Mk4 #7750 Build Progress Update

[edwardb]

In early September of this year, I purchased Mk4 #7750 from GT-Tom in NH. He picked it up at FFR earlier this year, and installed suspension parts but not too much more. I'm not planning to do a full build thread (I'm just too slow) but thought I would post some progress to date.

The build plan includes decisions that were already made by Tom -- 17 inch FFR wheels, Wilwood brakes and pedal box, FFR spindles, Levy 5-link rear suspension, 3.73 diff, hydroboost, Ron Francis wiring, black powder coat chassis.

While I'm still finalizing, balance of build plan includes 347 stroker (probably), Levy Racing T-5 (again, probably), Mustang tank, mechanical fuel pump, AFCO radiator and Breeze shroud, Freddie's power steering also powering the hydroboost brakes, no heat or AC just heated seats, competition dash layout, Alex's glove box and dash vinyl, Breeze front battery mount (if I can get it to play nice with the electric PS pump), GAS-N side pipes, Breeze roll bar, chrome QJ's, hydraulic actuated clutch, mechanical throttle linkage, Russ Thompson turn signal, and expanded PS footbox. That's enough detail for now. The car will be similar to my Mk3, e.g. only driven for street and general cruising.

Color is still not decided, and at the speed I build, won't have to decide for awhile. But I did decide to do a black "theme" for the rest of the chassis, including all the aluminum. Had about 25 pieces powder coated gloss black in the first group, and most are installed. Will do the rest after they're fitted.

First business was to build a body buck to fit over the chassis. The new profile on the other forum for the Mk4 fit the back perfectly. You can see #5125 Mk3 still in the garage. I had planned to put it in storage for the winter by now, but we keep having these nice weather days, even in November. Supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow. I just don't have the heart to put it away.



Looks like this as of this morning:



Front suspension. In preparation for power steering and increased caster, I replaced the UCA front linkage tubes with AFCO 5 inch tubes from Summit. In the process, found the supplied rear tubes were either cross-threaded or galled, so I replaced those with AFCO 4 inch tubes after chasing the threads. Had to buy 5/8"-18 RH and LH dies.



Breeze 3-turn Unisteer PS rack, with FFR rack extenders, Breeze extended boots, Moog tie rod ends, and Breeze offset bushings:

[edwardb]

This is a close-up of the fairly new FFR spindles. Hope they're as good as promised. So far I'm impressed. At full suspension droop, the wheels toe in just slightly. The SN-95's in my Mk3 in this position are turned in a bunch.



Already installed 7/16 couplers for the rear Q-J's. Hopefully will keep from having to drop the tank after installed:



Wilwood pedal box set up with master cylinder for clutch actuation. Also can see the hydroboost setup (Forte's). Leaving the top and side pieces of the footbox off for now:



Finished installing the Russ Thompson turn signal and steering column this morning. (Yes I know I have to take the wheel and turn signal off to install the dash):



Pedal set-up so far. Forte's AC style pedals for Wilwood. Nice pieces. Will install dead pedal when final positions are determined:



Expanded PS footbox. Used the patterns found on the other forum and my cheap little HF brake. Worked out pretty well. Literally twice as wide at the back as the standard PS footbox in my Mk3. My wife is happy. I'm committed to a small block now.

[edwardb]

Cockpit so far. .090 firewall from FFMetals. Also used their PS F-panel piece (no radiator hose hole) and front DS footbox piece (no holes). Just starting to fit floor and back wall pieces:



Rear suspension and rear Wilwood brakes. Pretty normal.



Levy 5-link as installed by Tom. It's a beautiful thing.



Thought I would throw this in. Bought this Campbell Hausfeld air riveter at our local tool store. It works fantastic. BTW, using black and natural color Ultimate rivets from Summit. I really like how they work.

[WIS89]

Edward-

Some really terrific progress. I must say that I really like the contrast between the powder coated black aluminum and red suspension parts... Very cool!

Keep us updated if you like. It looks like its going to be a nice build. Best of luck!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Regards,
Steve

[riptide motorsport]

Very nice!!1

[Racer 28]

Looking good, Love the Black panels.

[jlfernan]

Looks good! Love the rear end.

[edwardb]

Might as well turn this thread into a build log, even though I may not update too frequently since I’m a pretty slow builder. Since the last update, sorted out the fuel tank, radiator mounting, and e-brake. Also cut and installed the radiator fan shroud. Also spent a lot of time researching and ordering my engine.

But the last few weeks I’ve been focused on fuel and brake lines. Kind of the usual scope creep, at least for me… I wanted to use stainless lines. After reading all the horror stories and trying my cheap little flaring tool, ordered and received the Eastwood vise mounted flaring tool. Great decision, more later. Also upgraded my tube bending tools with a couple new items. Then once I started working on installation, decided I didn’t really want to use the little padded clamps, so got several different clip types as seen in the pictures. All the clips are installed with 10-32 screws, either with tapped threads in the main chassis tubes or rivnuts.

This was my first time doing an all-up installation. On my Mk3, most of the lines were already run by the original builder. I just had to make a few for the PB install. So I was definitely learning as I went here, and practiced a lot on the supplied steel tubing from FFR. Most of the pieces I got just the way I wanted, and then duplicated in the stainless. This was slow, but worked OK.

Couple of design objectives. Determined early on I wanted to use 3/8 fuel line. The build is a mechanical fuel pump and carb, so no return line required. Also wanted to keep the area just in front of the MC (rear part of the DS F panel) as open as possible because my PS reservoir and hoses will fill that area. I’m very fortunate to live about 15 miles from Inline Tube, so bought the lines, tube nuts, tees and some of the clips from them. By picking up in person, I was able to fit the tubing in our SUV with minimal bending.

What worked:
- The flare tool from Eastwood is amazing. Absolutely perfect flares every single time. Totally takes the stress from that aspect. I had one bad flare through the entire time, and it was my fault. I didn’t have the tube in the die flush to the front, so the folded over double flare portion was only about half the normal width. Cut it off and made another.
- The stainless tubing from Inline is a little harder to work with than the plain steel (as supplied by FFR) but not too bad. Most bends were with tubing benders. I did make a couple of the larger bends around 2 and 3 inch sanding drums in my bench vise, and that worked OK too.

What didn’t work:
- I had originally planned for the 3/8 fuel line and the front to rear brake line would be one piece. What was I thinking??? Even if I could bend perfectly, couldn’t have fit into the chassis with bends on both ends. I ended up with a union for the fuel line by the rear DS wheel, and a union for the brake line by the front DS wheel.
- The pinch type brake line forming tool was basically not useable. At least for me. I don’t know if it was the stainless lines or just my technique, but it just didn’t work well. I barely used it.
- I muscled through the 3/8 tubing bends, but it was about all my office hardened muscles could manage. Next time I will try to find a bender with longer handles.

Following posts with pictures.

[edwardb]

DS front showing hook-ups to MC and front tee:


Closer picture of the MC. CNC reservoirs are only in their approximate position. Just need to make sure I kept some clearance.


Front cross-over. This location worked really well.


Fuel hook-up at engine compartment. Also can see the rear brake line.


Union for front to rear brake line.


Fuel and brake line going to back. Used double clips from Inline. Perfect.

[edwardb]

One more of lines on 4 inch chassis tube, at rear:


DS rear corner, including union for fuel line:


Fuel line end at tank location:


Routing and mounting location for e-brake cables.


PS rear:


PS front:

[CraigS]

Progress is looking great. I noticed your comment about being commited to a small block. Just wanted to remind you a small block CAN be 427 cid!!!

[edwardb]

Progress is looking great. I noticed your comment about being committed to a small block. Just wanted to remind you a small block CAN be 427 cid!!!

Thanks for the compliment. My engine choice is done. Deposit made on a DART based 347 stroker.

[Scott Zackowski]

edwardb,

Great work and great pictures!

I have a few questions about working with Stainless line.

I have been struggling with getting double flares in my 3/8 inch SS Fuel line. I bought 3/8 inch Stainless line (20 ft coil) from Summit just to experiment with bending and flaring. Eventually I am planing on using straight line from Inline Tube or Classic Tube and bending it my self. Currently, I am using Eastwood's Flaring Tool #25304. The one that is vise mounted with rotating dies and 12 inch handle. I am having trouble with the 3/8 tube slipping in the die and ending up with only single flares. The tool works better with metal small caliber brake lines. I have taken a look at Inline Tubes web site and technical suggestion for flaring Stainless tube and have tried filing a 45 degree edge on the outside and chamfering the inside end of the tube. Still no consistent success!

What Eastwood tool are you using?
Any trade secrets or hints on double flaring Stainless Steel (SS) line?
Is it possible with Inline Tube being annealed that it flares easier? I think Summits brand is the same. It is 304 Stainless.
It looks like you used Stainless fittings on the brake and fuel lines (mostly)?

Any and all suggestions welcome!
I really want to use Stainless lines for both fuel and brake lines.

Additional Info:
My master plan is to fabricate 3/8 inch SS fuel line from my fuel pre-filter to Electric Fuel Pump (located in PS rear wheel well area) and then single piece of line running from the Fuel Pump to engine compartment, down the outside of the PS round 4 inch tube. Doing a carbureted electric fuel pump set up (no fuel return line required).
MK4 Roadster #7304. Start: 1/2011 (taking longer than expected but enjoying every minute). Complete Kit, Ford Racing Small Block 427 (351W Boss with X heads).

[edwardb]

All the flares for the work I posted here were done with Eastwood's Flaring Tool #25304, same as you mentioned. I noticed the tube would slip in the die too unless you really clamp it down. I used the following process: Set the lower half of the split die into the tool. Then lay the tubing in place with the end sticking out a little. Then set the upper half of the split die in place. Then rotate the clamping assembly over and latch, the lightly tighten the screw. Then use the flat die from the turret to press the line flush with the upper and lower dies and push everything to the back of the fixture. Then really tighten the screw. I mean really tight. It shouldn't move. Then use the two-step process to make the flares. When you pull the handle to make the flares, go until it stops, but don't overdue it. With this or any other flaring tool it's possible to crack the tubing if you apply too much pressure. Couple other hints. Use a cut-off wheel (I used a Dremel) or a hack saw. Don't use a tubing cutter as it can work harden the stainless. Make sure the cut-off is dead square. I trued mine up by just touching on a disk sander being very careful to not overheat. Put a slight chamfer on the outside of the tube. I usually did this by lightly spinning against the 1 inch belt sander portion of the sander. For big pieces where this wasn't possible, just used a file. Doesn't have to be extreme. Then ream the inside of the hole with a deburring tool, knife, whatever. Finally, make sure to put a little oil on the turret dies before pressing in to make the flare. I found this made a big difference. I too experimented and practiced quite a bit. Like I said in the write-up, once I officially started, I had one bad flare the entire time, and it was my fault because I didn't position the tubing in the split dies correctly.

Yes all my materials and parts were from Inline Tube, including the stainless tube nuts. When I talked to them, they assured me their stainless was almost the same for bending and flaring as regular steel. They say the same thing on their website. I practiced quite a bit with the regular steel brake lines from FFR. I have to say they were a bit softer to bend and flare than the stainless brake lines, but not that much.

Tonight I quickly snapped a couple pictures of a practice piece of 3/8 stainless fuel line. You can see the double flare portion is perfect, and the overall shape is perfect. The dies put a little bit of a texture on the stainless when it's clamped in. You can barely see it normally. The flash makes it look much more pronounced than it really is.

edwardb,

Great work and great pictures!

I have a few questions about working with Stainless line.

I have been struggling with getting double flares in my 3/8 inch SS Fuel line. I bought 3/8 inch Stainless line (20 ft coil) from Summit just to experiment with bending and flaring. Eventually I am planing on using straight line from Inline Tube or Classic Tube and bending it my self. Currently, I am using Eastwood's Flaring Tool #25304. The one that is vise mounted with rotating dies and 12 inch handle. I am having trouble with the 3/8 tube slipping in the die and ending up with only single flares. The tool works better with metal small caliber brake lines. I have taken a look at Inline Tubes web site and technical suggestion for flaring Stainless tube and have tried filing a 45 degree edge on the outside and chamfering the inside end of the tube. Still no consistent success!

What Eastwood tool are you using?
Any trade secrets or hints on double flaring Stainless Steel (SS) line?
Is it possible with Inline Tube being annealed that it flares easier? I think Summits brand is the same. It is 304 Stainless.
It looks like you used Stainless fittings on the brake and fuel lines (mostly)?

Any and all suggestions welcome!
I really want to use Stainless lines for both fuel and brake lines.

Additional Info:
My master plan is to fabricate 3/8 inch SS fuel line from my fuel pre-filter to Electric Fuel Pump (located in PS rear wheel well area) and then single piece of line running from the Fuel Pump to engine compartment, down the outside of the PS round 4 inch tube. Doing a carbureted electric fuel pump set up (no fuel return line required).
MK4 Roadster #7304. Start: 1/2011 (taking longer than expected but enjoying every minute). Complete Kit, Ford Racing Small Block 427 (351W Boss with X heads).

[Scott Zackowski]

Thanks for the info!

I was only able to get one decent flare with my technique. However, I was using a tube cutter, was fear full of cracking the die by over tightening the C-clamp, and was applying WD-40 to the end of the tube. I hadn't figured on the "Heat Effect" making the Stainless harder.

I will head back to the Workbench and give your technique a go. Since we are using the same Eastwood Tool success should be obtainable.


Thanks for the help!

[edwardb]

Thanks for the info!

I was only able to get one decent flare with my technique. However, I was using a tube cutter, was fear full of cracking the die by over tightening the C-clamp, and was applying WD-40 to the end of the tube. I hadn't figured on the "Heat Effect" making the Stainless harder.

I will head back to the Workbench and give your technique a go. Since we are using the same Eastwood Tool success should be obtainable.

Thanks for the help!

I really don't think you can crack the die with the clamp. The threads aren't that big. I tighten it about as much as I can. If you aren't seeing at least a little bit of marking from the die I doubt you are getting it tight enough. The first couple I practiced with slipped as well, until I muscled up a little. And definitely use something beside WD-40. I used some air tool oil because it happened to be there at my bench. I've seen instructions suggesting using brake fluid. That's probably not a bad idea either. But something with more body than WD-40.

[Scott Zackowski]

Thanks,

I haven't had a chance to try your suggestions out, but its gives me hope.

I will let you know how it goes.


SWZ

[edwardb]

I've been updating this build thread over on the other forum, but not here. I'll catch this thread up and try to remember to update both. I know some folks don't visit both forums.

Update: All done. Mostly just cut & paste, with a couple edits because of the seven picture per post limit in this forum. Enjoy!

[edwardb]

It's been some weeks since I've posted any progress pics. Having to work for a living, multiple business trips, etc. sure get in the way of my build. Last night I finished up the last of the aluminum panel fitting, drilling, etc. Early in this thread I posted pictures of the completed foot boxes, firewall, F-panels, etc. Now I've been finishing up the cockpit floor, back wall and trunk pieces.

I did two mods in the trunk area. First, made some filler panels for the inside of the upper trunk area. I guess some of the earlier Mk4's had something like this, but none since. I wanted the cleaner look of the filler, plus will be easier to carpet. Second, I tried to use some of the wasted space above the fuel tank. I looked at mods some guys have done (some great ones out there) plus the Dark Water Custom option, but decided to keep it real simple and also didn't want to change any of the existing FFR framework. (I don't weld...). So made this triangular bin that drops into the DS of the trunk. Not planning a lid or anything else. Will be handy to put tools and other small stuff. If you haven't compared the trunks side-by-side between a Mk3 and Mk4, you don't realize how much smaller the Mk4 trunk is. The lower more authentic body shape is nice, but the space has to come from somewhere.

Note that I permanently attached the fuel tank access panels. Simple build here with mechanical pump at the engine. I plan to insulate and carpet the trunk, and really didn't want to mess with keeping these accessible. For the very infrequent time I would need to service something on the top of the tank, I will just drop from the bottom. Not everyone will agree with that choice, but that's what I decided to do.

Tonight everything comes out and sent for powder coating. This weekend I'm planning to tear down the 3.73 diff and replace with 3.27. Another first time adventure.

Here some pictures of the trunk area all mocked up.











Here are the rest of the parts all ready to take to powder coating. I'm doing the fuel tank as well.

[edwardb]

When I bought the Mk4, it already had a 3.73 solid axle installed. After a lot of studying and forum searching, determined that 3.27 would be much better for my engine/trans combination. Even though I've never done this before, decided to try to do the gear swap myself, and leave the axle in the chassis. With the help of forum member PhoneGuy (Thanks Bob!!!) last Saturday we took everything apart. Confirmed once inside that everything was new, as expected. This meant I didn't have to take the carrier and clutch packs apart. Also confirmed it had Ford parts, so (hopefully) this meant I could re-use the existing shims with the new Ford Racing 3.27 gears. We installed the new ring gear. I didn't have any way to remove the inner pinion bearing, so took to a local shop and for $10 they removed the shim and bearing from the old pinion and pressed on the new one. Put everything back together with a new pinion seal, crush sleeve, and pinion nut. Pinion preload, backlash, and gear mesh pattern all looked good and were within spec. It's all buttoned up and back together. Waiting a couple of days to let the Permatex RTV set up, and will re-fill with Red Line synthetic lube. Interesting and somewhat challenging project. Glad it's done.

Pictures of the adventure:

Old gears:



Empty housing:



Carrier, ring gear and pinions:



Rear cover cleaned up and ready to go back on:



Checking pinion bearing preload:



Checking gear backlash:



Sealed up, and 5-link back in place:

[edwardb]

It's been a couple of weeks. Time for another update. Not huge progress since the last time, but plodding along. I have all the remaining pieces back from powder coat. Started finalizing the trunk area first. Then will do the remainder of the cockpit. It's nearly impossible to put the rivets in some of the trunk floor with the back cockpit wall in. The black powder coat is very cool in person. But sure doesn't take very good pictures. At least with my camera.

First though, I mounted the fan on the Breeze shroud, then to the FFR Afco radiator, and then mounted the assembly in the chassis. Wrapped some neoprene around the upper mounts before mounting to give it a little bit of vibration resistance.



Used the Breeze lower radiator mount. Slick setup.



I mounted a small cooler on the side of the shroud. Will use this for the PS/PB circuit. Maybe not needed for how I'll use the car, but it was a simple add.



Put some of the trunk pieces in permanently, but then decided to install the rear wiring harness and check the gas tank fit before the last floor piece is installed. I dieted out the fuel pump hookup (mechanical pump at the engine) and shortened the tank sending harness so there's not so much wire flopping around back there. Also added a wire in the loom for a trunk courtesy light.





You can see my shiny new Nitto tires in a couple of these pictures. Now ready to finalize the trunk aluminum, and then the cockpit aluminum. Next steps will be insulation and wiring. My short block is supposed to be done this month. So if that is delivered, will be easy to get distracted to some engine building.

Still having fun!

[edwardb]

Haven't posted for a while, but making quite a bit of progress. Aluminum panels, gas tank, front battery mount, etc. But today I picked up my short block, so have to post a quick picture and explanation. Last year when I bought 7750, decided I wanted to do a 347 stroker. Ended up doing a DART SHP based 347 through FordStrokers in the Chicago area. Today I drove over and back and picked it up. Details: Dart SHP 4 Bolt Main Block, Scat forged crank and H beam rods, Wiseco forged pistons, COMP Cams hydraulic roller custom billet cam, and Moroso pan. Picture is exactly how it looks after pickup. I'll be adding AFR 185 heads, COMP Cams lifters and rockers, Edelbrock AirGap intake, Quick Fuel SS-750 double pumper carb, and MSD ignition. Will have a Quick Time bell housing and TKO600 trans. Should be a very strong and bullet proof setup.

Picture's a little cluttered, but I'm too tired to arrange a nice pose.

[edwardb]

Here are some updates since the last time I posted.

Installed the Breeze engine compartment battery mounting kit and Optima battery. Went in exactly per Mark’s instructions. Can’t see too much here, but I had the box and mounting brackets powder coated.



Finished installing all the aluminum panels. Only thing left are the pieces installed after the body is on. Unfortunately, most of the nice shiny black powder coating seen here will be covered with insulation and carpet. But the undersides are also done, so all good. My powder coater quoted the same price (quite reasonable I think) for both sides vs. selected sides, so that’s what we did.

Trunk area:





Cockpit area:

[edwardb]

Installed the fuel tank. Also had that powder coated. It’s a brand new tank. Didn’t use the plastic cover. This is exactly the same setup I used on my Mk3. Looks clean and no issues. Not planning any off-road action, so feel perfectly safe without the cover.

Note I installed the rear wiring harness before final installation of the cockpit panels, trunk panels and tank. I have the loose ends temporarily tie wrapped to the rear quick jack mounts to get out of the way and keep from dangling.





This is my fuel line hook-up. Breeze 3/8 inch SS pickup, Swagelok connector, -6AN hose to 3/8 SS hard line up to the engine compartment.

[edwardb]

This is another idea I copied from my Mk3 build. Most indoor shows require a locking gas cap. I couldn't find a locking cap that I really liked to fit the supplied LeMans cap. (I know, I’m picky.) The locking cap from Breeze is a beautiful piece. So I cut the inlet tube off the LeMans cap, enlarged the hole in the bottom and machined the flange off the inside. The locking cap with inlet tube drops right in like it was made for it.

[edwardb]

Finally, here are a few more pictures of the DART 347 short block picked up last week from FordStrokers. Will be starting some work on that now too. Can’t resist. Started with the ARP 1/2 inch cylinder head studs. First step will be to check piston to valve clearance.

[edwardb]

Time for another update. Took a few days off around the 4th holiday, and reached a couple of major milestones. Finished applying Lizard Skin coating and put it down on the wheels for the first time. Starting to look like something now. I'm going to do a separate "how to" thread on the Lizard Skin application, giving my observations of how it applies, what I learned, etc. I'll just post pictures and captions here in my build thread.

Update: Separate thread done and located here: http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...xperience.html

First sealed all the gaps and openings in the aluminum panels (around seat belt mountings, roll bar stubs, foot boxes along the 4 inch tube, etc.) with aluminum tape and seam sealer. Then roughed up all the surfaces where the Lizard Skin is applied. A little hard to take a DA to my nice powder coat, but there's still plenty showing elsewhere.





Then started the masking. Took almost a day to mask everything. Would have been a little easier if I hadn't already installed the pedal box, but that's OK. Worked out.

[edwardb]

The sound control (SC) product is always applied first. I sprayed the complete cockpit and trunk areas. Then applied the ceramic insulation (CI) product only in the cockpit. Took nearly 2 gallons of each product. That's about the recommended coverage for the SC product. I went a little heavy on the CI product, especially in the foot boxes since that's where it's needed the most. So used a little more than normal.

This is how everything looked when finished and unmasked. I'm really happy and pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. Even though it will all get covered up with carpet. Note I have three pieces that I sprayed separately and aren't installed yet -- the trans tunnel cover, and DS footbox side and top.

[edwardb]

Finally, dropped it off the jack stands for the first time. Did a real fast adjustment on the coilovers so it sat reasonably straight. Then rolled it out onto the driveway for the first time. The nice bright sun helped the Lizard Skin to cure a little faster. Plus it just looks right down low instead of sitting up in the air on stands.

I'm going to take a bit of a break from the chassis and start assembling the engine. I had a little bit of drama and a "learning experience" with the engine build already. Details in the next update.

[edwardb]

Well I still have a ways to go, but thought I would post progress to date with my engine build. Just to refresh memories, bought a 347 Dart based short block with pan from FordStrokers. Looks like this after delivery:



Highlights are Dart SHP block, Scat forged crank and rods, Wiseco forged pistons, Comp Cam custom billet cam, Moroso pan, all ARP hardware. All the good stuff. I’m adding AFR 185 heads, full roller hydraulic Comp cam lifters and rockers, Edelbrock Air Gap intake, Quick Fuel SS-750 DP carb, MSD ignition, Edelbrock water pump, March pulleys, Quick Time bell housing, Ford Racing billet flywheel, and TKO600 trans. Only detail not decided is the clutch, which will be hydraulic from the Wilwood pedal box. This should be a very potent and strong (e.g. I won’t break it) setup.

So first I have to tell a story, hinted at in my last update. Since I was adding the heads myself, figured I should do a valve to piston clearance check. I’m far from an expert, but in this case the couple engines I’ve done before didn’t even include this check. So I did the research, including information from my builder. Knew I needed a solid lifter, and the instructions said to take apart one of my roller lifters and fill with washers to make it a solid. I had no interest in disassembling one of the shiny new lifters (not knowing for sure what was inside, how it went back together, etc.) so I checked and I could get a solid flat tappet lifter for about 1/3 the price of a roller. Thinking I was being real clever to save a few bucks, and the difference in length didn’t matter because of the adjustable pushrod, I went with it. Set up the test, and panic. I was at about .050 vs .080 on the intake, and zero vs. .100 on the exhaust. I tried every method – clay, feeler gauge, dial indicator. Obviously pretty upset at that point because this is not a budget engine and really trying to do everything right. Talked to the engine builder. We exchanged pictures, discussed, etc. Finally took it back and he re-ran the test. Intake and exhaust both had plenty of clearance. Difference? He used a roller lifter. He explained the problem. Look at this picture. What do you see?



On the left is the solid flat tappet lifter. On the right is a roller lifter. The red marking is added (also on the top) to remind it’s a hydraulic modified to be a solid. Note the difference in contact where it meets the cam. Obviously very different. My builder explained that a roller cam is ground differently than a flat tappet cam, and the flat tappet can’t follow the ramp in the roller cam. It just follows across the highest points. As a result, completely wrong valve to piston clearance readings. All you experts out there are probably not surprised and could have saved me a lot of drama. Well, learned something, unfortunately the hard way (again).

[edwardb]

So, moving on, once that was over commenced with starting engine assembly. While I’ve had time over the past couple of days, first installed the harmonic balancer and then used a dial indicator to get TDC on #1 piston and set the timing pointer to zero:



Then prepared for head installation. The Dart block uses 1/2 studs, so installed those, the head gaskets, and dropped the heads on. The Dart block has all blind holes, so no sealer needed for the lower row. Nice. Lubed the stud threads, nuts and washers with ARP assembly lube:



Then out with the torque wrench and stepped through the tightening sequence in three steps, finishing at the prescribed 110 foot pounds. Times 20 that was plenty of pulling for me.



Then setup to get the pushrod length determined. Used #2 cylinder since I still had the checker springs in #1. (More about that later) Used the solid lifter and a checking pushrod, and after a few tries had nicely centered marks. Pushrods came out to be 6.450. Coincidentally (or maybe not) exactly the same size as on my 306.

[edwardb]

I heard that in some setups the Comp Cam Ultra Pro Magnum rockers I'm using can have an interference problem against the poly locks at full lift. So I mocked up the pushrod checking setup on #1 piston and rotated the engine several times. With the checker springs, I could push the rocker down a little all the way around just to make sure there was always enough clearance. All good.

Then check fit the intake manifold, water pump, Cobra Earl water neck and Jegs inlet. Found that I did have an interference issue at the water neck. Don’t know if this is unique to the Edelbrock water pump. But regardless, plenty of material there, and removed enough to have decent clearance. You can see the scooped out area under the water neck.



So, here’s how it looks so far. When the pushrods arrive, will button up the valve train and final install the intake and water pump. Not too much further. Real happy with how it’s turning out.

[edwardb]

Busy week and weekend, but managed to make some more progress on engine assembly.

Soaked the COMP Cam roller lifters in mineral spirits, as directed, lubed the lifters and bores with oil, and the roller ends with COMP Cam Pro Assembly lube, and dropped them in. Then installed the dog bones and spider:



Put ARP assembly lube on the ARP 7/16 rocker arm studs, lined up the guide plates with the pushrods and lifters, and torqued the rocker arm studs to 55 ft. lbs. as specified by ARP. This picture is after completed and the COMP Cams Pro Magnum roller rockers back in place.



Then rolled through all 16 and set the pre-load to 1/2 turn in. I was super careful to have each lifter on the base circle of the cam when set. Then put a good tug on the poly locks.



Valve train all finished! Looks nice. Hate to cover it up.





Then installed the Edelbrock intake manfold gaskets with Edelbrock's Gasgacinch product. Put a bead of Permatex Ultrablack RTV around the front and back of the valley opening, and a light bead around the water passages. Then dropped the intake in place and tightend the nuts using the sequence illustrated in the Air Gap instructions. I didn't use a torque wrench. Just round and round a little tighter each time, and then finally a medium pull with a regular 3/8 socket handle. Note also I didn't use bolts into the aluminum heads. I have studs bottomed out in the heads so every bit of the threads are used and not turned while tightening. Then ARP washers and nuts on the top. Hope to save the threads in the aluminum heads.



Just to wrap the day, went ahead and installed the Edelbrock mechanical fuel pump.



This week I hope to get the water pump and front dress done. Then distributor, coil and spark plug wires and will be near the finish line.

[edwardb]

Another quick update on the engine assembly, and then will get back to the chassis and body. My initial assembly attempt for the front dress didn't go well. Thought I did all my homework, but obviously I didn't. I only have a water pump and alternator to drive, and wanted to use serpentine. Also wanted a lower PS side alternator to stay out of the way of the Cobra Earl thermostat housing and upper radiator hose. The whole story is in this separate thread:

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...alignment.html

This is the final setup, after the right parts were obtained and installed:





Next job was the spark plug wires and wire looms. I used Taylor wires that need to be cut to length and terminated. Also R&M Specialties vertical looms. These are the same ones I used on my Mk3, and I like how they work and look. I temporarily installed the headers so I could fit the dip stick and get the right orientation and loops on the wires at the plugs. Then put the engine at #1 TDC and moved back 12-14 degrees using the timing marks. Then installed the distributor with the rotor pointing about 11:00 for #1. This gives a pretty neat wiring arrangement. Plus orients the cap clips where I can get to them.

Then checking carefully (over and over) to make sure I had the right wires to the right terminals on the cap, temporarily mocked everything up with clothes pins.





Tried to leave enough slack so I could rotate the distributor both directions to fine tune the timing. Then one-by-one cut the wires to length, slid on the boot, and crimped on the terminals. Turned out looking pretty OK:

[edwardb]

This is the final install on each cylinder bank. This was my first time using an aftermarket pan (Moroso) with the dipstick into the rear bump out. This is where the instructions said to install the dipstick. Different (for me) but should work OK. The picture makes the dipstick looks closer to the header tubes than it really is. It's almost exactly centered in the opening, with nearly equal clearance all around. It's a Moroso piece, and installed exactly where they said to. So hopefully it's designed for the heat it will see in that location.





Also I have to report another somewhat expensive lesson learned... I installed an Edelbrock mechanical fuel pump. I ordered the fittings to attach my -6 AN fuel feed, and thought I would go ahead and install them. The inlet from the fuel tank used a straight adapter, so no sweat. The outlet is a 90 degree adapter, to get the fuel line pointed up toward the carb. The Edelbrock instructions very clearly state not to overtighten the connections or you can crack the pump. (You know where this is going...) I put a dab of Teflon paste on the right angle fitting and screwed in. When it started to tighten near where it was pointing up I thought no sweat to go another turn around. Put a wrench on it and didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, but in hindsight I probably was. Sure enough, made a very faint cracking sound and I now had a hairline crack in the bottom of the pump through the fitting threads. The adapter tightens up OK, but there is definitely a hairline crack. I looked at it under magnification, and maybe could get away with JB Welding the fitting in. But just not going to mess with a fuel leak or chance of a major failure, fire, whatever. A $100 fuel pump just isn't worth risking the whole car. Will get another and install (carefully) in the not too distant future.

I'm taking this next week off, and will spent some serious time doing some initial body work (clean up, trim edges, etc.) and fit to the chassis. I want to make sure all my aluminum is fitting OK plus get the location for my dash and several under hood components. I have a blank dash and will be doing a custom cut. Then wiring starts.

[edwardb]

Took a week of vacation this past week, and was able to spend some quality time on the build. My goals for the week were to start work on the body and get an initial fit onto the chassis, and also to finish up the initial engine assembly. Had to work around some rainy days, but pretty much accomplished everything I planned.

First the body. The body was basically untouched since delivery. So, first order of business was to give it a thorough wash down with Duplic-Color grease and wax remover, first with a Scotch-Brite pad and then clean up with rags. Then gave it a bath with Dawn dishwashing detergent, a brush, and a garden hose. Did the body plus all the other pieces (hood, trunk, doors, scoop). I’ll hit it again with Scotch-Brite and Comet Cleanser just to make sure it’s really clean plus dull the gel coat a little when I’m closer to paint time. But it’s clean for now. Next I marked all the edges with some spacers and a Sharpie – wheel wells, hood, trunk and door openings. Then started trimming and sanding. I did the initial knock down with a belt sander and various size drum sanders in a corded hand drill. Also made sure to wear a fiberglass rated mask. Messy. Then finished with 80 grit paper and a foam sanding block. Then trimmed and cleaned around the entire exterior. I did the hood, trunk and door openings with it upright. Flipped it over to do the wheel wells and perimeter. I also block sanded the complete underside, knocking off any loose glass fibers, bumps, etc. Only a few fiberglass splinters in the process (ouch!).

This was my first “up close and personal” look at the Mk4 body compared to the Mk3 body I did the same thing to a Mk3 a couple years ago. My conclusion is that it’s a huge improvement. All the panels match perfectly. Even without trimming the hood and trunk match well. I really struggled with both on the Mk3. The body parting lines all line up very well. I don’t see any areas that will need patching. I had to do some glass and resin repairs in two places on the Mk3 body. Nothing like that here. I had read somewhere that someone thought the Mk4 bodies were thinner than previous marks. I don't see that at all. I really like the wrap-around sill below the door. Not only will that hide the mounting bolts and just make that area look more finished, it adds a little rigidness to the body when handling at this stage. The wheel well openings finish up nice. I was initially a little disappointed with the roll around the rear cockpit. It's undercut on the backside quite a bit. But once I fit the chassis later, I see why it's that way and it looks OK. The roll on the dash area is nice, and also looks good with the chassis in place. So to say I’m pleased is an understatement. I hope this translates into a little cheaper bill from my painter. We’ll see. Here are some pictures of the progress and completed work.

[edwardb]

Next step was to make my first attempt at fitting the body to the nearly completed chassis. Technically, not required to do this yet, because I still have a lot to do before really fitting the body. But I wanted to get an initial read on how everything fit, tire back spacing, centering in the wheel wells. Plus get some measurements for further work including the dash, wire harness at each light corner, and location for the brake and clutch reservoirs. I have hooks in my garage ceiling, and use some locking pulleys (intended for garage bike storage) to raise and lower the body. I used this same setup for my Mk3. It’s a little bit of work, but not too bad. With my pit crew (that would be my wife) we’re getting pretty good at it. The Mk4 body is definitely a little harder to take on and off with the wrap around sills. You have to spring out the body pretty good to clear the sides. But once in place I really like how it fits. I noted two small areas I needed to trim to make it perfect, and good to go. Wheel spacing and centering looks good. I made about two pages of notes of dimensions, etc. Then back off and onto the body buck until going on for real the next time. It does look nice though. Starting to really look like progress.

[edwardb]

Finally, spent some time to finish initial assembly on the engine. I have a couple of small details yet to complete, but this is basically the final product. I am going to get a taller element for the air cleaner. It came with a 2 inch, and a 3 inch will fit under the hood. I found a K&N one that should work. Hopefully that will breathe well enough.

Next step is to lay out the dash, cut out for gauges and switches, and start getting serious about wiring. But first order of business is the Woodward Dream Cruise. Technically, it's a week from today, but things are happening all week. We have our first club event today with high in the 70's and severe blue sky. The Mk3 will be cruising.

[edwardb]

Looks like I’m averaging an update every several weeks. My prediction all along has been a two year build. Next week I will have had the Mk4 for 1 year. Going about right I guess.

Since the last update nothing huge, but some progress. After checking with the body on (last update) I finalized the location of the brake and clutch reservoirs. Turns out the location planned by Tom the original owner was just right. Did a little work on the brackets he already made by changing from rivets to counter-sunk screws. Squared things up a bit, put on a new polish, and mounted. What’s not clear in these pictures is I also installed the hose fittings in the bottom of the reservoirs and top of master cylinder. They’re all 1/8 in. NPT threads. The problem was they only turned in several turns before the taper stopped them. I wasn’t happy with this at all. Only brass fittings and aluminum tanks, and these are (obviously) big time safety related parts. So out came the 1/8 in. NPT tap, and I carefully cut several more turns into the holes. Much better. (Did the same thing on oil and water temp sender fittings for the engine.)





Next thing I worked on was the dash. Again, established the exact position of the dash with the body in place. So now to the dash layout. I like the competition layout better than the standard layout provided by FFR. So I ordered a blank dash. My Mk3 also has the competition layout, but the tach is about half covered by the steering wheel. So I made paper shapes of the various gauges, and played with the layout until I was happy with it. I have an oil temp gauge in addition to the other usual gauges. This is what I came up with. With the seat and steering wheel in place, I can check the sight lines. The tach isn’t completely exposed, but I can see nearly all of it. None of these pictures are the exact driver sight line. You’ll have to take my word for it. That's Alex's glovebox I'm installing as well.







This picture shows the under dash supports I made up. The end ones will have downlights for the footwells. The center one will have two 12v outlets and a place to mount the immobilizer switch and a few other things. Not visible in this picture (partly because all not done yet) are the hidden dash mounts and the .040 backer I’m adding to the main part of the dash. Want it to be a little more solid. Next up is starting to lay in the wiring harness, cut the dash, cover with vinyl, etc. More details later.

[edwardb]

Finally, this week I received my TKO600. So got out the shop crane today to get it out of the box, install the bell housing, and check fit of all related parts. Checked out the Forte hydraulic clutch mechanism, clutch fork, throw-out bearing, flywheel, and McLeod clutch. Everything seems to be perfect. I’ll finalize everything when I take the engine off the stand and mate everything up prior to engine install. Sometime in the next couple months. The clutch fork is just laying in the opening in these pictures, so not lined up exactly with the opening in the bell housing or the slave cylinder. Not to worry. Everything lines up fine when actually installed.

Note my TKO600 is from a local Tremec elite distributor Liberty's High Performance. They do a syncro upgrade and a couple other internal enhancements that they claim make it shift better. They said I would like it even compared to the T5 in my Mk3. I hope they're right. We'll see. Also I'm leaving the shifter in the traditional location with the forward facing shift lever. I like the original Cobra look plus with the experience in my Mk3, it shifts totally fine that way.









Same comment as many of my updates: Still having fun!