How to properly prepare your rally car for 5000+ miles in 10 days

Did I mention we’re doing an insane road trip this summer? Two Englishmen doing a lap of North-west America, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, a lot. And that’s why we’ve created this handy guide to show just what needs to be done to our mustang in order to minimise the risks of mechanical (and driver!) failure on the way.

Fluids

Putting half a year’s worth of miles on a car in one hit will require half a years’ worth of servicing, and then some! An Oil change before and after (possibly even during) the event is the bare minimum.

We’re choosing to go one further because of the age of this car. My Mustang is currently on 93,000 miles, and Ford recommends changing the gearbox & diff oil at around 100,000 miles. So we’re adding that to our pre rally prep also.
Finally, we will be crossing many deserts in the height of summer, so a coolant change and A/C recharge is essential to ensure the engine and the occupants don’t overheat!

Filters & Other Service Parts

Ensuring peak performance, while protecting the engine on this test of endurance is our number one priority. A full set of fresh filters – as expected for any major service – will minimise the chance of any dirt getting where it shouldn’t be, and ensure the car is performing as best as possible. In this case, the cabin filter, intake air filter, oil filter and fuel filter will all be swapped out before setting off.

Finally, as the car nears 100k miles, I will also be fitting a new set of spark plugs and coil packs to the car to ensure she’s firing exactly as she should.

Brakes

Some of the most exciting waypoints will be long mountain passes, others include race tracks and drag strips. So some performance anchors will definitely be needed! To that end, I chose some drilled and grooved rotors, ceramic pads and upgraded brake fluid – all to improve the performance under high thermal loads which we’ll encounter on hours of mountain passes in the high summer.

I’m hoping by the time we hit the road for the rally, I will have put around 1,000 miles on this set up and it will be fully bedded in. So far, I’m very impressed with the performance and the pedal feel, especially when the ceramic pads come up to temperature!

Eliminating Suspension Knocks

These S197 mustangs are infamous for front end knocks as they age – and my 11 year old car is no exception. I managed to trace my mystery knock to the front strut mounts, a very common failure.

Knowing that this fault was already driving me insane, I swapped out the old worn top mounts for a set of brand new GT500 bushes. I’m sure the roads of Michigan will destroy them soon enough, but the uprated kit from Ford Performance promises better durability for the most part.

Gadgets & Entertainment

Much as I enjoy the company of my co-pilot, Timbo, 10 days in a small moving box is bound to get old eventually. Plus, we need to make sure we have all the navigational equipment needed to stay competitive during our scavenger hunt!

The car is currently fitted with a radar detector and an aftermarket head unit to allow you to hook up your phone. In addition, we will be bringing two Garmins to enable us to plot multiple waypoints simultaneously, and two ipads to provide additional map guidance and tunes for the drive. Finally, a mobile wifi hotspot will ensure we can stay connected throughout the whole trip. All this kit needs power – so a couple of extra 12v sockets will be brought along, as well as a mains inverter for keeping everything else fully charged.

Much as I enjoy the company of my co-pilot, 10 days in a small moving box is bound to get old eventually.

Tunes

A Team Not Found tradition for any road trip is an excellent soundtrack. In addition to our huge collection of playlists on Spotify, we will each be making a silly mixtape of 21 tracks of ridiculous cheesiness, which must be listened to end to end once a day, without exception. Expect maximum annoyance and repetitive garbage – these two playlists will be used to torture each other as much as possible!

Tackling this list will be keeping us busy with prep between now and mid-july when we set off. Can you name anything we’ve missed? What are your essential things to take on a road trip?

• Derpins, Captain - Team Not Found