Maryland Hacker's MKIV Coyote Build

[iconicflux]

Took delivery of the kit today!

I haven't posted much on here. I tend to be a bit quiet about what I'm up to but I thought I should probably add more details to who I am and what I'm building.

So... I'm building the MKIV with a Coyote engine and the Tremek TKX. It really wasn't my intention going into this project to get just about every option BUT... I ended up considering that I've wanted this car since I was 14 years old. How am I sure I was 14? I found brochures from it when I was 14 that I saved.

A bit about me. I'm a hacker by profession. That isn't to say that I'm a penetration tester / ethical hacker. I *CAN* do penetration testing; however, I typically say I'm a "professional hacker". I typically get paid to hack embedded devices, mobile apps, mobile phones, and whatever kind of binary target someone sends me after. I've done this for the military (civilian contractor / not a veteran), 3 letter agencies, and these days I do it for a massive law firm. (You'd be surprised how much work there is in multi-national law firms.)

So I have this project to build the car but like most of us I want to build it the way *I* want it. Which means for me, very tech heavy while still looking relatively vintage.

Things I'm planning include:
360 degree camera system that's capable of running when the car is off.
Rearview camera for backing up.
Utilizing bluetooth dongles as an electric key to control a pushbutton start.
Sound system that includes CarPlay.
Wireless phone charging
USB chargers

(I'll add more if I find anything I really want. To start with I just want the cameras and the bluetooth dongles as keys.)


As for the delivery...

Unfortunately, as they were unloading the car the Stewart guy scratched the body.

It’s only 3 spots but it’s pretty deep (not past the gel coat though)

IMG_5957.jpegIMG_5956.jpeg

I saw it and tried to get his attention but just couldn’t get it in time.

I’m not that concerned though given the overall state of the body and how much work had to be done on the joints. If anyone has a suggestion for an easy fix though I’m all ears.

[65 Cobra Dude]

Two options that I can think of, there may be others - leave it alone, there will be more and it's just the gelcoat. Second option is to buy the gelcoat repair kit from FFR or another source. I wouldn't worry about it myself.

Henry

[edwardb]

Congratulations on your delivery. Now the fun begins. I understand how damage is disappointing. But I agree with Henry. Don't worry about it. Very routine to repair while doing body work. BTW, mold parting lines. Not seams. There are no seams in the body. It's a one-piece layup.

[iconicflux]

Congratulations on your delivery. Now the fun begins. I understand how damage is disappointing. But I agree with Henry. Don't worry about it. Very routine to repair while doing body work. BTW, mold parting lines. Not seams. There are no seams in the body. It's a one-piece layup.

I'm going to do what y'all say and just leave it alone.

You're right that it's the mold parting lines, I just wasn't sure what to call it.

I have some work to do today to make the body buck. I had planned on hanging it in my garage on kayak hangers but it turns out the measurements just wont fit right because of a beam I put in making an extension to the garage.

[iconicflux]

Got the body buck built and then realized it was 3" too high so I shortened it which was fortunately fairly easy to do. Would have been an absolute PITA if I hadn't left the bottom of the legs unglued though. Why 3" too high?

Well... besides the fact that it was at 45" instead of 42" high with the wheels it was only 5" to the top of the garage door. I did some measurements and figured out that 8" is far better than 5" of clearance.

Tomorrow I'll be lowering the whole thing down on the jack stands so there's no risk of it touching the buck when I'm rolling over the car.

I'm thinking about putting one more 2x4 across either side of the buck so I can use the foam tubes for creating a bumper to help guide it as it slides over the car without much of a risk of any scratches.

[ggunter]

Congratulations on your MKIV. It is an exciting day when it is in your garage. Don't sweat the scratches as the entire body needs to be body worked anyway. Just some Rage filler and sand it off.

[gbranham]

Congrats! I took delivery of my Complete Kit in July of this year. Also doing a Coyote setup, and want to employ lots of tech in my build. I want to do an LCD dash, and do away with all analog gauges.

I also made my body buck a few inches too tall to roll out of the garage, and had to shorten the legs by 4 inches. I feel your pain!

[iconicflux]

Got the aluminum removed from the car and have begun to follow the assembly directions. Right now only the 2 f panels added to it and tonight I’ll be working on assembling the suspension.

[iconicflux]

The front suspension is assembled. The rear suspension has the a-arms and toe arms on it.

I'll have to revisit the top castle nut on the front right side. I suspect it's not quite right and that's affecting the ability turn the rotor/hubs as easily as I'd like.