Shakey's Daytona Build

[Shakey]

Greetings all,

After years of watching from the sidelines it’s my turn to start my build thread. Plan is for a trackable streetcar that I can drive most of the year. Even when the weather gets less than perfect. Details for the plan are below.


Kit Order:

Coupe Gen 3 Base Kit
Black Powder coat
Body Cut-outs
FFR Front lower control arms
2015 IRS
Hydraulic Clutch
Platinum Gauges
Carpet Kit
Side Windows
Front and Rear Swaybars
3.55 Center Section
Heat and A/C

Engine and Trans:

SBF 347 with Fuel Injection (Sniper or Pro Flo 4)
T5Z transmission

Brakes:

Wilwood 14in front and 13in rear with mechanical parking brake

Steering:

Power steering
Unisteer 2.5 turn quick ration steering rack
Moog Tie rod ends
Russ Thompson Turn Signal

Wheels and Tires:

Forgestar F14 Golden Bronze Front: 18x10 +12mm offset, Rear: 19x12 -25mm offset(Thanks Logan!)
Tires Nitto INVO Front: 275/40R18 Rear: 325/30R19

Odds and Ends:

Digital Guard Dawg
Second Skin Firewall, Damplifier pro, luxury liner
Corbeau A4 seats
GAS N Headers 1 7/8in and side pipes, ceramic coated white. (not sure what the best way to get these coated is. DIY or through a vendor.)


Kit was ordered the first week of December. Scheduled delivery date is July 23, 2022. I’ll spend the next 7 months gathering parts and continuing to plan. I would be interested to see if anyone sees and issues with the parts list or build plan. Can’t wait to get started!

-Shakey

[Straversi]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your build with us. Look forward to following along.
-Steve

[Logan]

Congrats and welcome! Where are you from?

Glad I could help on the wheel and tire choices. Post pictures when you get them.

[Shakey]

Hey thanks guys! I'm from Mount Vernon, Washington. About an hour north of Seattle.

[John Dol]

Congrats, sounds like a solid plan!

John

[FracAG1980]

Hey thanks guys! I'm from Mount Vernon, Washington. About an hour north of Seattle.

Shakey,

Sounds like a great car. Hope the time flies by. An hour north of Seattle is almost Canada, eh? I was lucky enough to play Semi-ah-moo a number of years ago. Beautiful countryside.

[cgundermann]

Congrats on the build. I grew up on Whidbey Island...

Chris

[Shakey]

It's a small world. My wife is from Prescott Valley.

[Shakey]

I have seen a lot of posts about people worried about getting their kit from the Stewart truck into their garage or shop. I am definitely one of those people. Where I live I have about a 50 yard gravel drive that slopes downhill to get to where my shop is. There is about 15 feet of total elevation drop. I been trying to think of how to take delivery of my kit. I decided to build a big cart with some decent size wheels on it and use my riding mower to tow it down the driveway. I figure the Stewart rig could just drop the kit right onto the cart I made and I can use some friends or a couple jacks to lift it off once it is in the shop. Pic below is of the whole setup.

upright20211217_145632.jpg

[Skuzzy]

I have seen a lot of posts about people worried about getting their kit from the Stewart truck into their garage or shop. I am definitely one of those people. Where I live I have about a 50 yard gravel drive that slopes downhill to get to where my shop is. There is about 15 feet of total elevation drop. I been trying to think of how to take delivery of my kit. I decided to build a big cart with some decent size wheels on it and use my riding mower to tow it down the driveway. I figure the Stewart rig could just drop the kit right onto the cart I made and I can use some friends or a couple jacks to lift it off once it is in the shop. Pic below is of the whole setup.

upright20211217_145632.jpg

Just in case you have not thought about it. You will want to strap down the frame/body to keep it from sliding off the dolly.

[dstelter]

Hey Sankey. similar boat here with the delivery. 300 yards of road base driveway and way too small of gate and angle for a direct delivery. I used 4x4 over the rails of my 6x10 trailer. strapped it down and moved it up to the garage. had to get creative on getting it back down to ground level to be placed on jack stands. Little help with the engine hoist and 3 buddies and we got it done. Doug
Daytona Move small.jpg

[Blueblood]

As I just received my kit two months ago i also have a driveway that slopes downhill. The delivery driver has a cart with decent size tires and a strap to help hold it back someone will steer it. They have encountered many different driveways and have the necessary tools to deliver your kit safe and sound. We didn’t have to strap the car to the cart but that would not be a bad idea if your driveway is long.

[B Campbell]

Congratulations. welcome to the fun.

[Shakey]

Definitely some good ideas out there. Sounds like the long/gravel drive is a common issue that folks tackle on a regular basis. I will make sure to strap everything down well before I start moving it. I have heard that the use of 2x4s under and pushed through the frame can make useful lift points.

Thanks guys for sharing your delivery experience. Seeing how other people do it really gets the wheels turning to help think through the problem.

[Shakey]

I finally started ordering parts for the project. I figured I would start with the biggest and most expensive part. Here is what I decided on.

SBF 363cu.in.
Dart SHP 302 Block
Forged internals
AFR 205 Heads
Hydraulic Roller
Edlebrock Super Victor Intake
Moroso Road Race Oil Pan 7QT rear sump 7.5in depth
11:1 compression
Billet specialties Tru Trac Serpentine System with P/S and A/C
Comp cams custom grind camshaft
Holley Terminator X Sniper Stealth with Hyperspark


As many of you may know, Dart has quite the back order. I was given an estimate of 10 months for completion of the motor. I am hoping to receive it in November of this year. My kit is supposed to arrive late July so, there may be a bit of a hold up on the build waiting for the motor. Not too much though as I will be on a work trip of a few months this fall anyways.

I was a little hesitant about the Super Victor Intake but, by my math. It should fit.

I estimate the total clearance space available from top of the engine block to the hood is 12.5in

Holley stealth height= 3.28in
Super Victor intake= 6.35in
Drop base air cleaner=2in
Hood clearance= 0.5in
Total= 12.13in

So it should fit.

More updates to come as I keep ordering parts.

V/R

Shakey

[Shakey]

Well, it has been a long time since my last build thread update. I have been spending a lot of time ordering parts and planning the build. After some waiting the parts are starting to arrive.



Surprisingly, one of the first things to arrive was my seats. I ordered these from Mike Forte and the turn around on the order was way faster than I thought. These are the Corbeau A4 seat in black micorsuede with the submarine slot cut and shaved base for another inch of headroom. Just sitting in them they feel like they will do a great job holding you in place. The bolsters are pronounced but still comfortable.





Next to arrive was the fuel system from Breeze automotive. I have already taken the liberty of painting the shield and tank black. I just used rattle can enamel for the shield and black POR-15 for the tank.

There is a lot to this fuels system that Breeze sent. I am running a SBF 363 and I am guessing the power will be about 500-530 BHP. Because of this we went with a 255 Liter per hour Walbro pump and his upgraded 3/8'' return line with -6AN fittings. This system is feeding a Holly Stealth throttle body with the Terminator X ECU. The way Breeze set it up was to have a fuel filter/regulator combo mounted close to the gas tank and then a single feed line that runs the length of the car supplying a constant 58 PSI to the injectors. I had not heard of this method before but it makes sense to just send one fuel line the length of the car. More on this when I actually get around to the install.







For brakes I went with Gordon Levy's brake kit. 6 piston 14'' brakes in the front and 13'' 4 piston in the rear with the mechanical parking brake. I know its probably overkill but I think they look great and should perform even better. Only the fronts have arrived so far and I was able to get the rotors and hats assembled. First time I have safety wired anything. Definitely a learning experience but it was fun putting them together. I found it difficult to get the safety wire through the bolts with the small amount of clearance between the bolt and rotor. I would also recommend checking that all the bolts are drilled for safety wire before installing. I had one bolt that was not drilled so I had to remove it after I had already torqued it an applied red locktite so I could drill it out.

More to come as the parts keep coming.

[Skuzzy]

Shakey, just a suggestion, but you should try and place the fuel regulator as close to the destination as possible. It can help reduce pressure variations at the injectors.

[Shakey]

Hey Skuzzy,

No, I haven't gotten around to the fuel tank install yet. Probably December before my motor arrives. I was just reading through the instructions that Breeze sent. It does seem a different way of installing than I have seen before. I would be curious if anyone has used the filter/regulator combo near the fuel tank in the past.

Thanks,

Shakey

[edwardb]

Hey Skuzzy,

No, I haven't gotten around to the fuel tank install yet. Probably December before my motor arrives. I was just reading through the instructions that Breeze sent. It does seem a different way of installing than I have seen before. I would be curious if anyone has used the filter/regulator combo near the fuel tank in the past.

Thanks,

Shakey

Whole bunch of builds with that GM regulator back by the tank and the resulting short return line and single supply line up to the engine. Not to mention all the Corvettes GM put it in.

[Shakey]

Whole bunch of builds with that GM regulator back by the tank and the resulting short return line and single supply line up to the engine. Not to mention all the Corvettes GM put it in.

Thanks for the insight! I feel a lot better going with what Breeze is recommending now.

V/r

Shakey

[Skuzzy]

Whole bunch of builds with that GM regulator back by the tank and the resulting short return line and single supply line up to the engine. Not to mention all the Corvettes GM put it in.

No disrespect meant, but we are not working with a system which has been seamlessly designed to function together, from one end to the other.

During hard acceleration, the mass of the fuel, in the line, is going to cause a momentary pressure surge, back to the regulator. This moment causes the regulator to drop pressure in the line. During hard deceleration, the reverse happens.

How much of an impact it can have will be determined by how much overhead the system has and how sensitive the controller is to changes in pressure.

My personal design philosophy is to be better safe than sorry. Yes, it is a hassle to put the regulator close to the engine, but it is the best choice, for a system composed of disparate components.

[Shakey]

Before I discuss the kit delivery, I will take a few minutes to set the scene. Long story short, I am in the Navy and was set to go on a routine deployment September of this year. Because of world events that occurred earlier this year my deployment got moved up by a month. I ordered my kit in November of last year and it is hard to predict what is going to happen 9 months down the road.

As fate would have it, I left for deployment on August 12th and Stewart showed up the next day. Big shout out to my awesome wife and friends for stepping up to take delivery of my kit. They did a great job of getting it down the gravel drive and into the shop where it will have to wait for a couple months until I can start work on it.

They sent me plenty of pictures…..



Obligatory Stewart truck shot.



This is a good view of the custom cart I made in preparation for the offroad trip to the shop.



I guess they blocked the whole street for a little while. That road is not too busy, and no traffic issues were passed to me.



All loaded up and ready to move. If you look closely, you can see some ratchet straps going through the frame holding the kit to the cart.



The lawn mower/cart combo worked like a champ. A lot nimbler than using a full-size vehicle.



All tucked in. Another benefit to using a cart that I built was that they just left the kit on the cart and didn’t have to mess with putting it on jack stands. That will be my first task when I get back.

[rhk118]

Congrats man! for whatever reason I can't see your pictures...

[Skuzzy]

Pictures are not showing up, but I get the gist of it. Congratulations and stay safe out there!

[Shakey]

Hopefully the pictures are visible now. I had the album set to private. Oops. Please let me know if they are still not showing up.

Thanks.

[rhk118]

Yeah they are visible, delivery days never get old!

[Shakey]

I went ahead and ordered my wheels recently. I have gone back and forth for a long time on what wheel look I wanted and, like many others, I have landed on the Forgestar F14. There are other wheels out there that I like the look of more but, at the price point and offsets available, I think the Forgestar wheels are the way to go.

I called up Jason at Get Your Wheels and he was super helpful. Turns out they have a database with all FFR 65 coupe orders and what offsets/specifications were ordered. Ordering wheels without having done any measurements myself made me a little nervous. With the help of Logan's thread and the data from GYWs I felt pretty good about placing the order.

Here is what I ordered:

Fronts: Forgestar F14 SDC 18x10 +12mm offset 5x114.3 bolt pattern
Rears: Forgestar F14 UDC 19x12 -25mm offset 5x114.3 bolt pattern
ACC Hubring 70.6 on all 4 corners (This is per their recommendation)
Color: I am having them finished in a Gloss Brushed Antique Bronze, Pics below.

They quoted me 10 weeks or so for delivery time. I will post when I get them in hand and bolted up.

[Shakey]

Hard to believe that it has been five months since my last post. I have been working on the car as much as possible and have been making some progress. The current task I have been working on is getting the brake lines installed. Like everyone, I have really been struggling with getting parts from my POL/MIK list from FFR. The biggest parts I have been waiting on has been the front two-piece spindles and hubs. It's been six long months and a bunch of e-mails/phone calls and I am still waiting on them. I would have a rolling chassis and front brakes installed by now if it wasn't for the parts delay.

Pics below are from the last few months of work.



Got the IRS installed and wheels mounted. Like I have read recently in other posts, I was also missing or had incorrect fasteners. Went and got the correct hardware from Tacoma Screw.



Rear brakes installed. Mechanical parking brake and 13" rotors purchased from Gordon.





Got most of the steering installed. My steering wheel is on the POL so hopefully that arrives soon and I can get started on the NRG quick release. I got the idea from another forum member to use the ICT billet optima battery mount plate in this picture and had it powder coated.



Fuel tank is in and I have been plumbing my fuel lines.





Radiator and Fan are installed. I got the aluminum panels powder coated and then painted the radiator with Eastwood radiator paint in gloss black. That product went on really easy and I am happy with the result.


More to follow in the future. I really appreciate everyone's post on the forums. They have been a big help in the build so far.

Shakey

[edwardb]

Looking great. You're making good progress. Too bad about the front spindles. Those seem to go out of stock somewhat regularly unfortunately. They're made overseas and I know have a long lead time. But six months does seem like a long time. Hopefully FF will get you an answer and the parts soon. The hubs are generic Mustang SN95 parts, available all over. Really not a good reason for those to be backordered. But having said that, I know you'd like to see a roller. But you have tons of things you can be doing without the front suspension completed. Hopefully you're not locking yourself down to the manual build order. Brake lines, fuel lines, electrical, finish riveting all the panels that in your picture aren't done yet. Even drop the engine in and working from there. Unless you have an extra long shop crane or an overhead setup, you're going to want the radiator out of the way to install the engine. I have the 2 ton HF version, and it was all the say out without the radiator in place. I know some Roadster builders put them in from the side. Haven't tried it and don't know if the Coupe would be an option.

[Rian_Colorado]

Before I discuss the kit delivery, I will take a few minutes to set the scene. Long story short, I am in the Navy and was set to go on a routine deployment September of this year. Because of world events that occurred earlier this year my deployment got moved up by a month. I ordered my kit in November of last year and it is hard to predict what is going to happen 9 months down the road.

As fate would have it, I left for deployment on August 12th and Stewart showed up the next day. Big shout out to my awesome wife and friends for stepping up to take delivery of my kit. They did a great job of getting it down the gravel drive and into the shop where it will have to wait for a couple months until I can start work on it.

They sent me plenty of pictures…..



Obligatory Stewart truck shot.



This is a good view of the custom cart I made in preparation for the offroad trip to the shop.



I guess they blocked the whole street for a little while. That road is not too busy, and no traffic issues were passed to me.



All loaded up and ready to move. If you look closely, you can see some ratchet straps going through the frame holding the kit to the cart.



The lawn mower/cart combo worked like a champ. A lot nimbler than using a full-size vehicle.



All tucked in. Another benefit to using a cart that I built was that they just left the kit on the cart and didn’t have to mess with putting it on jack stands. That will be my first task when I get back.

I was out of town for my delivery too.... kind of a bummer! Thank god I have relatives close by....

[slarson]

The biggest parts I have been waiting on has been the front two-piece spindles and hubs. It's been six long months and a bunch of e-mails/phone calls and I am still waiting on them.

Shakey

I received my coupe kit on 7/25/22 and just received my spindles and hubs the middle of December. Hopefully you will get yours soon!

Your build looks great, I love the finish on the wheels!
I like the idea of painting the radiator also.

Scott

[Shakey]

Thanks for the posts and feedback!


Edwardb,

I have been trying to jump around in the manual as much as I can. Your build thread really has helped to look at to see what items you can get taken care of and when so that you don't back your self into a corner. I have been working on things like the trunk box and all the aluminimum fitting. I posted some pics below of the charcoal canister and brake reservoir routing. Probably going to start the dash and electrical next.

As far as the engine goes, I placed and order with Ford Strokers in Feb of 2022 and I knew it would be a long wait time. That was why I ordered the motor six months prior to my kit arriving. I got an update from Nicole and she said they are still hurting from the Dart production backup so I probably won't have my engine completed until March. Probably worth mentioning that Nicole and Woody have been awesome to work with. It can't be easy to deal with a bunch of eager customers waiting a year plus for a motor. Their customer service is top notch.

When I do get my motor, I am probably going to have to rearrange the shop and remove the radiator(thanks for the heads up) like you mentioned to get the motor in from the front. I would very cautiously make an attempt from the side but we will see how stable everything looks when the install day arrives.

Rian_Colorado,

Yeah having a supporting wife and some friends nearby was a huge help getting the kit delivered. Stewart was also really accommidating dealing with me being out of town.


Scott,


Thanks, Looks like I'm on the same timeline as you just a month behind. I got an e-mail from FFR saying a 12lb box will be delivered this weekend so hopefully that's the front spindles.



This is a good shot of the fuel filter/regulator combo that I got from Breeze. The install was really easy with the single SS/teflon fuel line running up to the engine.



This is the charcoal canister I made from PVC and fish tank charcoal bags. I put it on the left side because the Breeze install instructions for the big vent kit recommended it. Makes sense to me, if you are turning hard to the left, fuel is going to have to fight the Gs to flow out of the vent tube.





I used a plastic cable glad to insulate the brake reservoir hoses as they pass through the foot box. I ordered a set of various sizes from amazon to use for electrical routing but this one fit the hole that was already drilled perfectly.



I swapped the front and rear master cyliders for the 5/8in size that Rsnake reccomended on his youtube channel. I used the 3/4 that came with the kit for the hydraulic clutch I am planning.

V/r

Shakey

[JMo]

Shakey,

Interested to get your impressions on the A4 seats. I've been looking at those but haven't seen anyone else using them. Curious how the height is with the shaved base. I'm considering unshaved but hard to tell without having them in hand. Also interested in how well the side bolsters and seatback "wings" fit in the cockpit. Alsoo are you putting those on sliders? thanks

John

[rhk118]

I used a plastic cable glad to insulate the brake reservoir hoses as they pass through the foot box.

Great progress Shakey and thanks for the update. Any idea what size cable glad that is for the brake reservoir hoses? That is a slick detail. I found some rubber grommets at Ace hardware that fit and cut 3 holes into one, isn't pretty but guess it will work, but like the idea of something I won't need to be replacing due to cracking every few years - since that area is so visible would like it to look clean like that. Great little detail.

[Shakey]

Shakey,

Interested to get your impressions on the A4 seats. I've been looking at those but haven't seen anyone else using them. Curious how the height is with the shaved base. I'm considering unshaved but hard to tell without having them in hand. Also interested in how well the side bolsters and seatback "wings" fit in the cockpit. Alsoo are you putting those on sliders? thanks

John

Hey John,

I love the look of the seats. I got them in the black microsuede from Mike Forte. Sitting in them, the side bolsters are very prominent and seem to hold you in the seat very well. I got the regular width seat and the sides are defiantly snug in the cockpit. The sides currently do not touch the aluminum panels just sitting in there but with sound deadening and carpet I think the side will rub a bit. These seats have a reclining lever that makes the fit between the seatbelt mounts really challenging. I had to remove the lever cover and do some minor cutting but the seat now fits between the belt mounts. It is going to be really tight to get the seatbelt bolts in there. I have not mounted them yet but will post to let you know how it goes.

I am planning to put the same Corbeau sliders(PN# C22059) Paul used in the car. That was the main driver for me getting the shaved seat option. I think the saved seat option helps a bit and is worth it. I think there is still plenty of padding in there to keep the seat comfortable.

I am 6'4'' with longer legs and a short torso. Seat height is not as big of a deal for me as the leg room. That's mainly why I wanted the sliders in there so others can move the seat forward to drive it. Also, for those with longer torsos, they can move the seat forward and recline if needed to get some more head room.

I'll get some more detailed picks next time I'm down in the shop.

V/R

Shakey

[JMo]

Hey John,

I love the look of the seats. I got them in the black microsuede from Mike Forte. Sitting in them, the side bolsters are very prominent and seem to hold you in the seat very well. I got the regular width seat and the sides are defiantly snug in the cockpit. The sides currently do not touch the aluminum panels just sitting in there but with sound deadening and carpet I think the side will rub a bit. These seats have a reclining lever that makes the fit between the seatbelt mounts really challenging. I had to remove the lever cover and do some minor cutting but the seat now fits between the belt mounts. It is going to be really tight to get the seatbelt bolts in there. I have not mounted them yet but will post to let you know how it goes.

I am planning to put the same Corbeau sliders(PN# C22059) Paul used in the car. That was the main driver for me getting the shaved seat option. I think the saved seat option helps a bit and is worth it. I think there is still plenty of padding in there to keep the seat comfortable.

I am 6'4'' with longer legs and a short torso. Seat height is not as big of a deal for me as the leg room. That's mainly why I wanted the sliders in there so others can move the seat forward to drive it. Also, for those with longer torsos, they can move the seat forward and recline if needed to get some more head room.

I'll get some more detailed picks next time I'm down in the shop.

V/R

Shakey

Hey thanks for the reply Shakey. Was a bit concerned about the placement of the belt anchors and the reclining lever but sounds like that can be made to work. Looking forward to seeing more...

John

[Shakey]

Great progress Shakey and thanks for the update. Any idea what size cable glad that is for the brake reservoir hoses? That is a slick detail. I found some rubber grommets at Ace hardware that fit and cut 3 holes into one, isn't pretty but guess it will work, but like the idea of something I won't need to be replacing due to cracking every few years - since that area is so visible would like it to look clean like that. Great little detail.

The cable gland in that picture is 1in NPT. Measures 1in inner diameter and 1-5/16in outer diameter of the threads. It was included in the kit I got here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R86BHBC...t_details&th=1

V/R

Shakey

[Shakey]

I have still been working on the car and I keep finding more and more things to get done while I wait for parts. I am also waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can start doing some painting/bed liner application on aluminum panels. So, here is what I have been up to…….

I got my steering wheel from FFR so I was able to do the NRG quick release project. There are so many good write ups on the forum about this that it made it fairly simple. Once you get all the pieces in front of you and spend some time wrapping your head around it everything made a lot more sense. I did it without the use of the “centering jigs” that I have seen people use. I just used clamps and took my time to get the pieces lined up and I think I got it pretty close to dead on. I also got a little reckless with the credit card one day and bought the steering wheel center emblem I have been eying. I really like how it looks and fits the wheel better than the FFR one, especially after doing this mod because the O-ring holding it in place is much shallower i.e. grips the steering wheel not the hub. Got it here. https://www.**********accessories.co...enter-cap.aspx







I mentioned in another forum about the Forte mechanical throttle linkage and where to mount the 90 degree spring mount. I was playing around with this location but not sure yet. Might need to move it down more and it might be too close to the exhaust. I also need to get a shorter spring.

[Shakey]

I dove into the HVAC system. I didn’t realize the manual was 130+ pages. I do think it is much better written and goes into more detail than the build manual does. I found everything pretty straight forward so far. I am about as far as I can get on it without an engine. I was not prepared for all the modification that was required to make the FFR supplied condenser fit. Took some time with the cutoff wheel to trim off the drivers side mounting flange so it would fit between the frame.

[Shakey]

Battery Cutt-off switch. I know I wanted one of these on my build and decided to put it on the negative side of the battery and make it a “Push-Off” activation from the drivers seat. The switch is remote mounted under the hood and activated with a pushrod. I also like how it can be activated from the engine bay if needed. I plan to only use it in emergencies or when storing for months at a time. I know it would not be NHRA legal, but it makes the most sense to me. Especially when you are running a system like Terminator X that requires connection directly to the battery.







Switch in ON position:



Switch in OFF position:




That’s all for now.

Thanks for reading and following along.

V/R

Shakey