Graduation of FFR #8692 20th Anniversary MK4 #9 of 20

[Paul Mischenko]

One other thing I'm really happy with is the body work and paint. For anyone in the Northeast I highly recommend Ron Randal at Metal-Morphous. He wasn't quick but I haven't washed or polished the car in 2 years since getting the body back. I have only used a spray detailer to make sure I remove any bugs or little dirt marks. The shine is still there and I get a full clear reflection all around the car.

[Paul Mischenko]

I had originally bought the seat tracks but decided not to use them. I'm 6'0 and 180lbs, I set the seat almost as far back as I could allowing for a little space for carpet etc... I'm happy with the seating position and the angle of the seats. I used the leather seats which came with the 20th anniversary kit, they are great. I placed the fire extinguisher in a similar spot to Paul B. It's great, not once has it caused any interference when shifting, plus I think it looks good on the back wall between the seats. I did turn the shifter around on the TKO600 to move it a little forward. I remember before I made the decision to buy a kit, I read many build posts. While the level of customization can raise the build difficulty, I am really happy I made the decision to build it. Spending 4 years on the build and seeing and enjoying the outcome I am super happy I did it. So for anyone on the fence, do it, it's an amazing experience and very rewarding once you are done. The only downside once you finish is I miss all the time spent building! Wishing everyone happiness, good health and a great driving season ahead. Cheers!

[BadAsp427]

Looks fantastic.

[CobraboyDR]

This is one of the most superior FFR builds I have seen, especially the details.

Can you share with us the total cost of this level of perfection?

[Paul Mischenko]

Thanks very much for the kind words. I do have to thank many of the previous builders that took the time to detail their posts, highlighting again Paul B (edwardb 20th Ann build) and also Tony Zullo from FFR. I had many questions along the way along and challenges / issues which they always were willing to help, so thanks again guys! This forum is really amazing, people are great and was super helpful in the build and with ideas. It really was a lot of fun, not quick taking 4 years, however I wasn't in a hurry and I do really miss the build now, but driving it is certainly fun. Regarding the cost, I did tell my wife a ballpark # and she was shocked and still brings it up! So I would suggest not making that mistake, I became obsessed with the build, down to finding the exact matching hardware...Without putting an exact number on it I'm in for over $75k, main items were 20th Ann kit + IRS which was $31.5k, Roush 427 SR Polished was $20k, TKO600/Tires $4k, Options/hardware around $20k + body/paint. Lots of SS hardware from McMaster and I still have quite a collection now as a lot was trial an error. I certainly could have done it cheaper, but as mentioned it became a real focus for me. Thanks again to all for nice comments.

[GoDadGo]

Without putting an exact number on it I'm in for over $75k, main items were 20th Ann kit + IRS which was $31.5k, Roush 427 SR Polished was $20k, TKO600/Tires $4k, Options/hardware around 20k, + body work/paint. .

Definitly Worth Every Penny & Every Hour Spent Building It!

[Paul Mischenko]

Another option I chose to go with was the windshield side plates. I got the aluminum ones from replica parts. I think they gave a little more finished look. Ron my painted had mentioned that they had turned them around so the screw wasn't on the outside. I'm not a fan of the screw on the outside and like the more finished look so went with it. Everything is held in place so they don't flop around as the windshield gasket pushes down on them. To fill the little hole on the inside I got a tiny ss screw and used some clear silicon to hold it into place. 2+ years now and no issues at all.

[Paul Mischenko]

2yr - 4,700 Mile update. Had an amazing drive in NYS today, weather was just perfect mid 70's! It never gets boring going for my weekend drives. I have a pretty good route now that takes me about 90 minutes which some decent roads as long as I don't get many cars in front of me. Regarding the bigger options on my build. The stereo is one that comes up and is debated. I can say I'm glad I did it. The sound isn't great competing with the side pipes but it nice to have in the background on my drives. For those looking more for audiofile quality not sure you will get that in these cars, but for sure I would add front speakers, I didn't. The bluetooth receiver works pretty well and everything is hidden except for the speaker which I think don't look too out of place. The next big option was power steering. I'm 50/50 on this one. Given the power in the car my original setup I felt was way too loose feeling in the front. I put a more restrictive valve on the power steering pump and let a couple of pounds psi front the front and now its much better. The setup took a lot of time to plan out and wasn't cheap, not to mention there is only about an inch or 2 of clearance from the steering rack where my pump sits. I didn't add an oil cooler. I do have a fan shroud, replica parts radiator panel and marks radiator cowl. I've driven the car when it was 95+ out and never gets over 185, oil temp max is 220. So I certainly don't think you need it. It does look cool though I think. I added an oil temp gauge, had a bung welded in the driver side rear top of the pan and had speedhut match my 20th gauge, I like having this, so would recommend adding. The clock on the other hand I never use. With the power cut of switch I actually turn all the power off, I did install a 5am by-pass fuse to originally keep the clock going but just don't use it. I think the dash looks cool with it in, it's a little unique, but it's not functional. For the tranny I went with a TKO-600, I got it from Liberty Gear with their upgraded syncros. I went .64 for the 5th gear. I have to say I rarely use it, you need to be over 85 mph for it to make sense so that is maybe something I would change if I had to redo it. So far I had a very minor leak for the driver side valve cover, just tightened the bolts, so far so good. I now have a minor squeak when I go over a bump, I checked the car over and everything seems tight, I'm thinking it may be the drivers side pipe, but that is yet TBD. Outside of that the car drives great, I get a ton of responses and questions which is always fun. Something that I will never regret going. So if you're on the fence, just buy the kit and take your time you won't regret it!

[Christopher]

Now this is a nice detailed list and beautiful car.

[Paul Mischenko]

Amazing weekend in NY for driving 68-70 both days so got some great drives in.
I still can't seem to nail down exactly where the squeaking is coming from when I hit a bump. I've greased all the fittings multiple times. It's a bit odd. On some drives its worse than others and some I don't hear it.
Did the upper A arm fittings many times, greases comes out both ends. From what I hear its both in front and rear, but I could be wrong. Tough to really tell while driving and with the side pipes. I think this is going to have to be a winter project when I take some stuff apart. Season is almost over here.

Also had my first part fail, it was a Lucas toggle switch I use on the dash to power my bluetooth receiver. I have the full underdash panel and while its solid, it's going to be a pain to get the switch out and replace it as a bunch of stuff will have to come off. In hindsight if I were to do the dash again I would just use individual support pieces so I could replace a switch or reach behind. I did a custom Acton dash which is really solid so think the underdash panel was overkill. I installed some LED lighting along the full underdash panel but I haven't used it once, so I don't think its needed.

In the interim I bought a bluetooth speaker that sits just in front of my battery cut off switch. $70 bucks, 22 watts and it sounds almost as good as the 400 watt JL system I have just behind me. I guess that the benefit of the speakers being in front vs behind. Anyone looking for a cheap stereo option which won't change the car at all get one of these bluetooth speakers.

Got this shirt below from my wife for my birthday. I guess she is ok with all the time I spent building the car!

[BadAsp427]

Amazing weekend in NY for driving 68-70 both days so got some great drives in.
I still can't seem to nail down exactly where the squeaking is coming from when I hit a bump. I've greased all the fittings multiple times. It's a bit odd. On some drives its worse than others and some I don't hear it.

Here is what I had going on with mine... CLICK HERE

[Paul Mischenko]

Excellent, thanks for sharing that and your solution, that's the first place I'm going to look!

[Paul Mischenko]

Thanks very much for the suggestion BadAsp427! Only took a couple hrs yesterday. Did one strap at a time. Noticed it was rubbing the gas tank in the rear and there were also some spots it was rubbing the plastic. Used some of rubber fuel line and slit it down the middle to go over the gas tank. I did 3 of these, both rears and the passenger front also seemed to be making contact. I also had some very thin hard rubber with 3m on the back that I put on the metal gas tank strap in places that it seemed to be rubbing. Nice fall day today in NY so a great day for a drive. Squeak is gone, so fingers crossed that was it. A much easier fix than to start taking apart the suspension. I would recommend anyone doing their built now just to address this when you install the tank, no point in waiting till later if its an issue. I did have to order a longer bolt, 3" on the passenger side as the rubber hose pulls the strap down a bit.

[Paul Mischenko]

Took the cobra to a gathering Caffein and Carburetors. Was a great 50 min to drive to get there and car got lots of attention which is always fun. I have about 6k miles on the car. Not sure if I mentioned in a previous post but I had one of the Lucas type toggle switches fail on my dash, this one controlled power to the bluetooth receiver under the dash and hence the stereo. As an interim last year I bought a portable speaker that just sits on passenger seat if I wanted any music. I have to say this portable speaker does a great job. If I had to do my build over I would skip the installed stereo and just use this 40w portable speaker. Cost was like $60 bucks vs a few thousand and a lot of work. I also used the full under-dash panel. While this is more solid it makes a simple thing like changing a switch a much bigger issues. If I were to do over I would put some access panels along the bottom or just use brackets similar to what Paul B did. For those planning their build, as we can customize I would recommend thinking through how you will access parts should they need to be replaced. I spent a lot of time planning, but seems I should have spent a little more time thinking about this. I was glad to have solved the squeaking sound last year with a easy fix. So this year just the other day I noticed a random and odd winning noise when letting the clutch out of first gear. Doesn't happen all the time, just the odd time. One thing I remember was reading in one of Paul B's posts the need to adjust the slave push rod to ensure there is some slack. I have yet to do this and when I checked it was tight. So took off the slave removed the pushrod and adjusted it in about 1/8" and this seemed to give me the play back with everything at rest. I was hoping this would possibly fix this random noise but no luck, happened yesterday at the end of a 40 min drive and again today just getting to the gathering. Confirmed I have full oil in tranny and I don't seem to have any leaks in the hydraulic clutch system. I had some issues during the build of the fork coming loose and I had to pull the engine and trans twice in a week to fix. I'm really hoping I won't have to do the same here as with the body and car finished I imagine this will be much harder. Wonder if anyone else has experienced a similar issue? Only seemed to happen coming out of 1st gear. Pretty random and rare. If it happens, it would happen again right after, but then after up to speed it could be fine the next time I start off again.