25th MKIV #9772 Build NOR*CAL: taking it to paint!

[toadster]

I've been eyeballing the sidepipes and what spacers may be needed, I know it's all estimates until the body is on - any recommendations?

Driver Side has about 1" of clearance to the frame


Passenger Side has about 3.5" of clearance to the frame


too early to worry about it? I sent these pics to Mark at Breeze as well for ideas...

[Lidodrip]

You might want to wait until you have the body fitted in its final location before fitting the side pipes. How the pipes fit in relation to the body (not the rails) is what matters and there is some adjusting of the body (pushing in/pulling out) to get the door fit right. I have a Gen 2 Coyote with the FFR catalytic converter headers and GasN Touring pipes and ended up using 1 small wedge on the passenger side and 1 large wedge on the driver side (from Breeze). Pipe alignment was perfect.

Your transmission cover looks great - where did you get the diamond stitch fabric?

James

[toadster]

You might want to wait until you have the body fitted in its final location before fitting the side pipes. How the pipes fit in relation to the body (not the rails) is what matters and there is some adjusting of the body (pushing in/pulling out) to get the door fit right. I have a Gen 2 Coyote with the FFR catalytic converter headers and GasN Touring pipes and ended up using 1 small wedge on the passenger side and 1 large wedge on the driver side (from Breeze). Pipe alignment was perfect.

Your transmission cover looks great - where did you get the diamond stitch fabric?

James

awesome thanks!

I had the center cover stitching matched by a local upholstery company and they had a bazillion colors of everything, from the suede to the stitching...
they took my rudimentary drawing and made my thoughts into reality!! not cheap, but as you can see, it's worth it!

https://www.finelinetrim.com/automotive

[Nigel Allen]

G'day Todd,

I really like that third brake light flasher. Third brake lights are mandatory here in Oz, but not flashing ones. I wouldn't mind fitting a flash module, hopefully to wake up some of the clowns that insist on tailgating. Could you share which module you used.

Cheers,

Nigel

[toadster]

G'day Todd,

I really like that third brake light flasher. Third brake lights are mandatory here in Oz, but not flashing ones. I wouldn't mind fitting a flash module, hopefully to wake up some of the clowns that insist on tailgating. Could you share which module you used.

Cheers,

Nigel

exactly my thoughts on safety - here’s the one I got - they’re $20

Brake light blinker, four flashes then solid. Safety Flash Light Alert. Universal

[toadster]

it's been a wild and wacky weekend!

I took off work Friday to get my car dyno tuned at AED in Cameron Park, CA - famous for being a small town with it's own airport where pilots actually have their airplanes parked in airplane sized garages that adjoin to the runway - one of, I believe, three in the whole US - pretty cool... oh, and Shaun Perry who owns AED also has his shop there! It's about 12 miles from our house, so we trailered the car up to him. What a fun afternoon! and of course, more changes...
a few snaps of the shop, and dyno setup - Shauns' dog Duke is awesome and super friendly as well




what we found during the tuning session is that the Coyote was struggling to breathe.. at least exhaust wise, the intake was doing well and adding air, but the restriction of the catalytic converters and the GASN touring pipes was really pulling the power down and creating excessive backpressure... the catalytic smelled funky, and I had been assuming this all along that jet-hot damaged them during their curing process - so I pulled the trigger and Shaun handed me a hammer and pick, and I quickly eviscerated the catalytics... money down the drain, or in this case, in the vacuum...



once we gutted these out, the coyote was happy again and put down 413HP and 370 lb-ft at the wheels
not winning top HP prizes, but I'm happy with the 400+ club numbers

[toadster]

on Saturday, since I still have FMan's trailer, and with his permission, I helped Ken Pike move some cars from his Yuba City shop to his new place in Marysville, CA



it's a long way from being all done, but at least was able to move 3 rollers and two bodies during the morning time, felt good with the local Sacramento guys to contribute some time to help Ken with his move

lastly, today I had my new parts for the A/C setup and I took to a local custom builder... funny enough, Darryl who owns the custom service in Rancho Cordova, CA has used Ken Pike as his painter in the past - the world get smaller everyday!

anyhoo, I had one bad connection on my A/C setup the Coyote compressor connection got cross-threaded
I ordered up 2 new parts, a #10 inverted o-ring adapter, and the two custom Coyote compressor fittings.

I opted to have the custom shop dial this in for good... a new hose was created to go between the condenser and the compressor and we used 2 cans of R134 and they topped off with about 6 oz more
blows nice and cold now, and is finished! 1 out of 8 ports on a custom A/C setup going bad, isn't that bad IMHO - pretty lucky on my end, but learned A LOT during the process!



even though it was about 55 degrees outside, the A/C was blowing REALLY cold very happy that this is working!!!!

[Justin]

As someone that lives in AZ the AC mod is in my future. I’m glad it’s working for you!

[toadster]

As someone that lives in AZ the AC mod is in my future. I’m glad it’s working for you!

was really happy that only 1 fitting was messed up, these guys do custom A/C all the time and were impressed with the customization that we did to get it all to fit, and performed really well!

here are a couple 3D prints that my son is testing out to make our 4 port HVAC ports...



they probably don't make much sense like this, but since the space behind the dash is at a premium, he modeled these ports - one fitting per side

one of the ports will blow out the front of the dash and the other will blow into the footbox...

the front ports (yellow arrows) and the bottom ports (orange arrows)

[Justin]

Makes sense to me. I have a 3D printer and basic modeling skills so I might follow your lead.

I might put the blower and evap in the trunk too. I have a weird plan that works on boats. But I need to sleep on it a few more times.

[toadster]

Found some toggle switch labels for the wipers and A/C switches on Etsy, turned out pretty nice IMHO

IMG_0448.jpeg

[cv2065]

Sounds and looks great. Love the dash. I'll be coming up behind you in a couple of months and will need some tips on cutting that CF. You are getting close! By the way, I can't get any of your pics to come up from imgbb. Just goes blank?

[toadster]

Sounds and looks great. Love the dash. I'll be coming up behind you in a couple of months and will need some tips on cutting that CF. You are getting close! By the way, I can't get any of your pics to come up from imgbb. Just goes blank?

thank you! cutting the CF is nerve wracking for sure, but I have a bunch of hole saws now that are the right size... it's all about high speed, light pressure, keep centered and wear a mask at a minimum
we also kept our vacuum running while drilling to pull all the CF powder away...

strange about the imgbb links - anyone else having issues?

[zarnold]

strange about the imgbb links - anyone else having issues?

Working OK for me, maybe just a momentary issue.

[toadster]

had a crazy idea to hack up my new shifter that I got from f-line, I know everyone has issues with them, but I've never had one problem stuff ships and arrives within a day or two - anyways...

I reached out to BradC who built the Tesla Rod
he lives about a mile away and had the most awesome garage tool setup known to man


the issue is that I have a shifter ball from Breeze (a few years ago) that isn't made anymore, it's a 3/8-24 thread pitch, and the f-line shifter is 1/2-20

I got the crazy idea of chopping off the 1/2-20 thread and pulling out the fake reverse lockout (not a fan if it's not real)
drilled out the obligatory 3/8" holes in the shifter handle, and I got a 3 inch grade5 bolt and lopped off the head, just needed a way to merge the two parts



enter BradC with his CNC machine and he milled down the 75 cent bolt and then tack welded it in place and ground down the excess



all I need now is to get a chrome 2" tube with 1/2" ID and 5/8" OD to finish it off

super happy with this setup and it mitigates the 'pinch' on the shifter boot, of which I also inverted, and will be putting on a leather boot to hide things soon

[toadster]

did more alignment on the front end yesterday, and the ball joint boots, like many, were just thrashed... I ordered the Energy Suspension 5.13102G Ball Joint Dust Boot for Chrysler which are ~$8 for top and bottom

disassembling the front knuckles can be a PITA, especially the bottom ball joint, a ball joint spreader doesn't extent tall enough for the bottom ball joint, and the C-clamp style won't work because the knuckle placement, so it was pickle fork time!
the lowers did have a compression spring O-ring around them, the new ones do not have this... hoping this isn't an issue

uppers came apart pretty easily with a few whacks of a hammer
the bottom ones needed the pickle fork... you can see the boot discoloration and there are tears (not visible in these pics)
lastly you can see the new lower boot installed


passenger side and driver side done, these new boot seem to be 10x better than the ones that come with the kit


need to grease them up and do some go-karting

[toadster]

in prepping for the HVAC ports, the fun part here was that the angle of the dashboard shifted a bit over time and I had to re-mount the grab handle support along with the changed HVAC ports

here are some pics, the grab handle supports ended up being about 1.4" longer than previously done - but worked out great! (ones shown below are just mocked up wooden strips, used 1/8" steel bar)

[toadster]

now that the dash is pretty much solidified, had to mount the Russ Thompson turn signal for the last time (I hope!)

in the forums I saw this thread about greasing up the turn signal, so I used some Synthetic grease
once greased up it's a bit of a bugger to re-assemble and get the clamp ring back on, but it's doable

[toadster]

ok - now finally, to the HVAC ports, my son finally dialed in the 3d printed HVAC ports for our custom setup, the provided Y's from the kit are just too big/bulky for a 4-port setup

you can see his 3D designs in this post

with the angles and 3d printed parts, it took several tries -but dang he's talented! We cut down the screw on ports for the back of the vents, and he 3d printed threads inside the bottom port so the cover will screw right in

here's all the parts


one big customization is on the passenger side, where we cut the hole it's on the curve of the dash, so he had to print front/rear spacers to match the slope and also add an extension to the back of the HVAC port so the threads would extend deep enough!



here's the passenger side mounted and attached


and the driver side (easier setup)


I also got the North Racecar plenum for the defroster but will modify the pipe once the chassis/body are in the same room

[toadster]

lastly, I finished modifying the shifter handle, again Ryan 3d printed an extension to mitigate the gap where the 'Tee' used to be on the 427 handle, fits perfectly but wasn't chrome



opted for some chrome tape from Amazon, worked perfectly and looks great IMHO

[dbo_texas]

and the driver side (easier setup)

Did you remove the center 3/4 dash support from the FFR frame? I was trying to figure out how to sneak my heater vent hose around that - looks like you just cut out out?

[toadster]

Did you remove the center 3/4 dash support from the FFR frame? I was trying to figure out how to sneak my heater vent hose around that - looks like you just cut out out?

yep, we got to the point where it was just in the way with the evaporator there, the A/C created all kinds of fun challenges

[toadster]

a few more basics completed last night, carpet is finished and got the footbox blower hoses attached - they work VERY well!

also impressed with the volume of air from the HVAC setup as well, all 4 ports blow very strong! won't have to worry about the cold, and the A/C should REALLY help when it's hot out



next up, seatbelts, temp seat attachments, need to review a bit more but almost ready for paint!

[Nigel Allen]

Stunning work! Thanks for documenting so well.

Cheers,

Nige

[facultyofmusic]

Wow! The way the seats match the trans tunnel is freaking cool. Very nicely done! Will you be making a diamond-stitched door-flap for the storage cubby?

[toadster]

Stunning work! Thanks for documenting so well.

Cheers,

Nige

Wow! The way the seats match the trans tunnel is freaking cool. Very nicely done! Will you be making a diamond-stitched door-flap for the storage cubby?

thanks guys! yes the door cards match the rest as well, the shop redid the FFR ones and added pockets

[toadster]

seatbelts installed, haven't done the submarine one yet - probably not till I fully mount the seats

I did some prefit for the ReplicaParts radiator shroud (different thread)

I will have to modify the shroud to mate up with the A/C condenser on top of the radiator, plus the angle is a bit different (51-deg vs suggested 58-deg)



mocked up a template with thick paper, and got the general idea of the cuts but will wait until the body is painted and mounted to finalize



just need to finalize ride height and do some more go-karting, then I believe the car is ready for paint!

using the race car checklist in the manual to verify everything

both rear brakes look like this, I know the fronts take the majority of the braking and I have about 1/4 mile on the car, assuming with more normal driving this will show more even wear in the back?

[Windsor]

Don't worry about the black on the rotors.

By the time you get the pads properly seated, they'll be all shine.

[Ted G]

Looks great! My brakes looked the same until I started putting miles on the car. Let's Go Kart you to C&C soon!!

Ted

[Fman]

Your car is really looking awesome, so many nice details. You have really done one amazing job, can't wait to see it all painted up!!!

[toadster]

it's go-kart season!

[Ted G]

Nice!!! I'm sure it feels great after all!

[BradC]

Too cool Todd - congrats!! Using those sun breaks wisely I see...

[toadster]

today was one of those checkmark days! I started the SB100 registration process in CA

I now have a temp driving permit to get DMV inspection and brake/light inspection before I get the next step - although the state has no issue taking my money at this point...

IMG_1134.jpg

hopefully Ken will have power and the paint booths setup in March and we can get the rest of the body/paint done! woohoo!

this whole thing started 4 years ago... almost done!

[toadster]

I nearly forgot to do this, but I did the Wade's Door Latch Repair (before it breaks)

Simple enough tweak and it's super sturdy now!

Parts needed:
(2) 5/16" X 3/4" carriage bolt - I inadvertently got 1" bolts but that's an easy fix
(2) washers and
(2) lock nuts

First, get a file to knock off the edges in the pivot


Then I persuaded the carriage bolt into the square hole, added the washer and locknut - realized I had an extra 1/4" sticking out so I trimmed with a hacksaw




now I just need to grind down the head of the carriage bolt so it sits flat against the door



I think the whole mod for both latches was about 20 minutes total - definitely recommended!!

[toadster]

here's the body waiting for me to bring up the chassis tomorrow!!



Ken is still trying to get power into his booths, but more body fitting can be done prior to paint - getting much closer now!!! Yahoo!

[Barwickad]

Looking good. Cant wait for Ken to get the new booths online and to see your car painted! I’m in line behind you.

[460.465USMC]

I nearly forgot to do this, but I did the Wade's Door Latch Repair (before it breaks)

Simple enough tweak and it's super sturdy now!

Nice work, Todd. I did the same, and so far so good after 1,600+ miles. I also filed a bit of material off the leading edge of the post that stops the latch arm movement. Otherwise, the bolt sat proud of the face plate, which can prevent it from opening as there's just enough of the bolt protruding to catch.

I'm not very good at explaining with words, so it's letter "B" in the photo below.

[toadster]

Thanks for the explanation and the pic helps!!!

[Fman]

Nice progress Todd! Also keep an eye on your ball on the handle, had one fall off and had to purchase a couple threaded balls from McMaster. Never a good day when you loose one of your balls

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post471538