Thank you for having me in the forum. This is my first post. I placed my order over the holidays and have heard a potential ship date of March. I wanted to share with you some plans and get your thoughts.
I bought the base kit with the following options:
1. No fenders
2. Powder coat frame
3. I will be doing a 306 Blueprint engine with an AOD
4. Moser 8.8 with a 4-link
5. Vinyl bench seat
6. Heat/AC
7. Sound and heat insulation
8. Wilwood all around
Another idea I had was to replace the slats for holding down the wood bed with core-tax. That could hold down the wood but also provide infinite tie down options for the bed - http://www.coretiedowns.com/product/tie-down-solutions
I got my ship date of April 28th! They said I was the 4th in line. I am planning a factory visit some time before then. I live in MN but have an office in Boston for work. Could work out just great.
Stillwater, I notice you will be using and AOD, which I plan also. Will you be getting it with your Blueprint engine, or sourcing it own your own? I notice Blueprint has packages for manual trannys, but don't list any for automatics. I have been looking at the Engine Factory combo that mates the AOD to their engine.
Any thoughts?
Ralph
I just heard back from BluePrint. They are now offering a 4R70/AOD with their ford engines. I heard from Johnny McDevitt. I think that's going to be the course forward for me!
Just got my order finalized, payment sent and shipping scheduled.
Stewart transport mentioned they've had a couple drivers out with personal time off but should be caught up by the end of the month.
I will be placing my blueprint order some time in may once the kit arrives. I'm within driving distance of their factory, so I might go pick it up myself. I wonder what they charge to ship a 306 and trans crate.
Have a great weekend. We're getting 12"+ of snow in Minnesota tonight. Urgh.
I forgot to mention - I put down my deposit for a carb 306 from Blueprint. June 20th delivery. I got just the amp and AC compressor. I am going with manual steering.
Just made some more purchases while I wait for Stewart to load up in Wareham.
Bought my Performance Automatics AODE with a 12inch torque converter.
Blueprint is paid in full and both items should be arriving mid-june.
I did also realize that I swapped sides on my rear wilwoods. The diagram talks about it being the left hand side of the axel, but it doesn't show the front end and rear of the car directions. The calipers are in the 10 O'clock position and after looking at all the 33' gallery photos, they need to be in the 2 O'clock position. I guess I am starting early with assembling things twice. I think it would work except of the e-brake cable angle being wrong. Oh well. With the delays with Stewart, I got nothing but time.
So after deciding to drive from Minnesota to Wareham, I have my truck and almost all my pieces (backorder list is small). I want to outline the cost of the trip and then also the pictures I took from the factory. Should be of interest to people:
Timing:
Left MN 4am on Sunday
Drove to Cleveland
Left Cleveland at 7am Monday and was to Wareham by 5 (Lobster rolls were eaten)
Pick up at 9am Tuesday morning
Left the Factory at 10:30am
Arrived in Cleveland at 9:15pm
Left Cleveland at 4am Wednesday
Arrive in Minnesota at 4:15pm Wednesday.
The Details:
2821 Miles Driven
2018 Ford F-150 5.0V8
24' enclosed trailer
10.5 average MPG (interestingly got better mileage on the way home)
The Cost:
Gas $875
Tolls $245
Hotel $165 - (2 nights were free in Cleveland because I have points)
Meals $220
Trailer Rental $320
Total cost - $1825
Stewart Proposed Cost $1700
Taking something I couldn't control and making it something I could was worth my $125 and my time.
The crew at the factory were fantastic.
Nice write up and photos. Like the external door hinges on the FF truck did they say where they got them?
2008 FFR 5851 Copperhead Orange with ghost stripes by “the Bat”, Ford Racing 345 HP, Tremec 5 Speed
2012 FFR 33 HR, won Best Use of Chrome Huntington Beach 2014; 345 HP AOD
Deep Impact Blue
2018 FFR 35 Pick Up, building, getting there.
That blue color looks nice on their shop truck. Did they mention color? May consider that myself.
Will the external door hinges be standard on the kit. Haven't seen them in previous pictures.
All of us in waiting will be watching your progress.
Ralph
I just completed inventory and those hinges come standard and they're polished. I re-boxed them but their from a reputable brand.
The color was nice and it looked single stage. Like an homage to older truck paint schemes. They had just had it pin-striped when I was there.
Next is to write them a note with the backorder items and the like. Nothing major. Hoping to have the front control arms painted and mounted before I head out on business next week.
Originally Posted by rponfick
That blue color looks nice on their shop truck. Did they mention color? May consider that myself.
Will the external door hinges be standard on the kit. Haven't seen them in previous pictures.
All of us in waiting will be watching your progress.
Ralph
Congrats on getting your truck home, but even better taking your father with you to pick it up. I'm looking forward in watching your build thread.
CVOBill
MK2 #???? Delivered 11/2002, Finished and Titled 6/2003 5.0, T-5, 4-Link, Sold 3/2005
Hot Rod #304 purchased 5/28/2017 from original owner Unassembled . Titled and plated 8/24/2017 Coyote,
TKO, 3-Link, Heat, A/C, Electric Power Steering, Convertible top
MK4 #9524 Picked up 1/18/19 306 Blueprint, T-5, 4-Link, Gas-N Pipes, Heater
Alright, Started putting parts on the truck today. I started with the front end.
Pretty straight forward and it goes without saying that inboard suspension is really freaking cool. It also looks like the powder coat added a little thickness so I had to take a mil off the lower shock spacers and broke out the dead blow hammer for the bushings getting in to the mounts.
Here is a pic of it finished (i have adjusted the bottom hats already.
Shout-out to "Stillwater"...
Car-guys/gearheads are the best. He invited me over to see his kit (after his "turn-n-burn" trip to MA to get it). We were in the same boat with shipping, and he took the bull by the horns route and went and got it himself.
He's wasting no time! Agreed, the front suspension is a thing of beauty - straight out of Indy/F1 tech stuff.
Thanks for your hospitality, and the gift of the printed assy manual of the Roadster! Hoping my Roadster kit will arrive soon...
I have been making progress now that I've had a week or so of not traveling for work. I do my work at night after the kids are asleep (5year old and 1 year old).
The rear end when in fine and the production chassis don't require drilling except for the panar bar. The pinion seal on my brand new moser rear end leaks, so they sent me a new one and it goes in tonight. IMG_5810.JPGIMG_5808.JPG
The pedal box went in ok, after I realized that it gets mounted on top of the support, not hung from the supports. Pages 113 and 117 of the manual are inaccurate for the truck.
Then I started on the firewall. I had to back bevel the areas where the frame supports meet the firewall to clear the welds and get the firewall to sit flush. I then polished the firewall and hit it with the scour pad from my flattop griddle. Then hit it with satin clear designed for wheels and high temp areas. IMG_5836.JPG
Next was the steering which was a learning experience for me as I have never done it before. Got it done, but did it twice IMG_5835.JPGIMG_5833.JPG
Next up is brake lines and then the wiring harness gets unfurled. Oh, and the 306 from BluePrint showed up!
Have you thought about what size tranny cooler to run with your AOD? I see there are no cooler ports in the supplied radiator. The coolers I see advertised are usually supplemental to the one in the radiator.
Something else to think about.
Thanks, Ralph
Yesterday was a day of good progress but it all doesn't look like much. I have the e-brake cables and hardlines installed and the brake system bled. My 5 year old helped pump the brakes. IMG_5852.JPG
I also replaced the hex-head bolt holding in the steering column with a same-size button head and lock nut. Now the brake pedal clears through its full range of motionIMG_5839.JPG
As Wallace said, the new pedal box design means the fuse panel needs a bracket. I rummaged around in the garage and found a left over bracket from a truck LED light bar. It was perfect. IMG_5851.JPG
Additionally, had an unexpected repair. The Moser rear-end came with a leak out of the pinion seal. I replaced that (what a pain) and found the bearing was borked. I've included a picture here. IMG_5838.JPG
I also replaced the red hose with a black hose for the brake rez. IMG_5853.JPG
The main wiring harness is 'in' and I think next is the engine and trans.
These past couple days have seen some real progress. Got the Performance Automatic AODE mated to the Blueprint 306. Took a bit of doing, mostly from being a rookie, but we're there. Then I had my helpers to get it in the chassis. That was actually pretty uneventful.
Next was the radiator. The new design both doesn't have an internal trans cooler, but it also doesn't have more than 1 port so you either get a drain plug OR a temp sensor. I will resolve that later. IMG_5875.JPGIMG_5874.JPG
However, the radiator mounted up with me having to buy more spacers but without having to use any of the fan shrouds. It mounts directly to the studs!
The next post will be about the trans cooler situation.
Without a built in trans cooler I had to buy one and find a place for it. I bought a Derale remote cooler with -8AN fittings.
I mounted it on the passenger side with brackets I made from the hood supports (which I am not using). It is facing down and I will make sure the fan it wired to pull air rather than push.
Then I got some AN fittings for the auto trans and now just have to run flexible hoses.
About $200 I wasn't expecting but am happy how it turned out.
Was it easier to mount the cooler flat, rather than at an angle/verticle to utilize some forward airflow. Are you going to run an in-line temp sensor, or have the fan run all the time.
Looks like you chose a large capacity unit since there is no cooling assist from the radiator.
Keep up the good postings. I had fun removing the cab yesterday. I may grind some more off the lower front extensions to make it easer to get on and off. It sure rubs on the roll cage, and I see why the cardboard tubes are there for protection. I used a hoist so I could do it myself.
I couldn't make verticle or angled work anywhere - it was all trial and error. And, if you're not running it upfront you're only going to get swirled air in the rear. That's why I went with the fan. It will pull from the top and exit hot air towards the road.
I am going to wire it in to the fuel pump circuit (it's right there in the wiring harness) and it will always be on with the ignition. Then I won't ever forget to turn it on.
I found a local speed shop in the Twin Cities, MN and bought what they had on the shelf. Looked beefy and was ~$160 sans fittings and hoses.
Originally Posted by rponfick
Was it easier to mount the cooler flat, rather than at an angle/verticle to utilize some forward airflow. Are you going to run an in-line temp sensor, or have the fan run all the time.
Looks like you chose a large capacity unit since there is no cooling assist from the radiator.
Thanks for the comments. Yes, I think we will all have to run a fan model. It's a bummer that a verticle or angled spot is not available. I do think it will be important for us to run a fairly large unit to handle the cooling load.
How hard was it for you to get the cab off. I used a hoist system from Racor and it worked pretty slick, but front outriggers do rub a bit.
Was traveling for work all week so finally got to make some progress again.
I finished plumbing the whole engine and HVAC system. I bought a AC hose crimper and it worked like a champ. All the hoses route just fine given enough patience. I also got the trans lines ran as well. IMG_5898.JPGIMG_5892.JPG
I then moved on to the headers (bbk1515) and exhaust. That was a bit tedious but went ok. Everything is in. Not sure about the exhaust exit location, but that final pipe is really the easiest and can be modified whenever at a later date. IMG_5929.JPGIMG_5934.JPG
I also finally decided on wheels and tires. The specs are:
18x8" Fronts with 245/35/18 Nitto NT555 G2s
20X9.5" Rears with 275/35/20 Nitto NT555 G2s
and the wheels are US Mags, U111 Ramblers.
The rears fit just fine, however the fronts didn't initially clear the wildwood calipers. A small 1' spacer and everything is perfect. This thing is nice and low (or maybe it's just me reacting to having it 20" off the ground for so long. IMG_5931.JPGIMG_5932.JPG
Moving on the fuel soon. I also think my seat and driveshaft shipped from FFR last week. I'll keep everyone updated.
Nope, not messing around. I'm home all week so each evening I hope to make some progress. I did realize that when I let the car down on it's wheels, that without a driveshaft, it really does just roll....
Good luck on the road. Let me know if I can help in any way!
Originally Posted by Fixit
You are bangin' this thing out - guess you weren't kidding about cruising in August!!
I'm in the same "road warrior" boat - WI this coming week, SC week after that. Been doing what I can on the Roadster.
Do you have the dementions of the condenser that came in the a/c kit?
2008 FFR 5851 Copperhead Orange with ghost stripes by “the Bat”, Ford Racing 345 HP, Tremec 5 Speed
2012 FFR 33 HR, won Best Use of Chrome Huntington Beach 2014; 345 HP AOD
Deep Impact Blue
2018 FFR 35 Pick Up, building, getting there.
So I finished the rear bulkhead, floor pans and transmission tunnel. The black sealant is drying. Getting closer to firing it up (probably next weekend).
I need help though. I've got loads of very specific shaped aluminum and can't for the life of me figure out where it goes. Can anyone whose at this point help me? Wallace? Erik?
My suggestion is wait on the manual. It should be out in the next week or so. You will most likely get a PDF version first followed by paper in the mail. Some of the aluminum fills holes not used and some are for templates for cutting out doors for frame and hinges.
The ones with the sharp points appear to close off the rear of the cab between the seat belt mounting and sides,overlapping the floor pans. The ones in the picture I have not figured out. Did FFR give you a link to some photos in Dropbox if not ask them to do so. It has some build photos.
Updated these two pieces are installed to the rear cab corners once the body is mounted.
Last edited by Marv; 07-24-2018 at 07:25 AM.
2008 FFR 5851 Copperhead Orange with ghost stripes by “the Bat”, Ford Racing 345 HP, Tremec 5 Speed
2012 FFR 33 HR, won Best Use of Chrome Huntington Beach 2014; 345 HP AOD
Deep Impact Blue
2018 FFR 35 Pick Up, building, getting there.
The ones with the sharp points appear to close off the rear of the cab between the seat belt mounting and sides,overlapping the floor pans. The ones in the picture I have not figured out. Did FFR give you a link to some photos in Dropbox if not ask them to do so. It has some build photos.
There are only 2 pics that are helpful to sheet metal. Those ones are super weird and I have no idea where they go.