New Mk 4 Roadster project questions

[MGee]

Good day

My apologies if these points have been raised and answered before.

I will be ordering my complete roadster kit with the IRS option/ manual brakes/ manual steering shortly and many of my questions have been answered on here however here goes with some others.

1. I live in the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana and wondered if there were any members that could provide their experiences with registering, titling and undergoing inspections with the car.

2. I have a junkyard jewel 351W 1988 year which I plan to rebuild with the Edelbrock 450hp hydraulic full roller performer top end kit and Gen 4 EFI. What pistons/ ring packs / should I buy to go with it? What roller rockers are a good fit and do I need a forged crank and rods ?

3. What engine rebuild kit with bearings/ seals etc is recommended

4. Any recommendations on insurance companies. Im 57 with a good driving record.

5. Im assuming 1/2 inch fuel lines are warranted?

6. I plan to fit the Silver Sport Tremec T56 5 speed complete kit with hydraulic clutch, where can I get the fancy billet matching brake/ clutch reservoirs from and are there any fitment issues ?

7. Are there any clearance issues with the 17 inch , 9 inch front/ 10 inch rear hallibrand repro wheels and what are the stickest tyres you can buy which will give me the best roadholding, not concerned about wear rates.

8. Is there anybody with experience of the fancy Silver sport shifter upgrade ?

9. Does it need a heater?

10. Does it need seat heaters?

11. Is it relatively straight forward to modify the starter circuit with a start/ stop button instead of the key start.

12. Any recommendations for a fancy indicator stalk and handbrake lever.?

13. Is it better to go with the traced cut outs on the body or pre cut from the factory?

14. Why are there apparently so many problems with the windshield installation?

15 I want to buy Cobra / 427 badging for the car, where can I get them?

16. This will be purely a street car, does it need the sway bar.

Thanks.

[jrcuz]

Welcome Mcgee, for your,item #15 try **********.com that is where I got mine. If you are thinking of the full hoop bumpers and over riders I would recommend getting them from FFR as the over riders from ********** attach differently and require some modification.
JR

[Avalanche325]

Here is a quick hit on some of them.

2. I have a junkyard jewel 351W 1988 year which I plan to rebuild with the Edelbrock 450hp hydraulic full roller performer top end kit and Gen 4 EFI. What pistons/ ring packs / should I buy to go with it? What roller rockers are a good fit and do I need a forged crank and rods ?

You don't need a forged crank and rods for 450hp if you are not running boost. You will just be adding rotational weight.

4. Any recommendations on insurance companies. Im 57 with a good driving record.

Midwest Classic - See the vendor list - They specialize in collector cars and agreed upon value.

5. Im assuming 1/2 inch fuel lines are warranted?

3/8" is generally good for 600hp. EFI guys correct me if needed.

6. I plan to fit the Silver Sport Tremec T56 5 speed complete kit with hydraulic clutch, where can I get the fancy billet matching brake/ clutch reservoirs from and are there any fitment issues ?
T-56 is a six speed. It only fits with IRS.

7. Are there any clearance issues with the 17 inch , 9 inch front/ 10 inch rear hallibrand repro wheels and what are the stickest tyres you can buy which will give me the best roadholding, not concerned about wear rates.
No. That is pretty much what these are designed for. The driver side may rub the F-panel at full lock. You can put a rack limiter in or just stop when you feel it. It will only happen while parking.

Really sticky, you want 100 tread wear. You will get something like 5000 miles out of them. Nitto NT-01, Toyo Proxie R888.
Still sticky - 10k miles - 200 treadwear . Nitto NT-05
Do you REALLY want a manual steering rack and wide sticky tires. I would reconsider.

9. Does it need a heater?
Yes. If you head out really early or come home late, they are nice to have. I live in Florida.

10. Does it need seat heaters?
Yes. If you head out really early or come home late, they are nice to have. I live in Florida.

11. Is it relatively straight forward to modify the starter circuit with a start/ stop button instead of the key start.
Yes. Lots of guys have done it.

12. Any recommendations for a fancy indicator stalk and handbrake lever.?
Indicator - Russ Thompson - see vendor list

13. Is it better to go with the traced cut outs on the body or pre cut from the factory?
You are building a car. You can cut some holes.

14. Why are there apparently so many problems with the windshield installation?
These windshields and frames are light and flimsy / people are gorillas. I think the biggest thing is that people don't put correct spacers in where they attach to the frame and stress the glass.

15 I want to buy Cobra / 427 badging for the car, where can I get them?
********** Accessories, http://www.cobranda.com, pretty much any classic Mustang parts place.

16. This will be purely a street car, does it need the sway bar.

Not really for the street. Are you SURE you aren't going to autocross?

[doddmoore]

I’m in Mississippi and I’m not putting a heater or seat heaters. I can’t imagine needing them here or in BR either.

[BadAsp427]

Heated seats and heater... windshield wipers.... Yes, Yes and Yes.... You will add many days of driving to your fun with these items. When it is 40 outside and you want to go for a drive, go... it will be nice and toasty inside your car and your butt/back will feel great as well. I'm in South Carolina and have used my heat and seat heaters MANY times... Just adds a bit of comfort on the cold mornings going out to cars and coffee or coming home have a long day in the hot sun and the cool night chill hits you. My $.02 worth...

[MGee]

Thanks very much for the insights much appreciated

[Jeff Kleiner]

...what are the stickest tyres you can buy which will give me the best roadholding, not concerned about wear rates...

...This will be purely a street car...

These two statements are contradictory. Purely street car will be fine on something like a Nitto 555G2 or NT-05 without having to live with the negatives that come woth NT-01s or R888R. You won't exceed the capabilities of the 555 or -05 unless you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing on the street.

JMHO,
Jeff

[CraigS]

2. I have a junkyard jewel 351W 1988 year which I plan to rebuild with the Edelbrock 450hp hydraulic full roller performer top end kit and Gen 4 EFI. What pistons/ ring packs / should I buy to go with it? What roller rockers are a good fit and do I need a forged crank and rods ?

Stock crank, rods, stock type pistons will be fine as long as you stay below 6000. Of course you would want the crank, pistons, and rods balanced. Notice that you can get the 450hp per Edelbrock w/ just 9 or 9.5 to 1 compression ( I forget which) so I would go w/ a major brand hypereutectic piston set. You could upgrade the rods a little if you want but not really needed. It depends how far you want to take the engine and how much you want to spend. If you want to go a little further go for a complete stroker kit to make a 408. When I did that, the kit came from them already balanced so the machine just needed the pistons so they could measure them to bore the block to get the proper clearance.
- I strongly recommend you go with power steering.
- I would also recommend a heater

[KDubU]

No to a heater, unless you are an old fart....just kidding I am in Maine and did not have one but did have heated seats. I had no issues driving from late April through October. As long as the roads were good, I would drive when it was 35 and above, just be careful of cold tires.