Danny Boy's Mk4 Build - Putting the project on hold for a while...

[JohnK]

I used Molex connectors for many of the low current connections behind the dash because they are much more compact than weatherpack connectors, but they are limited in how much current they can carry. There are many different Molex connectors. I chose to use the Mini-Fit connectors, which are limited to 9A per pin, so more than enough for things like gauge lighting and sending units but definitely not for seat heater power, charging ports, etc. For those I used weatherpack connectors. If you want to incorporate some Molex Mini-Fit connectors to save a little space, you're welcome to borrow my crimper if you need it. It wasn't cheap, but it works well (after a bit of a learning curve).

[facultyofmusic]

A bit confused by this. If you're using the reverse lockout module with your T56 (American Powertrain ELUN-10013?) it requires both GPS wires from the VSS on the transmission. It's easy enough to add a single wire to the entire rear harness for the backup lights. Through the backup lamp connection on the T56 and to the rear connections. You need to get switched +12V to both the module and the backup lights. Not always on battery power if that's what you meant by BATT-CUTOFF. Wouldn't hurt necessarily to have the backup lights on a battery connection, but typically they're on a switched connection. The module for sure you don't want on a battery connection. It would probably draw down your battery if left on.

There are a lot of different Molex connectors. So hard to answer your question. Personally, I'm a fan of Weatherpack connectors. You'll probably be using them on your build anyway because they're perfect for your exterior lights and most builders recommend them there. With the right crimper (basic one is not expensive) they are super easy to assemble. Widely available in multiple pin configurations and not too expensive. Available from a couple forum vendors, Summit, Amazon, DelCity.net, recently used https://www.customconnectorkits.com/ who had a wide variety and gave good service. Also weatherproof (obviously...) which the garden variety Molex isn't. The standard Weatherpack with round pins is rated for up to 20 amps. Fine for anything on the dash including your typical aux ports.

Yes, I'm indeed using American Powertrain ELUN-10013. I'm surprised to see you mention GPS because I thought it's designed to take signal from the VSS on the T56 and feed voltage to the lockout solenoid when the VSS signal shows vehicle isn't moving, therefore the circuit is entirely between the VSS and solenoid, plus wire to provide 12V power. As for BATT-CUTOFF, I plan to use the battery cut-off switch to turn it off. I plan to always take out the cut-off key when I'm not with the car, so unless I'm with the car the solenoid would receive no power.

I didn't know weatherpack can take up to 20A! That's pretty damn good. I've been eyeing the weatherpack kits on DelCity for a while. I might go order one.

[facultyofmusic]

I used Molex connectors for many of the low current connections behind the dash because they are much more compact than weatherpack connectors, but they are limited in how much current they can carry. There are many different Molex connectors. I chose to use the Mini-Fit connectors, which are limited to 9A per pin, so more than enough for things like gauge lighting and sending units but definitely not for seat heater power, charging ports, etc. For those I used weatherpack connectors. If you want to incorporate some Molex Mini-Fit connectors to save a little space, you're welcome to borrow my crimper if you need it. It wasn't cheap, but it works well (after a bit of a learning curve).

Thanks for the offer John! The connector kit I got is this one from amazon. There's no amp rating on it, but I think 3-5A shouldn't be a problem. TBH I originally thought there were the same as Mini-Fit connectors, but turned out they weren't (I searched something like molex mini-fit on amazon and this was one of the first ones). It looks like it should work the same way though.

For your weatherpack connectors, did you use the pre-made pigtails or the kits?

[edwardb]

Yes, I'm indeed using American Powertrain ELUN-10013. I'm surprised to see you mention GPS because I thought it's designed to take signal from the VSS on the T56 and feed voltage to the lockout solenoid when the VSS signal shows vehicle isn't moving, therefore the circuit is entirely between the VSS and solenoid, plus wire to provide 12V power. As for BATT-CUTOFF, I plan to use the battery cut-off switch to turn it off. I plan to always take out the cut-off key when I'm not with the car, so unless I'm with the car the solenoid would receive no power.

I didn't know weatherpack can take up to 20A! That's pretty damn good. I've been eyeing the weatherpack kits on DelCity for a while. I might go order one.

Total brain cramp on my part. Sorry for that and the possible confusion. Obviously you knew better. I said "GPS" when I meant to say "RF harness." Who knows why. Fixed it in my original post. But can't in the quote. Again, sorry.

I hear what you're saying about the master disconnect. I have one in my builds and use it when the car will be down for a while (think Michigan winter...), when I'm doing maintenance, when I have it in the trailer, etc. And of course always available in case of an emergency. But I don't use it as a duplicate of the ignition key. Seems a little unnecessary to me. It would be super easy to wire the module to an ignition switched circuit. I don't know how much it draws, but could easily drain your battery if left on. I personally wouldn't do anything that requires the master disconnect to be switched off as a normal part of operating the car. But clearly your build and do what you want. Not everyone agrees with my choices either.

[JohnK]

For your weatherpack connectors, did you use the pre-made pigtails or the kits?

I used a kit. I'm not a fan of butt-splices and the pre-made pigtails would mean having to butt-splice every single connection I run through a weatherpack connector, which somewhat defeats the purpose of using nice connectors, IMO. Weatherpacks are actually pretty easy to crimp. I have the type of crimper where you have to do the inner and outer crimps as two separate steps and it works fine. Just a bit more time-consuming. There are nicer crimpers that will do the inner and out crimps in one step.

[facultyofmusic]

I hear what you're saying about the master disconnect. I have one in my builds and use it when the car will be down for a while (think Michigan winter...), when I'm doing maintenance, when I have it in the trailer, etc. And of course always available in case of an emergency. But I don't use it as a duplicate of the ignition key. Seems a little unnecessary to me. It would be super easy to wire the module to an ignition switched circuit. I don't know how much it draws, but could easily drain your battery if left on. I personally wouldn't do anything that requires the master disconnect to be switched off as a normal part of operating the car. But clearly your build and do what you want. Not everyone agrees with my choices either.

Definitely unnecessary as a duplication of the ignition key. My plan (for now ) is to use the battery cut-off as a convenient key-like thing that just completely shuts off everything except ECU memory, and have the car's ACC and ignition be operated via the ignition panel. As for vehicle security, I plan to install a proximity sensor key that knows if I'm nearby. There are systems like the digital guard-dog to make the installation process relatively easy. I can totally understand if this feel convoluted to some, but I just really like race-car style push-to-start LOL.

[facultyofmusic]

The electrical components I need to complete the harness and alternator fuse work isn't here yet, but my power steering rack is! The installation process is very straight forward and it went on with no problems at all. The ends of the rack also screwed just deep enough into the tie-rods for the wheels to align roughly forward, so I didn't have to trim any of it off.
ps_installed.jpg

...and that's where the straight-forward part ends. Unfortunately when I did my brake lines I didn't take into account the locations of power steering hoses and fittings. The FFR provided manual says to use the 90degree hose end for the send line and straight hose end for return.
power_steering_line_interference.jpg power_steering_fittings.jpg

At that exact same place is my brake line.
brake_line_interference1.jpg brake_line_interference2.jpg

The 90degree send line can probably fit fine, but there's no way for the straight return line to fit. I can't use the 90degree hose end for return because the 90degree bend is needed on the reservoir end. The best way to get around this that I can think of is to use a 45degree fitting instead of what FFR provides. Either that, or get new lines that have 90 degree fittings on both ends. FFR also hasn't sent me any of the fittings yet but that's besides the point. The most echoed comment around power-steering fittings on this forum is something along the lines of "call Mark at Breeze", so that's what I'll do.

[JohnK]

Call Mark at Breeze.

Seriously though, there are a few ways you can route the PS lines. If you're not planning to install a PS cooler, Mark actually recommended to me to use 135 degree fittings for both the supply and return coming out of the rack. This will route the PS lines behind the rack rather than in front of it, which is a more direct route back to the pump. That ultimately didn't work for me since I installed a PS cooler, but it may work for you and allow you to miss your brake lines. I have those 135 degree fittings if you want them.

[facultyofmusic]

Call Mark at Breeze.

Seriously though, there are a few ways you can route the PS lines. If you're not planning to install a PS cooler, Mark actually recommended to me to use 135 degree fittings for both the supply and return coming out of the rack. This will route the PS lines behind the rack rather than in front of it, which is a more direct route back to the pump. That ultimately didn't work for me since I installed a PS cooler, but it may work for you and allow you to miss your brake lines. I have those 135 degree fittings if you want them.

Hey thanks John!, I was just reading about the power steering cooler when I read your message. Many threads here say to install it especially if I plan to autocross with the car one day; which I do. I'm looking at your build thread post #207 for inspiration . Since the coyote doesn't need an external oil cooler, I can put the power steering cooler where the oil cooler intake is. Might as well have the vents be functional.

[facultyofmusic]

Still talking with Mark at Breeze about the power steering lines, so we must do what we do best: Work on something else in the meantime!

To be honest, I was never that thrilled about my battery-cable setup near the firewall. It will probably do the job, but the crimp wasn’t done with a proper crimper and the cables are too stiff and too long for the connections they serve.
old_wiring.jpg old_wiring3.jpg old_wiring4.jpg

In post #229 We talked about installing a 150A resettable alternator fuse (Del City Part No. 77080). This is an excellent opportunity to improve the power cables around the area as well. The new cables I bought are #4 SGT cables. I bought higher quality crimp cable-ends as well as one of those huge crimping pliers. Re-installed the lines and they look much better than before!
new_cables1.jpg new_cables2.jpg

The old cable I used for battery to alternator connection is a #10 cable, which is quite thin. I decided to replaces it with the new #4 SGT cables. I installed the manual-reset 150A circuit breaker on the driver-side firewall right next to the coyote fuse-box. It’s easily reachable and right next to the other fuse-related things so I’m quite satisfied with it.
alternator_fuse1.jpg alternator_fuse2.jpg

The revamped firewall area looks much better now.
alternator_fuse3.jpg

[facultyofmusic]

I remember staring at pictures of tail lights and couldn't figure out why it looks weird. Took me long enough to realize that there's no back up lights. Duh.

The unfortunate part was that I already had the rear-harness secures in place as well as the trunk riveted in. As a result I had to work with what little slack I had in the harness to insert another wire into the harness for a backup light. It how pops out from the back of the vehicle in the middle. Wasn't too difficult.
backup_liht.jpg

I did make a mistake when soldering though. Can you tell what's wrong in this picture?
whoops.jpg

Since I was already working in the area, I decided to splice out the rear turn and brake signals out for a third brake / turn light. The spliced connections pops out through a hole on the upper trunk aluminum panel. I'm not too sure about what the third brake light will look like, but it won't be anything conventional. What I actually want is a huge detachable light bar that I can mount to the top of my roll-bars to let other SUVs and trunks know that there's a car in front of them / behind them. I've heard too many stories of people not seeing short roadsters. Just something for the longer trips I'll make in the future. Won't be too useful in the near future, but routing it now doesn't hurt.
rear_accessories1.jpg rear_accessories2.jpg

Last but not least I bought some spade connectors for the ignition panel. I really wanted to use weatherpack connectors, but the ignition panel wires carry quite a lot of current and I didn't want all that going through weatherpack connectors. weatherpack says it can handle up to 20A, but I'd rather use larger spade connectors for these big wires.
ignition_control_panel3.jpgignition_control_panel2.jpg ignition_control_panel1.jpg

As far as the harness goes this should be all for now? (I swear I've said this ten times and every time I come back with something else I forgot, lol)

Next I'll start working on coyote engine prep as well as the dashboard. I've pretty much finalized the dashboard design but I want to stare at it a bit more to make sure I didn't forget anything.
20220416_185611.jpg

[facultyofmusic]

After a long trip to LA it's finally time to get back to the project! I'll talk about some cobra related adventures in LA later. For now let's talk about Dashboard Gauges.

In the last post I showed the cut outs for various gauges and buttons. I don't plan to have much stuff on the dash aside from the basic light switch, horn, and hazard indicators. Keeping it simple with this one. I do have an ignition control panel full of toggle switches that will sit right under the center of the dash, so the dash itself can be simple. I used the FFR provided faux-leather foam fabric. Sprayed two good layers of 3M Super77 adhesive onto the faux-leather material and stuck it on real good.
vinyl_on.jpg

Clamped it on the table and left it there for a night to dry. I find Super77 adhesive not sticking too well to aluminum, but it's good enough for the dash. Next I needed to cut out the holes for the dashboard components. I found it difficult to use a utility knife for anything except the tach and speedo holes. Stopped by the local convenience store and bought these small curved scissors. They worked pretty well.
small_scissor (1).jpg small_scissor (2).jpg small_scissor (3).jpg

Something I wish I realized while cutting the dash was that the black faux leather surface compresses and curves towards the dash as the gauges are pressed in. I wish I had left a little extra material for the gauges to "stuff down". It wasn't a big deal because if I install the gauges exactly center then the gauge's rim will sit on the faux leather evenly. Even if the curve wasn't super consistent it's very hard to tell unless you look at it from awkward angles:
full_panel (1).jpg full_panel (2).jpg

I'm particularly happy about the indicator lights. They match the rest of the dash so well! They are Alpinetech chrome-bezel indicator lights. I ordered it from their store on amazon.
indicator_lights.jpg

... and here's the whole dash! I was afraid the hazard indicator light would stick out like a sore thumb, but it actually looks pretty good! It's not period correct at all, but I wasn't going for that anyway. The glove box is a problem for future Dan to solve. I have some ideas on how to fab one with left-over aluminum panels I have laying around.
full_dash.jpg

After admiring them for a while I used blue scotch tape to tape the gauge bezels so they don't get scuffed up when I move it around.
with_tape.jpg

[facultyofmusic]

During my visit to LA I stopped by the Segerstrom Shelby Event Center which served as a museum for Shelby's legacy. It's right next to Hillbank Motor's Superformance show rooom.
20220430_155423.jpg

They had an entire show room just for cobras! I felt like a kid in a candy store... must've walked around each one ten times or more. To be respectful I didn't take many pictures (not that they prohibit it, but I don't want to steal their thunder), but I didn't manage to bring home a few.
20220430_153037.jpg 20220430_153043.jpg 20220430_153047.jpg

At the center of the room is a mirror polished aluminum body cobra. It's... the most beautiful thing. I couldn't help it when I saw a Shelby jacket in their giftshop. Grabbed it and bought it in a heart beat. My favourite picture from the visit is this one:
20220430_155038.jpg

You can bet that I sat there for quite a while. :P

[JB in NOVA]

During my visit to LA I stopped by the Segerstrom Shelby Event Center which served as a museum for Shelby's legacy. It's right next to Hillbank Motor's Superformance show rooom.
20220430_155423.jpg

They had an entire show room just for cobras! I felt like a kid in a candy store... must've walked around each one ten times or more. To be respectful I didn't take many pictures (not that they prohibit it, but I don't want to steal their thunder), but I didn't manage to bring home a few.
20220430_153037.jpg 20220430_153043.jpg 20220430_153047.jpg

At the center of the room is a mirror polished aluminum body cobra. It's... the most beautiful thing. I couldn't help it when I saw a Shelby jacket in their giftshop. Grabbed it and bought it in a heart beat. My favourite picture from the visit is this one:
20220430_155038.jpg

You can bet that I sat there for quite a while. :P

Thanks for posting those pics! I'll have to check that out next time I'm in L.A. I've been meaning to visit the Petersen museum, https://www.petersen.org/, and now I'll add Segerstrom to the itinerary.

[facultyofmusic]

I'm so close to dropping the engine in... but there's always something else to do before it. I thought about installing the degas tank after dropping the engine in, but I think it's a better idea to leave myself some moving room to maneuver my power tools. So now we'll work on mounting the moroso degas tank.

My plan is to follow JohnK's excellent post on installing his moroso degas tank. One piece of valuable advice he gave me was to install the degas-tank further to the passenger side instead of toward the center. The reason being that the coyote intake takes quite a bit of space, and it might rub on one of the coolant lines if I mount the tank too close to the center. Here you can see I mounted pretty close to the passenger side hood hinges.
tank_location.jpg

As for the height, I initially made a bracket that mirrored what JohnK did. When I tried mounting the tank, however, I saw that the filler opening was very high above the hood hinges. I know that the coyote's hood bulges up toward the middle, but I wanted to avoid any clearance issue I can. I made another bracket that bends down at a more severe angle before returning level, and the tank not sits much closer to the hinge height. The bracket is a thick strip of aluminum bent with my press brake. Wasn't too difficult with a big vise.
bracket.jpg top_clearance.jpg

Note that the bracket still mounts high enough to clear the top of the radiator:
radiator_clearance1.jpg radiator_clearance2.jpg

Currently the tank is attached via that one bracket. within the plane of the bracket the tank is rock solid, but it's not too strong vertically. Once again, taking inspiration from JohnK's post from above, I'm going to make another small bracket from a strip of steel that pushes up against the tank from the bottom to limit vertical travel. I haven't made that yet, but I should have it in the next update.

[edwardb]

To put your mind at ease regarding the location of the tank, these pictures are from my 20th Anniversary build 5+ years ago. I mocked up the hood location based on its height when mounted and also showing the amount of curvature. There's a lot more clearance than you might think. And well above the hood hinges:



With the mounting points at the bottom of the 3/4" tube, and the lower mount resting on the fan shroud, it clears the hood by an inch or two. Not that close. Even though it looks high at this stage. It will flow fine lower (as I found out with my Coupe build) but a higher location gives you more space for other things. Also, just to confirm, (1) the lower mount is critical. It can't be anchored by only the tab on the backside. It gets much heavier with coolant inside. (2) assume you also know it needs to be removed when dropping the engine in.

[Nigel Allen]

Hey, perfect timing Dan and Paul. Winter has arrived where I live and it is a great time to fit my Moroso tank.

Thanks for the positioning info. It will save me time in a big way.

Dan, I am really enjoying following along with your build. Really excellent work.

Cheers, Nigel

[460.465USMC]

That's going to be a nice addition to your engine bay, Dan. Thanks for sharing the tips and process. I'm on the fence about buying the Moroso and doing the same, or going with the F5 supplied overflow tank.

[edwardb]

That's going to be a nice addition to your engine bay, Dan. Thanks for sharing the tips and process. I'm on the fence about buying the Moroso and doing the same, or going with the F5 supplied overflow tank.

Just to be clear, the Moroso expansion tank is more than just a replacement for the FF supplied tank. Using the Moroso tank means plumbing the cooling system with several extra hoses (covered in multiple build threads) as Ford designed it. Becomes a closed system and is self-burping. No trapped air. The FF tank is a simple overflow tank and per the instructions the connections for the OE style setup are capped. Can't say one is better than the other because I've only done the Moroso setup on two Coyote builds. Many use the simpler setup successfully. I just prefer having it plumbed as designed.

[facultyofmusic]

(1) the lower mount is critical. It can't be anchored by only the tab on the backside.

Thanks for the key advice Paul. I was actually JUST wondering if that tab is actually necessary and completely forgot that it will be filled with fluid.

[facultyofmusic]

That's going to be a nice addition to your engine bay, Dan. Thanks for sharing the tips and process. I'm on the fence about buying the Moroso and doing the same, or going with the F5 supplied overflow tank.

Thanks for your support and glad you're dropping by! The moroso tank was an easy decision for me since I:
1. Loved the looks.
2. Have a friend who had to burp his kit car and it was apparently a PITA.

[facultyofmusic]

Alright, so I know we were just talking about making that bracket for the moroso expansion tank. Unfortunately to do that I need to mount the radiator, and to do that I need to measure the angle of the radiator, which needs an angle measurement tool... which I don't have. So change of plans. My buddies are finally all free for a day. Time to drop the engine in!

Before the crew gathered I walked around and looked at the sweet engine one last time. Once it goes in, it's not coming back out (please god don't make me have to take it back out).
parts.jpg parts2.jpg

Having already installed the engine once and then pulled it back out, we were pretty "experienced" at the task. Lifting and inserting the transmission through the tunnel was a quick job since we were already familiar with the dimensions. The first 90% happened in about 30mins. The last 10% however, took 4 hours. You can probably guess why: The Headers. Honestly there isn't much I can even say about it. It's just... freaking tight everywhere! I had the engine hovering ~2in above the engine mounting brackets and ~3in towards the front of the chassis and it made 3 of the 8 bolts easier to access. 2 bolts towards the front were easy bolts anyway, and the remaining 3 were a PITA no matter what you do. If anyone here got the impression that installing the headers while the engine is in mid air is easy, IT'S NOT. Here's a visual comparison between the driver and passenger side exhaust header. Note how the driver side header's pipes are WAY closer to the flange. That closeness and the tight space is what makes it difficult. Wrenches and sockets you can fit on the passenger side simple won't go in on the driver's side.
header_comparison.jpg

Luckily I did have a few tools that made this process easier. The hard part of this is essentially reaching bolts, therefore extensions, pivoting racket heads, and ratcheting combination wrenches help a lot. Here's a visual reference of these tools:

Universal Joint Socket:
ujoint_socket.jpg
This helps you tighten bolts in tight areas from an angle. CRUCIAL for the bolts that normal wrenches can't reach.

Socket Extensions:
extension.jpg
This helps you reach the bolts from a location away from the 4-pipe collector. Without this you'll be banging on the collector tube all the time, severely limiting your range of motion.

Ratcheting Combination Wrench:
comb.jpg
This one in particular helps you reach the upper-rear bolt from the gap between the engine and the firewall. It's going to be a blind bolt, but once you fit the ratcheting head onto the bolt, all you gotta do is crank it up and down. Imagine if you have to re-fit an open wrench onto a blind bolt every 30 degrees. You don't want that.

After a few hours of arranging the bones in my arms and fingers in ways I never knew they could be before, the header was on. The final step was to slide the drive-shaft into the transmission before fully installing the engine onto its mounting bracket. For the T56 Magnum transmission, I found it impossible to install the drive shaft afterwards.
dropping_it_in.jpg

Here it sits nicely in the engine compartment. What a piece of work!
its_in1.jpg

[JohnK]

Nice work! Yeah, that PS header is a lot of fun to install, insn't it?!

[Railroad]

You can down load an angle app to your cell phone and use it for your radiator angle.

[460.465USMC]

Congrats, Dan! That makes two of us who hope we don't get the pleasure of repeating this particular task. Way to go!

[facultyofmusic]

Congrats, Dan! That makes two of us who hope we don't get the pleasure of repeating this particular task. Way to go!

Thanks Chris! I'm following closely behind your build! I'm in the process of figuring out coyote plumbing on the side and can't wait to see how you do it.

[facultyofmusic]

Here's a picture of the upper front bolt of the driver side header. Right now it's nice and tight and all that, but just a few days ago I couldn't even put the bolt in and my gasket were misaligned. How did this happen? It all started with the driver-side engine lift bracket.
normal.jpg

By lift bracket I mean the thick steel plates FFR install on two sides of the engine for lifting the engine. Here's a picture:
engine_top_down.jpg

The bracket itself was big, thick, and it was too close to the bolt in the first picture. The bracket and the front most exhaust pipe together left no space to install that bolt. Here's an outline of roughly where the bracket was:
blocked_bolt.jpg

At the time I thought I could just install the other bolts and install this one after the engine is in place. After all, it's one of those "easy" bolts right? The problem here is that the ford coyote gaskets have 2 "aligning holes", and the hole in question happens to be one of them. Take a look at the 4 holes indicated in the picture below. You'll see they have these tabs that effectively make the hole smaller than all the other ones. You have to install the bolts for these two holes first because they align the gasket.
gasket.jpg

Because I didn't install that bolt, my gasket wasn't aligned. After dropping the engine and removing the lift bracket, I found that I couldn't insert the bolt because the tabs were in the way. From the two pictures below you can see both the misaligned gasket and the tabs sticking out into the hole.
gasket_misaligned.jpg gasket_misaligned2.jpg

This meant I had to loosen all the bolts, get the header loose enough to shift the gasket into the right place, insert the final bolt, and re-torque everything. To my surprise, re-torquing the bolts was pretty easy! I realize now that it's inserting the bolts that was difficult, but loosening and tightening the bolts isn't too hard. When I realized my gasket was misaligned I posted this thread to ask if it's still good for use. Mike Everson suggested it should be good, so I didn't replace the gasket.

The second mishap with the mounting bracket is with one of the bolts. With the header installed, the bolt can't actually be removed without cutting it in half mid-way. This is because it collides with the header. In the picture below you can see just how much more room it needs.
lift_bracket_bolt.jpg

I used an oscillating tool and a metal cutting blade to cut off the bolt. If I knew about this earlier I would have pre-cut the bolt. There's still a lot of threads to grip into the block after the cut.
20220519_194416.jpg

I'm not sure if this is only an issue with FFR provided lift brackets with FFR coyote headers. I hope this information helps y'all out there! :P

[Windsor]

This sounds like how my day does every now-and-again.

Good to see you powered through.

[JohnK]

Wow, this sucks. Sorry to hear that this was so difficult. When I purchased my gen2 coyote, FFR didn't offer lifting brackets for the coyote so I purchased these from TDI Motion. They worked perfectly and there was zero interference with either the header bolts, or with removing the lifting bracket bolts.

[facultyofmusic]

You can down load an angle app to your cell phone and use it for your radiator angle.

Thanks for the advice! I completely forgot about this.

[facultyofmusic]

There are 3 signals we need from the coyote to feed the FFR vintage style gauges: oil pressure, water temp, and tach pulse signal. Today we cover the first two.

The gen3 coyote crate engine comes with a harness with connectors for oil pressure sensor and the water-temp sensor hole blocked. I remember seeing a picture (probably from Paul's build thread) that explained what they were. I've spent about an hour reading through threads but still can't find that picture, so I'm going to recreate it:
factory_connections.jpg

According to this thread on the gen3 coyote PCM, the gen3 harness REQUIRES the oil pressure sensor to be installed. If the oil pressure isn't connected the PCM will throw codes and limit engine to 3500RPM. This means we can't just disconnect it to install sensor from oil pressure gauge. FFR's gen3 coyote install kit comes with the fittings required to make a T to connect both factory sensor and gauge sensor.
oil_press_tee.jpg

There's debate on whether or not the oil bypass solenoid is useful at all. Some reported no problems with it disconnected, some argue why not connect it if it's there. I found a good discussion on this thread for those who are interested. Just search for "solenoid" on the page and you should find the relevant posts. I've decided to connect it like ford has it. Don't see why not.

The water temp sensor goes on a hole that's plugged from factory. FFR supplies a set of fittings that convert the water temp sensor's size to that hole's size.
water_temp.jpg

The area around the sensor plugs is pretty tight. The "tee" that splits oil pressure to two senders is also quite big. The factory harness is JUST long enough to reach the sensor location. With the "tee" in place, it can no longer reach.
extra_length.jpg

The sensor harness in its original location also rubs the steering column.
rubbing_on_steering.jpg

To solve both of these issues, I detached the sensor harness from the last few mounting tabs and rerouted it. The new route isn't too far off from the old one, but it does reach the new sender location while being out of the way of the steering column. Here's a picture to illustrate. Red line marks the old route, green line marks the new.
alternate_route.jpg

The space is still pretty tight, but with enough planning and awkward zip-ties it managed to stay out of the way of both the alternator housing and the exhaust.
final_bundle.jpg final_route.jpg

The last thing that still worries me is how close that bundle is to the exhaust pipe. At its closest point there's only 2.5 inches between the bundle at the forward-most pipe. Even after wrapping the exhaust I still worry about the amount of heat it radiates. I plan to wrap the bundle with heat reflecting foil tape. That should keep it under control.
distance_from_pipe.jpg

[toadster]

The second mishap with the mounting bracket is with one of the bolts. With the header installed, the bolt can't actually be removed without cutting it in half mid-way. This is because it collides with the header. In the picture below you can see just how much more room it needs.
lift_bracket_bolt.jpg

I used an oscillating tool and a metal cutting blade to cut off the bolt. If I knew about this earlier I would have pre-cut the bolt. There's still a lot of threads to grip into the block after the cut.
20220519_194416.jpg

I'm not sure if this is only an issue with FFR provided lift brackets with FFR coyote headers. I hope this information helps y'all out there! :P

EPIC! Thank you!!!

[facultyofmusic]

Today I saw an instagram post of a fellow builder's fuel pump corroded from being left in the tank for 2 years with gas in it. I knew that gas does eventually go bad, but I had no idea that modern gas with its ethanol content was so much more corrosive.

On post #218 Paul expressed concern on putting gasoline so early into the build. At the time I really wanted to test my fuel system before putting in the trunk aluminum. Looking back... I didn't really have to install the trunk aluminum that early. It's been 3 months since I've tested my fuel system and my first start is still looking pretty far away (1 month out?). I've put some Stabil fuel stabilizer in the tank to help keep it fresh, but regardless my first start is going to be using some 4-5 month old gasoline. If I could do it again I'd hold off putting gasoline into the tank so early.

I just hope I didn't permanently damage any part of my fuel system by having the fuel sitting there for so long.

[Lidodrip]

I would not worry about gas that is 4-5 months old. Here in Maine we routinely store boats with full tanks of gas (reduces space for condensation) for 7 months over the winter. We treat the gas with stabilizer and I have never had a problem, even with ethanol gas.

[edwardb]

X2. With stabilizer (I use Stabil 360) 4-month old gas is fine. Here in SE Michigan, our winters aren't as along as Maine. But I routinely have my cars in storage for 5-6 months, tank full, and Stabil added. Run a bit after putting in the Stabil so throughout the fuel system. Do the same thing with the riding mower, etc. No issues.

[facultyofmusic]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. Just put a bit more stabil into the tank and ran the pump for a few mins. Feeling much better about it now.

[Fman]

I have had gas go bad in three weeks in CA, I keep a bottle of Marine 360 sta-bil in my trunk and always add it at every fuel fill on the Cobra. FWIW A good friend is a reputable mechanic recommended the Marine 360 he said its even better than the standard Sta-bil for ethanol fuels and is concentrated - one bottle treats 320 gallons. If you are going to be running 91 remember most people don't want to pay that premium so that fuel will sit much longer in the station holding tanks before it goes in your tank, does not cycle out near as fast at 87/89 octane.

[facultyofmusic]

I have had gas go bad in three weeks in CA, I keep a bottle of Marine 360 sta-bil in my trunk and always add it at every fuel fill on the Cobra. FWIW A good friend is a reputable mechanic recommended the Marine 360 he said its even better than the standard Sta-bil for ethanol fuels and is concentrated - one bottle treats 320 gallons. If you are going to be running 91 remember most people don't want to pay that premium so that fuel will sit much longer in the station holding tanks before it goes in your tank, does not cycle out near as fast at 87/89 octane.

That's a really good point with 91 octane. Unfortunately it's also what I got. I guess we'll see what happens when the thing fires up :P

[facultyofmusic]

Continuing from post #252, here are some updates on the dashboard.

After switching from Autometer gauges to the FFR vintage style gauges I realized I had to shift the entire dashboard down by quite a bit or else the speedo would collide with the curved dashboard tube. As a result the dashboard mounting brackets no longer worked. Since they were discontinuous and flimsy anyway I decided to order a full length pre-cut dashboard support panel from Mike Everson. It's a quality piece for $35, which is honestly about what I'd spend on the raw aluminum and cutting blades if I were to make a new one. Looks and works great!
bot_sup_bot_view.jpg bot_sup_front.jpg bottom_support_side_view.jpg

Previously I used rivnuts to secure the dashboard to the bottom support panels. It was an absolute pain in the *** to install and remove. With the new dash support panel I decided to use velcro instead. It's strong enough to hold, doesn't rattle, and once everything is finalized I'll drill 2-3 holes and secure it with aluminum panel screws to lock it down for good. After installing/removing the panel several times today I'm very glad I went with velcro. In the picture below and one of the pictures above you can see where I attached the velcro strip.
20220507_144223.jpg

The next issue with the panel having shifted down was that the steering column hole no longer aligned. The hole in its original location was perfect for Russ Thompson's turning signal stalk to poke through. I grunted in dismay as I expanded the perfectly circular hole upwards.

Unfortunately it wasn't after the deed was done did I realize that the new location would leave the steering column way too high. The arms of my steering wheel would cover up too much of the speedo and I may have trouble seeing some of my indicator lights. Here's a hindsight2020 shots of what I mean:
result_after.jpg result_before.jpg

I didn't see a way to mount the dash panel higher, so I modified the steering column mount on the frame so I could mount the RT turning signal from the bottom instead and it brought the steering column down by about 3/8". The result isn't pretty, but functionality wise it did exactly what I needed.
rt_bot.jpg rt_front.jpg rt_top.jpg

Compared to what it was before the gauge swap it still sat higher, but it's a lot better than before.
height_difference.jpg

I'll clean off the paint marker lines, paint the cuts with some black enamel paint, and call it done.

[NYMike]

Hey Dan. Got caught up on your build a while ago and it’s really looking good!

The Everson panel is a really nice piece and we love ours. Great place to hide switches and other controls that you don’t want to see in the dash. Just wanted to make sure you know that once you rivet the front part into the frame, it becomes really difficult if not impossible to work behind the dash with the body and dash installed. Our solution was to cut the panel about an inch from the frame tube all the way across and use another piece of aluminum to tie the two pieces together with screws. That allowed us to drop the main portion of it and work behind the dash while it was still installed. It saved us a big headache when we had to do some last minute additions before we sent the car away for body work.





Keep up the good work!