Project Mercury Rising EP: 6 - If You Build It... | ASC McLaren Restoration

Thus far, the progress of Project Mercury Rising has been awesome if we do say so ourselves. There is no doubt that we are heavy in the restoration trenches with this Capri. Picking up where we left off previously, we were messing with the windshield, bubble glass, and exterior mouldings, so we installed the wing and original ASC McLaren tinted quarter glass. For those who are unaware, the quarter glass was one of the unique characteristics on these ASC McLaren cars.

Because Shannon opted for new door glass, we had to remove the bracket from the original door glass, get it cleaned up, and installed to the new glass. New guide rod bushings and grease followed suit and the assemblies were loaded into the doors.

Shannon finished painting the dash and double checked to ensure that all of the speed nuts were present along with the fuel door and hatch release button.

Scott Springer assisted with cleaning and even relooming some of the existing wiring harness that sits behind the dash. While this sounds simple, trust us, it was very tedious. The main harness was then positioned back into the dash, and the dash was set back into the car. Mike Nichols, another employee of LMR who has a very long history of mechanical, electrical, and car audio history, spent several hours dialing in anything electrical related on the Capri.

At this point, we went ahead and shifted our focus to the underside of the car. Finally, the factory suspension was removed from the car once and for all, which revealed a perfectly clean canvas to route all new brake and fuel lines.

The Fox length, 8.8" rear end was blasted, painted a beautiful gloss black, and loaded with a Cobra 31 spline differential, 3.55 rear end gears, and high strength 31 spline axles. Since the rear end was the cornerstone for our Maximum Motorsport suspension, it was set in place. The rear suspension for the Capri consists of high end components which include a torque arm, panhard bar, sway bar, lower control arms, and adjustable shocks and coilovers. Rear brake rotors, calipers, caliper brackets, and brake hoses were installed, along with the fuel tank, fuel tank shield, fuel pump bracket, and anything else related to the fuel system at the rear of the car.

From here we took a break from the rear of the car, and we shifted our focus to the engine bay to prep for the installation of our Gen 2 Coyote engine. We addressed the unused and unsightly holes at the firewall with a smooth firewall cover that was of course painted the same color as the car.

Our SVE Fox Body aluminum radiator and dual electric fan setup was set into place. We had to drill a hole into our strut tower to accommodate the new proportioning valve.

Now wheel choice was crucial for the Capri. We wanted something that shared similar traits to the original mesh wheels that came on the ASC McLaren and of course, it had to be an SVE wheel. After a few renders from our very talented graphic designer, Jeff Oliver, we decided on SVE Series 1 wheels with of course, a few custom touches. The 18x9 and 18x10 wheels were blasted, painted beautiful ASC orange, and the face and lip was carefully machined to closely mimic the original wheels. Further details on the wheels included Shannon's one off center caps that were painted midnight blue metallic and finished off with a silver ASC McLaren logo.


Now for the power plant. Scott Hubbard began dressing the Gen 2 Coyote engine which included the flywheel, clutch, and power steering assembly. The long tube headers were installed, and then the Tremec T56 transmission was bolted to the bellhousing. To make things easy, we positioned the drivetrain under the car and then lowered the car onto the drivetrain.


There is still so much to do, but at this point of the build we were starting to see a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned for Episode 7 as we start to put the finishing touches on Project Mercury Rising.

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