GTBradley's build - Still Kick'n!

[GTBradley]

Thanks Paul and Pete, I thought I remembered something along those lines. I mounted to the firewall, following fairly close to Paul's install and didn't need it. It seems a little lightweight for that purpose though, so I thought maybe it was for something else.

Thanks, Pete, I'm actually a lot farther along than what it shows here, it's just that with work, a major house remodel and me spending all my spare time on the car I've had zero time for the thread, but I'll get it done.

[GTBradley]

Any takers on this one? I haven’t a clue what these steel brackets are for, though they may be for the body.

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[Fixit]

Had the same question awhile back... they're the corner braces/brackets for the hood pins

[edwardb]

You are using hood pins in your builds, right? Scrap metal, although I've cut them up and fabricated a couple other things from them.

[GTBradley]

Had the same question awhile back... they're the corner braces/brackets for the hood pins

Okay, thank you. There’s been a few things like that I just set aside until the manual brings it up.

[GTBradley]

You must be talking to Fixit, Paul, cause my wife won’t let me do plural build(s)...yet.

[edwardb]

You must be talking to Fixit Paul, cause my wife won’t let me do plural build(s)...yet.

Was responding to both of you. But hang in there.

[GTBradley]

Was responding to both of you. But hang in there.

Thanks man. I’m on it.
Little sneak peek here just for you guys - don’t tell anybody because I’m not caught up on the thread yet:
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[GTBradley]

I saw in the glove box instructions downloaded from FF parts a picture of a glove box door stiffener, but no such thing was in the boxes I received. So I made my own from leftover panel aluminum. I attached it to the plastic door with glue and then attached my hinges to the door using JB Weld.





I'm also using the VW keyed latch from Ebay.

[GTBradley]

THE hardest job I've had to-date on this project, even more so than pulling new studs into the wheel flange (before I figured out the easy way - see video posted earlier) is the LS header bolts. No room and the hardest to reach galled on me. I came back the next day to finish two of the bolts because my arms were spent. I got them on there and the RS was no big deal, but man, what a job!

FFR side pipes on for testing, GasNs coming later.

[GTBradley]

Okay, so I wanted it all - a firewall forward, full-size glove box, heater and the Coyote. And I'm here to say it fits even with a bypass valve hidden under the engine cover.

The first thing I did was cut a big-honkin' hole in my firewall



Then I made brackets to hold the heater in place as it will only stick into the engine bay by a couple of inches at the heater's widest point and there are no existing mounting options here




There is exactly zero room between the glove box and the heater, but that's a good thing as this lends rigidity to the back of the glove box

[GTBradley]

Be conscious of the direction the coolant flows through the Old Air Products bypass valve as it is one way valve.



To give the heater hoses some room I did a u-turn down into the bell housing area where they won't be seen.
I mounted my valve upside down and it fit like it was meant to be there under the engine cover and I can't see it much at all.

[GTBradley]

Success! Well, after I reversed the flow that is

[GTBradley]

I received my kit from JLT and installed the CMVV and PCV ports on the intake tube along with the mass air flow sensor.

[GTBradley]

I put the rear over rider couplers on, but I've been hearing from painters that say they just take them off. It may be different with mine, as I have the drop trunk making things even tighter

[GTBradley]

This is going to be a well driven car and conveniences/creature comforts (mostly hidden) rule. Still, it was hard to make the decision to cut the hole for the cubby, but it is so dang convenient! What with jackets, camera, water, etc. And power ports, my hidden seat heat switches - how could I not? I'd still like to hide though, I just don't know how yet.




What might be a good idea is to mount the divider on a piano hinge to allow access to the cubby area from the trunk. Maybe later...

[GTBradley]

Roll bar was a non-issue - drilled it, mounted it, done. Edit: Later I went back and cut it down by ¾" as it was way tall!

[GTBradley]

So I wanted a way to mount the dash without putting screws through the front of it. What I tried first was a total failure and a big waste of time. I mounted tabs at three locations along the top dash frame ¾" tube. I then drilled multiple holes in the face of the tabs to allow JB weld to grip the dash through. I roughed up the back of the dash where the JB Weld would go and clamped it all down over night.



It seemed to work, but after a short time the connections popped loose under some moderate pressure. Back to the drawing board...though I would not be defeated! After visiting my friend, and yours, Dave (Papa) and learning of the way he was attaching his tunnel cover with 3M Dual Lock I thought I would give it a try on the dash. It works well!



There is an added benefit - when you realize your left most gauge is too close to the body you can pull the dash off and remount it a ¼" lower.

[GTBradley]

I had read that the cable clutch actuator at the top of the clutch pedal is somewhat misaligned and can cause chafing to the cladding of the cable. I took the extra step of unmounting the cable and grinding away at the sharp metal edges to try and prevent this from happening



After that I made the bold decision to button up the foot box! The next day I found a reason to need access to the foot box area and wished I hadn't buttoned it up. It's like that English Lit. paper back in college, you revise and you revise and you never seem to be done, until you realize you need to move on. Oh well...I'm flexible enough...I think.

I also did the rivet nut hatch access panel for the foot box

[GTBradley]

I bought the FF metal thick metal tunnel top because I wanted that solid feel in the area people are likely touch the most. I had no idea how solid this thing would end up!



I had an upholsterer put ⅛" padding and leather with french stitching on the tunnel top. I then stuck Cool It Thermo Tec to the bottom of it and attached it all to the crossbars with 3M Dual Lock. This thing feels like a stage floor - it is solid enough to walk on.



BTW, what you see in the photo is about all that I had left of the four rolls of Thermo Tec. Just about perfect!

[GTBradley]

It turned out pretty well, I think



Credit to Papa Dave for lots of good ideas here.

[GTBradley]

While we're on the subject, that shift ball may or may not stay. I got it for free from Tremec. Changing out the original shift ball is not easy though. First off, I had to use a pipe wrench and piece of heater hose to turn the knob. And second, the shifter shaft thread did not match up to any of the adapters Tremec sent. The shifter shaft FFR supplies is a ⅜-24 thread. So I used a 21/64" drill bit to drill out the closest sized adapter and rethreaded it. Holding the adapter while drilling it required the use of a compression fitting stuffed with wood chips to prevent it from threading itself all the way in and never coming back out.



Pretty minor thing to write about I know, but it might help somebody.

[GTBradley]

I brought the body down for the first time since January and it's down for good!
I took it off the body buck and used the nylon rope and some padding to help me install and remove it from the car a couple of times by myself. It is easier with two people though.



It needed trimming around the pipes and the ends of the dash, but it fits really well with little effort on my part. I'll let the painter do the undercoating and additional trimming.

[GTBradley]

On 4/25/2019 we had our first official start!

[Papa]

Looks good, Bradley! I love the family event for the first start and especially having the young man doing the honors.

Dave

[GTBradley]

Looks good, Bradley! I love the family event for the first start and especially having the young man doing the honors.

Dave

Thanks Dave.

I was going to wait for even more family on Sunday, but couldn't help myself. The funny thing was, I thought we had a problem because the first time we tried to start it nothing happened...I forgot to tell Evan to push the clutch in. We did a second video and considered it the first.

[GTBradley]

5/12/2019 first drive. Oh happy days!

[GTBradley]

Installed weather pack connectors to all the lights and tested them. Signals running lights, headlights and flashers, all working. Love these rainy days in the garage!

[GTBradley]

I like the look of stainless steel, especially when it comes to hardware. So I file the edges off the laser cut FFR hardware and rub it smooth with Scotch-Brite and finally treat it with clear paint. It ends up looking pretty nice I think.

[GTBradley]

Big fat mistake! I cut through my cubby divider in the wrong place to mount my first trunk gas strut



No matter though, it'll patch and be covered by carpet

[GTBradley]

I wanted to carpet the trunk and I think the FFR carpet is pretty good quality so I ordered another roll. Unfortunately the shipping is as much as the carpet, so a single roll ended up costing over $50.



I needed to cover the sides of the trunk so I cut these templates and made some sheet metal panels that fit behind the roll bar anchor points



The slots cut through the middle in the shape of a T is for flexibility where the roll bar goes through and the grommet is for the license plate light wires loom.

[GTBradley]

I also wanted to fill in the hand brake hole a bit. I've read that there is no issue with water coming in here, but it was just too big for my taste

[GTBradley]

My seat heat was next and I don't want any modern switches to be visible so I made a bracket and mounted them in the cubby area. Up is high and down is low heat, so no issue with not being able to see the indicators. I'm not using the signal indicators in the speedo so I may see if I can use them for right/left seat on indicators. This all worked fine until it dawned on me that you probably can't reach these switches with a seatbelt harness on. Oh well, it's not difficult to slip out of one shoulder harness the few times you need to actuate these switches.



I mounted an LED light strip in the cubby area along with power ports that are always powered.

[GTBradley]

Carpeting went pretty well, but it is officially my least favorite job now. The 3M 77 spray glue works well, but it does float around and stick to your arms if you don't wear an old jacket



I'll cut the carpet where the Breeze seat brackets go when the time comes.

[GTBradley]

Trunk carpeting.

[Papa]

[QUOTE=GTBradley;371573]Carpeting went pretty well, but it is officially my least favorite job now. The 3M 77 spray glue works well, but it does float around and stick to your arms if you don't wear an old jacket





Bradley,

Did you mount the bottom bracket already? I mounted mine to the floor and carpeted over it, then bolted the top bracket with the carpet in place.

Dave

[GTBradley]

Did you mount the bottom bracket already? I mounted mine to the floor and carpeted over it, then bolted the top bracket with the carpet in place.

Dave

I didn't, that's a nice idea though. I'll cut the carpet bigger than the bracket and lay it under there. I may have to use new carpet for that too, as the fibers tend to pull through when peeling it loose. Thanks.

[GTBradley]

I bought Cobraheat waterproof seat heaters. They make a nice kit. The pads install in the Cobra seats without cutting the heater pad, so it's a pretty easy job, though you do have to peel and re-glue the seat covering in places.
I routed my wires between the seat and the Breeze bracket because it provides a gap that is bigger than it looks in the picture. It comes out the back because I wanted to mount the relay on the back wall and route the wires into the cubby for hidden switches

[GTBradley]

I had to remove the original connectors so I could cut a smaller hole in the back wall to run the wires through to the cubby. I replaced them with weather pack connectors. The hi/low switches are mounted in the cubby above the opening

[GTBradley]