F9 SEMA Build

[Erik W. Treves]

Missed a day - sorry -

I did manage to get the doors hung - with all the lines and curves it took a bit to get the first door done... and in complete confession I have to go back and adjust the gap a bit on the driver's side - but they are hung and they swing out quite a bit which should make getting into and out of way easier! I will get it out in the sun this weekend and get some proper shots - i have to get the door catches installed next and install the side windows - lock everything down screw down the body so it doesn't move and then we are off to do the exterior treatment.

anyway - it's a CAR.

[crash]

Interesting. Seems like a lot of options are not well publicized or not shown either on the order page or the parts website. They're doing better listing things but not there yet.


Now back to the build.... it's been 24 hours an no new progress pictures. What's happened to Erik? Someone needs to check on him

I think, to be fair, this is a Beta car and Beta #1 build. All the options, and even some of the parts shown here, are likely not going to be what the finished offered product is in MANY respects.

We are fortunate that FFR is allowing us all to follow along in the Beta Build. IIRC most of these are done behind the scenes and we only get to see the finished product, usually at an event like SEMA.

If something you see in this build thread is or isn't to your liking, comment on it and I am sure "The Big Guy" will see it and consider it.

[Cobradavid]

The styling on this car is crazy gorgeous!

I can't wait to see more updates and the finished car.

David

[dlud]

I think, to be fair, this is a Beta car and Beta #1 build. All the options, and even some of the parts shown here, are likely not going to be what the finished offered product is in MANY respects.

We are fortunate that FFR is allowing us all to follow along in the Beta Build. IIRC most of these are done behind the scenes and we only get to see the finished product, usually at an event like SEMA.

If something you see in this build thread is or isn't to your liking, comment on it and I am sure "The Big Guy" will see it and consider it.

Agree. Love the look of the car and am anxiously watching the build...just finished my GTM and pondering the next project.

[ProJoe]

you know I wasn't really sold on this thing originally but holy **** it looks good more "in the flesh"

really excited to see how this thing turns out. I know it's just a SEMA build but will you be doing any performance benchmarks like 0-60, braking, 1/4, skidpad g-force, etc. ?

[Erik W. Treves]

No - I will probably go-cart it a bit - but even on my personal cars - I don't mess with them until after SEMA.... there is just too much work in the car at that point to risk it.. one paint chip and we have an emergency on our hands.

[crash]

you know I wasn't really sold on this thing originally but holy **** it looks good more "in the flesh"

really excited to see how this thing turns out. I know it's just a SEMA build but will you be doing any performance benchmarks like 0-60, braking, 1/4, skidpad g-force, etc. ?

Dave's plan, as he announced on the FB Live presentations previously, is to also turn a couple of these over to two race teams for extreme stress testing. I am happy to say that my team has been chosen to be one of those groups to stress test the F9R under the most brutal conditions we can come up with...endurance auto racing events. No event is less than 3 hours and the longest event is 25 hours so we are sure to get TONS of performance info for this community. Dave has promised us a car by the 4th quarter of this year. Delays are common in these types of developments so we will see, but we plan, at this point, to be fielding the car in Trans Am and Western Endurance Racing Championship events for next season.

[DSR-3]

What is the "donor parts" vs kit situation for the F9?

[Erik W. Treves]

Not sure on the final configuration of the Kit. But I am assuming it's in line with the Coupe - It is still using Mustang IRS and hot rod spindles - wilwood pedal box.. I am not expecting that solid axle would be available option.... given what I am looking at.... but I am out of my lane in drawing this conclusion....

[Ajzride]

The Type 3 coupe is a 95" wheelbase, does the F9 look the same or has it possibly been stretched any? I would prefer something closer to 105" for a nice grand tourer car.

[David Hodgkins]

The Type 3 coupe is a 95" wheelbase, does the F9 look the same or has it possibly been stretched any? I would prefer something closer to 105" for a nice grand tourer car.

I believe I've heard before that it was stretched 9" along the rails behind the driver so that would make it 104"

[Ajzride]

I believe I've heard before that it was stretched 9" along the rails behind the driver so that would make it 104"

That would be awesome if true.

[dukegrad98]

This is the most interested and excited I've been about a car forum thread / build in years. Awesome to see Erik working on it.

Question -- am I suffering some optical illusion looking at the photos, or does this wheel/tire combo stick out what looks like a full inch beyond the rear body / wheel arches?

Cheers, John

[David Hodgkins]

This is the most interested and excited I've been about a car forum thread / build in years. Awesome to see Erik working on it.

Question -- am I suffering some optical illusion looking at the photos, or does this wheel/tire combo stick out what looks like a full inch beyond the rear body / wheel arches?

Cheers, John

Most likely due to not being aligned.

[Just puttering]

thanks for this, my inseam is 33" so I'd say I lean toward torso tall vs. leg tall. How is the footbox for a size 13 shoe?

F9 footbox with my size11 wide shoes! F9 peddles.JPG

[Erik W. Treves]

This is the most interested and excited I've been about a car forum thread / build in years. Awesome to see Erik working on it.

Question -- am I suffering some optical illusion looking at the photos, or does this wheel/tire combo stick out what looks like a full inch beyond the rear body / wheel arches?

Cheers, John

So these are not the final wheels for the car - they have the wrong offset to clear the big a$$ brakes - so there are 1 1/2 spacers in there - cause that's all I had... I would not draw any conclusions on the final look during this stage of the build - the proportions should be all be correct. There is a feature of the way the doors work that the gap in the front of the door will be more than rear - at least for this build. There is an angle at the bottom of the door and body which overlaps when you open the door that requires this ... it's not a huge deal - just something to be aware of...

Anyway I had to take both doors off again and re-adjust the body - a few steps backward - so now I have to reset the doors - once I am happy with the repeatability of installing all the body panels and no surprises - everything will get marked and I will rip the body off again and start the fun stuff and get this thing into gocart mode.

[Erik W. Treves]

So quick update - I will get pictures tomorrow - I basically spent the week - a few hours each night trying to get the all the gaps right and repeatable - it seemed like I am going around in circles... you really need 2 or 3 people to hang the doors to not damage anything - The carbon is nice - but when you scratch it there isn't an easy way to come back from that. The big "a ha" moment is when I was talking with the engineers after I noticed some dimples in the body which seemed like they were close to matching some holes in the chassis - they are the holes that locate the hood latches - so I drilled 4 of them out and look at that the bolts dropped right in and the body is now located on the frame - now how slick is that - even better the little bit of the door gaps that I could get a handle on - welp - the door was actually already in the spot and boom - it just lined up! nice.... so when I go back together I know which 4 bolts go in FIRST! It also appears no that the body is lined up that the door post are lined up with the pilot holes - dead center.... I am liking where this headed.... tomorrow should have fully functioning doors that latch... waiting on some hood latch parts so that will happen next week along with some more aero parts. I am glad I did the assy this way vs trying to figure all this out with the aluminum all riveted in and motor and wiring all in ... installing the drivers side door with the pedal box in ....looks like it will be "fun"... I do have something funky going on in the rear of the car with wheel track - I am hoping it's how I put the rear control arms together - since the driver's side is sticking out quite a bit more that the pass side... but I don't even have it aligned either, but it is wrecking my OSD...lol...

Not much else - to report - just slow and steady. Will get some picture tomorrow and this week and maybe a walk around video in the sun.... no promises but I will try

[dukegrad98]

Thanks, Erik -- that all makes perfect sense. The question wasn't intended as a criticism so much as an, "are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is something up here?" I did consider that these might not be the final wheels, but I didn't think about the brake kit and some temporary wheel spacers. Actually, I was wondering if there were some wheel arch extensions or something like that...but even in a track/race configuration, that didn't necessarily make sense on an all-carbon body. I figured instead of wild-guessing I'd just ask someone who actually knows -- thanks for responding!

I'm quite impressed with the panel fit and gaps even at this stage, on a beta build with a mish-mash of body panels from obviously separate runs. That suggests tight tolerances and great repeatability straight out of the molds. I will be curious to see how things wind up with the body. This car is going to paint for reasons already discussed, but I know one of Dave's top priorities has always been a no-paint-necessary carbon body. I'll be curious to see if that is in the mix if/when this car makes it to production. I hope so for a number of reasons, cost not least among them.

Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing progress details and pics here. As I said earlier, this is the most excited I've been about anything car-related on the interwebs in a very long time.

Cheers, John

[Erik W. Treves]

well - the trek continues.... got up this morning and doing the once over and looking at the rear since the tire on the left was sticking out more than the right .... measured everything twice with the IRS links - they were all correct.... called for help - Jim at Factory Five to the rescue! we walked through where to measure to determine if there was a jig problem or an "Erik" problem..... well turns out it was an Erik problem - when installing the body, because the carbon is soooooo stiff you really need to pay attention to how the body lays on the chassis. The two pick up points that pin the hood latch are dimpled and are generally where the holes need to be - I drilled the holes exactly... all I need to do is drill them up one size and give the whole body in the rear a big shove and vola! the rear moved enough to make the tires stick out evenly... this actually completely fix an issue I was fighting with on the pass side door... I actually didn't even need to touch it after I repositioned the body.... the driver's side needed to be reset.. but I am getting really good at that now so that was nice and easy... I am also only using 2 of the 4 bolts to secure the doors at this point (pro tip)...so adjustments are made easy.... so happy with the door fit after the adjustment of the body, I put the door latch posts in... here again the body was pre marked and I could tell I was close since when I drilled the hole I was in the middle of the mount plate hole!.... nice.... dropped in the post - needed one spacer washer.....done - opens and closes like butter.. ... pretty happy all around...the clouds came in so no pics of the car - I did lower the while thing to get idea what it will look like with the engine in at ride height - so tune in tomorrow!

Anyway - here is the pass side door in action!

[GoDadGo]

Erik,

All I can say is I wish I had 1/2 of your mechanical skills.
Heck, 1/4 would put me way ahead of where I am today.

Steve

[fletch]

I’m not looking forward to mounting the body & doors on my 818. I know it won’t be as easy as you’re making this look, Erik.

[first time builder]

Are the doors electric operated ?

[Erik W. Treves]

Are the doors electric operated ?

no - not as of yet

[Erik W. Treves]

Body is all done and trial run complete... not bad at all - I basically 1 week to the day and I am really happy with the fit - a little learning going on - overall I think we are on track

[Jetfuel]

A master piece in a week’s time....amazing

Jet

[Ajzride]

Will you be fitting the side windows on this car or will that wait until after SEMA?

[Erik W. Treves]

Yes side window will be in

[Erik W. Treves]

Played around with rear backspace... 22mm seems ok.. I am going with 15mm I think... Also have the V12 all prepped to go in... Motec EFI at the controls.... Need to paint the valve covers still.. good productive day...



These are nice to look at ....In confession I did make some vroom vroom sounds....

[David Hodgkins]

It's interesting when you see the Type 65 and F9 side by side. The familial lineage is apparent, almost like you would see if you were looking at a '65 Mustang sitting next to it's present-day sibling.

I'm sure the two race teams that will be campaigning F9's next year are frothing at the bit. I know I would be!

[HotrodMike]

That sounds great I can't wait to see how this build progresses, I think they chose the right builder for the job.

[Al_C]

Somewhere, I thought I had read that one of the goals of the F9 was for a body that didn't need to be painted. Obviously, you're planning to paint this car. Is that part of the overall plan, or just your plan? Thanks, Erik!

[Erik W. Treves]

Painting the car was just part of the SEMA plan is all... The shape and elegance of the body I think is lost in a "dark" coloring.... there is a lot of styling details in the shape that you don't see in the pictures and I feel that's because of the dark color.

[HotrodMike]

All of this in one weeks speaks volumes for the skill of the builder and the attention to detail of the mold makers. I can't wait till this gets into production. You have done an amazing job they chose the right man for the job!!

[cob427sc]

It's great to see the body go together with little or no bodywork. After struggling with an early Type 65 and an early GTM this looks like a huge improvement. Can't wait to see how it finishes!

[crash]

I don't know what effect the two different gel coat finishes will have, but remember, if you like the look of the carbon fiber and you scratch something during assembly, or even after for that matter, you can always shoot it with a layer of clear and buff it out. I would think that for those that leave the body in CF finish that a clear "bra" would be almost mandatory. Use the 3M stuff. It is well worth the extra cost.

[dlud]

I always thought that carbon really needs a clear coat anyway for uv protection. That thinking may be dated however.

[crash]

I always thought that carbon really needs a clear coat anyway for uv protection. That thinking may be dated however.

I think it really depends upon what manufacturing process is used and what gel coat is used.

If pre-preg CF is used then the finish can come out very flat and somewhat pitted. Obviously not the procedure used so far in the FFR F9 body shown here so it would come down to what anti-UV agents are used in the gel coat. I wouldn't imagine that there would be many manufacturers that would go to the expense of using CF and not have an anti-UV agent in the gel coat itself, but probably a question for FFR/Dave.

You are right though, clearing with an anti-UV product would likely be a good thing.

[Erik W. Treves]

Still messing with back space with FFR... Settled on these 15mm spacers then lowered the car down to 4 inch ride height... This should be the final stance.. still have some more aero part to put on the side as well.





Back wheels are sucked in much more and I still dont have alignment so it should only get better from here.

[wallace18]

Looking Good!

[John Dol]

Way to go Erik your making short work of it as usual.
Nice enough car but am I the only one that thinks it looks like a Mustang on steroids?

John