Greek Guys' Garage Roadster Build #9509 (Nice shoutout on Insta about my build)

[JohnK]

A few weeks ago, SJDave invited me to join a group of fellow FFR builders at one of their regular Saturday morning breakfast get-togethers. They actually meet at a restaurant that's only about a half mile from my house. I had a chance to meet a bunch of great guys and check out some very nice builds. One of the guys there, who actually built the second FFR spec racer ever (and first on the West coast) along with a hot rod and Mk4 roadster, offered to let me borrow his enclosed trailer to haul my car up to Ken Pike, and I took him up on his very generous offer.



I drove down to meet him and pick up the trailer this morning. I've spent the last few weeks putting some finishing touches on the build, along with doing a detailed inventory of everything I'm sending to Ken along with the car. Today was finally the day to load everything up in the trailer. It's actually a bit emotional to see the car sitting in the trailer, ready to go off for body and paint. I've spent the last three years making this build the best I possibly could and I've taken it as far as I can, and it's now time to hand it off to someone to put the finishing touches on it.



Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'll be on the road to make the 170 mile drive up to Ken Pike's place.

[facultyofmusic]

Godspeed John.

[Blitzboy54]

That is generous on the trailer. Good for you on making it this far. The sitting around and waiting can be excruciating.

What's the color scheme, have you settled on it yet or still figuring it out?

[CABulldog]

What's the color scheme, have you settled on it yet or still figuring it out?

As one of those at the breakfast the other day it was nice to meet you as well, although mine was just delivered at that point. Are you going to paint it to match your awesome mustang?

James

[JohnK]

Hey James, it was great meeting you at breakfast also. The color scheme of the Mustang (Nightmist blue w/Wimbledon White stripes) is one of my all-time favorite combinations but I decided to go with something different for the roadster. (more on that below)

Today was the big day! I had the trailer all loaded up, along with a TON of parts in the back of the SUV (far more than I thought Ken needed but better safe than sorry). The forecast was for rain and wind - exactly what you want when towing a trailer 170 miles each way. I had rain the whole way there, and then 30-40 mph cross winds the whole way home but made the trip safe and sound.



Ken and I went over my plans for the car, and went through all the parts I brought and pulled out what he needed and threw what he didn't need back in the SUV.

The paint scheme for the car is based on CSX3040, which Sotheby's sold at auction in in 2018 for nearly $3M.

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/a...etition/616914



I'm going with the stripes and meatballs on the hood, trunk and sides (no numbers). For the actual body color of the car, I'm going to pay homage to my favorite car of all time - the 300SL gullwing, and go with Mercedes DB180 Silbergrau (silver grey). It's a very light, creamy and warm silver with very small metal flecks. It is the silver color that Mercedes used from the 50's up to 1971, and has a very vintage look.





I'm going to pair that with Wimbledon White for the stripes and meatballs. I discussed this with Ken and he tried to look it up in his paint recipe computer, but nothing turned up. He texted his distributor, and 5 minutes later the guy came back with the paint code for it! I asked Ken if he could make a spray-out for me sometime, as I'd love to see it in person. "Sure, hold on..." 30 minutes later I had a spray out of the color! How's that for service?!

Here it is sitting on my MacBook for reference. The white splotch on the stick is the Wimbledon White.



So now I wait...

Ken will have the body and chassis for a few weeks to fit and gap all the pieces properly, and then I'll go back to retrieve the chassis and continue with work on that (carpet, etc.)

[460.465USMC]

Congrats on reaching this point on your build, John! Well done. I like your color choices. It's going to look fantastic!

[JB in NOVA]

I can't wait to see it!

[JohnK]

Quick update - a few weeks ago in a separate thread I posted about upgrading the front signal markers from the FFR-provided units to reproduction Lucas L539's with clear lenses. I was very happy with the quality of the replacement units, so I decided to check out their reproductions of the L692's for the rear brake/signal lights. These are the dual round lights that were used on the pre-25th anniversary cars, not the rectangular lights that FFR now ships. I received the replacements the other day, so I wanted to post a quick comparison photo.

Reproduction unit on top, FFR-provided light on the bottom:



Reproduction unit on left, FFR-provided light on right:



The plastic lenses are pretty similar. The Rogers Motors lenses are a bit taller but overall no significant difference to note. The chrome trim rings, however, are significantly better. Of interest, they also feature the "authentic" Lucas bullet connectors (not that it matters, just interesting). At $70 per pair, these are a bit of a pricier upgrade than the front signal lights but still a nice upgrade.

[WIS89]

John-

Thanks for the update on getting the car off to paint; what a frustrating and exciting time -- quite the contrast of emotions. Happy that it is getting painted, yet frustrated that it is out of your hands, and you have to wait so long to get it back!

I love your color selection!! That silver is such a classic color, and with the white combination, it is going to be outstanding! I hope you will get progress pictures that we can all drool over.

Congratulations again, and I look forward to seeing your updates!

Regards,

Steve

[facultyofmusic]

Hey John, any plans for the engine cover? I just watched this video of Paul (edwardb)'s daytona build where he had the engine cover painted to match the exterior paint and it looks pretty freakin good. Would be kool to paint your engine color with the Mercedes grey and wimbleton white around the in-take runners. :P

[JohnK]

The body and chassis have been at Ken's place for several weeks now, and he's been plugging away at door/hood/trunk fitment, gapping and body prep. I just received this photo from him today. Tomorrow's the day that I'll be going back up there to pick up the chassis and bring it home to continue working on it while Ken continues on with body and paint.



I'm looking forward to having the chassis back home so I'll have something to tinker with.

Hey John, any plans for the engine cover? I just watched this video of Paul (edwardb)'s daytona build where he had the engine cover painted to match the exterior paint and it looks pretty freakin good. Would be kool to paint your engine color with the Mercedes grey and wimbleton white around the in-take runners. :P

Yes, I do plan to paint the engine cover. I've been playing around with a few different ideas. No final decision yet.

[JohnK]

As I mentioned in the last post, today was the day I was going to go back up to Ken Pike's to pick up the chassis from him. I had asked Ken if he could leave the body on the chassis until I got there so I could see the body on the car. Here are a few shots of the work he's done so far. He's been focusing on the things that need to get done with the body on the chassis - things like doors/hood/trunk being fitted and all the panels being leveled and blended. The parting lines have been smoothed out and filled. Things that can be done with the body off the chassis, like trimming fender edges and whatnot have not been done yet. Nonetheless, it's a huge difference from how I dropped it off a few weeks ago.










After a quick look around at some of the other cars Ken has in the shop at the moment (8-9 roadsters, a couple of coupes, a gorgeous Corvette and a sweet hot rod that he was just finishing up) it was time to load the chassis on the trailer and head home.

[JohnK]

This will be a quick update. It's been a while since I've posted an update because, well... it's been a while since there's been anything to update. I've been on my upholstery guy's calendar to take the chassis in for carpet for a bit now. He was tied up with a few cars for the Pebble Beach Concours and the Good Guys show. Once he was finished with those cars, he was able to get me in to the shop. I popped in a few times to check progress and go over questions they had, and they finished the carpet work a couple of days ago.

I had a particular aesthetic in mind for the carpet, which ties into some of the other elements in the build. I was going for a somewhat "period correct" feel, though not necessarily correct to a Shelby Cobra. The look draws on some of my other favorite cars, namely vintage Porsche's and Mercedes from the 50's and 60's. In that vein, the carpet is what you might see in a classic Mercedes or Porsche of that era, a German wool square weave carpet in charcoal color. The binding is all done in black leather to match the leather on the seats and dash. Overall, they far exceeded my expectations with the carpet (as they did with the dash and seats.). Here are a couple of mediocre snapshots to give you a flavor. It's tough to capture dark grey with an iPhone camera. It's actually a bit darker in person. There are a TON of cool details in the work they did. I'll save those for another update (perhaps the graduation thread) when I bust out the DSLR for some proper photos. Anyway, here it is.

[460.465USMC]

Looks really good, John! Haven't seen carpet like that in a Roadster. Nice touch!

[facultyofmusic]

Love the colour consistency here. Everything seem to blend together! What a cute fire extinguisher too!

[JohnK]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

What a cute fire extinguisher too!

Hahaha - that's funny! Never thought of it that way. I guess it is a cute little extinguisher. Hopefully it'll never be needed.

[JohnK]

Today I finally got around to completing the radiator protection screen. And by completing, I mean I finally, FINALLY made a decision on which approach I wanted to take. This is definitely one of elements where the amount of thought and research (and angst) I put into it is completely disproportionate to the impact of this part on the overall build. "Nice radiator protection screen" said nobody, ever. Despite that, I've been kicking around a couple of different approaches for a while now. One was the Nomex honeycomb that lots of folks have used with great success. Another was some sort of metal screen. Ultimately I chose the latter. I decided to go with a stainless steel screen so that I could leave it bare without concern about corrosion. I really wanted to avoid having to paint whatever solution I came up with, as it would likely need to be re-painted down the road due to all the debris impact it will undoubtedly take. The stainless steel screen is absurdly strong. I used most of a cutoff wheel trimming it to size. Rather than making a frame for the screen, I simply trimmed the edges with a high temperature black rubber trim for a sleeker, more minimalist look. The top is held in by clips, while the bottom is screwed into the Breeze lower radiator mount. It's locked in there very solidly, and can come out easily by removing the three screws at the bottom, if the need should ever arise.

Here are the McMaster part numbers, in case anyone is interested:

304 Stainless Steel Perforated Sheet
Staggered Holes, 0.048" Thick, 0.156" Hole Diameter, 24" x 24"
9358T59

High-Temperature Trim
Black Rubber, 1/16" Wide X 1/4" High Inside, 10 ft. Length
4869A7




And a close-up of the screen material to give a better sense for hole size:

[460.465USMC]

I've been doing some preliminary work on the body prior to fitting it to the chassis for the first time. I started by trimming the front cowl lip at the dash by 1/4" to provide clearance for the leather dash. It may ultimately need more trimming than that, but this will hopefully allow me to fit the body without damaging the leather dash.

John, I'm glad you mentioned the trimming of the front cowl lip, as it wasn't on my radar. Do you think this trimming can be down with a hand saw, or is an air/electric saw required. I hope the former, because I don't have the latter.

[JohnK]

Chris, I did it the slow and safe way - with a random orbital sander and some 80 grit paper. Scribe a line first and then just work your way down to it with the sander. It's messy and slow, but far less likely to screw something up by overtrimming. I'm sure the pro's do it with a cutoff wheel or pneumatic saw, but they've done it hundreds of times. Just wear a good respirator and a tyvek suit with a hood when sanding fiberglass.

[Chopper]

Nice clean radiator screen, looks great!

[orangecruz]

Chris, I did it the slow and safe way - with a random orbital sander and some 80 grit paper. Scribe a line first and then just work your way down to it with the sander. It's messy and slow, but far less likely to screw something up by overtrimming. I'm sure the pro's do it with a cutoff wheel or pneumatic saw, but they've done it hundreds of times. Just wear a good respirator and a tyvek suit with a hood when sanding fiberglass.

awesome build with amazing attention to detail , cant wait to see more

[JohnK]

She's been painted! Here are some photos I received yesterday. Still needs to be color sanded and clear coated so it will be a few weeks before I bring the chassis back to have the body put on, but the finish line is in sight now.

[facultyofmusic]

Didn't know you got red side-stripes too!!!

[JohnK]

Yes, I thought I'd give it a little pop of color. The rest of the car is primarily greys and blacks (blacked out wheels, black side pipes, etc.) so the red team stripes give it a little flair. The red is Ford racing red to match the red Wilwood calipers.

[M. Townsend]

Always thought silver was a great color for these cars. Going to be a stunner when piloted down the road.

[John Ibele]

Wow, that's looking great, John. You've got a really clean build and it's been fun watching it come together.

[mmklaxer]

Very sharp!

[Tooth]

Car is going to be amazing. I love the color.

[Blitzboy54]

Love the rookie stripe and the meatballs. Well done sir, real work of art.

[JohnK]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! As you all know, picking a paint scheme is one of the most excruciating decisions in the build process so I'm pretty thrilled with how it's turning out so far. I can't wait to see it completed and on the chassis.

[toadster]

LOVE IT! I saw Ken post this over the weekend - didn't know it was yours, DAMN that's gorgeous!!!

[460.465USMC]

Congrats, John. She's a looker! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[JohnK]

I just received this video from Ken. Color sanding and final clear are done now. Getting closer...

https://youtube.com/shorts/sYwaYR9EXfw?feature=share

Not sure why the YT video isn't showing up here. I think YT classified it as a "short" due to the length of video, so it doesn't seem embed in the forum like a regular YT video.

[zee]

That's an amazing paint job. Your entire build is an inspiration.

[Fman]

Awesome! Great color scheme, the red stripes really add a nice pop. Ken sure does some amazing work... what a great early Xmas present! Cant wait to see it all put together.

[JohnK]

Thank you both. Zee, I really appreciate it. I drew a lot of inspiration from some incredible builds that came before me. This forum is an invaluable resource. Travis, yes Ken does an incredible job. Every paint job of his that I've seen has been stunning.

[JohnK]

Here's a small update before a big day. I'm taking the chassis to Ken on Wednesday to have the painted body put on, so I'm wrapping up a few final small items that need to get done before body install. One of these was completing the roll bar installation. I planned to install the 520 Speedworks blind roll bar fasteners, but before I could install those I wanted to re-coat the bars in gloss black. I got the roll bars back from the powder coater (along with a few other small parts) a few days ago, and I finally had some time today to get out to the garage, install the blind fasteners, and drill the rear leg mounting holes. The 520 Speedworks blind fasteners are a really nice, clean solution to avoid having to drill the "Frankenstein bolt" at the top of the rear leg of the roll bar. It was a bit nerve-wracking drilling my newly powder coated bars but everything turned out fine, and that's one more thing crossed off the list.



Just a few more small items on the to-do list, then I'll load the car into the trailer tomorrow evening and head up to Yuba City Wednesday morning.

[JohnK]

As I mentioned in yesterday's update, I'm taking the chassis up to Ken tomorrow to have the painted body installed. I had a few last-minute punch list items to take care of. One of these was gluing the foam insulation on the outside of the footboxes to prevent engine compartment heat from entering the cockpit. Thanks to Jeff K for the idea from this post. My local Ace Hardware had the exact insulation in stock, along with the 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.



I was a little reluctant to go with a spray adhesive, as I was worried about getting adhesive overspray on everything but I decided to just mask really well and go for it, and it turned out fine.



I doubled up the foam on each side, leaving a gap for the channel that the windshield post will go into. Here's the completed driver side:



... and the passenger side:





The foam compresses down to a minimal thickness, so it will conform nicely to the underside of the body and hopefully keep all the heat out.

With that done, there was nothing left to do but load her up the trailer. We finally got a break in the rain around 5PM so it was a bit of a scramble to get her loaded up while I still had a bit of light out, but she's ready to go now. I can't wait to get my first look at the painted body tomorrow! The next update should hopefully be with the body on for the final time.

[460.465USMC]

Thanks for keeping us up to speed, John. Big day today. I'm excited for you.

I made a note of the air conditioner weather seal. Thanks. I hope to be at that stage in a few months.

[facultyofmusic]

Finally!! Let's see it! Don't keep us waiting too long!

Question about the foam. Is that a part of the standard procedures or suggested by Ken Pike?