Stix's Gen 3 Coupe Build - Striped Steel

[q4stix]

I got a little more time to work on the car over the weekend so here's the current state of it all:

I have a quick bracket for holding the steering rack in the expected location above the differential. It'll feed between the 'A' of the standard chassis above the upper a-arm as seen in the third picture. I made a wood holder for the differential to get it at the right height and already cut off the aft driver's side 'normal' steering rack bracket.


View looking top-down and forward. Everything is super tight to the frame. The differential needs to go further towards the driver's side to have equal length half shafts so I've already started notching the frame (after the pic was taken) to get it to fit correctly.


Side view of the steering rack and differential output locations:


Finally a wider view of the current front:


I need to finish the frame notching for the front diff, then cut out for the steering rack extensions, then I'll get the bellcrank and coilover mounts located. Lots to do but good to get a sense of front getting sorted out!

[jamminj]

Darn cool
that's going to be a lot of stuff happening in a small space
looks like you've got it handled

[Ltngdrvr]

That's where you think the final location for the steering rack is going to be?
What spindles will you use?
How will the tie rods coming off the rack connect to the steering arms on the spindle?
Can't see how the steering geometry will work on that the way you have it currently.

[q4stix]

That's where you think the final location for the steering rack is going to be?
What spindles will you use?
How will the tie rods coming off the rack connect to the steering arms on the spindle?
Can't see how the steering geometry will work on that the way you have it currently.

I've got pictures of the spindles I designed and made on the previous page. The steering links attach at the top front of the upright.

This post shows the 3d view of it to help visualize it
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post408700

[q4stix]

Darn cool
that's going to be a lot of stuff happening in a small space
looks like you've got it handled

"handled" meaning I'll keep poking away at it until it works

[Greenleaf13]

Awesome build.
Thanks for sharing your project!

[tomshep]

Keep up the work!

[q4stix]

April Fool's update:

I did some more checking on the width of the CV joints on the front differential and found I needed to shift the differential over another .2 inches to get the half shafts to be the same length. More cutting of the frame happened so I'll need to tidy it up from here. Sorry Factory Five.... it had to happen haha



It's ugly right now but I'll clean up the cut lines and then weld in plate to fully enclose the tubes again and keep water and debris from getting it and restore the strength.


I also bought some more filament to get some of the exhaust mocked up. Easy to do while I'm not able to get to the car since the printer just works away


I'll need to move the X-pipes forward a little but I'll finalize that once I have a real engine in and know the clearance to the harmonic balancer and accessories.


I also 3d printed a bracket mockup of where I'll mount the shock from the bellcrank (right side of image)



For the Bridgeport inching closer to assembled, I got the saddle (y-axis) cleaned, painted, and the oiling lines routed. Next I can put this 100lb part on the base and get on to the table (the 250-275lb behemoth)


The loose lines go to the ballscrews

[WIS89]

Dude-

Mad skills man, just mad skills!! I am so overwhelmed by all that you are able to do, I just don't have the words. I wish you were my neighbor! I would love to be able to watch you do what you do.

Congratulations on the progress, and as always, thanks for bringing us along for the ride. It is going to be an extraordinary car!!

Keep up the great work!

Regards,

Steve

[Geoff H]

I agree. On a whole other level of skills. Thanks for the update!
Geoff

[q4stix]

Thanks guys, glad you like the updates!

I expect I'll be back in the garage tonight trying to finish the fitting and cleaning up the cuts so I can finalize the position and then plan the mounting locations. That'll go a long way towards the front design and layout getting solidified

[cgundermann]

Mind blown - as usual...

The Factory Five Wizard of Oz!

Chris

[q4stix]

First, I'm still working on fitting the differential. I'm almost there for clearances but need to make sure I have room to weld the supports back. It's taken a lot more fitting than I first expected but I'm glad to finally have it sit in the right position. The pictures of that don't show visible change so I skipped posting them.

On another front... or side, in the case..., I played with the side exhaust exit and a cover for a standard style muffler. Some will hate the look and that's ok by me. I get that it's not the typical visible look, single or dual pipe configuration.

This is what nearly $20 in 3d printed PLA looks like


The design is to slip into the dual entry/exit Magnaflow muffler. It's a 'straight though' perforated design but actually is set up like a X so it'll act to help as a final balance between pipes and keep the exhaust flow going


I'll plan to clean up the looks with a side skirt that blends into the side of the body. Will still be distinct to the eye but flow better than a giant stainless steel oval with the letters MF on it.


Finally, this picture shows how far my wheels and tires go out running the stock Mustang GT rear axles (which I'll make new rear control arms for). I'll blend the side splitter into the wheel well body flares.


Now back to getting the front diff completely in place so I can move on to the rest of the drivetrain height, angle, and mounting

[Skuzzy]

Ambitious design. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[John Dol]

Looks great!
A former member "Oxide" did something similar with the side pipes. Looked really good, but we never got to see his finished car unfortunately.
Keep em coming!!

John

[q4stix]

It's been a super long time but I'm still alive and kicking! Just not on the Coupe at the moment. Busy with work and life even though I'm still working out ideas in my head and doing CAD design work to flesh out some things.

In work related news of something that I can share, I got a new toy to play with. Official calibration and machine release to me/my group is tomorrow. Too bad it's at work and not in my home garage so I can't exactly play by making all the custom parts I want to that much easier.


Hopefully I'll have car progress news to share before long.

[Skuzzy]

Now that is a cool toy!

[jamminj]

finally have a face to connect to you.
so that is the 5 axis cnc you've been talking about

[q4stix]

Another long time away but some progress to show between life and work.

I sent the block and my pistons to a local business called "Spent Case Coatings" to get Cerakote on the outer part of the block and the piston tops. I think they turned out really well and hopefully I can get the front cover and heads done to match as well.
The block is 'titanium' colored air cure C-105 and the pistons were done with V-136 oven cure at 300F.

I'm still working on the mounting for the front differential and steering rack as time allows but now I can also spend some time on measuring bearing clearances and build up my short block.

[jamminj]

Looks great.
glad to see your making progress.

[JimStone]

Just had the pleasure of reading through your build thread today. Thank you for documenting. Talk about a custom project! I'm hoping to order my coupe kit in a few months, but I could never dream of deviating this far from stock. Nor would I have the mental wherewithal to accomplish it.

Best of luck on your continued endeavors