Chris' Coupe Build #566 - Delivery Day! Inventory done.

[460.465USMC]

Reserved.

[460.465USMC]

What's better than building a F5 car? Building a second F5, of course. Wahoo! I can't believe I get to build again! I really enjoyed building the Roadster. It was challenging for me, yet very satisfying. Learning was a huge part of the enjoyment. The F5 Forum here was invaluable.

My eye was on the Coupe as a first build. But after an honest assessment of my skillset (beginner), the MK4 seemed like it would be a better match. And the lower kit price would leave a couple more large Gs in my pocket. So, Roadster became my choice for Build One.

To kickstart the Coupe funding and make this project possible, I said goodbye to my 2019 Camaro SS. Yes, a tear was shed. No Chevy's in Chris' garage? What the heck? What's happening to this crusty old bowtie heart? It was a necessary evil to enable my growing F5 car building addiction. The silver lining is my "new" garage does not have room for it anyway. More about that later.

Besides the obvious differences between the Type 65 Coupe and MK4 Roadster, I will be attempting a number of new-to-me items with my Complete kit build:

• Coyote Gen 3 (don't have it yet, so will see what's available later on when I'm ready for it)
• T-56: planning to mate it to the Coyote myself (another first); reverse lockout feature, and backup lights
• Hydraulic throwout bearing: possibly Tilton
• Brakes: Wilwood SuperLite front brakes. 13" Dynapro Wilwood rears. Both are slotted, but not drilled. Gordon Levy Racing.
• Electronic Parking Brake: Wilwood
• IRS with 3.55 ratio
• Power steering: KRC from F5
• Gauges: Speed Hut GPS gauges from F5
• Gas-n side exhaust: Touring model - brushed stainless
• SS fuel and brake lines will attempt my own flares
• HVAC: supplied by F5
• Windshield wipers: specialty Power Windows
• Side windows
• Rear camera: displayed in rear view mirror
• High back seats. TBD: considering Corbeau, but I also like rhk118's selection from Intatrim
• Wheels/tires: staggered 18" SVE wheels from LMR; Front: 275/35. Rear: 315/30. (My Roadster has 17 inch wheels).
• Side mirrors: Brock Racing Equipment
• Digital Guard Dawg ignition with push button start
• Drop trunk storage: will attempt DIY
• Deleted seats, side exhaust, and front brakes

Purpose of the Coupe is mostly a performance cruiser, with some Autocross.

Stewart called me today with an April 15 pickup date. It should traverse the country, arriving at my place about a week later. Interestingly, my completion date was supposed to be 3/31/24. I checked with F5 yesterday, and the chassis and body have not been built. However, I was assured they would be ready in time for Stewart to pick up. So, no nursery picture yet. But, I think the F5 boys will come through with one once it's up in the rack and ready to go.

Oh, boy! This is getting real. Even with one build under my belt, this still feels like a huge, challenging project. I have much to learn. No doubt much of the knowledge I gain will come through this forum. Thanks in advance!

[JimStone]

Wow congratulations! Let the fun begin!

My coupe completion date is 4/27, so right behind you!

[Jim Frahm]

I’m looking forward to seeing your new kit! I’ll soon be driving over in the Roadster.

[460.465USMC]

Wow congratulations! Let the fun begin!

My coupe completion date is 4/27, so right behind you!

Wahoo! Exciting times, Jim. Congrats! I look forward to reading about your build.

[460.465USMC]

I’m looking forward to seeing your new kit! I’ll soon be driving over in the Roadster.

Looking forward to seeing your Roadster on the road, Jim! Better yet, looking forward to getting our Roadsters out on the road together.

My plan is to put the Coupe on the lift when it's delivered. Are you doing anything on or around 4/22/24?

[460.465USMC]

As I mentioned in my last Roadster post, I moved last Fall. Walking away from a dialed in garage with room to spare to a "new", unfinished garage about half the size was not exactly on my radar. But, my better half is much happier at our new place. Happy wife, happy life. The new garage was an uninsulated metal, post-type building (i.e. "pole barn"). Very common where I live. These are a good option to build a cost effective, sizeable building for vehicles, tractors, etc. Anyway, it's what came with the house. But I wanted it to be more functional with interior walls and a heat source.

So, I spent the last 4+ months framing, insulating, paneling, and painting. It took some time as a one-man crew. I also installed a couple six foot ceiling fans to push the heat off the peak during the winter. In the summer, I'll reverse the blade direction for a cooling breeze. The silver lining is I added a heat pump, which means cooling in the summer! Something my "dialed in" garage did not have.

Finishing a garage full of tools and whatnot is not exactly the smartest move I've ever made. But, I was burned out on moving, and didn't want to do the storage-space-shuffle. It seemed like 25% of every hour was spent moving tools/whatnot out of the way so I had room to work. Move it over there. Move it back. Move it elsewhere. Move it back. Uff Da! (Don't try this at home!).




Here's a view in progress. Hours were clocked on the scaffolding. I opted for OSB instead of sheet rock. The seams are visible after painting, but I prefer a solid surface that better lends itself to hanging tools, etc.




Same view finished. I figure it's about time to hang a little F5 bling, so a steel F5 sign is on the way with my delivery. I'll hang it where the blue arrow is pointing. The 3'x8' mobile workbench in the foreground is something I made a couple Christmas vacations ago. I didn't want to part with it, so it made the move as well.




As I mentioned above, I installed a couple of ceiling fans. Helps move the warm air off the peak during the winter, and reverse to provide cooling air flow in the summer.




Couldn't leave the four-post behind, so hired a flat bed tow truck to move it. The heavy duty casters made this a cinch.





It sure feels good to have a functioning garage again. I plan to put the Coupe on the lift from Day One. (The Civic will shuffle outside whenever I'm actively working on the build).




Now that the functional part of the nursery is mostly dialed in, I'm transitioning to a couple fun, build related tasks. I'm going to try my hand at stainless fuel and brake lines. Without a good source for straight tubing in my area, I will need to straighten the coiled 3/8" and 3/16" SS tubing I bought from Summit. So, I'm building my own tubing straightener based on a design I found on good ol' YouTube. It feels good to get my hands on a build related task. After that I'm going to tackle safety wiring my Wilwoods.

[JimStone]

Nice work! I just renovated my garage too getting ready for kit arrival

[Rsnake]

Garage is looking great

[460.465USMC]

Garage is looking great

Thanks for stopping by, Greg. It was a lot of work. Glad to be on this side of it.

Keep up the good work on your YouTube channel! I'm enjoying the autocross videos.

[Rsnake]

Thanks for watching the videos. The Nevada open road challenge is coming up and we shall see how the type 65 does at 165 mph.

[460.465USMC]

As I mentioned, the stainless tubing I'll be using for fuel and brake lines is coiled. Initially, I hit the easy button and bought a couple handheld tubing straighteners (3/8" and 3/16") from Eastwood. But after seeing a few home-built straighteners, I decided to try my hand at making one. It looked fun to build and saving some coin is not a bad thing. So, I returned the Eastwood units, and settled on a DIY straightener I found on YouTube (there are many!).

I think I spent <$40 for all the parts needed. Buying a short stick of 3/4" aluminum bar stock from a local metal supplier helped keep the cost down.




For me, a drill press is a necessity for this level of precision. Thankful my Dad gave me his a few years ago. It took a minute to tap the 8 (count them) 3/4" deep holes. Here you can see the wheels installed, and the holes to mount to the vise jaws. Original jaw on bottom for reference.




Here it is altogether and ready to go in the vise. These wheels are specifically for 3/8" diameter tubing, but I'm hoping I can also use them to straighten the 3/16" brake lines as well. The clamping force of the vise is obviously adjustable, and it only takes a couple minutes to swap out the vice jaws for the straightening jig. It's too early to straighten my lines, but looking forward to giving this jig a real-world test in a few months. It sure looks promising in the video by the guy who designed it:

.

Wilwood Dynapro v. Superlite Rotors
It's been about 3.5 years since I safety-wired the Wilwoods in my Roadster. A refresher video was in order. One video had a good tip on estimating wire length for each stud pair: measure between studs and multiple by 5 (2.25" X 5=11.25").
Worked perfectly. Thankfully, I remembered to set my torque wrench to 155 inch-pounds. Phew! The process came back to me after the first few were done. I don't know that my quality improved over last time, but I did notice I was faster. Overall, I enjoyed the process, and it feels like I've started the build.

I used the same Harbor Freight safety pliers, and patted myself on the back after finishing the first rotor/hat pair without bloodshed. Three sets of studs later my fingers felt wet. Dang! Safety-wire strikes again. First blood. Those wire ends are sharp.

Here's a picture to show it happened. This is one of the rear rotors.




On my Roadster build I ordered Wilwoods from F5. They sell the Dynapro, drilled and slotted. This time I bought from Levy Racing. I went with Superlite six piston on the front (13"), and Dynapro four piston on the rear (13"). The Superlites are definitely beefier: 1.25" thick v. Dynapro 13/16". No difference in the machined surface area on the rotor, but an increase of brake pad surface area by ~28% (3.9" v. 5.4").

See the difference between the Dynapro (left) and Superlite (right)?




I'm sure the Dynapro would have been just fine for my use at all four corners, but Levy's pricing made it a simple decision. And, it's something different I wanted to try on this build.

Two weeks from today until delivery.

[Blitzboy54]

Whoa!! Chris, I just happened by the coupe threads and saw this. HOLY COW man!!! You haven't even painted the roadster yet. I love it and I am more than a little jealous.

Congrats and I will be following along.

[460.465USMC]

Hi Jesse. Great to hear from you! Hope that awesome Roadster of yours is providing plenty of miles and smiles this Spring. I’ve had mine out a few times as weather allows. Loving it!

Yeah, kind of strange for me to start a new build when Build One is still wearing its birthday suit (1,500 miles so far). All I can say is I really enjoy the build process. Getting lost in the garage does me a lot of good mentally and emotionally. I’m thankful to get this opportunity.

[buttsjim]

Here it is altogether and ready to go in the vise. These wheels are specifically for 3/8" diameter tubing, but I'm hoping I can also use them to straighten the 3/16" brake lines as well. The clamping force of the vise is obviously adjustable, and it only takes a couple minutes to swap out the vice jaws for the straightening jig. It's too early to straighten my lines, but looking forward to giving this jig a real-world test in a few months.

Congratulations on your Coupe build! I made that exact same tubing straightener. I used it for my fuel, clutch and brake lines, and those same pullies worked equally well for all three. It's probably not as likely with the stainless steel lines, but I learned the hard and expensive way that you need to be careful not to over-tighten your vise with the larger diameter lines--I smushed my first set of fuel lines a tiny bit, so that the fittings wouldn't seal.

Have fun with your build--I'm sure I'll be having lots of fun following along!

Jim B

[460.465USMC]

Thanks, Jim. Getting pretty excited as delivery day inches closer.

Tubing straightener: Great minds think alike. Great to get some additional real-world feedback. I have high hopes I can get it to work for both sizes. I appreciate your tip on overtightening, and welcome any future tips you send my way. School is always in session for me.

[Nigel Allen]

Hi Chris,

Really enjoyed following along on your Mk4 build. Will be doing the same with your new build. Wishing you the very best of garage time

Cheers, Nige

[460.465USMC]

Hello, Nigel. Hope all is well with you down under. I’ve appreciated your tips and suggestions along the way. Always solid. Good to know you’ll pop-in on this build. The more eyes keeping me from boobie-trapping myself the better! Your input is very welcome. Cheers!

[460.465USMC]

This is probably a picture only the builder/owner will appreciate. The F5 boys were kind enough to send over nursery pics. They also confirmed Stewart picked up my complete kit yesterday, so its cross country trek is underway. I'm pumped!

[buttsjim]

I'm excited for you and really looking forward to following your build!

[460.465USMC]

I ordered my Coupe kit ten months ago, so seeing Eric from Stewart Transport roll up 30 minutes early Monday morning was a bit surreal. I have to say it was as exciting and maybe even more fun than my Roadster delivery 3.5 years ago. It was good to meet Coupe number 566.

Eric was very helpful and friendly. He did a fantastic job throughout the entire unload process. My goal was to lift the Coupe off the cart and onto my four post lift. Since I have bridge jacks (AKA rolling jacks), rolling the cart up onto the lift was not an option. So, it came down to old fashioned muscle and grunt. This is where Eric really shined. We used a couple 2"x6" boards on edge (a la rhk118), one under the front, and one under the rear.

The back half of the Coupe is quite a bit heavier than the front, as others have noted. Heavier than I expected. Between Eric's help and expertise, and the additional muscle of a couple of my sons (i.e. strong, young backs) and brother-in-law, we managed to set it on the bridge jacks. Phew! So good to see it in the garage and on the lift.

I have the nose sitting on end against a wall in the garage, but I'm not sure where I'm going to put the body and nose long-term. My ceiling doesn't lend itself very well to the suspension option. Will noodle on that some more. Ideas are welcome.

After a brief 97 hours of inventory, it's done. Well, everything except the carpet--not going to bother with that. Otherwise, every nut, bolt, butt connector, and 0.25" female spade connector were counted. Maybe it didn't quite take me 97 hours, but it sure seemed like it. I'm more than ready to turn a wrench at this point!

Yee haw! #566 is in the air and ready to land on the cart.




That's Eric on the left. He had the first cart load of boxes off the truck and headed toward the garage in a blink.




Here you can see most of the boxes ready for inventory.




If you could see my smile looking at this view...




The Roadster has a stable mate. They're even color coordinated.




As I inventoried, I set aside the untreated mounts, brackets, etc. for powder coating. Most of the items in this view are part of the door frame and hinge setup.




Box #2 for powder coating.




Some observations:

• I love the body lines even moreso in-person. Though I saw several Coupes at the F5 open house a couple years ago (including Edwarb's excellent build), I was more Roadster focused at that time and didn't linger too long looking over the Coupes.
• Ingress/Egress: yep, it will be a challenge. This is much more obvious in-person than it looks in the pictures.
• GPS vintage gauge set: didn't realize they are different than the Roadster. Tach/Speedo gauges are smaller, but the others are larger. And, no clock. Will be considering adding a clock.
• Over all, the new inventory process went well. Although, it didn't go any faster as I had hoped. But that's likely just an artifact of a small mind's limited processing power.
• Very small POL: just the headliner and heater control valve and controller. Thanks, F5!
• Coupe fastener pack in Box 1: I asked F5 and they sent me an itemized list, as I couldn't find one. I'm more than okay having the fasteners in one box. And, the individually labeled bags are helpful. I found several quantity mismatches between the emailed list and the labels on the bags. I'll ask F5 to supply the difference.
• Will be replacing black oxide fasteners with SS. Only a few were not replaced on my Roadster, and they've rusted.
• Set aside uncoated brackets and mounts in a separate box that I will soon drop off for powder coating--see picture above.
• I tend to reorganize parts (e.g. electrical) that obviously go together into the same box. I find this helps locate them more easily when needed. And, it condenses the number of boxes taking up shelf space.
• I also write the major components on the outside of each box. I find this gives me a quick visual when I need to locate stuff during the build. However, I know I'll still need to consult the inventory pages (now in a three ring binder) now and then.

Let the build commence in earnest. This should keep me busy for a few years, anyway. Wow! What did I get myself into?

Happy building!

[JimStone]

Wow, congratulations! Looks exciting!

[buttsjim]

Congratulations Chris! I'm really looking forward to following along! I bet you'll be surprised by how much you learned from your Roadster that will make the Coupe build be even more fun!
Jim B

[edwardb]

Congratulations! Let the Coupe fun begin. Suggestion -- spend a little time with all those parts before sending them off to powder coat. Clean up weld splatter, sharp edges, the laser cut "nibs" that are on many of them, etc. You won't regret it. I'd also be curious if Factory Five fixed the angle on those hood hinges. You may want to hold them back until you trial fit them with the hood.

[Jeff Kleiner]

All right Chris! I'm going to enjoy watching this come together

Jeff

[460.465USMC]

Wow, congratulations! Looks exciting!

Thanks, Jim. It's still a bit surreal, but that's slowly giving way to the fun and learning I'm anticipating with this build.

Congratulations Chris! I'm really looking forward to following along! I bet you'll be surprised by how much you learned from your Roadster that will make the Coupe build be even more fun!
Jim B

Appreciate it, Jim. I've been asked a few times, "Why another kit car?" I think you nailed it. I'm really looking forward to applying what I learned on the first build. And, enjoy the new-to-me aspects of this build. Hopefully, I won't repeat too many mistakes.

Congratulations! Let the Coupe fun begin. Suggestion -- spend a little time with all those parts before sending them off to powder coat. Clean up weld splatter, sharp edges, the laser cut "nibs" that are on many of them, etc. You won't regret it. I'd also be curious if Factory Five fixed the angle on those hood hinges. You may want to hold them back until you trial fit them with the hood.

Fun indeed, Paul! Can't wait to get started. Thanks for the tip on the parts prep. I started removing the nibs on the smaller brackets/mounts the laser leaves behind with a hand file. Will go over the rest of the parts before dropping off for PC.

All right Chris! I'm going to enjoy watching this come together

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff! Always appreciate your seasoned eye keeping a watch on my build. Regarding the Coupe-->Roadster color coordination, don't think I haven't thought many times about you being the one to fix that on the Roadster. Who knows, I may be up for a road trip when I'm ready someday, if you have an opening.

[Ashaw65]

Finish one project and jump onto another. Way to go!