Project Deimos: An LS Coupe Build -- The Coupe has landed!

[edwardb]

Well. you can't say you haven't seen one before now! Factory Five's display Coupes plus yours. Awesome! Have a safe trip home. I'm sure you're anxious to get started. Have fun with the build. If you're at LCS, be sure to look me up.

[JimStone]

Time to let the real fun begin!!!! Factory Five is always worth the drive!

The 12x6' trailer with platform on top worked great, so thanks again for the idea!

Congratulations!

Thanks GoDadGo! I'm having a blast so far!

That sounds like a great experience. A lot more eventful than the Stewart truck coming to my house. What part of Michigan are you in? I am building a coupe in that state down south of you.

Brent,

It really was a memorable experience. Had to take 2 days off work, 28 hours of driving, but really was well worth it to see the factory and meet the people behind the company.

We live a about 1000 feet north of the Indiana/Michigan line in Niles Michigan. So pretty much South Bend, which is where we work, send our kids to school, shop, etc etc. Where in Indiana are you?

I've been following your build thread - lots of cool ideas and custom stuff there - keep up the good work!

Sounding like a really solid plan Jim. Nice to "kind of" meet you when Dave called me while you were doing your pickup yesterday! Hopefully we'll be able to do it for real and in person soon---hinting again at LCS next month It's a really good way to check out a bunch of cars, meet other builders and gather lots of ideas before and during the build process. Oh, one other thing, fantastic garage update but now it's just too nice to work in!!!!

Jeff

Jeff,

Dave had me cracking up. He asked if I had any plan for paint. I said it was a few years away but that Jeff Kleiner happened to be a few hours south of me. Dave gave me a bit of a strange look, so I asked him if he knew you. He didn't say anything - just whipped out his phone and called you up right there!

I am thinking of getting to the London show if work/family permit. I've never been to it. Sounds like a good place to meet some Legends and steal some build ideas.

And, yes, I'm a bit of clean freak with my garage now. Luckily, I'm blessed with multiple garages and I have a detached 2 stall garage to do my "dirty work" in.

Congrats! Safe travels

Thanks! Everything went extremely smoothly.

Well. you can't say you haven't seen one before now! Factory Five's display Coupes plus yours. Awesome! Have a safe trip home. I'm sure you're anxious to get started. Have fun with the build. If you're at LCS, be sure to look me up.

Thanks Paul! It's hard to believe there is a Daytona sitting in my garage! Loving every minute.

I'll definitely look you up if we're able to make the LCS.

[JimStone]

Working on Inventory now. Taking my time and getting familiar with each part.

Here's some pics of the Coupe arriving at our home:












"Flew" the car off the trailer with my two hoists

[460.465USMC]

Beautiful sight to see! Such a good feeling to get the kit into the garage.

Enjoy the inventory process. I seem to like the first 75%-80%, but it gets a bit tedious at the end. That's self-inflicted because I examine every bolt, hose, clamp, toe arm, washer, etc. Definitely cuts down on the surprises though later in the build.

Have fun!

[JimStone]

Beautiful sight to see! Such a good feeling to get the kit into the garage.

Enjoy the inventory process. I seem to like the first 75%-80%, but it gets a bit tedious at the end. That's self-inflicted because I examine every bolt, hose, clamp, toe arm, washer, etc. Definitely cuts down on the surprises though later in the build.

Have fun!

Thanks Chris! I'm checking every nut/bolt too. Letting my OCD run wild!

[burchfieldb]

Looks like the boys are having fun! One of mine is already driving and the other one is probably thinking it might be a good first car for her. I am in Columbus Ohio, the other southern state. Hopefully you don't have too many missing parts and FFR got thier inventory system sorted out. I got mine right after Covid, so things were a little out of wack. Hope to see you at LCS, I won't be road worthy yet, but will still be there.

[JimStone]

Looks like the boys are having fun! One of mine is already driving and the other one is probably thinking it might be a good first car for her. I am in Columbus Ohio, the other southern state. Hopefully you don't have too many missing parts and FFR got thier inventory system sorted out. I got mine right after Covid, so things were a little out of wack. Hope to see you at LCS, I won't be road worthy yet, but will still be there.

FFR has definitely worked out the inventory part since your post-COVID experience. It is very organized now with complete parts list and sub-lists, each denoting specific boxes of parts. Only a few minor bolts and a gasket missing from my kit, and just a handful of parts on the POL that I wont' need for months.

And, yeah, not sure a racecar is the best first vehicle for your daughter. Or second, third, or fourth.

[JimStone]

Finished inventory. It was a very satisfying experience that I really enjoyed. I took other's suggestions and made of copy the parts list for each box, then taped the list to the front of each box for easy identification.

I requisitioned an unused bedroom downstairs as my parts storeroom.










This last pic is my upgrade goodies corner:

[egchewy79]

if your garage reno is any indication of your attention to detail, the coupe will come out fantastic.
what kind of doc are you? I'm guessing ER or anesthesia. Looking forward to seeing blue surgical towels in your future build pics.

[JimStone]

if your garage reno is any indication of your attention to detail, the coupe will come out fantastic.
what kind of doc are you? I'm guessing ER or anesthesia. Looking forward to seeing blue surgical towels in your future build pics.

Thanks! I am pretty anal-retentive - I suppose that may help in a project like this.

I'm actually an Internal Medicine doc. If I could do it over again, I'd pick Anesthesiology. Maybe Dermatology (make bank giving Botox injections and lip fillers to housewives, haha).

[GoDadGo]

You've Got Me Wanting To Build A Coupe!

........From The Dark Side For Sure!

.....https://youtu.be/7StrICb7EJ8

[JimStone]

Hard to believe it's been nearly a month since the Coupe arrived.

I've learned a few things in the past month:


1) I won't have time to document a step-by-step timeline on this thread. It'll have to be more pictures and comments.

2) I'm going to be my own worst enemy when it comes to doing anything efficiently.

I can't seem to be satisfied with anything as is. For instance, the Koni shocks that come with the kit are powder coated red. Well, my color combo is going to be metallic grey, black, and gold accents. No red. So I became determined to paint them gold.

In order to do that, I needed to sand blast the red powder coat off. My puny 8 gallon air compressor wasn't going to cut it, so I ordered and installed a 60 gal compressor for media blasting and to eventually paint/Cerakote parts. I made the mistake of getting a harbor freight siphon media blaster and wasted a weekend trying to get it to work consistently before chucking it in the garbage. So now I'm waiting on an Eastwood media blaster.










In the meantime, since I can't do the suspension without the shocks, I've had to skip around the build manual.




POR-15'd black the part of the steering rack that was ugly dull gray powder coat, then installed



Prepped the tank with the Pro-M hanger, Breeze big bore relief valve, and genuine Ford filler neck seal




Have been powder coating some small parts. Set up a powder coating booth / old oven in the outside garage before the kit arrived.






Experimented with some powders from Eastwood and Prismatic to find which ones I'll be using






I also got the Wilwood pedal box installed with replacement 5/8" master cylinders (instead of kit supplied 3/4") and 13/16" MC for the hydraulic release bearing.

Test fitted the steering shaft components.


I'd like to take the body off to get easier access, but I'm waiting on my Braum Orue seats to arrive to test-fit. All the dimensions online are similar or smaller than the well-trialed Corbeau A4's, but I'm still nervous they won't fit.

[JimStone]

The garage has become a nice place to hang out, even when not working on the car.

Here's our little guy watching Pirates of the Caribbean while I do some charting for work.

[Higgybulin]

That's awesome!
Higgy

[burchfieldb]

I like it, starting him young hanging out in the garage!

[TangoUniform]

Amazing build so far and you just got started!

[Alan_C]

The garage has become a nice place to hang out, even when not working on the car.

Here's our little guy watching Pirates of the Caribbean while I do some charting for work.

So where did you source your neon signs? Do you know of someone who is licensed to make Factory Five signs and banners?

[JimStone]

So where did you source your neon signs? Do you know of someone who is licensed to make Factory Five signs and banners?

Alan,
I made the LED the signs myself. Watched some tutorials online. Was tedious, but not too hard. Still probably cost about $125 a piece with the parts and power supplies. Was a fun winter project.

I showed Dave Smith pictures of them when I picked up my kit last month. Said sorry for the copyright infringement. He didn't mind