Papa's MKIV Roadster Build - #9115 (Post Grad) - One million + views!!!

[Papa]

I love the BMW Azurite Black. Stunning. Have you considered a Titanium Ghost strip? I love that Azurite and worry that a bold white or even stainless stripe would distract from it. Or you could follow another fool (me) and forego the stripe entirely. That Azurite really is stunning. It really does stand on it's own. I am glad I didn't see this till after mine was painted. This would have made my decision even more difficult!!

I like the idea of the titanium stripes. They would look great against the Azurite Black!

Something like this sample:



While searching for more samples, I came across this beautiful example:

[Jeff Kleiner]

Here's another for you Dave. Silvers are tough, especially when they have a light base or "back color" as I refer to it. The Lambo titanium has a darker back and is the only one in the silver family that I've ever found that has much life or "pop" (really kinda' hate that term but everybody knows what it means )

Cheers,
Jeff



titaniumterryg.JPG

[Papa]

Here's another for you Dave. Silvers are tough, especially when they have a light base or "back color" as I refer to it. The Lambo titanium has a darker back and is the only one in the silver family that I've ever found that has much life or "pop" (really kinda' hate that term but everybody knows what it means )

Cheers,
Jeff



titaniumterryg.JPG

Thanks, Jeff. I'm liking the more bronze'ish - gray titanium than the brighter silver.





It's so hard to tell what a color looks like from a picture.

Dave

[gunbunny]

Papa, I've been following your thread, too. I went to the build school with Don (Tex2131). He's building a complete kit like you, but I'm using a donor (93GT) and going old school 302 with carb. We learned a lot at the school and our class was a solid group with good instructors. I'll keep following your thread. Thanks!
Terry (Gunbunny) (I'm retired AHI Cobra pilot known as Gunbunny)
Albuquerque

[Papa]

Papa, I've been following your thread, too. I went to the build school with Don (Tex2131). He's building a complete kit like you, but I'm using a donor (93GT) and going old school 302 with carb. We learned a lot at the school and our class was a solid group with good instructors. I'll keep following your thread. Thanks!
Terry (Gunbunny) (I'm retired AHI Cobra pilot known as Gunbunny)
Albuquerque

Terry,

Thanks for following. I was Army as well and although not a pilot, I was around helicopters a lot - Air Assault! I always loved the Cobra, even after the Apache came out. The Apache looked intimidating, but the Cobra was lean and mean.

Dave

[Papa]

Not too much exciting to talk about today. I attached the cover on the passenger side F panel.



I also spent some time applying Thermo-Tec to the rest of the cockpit:







As you can see, I didn't take it all the way up on the rear of the cockpit. I'm undecided if I should or not. I still have another roll, so I can add the remaining pieces later. I also still need to do the outside panel on the driver's foot box that is still uninstalled for now.

Applying the mat is tedious, but a tip for those that are thinking about doing the same. As you make templates for each piece (I used paper from the boxes all the parts shipped in), keep in mind that your template for a panel on one side will likely be mirrored on the other. Just flip the template over and use it to do the other side.

[wareaglescott]

Re templates: The precut carpet pieces make pretty nice templates.

[Papa]

I've decided to do my trans tunnel cover in leather. In order to avoid having to do a lot of prep work or live with lumps and bumps created by the filler panel around the shifter opening, I ordered the FFMetal blank cover and will drill my own opening. When I bought my leather to have my door panels done, I was left with 1/2 a hide, which will be plenty enough to do the tunnel cover and a shifter boot in matching leather. I'm also planning to attach the cover with stainless screws into nutserts along the sides unless there is a better attachment method I should use.

Any recommendations for attaching the FFR padded dash to the frame? I'm considering stainless tap screws with stainless finish washers in the top center, and two on either side of center spaced evenly. I also have three lower braces that I'll rivet to the bottom edge of the dash.

[gunbunny]

Terry,

Thanks for following. I was Army as well and although not a pilot, I was around helicopters a lot - Air Assault! I always loved the Cobra, even after the Apache came out. The Apache looked intimidating, but the Cobra was lean and mean.

Dave

Thanks for your service! Before flight school I served in the USMC and would have been happy wrenching on helicopters. Flying worked out better, cut I missed picking up the tools and helping in maintenance.
Before Cobras, I flew Hueys with troops on board. You all just loved hanging your feet off the edge with the doors pinned back. I got a kick out of it too. Hoorah! Some troopers even jumped out of my perfectly good aircraft. Of course, we were never issued parachutes, if we had a problem we would just autorotate, land and walk over to the treeline and relieve ourselves.
So we are building awesome machines now. I spent careers making some cash and now we can convert that time into some roadsters. Building is already fun with my lift and tools. I've restored corvettes, porsches and Chevrolets, but now I'll create a car. Like I said, I'm going old school for the fun of changing engines, heads, carbs, etc...
You've got some good build info and I'll continue following.
Gunbunny

[JAB]

Looks great , enjoy the build time!

[Papa]

Last week we had blizzard conditions here in Colorado, so I didn't work on the car. Today was a beautiful day and I ventured to the shop and got a couple of small things done. First, I worked on fitting my ********** shifter. I also posted in the main forum in a related thread, but to keep my build thread up I will add some detail here. I drilled the mounting holes out to 3/8" to allow the threaded 3/8" bolts to go through and thread into the shifter stub on the TKO-600. The supplied bolts were too short, so off to my local farm supply to buy some grade 8 3/8"-24 x 1-1/2" bolts. These were the perfect length to attach the shifter to the stub and still have enough length to thread on a nut on the bolts for insurance.





Next, I broke out my new FFMetal blank trans tunnel cover and drilled my shifter opening.







I also started laying out my seat heater harnesses and I'm thinking about mounting the switches on the tunnel cover up near the front instead of in the dash as I'd originally thought to do. I'll take some time to ponder before drilling any holes, but if anyone has recommendations for the best location based on your experience I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Last item for today was to contact Georgie (Gas-N) to get an ETA on the replacement headers. He thinks they should be ready to ship this coming week. My side pipes won't be ready until some time in February, but I'm using the FFR pipes for now anyway.

[japollon]

Hey Dave, Why did you choose Thermo-Tec over Dynamat? I'm just curious as I am getting near the stage where I need to insulate. Are both products similar in terms of installation and function?

Thanks, Joel

[GoDadGo]

Are you planning to make the trans tunnel top removable?

[Papa]

Are you planning to make the trans tunnel top removable?

Yes, I want to be able to remove the cover if I ever need to.

[Papa]

Hey Dave, Why did you choose Thermo-Tec over Dynamat? I'm just curious as I am getting near the stage where I need to insulate. Are both products similar in terms of installation and function?

Thanks, Joel

Joel,

I used Thermo-Tec based on what I saw most people using. I really never looked at Dynomat, so I don't know what the differences might be. For reference, I used four 3'x5' rolls of Thermo-Tec insulation. It sells for about $55 per roll, so you can at least get a cost comparison between the products.

Dave

[Paul2STL]

Papa you could mount angle aluminum to the bottom of the tunnel cover and it line up with the 3/4" tube. You would have to get under the car to undo it to take off, but would be a clean look. That is my plan got the idea from Edwardb's build.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attac...8&d=1517165694
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attac...7&d=1517165682

[Papa]

I just found these remote latches that I think I can make work. If I do similar to Paul's aluminum on the front edge of the cover to hold it in place, I could then rig up the remote latches at the rear with the release in the trunk. That would be pretty trick!

https://www.mcmaster.com/#remote-act...tches/=1bbrd2j

Dave

[Papa]

I mounted my dash today. I used stainless finish washers with a flange and stainless #10-24 screws into nutserts in the hoop in three locations across the top. I also used the Breeze bottom dash braces along the bottom.





I think I'll use the same approach for the trans tunnel attachment with three screws on either side. As Paul said, no need to overcomplicate things. I've also settled on a mounting location for my seat heater switches and will place thin just in front of the shifter opening near the center of the panel so they aren't under my arm when driving.

[Papa]

As I wrote in my previous post, I decided to mount my seat heater switches in the console. So, I carefully measured where I wanted them to go and then pulled the panel off and drilled my holes.



I then put the panel back on only to realize that there was a cross brace running right under them. This is why you always check both sides of any panel you are drilling!

So, I got to spend a couple of hours repairing the holes and making new ones. First I riveted a small patch on the bottom side of the panel over the holes. I used flush head rivets and then metal tape to cover the patch.



I then used body filler on the top surface to fill the low spots where the holes were.





It's nice and smooth and ready to take to the upholstery shop to get covered in leather. I also drilled and installed nutserts along both edges that I'll use to attach the cover in place using the same stainless hardware I used to attach the dash to the hoop.

[JoeAIII]

Good to see I am not the only one who uses my garbage can as a makeshift workbench!
Good progress, keep it up!

[Straversi]

Bummer. Don’t beat yourself up, though. You are not the first or last to patch a hole or two.
-Steve

[Papa]

Good to see I am not the only one who uses my garbage can as a makeshift workbench!
Good progress, keep it up!

I think what this means in my case is that I have too much stuff sitting on my work benches. Time to clean up a bit.

[Papa]

Bummer. Don’t beat yourself up, though. You are not the first or last to patch a hole or two.
-Steve

I've learned not to get upset with my mistakes on this build. I'm just glad it wasn't the dash. That would have been hard to deal with.

[Yama-Bro]

Thanks for the "how to patch an unwanted hole"...I'm sure I'll need that at some point.

[Papa]

We've got some nasty weather rolling in, so I will likely not get much done on the build this weekend. I did drill and fasten four nutserts for the shifter trim ring on my console. I'm considering how I want to attach the dust boot since I have a leather shift boot. Right now I'm considering mounting it from underneath with polyurethane adhesive.



Here is what it looks like on top with my Audi TT shift boot I picked up for under $20.00.





I'll deliver it to the upholsterer on Monday to get it covered. Oh, and my wife surprised me with a set of FF floor mats!

[WIS89]

Dave-

She looks great! You are making good progress in spite of the winter weather. I know how hard that has to be with your attention needing to go elsewhere.

I also like the color you are thinking of! I have always thought that was a classy color!

I look forward to seeing more!! Great progress and quality work!!

Regards,

Steve

[Papa]

Dave-

She looks great! You are making good progress in spite of the winter weather. I know how hard that has to be with your attention needing to go elsewhere.

I also like the color you are thinking of! I have always thought that was a classy color!

I look forward to seeing more!! Great progress and quality work!!

Regards,

Steve

Thanks, Steve. Not great weather, but it looks beautiful!



I'd be working on the car except for the fact that I need to have my tractor in the front bay of my shop when it snows. That's where I would normally be working on the MK4.

[Papa]

I took my tunnel cover to the upholstery shop today along with a picture of edwardb's (thanks, Paul) finished piece. I'm getting a dense pad (~1/8" thick) on the top surface and no padding along the sides where I'll attach the cover using the same hardware I used on the dash hoop. I'm getting the French stitch to match the stitching in the Audi shift boot. I'll post pictures as soon as I pick it up in about a week.

[WIS89]

Dave-

You sure are right about it being beautiful! I loved Parker when I visited, more years ago than I would like to admit. I have to confess though, that I am happy to just look at pictures of that scenery, and stay warm here in the South. I have grown soft!

I look forward to seeing your upholstery work, and the finished interior. Keep up the good work, and thanks for the posts. I have enjoyed watching your progress!

Regards,

Steve

[Papa]

What a difference a week makes in Colorado. Today we had beautiful warm weather, so I got the roadster out for its first real go-cart with my wife holding the camera. Sorry about the wind noise, but I was using a cell phone to record this.

[danielt]

Dave,
Great build thread! I really appreciate the pictures of the Boig Cool pipes. I’ve been looking for ones with a high mounted alternator and your pics were perfect and I can order with confidence now!

[Higgybulin]

Congrats on your first lap!!
Higgy

[Papa]

Dave,
Great build thread! I really appreciate the pictures of the Boig Cool pipes. I’ve been looking for ones with a high mounted alternator and your pics were perfect and I can order with confidence now!

I glad that I could help. I really like the Boig Cool Pipes, and I got fantastic customer service during the ordering and purchase process. You won't be disappointed with them.

Dave

[Papa]

Well, my first go-cart resulted in an unexpected $$$ expense. After viewing and listening to the cell phone video of the event, I decided to spring for a GoPro.

[broku518]

Hi Papa. Question about the rivenuts used to mount your dash. I like the idea, just wondering how did you figured the dash placement? You install the fiberglass body? Or just center the dash and hope for the best?

Thanks
Broku518

[Papa]

Hi Papa. Question about the rivenuts used to mount your dash. I like the idea, just wondering how did you figured the dash placement? You install the fiberglass body? Or just center the dash and hope for the best?

Thanks
Broku518

I positioned my dash (Factory Five padded dash option) so that the steering shaft was centered in the opening then aligned the center top edge with the top of the hoop. I used a small bit to drill through the dash and mark the hoop, then used the larger bit to drill for the nutserts. I used 10-24 stainless screws with stainless finish washers.

Dave

[broku518]

I positioned my dash (Factory Five padded dash option) so that the steering shaft was centered in the opening then aligned the center top edge with the top of the hoop. I used a small bit to drill through the dash and mark the hoop, then used the larger bit to drill for the nutserts. I used 10-24 stainless screws with stainless finish washers.

Dave

Thanks Papa. That is what I was thinking about doing (I have the same dash). I was just worry it wouldn't leave a room for later adjustment, if needed.

[Papa]

Thanks Papa. That is what I was thinking about doing (I have the same dash). I was just worry it wouldn't leave a room for later adjustment, if needed.

With the padded dash, there isn't much you can do in terms of adjustment. Those cutting their own openings have a lot more to consider when mounting their dashes.

Dave

[broku518]

Thanks Dave.

[Papa]

Another go-cart ride today, this time with the new GoPro. Now if I can just get the mount to stay put.