David's retirement Project! Building a Roadster.

[David_L]

I'm way behind on my update so will start with this one. I got my engine!


Lifted it up so I could drive the truck out.



I added wheels to the shipping mount so I can roll it around when needed.

I might be biased but I think Mike Forte created a work of art!

[egchewy79]

looks great. you might want to check the depth of your oil pan. you have about 7.5in on a SBF before the pan hangs below the frame rails. I'm sure Forte accounted for these things.

[David_L]

I got my AC system from https://northracecars.com/

When fitting the Evaporator in the dash and marking the hole in the firewall I saw the dash brace would be in the way and needed removing.



I was told the brace was only need when someone was doing serious barking of the tires and kept the dash from flexing. I wanted to keep it anyway and it was a good chance to practice and use my welder!

I made a new brace and welded it in and also added brackets to attack the evaporator. And I know my welding really sucks but it should do the job.




Hole in the firewall. I'm not attaching the box till the engine is installed as it could interferer with the install I'm told.

[David_L]

looks great. you might want to check the depth of your oil pan. you have about 7.5in on a SBF before the pan hangs below the frame rails. I'm sure Forte accounted for these things.

Thanks. I will ask him but I do hope he understands the dimensions needed. I hope.. lol

[David_L]

I ordered the kit for an hydraulic clutch and decided to switch to manual. I was able to find a clutch quadrant assembly, as it didn't come with the kit, and installed it.

I also installed the pedal pads from Mike Forte and really like them way better then the stock pads.

Also installed the brake master cylinders and made the initial adjustments. I wasn't able to get to included black hose clamps for holding the fitting on top of master cylinder to open enough and broke them. I wonder if anyone else had this issue? I put on silver ones shown in picture and have since got black painted ones.



Accelerator pedal

[David_L]

My wife observed me going back and forth to look at the manual on my large office monitor. She t!old my son about it so I got an early Christmas gift from him! This is so much better to see the manual!

[John Ibele]

Well, you may be behind in your updates, but that's not a shabby one as updates go! Really exciting picking up the engine, and it's a really clean layout. Nice choice in components and builder.

On the clutch, my kit got caught in the move from the initial cable clutch design for the MK4 (wasn't a winner) and the present one, and that meant I had to line up and drill my own hole for the clutch spacer in the front of the footbox. I took pains to line this up precisely so that the clutch cable cleanly entered the slot in the clutch quadrant. This may be aligned well by default but do whatever you need to to ensure that that alignment is spot on. Otherwise the cable will wear against the sides of the slot.

For cable routing, you're going to want to do what you can to get the cable routed as far from the headers as possible, to protect the cable housing from heat. I was able like many others to get it around in front (and underneath) of the DS motor mount. It rests against the oil filter in that spot, but is well away from the heat. With your SBF-based block you will likely be able to do the same thing.

And, pretty sure no one's going to pick on your welding. This forum appreciates those who try, period. Have fun and thanks for the update!

[David_L]

Well, you may be behind in your updates, but that's not a shabby one as updates go! Really exciting picking up the engine, and it's a really clean layout. Nice choice in components and builder.

On the clutch, my kit got caught in the move from the initial cable clutch design for the MK4 (wasn't a winner) and the present one, and that meant I had to line up and drill my own hole for the clutch spacer in the front of the footbox. I took pains to line this up precisely so that the clutch cable cleanly entered the slot in the clutch quadrant. This may be aligned well by default but do whatever you need to to ensure that that alignment is spot on. Otherwise the cable will wear against the sides of the slot.

For cable routing, you're going to want to do what you can to get the cable routed as far from the headers as possible, to protect the cable housing from heat. I was able like many others to get it around in front (and underneath) of the DS motor mount. It rests against the oil filter in that spot, but is well away from the heat. With your SBF-based block you will likely be able to do the same thing.

And, pretty sure no one's going to pick on your welding. This forum appreciates those who try, period. Have fun and thanks for the update!

Hey John, thanks for the clutch cable hole and routing information! I hadn't really started thinking about the routing yet so this this is great info.

I did check with Mike about the oil pan. He says it will fit and may be below the frame but there are no concerns from him or me.

[egchewy79]

You might reconsider the last statement. if the oil pan hangs below the frame, if you hit a raised area of the road, the oil pan/engine will receive the brunt of the impact. That would concern me.

[David_L]

I finally got my tie rod ends in and was able to instill the PS rack and tie rod ends. I'm still waiting on my front brake pads so can't mount the rotor and calipers. I was supposed to get the pads last shipment and received one extra front rotor instead the pads, which were listed on the packing sheet.



better focus


Steering linkage

[David_L]

You might reconsider the last statement. if the oil pan hangs below the frame, if you hit a raised area of the road, the oil pan/engine will receive the brunt of the impact. That would concern me.

I should have done this before, but I just measured my oil pan. It appears to be right at 7.5 inches, so should be the perfect depth, correct?

[egchewy79]

only one way to find out
I ended up using 3 transmission shims from Forte to not only get my pinion angle correct but to get the back of the pan above the bottom of the frame.

[David_L]

only one way to find out
I ended up using 3 transmission shims from Forte to not only get my pinion angle correct but to get the back of the pan above the bottom of the frame.

What motor did you use? I wonder if that's normal to have to use shims for the pinion angle?

[Jryasko]

If you have not filled that differential yet, save yourself some aggravation, remove the cover throw the gasket away and seal the cover with oil resistant silicone. Let it sit for a day before filling it. I can't remember which silicone it is but I believe it is gray and has the most oil resistance.

[egchewy79]

What motor did you use? I wonder if that's normal to have to use shims for the pinion angle?

I have a 289SBF with a T5. My pan is a kevko cobra racing pan around 7” and just barely is above the rails with 3 shims from forte.

[John Ibele]

Yes, typically you'll need to shim the back end of the transmission to get the right angles for the joints on either end of your driveshaft. Typically these will need to something like between 1 and 3 degrees, but without introducing a large angle between the drivetrain and the differential (pinion angle). Do a bit of a google search and it should become clear. Pick up an angle gauge for about 30 bucks, which will have a magnet to hold it to balancer (to find engine and trans angle), driveshaft, and diff. Anything not clear will be just a shout away on the forum. You can buy spacers. You can also make your own with a bit of aluminum stock. I had some 0.090" sheet left from some other fab work and used that. A little reading needed, but it comes pretty quickly once you wrap your head around it and make a few trial measurements.

[John Ibele]

And man, Mike built you a handsome engine. Love the front dress on that thing. Nice job.

[David_L]

If you have not filled that differential yet, save yourself some aggravation, remove the cover throw the gasket away and seal the cover with oil resistant silicone. Let it sit for a day before filling it. I can't remember which silicone it is but I believe it is gray and has the most oil resistance.

Jryasko, I already filled the differential. I don't see any issues with leaks. Are you saying the Moser factory seal is bad?

[Jryasko]

The gasket supplied even with High Tack on it was dripping from the cover. The High Oil Resistant RTV if allowed to dry overnight will work fine no gasket required.

[egchewy79]

I had issues w/ a leak using the paper gasket provided w/ my Moser. had to drain the rear end and replace the gasket w/ RTV. no issues since.

[DIBaledo]

David,
You seem to be doing quite well, even with the lengthy POL.
I'm getting ready to finalize my order, but I don't anticipate it will be delivered until early 2023. Following your build thread with interest, you see:
1. This will be a retirement project for me as well,
2. You live relatively close - I'm in Aledo on the other side of Fort Worth, and
3. Us Daves need to stick together!

[WIS89]

Dave-

I like the updates a few weeks back, and I love that engine from Mike -- he does quality work!

I also wanted to compliment your son! That is quite a rig and quite a Christmas present. Would you mind telling him that I too hate going back and forth to the office to read the manual on my computer? HAHA

Thanks for letting us follow along, and keep up the good work!

Regards,

Steve

[David_L]

I've been working on coating and installing cabin panels. I'm really happy with the herculiner bed liner. That stuff won't be coming off anytime soon. Just trying to scrape edges off with a razor blade it quite the job! lol The hammered rustoleum paint, not so good. Very easy to chip but oh well. I will always be kicking myself I didn't do power coat!

[David_L]

Dave-

I like the updates a few weeks back, and I love that engine from Mike -- he does quality work!

I also wanted to compliment your son! That is quite a rig and quite a Christmas present. Would you mind telling him that I too hate going back and forth to the office to read the manual on my computer? HAHA

Thanks for letting us follow along, and keep up the good work!

Regards,

Steve

Hey Steve! Thanks for the post. It definitely saves me a lot of walking back and forth. And my son will love your comments. He keeps up with my build thread, so I'm sure he's seen this! He finally sold his S10 that we Air bagged all 4 wheels a few years ago.. Now that was a very long weekend/Week.. lol

[David_L]

The next step in the manual is the fuel system. Since I'm using an in tank Holley fuel pump 12-345 that uses 6NA fittings trying to match up with the fuel system that came with the kit wasn't making sense. So I'm planning on building lines from scratch using PTFE Nylon Braided Fuel Hose and 6NA black fittings for Out and return lines. The HOLLEY SNIPER 550-510 has a built in fuel pressure regulator I plan to use.

I haven't worked out all the details on where I'm going to mount the filter, but will run the hose on the outside passenger frame. I'm still waiting on a filter bracket and hose brackets to come in.

Installed fuel pump, vent, and sending unit:


Fuel pump filter inside the tank baffles:


Fuel hose and fittings.


Added 3 coats of clearcoat to the tank filler tube. Hopefully that will protect it a bit

[John Ibele]

Well, that's more polish than I put on my filler neck, that's for sure! Very nice. Did you order your OEM replacement for the gasket between that and the tank? Folks have had issues with the kit-provided part, and going to the OEM part is definitely recommended if you don't have it. Ford P/N F4zz9072da. You can find other posts on the forum with more background, if you need it.

[David_L]

Well, that's more polish than I put on my filler neck, that's for sure! Very nice. Did you order your OEM replacement for the gasket between that and the tank? Folks have had issues with the kit-provided part, and going to the OEM part is definitely recommended if you don't have it. Ford P/N F4zz9072da. You can find other posts on the forum with more background, if you need it.

Thanks for the info John!! Exactly why I'm doing this thread! I will order it now.

[Springsyeti]

Awesome thread and sweet motor.

[David_L]

Awesome thread and sweet motor.

Thanks Springsyeti! Hopefully I will make it detailed enough someone can get some uses out of it.

[David_L]

I decided it was time to start looking at header options. Mike Forte let me know I can use standard 302 headers with the Boss 363. As I'm using EFI I need an O2 port. I will most likely go with the long pipe headers supplied from either FF or GAS-N and I will be using the Stainless side pipes from FF.

Note: I originally ordered the plain steel side pipes as I'm going to have them Ceramic coated in black. They were still on backorder as the first set arrived damaged. They are now shipping me the stainless side pipes for now extra charge, and they have no ETA on the plain steel pipes.

1. Use OEM mustang headers with the kit included J pipes:

This option appeared attractive the J pipe has an O2 port built in. It would also be fairly inexpensive to buy OEM headers. But drawbacks seem to be appearance and a loss of HP.


2. Use long pipe headers supplied from FF or GAS-N:

During my first forum searches I found there were no O2 ports in the headers, but it appears that this issue has been corrected in both FF and GAS-N. There are now collectors in the headers so the O2 sensor can be placed in engine compartment. The GAS-N headers are about $100 more.

I did see that the GAS-N headers might have more options like 1-3/4", 1-7/8" or Step-Header. With Step-Header the way to go?

My main questions are:

Which one will I have less fitment issues with? (Less Breeze wedge adapters)

Which one is made better? I'm guessing GAS-N as it's not made somewhere else..

This subject has maybe been beaten to death, but I'm willing to bet there will be guys still interested and any input would be great!

Update: I talked to Mike Forte and he said the 1 3/4 pipe size is more then enough for the 363 motor. That should also provide more room in the engine compartment as well. Please provide any thoughts you might have, but at this point I'm most likely going with GAS-N long pipe headers at 1 3/4 and O2 bung.

[David_L]

Trying to catch up on my posts!

I built and ran the fuel lines from the tank to the engine compartment. I left some extra hose with not ends until I know what length will be needed.

The fuel filter was supplied by Mike Forte and appears to be the stock filter for Mustang so I'm going with it.. I also used the quick connect 6AN fitting so it will be fairly easy to replace.



Mounted the fuel filter.

[David_L]

I built the bracket for my brake reservoirs and installed. I used rivnuts to mount the bracket and reservoirs.

I used 4AN fuel line and fittings.

[David_L]

Flex lines for front and back installed. I realized after installing my front flex lines I didn't have the back ones or the clips as I ordered my brakes from Mike Forte. So I ordered them from Breeze as he had the flex lines, banjo bolts and clips.

I also realized that every one of my calibers needed to be switched from left to right as the bleed screw wasn't on top.. you would think I would have gotten at least one set correct? lol

And after the fact, I saw that many guys install the clip horizontally instead of vertically but hopefully it will work fine this way.



Front:




Rear:

[David_L]

After much research I decide to use the lines provided in the kit as I could get different lengths from my local O'Reilly's. I also didn't want to spend the money for the tool required for a double bevel and learning how to use it.

I did use a 51', 8' and 12' (for the rear) line and was able to keep the extra coils to a minimum.

Master Cylinder connection. I ended up switching to the outside MC later for the front.

[David_L]

I kind of took the easy way out and routed the rear lines on the outside of the foot box per what was shown in the manual. Hopefully I won't regret it, but it was fairly easy to do. I may been to add some padding under the line at the top of the foot box to make sure it's not damaged later.

MC connections


Front of footbox


underneath




Attaching to the T fitting and connection to flex line. This was the only place I can to coil extra hard line.


Here is where I should have rounded the corners as I needed up short a foot.

[David_L]

This was a bit of a pain as I didn't have a helper handy.

I did the bench bleeding on the car then did gravity and used a vacuum pump to get it started. I finished up doing the passenger front and back brakes first and attached bottles with hose to the nipple of both.
After much pumping and filling reservoir I got them somewhat air free so this worked on the drivers side. I went back and forth a couple time and finely it looks air free. I actually had no leaks to any of my connections!

MC bench bleed setup. During the bleeding I got my reservoirs up as high as I could.

[David_L]

I've started to research wiring and there are a couple of mods I have to be aware of.

1. I'm installing AC in the right side of the firewall
2. Holley sniper EFI so need to research where to mount and connect this.
3. Using the Breeze front batter mount.
4. Currently contacting Russ about his column mounted direction signal. I don't think this will require much change?

I have the Breeze radiator mound and shroud and I plan on running the wire harness under the radiator the way many have done.

But just starting my research at this point and any tips would be great!

Also I trying to figure out what the Russ Thompson trunk hoop mod does. I can't seem to find any good pictures of it, including his web site. lol very low res pictures.

[Fman]

Nice looking build, engine looks sweet... you don't see them with A/C often. I hope your oil pan works out for you, mine had to be 7" to be up inside the frame but I am also using fixed mounts which drops the engine lower than poly mounts.

[David_L]

Nice looking build, engine looks sweet... you don't see them with A/C often. I hope your oil pan works out for you, mine had to be 7" to be up inside the frame but I am also using fixed mounts which drops the engine lower than poly mounts.

Since I'm getting closer to engine install I guess I better revisit the whole oil pan issue. I find it hard to believe that Mike Forte would sell me something that won't work correctly. I called him and asked about it. He says that guy's were worrying to much about oil pan depth. Not sure it that's correct or not, but he has a lot of experience. I did measure again and the depth appears to be about 8.5 inches from the lip to the bottom of drain plug. Is a Boss 363 block going to set a little higher then a standard SBF 302 block?

For guys that use donor cars, do they always replace the stock 302 oil pan?

If I do need to replace the oil pan, what are good options for the Boss 363 and what other parts will I need to replace? Dipstick ect.. I'm guessing what I currently have is a standard mustang pan

Also I was reading that I might need to get different motor mounts for the Boss 363 block or I will need to mod the ones that came with the kit? Sounds like I need to call Mike again.

[Chopper]

For what it's worth, I have a 306 with a fox oil pan, the drain plug and bottom of the rear sump are lower than the frame. I also have a Quicktime SFI bellhousing that hangs down below the frame. I haven't had an issue yet. I do live in VA, so we don't have some of the truely winter destroyed roads like more northern states.

With that said, I am considering getting a low profile oil pan and cutting off the bellhousing flange where it protrudes this winter...