakdown tests were all around 10%. That looked great.

I went to Milan (40 minutes away). Got there and on the third run (all relatively low power), had a low oil light show up. That was the end of that. 2 hours track rental...all ended in 15 minutes. Hence the picture with the hood up (trying to be a bit funny and a little dramatic). Needless to say I was pretty upset. Watson came to pick me up with their enclosed trailer.

Back at Watson Racing you could see the abject disappointment on everyone's face when we were unloading the car from the trailer. Luckily we were all smiling about 10 minutes later when we found it was a broken sensor (still have no idea how it broke...but it was cracked on the inside and the oil was actually seeping past the electrical connection). Put a mechanical gauge on and started the car....60lbs oil pressue right on the nose.

Installed a new sensor and did a little Street Outlaws behind their shop for a while and had no other issues.

Did a final compression check and leak down test at the end of the day and got the same readings as the beginning. Plugs all looked perfect. Big sigh of relief.

Car arrives home tomorrow for further breaking in.

I'm the one in the middle of the first pic. Kim Mapes is to my right (the big guy). He built the engine and tunes all the Watson cars. Frank Naglich, to my left, is the sales guy. I spent a lot of time with Chuck Watson, but he wasn't around when I thought about taking that picture and I had a plane to catch.

Everything ended well and I will say that they really stepped up. I've only got good things to say about Watson Racing.

Oh ya.....that red Mustang body is a 2019 Cobra Jet in the middle of being built. They rolled it in front of my car temporarily and I couldn't help myself so I took the picture (sorry Chuck). You're not allowed to take pics of the inside of the shop due to the fact they often have competition cars belonging to others and they often have cars in development by Ford. If I was allowed to take pics, to the left of that image you would seen two banks of lifts and Cobra Jets in all sorts of stages of completion along with another section that is an enormous area dedicated to welding. My car was off to the side near the storage racks.

The last pic is a picture from last September (the first engine rebuild). I put it in to show how nice their building is. It is a really cool place.
 

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#357 ·
Sweet!
I'm glad that everything worked out in the end for you!
The summer of 2019 is coming up...
:thumb:

We never really got to see any good photos of the finished car before you blew up the engine like 10 minutes after you got it back last time :p:, so maybe, when you have the time, some photos would be much appreciated. I'm particularly interested in how the roll cage ties in with all of the interior components.
 
#358 ·
First the Mercury Caliente that I've been working on to keep my mind off the Clone. Just have the bumpers to put on and then she's done. Ended up putting electric window regulators in which are really sweet. This car was a basket case, and now you could eat off of any part on the car.
 

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#360 ·
Pics
 

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#364 ·
So here's an interesting, and frustrating situation.

My exhausts are too loud to run at most of the road course venues in the northeast. If I had kept my stock mufflers it may not be a big deal as I could have modified them to fit the Borla pipes and switched them out when I needed to. But, alas...I got rid of them.

So, any suggestions on mufflers to quiet this beast down (it currently has Borla Ataks).

If anyone is up here in the northeast and wants to get rid of their stock 2015-2017 mustang GT mufflers...that would be a solution :flowers:
 
#367 ·
So here's an interesting, and frustrating situation.

My exhausts are too loud to run at most of the road course venues in the northeast. If I had kept my stock mufflers it may not be a big deal as I could have modified them to fit the Borla pipes and switched them out when I needed to. But, alas...I got rid of them.

So, any suggestions on mufflers to quiet this beast down (it currently has Borla Ataks).

If anyone is up here in the northeast and wants to get rid of their stock 2015-2017 mustang GT mufflers...that would be a solution :flowers:
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Doesn't MA. have inspections ??
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#365 ·
The over-priviledged always seem to gravitate towards established race tracks, build their lousy mansions, and then proceed to complain about the loud cars roaring around all weekend long.

I think that your car would be a lot of fun participating in an event such as the Silver State Classic Challenge. It's almost as if you built the car for that race.
And there are no decibel meters to be found!
What about the 6000 mile round trip to Nevada, you ask? That's your problem buddy...

I always struggle with disposing of parts for vehicles which I still own.... Many times, they can come in handy in the future.
You should see the collection of stuff that I have saved for future use, Medwards! Some of it goes back four generations! :lol:
 
#366 ·
I ran at Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club (https://www.springmountainmotorsports.com/) with the Shelby crowd in Pahrump NV and there certainly were no decibel limits at that track! I ran my SuperSnake all day there and it had the exact same mufflers as the clone. And...I was no where near the loudest car on the track.

Eventually the clone is going to head to NV for a Shelby Days event (after I spend a year or so becoming at least somewhat proficient running it on a track).

I hear what you are saying about keeping things. I gave the darn mufflers to a kid who was modifying a crappy Mustang and I wanted to help him out. Turns out he no longer has the Mustang so it was a complete waste to give him the mufflers in the first place since he sold the car right after he put them on....and now I'm going to have to spend $400 buying new ones. So much for being a nice guy and helping someone out.
 
#368 ·
I hear what you are saying about keeping things. I gave the darn mufflers to a kid who was modifying a crappy Mustang and I wanted to help him out. Turns out he no longer has the Mustang so it was a complete waste to give him the mufflers in the first place since he sold the car right after he put them on....and now I'm going to have to spend $400 buying new ones. So much for being a nice guy and helping someone out.

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No " good deed " goes unpunished !!
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#370 · (Edited)
And...the saga continues.

Stock AFR meter started showing the AFR modulating between 13.5 and 14.5 in certain conditions after a few hundred miles. Now it will fluctuate between 12.5 and 15.5 during cruise. So, after a series of calls with Kim Mapes we are going to replace the O2 sensors on the car (they are shipping them out to me). When the engine failed last time the bank one converter got a fair amount of oil. It was cleaned and deemed to function properly during testing. The O2 sensor was working during dyno tuning. Kim's thought is that the O2 had to have been damaged during that event and is now showing the signs of the damage.

I have decided to work with Ace Performance in Tewskbury MA ( https://www.aceperformancesystems.com/ ) to help design a high end monitoring system for the engine. I've asked about the following products to be used with the stock ECU (I don't want an aftermarket ECU because it will no longer be street legal in NH). They are going to work with Plex to see exactly what can be pulled off a stock ECU to run the Plex monitor. The Plex Knock Monitor will work and is a must. I don't want another melted piston....especially due to faulty sensors. Ace Performance will NOT be editing the current tune. The tune is Watson Racing's and will always remain that way. But...I want a professional group to install the new hardware and help me decide what is best for my car/situation.

It's time to spend a little to protect my $30k investment in this engine. I'd love to hear thoughts from the professional tuners on this board.

Lastly, I just completed a lot of online training from http://www.hpacademy.com . I did this simply to understand what in the world is going on in my very complicated car. I am certainly NOT going to try to modify the tune on this car. That could end up disastrous. I will say, the $400 I spent on the "Starter Package" online course was worth every penny. I at least now know the basics. I also have a new found level of respect for everything that goes into tuning a modern day car with all the electronics. And I have a clear understanding that I am no where near knowledgeable enough to change anything. If Kim ever wants something changed, I can likely do so with his tutelage. If he wants some datalogging done, I will likely be able to accomplish that.

I may screw around with the Mazda 6 that I rebuilt for my friend's son. That would be fun and since it's N/A, I could play with AFR and ignition timing and other things without too much worry about blowing it up..hahahaha.

Knock Monitor - Plex
https://www.plex-tuning.com/products/plex-knock-monitor/

Data Monitor and Logger - Plex
https://www.plex-tuning.com/products/sdm-700-dash-display-logger/

OBD Interface - HP Tuners
https://www.hptuners.com/mpvi2/

Scanner Software - HP Tuners
https://www.hptuners.com/vcm-scanner/

ECU Editing Software (ONLY IF KIM WANTS ME TO CHANGE THINGS!!!)
https://www.hptuners.com/vcm-editor/
 
#371 ·
Before spending a lot of time and resources, possibly, chasing "ghosts".... I would begin the diagnosis process by installing the new 02 sensors as recommended, and then, either by data-logging, or on a chassis dyno, hire a reputable, experienced tuner to go over your current tune, and have them give you their opinion on the tune that you currently have. Not necessarily to change anything, just to get a second opinion. That's all.
 
#372 ·
I agree....hence Ace Performance up near me.

However, I also want a permanently mounted datalogger with error handling so I will know what's going on at all times and the car will be able to be shut off if any catastrophic conditions show up. I've got a bunch of buddies that run dual supercharged engines in 30+ foot ocean boats (think Cigarette), and those high powered S/C engines have permanently mounted dataloggers with cutoff's for engine malfunctions.

I also spoke to a number of BMW-CCA members with dedicated circuit race cars....same thing installed. Hence...one is going into my car.
 
#373 ·
And at long last....stripes...boy has this been a painfully slow process.

But, it sure looks like a Super Snake...and it sure is fast and corners like a monster.
 

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#375 ·
It is a ridiculously modified mustang that is for sure. And it's crazy capable. But, now that it's so pretty, I don't want to use it for what I intended :(
 
#377 ·
The car looks great, and you should be proud of what you have accomplished! :thumb:

Now go enjoy the fruits of your hard labor.
There is no point in saving the car, and not using it fully for it's intended purpose. At the end of the day, it is still a Mustang, and in all likelihood, any subsequent owner will treat it as such.
 
#378 ·
Just kidding....I'm going to drive the hell out of it.

Changed O2 sensors...gave it another break-in oil change, and am installing the SDM550 by Plex Tuning this weekend. First real run at the drags will be July 10th at NE Dragway.
 
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