John’s Mk4 Build Thread - Winter punch list

[maclonchas]

John,

Do you mind saying which mounting system you bought and magnetic gauge.

Thanks

Bill

[John Ibele]

John,

Do you mind saying which mounting system you bought and magnetic gauge.

Thanks

Bill

Hey Bill, happy to help. I think this is what you're after, but chime in here or PM me if I'm off base:

Longacre 78260
Zackman Scientific ZAWG001

Happy building!

[Mike.Bray]

I used similar items from Amazon that worked well.

To get the caster accurate you need turn plates like these.

[maclonchas]

Thanks

[John Ibele]

I used similar items from Amazon that worked well.

To get the caster accurate you need turn plates like these.

I used the poor man’s route (couple layers of poly with some chassis grease smeared in between). Gets you close … but I don’t know how close. Mine will be dialed in by a local speed shop, if I were dialing things in or doing it regularly I would definitely spring for the plates.

[JayOH]

I am apparently many years (a decade?) late to the party, but as an asipiring builder (hopefully 2024) I can not overstate how much I enjoyed reading through your thread. From its pure entertainment value, down to those great little build ideas and nuggets, I throughly enjoyed the time spent reading! I’m so happy for you that you are finally able to enjoy your project out on the open road and can’t wait to see what the “final” product looks like after the body receives as much love and attention as the chassis. Bravo!

[John Ibele]

I am apparently many years (a decade?) late to the party, but as an asipiring builder (hopefully 2024) I can not overstate how much I enjoyed reading through your thread. From its pure entertainment value, down to those great little build ideas and nuggets, I throughly enjoyed the time spent reading! I’m so happy for you that you are finally able to enjoy your project out on the open road and can’t wait to see what the “final” product looks like after the body receives as much love and attention as the chassis. Bravo!

Wow, what kind note, JayOH! I'm so glad you found it at least somewhat helpful, and when not that, at least hopefully entertaining. I do have a bit of loopy sense of humor at times, so am always conscious of the potential of entertaining no one but myself (and try to avoid that when possible). But the build project is so big, and for me full of so many unknowns (just about everything, to start with), that at least for me it was important to approach it with my sense of humor intact.

I guess one big benefit of being late to the party is reading the build thread from beginning to end without needing a 10-year attention span. You may be the first! So many fine builders and advice-givers have come and gone in that time, and I couldn't have completed this project as successfully without them. Fortunately, many of them still contribute their free and knowledgeable advice. And new builders will always find their own fellow builders going through the journey at the same time.

It has been an immensely rewarding project. The appearance of the completed car is something you can fully predict (other than color, I suppose). The things that are less certain relate to the driving experience, and I couldn't be happier with the combination of careful choices and maybe some luck that resulted in the completed car sitting in my garage. While I still plan to try autocross, this was going to be mainly a street / cruising machine, and as I got further into the build I continued to make choices best aligned with that in mind. For me, anyway, the biggest contributors to a car that drives pretty much like my daily driver were these:

• IRS ... way more forgiving and comfortable than I ever expected. Going over bumps, no drama, and not even particularly stiff when combined with the standard roadster seats.
• Cam ... pretty mild, and while my 347 makes 420 HP up top, I'm hardly ever going to be spinning up there. Most importantly it's very friendly down low, pulling happily from 1400 rpm, so I can putt through my neighborhood in 4th if I care to, and not tick anyone off with the noise. But lights up like it should when you get into the throttle.
• T5 with taller 1st gear and tallest (0.63?) overdrive. Easy shifting, can handle all the torque I plan to give it, geared so that it settles down to a pleasant burble at cruise. Lots of happy cruising.
• Power steering ... wouldn't ever go another direction. You give up nothing, including road feel, responsiveness, quickness in autoX. Plus, you get the stability you want and are used to on the highway.
• Clutch ... I consider this a big drivability issue. I'm happy with my choice but I think I probably could have done better. It's not bad by any means, but is stiff (cable actuation) and bites pretty quick. Will be much better when I get the last minor stumble out of my Sniper tune.
• Brakes ... this is one I would do differently next time and go the Wilwood route, but the fact is, I have absolutely nothing to complain about with the manual kit brakes. Predictable, plenty of stopping power, no fade, they need more pressure than power but that's just fine with me.

Other engine, drive train, and suspension choices were less important for me. Controls were less important also, although having as much as possible like your daily driver still makes a difference. #1 would be having the gauges exactly where I want them and can see them. I spent plenty of time on that when laying out my dashboard. Second would be having the RT turn signals. My console cubby is very useful and practically stuffed on every drive. I don't have a rear cubby, which makes this a must-have for me.

Once again I've wandered well off the topic of a simple thank you, so I may as well combine this with an end of driving season update...

I gradually increased my sphere of confidence in driving the car through the summer, and the miles kept adding up. It was great to have one season in gel coat, when driving in the 'bug' hour just after sunset didn't matter a bit. I did the first oil change at 600 miles, and the magnetic plug had only a smudge about the size of a small pea ... wiped out on a shop rag there were not detectable bits in there, so everything seems fine. I didn't bother to cut the oil filter to do a deeper dive. I kept my commitment to myself and learned everything I could about tuning the Sniper. After 10 tunes I know plenty more, but can also see there will be items a pro can do better and way faster, so a professional tune is somewhere in the cards.

I finished up the driving season with a cruise down the Mississippi on the Wisconsin side of the river, passing 1000 on the odometer along the way. I headed down the East bank to Maiden Rock, then back up to Red Wing, then picked my way on back roads up into the Twin Cities. The car behaved well: comfortable seating position, legs didn't get tired, and the car just likes to cruise. So much fun rowing through the gears when you get into a town or hit a stop sign. And ... who'da thunk ... seems to pass pretty darn well on two lane roads. I've got one thing that needs to get dialed in (or out). When I lift in a corner, I can feel the car moving towards oversteer, so still reminding myself to stay way away from the margins, and keep my inputs nice and smooth. I'll get my alignment done professionally, and then get my sway bars sorted and then should be good to go.

And I think for this season, that's pretty much it. Such a rewarding project, with more to come. It's not graduated. But for now, time to put the car to bed until Kleiner comes calling, and the car should be able to welcome in the 2024 driving season wearing a new color.

Happy building, all! Enjoy the journey, and remember - put down the tools and back away from the car when needed. With a project this big, we all have our moments. Cheers -- John


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

[buttsjim]

Congratulations on a beautiful build! I look forward to seeing it after paint. And, that last picture you posted is a great motivator for me!

[John Ibele]

Congratulations on a beautiful build! I look forward to seeing it after paint. And, that last picture you posted is a great motivator for me!

Thanks, Jim - and yeah, the picture pretty much says it all. I can't believe how enjoyable cruising on an open road in an open top car can be. Why didn't I know this? A Prius is my daily driver. 'nuf said.

[Blitzboy54]

John, have you decided on the color yet?

[John Ibele]

John, have you decided on the color yet?

Hey Jesse! Still keep coming back to the blue family, but other than knocking out any truly dark blue, I haven't nailed it down. It will be blue, and it will have stripes, probably closely matching the Halibrand wheel color. I plan to have the rollbars painted in that same color. Beyond that ... could be anything from ice blue or silver blue all the way to a dusty blue. Current inspirations are below. But boy, I've already learned to please only myself on this topic. Introduced the topic of color at at large extended family event, and you would've thought I was telling people who they should vote for in the next election. Crazy, won't do that again.

Top Contender: Mazda Eternal Blue Mica:

Mazda Eternal Blue Mica by John Ibele, on Flickr

The old school version - CSX2195 in Guardsman Blue:

CSX2195 Guardsman Blue by John Ibele, on Flickr

KDubU's combo of Viking Blue and Wimbledon White is great:

Viking Blue and Wimbledon White by John Ibele, on Flickr

Frost Blue Metallic 1959 Corvette:

Frost Blue Metallic 1959 Corvette by John Ibele, on Flickr

Mid-way between those and ice blue - Suzuka Blue Honda S2000:

Suzuka Blue Honda S2000 by John Ibele, on Flickr

Austin Healey 100-4 in Ice Blue Metallic:

Austin Healey 100-4 in Ice Blue Metallic by John Ibele, on Flickr

Mustang Silver Blue:

Mustang Silver Blue by John Ibele, on Flickr

Those are the insprirations right now, we'll see where we end up. At some point you just have to make a decision.

[Blitzboy54]

Same, I told some friends I was considering a yellow and it got weird pretty quick. You are correct in that you are the only one that has to like it. I really like the clubhouse leader as well but they are all great choices. As an aside that 59 Vette is insanely beautiful.

[460.465USMC]

So many really nice choices in the blue family. How can you choose? Ditto on Jesse's Vette comment. Love that color!

[John Ibele]

Same, I told some friends I was considering a yellow and it got weird pretty quick. You are correct in that you are the only one that has to like it. I really like the clubhouse leader as well but they are all great choices. As an aside that 59 Vette is insanely beautiful.

So many really nice choices in the blue family. How can you choose? Ditto on Jesse's Vette comment. Love that color!

Yep, that Vette is a stunner. Also a good reminder to take the glamour shots of your car in the magic hour around sunset.

[GTBradley]

I like your taste in car color and cars, John. Remember, while it is true that it’s only you that has to like the color, there is also future you. Forget about it for a while and it will come to in a very convincing way.

Bradley

[facultyofmusic]

That golden-hour picture of the vette feels like a huuuuuuuge unfair advantage for Frost Blue Metallic. I wonder what the mazda eternal blue mica looks like under the same lighting conditions. :P

[John Ibele]

I like your taste in car color and cars, John. Remember, while it is true that it’s only you that has to like the color, there is also future you. Forget about it for a while and it will come to in a very convincing way.

Bradley

Thanks Bradley, yeah, pretty much settled on some shade of blue, and when it comes time the choice'll become clear.

That golden-hour picture of the vette feels like a huuuuuuuge unfair advantage for Frost Blue Metallic. I wonder what the mazda eternal blue mica looks like under the same lighting conditions. :P

Dan! I do like that, and found the paint code. And yes, there's an evening cruise through the Mazda new car lot at some point coming up

[John Ibele]

Well, the temps are still stuck in the single digits here, the daily swimmers on Lake Nokomis quit punching a hole in the ice when it got to -10F, and the pond hockey tournament decided it would go ahead and put up a brick yard of 2 dozen ice rinks on the lake. So I guess we're having winter after all.

But, the garage is heated, and I have stuff to knock off before the car goes to paint (granted, a few of these items are for after paint). If you can't drive the car I figure you can at least work on it.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

First on my list was to bite the bullet and drain the coolant so I could move the lower radiator tube and hose. It's a nice kit from Breeze, but I unfortunately hooked up the front hose so that there was interference between the front hose and the front sway bar. I figured that had to be dealt with. Better now:


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

When I was driving last summer in gel coat I realized two things about the heater. It's great when you want it on. Second, you really want it to go fully off, which it doesn't really do without some work. Any air gap between engine bay and cockpit is going to dump a fair amount of heat onto you, so getting foam to fully seal between body and frame is the place to start. I took care of that, but then found that when you have a heater, hot air still wants to come through the vents even when the heater is 'off'.

First I put in a full heater bypass valve, since the kit-provided valve looks like it still allows some coolant to flow through. I don't know that the full bypass valve helps a ton but I figured it couldn't hurt and would at least eliminate this source of heat.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

I'm celebrating that item as the one and only 'one hour job' that ever turned out to be actually a one hour job.

Even if no coolant is flowing, though, the engine bay still wants to push its warm air through the vents when you're moving. So there will still be warm air blowing through the vents unless the vents themselves are completely closed.

The Vintage Air 'Globe' style vents kinda have a closed position, but there's almost 1/16" around the outside of the globe when they're positioned that way:


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

I ordered Vintage Air #499193 to get a better seal when closed. They're nice enough pieces, not something you'd find in a BMW but certainly OEM quality, and better than the globe pieces in terms of fit / finish in addition to seal. Hopefully that helps cut down on the unwanted hot air during those precious few MN summer driving months.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

Next up is getting the radiator guard (coarse SS mesh screen in a frame) back from the powder coater and back in place. Should be able to get to that in a few days.

[460.465USMC]

I'm celebrating that item as the one and only 'one hour job' that ever turned out to be actually a one hour job.

That, my friend, is a rare bird. Not sure if I can count more than one or so during my build.

Speaking of a heated garage, nice to see you're getting to your punch list. Checking off those little nagging items brings outsized satisfaction IMHO. Was hoping to tinker on mine during off-season (AKA WINTER!) as well, but I'm framing/insulating/paneling/painting a "new" garage space (we moved). Can't wait to get some real garage time in again. Enjoy!

[John Ibele]

The radiator screen is back from powder coating and in place. It's stainless mesh from Pegasus Racing, framed by aluminum strips from the local Ace. Another Paul B. idea, if I hadn't mentioned that. I used nylon standoffs to keep it away from the raised sides of the radiator. It should allow me to fit my side aluminum pieces underneath when I get them fit and powder coated.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

[John Ibele]

Two more items got knocked off the winter punch list ... which is a good thing, since winter here in MN seems quite a bit shorter these days. They had a huge polar plunge event in the lake across the street last weekend, and the big day had a high of 70F. So cruising and new tunes on the Sniper are already competing for available time.

Trunk and trunk lights: got the hinges powder coated, with barely any room to spare in my PC toaster oven.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

After spending quality time getting the trunk gapped correctly once again, I got the wire loom and gasket put in place and it looks pretty tidy.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

Thanks to Matt Glaser I have a section of LED strip encapsulated with silicone bumper which should make for a good trunk light.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

I decided not to run dedicated wiring for the trunk light, and instead tapped off the wires going to the license plate light. With this setup, the trunk light will go on whenever the parking lights are on. I still needed a tilt switch so the trunk light would always be off in the closed position ... current capacity is not usually posted for the cheapie switches that are readily available. My first choice was a real winner capable of ... 20 mA. So after debating adding a relay just 'cause it was handy, I looked a bit more and found this tilt switch from Digi-Key.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

Overkill, but that's fine. Rated for 1A at 12V, and I won't use more than 0.25A for my 54 LEDs. I mounted it on the aluminum access plate inside the trunk, where it's accessible but not visible.

Gotta keep pushing through those last items. The call from Jeff should be coming soon.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

[egchewy79]

After spending quality time getting the trunk gapped correctly once again, I got the wire loom and gasket put in place and it looks pretty tidy.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

might want to put the seam of your trunk seal at the bottom rather than the top of your opening.

[John Ibele]

might want to put the seam of your trunk seal at the bottom rather than the top of your opening.

Good call! Although that’s probably not the only mistake I can count on Jeff to fix when he’s working his magic. Thanks for looking out for me, always appreciated.

[mrglaeser]

Lights look great John! Did you use the crimps or attempt to solder? I've done both and probably will stick to crimps from now on for the LEDs anyway. Also I don't believe in overkill! If you take a trip and get caught out in the dark you can find what you need.

[John Ibele]

Lights look great John! Did you use the crimps or attempt to solder? I've done both and probably will stick to crimps from now on for the LEDs anyway. Also I don't believe in overkill! If you take a trip and get caught out in the dark you can find what you need.

Hey Matt! Solder here ... with painter's tape holding the strip on the bench and then tape holding the wire in place on the contact it was pretty easy. Then shrink tubing over the whole thing for strain relief.

Thanks for the materials! (You have 246 LEDs left )

[John Ibele]

Next up on the winter punch list (which got a boost when winter decided to finally show up): wipers. I had a go at this earlier in the build, but just didn't like the end result, and by the time I was done "blueprinting" (read: trashing) my gearboxes, I was committed to ordering a new pair. Live and learn, and this wasn't that painful.

I determined at the end of all that tweaking that the problem was really the aluminum tubing that came with my (vintage 2012) kit - 3/8", not 5/16", which is really what the gearboxes fit best with. For that matter, so does the cable. So I ordered new gearboxes and picked up some of the coated steel 5/16" tubing from AutoZone, and started over.

First thing I noticed is that my new gearboxes had a longer shaft than the old ones. Not a bad thing; it avoids any interference of the gearbox with the body when the gearboxes are installed. However, I didn't have a handy way of getting the gearboxes to maintain the proper angle with respect to the body. I picked another bright idea from edwardb, and cut some square aluminum channel at the proper angle to attach to each gear box. Epoxied in place they look like this:


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

This time around the alignment of the cable exiting the flared 5/16" tubing and into the gearbox was perfect - no 'adjusting' needed. When you're flaring the tubing, don't forget to put the wiper motor ferrule on the PS side tubing before doing the second flare! Ask me how I know. (And by the way, weren't these kinds of mistakes supposed to taper off near the end of a build?) No worries. Tubing is cheaper than my time, and I'm cheap. And any day in the shop is good day.

After getting the ferrule properly located on the second piece of PS tubing, I liberally brushed chassis grease on the cable, installing each piece of the wiper assembly as I went. I found that the nuts that clamp the gearbox around the tubing are best left only hand tight (with a drop of blue Loctite to keep them from spinning off). For me anyway, it kept the cable well engaged with the gear, but allowed enough play to provide really smooth motion.

I cut some gaskets for both the bottom and the top of the wiper assembly where it touches the body. This also seems to keep things at the right angle and solidly in place when tightened up.


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr


Untitled by John Ibele, on Flickr

And the end result is: ... finally, something I can count on in the rain, if I can't count on staying out of the rain. I can run the wipers on a dry windshield on low speed and nothing stalls, there's no noise, just the hum of the motor. It can be done.

On to the next winter punch list item ... side louvered vents. I didn't like the kit vents. I figured I'd order the assembled vents, but they were on back order. I waited, and waited, and then after reading more about the assembled vents, decided I didn't like those either. Actually, that's not quite true, they're just fine. But in my eager enthusiasm to get the body ready, I did the vent cutouts based on the measurements in the manual, instead of actually waiting for the assembled vents to show up. And the measured cutouts as stated in my manual are not a great fit for the assembled vents.

After some more reading, found these guys mentioned: Roadster 'Oversize' Side Vents

I like them. They're just a bit larger than the cutouts I already have in the sides of my roadster, and the center fin doesn't look too busy to me. I couldn't find any photos of them installed ... will post pictures when they're in hand.