Edwardb’s Gen 3 Type 65 Coyote Coupe #59 Build: 5,000 Mile Report

[edwardb]

Pretty minor update. But it's been below zero outside so I've been working in the basement instead of heating the garage. Today I finished prepping the IRS components. Now I just need my backordered control arms so I can get this all assembled onto the chassis. The first pic is a little silly, but I'll post it anyway. I hung parts in one end of the utility room in our basement to get them finished and let them dry. Why hang laundry when you can hang car parts? For the CV axles and driveshaft I put some Duplicolor DE1636 Engine Clear on the exposed metal parts so they don't get surface rust. I'm silly about things like that I guess. Same clear on the rear cover and pinion flange of the center section. I've used that spray for several builds and it seems to hold up really well. I did have things masked off before spraying, so didn't get any clear on the boots, mating metal parts, etc.



Finished getting the center section prepped and ready. Drilled out the front ears to 5/8-inch per the instructions. That's probably only 1/16-inch or so bigger than it already is, so the drill bit wants to grab like crazy. I drilled as far as I could with a step drill and that helped. Then finished the rest with a regular drill. On the Roadster build, I used my pretty strong 1/2-inch corded drill. Man when that grabbed it about broke my wrists. So this time used an old 12-volt battery powered drill. Not very powerful, so rather than grab it would just stall. Without hurting me. Got them both drilled out and used the spinning bit to make the holes slightly oversized. The alignment to the chassis is really tight and I'm hoping this bit of clearance will make it a little easier to install.

I also drained the fluid. There are no instructions in the box and no indication of what fluid or how much it came with when shipped. So I drained it into a catch pan and then measured the amount. 1.6 quarts or a little over 1.5 liters. Exactly how much it's supposed to have when full. Once drained, I could smell the distinctive odor of the friction modifier. So bottom line it was probably good to go. Unfortunately, I didn't think that was going to be the case. It just didn't seem like there was much in it. So didn't drain it into clean containers. Now I'll need to replace. About $50 worth of fluids there. 75W-85 synthetic gear lube is specified along with XL-3 friction modifier. Not sure why they list friction modifier for the Torsen center section, but they do. How much fluid is shipped in these has been asked about on the forum before, so thought I would provide my observation for those that buy the NIB Ford IRS center sections.

Anyway, got the clear on as mentioned and then painted the iron case with POR15. That stuff is nice. Looks almost like powder coat. I also did the knuckles as I mentioned I was planning to do in a previous update. Also the sway bar mounts. In a day or two when this all sets up a little more, I'll get the center section into the chassis. I could use a good workout.



The e-brake handle parts are also slightly visible on the shelf setting up. Painted those with Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black Satin Aerosol, another product I really like. I have some more smaller projects I can work on. But hopefully the FedEx parts truck will be arriving any day now.