460.465USMC's MK4 Build #9890 - V.I.N. for the Win and Spring Rumble

[460.465USMC]

Link to Build Thread Index


Happy Independence Day! One of my favorite holidays! I'm thankful for the freedoms we have, and especially for all those service members and families who have sacrificed.

This last week was also big for me for another reason: I ordered a complete MK4 kit July 1. It is supposed to be ready for pickup Sept. 12. I live in Spokane, WA, so will have it shipped here. I am so excited to take on this project!

Like many other first time builders on this forum I'm also a novice. This will be by far the largest car project I've ever undertaken. To be honest, it's a little intimidating given my meager mechanical skill. But, I have great hope for success after reading through several other first timers such as Shark92651, Papa, Straversi, VAHokie, JohnK, JB in NOVA, Jazzman, Wareaglescott, Yama-Bro, RRAC20, etc. I've done a good amount of my own vehicle maintenance over the years, and various home projects. I also have a technical background in electronics/RF. Hopefully, this will be a strong enough foundation for me to be successful.

It's been very enjoyable to read others' build threads. I am learning so much from the builders mentioned above, not to mention Sir Edwardb, and comments and tips from others like Jeff Kleiner and many others. Thank you! I'm reading through the FF build manual for the second time. I also just found out I have a neighbor (SteveP) just 15 minutes from my house who's really close to sending his MK4 off for body work/paint. So, a great resource "in the neighborhood". The number of helpful, friendly people I've encountered through this forum is really something. What a great group of people!

What I ordered from FF:

• Complete MK4 kit
• Setup for Coyote/TKO600 drivetrain
• Powdercoated chassis
• Coyote full length ball headers
• Hydraulic clutch master cylinder
• Body cutouts
• Vinyl seats
• FFR (Speedhut) GPS guage set
• Front and rear sway bars
• IRS
• Passenger side rollbar (black)
• 2018 IRS 3.55 center section and spindles
• 13" Wilwood brakes

I haven't yet ordered the drive train. I'm considering ordering from Fortes. Also, not sure if the $300 mid-shift upgrade is better than rotating 180 deg. standard shift location. I'm looking for a short shifter, not the classic angled long handle shifter that attaches at the rear-most location on the TKO.

**Edit: I ordered the Coyote Gen 3 + TKO600 from Forte WITHOUT the mid-shift option. Will just flip the shifter around.

Mods: there will probably be a few minor Mods I will consider, but overall I plan to do a straight forward build with the version of kit I ordered. I figure a standard build will give me more than enough challenge. It will be a slow build given the limited time available I have each week. I hope to be able to carve out time to document a bit as I go along, and will definitely seek out advice from all of you master-Jedi builders who have gone before. If you've done one build, in my mind you are at master-Jedi level! It will not be a 100% classic build (obvious from my drive train decision), and will include other departures like non-Halibrand replica style wheels (haven't decided which ones yet), mid-shift (or similar), black roll bars, black exhaust, black wheels, etc. As far as paint color goes, I don't yet have a clear vision, and more than plenty of time to decide. I'm partial to orange and to white, but again, a long way off.

I got the idea to mark out the build space from Shark92651. Since I have plenty of time to finish making my garage ready for the build, the outline of the MK4's dimensions on the floor gives me a good reference point.



From the build threads I've read, I don't think the four post lift--seen in a couple of these pictures--will be practical until the build is pretty much done. I've had the lift for four years--it's great for maintenance, etc.

**Edit: great tip from JohnK on using four-post lift. I’m hopeful I can follow his lead.


Finally...I must be honest up front and say I'm a Chevy guy at heart. I'm a huge fan of pretty much anything from the 60's (Chevy II/Nova, Chevelle, bubble tops, Camaros, etc.), and Tri-Fives. I like modern Chevrolet muscle as well. My forum name also references my Chevy roots from the HP/Torque in a C7 I used to own; the USMC reference is from my five years in the Marines as an avionics technician.

I e-mailed FF this weekend to see if they have visibility to when the Wilwood brakes will ship to me. Would be fun to get those partially assembled while I wait for kit delivery over the next 12+ weeks.

**Edit: Wilwood brakes were received in early August. Hats assembled to rotors, and safety wired.

Chris

[Railroad]

I would clean out under and around the lift. I think you will be much better served there. You might hang the body from the ceiling or put it where you have taped off.
Great choices for your build. Just tell Mike what you want to do on the TKO shifter. He can set it up before it ships.

[Straversi]

Congratulations and welcome. You have a good plan, a great work space. We look forward to follow along and help as needed. Also, thank you for your service.
-Steve

[460.465USMC]

Congratulations and welcome. You have a good plan, a great work space. We look forward to follow along and help as needed. Also, thank you for your service.
-Steve

Thanks, Steve! I just discovered your build thread this weekend. Enjoying it! Appreciate your documentation and sharing of lessons learned.

[460.465USMC]

I would clean out under and around the lift. I think you will be much better served there. You might hang the body from the ceiling or put it where you have taped off.
Great choices for your build. Just tell Mike what you want to do on the TKO shifter. He can set it up before it ships.

Thanks for the input, Railroad! I'm indeed thinking of suspending the body from the ceiling (it's about 12.5 feet high) over the taped out area below. This will allow me to keep the lift available in case one of my sons needs to use it, or I need to maintenance on my wife's pickup.

[JB in NOVA]

Congrats, Chris! You are in for a great adventure. This forum is a pure American gem! I wish you great success, and be sure to post lots of pictures.

[460.465USMC]

Thanks for the well wishes, JB! I'll need them! Received my Wilwood brakes yesterday. This will be the First of many, many firsts as I try my hand at safety wiring, and my first use of RED LOCTITE (per Wilwood instructions) on the 12 bolts that secure the hats to the rotors. Going to borrow safety wire pliers and inch-pound torque wrench from a fellow MK4 builder and neighbor (Thanks SteveP!). Oh, and I guess it would help if I bought some some safety wire.

[460.465USMC]

Wilwood Brakes - Safety Wired

Who would have guessed .032 stainless safety wire is an elusive item? Not this Greenhorn. Not available locally, at least not that I could find. Napa? Nope. HD? Lowes? Ace Hardware? Harbor Freight? Nope. Nope. Nope. And, Nope! Turned to online sources and found it readily available from Aircraft Spruce. Bought 25' for $1.25--twice that for shipping. Doh!

Watched a couple YouTube videos, and set off to tackle the job. It was a bit tedious, but I enjoyed it overall. I think I got better with some practice, so in theory my fourth rotor was the best...not sure about that.

Picture of one completed.



I thought 25' would be plenty (figured 9"-10" per pair of bolts would suffice). I probably went a bit over-the-top in my miserliness (i.e. too cheap to buy the next size up...something like 100' or more).

Here's a typical pile of ends after each rotor. The one long piece is from the one I had to redo. Didn't exactly waste much. If I had to do over, I would have just spent the few extra bucks and purchased the larger spool of wire.





A couple bonus pictures (taken with my Samsung S10) of dual rainbows out our back door a few days ago. They seemed so close I could reach out and touch them.

[460.465USMC]

Patience is a virtue, right?

It's been about 11 weeks since I ordered my complete kit. I contacted F5 and they said my kit is done--right on schedule (Sept. 12). I asked for a picture (is it called a nursery picture?), and Dave B. said he would snap one and send my way. I'm way out on the west coast, about as far from F5 one can be and still be in the continental U.S., so no surprise it takes a while for the transport company to put together a route to get it here. The transporter (Stewart) says delivery should be around Oct. 9-12, so about another three weeks or so. Oof! Thought I was a patient guy--I have five kids--but the wait is killing me already! First world problems!

P.S. still reading and taking notes from you guys on the forum. I can't thank you all enough for all of the knowledge you're passing along to us first-timers!

Chris

[JB in NOVA]

I feel your pain. But it's worth the wait, trust me.

[460.465USMC]

Wahoo! It exists! This makes my dream project a bit more real. F5 emailed me this picture. Thanks, Dave B! Just a little over two weeks until delivery.


In the Nursery


P.S. only my elderly parents get away with calling me me Christian. For everyone else, it's just Chris.

[460.465USMC]

At long last my complete kit arrived last Thursday: 116 days from date of order. Really glad it's here, and more than ready to get my hands on it.

Kelly from Stewart Transport was awesome! He couldn't have been more helpful. I have a 250' or so gravel driveway, so we loaded it onto his cart, then pulled it the 250' into my garage. Several trips back and forth later and it was all safe and sound in its new home.




Great job, Kelly! He's on the right, and yours truly on the left.




Now, on to inventory. Don't ask me how long it took. IT was a bit more involved task than I expected, but I think the hours of investment now will pay back throughout the build. I'm MUCH more familiar with the parts that are part of the kit, and even had a nice surprise to see the polished knob and short shifter included as part of the Coyote/TKO600 drivetrain.



Next, I'll take a number of pictures to document the body placement (relative to panel accessibility with body-on), remove the body, suspend it from the ceiling for storage until needed, and finally take copious amounts of pictures of panels before removing them. Really looking forward to starting the front IFS assembly. The IFS LCAs are on the POL, but there should be plenty of other tasks to keep me busy for a while.

[JB in NOVA]

Congrats! Now the fun begins . . .

[v1-vr]

Congrats Chris
Hope your having as much fun as I'm having with your build.
Use to get into Spokane quite alot. Beautiful country you live in.

Sent you a PM

Dave

[cgundermann]

Congratulations Chris - big day, I can still relive every moment of when mine was delivered. You will catch yourself going out to the garage/shop multiple times during the day and just staring...

Just moved from WA after spending 26 years all over the great State. Spokane is awesome country!

Semper Fi,

Chris

[460.465USMC]

Congrats Chris
Hope your having as much fun as I'm having with your build.
Use to get into Spokane quite alot. Beautiful country you live in.

Sent you a PM

Dave

Thanks, Dave! I did enjoy the inventory process...in a sick sort of way. Guess I like counting/organizing things. Plus, great to see all of the parts firsthand.

My wife and I are both from this area. We love it for the beauty, four seasons, cost of living, etc.

Just replied to your PM.

[460.465USMC]

Congratulations Chris - big day, I can still relive every moment of when mine was delivered. You will catch yourself going out to the garage/shop multiple times during the day and just staring...

Just moved from WA after spending 26 years all over the great State. Spokane is awesome country!

Semper Fi,

Chris

Thanks, Chris! Yes, I may have peeked into the garage just a few times since Thursday. This is going to be a big challenge for me, but I'm up for it.

My wife and I love Spokane as well! The Marines took me around the country--both coasts, but we found ourselves back here in 1995 and can't seem to leave.

Semper Fi!

[460.465USMC]

After taking pictures to document fitment, panel accessibility, etc. with the body on, I took more photos to document the panels with the body off.

Then I suspended the body (my garage ceiling is 12.5'), preferring to preserve my floor space. I got this ratcheting pulley idea from Edwardb. As recommended, I placed a stick between dash and rear cockpit to keep body from distorting while suspended.





F-panels: One interesting note is F5 removed the upper rear corner with a nice radius to allow room for wiring to pass through--see picture below. Saved me the step--nice little improvement!

I installed the F-panels per F5 instructions. I broke three 1/8" three drill bits before I even finished drilling the holes. They were pretty old anyway. I will be exploring other drill bit options before tackling the remaining 1,200 some odd holes. Also, before installing the F-panels I played around with the brushed aluminum look--a la Straversi and GTBradley and others, which is how I will be treating the few exposed panels that will be visible in the engine compartment.



A couple firsts (for me) on this step: first use of a rivet tool (hand operated), and first rivnut installation.

I'm installing 10-32 nutserts along the rear edge of the F-panels per Edwardb's recommendation, for a more serviceable attachment to the splash guards. I ordered a nutsert installation tool from McMaster-Carr. The hex socket head screws it came with were 10-24. Of course I didn't notice the thread incompatibility until I after the first one was installed. And not a great installation at that! The screw broke during installation. Doh!

Another first: used my new Dremel tool (birthday present last summer) to clearance a couple edges of the F-panels. Fun!

Since my front LCAs are on backorder, I began IRS assembly. It was not a comfortable idea to lop the ears off of brand new spindles! Out came my trusty hacksaw, and I slowly cut the ear off of each. I don't have any power tools that will do this. The cuts were certainly controlled! I left more material on the spindle than the F5 manual showed--followed Edwardb's lead again. Also, I wanted to check out Dupli-color clear gloss engine enamel, hence the blue painters tape.



Wheel studs out: preferring to follow the hydraulic press approach, I made a dozen phone calls to local shops. All but two wouldn't touch them because of liability concerns. Of the two that would, neither were available until next week sometime, and told me "$153 out the door", or "$50-$100 depending upon 30 or 60 minutes of labor". No thanks. I instead followed the F5 instructions and they popped out pretty easily--about two solid blows per stud. (The first thing I tried was my 4.5" bench vise. Used a cheater pipe to apply more torque than the vise handle alone could to squeeze the studs out. Abandoned that idea after no movement. Not willing to damage the gear drive of my bench vise. Perhaps a larger vise would provide/could handle the necessary torque.)

Replacement studs in: hand filed one side of each stud head to ensure adequate clearance to the center of the hub. Probably could have gotten away with not, but the originals were filed, so played it safe and followed suit. Two pictures below show the difference in clearance--both are the newly installed studs.





As others have said, my neighborhood Ace is my new best friend. The cool thing is our youngest son works there, and is eligible for a sweet discount on certain things, like fasteners.

Now on to attach the hubs to the spindles, and IRS assembly. This is fun!

[460.465USMC]

I had the opportunity to take some vacation, so had a blast making some progress...slow but sure.

Up first was assembly of IFS components. I have most of the components in place as shown below, but not yet torqued. And, I just received my LCAs, so finishing the IFS will be up soon. The plastic bag over the upper ball joint is to keep from getting grease everywhere until I attach the remaining components. I also have my power steering rack in place--will update with picture once IFS is complete.



IFS: A couple things I encountered when assembling the components (not breaking any new ground here): (1) the first upper ball joint (Mevotech) went in a little tight, but I managed without any extra persuasion--the vise-tightening method worked well. The second upper ball joint threaded in more easily, so I switched to my pipe wrench, which was a bit more efficient for me than the vise-tightening method. (2) I replaced the MevoTech dust cover boots with Energy Suspension 5.13102G per numerous experiences/recommendations from this forum. (3) I won't be using the reluctor ring (AKA tone ring?), so I removed it from the hub with a hacksaw. Cut most of the way through, then tapped lightly with hammer and punch to finish breaking it apart.




IRS: Since I have all of the components I spent the majority of my time here. First, I prepped the parts that could see some corrosion/rust over time (front of center section, CV axles, rear hubs, front and rear sway bar brackets, and the front hubs) with POR-15. This is my first use of this product, and I think it turned out awesome! It's takes a good amount of prep. and time, but I think it will be worth it. It feels very durable. I used Duplicolor clear gloss engine enamel on the rear cover of the center section. I hit it with my drill and a wire wheel before applying.

Center section installed! Wow, is that ever a tight fit! I installed it solo--okay, my wife ran the floor jack at a particular dicey moment--using mostly straps and my floor jack. Knowing I would be solo I drilled out the front mount holes to 11/16" beforehand (slightly larger than the 5/8") to provide a bit of wiggle room to insert the front bolts. I got that idea from Edwardb's 20th anniv. build. Thanks, Paul! I think it helped.



The CV axles went in without any drama with a little persuasion from my rubber mallet. Here's the 1/8" gap the instructions say we should look for once the axles are fully seated.



I filled the ABS holes in the top of the spindle with silicone. Easy and effective IMHO. Here you can see the POR-15 on the hubs, and my yellow paint pen marks to keep track of which bolts are torqued.



IRS sway bar installation: The IRS sway bar turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected. First, the welded mounts were too narrow for the rod ends plus spacers. (In fact, EVERY set of mounts for my IRS (UCAs, LCAs, toe adjuster) were too narrow). I spread the mounting tabs quite a bit, but still couldn't get the rods in with the spacers. I did not feel comfortable spreading the mounts any further. So, I ground off a bit of material from the longer spacers using my bench grinder. This allowed them to slide further into the welded mount tabs, so I could pass the bolt through. That worked. I discovered after torqueing the nuts the mounting tabs came back to parallel, which made me feel better.

The next issue was for the life of me I couldn't get the rod ends to fit on the outside of the sway bar as shown in the instructions. Maybe if I applied enough torque I could have forced both the DS and PS rods to the outside. However, the instructions say not to preload the sway bar. So, I ended up with the PS rods on the outside of the sway bar, and the DS rods on the inboard side--see picture below. I don't think this will affect the function of the sway bar, or be any less structurally sound. However, as a noob I very much welcome your input if you disagree, or have advice.

The good news is my rod ends came at the correct length, so I didn't have to cut them down to 0.5" of thread. I'm not too upset about NOT having to cut those given the numerous comments about their hardness, and my cutting tool is my trusty hacksaw.



Wrapping up the IRS install I copied Travis' (Fman) idea for the center section vent tube. Less than $8 from Amazon.



I have the rear Wilwood brakes mostly attached. Next up will be to finish those, then back to the IFS to finish assembling it.

I very much welcome anyone's input or suggestions! I'm very green at this whole thing, and could easily have messed up something(s) thus far.

[JB in NOVA]

Nice work! Looking good.

[460.465USMC]

Thanks, JB! I'm having a blast. I'm learning a lot each time I go into the garage to work on it.

[John Ibele]

Hey, just catching up with your build thread, and wanted to say great job so far. It's great to have experienced builders and all their expertise to draw from on the forum, but I think its equally important to see first time builders proving that this can be done, even if everything you're doing is a first-time experience. And I highly recommend doing a build thread, both to give back and for your own record. I think many more people benefit from the build threads than actually respond, and that's just fine.

I'll enjoy watching your progress! Cheers, -- John

[460.465USMC]

Thanks, John. Appreciate your comments. I'm not sure if anyone is reading mine, and seems a far stretch in my mind it could provide benefit to someone else. But, in my own experience of reading these threads (both experienced and first-timers) I found immense benefit from both types.

Please keep up your great documentation and sharing your ideas, and I'll keep reading on!

P.S. the "Rona" hit my house this week, so the best I can do right now is research my next build steps, and read excellent threads from you and others.

[BadAsp427]

Looking great... as for your IRS anti-sway bar, that one looks different than mine. As you can see from this photo, mine has a bend on the short legs that brings it to a different position. Where as yours looks to have straight short legs on each side. I don't think that it really matters, but thought I would share this.

zPS Rear IRS bottom.JPG

Sway Bar.jpg

[460.465USMC]

Looking great... as for your IRS anti-sway bar, that one looks different than mine. As you can see from this photo, mine has a bend on the short legs that brings it to a different position. Where as yours looks to have straight short legs on each side. I don't think that it really matters, but thought I would share this.

Thanks for chiming in on my IRS sway bar, Carl. Yours indeed has a different shape, an extra curve. I'm very hesitant to try to bend it with some hefty ratcheting straps, or other means.

Also, thanks for the PM on your cubby idea.

[BadAsp427]

Thanks for chiming in on my IRS sway bar, Carl. Yours indeed has a different shape, an extra curve. I'm very hesitant to try to bend it with some hefty ratcheting straps, or other means.

Also, thanks for the PM on your cubby idea.

I would not try to bend it. But I would contact Factory 5 and make sure that they sent you the right one.

[Hoooper]

You wont be able to bend it and get it to stay without either A LOT of force, or heat. Sway bars are made from heat treated spring steel so they are designed to bend and go right back to their original shape. FWIW I used the same sway bar BadAsp has, with my homebrew mount system on the IRS, and I have both rod ends inboard as that is the way the links were most vertical. I am not sure yours would work out that way with the different bar though.

[460.465USMC]

I like your idea, Carl. Think I will send a photo to F5 and have them confirm I indeed have the rear sway bar.

Hoooper, I appreciate you weighing in and comments as well.

[VAHokie]

Making great progress, Chris. Keep up the good work.

[460.465USMC]

Thanks, Tony! I've anxious to get back on the build. Been recovering for the last 1.5 weeks.

[JohnK]

Hey Chris. It's been a bit since I assembled my suspension but I seem to recall having a hard time installing both the front and the rear sway bars. Someone here suggested that when the suspension is at full droop everything is wonky because it's designed to line up properly at the proper ride height. You may want to try running the spring perches all the way down and then jacking up the knuckles so that the lower control arms are roughly parallel to the ground. Then see how the sway bar fits. FWIW - my rear sway bar looks similar to yours. Here's how it fits with the suspension in more of a "correct" position (i.e., not full droop).

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post366613

[460.465USMC]

I emailed F5 and they confirmed the IRS sway bar sent to me looks correct. Dan confirmed the heim joint should be mounted to the outside of the say bar. It's good to have that confirmed.

JohnK, I like your idea of getting the LCAs parallel, or closer to their actual ride height, to see if I can install the driver side rod end (heim joint) to the outside of the sway bar. The PS is already on the outside. I'll let you know what happens.

[460.465USMC]

After a couple weeks I was able to get back into the garage for a few hours of build time yesterday. It was nice!

I finished installing my rear Wilwood brakes. It was a fun process, and after a PM with Edwardb (thank you, Paul!) I think they are put together correctly.







My flexible brake line attachments are loose until I can get to an auto parts store to pick up some thread sealer for the 1/8" - 27 NPT fitting that threads into the caliper (per Edwardb recommend).

Next up: pick up where I left off on front suspension install. My LCAs were POL and came in recently, so I now have everything I need to complete the front suspension.

P.S. Yes, I'm putting off the rear sway bar correction on the DS--move heim joint to outside of sway bar. I will get to it, but I need a little instant gratification on the front suspension. In my case, "instant" means many hours.

[Fman]

Nice work, you are cruising right along! Looking forward to watching your progress!

A few things that really helped with the rear IRS assembly was a 1/2" spreader rod, 5/8" bolt guide pin and a good dead blow hammer. Some of the alignment was not perfect and required some manipulation to get the bolts in place.

[460.465USMC]

It feels really good to have the IFS put together.

The upper ball joints (both sides) had 5/32" gap between the castle nut and cotter pin hole. I emailed F5 to see if that's okay, and they said the gap is fine. Huh? I'm no engineer, but that seems to defeat the point of the castle nut, so I filled the gap with spacers left over from my Wilwood brake kit. They had the same hole size and diameter. The spacers can be seen in the picture--see the red arrow.




The spindles slipped on easily. No persuasion or emory cloth required. I again followed Edwardb's idea of treating the back side of hubs w/POR-15. Then I torqued to 250 lb-ft. Thankfully, my trusty Craftsman torque wrench tops out at 250 lb-ft, so I didn't have to buy/borrow one.




The front sway bar went in with almost no difficulties. I had to remove a small amount of material from the bottom outside corners of the mount plates (both sides) to clear the 3/4" radiator support tubes, and the adjacent weld--see picture below. My bench grinder made quick work of it. Treated the mount plates to POR-15 beforehand, and touched up the edges where I removed material. Compared to the rear sway bar, the front was easy. The heim joints were already cut to the proper length (1/2" of threads), just like the rear sway bar.






Tie rods: I followed Edwardb's recommendation to use Moog tie rods, as well as upgrade to Energy suspension boots (9.13101G). Hand-slap-to-the-head moment trying to figure out how to remove the Moog boots. Solution? Put tie rod in bench vise (wrapped in rag to avoid scratches), and tap bottom side of the boot with a large flat blade screw driver and rubber mallet. It pops right off. Word of advice: not that any of you would do this, but don't go after it with a utility knife. No, I won't be supplying a picture of the mangled boot. For me, this is what this build is all about: Make a mistake. Learn. Make another mistake. Learn. Repeat.




One item for follow-up after installing the tie rods is the wheels point dramatically toward the center of the car. More than what I would expect to see. Since the forum has repeatedly said the suspension changes quite a bit once it's resting on tires, I will back-burner this for now. But, it sure looks like the tie rod ends will require adjustment (best guess from a noob) even though I set dimension to 53 1/16" per F5 instructions. I realize the alignment is not set yet, I guess I just expected it to be closer at this point.

[460.465USMC]

IFS update continued:

I then installed the Wilwood brakes and flex lines. Assembly was pretty straight forward. I followed the Wilwood instructions (included with Wilwood kit). Made sure to install the rotors (calipers as well--although those are pretty obvious) on the correct side, as they are directional--see red circle around arrow on rotor below.










If you see any mistakes, or have recommendations, I welcome them!

Next up: perhaps the e-brake cables (pulleys are on order) and mock-up the e-brake? Then, maybe the Kleiner quick jack Mod, followed by gas tank install. I'm very open to recommendations if there is a better sequence to follow next. I'm pretty much following the F5 manual's build sequence.

[BadAsp427]

Your build is looking very nice. Awesome work! Judging by the fact that the metal clamps are still on your rubber boots on your steering rack, I’m guessing that you have not yet centered the rack and tie rods yet. Be sure to do so now while you can get to everything.

[Railroad]

Those black oxide coated fastners will rust ASAP. By the quality of your work, I think you would want to avoid the rust. I bought a small can of Rustoleum black and coated them while accessible.
I noticed you did not trim your upper control arm adjustment sleeves. I did not trim mine either.
My max caster was 6.9 degrees. It seems some need trimming and some do not.
I would trim mine, if I had the opportunity.
Your tie rod ends will also rust. I used SharkHide on mine. Natural finish and no rust.
I always enjoy seeing the clean assembly of parts.

[jiriza84641]

MArine, build is looking good, keep up the strong work.

[460.465USMC]

Your build is looking very nice. Awesome work! Judging by the fact that the metal clamps are still on your rubber boots on your steering rack, I’m guessing that you have not yet centered the rack and tie rods yet. Be sure to do so now while you can get to everything.

Hi Carl. No, I haven't centered the steering rack. I have this nice set of instructions bookmarked by "karlos":

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post215142

I think I will take your suggestion and put it high on my To Do list. I'm not sure what you mean by "metal clamps are still on your rubber boots on your steering rack". Are those removed during the centering process? Although the instructions above are good, I may reach out to you with a PM on this topic.

Thanks for your input!