Damn, Mark!!!!
I could write a book on all those questions LMAO!
Ok, since I seem to drive this car a bit more than the owner, I probably have a better idea, than he does.
Not that I'm going to get into it in this reply there are things I have had to fix/mod to get everything to settle in, that also includes a lot of the Shelby conversion to the car.
This car drives like it's bone stock till you give it a kick (9psi) then it runs really strong like a GT, the tune has more to do with drivability than ANYTHING, the original tune was crap, the 2nd tune was really fat and safe but netted fairly poor mileage, like 12-15mpg, and it would burn your eyes at an idle, and fart black/rich smoke from the side pipes with a blip of the throttle, and it was kind of chunky down low, since I was replacing the pulley there was no reason to have the tune changed a third time for this issue.
So after changing the pulley I had it re-tuned again, and the start-up, idle, and low-end driveability came back to like stock, and the power comes on very smooth and violently strong all the way to redline/15lbs., very linear .
Since I live here where the temps are similar to yours I have seen and have been correcting, both Paxton/Votech's cooling issues, and Shelby's issue's, and there is more of this to come, for my first phase and prototype to be installed and RIGHT now being tested as I type this see this thread on the H/E I have:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2360741#post2360741
Post #28
I'll I'm going to say it you are truly getting what you pay for with this.
As for all the other Q's I can tell you I have driven the Terlingua both to car shows on the freeway, and to the race track, raced and back, with very few problems, but as I fix all the little issues, which are almost non-existant now, I have never felt as though this car would leave me stranded, I have no problem with jumping in it and going where ever, in fact I sent it with the customer to the Shelby bash, with confidence that it would hold together, IF it breaks, it will probably be at fault for something unforeseen.
Mark, if you would like to chew more on this, call me, you have my number, I will be glad to walk and talk with you about the whole kit-and-kaboodle.
Jeff -
Here' is a vid of me beating it up at the Shelby Terlingua GTG 2009
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=612015509105
Here is me thrashing it at an autocross, Lori as co-pilot:
Cheer's