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Thread: Meindl Mk IV Build - Graduation

  1. #441

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    Thanks, DO2G! Yeah, we're checking the right reservoir. Just for good measure, both have a good amount of fluid, too. Thanks for the idea, though.

  2. #442

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    Quote Originally Posted by initiator View Post
    Hard to picture a scenario where the brake system would stop pumping fluid while there's still a supply in the reservoir. Only thing I can imagine is a blockage or failure in the master cylinder.

    Maybe try bleeding the master cylinder again to see if fluid comes out from there? If that works and you still can't get fluid out of the caliper bleed port, maybe there is a blockage between the two.
    I don't think there's a blockage as when we pressure bleed, we can get plenty of fluid through the system. Hmmm.... you also mentioned a failure in the master cylinder. Maybe that's it but i just bet it's more a failure on our part! Thanks, Initiator for the suggestion!

  3. #443

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    Quote Originally Posted by Railroad View Post
    Is it possible the cap is not vented and displacement of fluid created a vacuum in the reservoir?
    Railroad - good thinking. Yeah, we have the CVC reservoirs and I don't recall a vent on them. Maybe I should try this with the cap off so there's no vacuum there. Thanks for the good idea!

  4. #444
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    This saga is unfortunately all too similar to the wiring issue. You're dealing with known parts and known processes. So something is wrong somewhere. Leaving the cap off won't make a difference. You'll be running with the cap on (obviously) so needs to flow properly then anyway. Lowering, or raising, or whatever the rear end shouldn't make a difference unless you're doing straight gravity bleeding. I can't say what the problem might be. But my main observation is pick a bleeding process and stay with it. You're kind of jumping around and creating so many variables it's hard to identify what might be happening. At least in my opinion and how I try to systematically approach problem solving. Bench bleeding the masters and then pressure bleeding through the CNC cap absolutely works. I've done it on every one of my builds and it has never missed for me. I know you've tried it repeatedly. But if you follow the process correctly, you aren't getting any air bubbles, and the pedal is still soft, then something is wrong. I mean mechanically or installed wrong. I don't think it's air in the system at that point and repeated bleeding with every different method isn't going to change anything. Just my two cents worth.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
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  5. #445

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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    This saga is unfortunately all too similar to the wiring issue. You're dealing with known parts and known processes. So something is wrong somewhere. Leaving the cap off won't make a difference. You'll be running with the cap on (obviously) so needs to flow properly then anyway. Lowering, or raising, or whatever the rear end shouldn't make a difference unless you're doing straight gravity bleeding. I can't say what the problem might be. But my main observation is pick a bleeding process and stay with it. You're kind of jumping around and creating so many variables it's hard to identify what might be happening. At least in my opinion and how I try to systematically approach problem solving. Bench bleeding the masters and then pressure bleeding through the CNC cap absolutely works. I've done it on every one of my builds and it has never missed for me. I know you've tried it repeatedly. But if you follow the process correctly, you aren't getting any air bubbles, and the pedal is still soft, then something is wrong. I mean mechanically or installed wrong. I don't think it's air in the system at that point and repeated bleeding with every different method isn't going to change anything. Just my two cents worth.
    Thanks for the good advice, Paul! Yes, this does feel a little like a saga... As always, we really appreciate your guidance. Your systematic approach makes a ton of sense - Thank you!

  6. #446

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    moving forward

    Hi guys. This week we rebled our brakes again using the pressure bleed method, which is what we’ve mainly done in the past. We then took the car for a drive. The brakes worked about the same as before - fine and functional but it still feels like the car takes longer to stop than I might’ve thought. Not sure how much it matters, but one thing to note is that we didn’t spring for the upgraded brakes in the kit.

    So we went and hired a couple guys at a local shop that have done what they said are thousands of brake jobs to come over and take a look at our brakes, bleed them, and see what they thought. They bled them, didn’t find much in the way of air bubbles, and they thought the pedal felt firm. In their opinion the brakes seemed ok from what they could see. We drove it again later and it feels the same – ok. So, I suppose that is good news. At least for now, I think we will move forward with the next steps in our build. Thanks, guys.

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  8. #447
    Senior Member GTBradley's Avatar
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    That’s great Pete! So, do you think it might just be a perception thing? If the brakes are working properly you should have the ability to lock them up. Have you tried max breaking from 25 or 30 mph?
    Bradley

    Build thread - Mk4, Coyote, IRS, Wilwood brakes, old-style soft top and accessories.

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  10. #448

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    Quote Originally Posted by GTBradley View Post
    That’s great Pete! So, do you think it might just be a perception thing? If the brakes are working properly you should have the ability to lock them up. Have you tried max breaking from 25 or 30 mph?
    Thanks, Bradley! That's nice of you. Yeah, maybe it is a perception thing, and I'm confident that my perception of this sort of thing is bad enough that i shouldn't rely on it too much! I've tried max braking at maybe 15-20 mph and I can lock the brakes, which is great! Although I think the wheels don't immediately lock when I hit the brakes as the car slows down for a bit first (at least I think, it's a little hard to tell given the time is quick...). But yeah, having them lock makes me feel good. Thanks!

  11. #449
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    Pete - I forget, have you bedded the brakes yet? They can feel a little 'greasy' until enough pad material is transferred to the rotors in the bedding process. Also, lots of folks upgrade the Factory Five brake pads to get better stopping power.
    Mk4 #8861 Complete kit. Delivered: 27 Apr 2016, currently a roller.
    Gen-2 Coyote, clutch, TKO600, midshift, and solid axle from Forte. Many pieces from Breeze and Replicarparts.

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  13. #450

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    Quote Originally Posted by initiator View Post
    Pete - I forget, have you bedded the brakes yet? They can feel a little 'greasy' until enough pad material is transferred to the rotors in the bedding process. Also, lots of folks upgrade the Factory Five brake pads to get better stopping power.
    Good question - yeah, I have not bedded the brakes yet. The area I can go cart in is really only about a tenth of a mile long with speed bumps and it doesn't really allow me to get much above 20 mph - I think i need to go faster than that to really bed them. But that's a very good point - thanks for bringing it up! Like you said, they do feel 'greasy'. Good point also on the upgrade of the brake pads. Thanks a lot for the help!

  14. #451
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    Speaking of greasy, I noticed the steering rack, tie rod end, lets grease exit close to the rotor on my Wilwood brakes. I had a clump of grease on the caliper, next to the rotor.
    It did not look like the rotor had picked up any grease and contaminated the pads, but I pulled it all down to confirm and washed everything down with brake cleaner.
    I will really have to watch the grease, while lubing the chassis. I hope this saves someone an issue.
    20th Anniversary Mk IV, A50XS Coyote, TKO 600, Trunk Drop Box, Trunk Battery Box, Cubby Hole, Seat Heaters, Radiator hanger and shroud.

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  16. #452

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    go carting and driver footbox

    A fun day working on the car today. We lengthened a bit the bars that extend from the master cylinders into the clevises on the brakes and took the car for a drive. Brakes seem a little better and we continue to be able to lock them up. One of my sons drove the car for the first time today which was pretty exciting!



    Then we started to close up the driver's side footbox in preparation for putting the body on sometime in the near future. Looking forward to it!


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  18. #453

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    Body on! :)

    Big day today for us! Given everything is working well, we first sealed up the driver's footbox and got to the part in the manual that says 'Your rolling chassis is now complete.'



    Then, we went into our living room and pulled the body out from its resting spot of 1.5 years and put it on the car - it's great to see it back where it belongs! I have to admit, i sort of miss the look of the go cart... but this is a good step in the right direction for us. We still have a lot to do in terms of getting the all the quick jacks installed and moving the body to fit where is should. Here's how it looks:



    Thanks, guys!

  19. #454
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    Looks great, Pete!
    My Build Thread: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ter-Build-9754
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  20. #455
    Senior Member chrisarella's Avatar
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    Pete, been a while since I've jumped in to follow build threads. Reading through yours now.

    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Hi Higgy,
    I used the dolly plans from Chris Arella (thank you, Chris!) with the link below:
    http://cobra.chrisarella.com/wp-cont...hrisArella.pdf
    The dimensions are 60 by 44 inches.
    Pete
    You're very welcome Pete. Happy to see the plans have been helpful to so many.

    Quote Originally Posted by cv2065 View Post
    Be mindful with this dolly design. I have the exact same thing and when the wheels turn a certain way outside with the weight on them, it wants to collapse on the rear (at least mine did), as that is where the weight is. Either its a common design flaw or I absolutely sucked at wood shop. Probably is the latter, but easy remedy is to take a 2x4 and attach from front to back on the side. Only do one side as it keeps you from getting under the dolly.
    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Thanks, CV2065! I hadn't heard about this so thanks a lot for bringing it up. Just so i understand it correctly, I think you're saying to connect a 2x4 from the end of one 4x4 to the other 4x4 along the side of the dolly - is that right? Could you send a picture of your dolly? Anyone else have any improvements or suggestions on the dolly? Thanks a lot, guys - certainly want to get the infrastructure right so there aren't any safety issues. Thanks!
    Quote Originally Posted by cv2065 View Post
    Yep, that is correct! Keeps the whole alignment straight.
    I'm sorry to hear cv2065 had a bad experience. Brilliant idea. I link that. Perhaps there could be a way devised to make that extra 2x4 come on and off easily.

    One thing to note, the purpose of the triangle plywood is to prevent torquing. I used a good quality 1/2" plywood. I've seen some people try and use pressboard or thinner plywood. I do not recommend those. I've also seen people not go wide enough on the triangle. The triangles are supposed to be 24" wide (going across the 4x4) x 18" long (going down the 2x6). I called this out in the post I made on the site here:

    http://cobra.chrisarella.com/chassis-dolly/

    I know one of the drawings didn't accurately reflect that proportion and I've updated the PDF/images to look more reflective of the actual dimensions.

    Unless you intend on dismantling the dolly down the road and recycling the wood, I also recommend using wood glue in the joints. FWIW I've had my roadster on my dolly for 8 years. In that time it has survived three relocations from my old house, to a workshop, and then to my new house. It has been pushed around my garage countless times without the slightest issue. I only share that as my experience.

    Anyway, I'm just getting back to my build again, and looking forward to catching up with your build thread.
    Chris
    Mark IV Roadster #7679
    Coyote 5.0, T56, Hydraulic Clutch, IRS, Torsen Diff, Wilwoods, Hydraboost, ABS Power Brakes, Power Steering, & tons more extras.

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  22. #456
    Senior Member SSNK4US's Avatar
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    Looking good Pete!!! You still had the BEST body storage EVER!!!!
    All of our inventory is still in our spare bedroom. But it’s happy being climate controlled lol

    Kurt
    If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough....

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    MKIV complete kit # 9395 delivered 7/31/18

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  24. #457

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    Quote Originally Posted by SSNK4US View Post
    Looking good Pete!!! You still had the BEST body storage EVER!!!!
    All of our inventory is still in our spare bedroom. But it’s happy being climate controlled lol

    Kurt
    Ha! Thanks, Kurt. That's perhaps the one thing that we could ever be a contender for being the best at!

  25. #458
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    Congratulations. That’s a memorable milestone. Suddenly, it’s a car! And for you, wow, it’s a living room again!
    Looks great.
    -Steve
    Mk IV #8901 - Complete kit, Coyote, TKO-600, IRS. Ordered 5/23/16, Delivered 7/14/16, First Start 8/13/17, First Go-Kart 10/22/17, Registered and Completed 10/18/18. Build Thread: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...V-Coyote-Build Graduation Thread: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...-Roadster-8901

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  27. #459

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    installing bumpers

    After getting the body on the car last weekend, this weekend we worked on trying to secure the body to the car with the 8 bolts for the quick jacks. We also started to work on installing the bumpers, since they will go on our car instead of the quick jacks as I believe these are required to register the car in Connecticut. Earlier in the build we had used Jeff Kleiner's great idea of using couplers and threaded rods for the rear quick jack bolts in order to avoid having to drop the gas tank whenever we might need to remove the body in the future. This is a great idea, Jeff! This weekend we realized that this works for quick jacks but unfortunately I don't think it works for the ffr rear bumper that we have. So we dropped the gas tank and installed the long bolts and then the rear bumper.

    We had to use our dremel to widen one of the holes in the main bumper plate since it didn't exactly align with our bolts but it wasn't too far off and I think in the end things came together well. Here's a pic.



    We also stared on the front bumper. It looks like we may need to drill and tap new holes in the vertical bumper pieces for the front in order to get the large bumper ring to fit between the two vertical pieces that affix to the quick jack bolts. If we use the threaded holes that are already there in the vertical pieces, it might be just a little too tight to fit the large bumper ring in between.

    We also ordered some cats from ffr that sit between our shorty headers from the coyote and the side pipes. We were excited to find that ffr sold these now as I don't think they did when we bought our kit in summer of 2018 and we need cats to register in connecticut. So good new there!

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  29. #460
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeteMeindl View Post
    Earlier in the build we had used Jeff Kleiner's great idea of using couplers and threaded rods for the rear quick jack bolts in order to avoid having to drop the gas tank whenever we might need to remove the body in the future. This is a great idea, Jeff! This weekend we realized that this works for quick jacks but unfortunately I don't think it works for the ffr rear bumper that we have. So we dropped the gas tank and installed the long bolts and then the rear bumper.
    Actually that mod works fine with either quick jacks or overriders & bumpers. Maybe what you missed is that it's necessary to drill out the overriders so they aren't threaded on. Then push everything together and put the nut on the end. It's a bit of a pain reaching inside the overrider to get started and tighten. But it's possible and still way easier than dropping the tank.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
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  30. #461

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    Quote Originally Posted by edwardb View Post
    Actually that mod works fine with either quick jacks or overriders & bumpers. Maybe what you missed is that it's necessary to drill out the overriders so they aren't threaded on. Then push everything together and put the nut on the end. It's a bit of a pain reaching inside the overrider to get started and tighten. But it's possible and still way easier than dropping the tank.
    Ah, I see! Ok, that makes sense. Yes, I did miss that. Thanks, Paul - we'll switch over to that next time we have to drop the tank as it certainly sounds like a better way to go. I appreciate the tip! Thanks again to Jeff for the great idea, too.

  31. #462

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    hood on

    This weekend our main progress was getting the hood on. We built the hood hinges, mounted them on the car's frame, and also set the hood latch brackets into the lip of the hood opening. We also mounted the hood latches in the hood. One thing we had trouble with was trying to use screws to mount the hood latch brackets on the body so we instead used some very small bolts that could sit within the rubber bumpers and I think that turned out ok.

    We then connected the hood to the hood hinges and did some adjustments to the placement of the hinges to help align the hood - somewhat roughy - with the body. All the adjustments you could do on the hood hinges made this easier than we thought it would be, which was great. We didn't align this perfectly by any means but I think it's ok for now as all the body work will be done down the road and things will be realigned then.

    We also threw the engine cover on for the first time since getting the engine. Here's how things look:



    One thing we're wrestling with now is the front bumper. The instructions have us redrill and tap new threaded holes in the 2 vertical overriders so that they can sit a little further out to the side of the car, thereby given the oval piece that goes between the overriders a little more room. This makes sense as it is tight without offsetting the overriders. The metal plate in the overriders is about 1/4 inch thick and we need to get a 3/8 inch hole in there to tap the new screw hole. Do you guys have a good recommendation for drill bits that can handle this? We've tried with our general purpose dewalt and ryobi black oxide drill bits along with some cutting fluid and we're having trouble getting through that steel. Thanks, guys! Hope you're all having a good long weekend.

  32. #463
    Senior Member chmhasy's Avatar
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    Looking Great

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  34. #464
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Pete,
    I'm kind of late to the party but here is how I do the rear bumper and overriders:

    https://www.ffcars.com/threads/rear-.../#post-4531186

    Cheers,
    Jeff

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  36. #465

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Kleiner View Post
    Pete,
    I'm kind of late to the party but here is how I do the rear bumper and overriders:

    https://www.ffcars.com/threads/rear-.../#post-4531186

    Cheers,
    Jeff
    Thanks a lot, Jeff! That's a great idea to fix the problem. You're always coming up with good ideas to help us out!

  37. #466

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    windshield and trunk

    We started work on the windshield this weekend. We first screwed the metal sidebars into the windshield and then slotted them into the car to see how much of the sidebars we'd need to cut off. It was a little tight but the sidebars fit into the car and we ended up needing to take up to about 2 inches off of each sidebar. So we took the windshield out, unscrewed the side bars, and then cut them down with a hacksaw. Then we rescrewed them into the windshield and slotted it into the car again to see how things looked. Here's a picture:



    Things looked pretty good and we are about to mark the place to drill the holes in the sidebars. However, we noticed one sidebar wasn't quite aligned with the windshield - at the top of the sidebar it was at an angle away from the windshield - and when we tried to align it and screw it in again, we managed to strip one of the screws... despite the warnings in the manual that this could happen... So I think we'll buy some new windshield inserts which will hopefully help us out.

    https://www.whitbymotorcars.com/prod...hield-inserts/

    If anyone else has run into this, please let me know!

    We then moved on to the trunk and installed the trunk handle. Seemed to go pretty well. Here it is:


  38. #467
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    Pete,

    Make sure the slots you cut for the windshield are large enough that the body doesn't touch the bars at all. The slots get covered up with trim later, so get those opened up some, just don't go crazy. You may also want to consider tapping and threading the holes so you don't need to try to access both sides with a nut and bolt.

    Dave
    My Build Thread: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ter-Build-9754
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    Delivered: 6/17/2017
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  40. #468

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    Quote Originally Posted by Papa View Post
    Pete,

    Make sure the slots you cut for the windshield are large enough that the body doesn't touch the bars at all. The slots get covered up with trim later, so get those opened up some, just don't go crazy. You may also want to consider tapping and threading the holes so you don't need to try to access both sides with a nut and bolt.

    Dave
    Ah - Thanks, Dave! Will do - currently the body does touch the bars so we will widen out those holes. Good idea on threading the holes in the sidebars... I've been wondering how we were going to get on both sides of that to secure with a nut & bolt - there's not a lot of room in there!

    Thanks!

  41. #469

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    front bumper

    This weekend we worked on the front bumper. In the past, we had some trouble trying to drill out a new set of holes on the back side of the front bumper overriders such that they can sit a little wider to accommodate the front bumper hoop. We bought some new cobalt drill bits and using a drill press and some cutting fluid, we were able to get the 3/8 inch holes into that thick metal plate on the back of the overriders. Definitely had some decent smoke coming off them at times during that process, although we tried to keep them lubed up... Then we used the supplied tap to thread the holes. We have never tapped new threads before and I wasn't really sure how this would work out for us - but it worked well! The threads came out great. Still kind of amazes me that this little tool can do that...

    Here's a picture:



    Then we mounted the overriders on the front of the car. The bolts went it well and things seem nice and tight. Next step will be to get that bumper hoop on there.


  42. #470

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    Front bumper

    This weekend we mounted the hoop on the front bumper. It doesn't quite fit flush against the vertical bumper overriders but it's reasonably close so hopefully ok. We started out drilling holes through the overriders after estimating where we'd like to mount the bumper hoop. Then we mounted the hoop. Unfortunately, we couldn't get an allen wrench to fit in the space on the outside of the overriders where the lower bolt goes so we had to flip those around and the nut side of the bolt is now visible. But since it's the lower bolt, it's not so bad. Here's how things look:



    We also worked on the windshield. We took out the brass strips on the side of the windshield and replaced them with stainless ones from whitby. We then remounted the side brackets on the windshield. We had to file a little bit of the metal frame around the stainless strips to get some of the new screws to have enough space to get into the new stainless strips. We're still working on one but 7 out of 8 are now in. But hopefully that will come together. Then our next step will be to drill in the windshield brackets to finally mount it.

    I've got to say, when the windshield is on the car (as in a previous picture we posted) it feels sort of like the car isn't that far from being done. I can't believe it!

  43. #471

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    windshield, doors, lights...

    Hi guys, we've been spending a lot of hours on the car lately and have made some good progress. Things seem to be really coming together.

    First thing we did was install the trunk latch. We had to drop our fuel tank to drill through the frame from inside the car, but we've done that so many times now, it's getting to be second nature. The latch lined up well and now the trunk closes and locks. Here's the latch:


    Next we tackled a pretty big project - the windshield. A BIG thanks to Papa for his suggestion to tap threads into the windshield mounting bracket so we could attach them to the chassis more easily. This really helped us out as there was one bolt that we really would've struggled to get access to it on both sides if we needed to tighten up a nut on it. Here's the bracket with the threads:


    And here's the windshield, secured into the car:


    Next we mounted the doors. The mounting was pretty easy. It's great that the mounts allow you to adjust the doors in so many dimensions. They aren't perfect right now but since they'll be coming off for paint in a few months, we wanted to get them functional and reasonable which I think we have now.


    The door latches were a little trickier for us. We ended up putting too many shims on one of the doors which caused the door to basically be locked shut... the extra shims ended up placing the striker a little too much towards the front of the car and wouldn't allow enough clearance for the lock to actually fully exit the striker - thus the door seemed locked. And given the latch was right up against the seat, we really couldn't see what was happening. But we removed the seat and figured it out. We removed a couple shims and the door latch worked great.

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  45. #472

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    lights

    Next we installed the taillights. A little drilling and some butt connectors and they were finished fairly easily:


    Plus, they even worked!


    Then we moved on to the front blinker and headlights. The blinkers installed easily, just like the tail lights.


    The headlights were a little more involved. We were surprised that you install them basically with screws through the fiberglass but they seem to be in there pretty securely. I also like the mechanism where a couple of the screws went through the rubber inserts, expanding them within the holes in the fiberglass, thus really helping to hold things securely. Ideas I'm sure people use all the time but I hadn't thought of it and I think it seems to work well. These guys all lit up well, too. Blinkers, high and low beams all worked as we hoped they would.


    Finally, we installed the fuel filler cap and attached it to the pipe coming out of the fuel tank. We ground this to the frame as well. It was a little tight putting that all together under the car, but this worked out well too.


    So, lot's of good things going on! Hope everyone is doing ok in these crazy times.

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    cats and j pipes

    One thing we need to do next is figure out how to get some cats on here. We had thought we could get j-pipes with cats in them from ffr, but it turns out they aren't for the gen 2 coyote that we have. They have a header-cat combo that'll work but since we already have headers, we'd rather find a cheaper way than rebuying our headers. We're going to try to find a shop that can cut our existing j pipes up and insert cats in the middle of them and then re-attach the fittings on each end. Does that make sense as a good way to go? Here's what our j pipes look like:

  47. #474
    Senior Member chmhasy's Avatar
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    has the cobra started to laugh at the electric car yet?

  48. #475

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    Quote Originally Posted by chmhasy View Post
    has the cobra started to laugh at the electric car yet?
    haha! Yeah, despite their differences, they seem to get along quite well when in the garage!
    Last edited by PeteMeindl; 03-16-2020 at 01:18 PM.

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    question on e brake cables running under the chassis tube

    We're working on installing the radiator aluminum this weekend and i'll post on that later on however while we were doing this we were discussing a concern that I wanted to bounce off of you guys. When you run the emergency brake cables, the ffr manual recommends you run them under the 4 inch chassis tube, as shown in the picture below.



    We did this a long while back. But we're a little concerned that these cables will get scraped up or ripped if we rub a speed bump with the chassis. Have you guys altered where you run those cables or do you run them under the 4 inch chassis tube as recommended in the instructions? Thanks!

  50. #477
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    There are a whole bunch of builds out there with the cables under the 4-inch tubes and it works. If you're scraping them on a speed bump or whatever, chances are you're hitting somewhere else too because that's way too close. So I don't know if that's reason alone to change it. I've heard of some locations where they didn't pass technical inspection for whatever reason. But don't think that's real common. Others, like me just don't like them routed that way on general principle. For my #8674 build, came up with a way to route the cables through pulleys and it works great. Kind of a compilation of ideas from other builds combined with a few of my own. A number of builds have done it that way since. Described here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post225428. Later updates show going to two pulleys, so scroll further into the build thread for that. I've seen where some have had trouble sourcing that specific Lokar clevis. Apparently it can still be sourced directly from Lokar. FWIW.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
    Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video
    Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.

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    Senior Member MSumners's Avatar
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    I initially ran them as Edwardb devised with the pulleys but then realized I couldn’t reach the handle from the drivers seat with the harness on. I use parking brakes all the time and wanted easy access. I just relocated mine to the transmission tunnel top and love how it turned out. Not difficult at all. Of course if you want the original look them may want to keep the original position. A lot of people have done this before and I wish I had started with it as it feels more solid with a fluid pull on the lever. Downsides are cost ( extra lokar lever, parts etc probably about $170) and likely more difficulty accessing the mechanism after the build.
    Coupe Kit Delivered 11/10/23

    Roadster Build thread: 2019-2022 https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...4-Build-Thread

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  54. #479
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    Looking at the picture you posted, if your engine, trans and rear axle are in the final position and the axle on the floor, I think your driveshaft front yoke is too far out of the trans.

    Just realized the pic is probably out of the manual. Sorry
    20th Anniversary Mk IV, A50XS Coyote, TKO 600, Trunk Drop Box, Trunk Battery Box, Cubby Hole, Seat Heaters, Radiator hanger and shroud.

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  56. #480
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSumners View Post
    I initially ran them as Edwardb devised with the pulleys but then realized I couldn’t reach the handle from the drivers seat with the harness on. I use parking brakes all the time and wanted easy access. I just relocated mine to the transmission tunnel top and love how it turned out. Not difficult at all. Of course if you want the original look them may want to keep the original position. A lot of people have done this before and I wish I had started with it as it feels more solid with a fluid pull on the lever. Downsides are cost ( extra lokar lever, parts etc probably about $170) and likely more difficulty accessing the mechanism after the build.
    Yeah, this is talked about a lot and is obviously a personal decision. I'm very average size (5-10) and have standard Roaster seats. I don't have any trouble reaching the e-brake on the side of the tunnel. One of the questions probably is how tight you wear the harness. If you're sucking yourself against the seat, maybe that's the difference. I wear mine plenty tight, but loose enough so it's not chafing and also gives me enough wiggle room to reach the e-brake. Having said that, my new Coupe build has it on the tunnel top as designed by Factory Five, and I agree it's handy. Just something to consider for those moving it there in the Roadster: In the Coupe, they still use the same e-brake handle assembly. Just without the right angle mounting brackets and bolt it to the tunnel tubing. If I were doing one in a Roadster today, I'd maybe look at that option versus buying the Lokar handle. Just another possibility. You can see it here in this picture during my Coupe build.

    Last edited by edwardb; 03-21-2020 at 07:49 PM.
    Build 1: Mk3 Roadster #5125. Sold 11/08/2014. Build 2: Mk4 Roadster #7750. Sold 04/10/2017. Build Thread
    Build 3: Mk4 Roadster 20th Anniversary #8674. Sold 09/07/2020. Build Thread and Video. Build 4: Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe #59. Gen 3 Coyote. Legal 03/04/2020. Build Thread and Video
    Build 5: 35 Hot Rod Truck #138. LS3 and 4L65E auto. Rcvd 01/05/2021. Legal 04/20/2023. Build Thread. Sold 11/9/2023.

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