Fmans Dart 427 build #9818 - 14" Leather steering wheel

[Fman]

Travis, I said a prayer for your coworker and his family--he's lucky to have had a friend like you. Your video was great -- the car looks and sounds terrific! Tracking is definitely on my wish list, but it'll probably have to wait until next year (busy at work and winter's coming). Thanks for posting the video!

Thank you I really appreciate it, every little bit helps them both in prayers and financial help.

You definitely will not regret taking your car out to the track, I truly think it is almost a must for people at least once because you will definitely learn how to drive better and learn your car. As slow as I was I definitely feel like I can drive and control my car better now.

Funny... I find myself looking at turns a little different now...

[Fman]

sorry about your co worker
Looks like your having a blast
my son and i go out to thunder hill often for autocross
when i get my Daytona done we will be out there all the time

Maybe I will see you out there someday, I would like to return again... hope your having fun with your Daytona build.

[460.465USMC]

Funny... I find myself looking at turns a little different now...

I love it!

[mburger]

Very sorry about your coworker. Doesn’t seem fair sometimes.

Enjoyed your track video. I would love to do that here in SW FL. I need to find out where there’s a track that has open track days. I’m fortunate to live close to historic Sebring but after 7 years in FL, my lazy butt hasn’t been there yet. Your video is great motivation for me as well. Thanks for posting!

[Fman]

Quick video of our Apple Hill run from last Saturday. We had some very nice weather, great peeps and some really nice Cobras!

[Fman]

I have had a few issues with my door latches so I thought it would be a good idea to add this to my build thread for future builders. The drivers side latch broke and would not open and I lost the stainless ball on latch arm on passenger side. It is never a good day when you loose one of your balls. FFR told me they have no latches available so I guess they also don't have any spare parts laying around. I ended up pulling both sides off and did the J. Kleiner mod on the center swivel and found a solution for the stainless ball.

Highly recommend if your building a car to do at least the J. Kleiner mod, you might get lucky and not loose one of your balls :-)

Here is the J. Kleiner mod you are basically adding a carriage/flat headed bolt in the center pivot mechanism to capture the arm on the pivot. It is a very good idea and thanks to Jeff for coming up with this solution because it works great and is an easy fix. What ends up eventually happening is the pressed on arm comes off the pivot point and your door will not open.

I had a couple flat head bolts laying around in my garage I used but you can you use any flat headed bolt of your choice. The bolt size is 5/16-8 about 1" long with a washer and nylock nut.





One thing I also had to do was grind an opening on my door to allow for bolt head. Without doing this you will have issues with the latch binding up. I used a pneumatic grinder on very low speed, it is easy to grind through the fiberglass. Just be aware of the backing plate no need to go through it.



For the stainless ball issue I found threaded stainless balls on McMaster Carr. I ordered (2) 3/4" stainless threaded balls part number 6954K12 with 10-24 threads. I picked up a couple 10-24 stainless bolts, washers and lock washers from Ace hardware.

Link to threaded balls:
https://www.mcmaster.com/stainless-s...hreaded-balls/



Final ball latch mount, I also added some blue loctite to the threads. Nothing better than getting both of your balls back.



This is what you end up with, I actually like the larger 3/4" ball better than the one that comes from FFR because it is easier to move the latch with your hand. You have a much better improved door latch now.

[Blitzboy54]

Fman ......

I love your balls

[CaptB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlqLHcphyw

ACDC.

[Fman]

With daylight savings coming to end I have driven my car in the dark a couple times now and the 60w halogen bulbs did not produce much light. I also live in the country with no street lights along with deer and small animals all over the place at night. I found these LED headlight bulbs that were very easy to install inside the Lucas Tri-bar headlight. If you are looking to upgrade and you do not have a sealed beam headlight these are definitely worth the money. They are plug and play and only draw 26W and claim to be 300% brighter than halogen bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[460.465USMC]

Quick video of our Apple Hill run from last Saturday. We had some very nice weather, great peeps and some really nice Cobras!

Thanks for the video, Travis. Thanks for panning slowly through all the Cobras at the beginning and end. Looks like you have a great group to cruise with. Enjoyed the video.

[460.465USMC]

…you might get lucky and not loose one of your balls :-)

Nothing better than getting both of your balls back.

This was very funny! Feels good to laugh.

I’m making a note of this Mod. RIght up my alley…inexpensive, straightforward, and high utility. Thanks for documenting it.

[nucjd19]

You ae the best my friend Thank you for the tips, links and info. I refer back to your build so much I also enjoy your videos.

[Fman]

You ae the best my friend Thank you for the tips, links and info. I refer back to your build so much I also enjoy your videos.

Hey ditto and thanks I appreciate that... oh man my low budget un-rehearsed shoot from the hip garage videos. I am hopeful they are generating a few extra bucks for Kyle's wife and kids that is really what is important to me. Every extra dollar helps them out and it all adds up.

[Fman]

For anyone looking to change up there shifter knob, Tremec has these available for a limited time. They are not being produced anymore, last call on them. They are weighted, stainless and have the TREMEC logo and 5 speed shift pattern engraved in them. Much nicer feel than the plastic knob that comes with the FFR shifter handle.

https://www.tremec-store.com/product...mec-shift-ball

[Fman]

Today is VETERANS DAY - if you are a Veteran THANK YOU for your service!

You build this car and then start picking destinations you want to visit. The Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California was high on my list, we decided to tow 9818 down to San Clemente where we have family to stay with. We took a couple days and ran up a section of the PCH from San Clemente to Huntington Beach and back down the I-5 through Oceanside and Torrey Pines. It was a great time, cant wait to come back and do it again. Weather turned out to be great, we did have some fog in the morning which lifted to sunny skies in the afternoon. We also hit Cars and Coffee Orange County Saturday morning which is always a treat, easily over 600 cars there with everything you can think of attending.

A few pics from our trip...

Dana Point Overlook





San Clemente hilltop - evening fog just beginning to roll in

[JohnK]

Beautiful pictures! The car is looking fantastic.

[2FAST4U]

Absolutely gorgeous build. Congrats!

[JB in NOVA]

Beautiful! Thanks for posting.

[Gordon Levy]

Glad you're having fun

[460.465USMC]

Wow! Beautiful views, and your Roadster looks awesome! Thanks for sharing, Travis.

[Fman]

The weather has just been fantastic here this week so today I took 9818 out for a mid morning drive, 65 degrees out could not get much better. I am up to 2100 miles on the car now and unfortunately I had my first semi major mishap with the car, I noticed my foot starting to slide on my clutch pedal along with my heel sliding on the rubber pad and not being able to shift gears as easily. I immediately knew I had a leaking clutch MC, ah ****!!! Fortunately I was only about 3 miles from my house and able to make it back home to avoid the tow of shame. I had the time today to actually pull the MC so I got right to work. It definitely is leaking from behind the boot, I must have bad luck because I would hope these MC's last longer than 2100 miles oh well it is what it is... and definitely not a fun project pulling that little sucker out either. There is little to no room in that tiny compartment, I ended up dropping the fuse panel and got some of it below. I called Wilwood and they are going to warranty it out for me and sending me a new one tomorrow. Overall the car has been performing great, I did have a couple other small items my RT turn signal will not hold in upright position (right turn) and at 1400 miles had a DS leaking valve cover gasket I ended up replacing.

Here is the little bugger...one thing that threw me was the fluid coming out of the clutch MC looked very dirty (you can see the color of it on the white towel) almost had a grey color to it. I do not really know how this would be possible with only 2100 miles. I will have to really flush out the system when I re-bleed it. Maybe someone has explanation for why it would look so bad?



Before the clutch MC mishap I did get a chance to pull over and take a quick snap of 9818, sure is fun to drive

[edwardb]

...I had the time today to actually pull the MC so I got right to work. It definitely is leaking from behind the boot, I must have bad luck because I would hope these MC's last longer than 2100 miles oh well it is what it is... and definitely not a fun project pulling that little sucker out either. There is little to no room in that tiny compartment, I ended up dropping the fuse panel and got some of it below. I called Wilwood and they are going to warranty it out for me and sending me a new one tomorrow. Overall the car has been performing great, I did have a couple other small items my RT turn signal will not hold in upright position (right turn) and at 1400 miles had a DS leaking valve cover gasket I ended up replacing.

Here is the little bugger...one thing that threw me was the fluid coming out of the clutch MC looked very dirty (you can see the color of it on the white towel) almost had a grey color to it. I do not really know how this would be possible with only 2100 miles. I will have to really flush out the system when I re-bleed it. Maybe someone has explanation for why it would look so bad?

I had a Wilwood MC start leaking also out of the boot during my Coupe build. Fortunately before it was all together, so easy enough to access and fix. It's great Wilwood is going to replace yours. Being the impatient type, I ordered and received a rebuild kit the next day. The 3/4" one is Wilwood Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit 260-10514 and just over $30. Includes every part except the actual housing. In my case, I found what looked like a defective seal on the piston. Appeared to be a short shot when it was molded. The whole thing comes apart with a single snap ring. Fixed mine and it's been on the road for two seasons.

Not an issue for you since you have a whole new one coming. But it would be easy for you take yours apart and maybe see what's wrong. Could the color in the fluid be from a defective seal that's breaking down? Maybe there's some kind of defect or rough spot in the cylinder bore?

[Ted G]

Sorry for that trouble Travis.... what a bummer, but thanks for posting. These are the things that future or current builders will learn from. Keeping things accessible seem to be pretty important in instances like this. One reason why I am a nut-sert fan!! Hope the swap out goes well. See ya soon!

Ted

[Fman]

I had a Wilwood MC start leaking also out of the boot during my Coupe build. Fortunately before it was all together, so easy enough to access and fix. It's great Wilwood is going to replace yours. Being the impatient type, I ordered and received a rebuild kit the next day. The 3/4" one is Wilwood Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit 260-10514 and just over $30. Includes every part except the actual housing. In my case, I found what looked like a defective seal on the piston. Appeared to be a short shot when it was molded. The whole thing comes apart with a single snap ring. Fixed mine and it's been on the road for two seasons.

Not an issue for you since you have a whole new one coming. But it would be easy for you take yours apart and maybe see what's wrong. Could the color in the fluid be from a defective seal that's breaking down? Maybe there's some kind of defect or rough spot in the cylinder bore?

Paul, thanks for posting that rebuild kit part number. I was strongly considering doing a rebuild but with the difficulty of removing the MC I was hesitant about not doing it right causing me to remove it again. Hopefully I never have to do this over, thankfully I have a lift which made it somewhat do-able but I cant imagine doing it with car on the ground trying to get up under the fuse panel. I did have to purchase a new MC from Wildwood upfront and they will credit me back when I send them back the defective part which I thought was totally fair. I am still a little stumped on why the fluid looked so mucky out of the MC, that fluid was only about three months old (Motul RBF600 Dot 4 synthetic). I also confirmed with Wilwood that I did not do damage by running Dot 4 fluid, they said Dot 3,4,5 + synthetics are all fine with there MC's.

[Fman]

Sorry for that trouble Travis.... what a bummer, but thanks for posting. These are the things that future or current builders will learn from. Keeping things accessible seem to be pretty important in instances like this. One reason why I am a nut-sert fan!! Hope the swap out goes well. See ya soon!

Ted

Ted, one other tip for people installing the Wilwood clutch MC, the top nylock nut make sure and only snug it down or maybe even just put a regular nut on it with a lock washer. It was a complete PIA trying to break it free because I had it very tight, after cutting down an old 1/2" open end with no success I ended up using a crows foot (I think that is what it is called) to get it off. There is just no room for a wrench in the back corner of that area.

[toadster]

wow that sucks! Forma Cars just posted on the main forum that they have a customer with a failed clutch master cylinder as well - what the heck??!

is this a Wilwood issue or Forte clutch slave issue? or mix? I can't imagine the contortions needed to replace that!

[Fman]

wow that sucks! Forma Cars just posted on the main forum that they have a customer with a failed clutch master cylinder as well - what the heck??!

is this a Wilwood issue or Forte clutch slave issue? or mix? I can't imagine the contortions needed to replace that!

IMO a Wilwood problem, I do not think a slave really has anything to do with a master cylinder failing. If this one does not last I will go with a Tilton MC, I have heard the Tilton is much better quality than Wilwood.

[Nigel Allen]

My local brake company specialises in stainless sleeves. Could a stainless sleeve be a worthwhile, hopefully one-time solution?

[Fman]

My local brake company specialises in stainless sleeves. Could a stainless sleeve be a worthwhile, hopefully one-time solution?

I have no idea what the internals of a Wilwood MC are made of, I do not think they fail often but enough to where I have seen it on this forum a few times. Fingers crossed this one holds up, I can say installation went a lot easier than removing it. I also completely flushed the slave out with fresh fluid, all seems good now so hopefully it holds up.

[460.465USMC]

Travis, it seems also like an impossible task to remove the MC with the body on. Glad you were successful, and here's wishing you many miles of leak-free motoring!

[Hoooper]

Seems like "a lot" of Wilwood MC leaks lately, someone else posted about a leak pretty recently. Pretty sure I also have a small leak, had a small puddle one day but havent investigated yet. Mine is also from spring/early summer 2020

[Fman]

Seems like "a lot" of Wilwood MC leaks lately, someone else posted about a leak pretty recently. Pretty sure I also have a small leak, had a small puddle one day but havent investigated yet. Mine is also from spring/early summer 2020

My next one will be a Tilton not sure how true this is but I have been told they are a much better higher quality master cylinder compared to Wilwood.

[zee]

Hey @Fman, thanks for documenting it. Really enjoyed your videos and this thread.

Random question for ya: I am considering the same powder coating on the sheet metal but I want to do the same on the frame as well. Based on your experience with them, any thoughts on using that powder coating on the frame as well?

[Fman]

Hey @Fman, thanks for documenting it. Really enjoyed your videos and this thread.

Random question for ya: I am considering the same powder coating on the sheet metal but I want to do the same on the frame as well. Based on your experience with them, any thoughts on using that powder coating on the frame as well?

Hey thanks, glad you found it useful sure was a fun car to build I really miss working on it. I definitely think that powder coating would work on the frame, my PC showed me a 250 gallon steel tank they did that was in there shop as a sample before I did my panels and it looked really good.

[zee]

Hey thanks, glad you found it useful sure was a fun car to build I really miss working on it. I definitely think that powder coating would work on the frame, my PC showed me a 250 gallon steel tank they did that was in there shop as a sample before I did my panels and it looked really good.

Awesome. Thank you. I might go with a hint of copper / bras / bronze to do a little brown hue.

[Fman]

I am adding this video to my build thread, it is on a very well built 289 but many of the upgrades and ideas can be applied to the MK4. Thank you again Vspeeds for bringing over your awesome car as mentioned in the video one of my favorite cars to date.... definitely not a bad way to spend a couple hours talking some shop! Also trying to generate some small donations for Sheena Rutherford Go-fund me, anything is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-f...yle-rutherford

[ShayanIK]

Big fan of your build Travis!
I noticed you put a cool flag emblem on your air cleaner. Can I ask where you purchased it?

[Fman]

Big fan of your build Travis!
I noticed you put a cool flag emblem on your air cleaner. Can I ask where you purchased it?

Thank you, as I have mentioned before my car is a compilation of other build ideas taken from this forum.

Here is a link for the 1" x 2" American Flag decals.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...GTU6OTVJ&psc=1

These are the black on black:
https://www.amazon.com/Lower-America.../dp/B08DK7FMRB

Cheers

[Mike.Bray]

My next one will be a Tilton not sure how true this is but I have been told they are a much better higher quality master cylinder compared to Wilwood.

Do you know if there is a Tilton that is a direct replacement for the Wilwood? From the website it looks like a 75 series might be it. To my the Tilton MC is a better quality piece than the Wilwood so I might change them out during my build.

[460.465USMC]

I am adding this video to my build thread, it is on a very well built 289 but many of the upgrades and ideas can be applied to the MK4. Thank you again Vspeeds for bringing over your awesome car as mentioned in the video one of my favorite cars to date.... definitely not a bad way to spend a couple hours talking some shop! Also trying to generate some small donations for Sheena Rutherford Go-fund me, anything is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-f...yle-rutherford

Great review, Travis! Cool to see the 289. Eddie built a great machine. Please keep the build reviews coming! Very helpful not only to get ideas, but seeing what things look like once they're together.