Wallace18"s MK4 Build Thread

[Aso544]

Looks good....bet it sounded like a dragster with those open headers. Can't wait to see the paint on the body.

[wallace18]

Well it sounded good till it spun #8 rod bearing. Never had engine over 4k RPM or car over 40MPH. ATK short block lasted about 20 minutes run time total. Summit and ATK are giving me a full refund. I am buying the parts from Summit to build a Dart 347 from scratch. That way I can be sure everything is correct and not have to rely on someone else to do it right. It is a PITA but in the long run it will be OK. Lucky for me it happened now with body off. I can have it all back together before paint is done on body. The Vintage Air Front Runner system allowed me to remove A/C, P/S and all without disconnecting hoses. So I saved some time and money there. Well worth the money IMO.

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[carlewms]

Carl, that is the way the drivers foot box comes from FFR now.

Thanks ... I will call them to see If I can order it. I have expanded mine but I think I went to far.

[wallace18]

After going back and forth with Summit and ATK on the short block they sold me that went and spun #8 rod bearing, we came to agreement on what to do. They are going to give me full refund on the ATK short block, the 50 oz. flywheel and harmonic balancer. I agreed to pay the difference for a Blueprint 347 Stroker crate engine, 28oz. flywheel and balancer. No shipper or return charges as far as freight. They said the engine has been run on a dyno and will come with documentation. That makes me feel better about it vs the ATK unit. I was hoping to cut a deal on components from Dart, but the extra cost and all was a bit more than I wanted to spend. Summit has treated me right on this IMO. The engine will be here this week so I should have the go-cart ready to go by Friday. I cleaned up my parts that will go on the new crate motor and decided to redo the valve covers. I used wrinkle paint and I like the result vs what I did the 1st go round.

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Before-------------------/----------------- After

[Carlos C]

Tom:

It's a shame about the engine, but it's definitely a good thing that it happened now and not after the car was finished. The valve covers look much sharper now. Great job!

Carlos

[wallace18]

Today R&L carriers showed up with my 347 Blueprint from Summit. It was easy to unload into my truck and shop. I was impressed with the dyno results of this engine with a 600 CFM carb. I am curious how it will perform with my dual quad setup. It makes 430.6 ft./lbs. of torque at 3800 RPM. 411.7 HP at 5700 RPM. Maybe the 302 blowing up was a good thing? LOL. Here is a few pics. I will start to put everything back tomorrow.

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[carlewms]

There is a silver lining in that cloud .. Engine looks great!

[wallace18]

Finished up the motor and set it in the car today. Started 1st time with 75 lbs. of oil pressure. Yea! Still have some loose ends to do before go-carting tomorrow. My friend Benoit and his brother in-law Peter stopped by to pick up some 818 Parts from me this morning. Great guys from Canada. I showed them the shop and cars I have under construction. An 818SE and a MK4. I gave Peter the new FFR catalog. He could not put it down, LOL. Left to right it is me, Benoit and Peter.

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[wallace18]

Go-Carted the chassis today with the new 347 Stroker from Blueprint. Ran great! Very happy with the result. Now I am in waiting mode for body to be finished at paint shop.

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[ThickCobra]

You look happy. I am looking forward to go-cart stage which could be another month or two.

[wallace18]

Well after seeing how nice my valve covers came out with the black wrinkle paint I had to do the air cleaner top as well. I am very happy with the outcome.

Before and after.

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[wallace18]

Stopped by Huegenics this morning. Trunk lid, hood, scoop and doors are all in primer now. They are still working on making the body perfect. Should be in primer later this week. They are really doing an outstanding job! Here is a few pictures.

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[wallace18]

Running out of stuff to do on the MK4. I installed the VIN plate and mats. I also coated 2 pool noodles with Flex seal for the foot box areas once the body is installed to keep the elements out.

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[wallace18]

Stopped by Huegenics this morning. They have all the body parts in filler primer now. So they will block everything out and the sealer primer it. Then get ready for color. Here is a few photos.

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[Bill Waters]

Hi, Tom; I have a question about your dash. I see in one view (well back in your build sequence) that the top of your dash appears even with the curved 3/4" hoop, but the fasteners seem to be lower. Did you make brackets which hang below the dash? My Challenge Mk4 should be here in a couple of weeks, but am going to install the dash on my (street) 3.1 very soon. I had thought that the dash was supposed to be a bit above the hoop to prevent an obvious gap. Please give me a schoolin' on this.

Many thanks,

Bill

[wallace18]

Hi, Tom; I have a question about your dash. I see in one view (well back in your build sequence) that the top of your dash appears even with the curved 3/4" hoop, but the fasteners seem to be lower. Did you make brackets which hang below the dash? My Challenge Mk4 should be here in a couple of weeks, but am going to install the dash on my (street) 3.1 very soon. I had thought that the dash was supposed to be a bit above the hoop to prevent an obvious gap. Please give me a schoolin' on this.

Many thanks,

Bill

Yes I trimmed it even with the top of the bar and made brackets out of aluminum so the dash can be removed with the body in place. The body comes over the bar so if you used the bar to mount the dash the screws would be hidden behind the body. This would mean you may have to remove the body to get the dash off if ever needed. Here is some pictures with the body on. Hope this explanation helps.

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[Bill Waters]

It does help, Tom; thanks. Earlier threads suggested that there would be a visually apparent gap between where the body rolls over at the top and the top of the dash if the 3/4" bar was used as the reference point for trimming/mounting. Based on your experience, that's not so. This makes mounting the dash much easier. Also, I'm with you; it needs to be removable. Given the contortionist activities required to access what's behind there without the option of removing the dash, that's especially true as we get a little older!

Great build thread; thanks.

Bill

[Bill Waters]

Sorry - had one more quickie; I can't find the door/truck/hood gapping technique described by Eric Hansen that you reference in your build thread. Very clear how you are approaching taping, marking and then grinding to the line, but, since the hood, doors and trunk and hood are not consistently off by the width of the tape, not clear regarding how you achieve the consistent gap. I was going to use a scribe, offset by a fixed amount, to reference off of the body edge to scribe the hood, for example. Can you point me to that info?

Thanks again.

Bill

[wallace18]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...a-5-part-video Here is a link to one of Erik's videos. It should help you find the others. I have used the same technique on 6 FFR builds I have done with good outcomes, IMO. Best of luck.

[Bill Waters]

Many thanks, Tom; I'm sure we'll have it sorted out.

Bill

[wallace18]

My shifter finally came in the other day. It was the last of my back ordered parts, Yea! I installed it with my Lokar boot and Breeze shift knob. I really think the knob is super cool! Body should be done and ready for the chassis by the 9th. I am crossing my fingers, LOL.

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[WIS89]

Tom-

She is looking sharp! I really like the center console below the dash. I really like the heat/AC vents there. I think that make a lot of sense putting those there. I have been struggling with ideas where to locate my vents (just in the planning stages), and I may hijack your idea.

I like the shift knob too. Where did you source that -- sorry if I missed it!

I look forward to seeing the rest of your paint done.

Regards,

Steve

[wallace18]

You can get them from Breeze.

http://www.breezeautomotive.com/

[WIS89]

Thanks Tom, I should have known that...

I appreciate the assist!

Regards,

Steve

[wallace18]

I changed my mind and decided to listen to Carlos. I bought a different reservoir bottle and remove the FFR tank from the header area. I got this one on E-Bay( It is your fault Jim, LOL.) . I also got my replacement windshield on Sat. I removed the frame and ground down the sun visor screws. You can see the before and after. Do yourself a favor and just loosen the frame and mount the sun visor clips so you do not crack the windshield like I did. See this thread for sure http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...FFR-sun-visors

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[wallace18]

Went to Huegenics today around noon. I bought lunch for everyone and then they showed me my MK4. WOW!!! The Cobalt blue pearl and silver stripes are awesome to me. I really like how the stripes are done. I am not a fan of the wrap around ones. Just my personal preference, LOL. I spent the rest of the day mounting the scoop, grills, latches, defrost vents and such. First thing tomorrow it goes on the chassis. The paint really pops in the sun. Everyone at the shop cannot wait to see this completed. It is their first MK4. They have done a 33, Type 65 and 818 for me in the past. They somehow top every job they have done before. Here is some pics.

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[Olli]

In the picture in which you are showing the side louvers, what are those four "things" that look as if they are protruding through the body?

The stripes are ok. They have a "Yenko" feel to them.

Olli

[wallace18]

In the picture in which you are showing the side louvers, what are those four "things" that look as if they are protruding through the body?

The stripes are ok. They have a "Yenko" feel to them.

Olli

Rivets. I wanted to rivet them to the body not glue them in place.

[carlewms]

The paint job is simply stunning ... congratulations.

Are the louvers appear to be painted or coated. How did you treat them.

Carl

[wallace18]

The paint job is simply stunning ... congratulations.

Are the louvers appear to be painted or coated. How did you treat them.

Carl

I had them powder coated silver.

[Bdmac58]

Awesome paint job! Like that color Blue. How did you fabricate the grill?

[Aso544]

Love the blue.... Bet it looks even better in the sun!!

[wallace18]

Awesome paint job! Like that color Blue. How did you fabricate the grill?

From Breeze Automotive.

[wallace18]

Today We Mounted the body, doors, Bumpers, trunk and hood. Installed the head lights, Windshield and front turn signals. I have the roll bars bolted in place . Still have to finish the grommets. Hope to have all the rest of the stuff on and bring it home tomorrow.

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[wallace18]

Today I got the MK4 about 90% done and brought it home from Huegenics. I had my buddy Bill help me with it today as well. We are going to build him one in July. I hope to finish mine up the next few days and get it titled and tagged by the end of the month.

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[Aso544]

Looks awesome!!! Great job


Mac

[flynntuna]

Absolutely stunning!

[jwsnake56]

Go-Carted the chassis today with the new 347 Stroker from Blueprint. Ran great! Very happy with the result. Now I am in waiting mode for body to be finished at paint shop.

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I ordered my kit in December and had it delivered the first week of May. I had to wait until it was warm enough to work in my garage... and get some other projects done first. While I was waiting yours was one of the threads I followed as my build plan is very similar. I am at the point where I need to order my powertrain and I have been seriously considering the Blueprint 306 with Al heads or the 331 with iron heads as both are within $100 of each other. I am somewhat skeptical of the claimed 390hp from the 306. It seems a little high for 9.5:1 compression ratio and not too radical of a cam. But, I'm not really looking for a monster engine, more of a streetable cruiser. So maybe i'm better off with the 331??
I was wondering what you had to do to the oil pan, dip stick, and pickup? The Blueprint crate engines all seem to come in a rear sump configuration. Was this a big issue for you? Also I am interested in what you did for a your accessory drive. Being in NE Ohio I'm adding heater/defroster but I see you did A/C. I'm planning power steering so the belt system is something I also need to sort out. I love the dual quads, but that would be a second carb that I would have to dial in.
Thanks for the thread.
John S.

[wallace18]

I would go with the 331 if it was me. More cubes is always better. Though these cars are fast with a stock 302, IMO. I went with the Vintage air front runner system, A little pricey but well worth it IMO. There is no problem with any type of sump. It is all clear underneath. There are tons of options for your belt setup. Check out Summit or some of the FFR vendors here in the forum list. They are a great source. Feel free to ask me any questions that arise and I will do my best to help. Best of luck and enjoy your build.

[jwsnake56]

I would go with the 331 if it was me. More cubes is always better. Though these cars are fast with a stock 302, IMO. I went with the Vintage air front runner system, A little pricey but well worth it IMO. There is no problem with any type of sump. It is all clear underneath. There are tons of options for your belt setup. Check out Summit or some of the FFR vendors here in the forum list. They are a great source. Feel free to ask me any questions that arise and I will do my best to help. Best of luck and enjoy your build.

Thanks so much. It is always best to hear right from someone with actual experience. I was under the impression that only a front sump would clear the frame or mounts. The Roush at the Mott build school had a giant 8qt Canton front sump unit on the 331 that they build. Glad to hear that I would not have to mess with the bottom side and discard parts. Your advice about displacement is exactly what the gentleman from Roush said also. That a milder built higher displacement would be more driver friendly that a higher tuned smaller motor. I like the look of the Al heads but I need to stay in my budget and the much higher HP and torque add a whole new level. I'll probably go with the 331 and use the $100 I save towards a hydraulic clutch setup. What is nice for me is that I am a 20 minute drive from Summit in Tallmadge, OH. I was just there on Saturday to pick up some Lizard Skin for the outside of my footboxes. One of my concerns is that in Ohio the registration process is at least as much about taxing what you spent on your build as it is about anything else. I need to find out if I get the drivetrain through Summit and pay sales tax at time of sale, do I get a credit back when I register the finished car. I had been looking at March Performance but I will check out Vintage Air as well.
Your body work and paint turned out really nice. I hope the shop we have here in town does as nice a job for me this fall. My plan is to have the car to them by Thanksgiving and let them take their time over the winter with it. They like to work in projects like these in between the bread and butter insurance collision work.
Thanks for the advice and enjoy your finished toy. Do you have plans for the next project yet?
John S.