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Meindl Mk IV Build - Graduation
Hi everyone,
We are a family of four – Mom and Dad (Sarah and Pete) and our twin 16 year old boys (Jamie and Eric) – who are very excited to be starting a Mk IV build. We view this as the ultimate project for us as a family before the boys head off from home in a little over 2 years. We are beginners at this so we really value any and all advice you guys have for us at every point along the way. If you see something we’re doing that doesn’t seem right or make sense, please let us know! We feel lucky that so many of you are willing to take the time to give advice.
We all went to visit the Factory Five factory recently and placed our order. Given we are beginners, we wanted to run what we ordered by you all to see if you feel there’s anything we should or should not be getting. Our goal for the car is to have a great time building it together and then to have something fun to drive on the street now and then. It doesn’t need to be the fastest or best car – for us it’s more about just trying to see if we can get it all together and working and have something to be proud of.
One note - we’re hoping to register our car to drive on the street in Connecticut, so some of the things we’ve purchased are required for registration.
Here’s what we ordered (for anything that’s not mentioned here, we chose the base version):
- Mk IV Complete Kit
- Coyote Engine/TKO Transmission assembled
- Powder coating of chassis
- Coyote 3v headers
- Body cut outs
- 17 inch Halibrand style wheel/tire package
- Stainless steel bumpers
- Battery cutoff switch
- Rollbar grommet set
- Assembled side louver set
- Coyote install kit
- 11.65 inch rear brake set
- Standard 8.8 rear axle housing w/3-link
Things we’re considering adding to the order:
- Coyote power steering kit
If you guys have any advice or pointers, please let us know! We had a few general questions:
- Anything else we should be adding (or taking away) from our order given we are real beginners?
- Any tool recommendations beyond the list in the factory five manual?
- We’re currently building a chassis dolly using the plans from Chris Arella (Thanks, Chris!). Any thoughts on this?
o http://cobra.chrisarella.com/wp-cont...hrisArella.pdf
- Any advice for receiving delivery if you live on a small street?
- Any other advice as we get started?
Thanks a lot! We’re looking forward to being a part of the community!
Pete, Sarah, Jamie, and Eric
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Welcome and congratulations! It's been a fun time building with my son, although we're not as far along as hoped and he leaves for college in about three weeks.
Your build is nearly identical to mine. A few quick thoughts:
- Check the Breeze Automotive website tip for welding the banana bracket to the rear axle. I drove the axle out to a welder and he zipped it up in less than half an hour. I wouldn't be comfortable with the bracket just being bolted on.
- I added power steering (FFR version, previous generation) because I have experience with a manual steering car with very large tires - it's a real workout at parking lot speeds. My wife is interested in driving, so that will help her, too.
- The trunk is a lot smaller than you think it will be. I suggest looking at one of the various drop-trunk kits or make your own.
- I like the Breeze battery forward kit. Much less cable and easy routing.
- If you can afford it, the CNC double or triple (if you plan a hydraulic clutch) reservoir is a nice upgrade over the FF versions. Kind of wish I'd gone that route.
- Read lots of build threads, including EdwardB, Jazzman, wareaglescott, etc. Just about every problem you'll face has been worked through and solved with clear instructions and pictures. Any new problems and the forum will come to your rescue quickly.
- I replaced the FF fuel supply with the Breeze system, with the fuel pressure regulator placed near the gas tank and flex line running up to the engine. It's a tight, clean setup with no line bending skill needed. It also eliminates a number of joints, plastic, and rubber pieces in the engine bay which I wasn't fond of.
- If Cleco fasteners aren't mentioned in the build manual, you'll want to get maybe 50 1/4" and 20 3/16" fasteners, along with a wrench. Invaluable to keep Aluminum panels aligned while you drill holes.
- I waited to collect tools until they were needed in my build. Some of the popular tools (sheet metal brake, etc) I don't need. Your custom build will determine what you need.
Where are you located? A few more posts and you can edit your profile information. Having other builders close is a huge benefit.
Joe
Last edited by initiator; 07-26-2018 at 10:07 AM.
Mk4 #8861 Complete kit. Delivered: 27 Apr 2016, currently a roller.
Gen-2 Coyote, clutch, TKO600, midshift, and solid axle from Forte. Many pieces from Breeze and Replicarparts.
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Senior Member
Welcome to the asylum! At least all the inmates here have the same disease!
I just took delivery of my kit (#9365) on July 2.
There's some tips/pointers about delivery in that post.
After inventory, I got started on the build - separating & storing the body
Last edited by Fixit; 07-08-2018 at 07:46 AM.
John D. - Minneapolis 'Burbs
1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5
2018 Mk4 Roadster w/ Coyote - #9365 - Build Thread Delivery 7/3/18, 1st Start 1/4/19, 1st Road Mile 5/5/19, Legal 6/18/19, In Paint 2/25/21, Done (?) 4/2021
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Welcome to the club! Hopefully you are picking up your kit and saving some cash. Stewart is on my aggravation list at this point, as I have yet to receive mine...but I'm sure we'll get there....
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Not a waxer
Congrats!
You don't know it but trust me, you want power steering (not because the car is hard to steer but because in the end it will drive sooooo much better)
Jeff
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Thanks a lot for the good tips, Joe! We'll need to check out Breeze - sounds like they have a lot of good stuff. I'll get the cleco fasteners you mentioned too - good advice! We're in the southwestern portion of connecticut, unfortunately pretty far from washington (which is one of my favorite places, by the way!)... Any builders out there in connecticut or southeastern ny state? Thanks, again, Joe.
Pete
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Thanks for the deliver tips, John. And thanks Jeff, too - sounds like it's worth it to pay for the power steering.
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PeteMeindi, I live in the same area. I'd love to help if you need a hand.
I've introduced the idea of the Mk4 to my wife who surprisingly was interested. So in a few years (maybe 25th Anniversary edition); after the remodel, we will have another baby in the garage. I'm struggling with what engine and colors; the former clearly being the most critical up front. What about CT leads you to choose the coyote motor? I thought scrounging up a 66 289 would give me the best chance of registration for 66 model.
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Senior Member
Congrats, welcome to the club!
Started dreaming of a Cobra around 1987
Purchased Complete Kit 6/9/2017, Delivered 9/4/2017, Rolling Chassis 3/30/2018, Engine Dyno'ed 3/4/2022, Engine installed 8/27/2022
Click here for my build thread
Serial #9158
Design Engineer at BluePrint Engines
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Thanks, Gobozo! Congrats on your growing family. That's really nice of you to offer to help out - we will need the help so really happy to have you offer it. Thank you! Let's touch base after we get our kit - hopefully that will happen by mid to end of august. Where do you live?
In terms of why we chose the coyote and how it helps with registration, we wanted to go with a new engine and the coyote has all the features CT requires for registration. I'm not sure but i think your plan would also work - I believe CT registration requirements are based on the year of engine manufacture. So, for instance, i couldn't have a new engine without fuel injection, but i think if you have a 66, then it might be ok to not have FI.
Thanks!
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Pete, Welcome in, you're going to have a blast! It sounds like your boys are old enough to help without getting too bored. Its challenging at times for my 12 and 14yo. I am 11 months into my build and we are having a great time. Things I would do differently: I would have started doing my own powder coating from the get go. I recently purchased an old oven and have started powder coating. There are multiple parts on the car which need to be protected with paint or powder coating. Read about it, its pretty simple and I think better than paint. Also, I would have purchased the blank dash because I have decided I want to customize the instrument layout. I might have held off on ordering the FFR wheels. Overall I am happy with the look but have been thinking about buying a second set for different look.
Lastly here are a couple of items that will help immensely when you do inventory.
https://www.amazon.com/Bolt-Thread-C...70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.com/Stainlesstown...measuring+tool
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Hi Mark, Thanks a lot! Wow - doing your own powder coating is impressive! Thanks for the tips and the recommendation on the thread gauge & checker.
Great build thread, too!
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Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
Thanks, Gobozo! Congrats on your growing family. That's really nice of you to offer to help out - we will need the help so really happy to have you offer it. Thank you! Let's touch base after we get our kit - hopefully that will happen by mid to end of august. Where do you live?
In terms of why we chose the coyote and how it helps with registration, we wanted to go with a new engine and the coyote has all the features CT requires for registration. I'm not sure but i think your plan would also work - I believe CT registration requirements are based on the year of engine manufacture. So, for instance, i couldn't have a new engine without fuel injection, but i think if you have a 66, then it might be ok to not have FI.
Thanks!
I'm in Ridgefield. Since our garage is so variable with heat, cold and humidity i was thinking of dong the mock ups in my very cozy basement shop. Can anyone tell me the maximum width of the chassis.
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We've been buying tools and building up some infrastructure in anticipation of the arrival of the car in the next couple weeks. Here's our first pic - our chassis dolly.
Thank you to David Hodgkins for the clear instructions on how to embed photos in a build thread!
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Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
We've been buying tools and building up some infrastructure in anticipation of the arrival of the car in the next couple weeks. Here's our first pic - our chassis dolly.
Thank you to David Hodgkins for the clear instructions on how to embed photos in a build thread!
Be mindful with this dolly design. I have the exact same thing and when the wheels turn a certain way outside with the weight on them, it wants to collapse on the rear (at least mine did), as that is where the weight is. Either its a common design flaw or I absolutely sucked at wood shop. Probably is the latter, but easy remedy is to take a 2x4 and attach from front to back on the side. Only do one side as it keeps you from getting under the dolly.
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Thanks, CV2065! I hadn't heard about this so thanks a lot for bringing it up. Just so i understand it correctly, I think you're saying to connect a 2x4 from the end of one 4x4 to the other 4x4 along the side of the dolly - is that right? Could you send a picture of your dolly? Anyone else have any improvements or suggestions on the dolly? Thanks a lot, guys - certainly want to get the infrastructure right so there aren't any safety issues. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
Thanks, CV2065! I hadn't heard about this so thanks a lot for bringing it up. Just so i understand it correctly, I think you're saying to connect a 2x4 from the end of one 4x4 to the other 4x4 along the side of the dolly - is that right?
Yep, that is correct! Keeps the whole alignment straight.
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Senior Member
Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
We've been buying tools and building up some infrastructure in anticipation of the arrival of the car in the next couple weeks. Here's our first pic - our chassis dolly.
Thank you to David Hodgkins for the clear instructions on how to embed photos in a build thread!
What's the basic outside dimensions of your frame dolly?
Higgy
MK4 #11012 picked up 04/16/24
351W, 3 link, single roll bar
MK4 #10616 picked up 4/10/23
302w, 4 link, 17's, dual roll bar SOLD
MK4 #9759 picked up on 4/3/19
351C, 3 link, 17's, dual roll bars SOLD
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Hi Higgy,
I used the dolly plans from Chris Arella (thank you, Chris!) with the link below:
http://cobra.chrisarella.com/wp-cont...hrisArella.pdf
The dimensions are 60 by 44 inches.
Pete
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Hope everyone is continuing to enjoy their summer. Quick update: Factory Five has completed our kit and it's waiting for delivery. From what i hear, the truck is in california now and we're on the next load after they get back to massachusetts. So maybe 1-2 weeks and hopefully we'll have our car! In the mean time, we're finishing up some prep. Here's our body buck. We're still deciding where to store the body but it won't be in the garage.
And here's our garage. It's not much compared to most of you guys but hopefully it'll work out fine. By the way, CV2065, you can see the side addition to the chassis dolly here that you recommended - thank you! In the picture is the fifth member of our crew, our dog Kona.
One quick question for you guys. Our chassis dolly is 5 ft long - when the chassis arrives, where would you center the chassis on the dolly given the various weight distributions that we'll have over time? Thanks for all of your advice!
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Senior Member
Congratulations Pete!!! And welcome to the family! We just got ours on July 31.
Still in inventory stage here... life interuptus lol But my wife’s getting a crash course in car parts
on our dining room table. I really like Cris’s chassis dolly and his plans and how simple and nice looking
it is. Almost made one just like it. But I’m old, tall, and bad knees so I needed something taller. Lol
Stewart showed up, on time, on schedule and couldn’t have went smoother!
Just roll your dolly out behind the trailer, he swings it out on the crane and drops it down on your dolly.
Then just roll it on into your garage.
Have fun with your build. Everybody out here is a wealth of knowledge and is more than willing to help you.
Just remember there is no such thing as a stupid question!!!
Kurt
If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough....
Build thread
MKIV complete kit # 9395 delivered 7/31/18
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Originally Posted by
Jeff Kleiner
Congrats!
You don't know it but trust me, you want power steering (not because the car is hard to steer but because in the end it will drive sooooo much better)
Jeff
Trust him, he's right!!
Welcome to the fun. I am excited for you to get to build it as a family. Enjoy the build!
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Thanks, Kurt! It's great how welcoming everyone is. I'll need the help way more than most!
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Thanks, Jazzman! We are going with your and Jeff's advice - we ordered the power steering. Thanks! What do you think about power brakes? Something that's worthwhile, too?
Last edited by PeteMeindl; 08-19-2018 at 01:02 PM.
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Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
Thanks, Jazzman! We are going with your and Jeff's advice - we ordered the power steering. Thanks! What do you think about power brakes? Something that's worthwhile, too?
The jury is still out on that. The general consensus seems to be that power brakes are not worth the money and effort. I am still dialing in my brakes so I am not sure yet. I am told that once you get the balance right, power isn't really necessary. For the time being I am going to to go with the consensus and stay with my non-powered brakes. At least that is something that I can do later if I choose to. Just lift the FlipTop, and I have full access to that area!
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Ha! Ahhhhh, if only we all had a FlipTop!
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Originally Posted by
PeteMeindl
Ha!
Ahhhhh, if only we all had a FlipTop!
AH, But you can! It's a movement! Go ahead, join the every growing throng! Resistance is futile!!!
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Pete,
My kit will probably on the same truck. My kit finished on 8/18 and is awaiting the truck from Stewarts that is supposed to get to FFR on Friday 8/24. They mentioned a delivery in CT and 4 in NY, then 1 in MD and then mine in VA. So you should have your delivery next week.
Gary
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Your work on the FlipTop is something for me to aspire to, that's for sure! I'll need your advice just to learn how to crawl, Jazzman, before i can learn to run!
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Thanks, Gary! That's good to hear.
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Good news!
The car arrived this week! Warren, the driver, was super helpful and a real professional at this. We're all excited here to dive into the inventory process and get going on building!
The backorder list isn't too long so that's good news, too. One thing we learned was that the castors on the coyote engine stand aren't really strong enough to handle rolling down the street so i'd try to avoid doing that if i could.
Off to inventory!!
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Inventory is super important. Check everything. I found it helpful to write with a sharpie on the bags of parts where they were used. Saved having to look up all of the numbers later in the build. Congratulations and good luck with your build.
MK4 delivered 2/24/2017. Complete kit #9023,IRS, Power Steering, Leather, heater, 17" wheels, sway bar ft & rr, tremec 600 and Gordon Levy Racing SBF 427. First start and go kart 8/19/2017. Graduated 1/15/2018
MK4 #9230 complete kit delivered 1/27/2018. IRS, PS, leather, Tremic 600, SBF 427. Graduation 10/15/2018
MK3 #5253 donor bought unfinished. SBF 331, T5 Trans.
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During your Inventory you will find that at times they will put a part that is suppose to be in on box, into another box and then just annotate it on the list that it is in the alternate box. When I did mine, I actually moved the part to the correct box and then changed it on the inventory list to reflect. Usually those parts are all going to be used together, so it is nice to have them together when needed. Welcome to the madness... I'm loving every minute...
One other thing, I've kept everything in the box as indicated. I marked the end of my boxes with the numbers and a summary list of what is in it. Oh, and when the box is done, get rid of it. You will really enjoy putting the empty boxes away. In my case, I have a storage area that all the empty boxes are filling up.
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Thanks, slpro and BadAsp - we are following your advice and labeling the bags and moving parts from the misc box to the one they are supposed to be in. Thanks for the tips, guys!
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I think we now have one of the best pieces of art i've seen in a living room in quite some time!
Inventory is almost done and has gone well - thanks for the pointers, guys. We're just trying to iron out the coyote engine parts from ford as i think we might be missing a page or two of the packing list (and it's been a little harder for us to tell what the parts are there and whether they've already been installed in the engine...). But hopefully we will figure that out shortly.
Here's the current state of car. Not fully disassembled yet but on our way.
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Steve >> aka: GoDadGo
Pete,
For 32 years my wife has put up with me having car parts stored under our bed, under the stairs, in our living room, but you my friend are my hero!
Mrs. Go-Dad Saw Your Pic & Agrees That Having The Body In The Living Room Takes The Cake!
Steve
Last edited by GoDadGo; 09-09-2018 at 06:27 PM.
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Senior Member
MK4 #11012 picked up 04/16/24
351W, 3 link, single roll bar
MK4 #10616 picked up 4/10/23
302w, 4 link, 17's, dual roll bar SOLD
MK4 #9759 picked up on 4/3/19
351C, 3 link, 17's, dual roll bars SOLD
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That is Awesome... I know that because I do not have photos I can not prove it, but I actually painted the body panels of my son's first race car in my family room, true story. Yeah, that was a sight to see...
04062010961.jpg
Hey, I did not want to get paint all over my garage...
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I was able to get my son's derby car in the house from Boy Scouts, but no way would that happen right there. You sir are a master negotiator!
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Ha! Thanks, guys. All the credit goes to my wife, Sarah, who's working with me & our sons on the build. We were trying to figure out where to store the body - our garage is too small to hold it with space to build the car. So we were thinking of storing it outside but then Sarah said, we use our living room barely even once a year so why don't we put it there? And so there it is!
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