Ricks Build Thread MK4

[carlewms]

Rick,

Congratulations on this significant achievement ... Soon you will be go karting!

[RickP]

Rick,

Congratulations on this significant achievement ... Soon you will be go karting!

Thank you! I feel a major sense of accomplishment reaching this point in the build. Now I am pushing to get the driveline installed. That will be another huge milestone.

[RickP]

Thought I would post some progress made as of late. I recently purchased the Breeze Seat installation kit for the classic seats. Mark recommends not installing the kit until after the carpet is installed but I rarely listen to reasoning... The kit consists of two plates; one mounts to the frame/cockpit floor via rivets, and another plate in which the seat is bolted too and then subsequently mounted to the floor plate via a couple of knobs and 1/2 nuts. I really like Mark's stuff as it's well thought out and he explains the installation thoroughly. For an MK4 with classic seats, the seat can only be adjusted by removing the seat first (from above), then adjusting the top plate to your liking. Removing the seat from above is tricky but it's all based on where you locate your attachment holes. That said, I will never adjust the seat. The one thing I did care about and what the kit offers is the support under your thighs is raised. Kind of naturally bends your knees to the correct foot pedal angle. Not the only reason I purchased the kit but it's up there as to why.

To get past "installing after the carpet is installed issue" I decided I could transfer the footprint of the bottom plate to the carpet at a later date.

First up was getting the upper plate fitted to the seat where I could access the bolts for removal/installation and then get a relative seat position. Once satisfied with the seat location, time to get the bottom plate drilled and in position.



Next I placed a paper cutout of the mirror of the carpet down and placed the plate on top and relocated the previously drilled rivet holes



Once a trace of the outside dimension of the base plate is transferred to the paper, I now have my template to be used during carpet install time.



Now the easy part: a little silicone and the correct rivets (which Mark supplies) in the right location and the base plate is down.


drivers side:


Attach the seat mount plate to the base plate with the back nuts and the front supplied knobs



and lastly (and the fun part) is mounting the seat to the top plate with 4 flat head bolts/lock nuts.



Mark recommends drilling the seat frame mounting holes on the furthest rear facing cross support but I figured there would be no way to get my sausage hands back there to get the nut under a bolt, so I moved them inward and the next nearest cross member. In hindsight, after installing the seats once using the "from above method" I would cut the mounting holes slightly different and not reuse the front pre-drilled holes. The setup I currently have will do just fine but if I was adjusting the seat all the time, I would make the bolt holes more accessible.

I'll close with some "first" impressions after sinking my butt into the drivers seat for the first time as I have never had the pleasure driving one of these cars let alone never sat in one.

I'm just shy of 6' medium build and if your a big boy, your gonna be pinching for room. Maybe a different seat setup but what struck me most is this is not a car you get into, you feel as if the car is built around you. In short, you wear it. My very next impression was a growing sense of a healthy fear of the car. I don't consider myself a sissy when it comes to cars. I've owned motorcycles all my life and raced them back in the day. Also owned some notable "fast" cars as well. That said, and I know owners of these cars can probably identify with me is I don't think I will ever be able to master driving the car to it's limit. I don't have a motor in it yet but it's taking shape and with 400 horses right in your nose and your can sitting over the drive train, I can easily envision this is a machine that your average joe cannot get into and just drive. What I am trying to say is, this is a car that needs to be respected!

[RickP]

[WIS89]

Rick-

She looks great! I have to ask though... Now that the seats are in, and you just got your wheels and tires installed, are you getting some friends together to push you up and down the driveway while you make engine noises? I have to tell you, I know that I would be doing that every day!!

Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing your powerplant installed!

Regards,

Steve

[RickP]

Rick-

She looks great! I have to ask though... Now that the seats are in, and you just got your wheels and tires installed, are you getting some friends together to push you up and down the driveway while you make engine noises? I have to tell you, I know that I would be doing that every day!!

Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing your powerplant installed!

Regards,

Steve

Your too funny and yes, if I could get some friends together that could keep a secret (and they can't), I surely would be running up and down the driveway. Gathering last minute parts to get the engine dropped in. Seems somewhere along the lines I forgot to obtain a throw out bearing and an inner clutch bearing. As always......waiting on parts. Ha!

[RickP]

I decided to take a step forward and get the motor/trans installed in the car. With the help of my son, we buttoned up the flywheel, clutch, and bell housing and mated the transmission. I remember the tense feeling as the assembly was hanging on its own several feet above the garage floor. I equate that same feeling of hanging a hand built motor over a hand built car to launching a brand new boat in a cross wind for the first time with a wife who has no clue what to do and a 4 yo and 2 yo who could care less. Same tense "what can go wrong feeling".





Gulp!






this is the point where your blood pressure starts to fall.


and as expected, nothing goes without a "hitch". I have a fitment issue with the power steering pump which is being addressed in this thread.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...647#post246647

Yesterday, I got the transmission A frame bolted in and the motor and trans torqued to their perches. It's blazing hot on the east coast for the next couple of days which gives me time to research on what to do about my fitment issue. Other than that, she's in......

[MPTech]

Congrats, you're just beginning to hit the "Fun Milestones"!
Dropping the engine in the first time: Cool
Starting the engine the first time: Even Cooler
First Go-Kart: Ubber Cool
Painted, Licensed, and first legal Street Drive: well, I guess you'll have to wait to see!

btw, has anyone taught you the proper way to enter and exit a Cobra? (seriously!)
step into the car first (don't sit, then try to pull your legs in) some step on the seat, then the upper floor, grab the top/back of the seat, and slide your butt down and legs forward.

when exiting, grab the back of the seat and use your legs to kinda standup in the car, THEN STEP OVER the sidepipes and exit

practice and demonstrate to your passengers, this is easier (especially for adults) and will go a long way to preventing leg burns
My passengers and I have never been burned following this procedure (my nephew was burned because he did not listen to me)

GOOD LUCK, build looks GREAT!

[RickP]

Congrats, you're just beginning to hit the "Fun Milestones"!
Dropping the engine in the first time: Cool
Starting the engine the first time: Even Cooler
First Go-Kart: Ubber Cool
Painted, Licensed, and first legal Street Drive: well, I guess you'll have to wait to see!

btw, has anyone taught you the proper way to enter and exit a Cobra? (seriously!)
step into the car first (don't sit, then try to pull your legs in) some step on the seat, then the upper floor, grab the top/back of the seat, and slide your butt down and legs forward.

when exiting, grab the back of the seat and use your legs to kinda standup in the car, THEN STEP OVER the sidepipes and exit

practice and demonstrate to your passengers, this is easier (especially for adults) and will go a long way to preventing leg burns
My passengers and I have never been burned following this procedure (my nephew was burned because he did not listen to me)

GOOD LUCK, build looks GREAT!

each step (no pun) is a milestone to me. Getting closer with each box emptying is very satisfying. And I was wondering how you folks get in and out of the car "gracefully". I'm glad you shared your experience because I didn't want to ask. Kinda like my GF getting on and off my Harley. Seems to be different every time. Somehow she gets it done but it's awkward to watch.

[RickP]

Not much going on in Rick's garage other than grunt work. As an afterthought, I decided to incorporate a cutoff switch after mounting the battery. Just makes life much easier. I needed a starter and while I was at it, ordered the cutoff switch, and remote solenoid. All from Breeze. I looked into bypassing the remote solenoid all together (sure would of made wiring a lot easier) but in the end, it does offer some pro's to have the solenoid remote. I find electrical wiring exciting but in reality, it's grunt work and especially in a garage that's reaching 105 degrees for the last 12 days in a row. I will for sure remember this part of the build as I put "literally" my blood, sweat, and tears into it.

The dash wiring wire up is 99.9% complete all except for testing it out. It's looks worse than it actually is. The white double wire in the forefront wires to the tach but I'm holding off connecting it as I question what terminal on the back of the tach it goes too.



I'm running a front mount battery location so it seems the obvious choice was to mount the cutoff switch under the 2" square tube on the transmission upper panel.



I made sure I spent some time getting a really solid chassis ground. Steel Rivsert backed by a 3/8 steel bolt, minus the powder coat. Here I ran the battery ground, alternator, and starter motor grounds.



I pretty much followed what many have done as far as the solenoid to starter wiring. Pretty straight forward stuff.



I figured since I was getting through the "grunt stuff", I might as well tackle the driveshaft. I took the driveshaft from my donor to the same folks who rebuilt my 8.8. They told me it would be easier for them to just build me something rather than cut mine down so I opted to go that route. Set me back 360 bucks but I could of kept it under 300 if I didn't lose my yoke and flange in the myriad of boxes/parts.

all I had to do was get some paint on it and install.



Of course, when someone builds you something custom, you fret installing it. She fit like a glove and took no time to install.


I will say this to anyone who is researching an FFR build or new to an MK4 like myself or just following along. If there is one upgrade I am so glad I got it would be the Ron Francis wiring harness. It is worth every cent spent on it. I am by far an electrical genius but the harness is so well thought out, especially when you get to wiring the engine bay. I complicated the matter with a Russ Thompson turn signal system but even with that, it beats trying to wire up a dirty old OEM harness. For me, the wiring of the car has been the most difficult part of the project.

[RickP]

I haven't updated this thread in some time. I saw where another forum member was asking about the Breeze Hidden Hinge install so I figured I'd post some pics.



the hinge assembly will get powder coat then reinstalled.


with cowl mocked up. I will fasten using rivnuts.


On another note, I went back and focused on the behind the dash wiring by wiring everything through distribution blocks.


And while at it, I decided to close up the bottom of the dash flush with matching dash material, two under dash lights, and a power port (lousy pic, can't see it).


A few more items to address and I will start focusing on fitting the body.

[RickP]

I was having a little fun this morning in the garage and in staying with theme of making the car as serviceable as possible, I decided to close up the trunk fuel pump/sender access holes.

first I set out to get some general orientation of what is "straight" by masking off and doing some marking and measuring.

next I piloted some 1/8 holes for clecos

I wanted to make the panels removable in the event I need to get to the pump or sending unit so I drilled 1/4 holes to accept 8-32nd rants.


I like using the poly-serts over the sleeve type rivnuts but knowing my grip would be minimal with the sheet metal, I backed the nuts with a little JB-Weld.

after that, a test fit and repeat for the other side.

[blitzkreig baja]

Thanks for the hinge pics, Rick. I will be using one on my roadster Too.

[RickP]

For all those FiTech users out there I figured I would share a couple of pics of something I did. One of the reasons I bought the FiTech is for the real-time engine function readout it offers. Not that it's needed other than for initial setup, but it sure would be nice to know exactly what all engine functions are doing while the wheels are turning. Gauges are great, but not exactly accurate. I've already found out my water temp gauge is about 10 degrees off.

For a long time, I have been thinking how nice would it be to have the FiTech controller mounted in the cockpit area. Removable, adjustable, and "at hand" when needed (and not in the way).

I ended up running the controller wire through the firewall from the motor into and behind the dash. I purchased a Ram Mount setup (ball base mount, 6" arm, and cradle). I've used these mounts before with my motorcycles and they work very nicely. With this setup, I can move the controller up under the dash and out of way, remove it altogether, or adjust the cradle as needed.



lousy pic of the mount but that's it bolted to the underside of the dash panel.





Total cost, 60 bucks for the Ram Mount setup and 1.50 for mounting hardware.

[RickP]

I haven't posted to my build thread in quite some, doesn't mean I haven't been working hard. I wanted to share the installation of the side louvers. Just so everyone knows, this is not my idea, rather EdwardB's found in a couple of posts in his Anniversary build thread. Whenever I get stuck on something or wonder what is the best approach, I always fall back on Paul's Anniversary build thread. I consider myself a struggling perfectionist but I'm sure like many on this forum, we all aspire to reach Paul's abilities. Not that there aren't any just as experienced builders on this forum, but Paul goes above and beyond documenting every detail from soup to nuts. You can pretty much chuck the manual and just build a car from his thread alone. I've borrowed ideas from many on this forum but for this particular task, Paul needs to be mentioned.

The kit supplied louvers are a stamped piece of sheet in which one bends the fins to some orientation, and then silicone to the body. I've spent countless dollars, time, and effort on this build and this part will not do. Like many, I purchased the pre-assembled side Louvers from Finish Line. I don't have anything to compare it too but I suspect they are the same as found as an upgrade on the FFR website (out of stock currently). These are assembled, and brackets for mounting are supplied.

I spent many hours researching on the best approach for mounting these louvers. Many ways to do it. From Velcro to homemade boned brackets.

Before I begin, I have to say this... When Paul depicts a certain part, if it's not kit supplied, he notes it and more importantly for ALL of us, he provides the part number and where he got it. Huge time saver for us newbies. Now the part I always wonder about. "How does he know?" Some way some how, he had to figure it out. He either spends countless hours looking in the McMaster Carr catalogue OR it's trial and error OR somewhere along the way, someone has shared the love. I suspect a combination of all three. Nonetheless, lets get too it!

Total cost of project (I'm guessing) 150 bucks. Paul tends to lean towards 10/32 hardware, I prefer 8/32. You will need:

1. Side Louvers (********** or FFR) pre-assembled.
2. 3M High Strength Resin Filler
3. some small spreaders
4. two paint sticks
5. rubber bands
6. two cloths pins
7. 2 packs Bonding Fasteners (McMaster Carr part#97590A569) you need 8 but they come in packs of 5. These are 10/32 thread x 1-1/4" stud. (again, how did Paul find these?)
8. (16) - #12 stainless steels flat washers
9. (4) - 10/32 stainless steel nylon lock nuts
10. (8) - 10/32 stainless steel nuts
11. (8) - 8/32 stainless steel locknuts
12. (8) - 8/32 stainless steel button head screws.

A preview of the bonding fasteners. These will require a slight modification later. For now, this is what I'm talking about.




First up is to determine what side is what. Fit each louvers and mark it orientation with a piece of tape on the outside of the louvers.

The second order of business is to mount the brackets to the louvers.



The devil is in the detail here. The object is to not see any bolts holding the brackets to the louvers unless one looks very hard. You can't see it in the pic above (it's meant to show you the orientation of the brackets). Rather, it's important to align the bracket with the correct spacing.

If you notice the top to bottom spacing of the bracket, the drilling can be done by eye by sighting down a fin and making a mark on the bracket. You need the space between the face of the louver and the bent side of the bracket for a mounting nut. You can see the spacing in the next couple of pics.

tab and drill (be careful, the brackets are thin material). I used my dads 70 year old Stanley hand drill to pilot a hole and enlarged to 8/32 from there.



Mark the louver using the now created holes on the side bracket and drill. Again, be careful as to not scratch the fins when the bit goes through. Now mount the bracket using the 8/32 button heads/nylon lock nuts (Paul uses 3 bolts, I used 2). Choice is up to interpretation.



Here's shot of noting how the button head bolts are tucked up behind the fins.


Now is the time to modify the bonding fasteners as mentioned before. I put it in a vice carefully and cut using an cut off tool. A little TLC with a hand file and they are ready for mounting.

[RickP]

In order to mount the body mounts to the louvers, I used the same method as before. Precision is not really needed at this point but it is important to not allow the body mount base to overlap the louvers (this would be the edge of the body cut-out).



Now a little pre-assembly using washers/nuts.





Don't screw the nut down all the way to the body mount base.



Attach to the louvers with another washer and nylon lock nut.



go ahead and attach them all.

[RickP]

Now the fun part.

You need to find a way to temporarily hold the louvers in place while you can position them, yet be able to keep them in place long enough to allow the HSRF to cure. I used Paul's method using paint sticks, rubber bands, and cloths pins.


anything to hold the rubber bands in place while the paint sticks run through them.





Once you get the exact position you desire, tape the back. Make sure the mount is flat against the body and the cut is facing up towards the body cut out. Also make sure the nut facing closest to the body is not bottomed out.



Now, I've never had the pleasure of working with HSRF but the goal here is to just get the body mounts to stick, and not get any on the body stud post threads or worse, sock the nut in place. A little of this stuff goes a long way. Another word of caution, if you start hitting the setup threshold of the filler, just stop. It makes things worse of you glopping filler on. Less is more here. I can't give any advise on the filler to resin ratio but you want it be a light green when mixed. Still, you will need to work fast and carefully. Again, the goal is to get the post to stick at this point. Carefully apply the filler using a small scraper and do not get any on the nut or threaded post.



Now give this time to setup. I let it cure over night.

a little over zealous on the filler here:



Once the filler has cured, I removed the louver (leave the bottom nut in place if you plan to shorten the studs). I sanded using 60 grit and re-applied more filler to really set the studs. A little more sanding and I'm ready for final assembly.

Before doing so, I shorted the studs. If you choose to do this, now is not the time for a power tool. A good old hack saw is the way to go as the posts are fine thread. Clean the ends of threaded posts with a hand file and back the nut back off the post to re-align any botched threads.

Now reinstall the louvers



viola!

[RickP]

[edwardb]

Nice write-up! Great detailed explanations and pictures. Glad my thread was able to help. I found out in my very first build thread that forum members really appreciated detail and especially part numbers. So I've made a habit of cutting and pasting them into my build threads. Easy to do from the detailed spreadsheet files I keep of my builds. The one suggestion I would make when bonding to the body with HSRF is to rough up the area on the body. I use 40 grit paper and then clean with solvent like lacquer thinner or acetone. Then stick the part into the roughened glass. Your louvers should be fine since they're not real heavy or high stress. But something to keep in mind especially for more heavy duty applications.

As far as finding stuff on McMaster, I really don't spend a lot of time at it. I find their website to be very well organized. Using the various filters once you get into the right general area plus the product details (e.g. dimensioned drawings) I can usually find what I need very quickly. If they don't have it (or my local Ace) I figure I don't need it. Summit Racing is another website I find to be similarly easy to find what I'm looking for. As a former IT guy I find clicking around on sites like these to be pretty easy pickings. They make it way to easy to spend my money.

[RickP]

The man himself chimes in. Thank you and also thanks for the extra tip on roughing up the surface. Instructions on the HSRF do say to do this but the louvers are much lighter than I thought they would be. Like the kliener tail light mod, this should be known as the edwardb louvers mod.

P.S - I know what you did with the two extra stud mounts I plan on mounting the elephant ears in the same fashion. For that, I will be sure to rough up the area to be bonded.

[carlewms]

Rick,

I too have followed EdwardB's methods and I am getting ready to install the side louvers shortly. One quick question ... It appears that the aligned the "side" (the one extending to the inside of the compartment) of the L shaped bracket so it was parallel and even with the inside face of the louvers ... Am I seeing that correctly?



Great tutorial ... thanks for posting.

Carl

[RickP]

Rick,

I too have followed EdwardB's methods and I am getting ready to install the side louvers shortly. One quick question ... It appears that the aligned the "side" (the one extending to the inside of the compartment) of the L shaped bracket so it was parallel and even with the inside face of the louvers ... Am I seeing that correctly?



Great tutorial ... thanks for posting.

Carl

Parallel, yes. As far as even, doesn't matter. In this pic, (the bottom of the pic is the outside facing of the louver). my bracket is probably a 32nd to 16th an inch from the edge. It can be eye balled. You don't want to have the bracket any closer towards the outside of the louver (down in the pic) as the nut/washer combo closet to the body needs room to allow the louver to sit as flush to the body as possible.


A note regarding "sitting flush to the body"

Paul notes in his thread that the louvers themselves are not machined "flat". His level of perfection led him to shave off a little material of the rearward facing of the louver itself. I didn't go to that extent. The positioning of the bracket as I have it, or flush with the edge as you note, allows for a slight adjustability with the underside nut. When installed, the gap on my drivers side louver between the body and the louver (when sighting from the front the of the car) is about 16th to an 1/8. You cannot tell from the outside of the car.

[RickP]

I haven't been updating this thread so I figured I would show some progress on my part. I managed to get the initial fitment of the side pipes complete this weekend and I thought I should roll er out into the driveway and snap a few pics. Still a ton of work to do but I am happy of the progress made thus far.

[RickP]

I have a lot of tweaking left to do but I am nearing a point where I feel confident I can start the PA registration process.

[GoDadGo]

Okay Rick,

You Sealed The Deal On My Car Being Red With A Smooth Hood!
Even In Ye Olde Red Gelcoat She's Quite The Beauty!

Stve

[RickP]

Okay Rick,

You Sealed The Deal On My Car Being Red With A Smooth Hood!
Even In Ye Olde Red Gelcoat She's Quite The Beauty!

Stve

Thanks Steve,

I'm going to run her in gel coat (once I get past registration) for a bit and then somehow convince Jeff Kleiner to finish her off in dark gray/black stripes.

[awd-turbo]

What shifter, and shift knob did you get? I like the look of it.

[RickP]

What shifter, and shift knob did you get? I like the look of it.

The shift handle is from ********** Accessories 427 T handle T-5, It is a 1/2 x 20 . The ball came from TwistedShifterz part F1002EN-5R-DR-wht. This ball is not to be confused with the one Breeze sells. It's bigger and has the correct threading for that particular shifter. Marks is slightly smaller and a different thread insert, but same logo/shift pattern.

Some don't care for the shifter but I really like how it "kicks" in toward the driver and lands your hand in a natural position when shifting.