I've ordered my Roadster kit! - Chassis Dolly Built

[Rook]

Hi everyone!

I'm excited to say that I've recently pulled the trigger on a Mk4 Complete Kit. This is something I've been dreaming of for a long time now, and the timing is finally right. I've been reading this forum and the other one for many years now, and I'd like to express my appreciation to everyone who gets on here and contributes to the conversation. It's because of all that you've shared that I have an idea of what it will take to actually get this done.

My goal is to build a car that's well-suited to frequent street cruising and the occasional trip to VIR for some just-for-fun road racing. I'm in the Raleigh, NC area (Cary).

Here's my build plan:

• I'm talking with Mike Forte about a Gen 3 Coyote plus T56 Magnum.
• Power steering
• IRS
• FFR stainless Coyote headers with catalytic converters. Anyone have thoughts on these? I haven't seen too much info on the cats.
• Vintage Smiths Style GPS Gauges in a Competition layout I do myself.
• Footbox air vents plus blowers.
• Heater. Raleigh-area owners, do you think this is a worthwhile addition?
• Vintage Halibrand wheels, 17x9F/17x10.5R plus MT tires
• Wilwood Brakes
• Boig Quiet Pipes
• Planning on the Breeze DS Roll Bar, which I'll eventually get chromed.
• ...and assorted other options like powder-coated chassis, body cutouts, leather seats, wind wings, sun visors, wiper kit, sway bars, driveshaft safety loop, & some other Breeze and Russ Thompson goodies.

I'm a first-time builder and know that I have much to learn, and I'm really excited to get started! Please feel free to poke holes in my plan or offer up suggestions. Thanks!

-Andrew

[nucjd19]

Hi Andrew. In the same boat as you. My build is scheduled to be finished 11/14. Sounds like a great plan! I look forward to following along and getting ideas

[GoDadGo]

Rook,

We Are All First Time Builders When We Started Our Journeys!

Papa Dave's First Build:
https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-ne...-mk4-roadster/

Redbone, My First Build:
https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-ne...-mk4-roadster/

Welcome Aboard & Welcome To The Factory Five Family!

Steve

[Rook]

Thanks guys!

nucjd19: I've got the same production completion date. Maybe we'll be on the same truck.

GoDadGo: Thanks for those links. I've looked at both Papa's and your threads for inspiration already! For instance, I'm going to try to pull off a similar footbox air vent to what you've done. I'm happy to be aboard!

I've been spending the past couple of weeks getting the garage ready, collecting tools, and reading this forum for hours on end.

My next tasks are to build the body buck and a chassis dolly.

[RBachman]

Congratulations!!!!

[mark jones]

very envious of you. I am really wanting to build one as well. Have my list and keep re figuring it. I see a "foot box air vents plus blowers" I can't find that in their parts listing or options. Where is that located I'd like to add that to my list.
Looks like a great package. Congratulations.

[timmil]

Congrats, welcome to madness!

Tim

[KDubU]

You’re in for the ride of your life quite literally. Congrats and your build plan looks good but you forgot one thing....what colour?

[bobm488]

I have the Gen 2 Coyote with the cat headers from Forte, love them.

[Rook]

Thanks! I’m sure I’ll re-think the color a dozen times before it’s done, but right now I’m thinking I’d like an authentic vintage look. I’m considering Viking Blue without stripes, or maybe a vintage silver like Silver Mink.

Regarding the footbox air vent, it’s a modification I’ve seen a bunch of builders do over the years. I used to drive a ‘66 Mustang without AC. It had fresh air vents that did a pretty decent job of keeping the interior comfortable even during hot North Carolina summers, so I figured I would try the same in my roadster. ********** Accessories has some of the components like brake duct moldings, ducts, footbox flanges, and a butterfly valve kit. I plan to use some inline bilge blowers like GoDadGo did.

[Rook]

I have the Gen 2 Coyote with the cat headers from Forte, love them.

Thanks, I’m glad to hear that!

[GoDadGo]

very envious of you. I am really wanting to build one as well. Have my list and keep re figuring it. I see a "foot box air vents plus blowers" I can't find that in their parts listing or options. Where is that located I'd like to add that to my list.
Looks like a great package. Congratulations.

The Foot Box Venting option is not something offered by Factory Five.
Most of us use Attwood 3" Marine Blowers and 3" flexible ducting.
I used the Spectre Performance parts to piece mine together.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/album.php?albumid=982
I added a Jeep CJ-3 heater core to keep my wife's feet warm.
The heat level is controlled by a manual heater control valve and choke cable.

[Rook]

GoDadGo, I like your ingenuity with the Jeep heater core. Question for you: Have you been happy with the blowers you're using? I'm looking to use a pair of 3" Attwood Turbo 3000s. And while we're at it, did you wire them up individually or does one switch control both?

[phileas_fogg]

The Atwood Turbo 3000s are what Cobra Earl provided in his kit (which is no longer available). They move plenty of air.

I switched my blowers independently ('cuz the air I like is NOT what my wife likes). You can power both vents with a single 10A circuit. No relay is needed; I measured the current draw & found a single fan draws roughly 4A peak and 2.25A steady-state. With one fan running, turning on the second fan draws roughly 5.6A peak and 4.1A steady-state.

Also, I recommend Dickenson Marine flue dampers (https://www.amazon.com/Dickinson-Mar...SIN=B007PS2BX4) rather than the plastic blast gates. You'll get smoother operation & they don't "gum up" & get hard to operate like the plastic ones.

Cheers,


John

[Rook]

Good to hear. Thanks for the detailed info and the link for the butterfly valves. Anybody out there have a lead on a vintage-looking choke pull to operate the valve?

I wonder if there's value in putting a DC Motor Speed Controller on the blower switch. So many little details to ponder...

[GoDadGo]

GoDadGo, I like your ingenuity with the Jeep heater core. Question for you: Have you been happy with the blowers you're using? I'm looking to use a pair of 3" Attwood Turbo 3000s. And while we're at it, did you wire them up individually or does one switch control both?

Rook,

I've got them wired individually and the work well.
The wires are run inside the ductwork which protects and hides the wires.
Also, I really didn't want to do the heater thingie, but I added it at the request of my better half.

Steve

[Rook]

Thanks for the info, Steve! I just noticed you're in Slidell. I'm a native New Orleanian myself! Life has taken me out here to the Raleigh area, but I still love to visit back home when I can. Maybe when I retire I can move back down there and realize my childhood dream of running my very own alligator farm.

[GoDadGo]

Thanks for the info, Steve! I just noticed you're in Slidell. I'm a native New Orleanian myself! Life has taken me out here to the Raleigh area, but I still love to visit back home when I can. Maybe when I retire I can move back down there and realize my childhood dream of running my very own alligator farm.

Just Remember To Visit Before Or After Hurricane Season!

[cnutting]

I just installed vents with those dampers. No blower though, just ram air. Bought some Dorman choke cables, cut off the knobs and replaced them with some bakelite "Pull" knobs I found on the internet. Used R/C pushrod connectors to attach the cable to the damper. Connectors are here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Rook]

cnutting: Thanks for the details. I just checked out your build thread. WOW, you did a nice job on your 289!

[Chris @ Forma]

Andrew,
I would go to heated seats before the heater. Also, pretty muggy in NC in the summer. I went to school in Durham and spent two summers there working on research projects. I'm an old fart and we didn't have A/c even in our apartment back in the stone age. Anyway, for your consideration, we are in the process of developing heated/cooled seats and will have them available by the end of the year. Footbox cooling is a must...we put A/C in ours. Anyway welcome to the community. Help is always available, just a couple of keystrokes away. Also, if you really get stuck on anything, there is almost always someone local to help out. Keep posting and reach out when you get stuck, frustrated, etc.

[shark92651]

Good luck on the build, we all started exactly where you are right now. Just soak up all you can from the forum. The help available here is much more valuable than what is in the manual. Cary, NC huh? I lived there for many years.

[Ducky2009]

Welcome! Lots of experience here to help you along the way. Good luck with your build.

[Rook]

Thanks for the welcome, Chris and Shark and Ducky! I'll be doing the heated seats in addition to the planned heater. In fact, my seat heaters from CobraHeat just arrived today. I'm going to have to spend some time looking into A/C. I'd love for the car to be as comfortable as possible, but also don't want the complexity of the systems to go beyond my mechanical ability. Maybe I'll find it's not as complex as I assume.

[rich grsc]

Thanks! I’m sure I’ll re-think the color a dozen times before it’s done, but right now I’m thinking I’d like an authentic vintage look. I’m considering Viking Blue without stripes, or maybe a vintage silver like Silver Mink.

Regarding the footbox air vent, it’s a modification I’ve seen a bunch of builders do over the years. I used to drive a ‘66 Mustang without AC. It had fresh air vents that did a pretty decent job of keeping the interior comfortable even during hot North Carolina summers, so I figured I would try the same in my roadster. ********** Accessories has some of the components like brake duct moldings, ducts, footbox flanges, and a butterfly valve kit. I plan to use some inline bilge blowers like GoDadGo did.

You'll finalize paint color about 10 minutes before the painter pours it in the cup. If it was me, I'd paint it the same as that Mustang.

[Rook]

You'll finalize paint color about 10 minutes before the painter pours it in the cup. If it was me, I'd paint it the same as that Mustang.

I’ve thought about it! I had that 1966 289 Coupe for about 5 years, and it was a real head-turner in Wimbledon White with those red stripes. The interior was red as well; looked great.

[Rook]

This is a good opportunity for me to try out the embedding of some images in my post:

A friend of mine took these nice shots for me:







And here's that red interior:

[PACobra83]

Congrats!

[PACobra83]

That is a beautiful car

[Rook]

Yesterday and today I built my chassis dolly. Now I just need a chassis to set on it.

I followed Jazzman's excellent plans, much thanks to him for sharing them. The act of BUILDING something has me more excited than ever to get started on the car.



Next up is the body buck!

[nucjd19]

Yesterday and today I built my chassis dolly. Now I just need a chassis to set on it.

I followed Jazzman's excellent plans, much thanks to him for sharing them. The act of BUILDING something has me more excited than ever to get started on the car.



Next up is the body buck!

Looks good! I used the exact same casters for mine when I built it a few weeks ago

[Al_C]

You've gotten enough advice so I should probably just let it go, but my personality is such that I can't...

I would really think the vent thing through, and I would really think the heater thing through. I'm offering my opinion on a grand total of one calendar year driving my car. I have a heater installed as well as heated seats. I have driven the car in 35 degree weather as well as 90 degree weather. It gets pretty humid here in Chicagoland as well. I installed insulation in the cabin, which I suspect helps moderate the heat. In any event, I have yet to use either my heater or my heated seats. I have not found the heat in the foot boxes terribly high, nor has my wife complained.

If I were to do this over, I'd skip the heater and focus on the seats. I don't think I would put vents in the foot boxes the second time around, either (I don't have them now).

Keep in mind this is just my opinion. Last comment: I really like air conditioning. It is on in my other car all the time when I drive. However, unless you put a top on your roadster, I'm not sure it's going to provide much benefit. I'm sure there are other members here who will take me to task on that one, but again, just my opinion.

Best of luck on your build! There are other builders in your area and I encourage you to connect with them. BTW - love the Mustang!

[Rook]

No problem, Al_C, I'm happy to hear lots of perspectives on this! So many little decisions to make. I guess if I don't make all the perfect decisions on this car, I may just have to build another one later.