The Baroness: MkIV Roadster Build Thread

[Pmieras]

It’s today, it’s today, it’s today.

Best St. Patty’s day surprise ever. Kit gets delivered today between 9AM and 10AM.

First post of the build thread and I’m excited as hell to get started. Let the mayhem begin.
Actually it started a while ago with the motor build.

I’ll be documenting the process on the YouTube as well. You can check out the start of the channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ZfA6svVApuwxab

I will try to do my best to take some pics as well.

Some of the details are as follows:
MkIV complete kit
408 LS stroker built by me (you can check out the that build here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...eYvj5K2kgr4Ct_
TKX transmission from Forte
Wilwood brakes
IRS

[gburchett]

Congrats!!! Looking forward to following your work.

[M. Townsend]

Just watched your LS build. Looking forward to seeing the car build too! Great work on the engine and I am sure the car will be just as well done.

[Pmieras]

My kit arrived
Super exciting day. Got the call early evening the day before (Mark was my driver). Setup a delivery window and I went off and had a long night of anticipation.
Bunch of friends and family were just as eager, so we setup to have multiple cameras present to capture the moment.

The morning of, I sent my son up the road to be a lookout and my neighbor got a drone up. All of us waiting. I could hardly contain my excitement.

Anyways here's a link to the vid. I had so much footage to scrub through. Have to trim a lot of fat to keep the video around 9 mins.



Mark was awesome. He made it more than just a delivery. He made it an experience to remember.
We talked about the kit. Showed him the motor. Just an awesome time.

He was never in a rush. Just a great guy.

Lots of boxes to go through

[Fman]

Congratulations, great day when the FFR trucks rolls up to your house. Your engine looks great! Enjoy the build, awesome journey ahead for you.

[BRRT]

Congratulations from a fellow LS builder! I always enjoy seeing the delivery day videos, it brings back the excitement of my delivery day. Mark was also my delivery driver - what a great dude!
Enjoy the build! I dropped my LS3/TKX in the chassis a couple weeks ago for test fitting. A lot of room around the engine.

[cv2065]

Loved the video and congrats!!

[Pmieras]

I got through the inventory of parts in less than a day which was surprising.
Everything for the most part was there which is a testament to FFR packaging. I didn't experience any supply issues left over from the pandemic. Nothing like what I had to wait for when I was building the motor.

Finished up the body buck and got all the aluminum panels off. Exciting stuff.

I'm really leaning towards Cerakoting a lot of the aluminum panels, just not looking forward to the time it's going to take to do it. Overall I think I'll be happier if I do it. But this might open the door to needing to coat a lot more parts as they go in.

I'm really impressed with the Cerakote that I put on the motor as far as durability. Hoisting the motor with chains didn't produce any scratches and nothing seems to stick to it. Not even tape.

I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a lot of sand blasting for the Cerakote. I'll show my cheap / DIY blasting cabinet which is just a Harbour Freight portable media blaster and a cheap tent.

[BRRT]

A couple things to check:

1.) When my kit was delivered FFR had an issue in their system and failed to include the Energy Suspension rear transmission mount. A couple emails and they sent it.
2.) The FFR order system decided a LS/TKX/IRS configuration required driveshaft #16038, which is way too short. The correct driveshaft is #60175. Once again, FFR made right after an email.

Enjoy the build!

[gbranham]

A couple things to check:

1.) When my kit was delivered FFR had an issue in their system and failed to include the Energy Suspension rear transmission mount. A couple emails and they sent it.
2.) The FFR order system decided a LS/TKX/IRS configuration required driveshaft #16038, which is way too short. The correct driveshaft is #60175. Once again, FFR made right after an email.

Enjoy the build!

Ditto on the driveshaft snafu, but not with an LS engine. I am Gen3 Coyote/TKX/IRS, and they got that wrong, too. Did the same thing to another customer around the same time as me with the same engine/trans/rear end config. It's a head scratcher.

[Pmieras]

A couple things to check:

1.) When my kit was delivered FFR had an issue in their system and failed to include the Energy Suspension rear transmission mount. A couple emails and they sent it.
2.) The FFR order system decided a LS/TKX/IRS configuration required driveshaft #16038, which is way too short. The correct driveshaft is #60175. Once again, FFR made right after an email.

Enjoy the build!

Good to know. I'll check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

I remember asking them during the order process about the drive shaft specifically cause the order form doesn't really cover it (at least in regards for a LS based power plant).

I checked my notes I took during the conversation when ordering the kit and looks like I requested the #60175 driveshaft as they recommended at the time. I'll check the part itself as well to confirm.

[Pmieras]

The kit has been fully disassembled and the build has started. She's starting to go together.

Slowly but surely. I think I bit off more than I chew with the Cerakote option. Tons of work, but I think it will be worth it.
Learned somethin about Cerakote "C" series. 1 day after application, I was able to scratch the coating (with effort) to make marks for cutting. After a full 5-7 days of full cure, it's significantly more durable.
I used Cerakote on my engine build and where the hoist chain made contact with the heads, not a mark.

I sand blasted for 2 days before I said that's enough for now. Able to finish all the non-boxed aluminum panels that I want to coat.
Wiped out my air compressor and had to replace after day 1. It served me well over the years with a lot of abuse. Still need to have a semi-portable air compressor or I would have gone with a large 60 gallon compressor or bigger.

I probably won't video much more of the Cerakoting other than some significant stuff, like possibly the side pipes, roll bars (if I don't change my mind), we'll see.



Front suspension components next...

[M. Townsend]

Don't think I would call your tent a redneck solution. Definitely a step above my duct tape, hangers and plastic sheet. Your attention to detail will pay off... going to be a really nice build.

[twatson799]

Looking good. I am about a month behind you. My kit gets delivered this Saturday. I am looking into the Cerakote option. Any issues with paint chipping when you drill holes?

[Pmieras]

Looking good. I am about a month behind you. My kit gets delivered this Saturday. I am looking into the Cerakote option. Any issues with paint chipping when you drill holes?

No chipping so far. I ended up mounting the F-panels about a day after I coated them so they weren't fully cured yet. I was able to scratch them when I scribed to mark it to fit a little better on the top edge.
Once fully cured we'll see.
On the motor, I found the cerakote to be very durable. Nothing stuck to it. It didn't scratch when the hoist chain was rubbing against it, which might be a problem with the silicon on the panels to the rest of the body.

[Pmieras]

Front suspension goes on.

I checked the fit of the upper control arm ball joints during inventory and ran into the "not wanting to thread all the way in" issue some have ran across.
I ended up ordering Howe racing ball joints and they threaded in no problem. Caught it early so it didn't slow me down any.

I also had to shorted the one side of the upper control arm sleeve and rods to get enough adjustment for the initial alignment. Ended up using an angle grinder and file to clean things up.

[Pmieras]

Front brakes go on.
Spend some time installing the safety wire and sorting that out.
It's been a really long time since I've had to use safety wire.

Really like the pop of red



Next thing to tackle is the rear brakes

[Pmieras]

Mentioned in the last post the rear brakes were next. That will be after the rear suspension goes in. Independent Rear Suspension not the Internal Revenue Service

Only issue at the time of recording was I was missing half of the mis-alignment bushings as part of the MIK list.
FFR got them out to me really quick though.



Now the rear brakes can go on...

[craig6990]

Can't wait for the next post! I am at the same point in my build. The videos are terrific!

Craig M

[Pmieras]

I just finished installing the shocks and happened to be lurking on the forum and ran across a thread about the adjustment for the rebound on the shocks.
This got me thinking... are mine setup right? What if one, or some of them are set at different settings?

Well, I dig into it just to make sure and for the peace of mind.
1 out of the 4 was setup at a different setting than the other 3. Drivers side rear was at "1" and all the others were at "0."
I don't think this is really a big deal, unless possibly in the front if one is setup different than the other. Maybe it can induce a bump steer or something else, I'm not sure.
Important thing is now they are all the same and not difficult to check and change if the occasion should present itself.

Found some good directions on the adjustment and went ahead and shot some video which I'll attach below.





KONI Documentation on the adjustment process
https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthA...stment-Guides/

[Pmieras]

Can't wait for the next post! I am at the same point in my build. The videos are terrific!

Craig M

Thanks for the kind words. Glad they are helpful. Check your shocks if you got the KONI's before you install them. There's a rebound setting. See the info above.
I had to pull my shocks to check them.

[craig6990]

Checked mine before the install. I guess that is what comes from scouring the forum for info!!

[Pmieras]

Checked mine before the install. I guess that is what comes from scouring the forum for info!!

Absolutely... I'm constantly lurking to see if there's anything value added I can say to help someone with a question as well as getting ideas and tips from other builds.
I've built a folder full of reference pics of various little things people have documented in how they addressed something with their build.
I have folders for brake lines, steering, suspension, etc to make it easy to find.

[Pmieras]

Rear brakes go on. Lots of trial and error with the shims



Next up i think is the pedal assembly

[Pmieras]

Pedal Assembly goes in, minus the lines

The video's are a little behind from the actual build due to the time it takes to edit as I'm working on installing some of the panels now.
Have a problem I'm going to have to sort out with the throttle pedal. It basically interferes with the side of the firewall at the start of the transmission tunnel.

I think I need to swap the pedal to the other side of the mount... We'll see

[Pmieras]

Some of the steering components go on.
I opt to use the breeze offset bushings. A little confusion on the install, but I finally sort it out.
Should have read the directions more thoroughly. LOL

It's a tight fit but fits nice.