Fmans Dart 427 build #9818 - 14" Leather steering wheel

[Fman]

Hello all,

The day finally arrived! What a great feeling to finally get this car in my shop. I decided to start a build thread like many others to hopefully help other people down the road but more importantly let me get help from the experienced builders on this forum to double check my work. I have already reached out to a few of you and have got some great information to help me get started. I have worked on a few different cars and trucks throughout my life but never have tackled a project from chassis up. As excited as I am hopefully my blue collar brain can figure this out, I need every cell working for me!

A little about myself... my name is Travis, married for 27 years to my highschool sweetheart, three kids, one grandchild. Our last son leaves for college this fall, so we are heading toward being empty nesters. I have worked in public safety for 24 years, this journey of building a car is definitely on my bucket list. The Cobra has always been a favorite of mine and I always thought if I ever was fortunate enough to own one it would be built with my own two hands.

I wanted to also thank Eric from Stewart, he was super cool and easy to work with. We just ended up walking the car down my driveway which ended up being easy.

My build:
Mk4 w/IRS
17" Halibrands (PC black)
Dual chrome cages
Leather seats
Full leather interior
Heated seats
Jones Racing power steering from Gordon Levy
Mustang brakes w/powerstop upgraded rotors and pads
Forte Hydraulic clutch
Vintage GPS gauges
Old school wheel

Engine:
Dart 427 (Edelbrock Pro flo 4 EFI) 520 HP
Engine builder: Elliot Franklin at Mustang Corral in Grass Valley, CA (530) 268-8403
Tko 600
Stereo: Gas 'n pipes (touring) w/drummer mike heat shields

Paint:
Ken Pike - Yuba City, CA - Kens Customs
Color BMW Sterling gray, Mercedes black stripes, Ford race red pin stripe

Budget? Blown already

Variety of goodies from Breeze, FFmetals, Russ Thompson, Herb, Boig and a few other vendors that will help me spend way too much money.

[Rsnake]

Congratulations Fman! You are about to embark an an incredible journey. You build plan looks solid and I love your garage.
I am located in Half Moon Bay so not too far from you.

[norcalLo]

CONGRATS Fman!! Looks like your build specs and shop are perfect for the task! I'm in Roseville and have a MKIII - Ken did the work on mine and nothing but THUMBS-UP for his talent and knowledge. Keep us posted on the build - be safe!!

[Vspeeds]

Congratulations! I live in Elk Grove and you could reach out if you have questions or need any help. I’m a Jakey in SF.

[Fman]

Hey thanks everyone I appreciate the support... maybe someone can help me learn how to post a full size pic rather than a small thumbnail? I cant seem to figure it out.

[GTBradley]

I made a video recently for someone else with the same questions on pictures. It does't address every possible approach, but might give you an idea on how to get your setup to work:

[bil1024]

Congrats and welcome to the family!

[Fman]

Made a little progress over the last couple days. I got my inventory done, organized my garage and did a few things on the car. I stripped her down naked marking all my panels, cleco'd my F panels, assembled the shocks and completed the upper control arm. I was able to cut the rear UCA sleeve down recommended by a few builders on the forum. I wanted to thank @toadster, I reached out to him for a little confirmation that I had everything looking the right way (hopefully I do). It was a little confusing at first having to flip one side of the UCA to give the correct ball joint angle. I also installed the Moog ball joint recommended by edwardb which I am glad I had them because they are on my POL.

Question about UCA: The only torque specs I found were on the two grade 8 bolts mounting the frame (85 ft lbs). The end bolts on the UCA I have snugged and the three bolts holding the adjustment rods I have them tight. Am I missing anything?

I am kind of bummed about all the parts I don't have because there are quite a few of them. I am missing the front LCA so the front end is at a standstill. I "should" have all the IRS components with exception of the wheel studs so that will be my next project on the car. If you are going to cut your sleeve down on the rear arm I found a hacksaw blade works good. I would plan on 2-3 blades for all four cuts. I do have a bandsaw which I used on the sleeve but the actual bolt I used in a vice with a hacksaw blade and it did fine. I did have to lightly grind down edges after the cut to smooth out the threads and blow everything out with some air. One tip, I found marking the jam nut and sleeve to orientate which way it goes back on helps once things are cut.

One other item I noticed if you are using a vehicle lift the frame is very light and moves around on the lift pads. I ended up wrapping each pad with a rubber bungee to keep the car secure until I get some more weight on it.

I am having a blast building! Some Zeppelin playing in the garage always seems to kick my mind into build mode, amazing how fast a full day goes by in the shop.

[BadAsp427]

Fman, sorry for the late welcome... Looks like your off to a great start. Crank up the tunes and enjoy the journey...

[Fman]

Made a little more progress on the IRS diff, POR 15 and chased the 5/8" holes. I used my cordless porter cable drill and a new 5/8" titanium bit, it seemed to work well with a little pressure and letting the bit do all the work. Hopefully early this week I am going to try and mount the diff and begin installing the IRS.


Was also able to cut the IRS spindles and chase out the 5/8" holes. I was going to use a sawzall but decided to go with a hacksaw blade, slower going but easier to control. I used a 18 TPI blade, it worked fine but I would use a 14 TPI if I were to do it again.

[Joe D]

Question:
My manual shows the passenger side UCA oriented like this
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.30 AM.png
Your photo shows the UCA installed backwards
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 6.49.05 PM.png
There should be a right and left hand UCA
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.10 AM.png

What's happening with this?

Thanks
Joe

[edwardb]

Question:
My manual shows the passenger side UCA oriented like this
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.30 AM.png
Your photo shows the UCA installed backwards
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 6.49.05 PM.png
There should be a right and left hand UCA
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.10 AM.png

What's happening with this?

Thanks
Joe

You posted the same thing in another thread: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post408891. I see you recently joined. This has been talked about frequently in the past. The UCA's have a fixed (welded) connection on one side of the ball joint plate, and an adjustable connection on the other side. This fixed portion can be on either the front or the back. They work just fine that way. The front end alignment allows them to be dialed in perfectly. There was an issue with people putting them on upside down, but haven't seen that lately. Zerks have to up, ball joint spindle connection angled out. Factory Five has made multiple supplier changes on this part, and maybe they've just changed again? Not sure. And if they did, possibly the pictures in the build manual aren't the current parts. But I'd suggest not being confused (or giving incorrect advice) regarding the fixed vs. adjustable connections on the ball joint plate.

[Joe D]

Sorry for the double post nobody said anything on the other thread. So I thought I would elaborate.

[edwardb]

Sorry for the double post nobody said anything on the other thread. So I thought I would elaborate.

Don't care about the double post. You're posting information that's not correct, and I'd suggest you delete the posts.

[Fman]

Question:
My manual shows the passenger side UCA oriented like this
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.30 AM.png
Your photo shows the UCA installed backwards
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 6.49.05 PM.png
There should be a right and left hand UCA
Screen Shot 2020-04-25 at 10.40.10 AM.png

What's happening with this?

Thanks
Joe

Joe, at first I actually thought FFR sent me the same side. I contacted the FF tech line (via email pics) and a few other builders regarding using them on either side and it was confirmed they are correctly installed. I triple checked this before I made any cuts to the sleeves. I am complete rookie but everyone I spoke with said they are correct on either side, the important thing is to have the upper ball joint correctly orientated and the three bolt heads on top.

[JB in NOVA]

Congrats Fman! Looks like it's going to be a nice build. I think your delivery might have been in the same truck as mine. Mine was delivered 4/11/20 in Virginia and was the first of 10 off the truck. I remember Eric mentioning that his last stop would be in California. Was yours the last off the truck? Anyway, I'm glad to have a fellow builder at the same stage as me. FWIW, my front LCAs are also on back order, so I've been focusing on the rear axle for now. I know FFR is on shutdown, so it might be a while before back orders start to flow.

[Fman]

Fman, sorry for the late welcome... Looks like your off to a great start. Crank up the tunes and enjoy the journey...

Thank you, hopefully you guys can keep an eye on my work! I am trying to triple check everything. As little as I have done yet I am enjoying the challenge and slowly beginning to gain some confidence... one bolt at a time

[Fman]

Congrats Fman! Looks like it's going to be a nice build. I think your delivery might have been in the same truck as mine. Mine was delivered 4/11/20 in Virginia and was the first of 10 off the truck. I remember Eric mentioning that his last stop would be in California. Was yours the last off the truck? Anyway, I'm glad to have a fellow builder at the same stage as me. FWIW, my front LCAs are also on back order, so I've been focusing on the rear axle for now. I know FFR is on shutdown, so it might be a while before back orders start to flow.

Hey thanks! I am super stoked, still cant believe I have it in my garage. Yep, that would be me...last one one off the truck. Eric was great to deal with and got her in one piece to me. I am also hoping to move forward on the rear IRS because of the missing LCA's. Good luck with your build and congrats to you! I will be following your build.

[Joe D]

Joe, at first I actually thought FFR sent me the same side. I contacted the FF tech line (via email pics) and a few other builders regarding using them on either side and it was confirmed they are correctly installed. I triple checked this before I made any cuts to the sleeves. I am complete rookie but everyone I spoke with said they are correct on either side, the important thing is to have the upper ball joint correctly orientated and the three bolt heads on top.

Thanks for the explanation

Joe

[Fman]

Fun day in the shop today and best of all got to spend some quality time with my Dad working on the Cobra. We got the center diff installed, the IRS upper and lower control arms, and put together the shocks. From Edwardb build I ended up using the spreader trick to fit control arm bushings in the frame, 5/8" bolt pins which worked awesome for the center diff alignment and we also used the pins for installing the rear IRS swing arms as well.

Question(s): I have no wheel studs for the rear hub, if I take out the current studs can I install the hub, spindle and axle then install the studs later when they come in from FF? I was thinking I could do this because the studs will be pulled in with a nut? or maybe I am not thinking this through completely?I would like to install the axles, spindle and hub if possible before I have the studs.

Could someone please take a peek at pic below to verify the gap in the lower mounting holes on the center diff? There is a very tiny gap but they are torqued to 100 ft lbs. Just want to confirm everything looks correct?



1/2" spreader rod


Screw jack from harbor freight to align center diff, excellent for aligning center diff


My Dad, love this guy and such a big help! Great to spend time with him


Diff and control arms mounted, shocks temp installed. We used a red paint pen to mark all bolts torqued to spec.

[Just puttering]

Congrats on the new build! Maybe we can find time to swing by and say hi this summer! Please keep the posts coming so we can follow along!

[silver_pilate]

Looking good so far! Awesome that you got to spend time with your pops working on the roadster. Have fun and keep it going!

[toadster]

Great job Travis! We need to hang out when we are allowed to again!!

[edwardb]

Nice work and progress. Great you get to work on it with your Dad. That gap on the center section mount is fine. It's against the inner sleeve. And as you've probably found, that lump is solidly mounted and not going anywhere. As for the wheel studs, I wouldn't try to remove them while mounted, but sounds like you won't either. I think you could get new ones in with everything together. Looking at pictures of mine, seems they would go in. Maybe you saw in my build thread. I use a couple hardened washers (grade 8 from the local Ace) and nut with liberal amounts of chassis grease between everything. They pull right in with an air impact driver. Just don't use your finish lug nuts. They will get chewed up. I'm a little surprised a common part like that is on backorder. Plus with Factory Five still mostly closed, could be a while. If you're impatient, I had to replace mine during my Coupe build (builder screw-up...) and used Dorman 610-290 wheel studs. Come as a package of 10. Seemed same quality and less than $20. Summit, Amazon, etc.

[Fman]

Congrats on the new build! Maybe we can find time to swing by and say hi this summer! Please keep the posts coming so we can follow along!

Come by anytime, I would love to check out your ride!

[Fman]

Great job Travis! We need to hang out when we are allowed to again!!

Hey Thanks Todd, I feel like each part I put on the car is one more foot forward up the mountain. And there is no doubt I am following your build learning a bunch.

I was going to try and make it out to a cars and coffee sometime to meet you and some Cobra owners. My work schedule changes weekly, but hopefully when they start meeting up again and I have a Saturday off I will make it out.

[Fman]

Nice work and progress. Great you get to work on it with your Dad. That gap on the center section mount is fine. It's against the inner sleeve. And as you've probably found, that lump is solidly mounted and not going anywhere. As for the wheel studs, I wouldn't try to remove them while mounted, but sounds like you won't either. I think you could get new ones in with everything together. Looking at pictures of mine, seems they would go in. Maybe you saw in my build thread. I use a couple hardened washers (grade 8 from the local Ace) and nut with liberal amounts of chassis grease between everything. They pull right in with an air impact driver. Just don't use your finish lug nuts. They will get chewed up. I'm a little surprised a common part like that is on backorder. Plus with Factory Five still mostly closed, could be a while. If you're impatient, I had to replace mine during my Coupe build (builder screw-up...) and used Dorman 610-290 wheel studs. Come as a package of 10. Seemed same quality and less than $20. Summit, Amazon, etc.

Paul, thank you clarifying the center diff mounting that will make me sleep a little better tonight! FFR sent me an email about the studs available from a local auto parts store so I ended up picking up some Dorman #610-368 today from Napa auto for $20. Tomorrow I am planning on trying to finish up the rear IRS. I might not see any POL parts for quite awhile with the FFR being shutdown for awhile longer.

[Fman]

Had a few hours this afternoon free to work on the Cobra, I got a few things completed. The rear IRS "should" be finished up, I did not torque anything down yet and was hoping someone could take a second look to confirm I have everything assembled correctly.

IRS Rear install





I am running a hydraulic clutch do I need all of these pieces in the diagram? I do not have any of these in my kit so I am assuming I will not need them?


Did get a few parts painted for the pedal box assembly


Marked my panels I will be powder coating, still have to drill them out.

[MSumners]

With hydraulic clutch you won’t need the quadrant assembly.

On your painted parts, I can’t say I recall what the small square with the X through it is for.

[Fman]

Is anyone running a clutch safety start switch on the pedal box? In the manual it is an option and thought it would be a good safety feature. FFR sent me two identical brake switches, I believe I should have one brake switch and one clutch switch according to the manual?

[Vspeeds]

Is anyone running a clutch safety start switch on the pedal box? In the manual it is an option and thought it would be a good safety feature. FFR sent me two identical brake switches, I believe I should have one brake switch and one clutch switch according to the manual?

Travis

You sure are making good progress. I was sent two identical switches. However, i opted to not use the clutch safety switch.

Sorry, I should have called you...I was in Roseville and the Lincoln airport today with my cobra. Next time i’ll call you

[edwardb]

Is anyone running a clutch safety start switch on the pedal box? In the manual it is an option and thought it would be a good safety feature. FFR sent me two identical brake switches, I believe I should have one brake switch and one clutch switch according to the manual?

The switch mounting and switches themselves are the same for both the brake light switch and the clutch safety start switch. Assume you're using the Ron Francis harness? It has wires for both and is pretty much a standard feature and applicable for your Dart 427 w/tko600 build. (Coyote builds have a different setup.) Not going to turn your build thread into another debate about the clutch switch. Been done a bunch of times. Also possible to use the neutral switch on your TKO instead. But that's also another topic. If you don't want it, leave the switch off and attach the two RF wires together.

[Fman]

The switch mounting and switches themselves are the same for both the brake light switch and the clutch safety start switch. Assume you're using the Ron Francis harness? It has wires for both and is pretty much a standard feature and applicable for your Dart 427 w/tko600 build. (Coyote builds have a different setup.) Not going to turn your build thread into another debate about the clutch switch. Been done a bunch of times. Also possible to use the neutral switch on your TKO instead. But that's also another topic. If you don't want it, leave the switch off and attach the two RF wires together.

Paul, thanks for clarification. I am not sure if I am going to use a safety switch but nice to know I have the option. Did you get a chance to look at my IRS install pics? I was hoping to get confirmation all looks good before I torque everything down to spec. I actually had my UCA incorrect, the large bolt that threads into the arm was missing a jam nut on it. I confirmed it was incorrect with Toadster, definitely a miss on my part but it was a pretty easy fix this early on.

For anyone getting ready to install IRS I wanted to show the mistake I made on the UCA. I missed a nut that threads onto the large bolt before threading directly into the UCA. Hopefully this will help anyone in the future assembling IRS.

Here is incorrect way to install: (note missing nut picture)



Here is correct way it should be installed:

[Fman]

I have a question regarding drivers side footbox inside cover. I wanted to make it easily removable so I added some rivnuts to it. I was not sure how far I could go towards to the outside before the screw head would be under the lip of the fender becoming inaccessible. Could someone please take a look at attached pic and let me know how far I can extend, I would like to add one more rivnut where the red arrow is indicating

From pictures I can find it appears I can run another rivnut almost to upper corner?

Thank you

[JohnK]

Congratulations on the build progress so far. That's awesome that you can work on it with your dad.

I think you're on the right track with the holes in the footbox cover. I asked the same question a few months ago here. Based on the responses I got, it looks like it's OK to drill holes along the front edge of the cover.

[Fman]

Congratulations on the build progress so far. That's awesome that you can work on it with your dad.

I think you're on the right track with the holes in the footbox cover. I asked the same question a few months ago here. Based on the responses I got, it looks like it's OK to drill holes along the front edge of the cover.

John, thanks for the reply back I appreciate it. I ended up putting one more rivnut on the upper corner and called it good. I don't really see the need for any along the backside, the six I have holding it down seem to be plenty. I will more than likely add some type of gasket/seal on underside lip to help with vibrations.

[Fman]

Good day in the shop today, dropped off a bunch of engine panels/splash guards for powder coating, completed my IRS Rear, and installed Wilwood pedal box/master cylinders.

For powder coating I went with a hammered black/silver combo, originally I was going to go with satin black but I wanted something that was going to pop a little when you open the hood. I am doing everything in engine compartment and splash guards in the hammered finish. The PC shop said this stuff is super durable, can take a beating and I like the industrial look. Fingers crossed it looks good under the hood.

Powdercoating color


The IRS disc brakes went on fine but there were a couple of challenges I ran into. There are four different versions of directions on the FFR website, see link below. With the rear IRS mustang disc setup pay close attention to the spacing brackets and how thick they are. Some are different thickness than others and need to mirror each side. The brake pads supplied also have a spring at the bottom which I have never seen before.

Here is a link to the installation directions that worked for the 2020 Mk4 rear Mustang IRS disc
http://www.factoryfive.com/wp-conten...3in-BRAKES.pdf

Rear IRS brake bracket finished with all pieces assembled, notice the thickness difference in the pieces you put together (they are staggered)


Brake pads with spring clip on bottom, they slide into the caliper with some gentle manipulation. Not a common type of pad or at least nothing I have ever seen before.


Disc brakes and IRS rear end completed with painted silver calipers. I do still need to hook up the ebrake cable.


Wilwood pedal box with master cylinders attached. I am running a hydraulic clutch.



I picked up a Russ Thompson adjustable throttle pedal which is going to be a nice upgrade!

[Railroad]

If you have large or wide feet, now is the time to get all the space you can between the throttle pedal and the brake pedal.
I have made adjustments to help mine, but would have looked at moving the Wilwood pedal box toward the outside, if I had known the issues. Nice looking project.

[Fman]

If you have large or wide feet, now is the time to get all the space you can between the throttle pedal and the brake pedal.
I have made adjustments to help mine, but would have looked at moving the Wilwood pedal box toward the outside, if I had known the issues. Nice looking project.

Thank you, I am really enjoying the build thus far, amazing how fast a full day goes by while working on the car. I did set brake/clutch to the furthest outside position, I have size 13 feet so having as much space as possible will definitely help. Seeing as everything is bolted down not sure there is much more I can do to open more space up. I need to check the Russ Thompson pedal to see if the pedal is adjustable side to side.

[toadster]

well you're officially past my progress Travis!

I love that hammered powdercoat - did you end up going to Orangevale? or other PC place?