Well it's about that time. I'm ready. Jason's MK IV
Hi everyone. My Mark IV Roadster was loaded with Stewart Transport yesterday and should be on the road Saturday. SO I can expect delivery towards the end of next week. So I decided to go ahead and start the build thread.
The order:
Mark IV Roadster complete kit with IRS and body cut outs traced. Bare frame and power steering. Standard seats and Auto Meter Lite gauges. Heater and wipers. Wilwood brakes and the Koni double adjustable shocks.
The engine is a Ford 351 Windsor with a .040 over bore making it a 358. About 10.5 to 1 compression with a roller cam. Built it a few years ago and mounted it on a break in stand, was trying to teach my young sons things about car engines at the time. The transmission is a TKX with the .68 fifth gear. Centerforce Dual Friction clutch and a Quicktime bell housing.
I have already hit all the aftermarket vendors. Soft top is here, Boig Cool tubes are here, drop trunk from Russ Thompson is here and I will send the steering column out for the turn signal mod.
Forward firewall and transmission tunnel top from FFMetal. The rear glove box, door sill plates and exhaust hangers from Dark Water Customs.
Mirrors, radiator brackets, battery tray, fan shroud from Breeze are all here.
I am sure I am forgetting parts, but ALL the vendors I chose to do business with are great to deal with.
I have been amassing parts for the engine, wheels, seats and such for years.
So about me. I started this journey in the late 90s. I wanted a Midstates, Bob Kalio was a class act but then he sold out to Shell Valley and that ended that idea. Then Hurricane Motorsports came out and made a real decent car, then they went out and came back. Factory Five was a second choice to Hurricane for a long time. What made the change is the refinements and changes made by Factory Five showed they cared and wanted a better car. Finally the frame was the deciding factor. People drive terrible. I think a collision in a car with Factory Fives frame would be more survivable than with Hurricanes frame.
I am a retired commercial pilot hence the username "flyboyjy". I got tired of the economy getting me every time there was a downturn, competing with 5000 or 6000 pilots for the same job isn't fun. But long ago I thought to have a back up plan and that turned out to be as a diesel mechanic, and yes I actually do have college degrees as both. So I retired from flying in 2010 and started working on trucks and equipment. Turns out I had a hidden talent for running crews and entire shops. Ended up where I am today as the Field Service Manager for an extremely busy heavy equipment repair company. I send my crews out and sometimes run the entire company when the owner decides to take time off.
Anyway the car will be built in a 3 car garage in Colorado, I live somewhere between Papa and GTBradley.
I will do my best to post pictures and keep this updated. I thought about putting it on YouTube but I know I don't have the time for editing.
Hey, Jason. Congratulations on getting your dream started. If you want a cheering section when the kit arrives, let me know, I'll drive over in the roadster.
By the way, move your build thread over to Build Threads page, people look there when they want to see what you are doing.
Last edited by GTBradley; 10-14-2022 at 02:10 PM.
Bradley
Build thread - Mk4, Coyote, IRS, Wilwood brakes, old-style soft top and accessories.
The distance between "finished" and finished is literally infinite.
Jason I moved the thread for you. Congratulations on your new build! There are a few threads in the welcome/intros section of the site that will show you how to use the picture gallery and how to change the title of your thread. Let me know if you need any help at all with either of those issues.
FFR 5369 Pin Drive, IRS, Trigos, Torsen, Wilwoods, FMS BOSS 302 "B" cam , Mass-flo. CA SB100 (SPCN) Registered
Delivered 4/23/06. "Finished" 4/2012 (still not done!)
Congrats on your kit arriving soon, Jason! You bring a great perspective and skillsets to your build. Lots of nice add-ons already in-hand or queued up. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your kit arrival day, and getting your build underway.
Welcome aboard!
Chris Coupe complete kit delivered: 4/22/24. Build Thread. Coyote. T-56. IRS w/3.55. Wilwoods. PS. HVAC. Side windows. MK4 Complete kit. Build Thread Index. Delivered: 10/15/2020. Legal: 7/25/23. Coyote Gen3. TKO600 (0.64 OD). IRS w/3.55. PS. Wilwoods. Sway bars. This build is dedicated to my son, Benjamin. Build Thread.
It has been a marathon weekend building a body buck and chassis cart. Nowhere near the build quality of what Sam Sturdy built, which is a high mark to match. But mine will serve its purpose. I will try and post pictures and engine build pictures later this week.
So about 3 years ago my boys asked why I had a bare engine block in the garage. So I explained to them what it was intended for and that it had been around long before they were born. So I thought it would be fun to go ahead and build it up, maybe they would learn something. So we built it and put it on an engine break in stand I built about 20 years ago. Made some up grades along the way, decided the the Ford ZR2 heads had real nice flow numbers and had the velocity vane right in front of the intake valve. Had all the rotating assembly balanced and we built it. Put it on the stand with a new carburetor and ran it. It runs real nice and strong, very smooth. There are no engine dynos that I can find in the area to see what it puts out but Desktop Dynos puts it somewhere over 400 horse. Of course with the American flag on the Edelbrock manifold that adds what, at least 10 horsepower on top of that.chain.jpgcrankshaft.jpgPistons.jpgready to run.jpgroller rockers.jpg.
So in getting ready for the MK IV arrival we took it off the run stand, replaced the stock pan for a Kevko pan and pick up. Mounted the clutch after checking the runout on the Quicktime bellhousing. We put the power steering pump on and then wheeled it off to the corner on a storage stand.ZR2 heads.jpgKevko pan.jpgCenterforce.jpg
More to come. (I'm learning how to embed photos so I apologize if it doesn't work right yet).
Congrats on your kit arriving soon, Jason! You bring a great perspective and skillsets to your build. Lots of nice add-ons already in-hand or queued up. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your kit arrival day, and getting your build underway.
Welcome aboard!
Thanks Chris. I'm working on getting pictures put up as things happen. Normally everyone suggests add ons and happily help people spend their money, BUT I already did it to myself with no assistance.
I had to almost completely disassemble the air hockey table that was sitting in the second bay and move it to the basement. The engine was already in its corner and the transmission moved off to the side. Blazer pulled forward and the snow blower parked behind it. The body buck was built on stilts so work could be done under it. The chassis cart was finally assembled and ready to go. Got an email from Fedex last week saying my packages would arrive, only trouble was I hadn't ordered anything. Apparently Wilwood got their stuff in and sent out. I hope everyone that was waiting for months got theirs too. space 2.jpgspace.jpg quick time.jpgcart2.jpg Wilwood.jpg
Last Thursday (10-20-22) I got a call from Jeff with Stewart transport and we made an appointment for an 8 AM delivery Friday. At 7:30 Friday morning I got another call from Jeff saying he was 27 miles away and would be on time for 8. And sure enough at 8 AM a truck pulled into the cul-de sac and we started to unload. Got the car off and put in the garage. Jeff then helped me get it off his cart and onto mine. GTBradley who is near me came by to say hi and helped with the unload. FFR 1.jpgFFR street.jpgon cart.jpgGTBradley.jpghome 1.jpghome 2.jpg
Jeff then expertly backed out of the cul-de-sac and headed out to deliver a Coupe and a Roadster. Was like Christmas in October. I set in and started inventory. I believe this is the new inventory system, if so I approve. Each box has a number on it and corresponding pages that lists what the contents are in the box. The person packing the box checks off each item in the box, if it is not there it gets 0 by it and is put on the POL. So all told I spent roughly 9 hours by myself going through each box, counting every item and matching it to the list. Very well organized and I only have about 5 or 6 things that were missing, mostly nuts a wire connector and piece of wire. inventory 1.jpg
Sunday I had my Dad and brother come out and help get the body off and put on the body buck. I had my boys help pull the sides out while my brother and I are at the ends, Dad was directing. It does just pop off and we easily lifted it up and put on the buck. Doors, trunk and hood got stored on the shelf and now I am ready to pull the aluminum off and get to work. body off.jpg
Looking from underneath with the bright garage lights on above I only spotted one pin hole in passenger door frame that will need to be addressed. There is one spot on the rear drivers wheel well that something hit and gouged the gel coat before it gat delivered. Other wise the body itself looks to be in good shape. pin hole.jpgwheel well.jpg
Quick update. Spent all week getting the frame prepped. Cut off the brackets that will interfere with the Breeze upper radiator hinge. Every inch of frame got cleaned by industrial strength wipes, it was covered in dirt and grime. Checked every weld and removed the weld slag and spatter. Doesn't take much to clean that up. There was one weld on the passenger side door cross members that the weld did not get ground down. The outside weld did and both sides on the drivers side were ground down so I guess this one just got missed but I was pretty sure it would have affected the aluminum panel fit under the door so I ground it off. Next the entire frame got roughed up with scotchbrite pads and then cleaned with an Eastwood metal cleaner they call PRE. Finally after building a makeshift paint booth in the garage it was coated in a Eastwood self etching primer. After drying and checking it over the frame was then painted in the Eastwood 2K Ceramic Chassis Paint. It has a nice black color but the ceramic tended to leave it with a slight texture. I decided it was done and started to clean up the garage. Realized the next morning I had not taken any pictures so I took a few before putting it back on the cart.
The other thing that got done was to use an internal frame coating that has a 24 inch long flexible tube on the open frame pieces that could not be painted normally. Seemed to coat everything very well. Now onto aluminum F panels and more.FRAME 1.jpgFRAME 2.jpg
Hi Flyboy. I'm not able to view the pictures in your last post. Do you have the album set to Private?
I didn’t think so. I will look into it I was on the way out to my last remaining Grandmas funeral when I posted it. If I can’t get them right I will repost them.
SO after painting the frame I realized quickly that warm days were probably gone until spring and I wanted to paint the aluminum panels. Even though the garage is heated it is much better when it is warm out. Also I have most of the major parts to the car but still have POL items like hardware that will hold up attaching the parts. I had considered this possibility about the POL items a long time ago and simply shifted to painting what needed to get done while waiting. There is plenty to work around if you are missing parts.
First of all a quick warning about cleaners. I got this Tub of Towels at Home Depot months and months ago. I used it to clean the frame, it had lots of grime on it. Not to be unexpected from a manufacturing facility. However the Tub of Towels is the first thing I have ever encountered that actually softened up Nitrile rubber gloves. So use with caution if you use these.tub of towels.jpg
After having used scotchbrite pads to rough all the surfaces up I wiped down with acetone thinking it would clean everything. But I quickly found out that the Eastwood PRE cleaning towels actually does a superior job. ACETONE.jpgPRE.jpg
I went ahead and assembled the RT dropped trunk and cut the trunk floor out. I fitted it before painting. I then built the A-frame to hang the panels on and put paint booth back up. I use a self etching primer after cleaning each panel and ran out about halfway through, which really stinks on a late Saturday afternoon. So I took what was primered and painted those panels and placed an order for more primer. It showed up a couple of days later and I was able to go ahead and finish shooting the primer and painting the remaining panels.Panels.jpg
But wait I got more than that done. I did get the upper control arm sleeves trimmed. I played with the upper ball joints and did find they do bind up real quick if the paint is not removed. After I wire wheeled the paint off I could run them in by hand. So I then used blue loctite and installed them. The lower control arms were mounted after installing the F panels. The the upper control arms got mounted followed by spindles and hubs.
So I will say my observation of the assembly manual, it could be better and I don't think it would take much effort to do it. I am finding there could be better descriptions and photos to make sure the parts get put together the right way. Also what size sockets are needed. The wheel hub socket is 36 MM, 1 7/16" is close but is actually 36MM.
I also found when putting the upper control arms on the nut on the rear most bolt on both sides it is impossible to get a normal wrench or socket on. I thought about wedging a screwdriver or prybar in there to try and hold it while torqueing it. In the end I chose to dig out one of the many sockets I have modified it the past just for this reason. I used a 3/4" socket with the side cut out that fit nicely in there and was the able to torque the bolt.
Also for those that don't use anti-seize regularly here is a tip, the point that you think you have put enough on you have already put to much on. It spreads and gets every where. Literally. Just light tough of it is all you need, same with the ARP bolt assembly lube.
And lastly the Most Valuable Tool for the weekend goes to the roller chair. IF you don't have one then get one. Sitting while working and having a place to put your tools is so much easier on your back an knees.
Also for those that don't use anti-seize regularly here is a tip, the point that you think you have put enough on you have already put to much on. It spreads and gets every where. Literally. Just light tough of it is all you need, same with the ARP bolt assembly lube.
I swear if I get with in 2 ft of my can f anti-seize it gets on me. Stuff is like a magnet.
So when you look out your garage door and see the snow and it is 16 degrees F outside and falling fast do you turn on the garage heater and get to work? Well maybe but it's going to take a bit to warm it up, the heater is going to spin the electric meter at light speeds. Also the wife just parked her Jeep with out cleaning off all the chunks of ice and when it melts there's going to be a swamp in there. SO instead I grabbed the Wilwood brake hats and rotors and take them in and start assembling at the kitchen table. 3 out of 4 done, tonight is supposed to be just as cold so the 4th one will get done. The weekend will be warmer so I hope to get a bunch done. COLD.jpgROTOR 1.jpgROTOR 2.jpgROTOR 3.jpg
So when you look out your garage door and see the snow and it is 16 degrees F outside and falling fast do you turn on the garage heater and get to work? Well maybe but it's going to take a bit to warm it up, the heater is going to spin the electric meter at light speeds. Also the wife just parked her Jeep with out cleaning off all the chunks of ice and when it melts there's going to be a swamp in there. SO instead I grabbed the Wilwood brake hats and rotors and take them in and start assembling at the kitchen table. 3 out of 4 done, tonight is supposed to be just as cold so the 4th one will get done. The weekend will be warmer so I hope to get a bunch done. COLD.jpgROTOR 1.jpgROTOR 2.jpgROTOR 3.jpg
You need a different heater! My Modine Hot Dawg 75k BTU heaters (one in my shop and one in my garage) keep those spaces at a comfortable 60 degrees all winter for just about $1.00/day in natural gas and pennies per day in electricity.
You need a different heater! My Modine Hot Dawg 75k BTU heaters (one in my shop and one in my garage) keep those spaces at a comfortable 60 degrees all winter for just about $1.00/day in natural gas and pennies per day in electricity.
Yes I considered one of these at one time. Getting the natural gas to it and venting the exhaust were concerns at the time. An LP hookup might eliminate some of the problem. Maybe I will give it another look.
So it has been a busy couple of days, I only get a few hours every night to work out in the garage. I started out by modifying the body buck. I was not real happy with the lower rails placement as the body rested on them. I am not sure if the body would be distorted in anyway over time but why risk it? I also put a cross bar between the front and rear cockpit opening just in case. Also added a shelf down low to hold the build manual and tools. LT BUCK MOD.jpgRT BUCK MOD.jpgCROSS BAR.jpg
Finished the front brakes. Shimming the calipers takes a lot of putting on and taking off the calipers to adjust the washers but in the end the gap is the same distance on each side of the rotor and the right front matches the left front. So I don't expect the brakes to pull uneven. FRONT WILWOODS.jpg
I started making a template for putting the heater on the forward firewall. As others before me have found the template that I had to go searching the internet for to drill the holes does not match the heater. So I ended up heavily modifying the template. After a ton of measuring an checking the firewall was finally cut, drilled and the heater test fitted. heater template.jpgheater template2.jpgheater mounted.jpg
IF you don't already have an air saw I highly recommend getting one. Mine cuts with little vibration and is easy to control.
Moved on to the drivers footbox and pedal quadrant. No need to rant I did that plenty in the garage trying to find the hardware that is not clearly marked and the description in the manual is terrible on assembling the footbox. I went through many build pages looking for clues only to have decided things have changed and none of this matches the book or older builds. The video from FFR from 2013 is really different.
After assembling the quadrant and removing the attachment for the master cylinder I filed down the top of the pedal arm so the quadrant fit and the bolt could go through. The adjustable stop bolt gets mounted to the bracket and the bracket then gets bolted to the Wilwood assembly. The hard part was digging through that mystery box of hardware we have been discussing elsewhere to find the bolts that hold the front of the pedal box to the frame and front panel. There is a mention of a fourth bolt that was supposed to be used in the assembly early on that is no longer part of the process and is NOT to be found. This all gets mounted to the frame. footbox started.jpgQUADRANT.jpg
Hey Ya'll. It has been a while since I last posted anything, holidays, life and POL items have been in the way but I have made progress despite it all.
So I wanted an adjustable clutch cable and knew the FFR cable will just break anyways. Did some shopping and ordered a Granatelli clutch cable with the adjuster. I put the two cables side by side and there is a difference in the size of cable. adjustable cable.jpgcables.jpg
The POL has become a problem. The IRS fasteners and Koni shocks are on it, so I can't put the rear end in and don't have shocks if I could so I moved onto aluminum panels. Put the passenger side and moved onto the drivers side.PAX FLOOR.jpgPAX FOOTBOX INSIDE.jpgPAX FOOTBOX.jpgDRIVER FLOOR.jpg
I had hoped the IRS fasteners at least would be coming soon so I went ahead and assembled the rear arms. I found when trying to put the swivel ends in the lower arms that they would go so far then bind up. Looks like it was powder coat and welding slag in the threads. So I ordered a 1 1/4 tap and die. Cleaned the arms out and chased the threads on the swivel ends and then it all went together. TAP AND DIE.jpgTAPPING ARM.jpgA-ARMS.jpg
I measured the spindles many times, marked where to cut and thought on it, just kind of messes with ones mind when you figure out this is a one shot cut, there's no going back. Then get to cutting and it is done. Followed by a little polishing work after. CUT SPINDLE.jpgCUT.jpg
Next the wheel studs. They hammer out easily. I could have used my shop press to push new ones in but instead used my Lisle stud installer. I had a unused lug nut just for this purpose, after pulling all 10 studs it is pretty much wasted. STUD TOOL.jpgHUB STUDS.jpgHUB STUDS 2.jpg.
So I had all the rear end parts ready. After several email exchanges I found that FFR had gotten in the IRS fasteners but sadly no update on when shocks might be available. The IRS fasteners arrived on a Saturday night and I opened the box and laid everything out. Seemed a bit light on bolts, after referencing lists that showed what should be there I realized the 8 bolts for holding the A-Arms on were not there. I had my brother come out and help hang the diff up and bolt it in just to finally get it up there and the massive box it was in out of the garage. BOLTS.jpg
One other thing is the ears on the A-Arms are not quite open enough and needed to be spread a little, the easiest way was to get a section of 1/2-13 all thread and some nuts. Once the nuts and all thread were put in place it took just a little to open everything up to fit.
I also got my filler neck grommet I ordered. After comparing it with what came in the kit I will say GO FIND THE OEM PART. The consistency of the rubber is vastly different. The FFR supplied one is a lot softer and is physically smaller. I can see that it might not seal well and lead to fuel leaks a lot of other builders have experienced.
This past weekend I got all the rear brakes mounted. This whole experience has to be one of love, otherwise sitting there with dial calipers measuring the fit of brake calipers and taking them apart multiple times to find the right combination of shims might really get to some. But they are on. Not sure what to think of the park brake handle yet, might have to sit there and look at it some more and decide to keep it or go to something else. Some of you know what it is like to sit there and look at a part for a long time. RR BRAKE.jpgLR BRAKE.jpg.
Despite today being my birthday I expect to go home and finish the park brakes, maybe put the fuel tank up and look at putting in brake/ fuel lines. And maybe stare at them a little more because it's not my favorite job. And onto the electrical system later this week.
The ice sheet in the street was at least 4 inches thick but is now melting fast. I had hoped to be go carting soon but with no shocks or headers I'm really stuck.
By the way, you mentioned that you could have used your shop press to install the studs, but when I asked the Instructors at the FFR Build School, I got the impression that there was just no room to have the support needed to press in correctly...
I don't have my kit yet to assess for myself...Do you have any pictures of your setup; i.e., how you would locate in your press?
By the way, you mentioned that you could have used your shop press to install the studs, but when I asked the Instructors at the FFR Build School, I got the impression that there was just no room to have the support needed to press in correctly...
I don't have my kit yet to assess for myself...Do you have any pictures of your setup; i.e., how you would locate in your press?
Thanks
Craig C
Thanks Craig, 51 doesn’t feel any different than 50. I never took the school so I can’t speak to what the instructors may or may not have said. I didn’t think to take pictures of the hub before putting it all together. However using a deep socket and a press with plates should be no problem from what I saw. Now if the hub is mounted to the spindle that would be a completely different story. I did mine the way I did because it was faster and what you can’t tell from the picture is my press is buried behind my body buck on stilts. It takes some effort to get to it right now. 9CB913F3-B8D2-46F7-9BED-B36FB0E668D9.jpg
I found a video that the guy is doing this and his hubs look almost exactly what was in the kit. And I would have installed them the same way.https://youtu.be/MPSJPci-THg
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Originally Posted by 460.465USMC
