A Slow (But Hopefully Steady) Build in DFW

[utchaz]

I’ve been lurking on this forum and others for many years while dreaming of building a roadster of my own. Lack of time and money and other life circumstances made it always “something for the future”. However, with the fortune of enough of the latter and the desire to have the build experience while my kids are still in the house, I decided to pull the trigger on ordering a kit this past summer, fortunately with the full blessing from the better half.

I started by attending the build school last July and highly recommend it for the confidence boost, helpful hints, and a general good time. I’m far from a professional mechanic, but have an engineering background and a DIY attitude, so I’m looking forward to tackling this project. I’m expecting the build experience to be just as enjoyable (if not more so) than driving the finished product.

I placed my kit order in August and took delivery just after Thanksgiving, giving me plenty of nesting time to get the garage cleaned out and sorted. It's amazing how many "I'll never know when I'll need this..." items are never ever needed.

I ordered the MKIV complete kit with the following options:

• IRS
• Power Steering
• Powder Coated Frame
• Hydraulic Clutch
• GPS Gauges
• Halibrand 17” Wheels

My plan is to get much of the kit build complete before ordering the engine. I’m currently thinking a blueprint 347 EFI with TKX and targeting this summer for that order, but may change my source. As expressed in my title I’m planning on taking my time with the build, but hoping to keep a steady pace around all of life’s other commitments.

I tend to overthink and plan things, so I’ll have to get out of my own way at times. A current example of this is deciding how I with to prep my aluminum panels. I had thought I’d get them powder coated or possibly clear anodized, but now considering the Sharkhide method I’ve seen posted a number of times here. I’d be happy to hear anyone else’s thoughts on what they’ve done and liked. I know it matters little in the long run, but want to make the decisions that I’ll be happy with long term.

Documentation (even in my day job) has never been my strong suit (hence taking nearly 2 months to start this thread), but I’m hoping to hold myself accountable to documenting this build and look forward to making some connections here as well.

Thank you to everyone that I’ve read and learned from in the past and I’m hoping I can make some contributions to future builders as well by sharing my experiences.
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[utchaz]

Delivery was quick and easy with very little backordered—just the wiring harness and rollbars. I plowed through inventory and only found a few random parts missing. This was mainly missing a small number of assorted fasteners. Factory Five got the missing parts sent back out to me within a week.

Next step was figuring out how I wanted to store the body. I had planned on suspending from the garage ceiling, but wanted to wait until I had the car in the space to determine for sure where the best fit would be. I built a buck out of scrap wood I had from previous projects and used two kayak lifts to suspend the body, doors, hood, and trunk on the ceiling and out of the way.

Now I can get to work!
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[utchaz]

With the body now off, I took a ton of photos of the chassis, scribed all the aluminum with a Sharpie, and removed each panel. I drilled and cleco’d the F-panels and started drilling some of the cockpit aluminum. I’ll probably tackle the aluminum prep in spurts while working on suspension and other items as well.

I need to make a final call on powdercoat/anodize vs Sharkhide treatment soon as I need to rivet the F-panels on before final assembly of the front suspension.

[utchaz]

I attached the front lower control arms after grooving the outside of the rubber bushings with a hacksaw per build school advice. Passenger side rear took both washers, but driver side only required one do to slightly different gap sizes on the frame.
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[utchaz]

Started assembly of the front coil-overs and upper control arms. Since I'm running power steering, I believe I'm going to need to trim the sleeves and bolts on the rear adjuster to be able to get to the suggested 7.35" adjustment. Any thoughts on best practice here? I'm thinking of just using a cutting wheel on my dremel.

[cc2Arider]

When you're pretty close to the trimmed length of the Al adjustment sleeve, slow down and make sure it is orthogonal with the jam nuts. Since you're an Engineer, you probably were going to do this anyway

Others have various tips, and some who have a lathe will do this for you as a community favor/courtesy

Good Luck!

Craig C

[utchaz]

Thanks, Craig! Yep, it's measure twice, contemplate for a week, measure again, and then maybe cut. That said, some others have said the rough geometry in the manual may be off, so I'll probably move forward without any cuts until a proper alignment is possible.

[Mike.Bray]

Welcome to the fun! There's quite a few of us here in the DFW area so lots of help is available if you need it.

I had my panels clear anodized and I'm happy with them. TPW Metal Finishing in Grand Prairie is a very good anodize shop. The panels are made from a 6XXX series of aluminum which anodizes well. One option you could consider is clear or color anodize and then Bright Dip them which is basically a chemical polishing. You get the nice finish of anodizing but the beautiful gloss look of paint or powdercoat. Irving Metal Finishers does anodizing and Bright Dip.

Mike

[Mike.Bray]

Started assembly of the front coil-overs and upper control arms. Since I'm running power steering, I believe I'm going to need to trim the sleeves and bolts on the rear adjuster to be able to get to the suggested 7.35" adjustment. Any thoughts on best practice here? I'm thinking of just using a cutting wheel on my dremel.

The sleeves are aluminum so you can cut them with a chop saw or a table saw. Just need a carbide tipped blade and go slow & steady. You won't get a very good cut with a cutoff wheel, I wouldn't go down that road.

[utchaz]

Finally had a weekend healthy and at home, so got to spend some time in the garage with the beautiful weather. I managed to get the majority of the cockpit aluminum fitted and drilled. It's amazing how nerve wrecking those first holes are compared to the 272nd! Everything went together quite well except the inside wall to the driver's footbox. I'll need to spend a bit more time massaging those parts by adjusting some of the bends and possibly trimming the inside tab that meets the A frame piece as the tab is much too wide at the moment. Has anyone else encountered an issue with this piece not fitting well? It was quite off at delivery with the temp screws as well.

[F500guy]

I had to trim and message that side a bit, Passenger side fit well, driver side not so much and the attachment screws on front driver side panel were off and I had to add extra rivets to cover the holes.

[cc2Arider]

Me too!

I really like your observation that drilling into the frame was nerve wracking at first, but it gets much better over time

My inside vertical Driver's side panel also needed adjustment. Mine was essentially bnent "too much" and I had to relax the bends a little. You're already finding out that "the driver's panel bone connects to the A-panel bone, which connects to the..."

Good Luck!

Craig C