Wareaglescott's Coyote build thread - INDEX ADDED TO POST #1

[M3ichael]

Hey wareaglescott,
Your posts have been very helpful.
Been lurking on some of the build forums and have some concerns about the parts that come from FFR missing, being incorrect size or just the wrong one. They seem to not ship the complete kit and just send what they got which is understandable but its seem the owner has to follow up and not the other way round. Read some posts where shipping boxes appear from FFR unexpectedly and work has to be re-done, sometimes not so easy.
Tracking this issues with the customers seems to be a bit off and not to mention probably really tedious. I will say from what I've read FFR are very helpful in getting your issue resolved and that's kinda reassuring but the bend it with your hands comment from the post above is a little concerning as well. Why don't they just send you the correct part? No questions.

I'll keep reading and taking notes, measure twice, check the manual, take a pic, check the forums, call FFR and then cut.

[wareaglescott]

Hey wareaglescott,
Your posts have been very helpful.
Been lurking on some of the build forums and have some concerns about the parts that come from FFR missing, being incorrect size or just the wrong one. They seem to not ship the complete kit and just send what they got which is understandable but its seem the owner has to follow up and not the other way round. Read some posts where shipping boxes appear from FFR unexpectedly and work has to be re-done, sometimes not so easy.
Tracking this issues with the customers seems to be a bit off and not to mention probably really tedious. I will say from what I've read FFR are very helpful in getting your issue resolved and that's kinda reassuring but the bend it with your hands comment from the post above is a little concerning as well. Why don't they just send you the correct part? No questions.

I'll keep reading and taking notes, measure twice, check the manual, take a pic, check the forums, call FFR and then cut.

I have definitely had my fair share of shipping errors. I'm not a huge fan of paying for everything up front and it getting to you when it gets to you. I am a type A control freak by nature so I was very proactive on checking up on backordered parts on a regular basis. Whether or not it got me anything quicker I have no idea but at least I knew they were aware of what I needed. For whatever FFR lacks in shipping efficiency they make up for in customer service. I have 2 backorders parts remaining but won't need them until final assembly.

Also another point about some of my concerns/complaints I mention in my thread. My previous automotive experience was rotating tires or an oil change. This was a pretty big leap for me. In my opinion the instruction manual leaves a LOT to be desired. However it is probably not written for someone of my experience level. There is no way I could build this thing without a couple of experienced build mentors that I have leaned on heavily with countless questions. The generosity and help from people on this forum is spectacular. Every step of the way is brand new for me. I am sure if/when I build a second one I will have much less issues with the instructions and parts and will know just what to do.

Last thing, with regards to the power steering hoses I believe they sent me the correct parts. I found the directions particularly poor for these and I think they used the same hoses but did a considerable amount of bending to make them work as pictured and they completely failed to mention that. I am really gun shy about bending the tubes particularly since they had to send 3 power steering racks before I got one that didn't have one of the preinstalled tubes bent and kinked up. I made it work without bending. If that turns out to be a problem where I have them positioned I will have to rethink my install.

Anyone with more automotive experience will definitely have an easier go and think the directions are more adequate. I do enjoy the learning process.

[M3ichael]

You hit on something I've been thinking about is the instruction manual. Coming from a really inexperienced level as well, would like to see a merger of the instruction manual and all the helpful tips, tricks, do this don't do that, recommendations etc. Wonder if it could be done on the forum or might have been already attempted. Updating would be easy as the forum members are really helpful with this. Factory Five MK4 build for Dummies..... a reference book for the rest.

I've already learned so much in a little bit of time since I've been here on the forum. Referencing and trying to remember where was that post later on in the build would certainly help.

[wareaglescott]

I started working on the coyote harness this morning. This is a challenging step for me as I do not have a good understanding of wiring, I am just going to take it slow. I started with cutting out three unused connectors for the supercharger intercooler and a pair for air conditioning. Not much to show here in pictures as it is mainly just running wires.

Here is the computer hooked up to the two main harnesses. I have some tie wraps temporarily holding it to the frame rail until I am sure I won't have to move the wires again and then I plan to use some padded clamps to permanently attach it.


I do have one area of concern. The directions specify to route the wires away from heat sources as much as possible. The plug into the alternator is very close to the header. I would say about 1/2". There is nothing I can do about the position. Is there anything I can do to provide additional heat protection to the wires? Some sort of wrap or something?


Did not get a lot done today. Have to travel for the next couple days. Back at it Thursday.

[unrealmach1]

You could try this product to protect the wires from your exhaust.
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/hsp...OTYaAjSM8P8HAQ

[wareaglescott]

You could try this product to protect the wires from your exhaust.
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/hsp...OTYaAjSM8P8HAQ

Thank you. That looks like a good possibility! I was just about to post a question on the regular board for a little more visibility but this looks like a winner.

[wareaglescott]

After a couple good suggestions relating to my previous concern about the alternator plugs proximity to the headers I decided on an aluminum tape product from summit that provides protection up to 2000 degrees. I think that should be sufficient. I am satisfied that it should not be an issue now. I also found a couple other areas on the harness that I wrapped for some additional heat protection.


After that I ended up doing the power wiring forward of the firewall. I incorporated a master cutoff switch. Not much to show in pictures. I followed EdwardB's build thread pretty much exact and he did a great job documenting that. I did make my own harness for the battery cable, starter cable, and ground. I had never done anything like that so I was proud how that worked out.


I did use the Breeze forward battery mount so that made the runs a little easier and I was able to cut a lot of length out of the provided harness.

My next goal is to plumb the cooling system, heater and redo the power steering lines. I had previously mentioned my dissatisfaction with the provided power steering lines. I couldn't live with it so I ended up ordering some stainless braided lines and fittings from Breeze. My goal is to finish everything up forward of the firewall and then work back to the dash and cockpit wiring.

[wareaglescott]

Doing a couple small projects today.
I took out my previously installed power steering hoses I was unhappy with. Parts to make the new ones come today. It is amazing how it took hours to figure out a way to get them in and 3 minutes to get them out!

I had previously run one engine ground when I was installing the forward battery tray. I read it was good practice to have a 2nd ground. I used the one in the kit and mounted it to a bolt on the front of the engine just above the oil pan and ran it to the engine mount frame piece. This picture is from below.


After that I was working on the coyote harness. I had previously hooked up the portion in the engine compartment except the cooling fan and the clip that goes into the air intake as those are not in place yet. Today I worked on the cockpit portion. I am scared to death of the day I have to do any work in the upper drivers footbox area. That area is scary full!!

Couple questions:
1. I mounted the OBD port here:


No dash in place yet. Does this location look to be any problem when everything else is in position?

2. The next part of the coyote install is the 16 pin connector. The instructions call for soldering the wires. I have never soldered before. Is it a must or is a butt connection with heat shrink an acceptable alternative?

[wareaglescott]

No progress to report today.
I am excited that my custom fender badges showed up in the mail today. 3 months to the day from when I ordered them. They are very nice. Cant wait to put them on the car.

[wareaglescott]

Continuing to work on wiring. Today I worked on the coyote pigtail. Also I needed a harness from the cockpit area running down the left side of the motor with hookups for the tach, alternator, water temp, and oil pressure.

I ran it down the left top side of the motor where it will be hidden by the engine cover.
First stop after coming through the firewall was the #7 cylinder to splice into the wire to make the tach work. Thanks to great directions from Edward B this was quite easy. First time I have ever used a splice piece like this. It seemed simple enough. Hopefully it will work. I know I will have to calibrate the tach when I get it running. After the pic I wrapped it nicely in electrical tape to match everything else and protect it some.


After that I went around to the alternator. I am attaching the harness to some of the other wiring harnesses along that route with zip ties. The oil pressure and water temp senders are quite close to the headers. I have no idea how heat sensitive these items are so I may have gone overboard on the aluminum heat tape. It will ultimately be tucked in so you won't really see this portion of the harness. I just had it sitting like this for the picture. You can see the hookups for the alternator, oil pressure and water temp.


After that I needed to hook up to the oil pressure sender. Unfortunately the bolts on the end of it were pretty delicate and one broke requiring me to take the sending unit out. That was the end of the harness running for today. I must give factory five credit as they already have another one on the way to me.


Luckily right after I realized I was dead in the water on that project UPS showed up with the bus bar I ordered. Mounted that up and hooked it up.

UPS also brought me the last fitting I was waiting on so I could finish up my redone power steering lines. Much happier with them now. They are all hooked up and I have on my short term project list to put the fluid in and bleed the system. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I can do that.

[Duke]

Before you button up your wiring around the alt. check you J-pipe fittings on the driver side. You may run into the same issue I have (J-pipe flange hitting the motor mount). It's easier to grind a notch with the wires out of the way.

[Jeff Kleiner]

UPS also brought me the last fitting I was waiting on so I could finish up my redone power steering lines. Much happier with them now. They are all hooked up and I have on my short term project list to put the fluid in and bleed the system. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I can do that.

Good to hear that the fittings and hoses worked out

Jeff

[wareaglescott]

Finished up the power steering and got the system bled. I had previously mentioned my dissatisfaction with the hoses in the FFR coyote power steering kit. I got some stainless braided hoses with a black coating on them from Breeze as well as the needed fittings. It ended up being a couple hundred more but I think worthwhile. I guess at this point $200 isn't going to matter much!

I got a great tip from Jeff Kleiner on putting a 3/8' hex bit in the drill and turning the pump to bleed the system. Worked great and one less thing to worry about when first start time comes around. I had to remove the forward battery to get the drill in place.


Here is a picture of where the lines and reservoir ended up. Lot of black in there so it kind of blends together.


After that I went to work on the wiring some more. I actually got done with everything I can do until the dash is in place. I guess that means I better get to work on that.
It is certainly not pretty but here is everything crammed in the upper footbox area. Zip tied the lines in place so there is no interference with the steering shaft or master cylinders.


Here is everything left over that has been cut out of the harness so far. Thanks to EdwardB for numerous messages coaching me through it. The forward battery location seemed to simplify some of the runs and contributed a fair amount of bulk to this box.

I do have a question. I learned another rookie lesson. I had some ground wires running through a nice hole in the upper area of the footbox. Thought I was pretty slick putting them there until I realized that was the hole used for the windshield mounting! I moved the grounds out of the hole and around the side. Is this location going to cause me any issue with how the windshield mounts? Haven't even taken it out of the box to look but I am hoping if I am away from the holes I should be good.


One frustrating bit today. I had ordered the coyote air intake kit from summit. It is packaged as a kit for FFR coyotes. When I went to install the air filter it is a good 2" to long. The pic has it sitting above the frame rail. I know it does not mount that way but I was just putting it like that to show the excess length in the picture. There is no possible way this will fit. I went to look at summit and there were even reviews it was to long. I guess I should have been more careful about reading the reviews before ordering but I assumed if something is specifically packaged for our cars it would all work. I have a shorter K&N on the way from summit.


Working on the heater install now. What a pain in the rear. Kind of wish I would not have even ordered it but now that I have my firewall chopped up I will press on and hope for the best!

[wareaglescott]

Today my intentions were to mount my expansion tank and run the upper and lower radiator hoses.
I made 3 brackets for the expansion tank and mounted it up. I was concerned about how much room I needed for the hood hinges so I put it as far over as I could get it without it interfering with the air intake tube. Real happy with how that went.


After that I did the final mount of the radiator and moved on to the upper and lower radiator hoses. I bought the parts from Breeze for each of these. I was having trouble to get them to line up. I have the newer radiator with the angled outlets. I have never had any problems with Breeze parts before so I was surprised to be having issues. After a couple calls to Mark at Breeze and emailing him some pictures he determined I had installed my radiator upside down!! UGGHH what a pain that was. I had no idea but the outlets need to be pointing up and mine were pointing down. Not sure how I missed that but there are no pictures of the newer radiator in the build manual for reference. To make things worse I had the breeze upper and lower radiator mount kits and the fan shroud. All of that stuff took me a couple hours to drill out the rivets and redo and remount. I really appreciate how Mark supports his products. Highly recommend dealing with him.

So anyways a couple hours later that was done and the upper and lower hoses went on no problem just as they should. Also hooked up the hoses to the expansion tank except for one that is on backorder and should be here next week.

I also was able to mount up the air intake. I must give summit credit. About 16 hours after I called and complained about the other one being to long to fit in the car a new one showed up on my doorstep. They sure can ship quickly!


Really liking seeing the engine bay near completion. Hopefully a couple more weeks and this thing will start making some noise!

[wareaglescott]

Not much to report today as the majority of the day was devoted to yard work.
I did receive a package I was waiting on with the weather pack connectors. I am using them on the fan plug and lights on the advice of my build mentor. The last remaining electrical item I had in the engine compartment was to hook up the fan so I did want to take care of that today.

Lesson of the day - the weather pack connectors are pretty slick but as usual for me there is a learning curve! Should have ordered some extra male and female connectors over what I needed. I messed a couple up figuring out how to crimp them as every instructional video and online source I could find showed a different style crimp tool than the one I ordered and mine has some numbers on it and no directions. It is all figured out now and want I wanted to accomplish was a simple plug for the fan which I got done. I will have to order more for the lights but whats a couple dollars more for shipping! ha



I do have a question:
I am letting the coyote computer control the fan. So I had the power wire coming into the weather pack from the coyote harness. I know I also need a ground wire coming into the weather pack. On the Ron Francis harness there were three wires for the fan. One was a ground wire. Even though I am not using the other two wires can I still use that ground wire? I assume it is going back to a ground point somewhere? Should I have just grounded a wire right in the vicinity of the fan and ran that to the plug instead of using the pre-existing wire in the harness?

[grluisi150]

The engine ground point is under the passenger side motor mount, that's what I used for my fan.

Gary

[wareaglescott]

Today I worked on mounting the dash. I wanted it to be removable and I did not want to see screws going through the dash covering material. As usual I followed Edwardb's lead. While looking on McMaster for some mounting options I came across these:

They are called aligning weld nuts and are for a 10-32 screw. I drilled the holes in the flat parts for rivets. I liked these because the nut has the ability to angle and move a little so it just gives you a little room for error when installing them. The back of it is a square housing. It was a real pain to get them in the 3/4 tube but it ended up working out great. Once you tighten down the bolt there is no play. I drilled a hole then filed it out to allow the square to fit up in the tube. Then put some JB Weld on the flat parts and put a rivet through each side. I am quite confident it will not be moving.


I had previously cut some angle iron in 2" pieces. My plan was to mount that to the back of the dash and the aligning weld nut. Then with an extension on a hex socket I can just reach up and unscrew the dash.



I mounted them in locations that should be easy enough to access. Well as easy as possible I guess in the congested area once all the wires are in place.



Here is the dash mounted. You can see the 6 bolts attaching the angle iron to the dash. I just have the stock thin dash so I did not really have the option of countersinking the bolt heads to sit flush. I did get some real low profile bolts and they are close to flush. I am going to mess with the foam padding on the dash covering material and hopefully they will not be visible unless you know right where to look.



I used the stock dash supports that came with the kit. They were previously powder coated when I had everything else done. Put a couple rivet nuts in the part that connects to the lower dash lip.

This took me all day but really pleased how it came out. I am really slow on the jobs that require very tight precision for the parts to line up perfectly. Now with 7 10-32 bolts I can take the dash of if needed and I won't have to have screws showing on the face of the dash.

[Stork]

You hit on something I've been thinking about is the instruction manual. Coming from a really inexperienced level as well, would like to see a merger of the instruction manual and all the helpful tips, tricks, do this don't do that, recommendations etc. Wonder if it could be done on the forum or might have been already attempted. Updating would be easy as the forum members are really helpful with this. Factory Five MK4 build for Dummies..... a reference book for the rest.

I've already learned so much in a little bit of time since I've been here on the forum. Referencing and trying to remember where was that post later on in the build would certainly help.

Great idea as I will also be in this spot, eventually, and will also be a green builder.

[SSNK4US]

I'm just lurking right now... Hopefully a March order (actually my wife's goal) But I've been reading most every build I can get my eyes on. I've been taking notes as what I want to do, need to do, when not to follow the manual, dash types and layouts, hydraulic or cable clutch, cable or rod throttle linkage, door panels, bodywork, etc etc yada yada bla bla...
EVERYTHING!!! Pros and cons (IMO) wants verses needs, special tools, breeze, fortes, etc...
Anyway..... There are lots of build threads... And soon to be some crazy detailed one by me lol But I've actually thought about putting something together like that... Probably not until after my build... But maybe something with things all in one place? Not having to search different threads? Just something I've been thinking about....

Kurt

[SSNK4US]

WOW great job and ingenuity on the dash mounting. It's great thoughts and ideas like that shared on here that continue to make builds better and better. Little things make a big difference.

[wareaglescott]

I mounted the horns. I was not happy with the instruction manual using 2 sheet metal screws to mount them. I ended up using a flush mounted bolt, lock washer and nut running through from the inside running through the individual horn mounts


I had originally ordered a heater and mounted the unit on the firewall. As it has come time to plumb it and wire it I was having doubts if I really wanted it. I have gotten mixed reviews on the effectiveness. I was not happy with the space it was taking up. I wasn't liking where the hoses where going to mount. I didn't like the look of the piece that would be on the dash. The last straw was I found out with the coyote you need to plumb in a bypass valve not included with the kit because the motor needs constant flow through the heater hoses into the motor. The way the FFR unit works is when the heater is off the fluid is not flowing. An electrically driven bypass valve that seemed to be the best option was another $100. I decided just to pull the unit out and I will install seat heaters instead.

I do regret hacking up the firewall to mount the heater. I made a cover plate and will get it powder coated to match. Hopefully it will blend in ok. It is not optimal but there is so much going on in the engine compartment with the coyote crammed in there I don't think it will be to bad.


Since I was not using the heater I now needed to connect the heater inlet and outlet so fluid could flow between them. On a side note the FFR coyote install instructions just say to cap off these. Ford recommends a hose and my trusted build mentor did as well so I thought it was prudent to go that route. I am not sure how FFR justifies just capping these off?? I have deviated quite a bit on the cooling system anyways vs what FFR recommends. I am more of a factory set up and feel good about that.

I had previously ordered the ford heater hoses recommended to use with the heater. They had the OEM connections needed on one end of each hose. The one on the PS was 5/8" ID and the DS was 3/4" ID. Ford also recommends a 5/16" restriction in the line. I have no idea why but one was built into the hose that attached to the DS. I ended up cutting both hoses and joining them to make my needed hose. The DS hose was cut beyond the 5/16" restrictor. I purchased a 3/4 to 5/8 coupler and joined the two hoses. Should work out nicely. This was definitely not the cheap way to go about this as those heater hoses were not cheap. However since I had them on hand I figured I'd blown enough on this aborted heater so I might as well use them.
Here is the built in restrictor and the completed hose:



I am still waiting for one hose that is in transit and 2 fittings to tap into the air intake. Once those get in I will have everything forward of the firewall complete in preparation for first start.

If anyone is looking for a heater unit I now have a mounted but never used unit for sale I will make a good deal on. All parts are there and it is in like new condition other than a little silicone residue where I attached it to the firewall as directed.

[wareaglescott]

Sort of reached a milestone today. I was waiting for a couple hoses and fittings. They showed up today and were installed. With that everything forward of the firewall is officially complete and ready for first start! Now I just need to get the dash finished up and hooked up and I will be ready to make some noise!

Here she sits ready to come to life:



After that I started to work on the dash. I determined the locations for the various switches. I ordered some different switches and a couple with guarded covers like in an airplane. They will match my fighter stick shifter.

I am working on glueing the cover material on. I am a little skeptical of the kit supplied cover. I may be upgrading this soon. At least the dash will be removable so that will be a pretty easy project at some point in the future.

I did get in a little trouble as my wife came home from school (she is a teacher) and wanted to work out in the gym and I told her I was using all of her small weights! haha They worked good to get that bottom edge to stick nicely.

[wareaglescott]

Put the car on the ground for the first time today. Man she sits low!! I wanted to set the ride height. I read 4.5" was a good height but the car settles a bit after driving some. I figured I would start at 5.5". I saw a tip on the forum that three 2x4s under the frame rail works good to get the 4.5". I did that plus I put another one through the planer and slimmed it down to 1". That gave me 5.5" and then when I am ready for 4.5" I will just unwrap the tape and take the 1" piece away. I made 4 little blocks held together with blue tape. One for each corner.


I did put 100 lbs in the trunk area to simulate some fuel. Obviously the body and seats aren't there but this was a good initial setting and I can tweak it later as needed. The new low profile jack worked out great. Wish I would have realized when I started this project the normal jack I bought was going to be useless because in the full down position it is about 6" tall!


After that I spent a considerable amount of time doing the dash wiring. Everything is hooked up. It aint pretty behind the dash but I am as confident as possible it will all work as expected. I did add a couple red guarded switches to go with my fighter stick shifter (stock shifter currently installed until the build is complete and I put the other shifter back in). I am pleased how the dash came out. The foam material on the dash pad was not as forgiving as I hoped and I can clearly see where my hidden dash mount bolts are. I am a little disappointed in that. It still looks better than screws through the face in my opinion but I may need to revisit that later and redo the dash pad.

My plan is to check everything over tomorrow morning and attempt to crank it up in the afternoon. Hoping she fires up!!

[wareaglescott]

Started the coyote up today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3GbTL3IFZg

She cranked right up on the first try. Oil pressure, voltage, water temp all looked good. Fan kicked on as expected on the second run that was a little longer. Prior to starting this morning when I was testing the electrics and the fuel pump kicked on I had a small fuel leak. I got that taken care of by tightening down the connection. I had previously pressurized the power steering system so did not worry about that. Prior to first start it took 2.2 gallons of coolant. After running for a couple minutes I stopped and the tank was still pretty full. I ended up putting the remainder of the 3rd gallon in. I am expecting it to take more because I have the exact same setup as EdwardB and he took about 3.75 gallons. I will monitor that to see where it goes.

I have the FFR shorty headers. Loved the way it sounded although it was just low RPM. I have a feeling out on the road it will be screaming. I have been doing some reading about a tune required with the different air intake and exhaust.

I have been in contact with a tuner who advised me that "It’ll run lean with that 4” maf, FYI. It has ~40% increased area compared to what the Ford Racing tune is setup for.". I have an older SCT X3 tuner I use to read fault codes on my F150 as well as a tune it has. That would not work to read the codes on the newer motor. I went ahead and ordered the X4 tuner today and he is installing a base tune that will compensate for the increased airflow. Then after I am driving it I will send him data and he will make me a custom tune. This is not a cheap endeavor. $775 for the tuner and custom tune. I feel it is a worthwhile investment. Something to look into though for Coyote builders for sure.

After a couple runs just monitoring things I pulled it the 15' or so back into the garage. The clutch and gas pedal where pretty sensitive. I really wanted to take off so I just took it real easy and babied it in. I have a list of items to accomplish before I want to go cart although my neighbor buddy is already bugging me to drive him around. haha All in good time.

Also today my Drummer Mike's polished heat shields showed up. I installed them in about 15 minutes. Went on really easy. I figured it is never to early to be careful about the burns. Everyone won't like them but I really like how they look. Basically there is a piece of header wrap around the pipe then an offset bracket attached by a clamp so no part of the heat shield is touching the pipe. I am sure they will still get warm but I believe they will help a fair amount.

[SSNK4US]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Sounds good!!!!!! GREAT job Scott!!!!!!

[wareaglescott]

Quick update- I went back down and checked the coolant level after it had cooled. Now I have put 3.5 gallons in.
Also interestingly I realized today was 100 days since delivery. Good day for a first start.

[Garry Bopp]

Scott,

I'm really impressed with your progress!! The motor sounds and looks great!

Garry

[WIS89]

Well done Scott!

The engine sounds great! The coyote engines have a really nice sound to them.

100 days to first start is good work. Very nice progress. I look forward to seeing some video of you in the neighborhood, you know, just testing things...

Regards,

Steve

[M3ichael]

That first start must have felt really good. Congrats!

[Jazzman]

Excellent Job Scott! Congratulations! 100 days is really impressive. You certainly have left me in the dust! I guess it is time to update the old signature line: First start: October 6, 2016! How soon is your body going to be done? You could be driving this thing by Christmas.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Congrats on reaching the milestone Scott!

Jeff

[Dave Howard]

I love the 1st start vids. All the time and effort invested to get to that stage....the anticipation....the anxiety. And the beautiful thing about the Coyote is VROOM. No worries. My 2012 Coyote is still screaming after 30,000. Gotta do another

[wareaglescott]

Update on the tuning. After my previous post about the tuner indicating with the 4" inlet tube the volume would be 40% more and the engine would run lean it got me wondering if that could be correct. 40% sure seems like a lot. I mentioned this to EdwardB and he made the astute observation that we had installed the 3.5" reducer in to the inlet tube as part of the FFR coyote instructions. I had completely forgot about this. My error was I did not communicate to the tuner initially that the reducer was in place and he programmed the tune accordingly for the 4" inlet. He was correct about the 40% increase in volume but that was not the actual case because of the reducer. Now he is going to update the tune for me to reflect the 3.5" inlet and then I will be able to upload it to the car.

When I ordered the tune the tuner requested some information:
engine and transmission type, rear end and transmission gearing, and any mods to the stock coyote setup. I listed the air intake (but left out the part about the reducer) and the exhaust pipe set up.
With that information he programs a base tune onto the device which I will upload to the car. After the car is running I will send him some data logs for some runs under specified scenarios and he will then tweak the tune to create the custom tune.
I have used custom tunes previously on a Mustang Gt and my current F150. The Mustang was great. The F150 I have not been real impressed with. The main reason I got it was because I put big tires on it and I wanted to be able to calibrate the speedo. This tune is the first one I will have ever needed to send data back for the tune to be fine tuned. I like that extra part of the procedure and think this will work out well.

[wareaglescott]

Had a little time this morning before college football takes over the rest of my day.

I purchased a nice looking fire extinguisher and mounting bracket from summit. I figure the most likely time for a fire is during go cart stage so I wanted to have it with me. I went ahead a made a temporary mount. I was deciding between two locations. The first was between the seats and the second was under the dash on the transmission tunnel. Visually I liked between the seats the best. However I had two concerns. With the high back seats and the side bolster I was afraid I would have a hard time reaching the pull pin to get it out of the bracket if I needed it quickly (and if you need it when is it not needed quickly!). My other concern was when I use my fighter stick shifter my elbow might run into it. I decided to mount it under the dash. Just used some extra aluminum and a few rivets for now. I think I like it there and it will look good on the completed transmission tunnel.


After that I went to install the roll bars. Previously I was aggravated FFR had sent me two for the PS and none for the DS. Today I am very thankful I only had one to install. What a serious pain in the rear task that was. I am going to need a few days and some other projects in between before I go to do the other one. That roll bar is a bear to drill through. I used the suggestion in the manual to start with a small bit and work my way up to 5/16. I need to invest in a drill bit sharpener. I used 3 different size bits per hole and ended up using about 12 drill bits total to get the 4 holes done. With a trip to home depot in the middle for more bits it ended up taking 2 hours for something I figured would take 20 minutes. Oh well. I guess I know what I am in for on the next one. Here is a pic. Nothing exciting but after 2 hours I was taking a pic!!

[SSNK4US]

Put the car on the ground for the first time today. Man she sits low!! I wanted to set the ride height. I read 4.5" was a good height but the car settles a bit after driving some. I figured I would start at 5.5". I saw a tip on the forum that three 2x4s under the frame rail works good to get the 4.5". I did that plus I put another one through the planer and slimmed it down to 1". That gave me 5.5" and then when I am ready for 4.5" I will just unwrap the tape and take the 1" piece away. I made 4 little blocks held together with blue tape. One for each corner.


I did put 100 lbs in the trunk area to simulate some fuel. Obviously the body and seats aren't there but this was a good initial setting and I can tweak it later as needed. The new low profile jack worked out great. Wish I would have realized when I started this project the normal jack I bought was going to be useless because in the full down position it is about 6" tall!


After that I spent a considerable amount of time doing the dash wiring. Everything is hooked up. It aint pretty behind the dash but I am as confident as possible it will all work as expected. I did add a couple red guarded switches to go with my fighter stick shifter (stock shifter currently installed until the build is complete and I put the other shifter back in). I am pleased how the dash came out. The foam material on the dash pad was not as forgiving as I hoped and I can clearly see where my hidden dash mount bolts are. I am a little disappointed in that. It still looks better than screws through the face in my opinion but I may need to revisit that later and redo the dash pad.

My plan is to check everything over tomorrow morning and attempt to crank it up in the afternoon. Hoping she fires up!!

Couple of thoughts if you revisit your dash cover install.... Do you think rivets would show under the covering?
I know the material is pretty thin to countersink larger bolts, but what if you bonded you brackets to the dash with something like jb weld and countersunk some smaller, like say 4-40 model airplane sized stuff.
Just a thought...

Kurt
Kurt

[wareaglescott]

Couple of thoughts if you revisit your dash cover install.... Do you think rivets would show under the covering?
I know the material is pretty thin to countersink larger bolts, but what if you bonded you brackets to the dash with something like jb weld and countersunk some smaller, like say 4-40 model airplane sized stuff.
Just a thought...

Kurt
Kurt

Good thoughts. I do not think rivets would show or if they did they would be so small you would really have to look for them. My concern was because of obstacles to getting at the bolts that attach it to the top rail I was only able to use 3 brackets. I would have preferred 4 or maybe 5. Because of that I went with a more substantial nut and bolt. I honestly had no idea if smaller rivets would be strong enough long term. Here is where I put them:


It is my understanding the body lip kind of comes down over the dash a little bit. I am hoping that will disguise it even a little more. My plan is to wait until I get the body on and see what I think. It is one of those things I am extra critical of because I did it and know it is there. All my neighbors and friends that have been by don't even notice it until I point it out. Although I am sure most FFR guys would.

[wareaglescott]

I have spent the last couple days messing with my X4 tuner. It has been unable to communicate with the PCM. My MIL light has been lit with no way of reading it plus my custom tune was not able to load.

After spending 6 hours the last two days on the phone with Ford, SCT, and the tune programmer going around in circles I believe I have finally found the issue. This afternoon the guy from Ford called me and asked me to go to my OBD plug and tell him what color wire was going into port 6 and 14. Apparently they sent a batch of harnesses out that had them backwards. One was white and one was white/blue. 14 should be the solid white. Well guess what my harness is one of the ones that is incorrect! They said that is why no device I plug in (I tried 3) can communicate with the PCM.
Now my issue is getting the wires out of the OBD plug to swap them. It needs a tool similar to the weather pack pin removal tool. I ordered a tool that Ford speculates should work. Hopefully that will solve my issue. Not sure how many harnesses went out wrong but I suspect others will have a frustrating time figuring this out!

It will be the weekend before I have a chance to try it out.

Between phone calls I had to get something productive done. I put the 2nd roll bar on. Glad to be done with all that drilling.


Also yesterday I got started on the alignment. Got the rear end done. Working on the front. I will have some picture updates on that process in a future update.

[Jazzman]

All my neighbors and friends that have been by don't even notice it until I point it out. Although I am sure most FFR guys would.

So stop pointing it out!!

[SSNK4US]

Lol Jazzman, but I think I'd be asking my friends and neighbors too.

Speaking of alignments.... (and mounting and balancing tires) Not mentioning who I independently work for, but I have a box truck and a garage with high end tire mounting and balancing equipment. Along with an aligner for demonstration purposes. Not speaking for the other 300 plus guys like me out there across the U.S. and Canada...but I've mounted lots of new tires for friends and neighbors... Cars, street rods etc. I'm a gear head... A nice guy and willing to do lots for my fellow man...LOL Some of you might be able to reach out to my counterparts for alignment help and such. Not all are like me but I know some are helpful... PM me for more thoughts and details.

Kurt

[wareaglescott]

I installed the 5 point harnesses today...sort of. On advice of many I was told to not even try to mount the high back kirkey seats until the body was on the car because of the way the upper outside side bolster interacts with the body. With that in mind I determined my safest course of action for go carting was to have the 5 point harness hold me and the unattached seat in position. The seats and harnesses will be coming back out numerous times but that will be very easy now.

I decided a while back after seeing a friends car that I wanted some colored belts. I went with orange to go with my orange stripe. I sold the black harnesses that came with the kit without ever opening the box so I am not sure how those Simpson belts would have attached.
The harnesses I got are made by Cipher. They have eyelets that attach to the mounting points and the the individual belt just clips on and off. Makes it very easy now that the eyelet is mounted to take the belts in and out of the car.



I attached 4 of them to the FFR mounting locations and determined a spot in the floor to mount the 5th one for the crotch strap. Even though the seat position is not fixed right now I know it is close enough that the point in the floor I used will work out just fine.

I also had some leftover edges from those thick foam floor tiles that interlock. I cut them up and just temporarily placed them for the seat to sit on. Should be about the same thickness as the insulation and carpet.


Here is the finished install. Really happy I went with the orange. I like the extra color accent! I guess because the mounting locations are all quite close to the seat I ended up with an excessive amount of extra belt length. For now I have it tapped up. I intend to find someone to cut and sew them to an appropriate length.