My Daytona Coupe Build... Ten Years in the Making

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom. I found it by doing a search for car dollies. I love it. It's very simple to set up, and easily breaks down for quick storage. The best part is that it is a modular unit.

Carlos

[aks801]

Carlos, I don't know if your bike has a regulator/rectifier as part of the electrical system, but some of these units can be notorious for breaking down, especially if they are not getting enough breeze to cool them down. Just a thought.

Seeing you tear down your 'stang makes me wish I still had my '90 LX 5.0! Would make a handy donor about now.

Really looking forward to seeing your pics, especially once you actually start on the build-up itself.

Lastly: thank you for your service.

[Carlos C]

Carlos, I don't know if your bike has a regulator/rectifier as part of the electrical system, but some of these units can be notorious for breaking down, especially if they are not getting enough breeze to cool them down. Just a thought.

Seeing you tear down your 'stang makes me wish I still had my '90 LX 5.0! Would make a handy donor about now.

Really looking forward to seeing your pics, especially once you actually start on the build-up itself.

Lastly: thank you for your service.

First off, thanks for the kind words!

It does have a voltage regulator, which coincidentally, I just replaced last month. It's not the problem this time, however. I found the main fuse melted, but not popped. I have a short somewhere in the wiring harness, but couldn't find the source by looking at the readibly accessible sections of the harness. I'm afraid that I'll have to take the bike apart to find and fix the problem. Unfortunately, this and other responsibilities are taking precedence over the build. That's why I haven't posted any photos yet.

I did get a couple of hits on Craigslist about the Mustang. Hopefully, I'll get it out of my garage very soon. I've collected so many Mustang parts throughout the years, that I have almost everything I'd need for another basic kit, which I plan to do sometime after I get done with the Coupe. The advantage next time will be that I can start prepping donor parts before I even order the kit, and won't have to deal with a carcass taking up one bay in my garage, so I'd be able to start the project right away.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Today, I finally sold my donor Mustang. The guy who bought it, plans to make it a race car again, so I'm happy about that. The last thing I wanted, was to see this car going to a scrap yard. He promised to send me pictures of it while in progress, and give me a ride on it at the track, once it's done. I'm pretty convinced that it's going to a good home. I felt mixed emotions seeing it go, considering that I've owned this car for 16 years; but at the same time, I really needed the garage bay it was occupying so I can continue with the build.
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Spent the rest of the afternoon power washing my garage from all the dirt, grime, oil, grease, and mystery fluids left over from the tear-down. Once I get my bike's electrical issue ironed out, and the 240V outlet installed in the garage, I'll get back to prepping the uncoated FFR parts, and the donor parts. Took some of the donor parts to work this week to dip in the parts washer, media blast, and dip again. It's good to be my rank, I can get away with things others can't...

I also received my back-ordered front lower control arms from FFR today. Unfortunately, the powder coater did a poor job, as the coating on both arms is chipping right out of the box. At this point, I'm not sure that I want to go through the trouble of sending these back, and wait who knows how long for another set, and hope that the powder coater actually properly prepped the parts before coating. I may end up just sanding them down at the problem areas, and coating them in primer and paint. All I have left on back-order are the hatch glass and the chassis electrical harness. I had decided from the moment I sent FFR a spreadsheet of all the missing, incorrect, and damaged parts, that I was not going to constantly harass them about the status of any shipment, including the already back-ordered items. So far, they have been pretty good at sending me what I needed, even though I don't hear from them until the parts ship. At least, I have all the suspension items to start assembly. The glass and electrical harness are not needed until much later in the build. I just hope I get them before I get to that stage.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Sounds like you are missing the same parts that I am.

[Carlos C]

Sounds like you are missing the same parts that I am.

Tom:

How long have you been waiting for your parts?

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

About 3 weeks.

[Carlos C]

Tom:

It's been 2 months so far since my kit was ready for pick-up.

Aks801:

It was the regulator, after all. Ended up doing Ohms and voltage tests on the stator, and it passed. I did Ohms tests on the charging system's wiring harness, and it passed. So with a volt meter on the battery, and an amp meter on the output side of the regulator, I started the engine. Surprise, surprise; the battery had barely 13V, but the regulator was only putting out a mere 8 amps. Not enough to compensate the battery's demand. Swapped my new regulator for a new regulator, and conducted the same test. At first, the battery was at 13.75V, with amp reading at 11.8. Once the battery got to 14V, the amps dropped to 10.9, as it should, since the demand is satisfied. Just to be on the safe side, I also sanded the powder coating around the harness' grounding point. Took the bike on a 30-minute ride, with no loss of power, no warning lights, and no melted main fuse. Hopefully, I'm done with this issue. I'm burned out on my bike. I just want to concentrate on the build.

Carlos

[Timb]

I think it was 3-4 months before I got the hatch glass but that was 3 years ago when they were replacing all the defective units

[Carlos C]

I think it was 3-4 months before I got the hatch glass but that was 3 years ago when they were replacing all the defective units

I'm not really in a hurry to get the glass, but hope to get the chassis harness before I get to that stage. Not sure why the harness would be on back-order for so long, since Ron Francis has them in stock. Maybe FFR forgot that I haven't received it, or are under the assumption that I did? After all, the parts list I got had items checked off by them, which were clearly missing, such as the front lower control arms. Ironically, it is also listed as missing on the back-order list they gave me. So, there is a conflict in validity between the two lists. I'll wait and give them the benefit of the doubt. But I'll definitely call them about it, if I'm close to start the electrical installation and I still don't have it.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

While doing some yard work and pest control today around the house, some kid riding his bicycle who couldn't be any older than 16 years old, stopped in front of my house to take a peek into my garage. He turned to me and asked if that was a Corvette (typical question). I responded that it is a replica of a Daytona Coupe. He then asked: "'65?" My jaw dropped to the floor. This kid knew exactly what this car is, while the older self-proclaimed "car guys" give me a puzzled look, even after I tell them what it is. This kid is definitely a car guy. That was refreshing to see, so I shook his hand before he went on his merry way, and told him that he was welcome to check out the progress.

On another note, i just had another set of epidural injections on my spine yesterday, so I've been taking it easy. Hopefully tomorrow, my back will allow me to crawl into the attic, so I can run the electrical cables for my garage's 240V outlet. If I get this outlet powered up by tomorrow, I can start powder coating next week.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Good luck with your back Carlos! I have a cheap die cast Daytona in the garage which I have to show most people, so they get an idea of what I'm building. Most people think I'm doing a mustang when I tell them about the Cobras I've built. One thing about the Coupe is that I haven't had anyone say their uncle or neighbor had one back in the day. ;-)

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom. Unfortunately, things didn't go well yesterday trying to install the 240V outlet. Apparently, the workers who insulated my house must have thought that there would never be a chance of another breaker being added to the house, so they buried the breaker panel's electrical channel inside the wall with hardened insulated foam. I can't reach the panel from the attic due to the limited space left on the channel, and can't take the panel off the wall without destroying the drywall, since they left no slack on the wires and glued them all together with the spray foam.

I had all the conduit and cable run in the attic and garage wall, but had to take it all apart. My only option now, which doesn't require destroying the wall around the panel, is to get someone to help me feed 30 feet of 6-gauge cable through a small hole in the panel, while I pull it from the attic, if I can even get it through all that insulation.

For now, all I have to show for my hard work, is itchy arms from fiberglass, and a lot of back pain from crawling around the attic, which will render me useless for the next few days.

Carlos

[xatudor]

Carlos
If I've read your post correctly you have the wire almost there, why not get a scrap length of wire (or poly tubing) and feed it through the hole into the attic, twist the wires in the attic onto the wire coming from the panel and then use it as a draw wire, you may still need help but it wont require the full 30 feet of wire to be pulled through the small hole. HTH

[Carlos C]

Carlos
If I've read your post correctly you have the wire almost there, why not get a scrap length of wire (or poly tubing) and feed it through the hole into the attic, twist the wires in the attic onto the wire coming from the panel and then use it as a draw wire, you may still need help but it wont require the full 30 feet of wire to be pulled through the small hole. HTH

I tried that with negative results. The problem is that the cable way is deep but narrow, and filled with hardened foam. I have to dig the foam out, accessing it from the attic first. I won't be able to reach down to the panel, but if I can get enough of it out, I may be able to use hanging wire to draw the cable from the bottom, as long as it can break through whatever foam is left in the cableway. I only have one slot left to run this heavy gauge wire on top of the breaker panel. Since this cable is not pliable, I may be able to force-feed it upwards, breaking through the remaining foam as it goes, if all else fails.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

I hate having days like that! Good luck!

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom. I finally was able to run the cable yesterday, with the help of a friend. After that, everything else was a piece of cake. I finally got a working oven in the garage for powder coating.

Unfortunately, distractions don't seem to end. I found yet another geyser in my yard, due to a broken nipple on a sprinkler head. Ended up having to dig out the piping, in order to get to what was left of that nipple. I had to cut it inside the pipe to get it out. Got it fixed.

Speaking of distractions, my girlfriend came down to visit for the next ten days, so I won't be able to spend much time in the garage. I know, I know, you guys want to see progress and lots of pictures. Me too... Hopefully next week I'll be able to start cranking on it. In the meantime, please try not to get too bored with this thread, and decide to unsubscribe. It'll get interesting, I promise.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Finally made some progress today, despite other home and bike issues that I'm still dealing with. Rear end is dismantled (except for the differential), ready for prepping, priming and painting. I checked the backlash, and tooth pattern, and everything is still within specs, so no need to take it apart. I'll be taking some of the other parts to work tomorrow, to dump into the parts washer, and others will be media-blasted. I also purchased 4 gallons of the very expensive WD-40 Rust Removal Wash. I'll find out tomorrow if I wasted $100+ on this chemical, or if it actually works miracles like I watched on the "Detroit Muscle" tv show.

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I'm hoping to be able to do more donor part preparation the rest of the week. There's way too much to re-paint and powder coat.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Got home late today from my spinal appointment. My doctor said: "no bending". Yeah, right. If I follow that advice, I would not be able to do anything with my kit.

The overly-priced rust remover actually works, but can only be used a couple of times before it stops removing anymore rust. It's a lot cheaper to just use Ospho and a wire wheel. But unlike Ospho, WD-40's product is non-acidic, safe for the environment, and safe to handle. Otherwise, it's not cost-effective if there are a lot of rusted items.

I'll be taking more parts to work tomorrow, and repeat the process. This is going to be very tedious...

Carlos

[narkosys]

found this method in the 818 forums.

old school and it works!

HTH

P

[Carlos C]

found this method in the 818 forums.

old school and it works!

HTH

P

Thanks for the idea. I had previously tried using the electrolysis method by using water, baking soda, and an aluminum panel at the bottom of a bucket, and got marginal results. I was always apprehensive about using electricity, but it looks like others got the process down to a science. I'll probably try that as a cheap way to de-rust my parts.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Found out today that a 24-hour soak on the WD-40 de-rusting chemical and a wire brush, will rid your steel product from its annoying protective zinc coating. So, it gets rid of rust AND the coating that protects the material from it. Well, I guess I'll just finish uncoating my rear control arms, and get them ready for powder coating. Gloss black, or chrome? Hmmmm...

More parts went through the media blaster and parts washer, with plenty more to go. When will the fun part begin?

Carlos

[loeffler1]

Carlos

That's the big drawback to using a donor, which is why I did the complete kit. On the other hand think of all the savings in trade for your labor!!

[Carlos C]

Hey Bill:

I usually don't mind the labor involved in prepping and painting parts, but I just want to get on with the build, and can't see the end of this stage in sight. Since I still have many more extra parts that can be used on another kit, the next order will also be for a basic one. The difference will be that by the time I receive the kit, I plan to have all the donor parts ready to drop in.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

I find it more fun assembling the car than cleaning and prepping the parts, but if you don't spend the time doing the prep work the finished product doesn't look a good. For me, with all my Mustang contacts its actually cheaper to go the donor route.

[Carlos C]

Tom:

I agree. Now that I can powder coat in my garage, it's even cheaper for me to go the donor route. My next build will also be using donor parts, so I won't have to buy a complete kit.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Spent this afternoon running all 10 zones on my irrigation system, making a diagram of where they all are (since neither my builder, nor the contractor who installed the system bothered to do this), recording the spray pattern of the sprayers and the rotational degree of the rotors, and checking for any substancial leaks. Good news: no leaks; bad news: I have to repair/replace two rotors. Then I worked on my bike. By the time I was done, I didn't feel like doing anything else. At least, I still made some progress prepping more of the donor parts at work. Hope to get the rear end and some other parts painted in the next few days.

I found a metal supplier in Clearwater. I'll be buying a sheet of 16-gauge hot-rolled steel next week, to make an oven extension box for powder coating bigger parts.

Carlos

[skullandbones]

That oven idea is great! I like the idea of having your own in house powdercoating because it gives you a lot of control on the quality by taking your time and recoating if needed before cooking. I don't have the room for the extra equipment unfortunately.

Thanks,

WEK.

[Carlos C]

Not to mention all the money I'll save by coating at home all of the donor parts, and the FFR parts that came bare, not to mention the aluminum panels.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Hey Carlos, have you seen 2bKing's powder coating booth/box? Looks like a great way to keep powder from getting all over when you coat your parts.

[Carlos C]

Hey Tom:

No, I haven't. Do you have a link to that thread? I'd love to take a look at it.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Here you go.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...eferrerid=3261

From,
Tom Mauldin

[Carlos C]

Thanks, Tom! I like it. Very inexpensive to fabricate. I may make one myself, but would have to be a little stronger and bigger, in order to support heavier and larger items. Thanks for looking out.

Carlos

[loeffler1]

Tom, Carlos

I'm one lucky guy, I have been having my powder coating done by a local company for the past five years while building the coupe. Well for the last three years they have been slipping my items in with commercial jobs because most of my work was either gloss black or wrinkle black. Due to this I have been getting all of my powder coating done for free!!! Don't want to bust your chops but I suspect I have saved a few bucks. Of course I had to promise the crew a ride when finished!

[Tom Mauldin]

Bill, that's one heck of a deal! I will end up spending at least a grand on powder coating for my coupe. That is just doing the big parts, like the frame, rear end housing, and aluminum panels. I will do all of the small stuff myself.

[Carlos C]

What!? Free powder coating!? Ok Bill, you win... That is awesome. Maybe I'll try sweet-talking the owner of my local powder coating shop for freebies, and promise him the ride of his life on the Coupe when it's done.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

While I was getting ready for work this morning, I just happened to look out into my backyard, and found and intruder taking a stroll, which loves meat, and is not very social. I ended up taking the day off work to deal with the situation (who wants to go to work on Mondays anyway). I called Fish & Wildlife, they came out and caught it. The gator was a five-footer, which was about the same as the trapper's height.
image.jpg image.jpg

In the meantime, I worked on my irrigation system. I think I finally have everything fixed. I also painted more donor parts. All in all, it was a pretty productive day.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

No distractions today. I was able to concentrate solely on the donor parts. More of the rear suspension and brakes have been cleaned, prepped, and painted; and dismantled the steering rack for a nice cleaning bath, a session in the media blaster box, back to the bath, and then paint tomorrow. After that, it'll be the rear end's turn to get a make-over.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

I finally got my rear hatch glass yesterday. Opened the box, and checked for damage, and test-fitted on the body. It is a very tight fit, which means that I'll have to lightly sand the body edges.

Steering rack was a mess when it came out of the donor. After scraping, disassembling, media blasting, chemical washing, and painting, it looks like a brand-new unit. I'm surprised it wasn't leaking steering fluid, since almost every hose connection had dried-up O-rings.

Rear springs have been coated, as have the axle shafts' flanges, and the rear brakes. Hopefully, I'll have the rear end looking like new by this weekend.

Carlos

[Tom Mauldin]

Sounds like you've been busy! Have you started powder coating yet?