Jesse builds another Cobra #11,061 - Clutch cover, cockpit & a little engine bling

[Blitzboy54]

So it begins....


Hey Gang!

It's been a whirlwind few months. Just to bring everyone up to speed I recently sold my MK4. It was an awesome car that I loved to drive and I already miss dearly.



As it turns out the thing I loved slightly more than owning it was building it. I didn't have the resources to keep this one and build another so a choice was made. Like all of you know (or are going to find out) is while building one of these you learn so many things. I have a running list in my head of items that if I was to do it again what I would do differently. So here we go.

I sold my first MK4 in early June and ordered my next one immediately. My guiding principle this time is to make it as modern as practical. Think what would this car look like if it was built today. I know AC is re releasing a limited addition car but I have intentionally avoided looking at it as I don't want my build to be influenced by it.

I flirted hard with a digital gauge cluster. The dash in consideration is a 12" rectangle screen. When it came down to it I would have had to embed it near the center of the dash. It looked pretty interesting when in use but when off it made the car look like a Tesla, I was also concerned about solar glare. So traditional gauges it is.

My completion date was 8/3. Stewart called a couple days ago and she will arrive on Saturday the 25th. I am the first stop so yay!



Changes from the last one

IRS
Carbon Fiber Dash
Coyote Mounts
18" Wheels (not been ordered yet, will not be Halbrand)
Custom seats, door cards and transmission cover from Intatrim in the UK
Bluetooth navigation screen with both front and backup camera's (too many clowns on the road. I am going to protect myself with an integrated dash cam)
2" roll bars
TKX with mid shift
Chambered Exhaust
FFR headers with Cats
The plan right now is to integrate a chin spoiler. I have several different directions I can go with this but I am fully committed to doing it.
I have several color schemes in mind. I have only committed to one color. Whether it's the primary, secondary or accent color has yet to be decided but Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to introduce you to Chevy Amplify Orange.



Lastly I am trying so hard NOT to supercharge the coyote. I keep telling myself 450 is plenty and I DO NOT NEED 650hp at the wheel. I DO NOT!! Having said that I have not ruled it out.

[Blitzboy54]

Adventures in Coyote'ing

I am fully committed to running a Coyote. My last car had pushrod 306, it was fine but no longer what I want. After committing to a Coyote I learned some stuff. Mainly, there are no more Gen 3 crate engines, like anywhere. The Gen 4 is available but I did not....1. Have $12,000 for an engine or 2. Want to be the first one through the wall on this even if I did.

So as gently used an engine as I could find was for me the right move. I found a side collision 2017 Gen 2 with 13k miles on it. I did my homework and it was in fact what it was being listed as. The company selling it offered free residential shipping and had a 100% rating on both Google and Ebay. So the trigger was pulled. When she arrived she looked GREAT!!



While doing my due diligence however I found this. The core plugs were popped out on both heads (RutRow).



The engine is so clean otherwise and the miles so low I couldn't completely give up on it. So I took it to a shop to have it dyno'd. I found some cheap headers and away we went.



I got lucky in that a fellow builder Gbranham had also run into Coyote issues but switched to a 427. He had all the integration parts that he could not use. So I purchased them from him. He got rid of some useless parts and I saved $500 (score). I was able to get her ready to run.

The shop called and said the good news is they got it to start. That was the end of the good news. The engine had no compression on any of the drivers side cylinders. This was a bummer.

I called the guy I bought the engine from and he agreed to ship it back at his cost. He had another engine they had just listed with 40K miles on it that he would sell me at a discount to try and make up for the mishap. I agreed to this. So he refunded me the difference and sent me the second engine.

When again doing my due diligence I found this.



The throttle body had a lot of burned oil on it. This makes almost no sense so I removed it and found almost a half a cup of oil in the intake manifold. Learning from my first mistake and did a leak down test and found 3 cylinders were over 40% and leaking in both directions. The spark plugs were all very wet as well.



So back went engine number 2



ALL IS NOT LOST

So now I have all my money back and no engine. While figuring out next steps I found that you can buy a Factory rebuilt engine directly from Ford. These engines come with a 100K mile warranty and cost about as much as a used pull out. $7500 delivered. The downside is there is a $1200 core fee. I searched all over and found a seized Gen 2 core from a guy on FB marketplace he was selling for $400. I talked him into selling it to me for $350. The rebuild does not come with an intake manifold, fuel parts, coil pack or harness. I now have all those things for the cost of the core so this was a very good deal for me.

The engine arrives tomorrow. I am super excited.

[Blitzboy54]

In the meantime I my goal on this build is to control the sound. I have a set of FFR side pipes and decided to weld in a set of mufflers from Chambered Exhaust. I went with the 2.5" with packing. My goal is to be able to take short 30 minute local rides and not need ear plugs. On long trips or trips involving the highway you need them for the wind noise alone, that is unavoidable. These mufflers are 2” longer than the stock FFR version.

So I brought them to my buddies house and we got started



I also want to angle the tips down, so I am going to stop here for now. After I get them fitted with the body I will weld on the support tabs and re attach the tips once I find the angle that works best. My daughter is moving off campus so we have been collecting a bunch of stuff she needs for another week. Looking forward to getting my garage back.




I also managed to get started on the pedal. We will see if this is enough. I have read enough threads that imply it might not be. We will see

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Delivery Party?

[Junbug]

In the meantime I my goal on this build is to control the sound. I have a set of FFR side pipes and decided to weld in a set of mufflers from Chambered Exhaust. I went with the 2.5" with packing. My goal is to be able to take short 30 minute local rides and not need ear plugs. On long trips or trips involving the highway you need them for the wind noise alone, that is unavoidable.

So I brought them to my buddies house and we got started


I also want to angle the tips down, so I am going to stop here for now. After I get them fitted with the body I will weld on the support tabs and re attach the tips once I find the angle that works best. My daughter is moving off campus so we have been collecting a bunch of stuff she needs for another week. Looking forward to getting my garage back.


I also managed to get started on the pedal. We will see if this is enough. I have read enough threads that imply it might not be. We will see

I found that I needed to open up the holes in the bolt mounting locations to get the pedal body to fit right. In doing so I popped out the small circular metal rings and used a round hand file to gently widen the holes as needed. The body provides the support once installed so when putting the bolts in, i ensured the metal rings were back in place, albeit in larger holes. Looking good! Can't wait to see how those pipes turn out, with the tip pointed down... should look and sound sharp.

[Blitzboy54]

Delivery Party?

Oh heck yeah! That’s a great idea. I’ll be in touch.

[Namrups]

Excited for you Jesse! Your engine issues suck but it sounds like you've got them figured out. Like your build ideas and am looking forward to your build. Let me know what time saturday. You will hear me before you see me!!!

[cv2065]

Your last Cobra was awesome. I'm sure this next one will top that. Excited for your new build!

[John Ibele]

Way to go, Jesse. I can't say I've got the bug to build another one yet. But I wouldn't rule it out. Happy to enjoy another of your build threads, good luck!

[gbranham]

Glad those Coyote parts are being put to use! Sorry about your engine woes!

Greg

[Its Bruce]

Can you please take a photo of the cross section of the FFR-supplied muffler now that it's cut off? Thx

[Blitzboy54]

Can you please take a photo of the cross section of the FFR-supplied muffler now that it's cut off? Thx

Shoot, sorry man, I tossed them in the recycle bin after inspecting them. It didn’t occur to me to take a photo.

I should know better. Sorry.

[ggunter]

Sorry to hear about the engines from the internet. Its, a chance all of us take when buying there. Luckily you dealt with someone who was reputable. I think the Ford rebuild is a great idea and they warranty is fantastic. It takes the fear factor out of buying from unknowns on the internet. I am wanting to mount a camera on my roll bar that shoots both forward and backward because of several almost rear end collisions that I have had from someone coming up behind you and not paying attention. One a school bus and the other a tractor trailer. Both times if I did not have an escape route it would have been a very bad day for me. Do you know what kind of camera set up you are going to use? Dash cams are great for telling the truth in court. Your other car was beautiful. Sometimes I think of doing another car, but I think I'm too old to do this again, as much fun as it was.

[Blitzboy54]

Sorry to hear about the engines from the internet. Its, a chance all of us take when buying there. Luckily you dealt with someone who was reputable. I think the Ford rebuild is a great idea and they warranty is fantastic. It takes the fear factor out of buying from unknowns on the internet. I am wanting to mount a camera on my roll bar that shoots both forward and backward because of several almost rear end collisions that I have had from someone coming up behind you and not paying attention. One a school bus and the other a tractor trailer. Both times if I did not have an escape route it would have been a very bad day for me. Do you know what kind of camera set up you are going to use? Dash cams are great for telling the truth in court. Your other car was beautiful. Sometimes I think of doing another car, but I think I'm too old to do this again, as much fun as it was.

I am considering this unit. It's really a sound system but I'm not planning on connecting that. I will bluetooth in my phone for navigation. I am also considering some creative charging options.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN94Z1ZM...lig_dp_it&th=1

The plan would be to mount the front camera somewhere that is not obvious. Will keep a flash drive memory that writes over.

[Blitzboy54]

The Eagle has landed

The factory refurb arrived and it really is what I hoped it would be.






I drained the oil and made the cobra changes. I tipped the engine and removed the pan and pickup. I added the Moroso pan/pickup and all the sensors. I will be using Autometer gauges. Not the FFR offering but I found a set I really like. I put the oil pressure, water temp and oil temp sending units. I put the oil back in. Since I will be changing it 500 miles in no reason not to re use brand new oil.

[ggunter]

That baby looks great. How much was it with shipping?

[Blitzboy54]

That baby looks great. How much was it with shipping?

$7500

There is a $1200 core fee. I got it waived and found a core. The issue is honestly core coyote’s are really hard to find. It’s kind of wild how in demand the Coyote is right now. You find an LS anywhere.

[RoadSwag]

Good Sir... your car (it will always be YOUR car) has not gone far and is being well cared for... but driven HARD! I had the pleasure of buying this beautiful green beast and drive it almost daily. From one OCD engineer to another, this is a well built hand crafted masterpiece. I look forward to watching your next build and taking diligent notes. But first I gotta move the dang pedal box up about 6" so I am not on my tip toes driving it. So worth it though.

I am quickly learning there is no better feeling than getting a thumbs up or head nod from every vehicle, every age, every passerby...
mk4.jpg

[Blitzboy54]

Good Sir... your car (it will always be YOUR car) has not gone far and is being well cared for... but driven HARD! I had the pleasure of buying this beautiful green beast and drive it almost daily. From one OCD engineer to another, this is a well built hand crafted masterpiece. I look forward to watching your next build and taking diligent notes. But first I gotta move the dang pedal box up about 6" so I am not on my tip toes driving it. So worth it though.

I am quickly learning there is no better feeling than getting a thumbs up or head nod from every vehicle, every age, every passerby...
mk4.jpg

Ha! Hey man I’m glad you’re enjoying it! Welcome aboard.


Funny story, about a month after you took possession I was in California on business, I got text messages from 3 different people saying they saw you driving around. I appreciate the kind words. Glad you made your way to the forum. This place is the best.

[Namrups]

Good Sir... your car (it will always be YOUR car) has not gone far and is being well cared for... but driven HARD! I had the pleasure of buying this beautiful green beast and drive it almost daily. From one OCD engineer to another, this is a well built hand crafted masterpiece. I look forward to watching your next build and taking diligent notes. But first I gotta move the dang pedal box up about 6" so I am not on my tip toes driving it. So worth it though.

I am quickly learning there is no better feeling than getting a thumbs up or head nod from every vehicle, every age, every passerby...
mk4.jpg

We need you to join the Upstate Cobra Club! Keep the car in the "family"!

[RoadSwag]

Not surprised! I have to keep finding new "loops" to drive so I dont look like that old guy out on my sunday drive. Look forward to getting to meet more fanatics.

[RoadSwag]

We need you to join the Upstate Cobra Club! Keep the car in the "family"!

Please tell me more!

[Namrups]

Please tell me more!

On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/398129913564479 146 members from all over the northeast. Great group of guys.

[Blitzboy54]

Calm before the storm

It's been a busy few days with family visits and getting my daughter back to college and moved into her new digs. Now that the garage is empty I managed to get some time to get organized. I received the call from the driver today. He will be here bright and early in the morning at 7:00am. I got busy and cranked out a down and dirty body buck and frame dolly.



Also got the engine dressed with the pulley drive HW.

[fauxbra5.0]

Where did you get the reman engine from?

[Jeff Kleiner]

I saw the Stewart truck leave FFR this morning after loading yours up!

Jeff

[Blitzboy54]

Where did you get the reman engine from?

Fraser Engine and Transmissions. They do there own in house rebuilds but broker Ford units as well.

There are a handful of other company’s you can buy them from. But you can also get them directly from Ford.

https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/en...an-gas-engines

[Blitzboy54]

i saw the stewart truck leave ffr this morning after loading yours up!

Jeff

sweet!!!!!

[Blitzboy54]

Well, it happened. The Roadster fairy arrived early this morning. Just before it got here I heard a rumble, I wasn't sure what it was then realized it was our friend Scott and his Daytona Coupe. He dragged himself out of bed at 6:00 in the morning to come help me take delivery. A real team player.



The truck arrived packed to the gills. A little fun fact, the driver was the same fella that dropped off my first build. He remembered the house and noticed it had been painted since the last time he was here. I was honestly impressed.



Scott jumping in with both feet and his load bearing belt.




We dug through all the boxes and pulled through the inventory. The only thing missing is I ordered a 2 sets of 2 inch roll bars and grommets. They were supposed to ship with my delivery but missed the truck. I assume they will be shipped along later. The only back ordered item was my drive shaft. Pretty impressive compared to my last build where I had 3 pages.

Once inventory was complete I tucked away the boxes based on need. The parts most likely to be used first up front. Nice thing about having done this before is knowing what you need and when.

[Blitzboy54]

The Upstate Cobra Club gang started showing up in force. It was an incredible afternoon of good friends hanging out and enjoying the process. A couple guys drove up from Hudson over an hour and half away. Great group of people.



And of course they all brought their toys.







And even our new friend Chris stopped by with an old friend.





All in all it was an incredible day. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. We had a lot of laughs and got this project off to a tremendous start. Thanks to everyone for all their help today. It was very much appreciated. Roadster MK4 build number 11,061 is off to a great start

[Blitzboy54]

Like Riding a Bike

Got right to work marking and drilling the panels. I plan to powder coat the panels so I have to prioritize getting the F Panels and Firewall done. Neither fits in my oven and you need the F Panels in place before you can build the front suspension. I plan to take all the foot box panels to the shop with me. If the price isn't outrageous I may take the easy road and have them do all of them for me. Just to get a head start.






The naked frame is itself a work of art.

[Blitzboy54]

A Glove box, a Heater and a Coyote

The age old struggle to have ones cake and eat it too. I want the largest engine FFR allows you to stuff in one of these. I want a heater and I want a full glove box. No, I don't want to shorten my box and I don't want an firewall forward.

So where to start...

First I drew inspiration from 2 people. Ducky2009 and Frank of i.e. 427 fame. Like most of you I have scoured 100's of build threads for ideas. Ducky had an inovative approach. He also ran a Gen2 coyote with both and his solution was to shorten the box but also to push his heater out into the engine bay like so



I reached out and David was kind enough to go out to his car and take some measurements. His setup runs 7" from the firewall and he said he has just under 9 inches before the engine becomes a hard stop. So I consider 8.5" to be my limit. Frank on the other hand did an incredible video where he used a heater from Summit and modified it to make more stuff fit. In these two approaches lies my solution.

I purchased the following kit from Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-991102-1



I am also using the firewall from FFMetals. It is substantially thicker and better if you are going to hang anything off of it. I marked the box and shortened it by 1 inch. I plan to use the 2 grey ducts as a feed through method.



The idea is this. Mount the heater against the firewall like so. The heater has 1/4-20 threads in the back and I will add rivnuts to the firewall to mount it. I also have a plan for a weather seal between the rough edge of the rough cut box and the firewall that will keep it air tight. If I owned a band saw maybe just a bead of silicone but sadly I do not so.



I then drilled out the firewall and put in the modified louvers. I probably won't drill for the mounts until the engine is in. I have some flexibility of placement before permanently mounting it so why not wait.



The box sits over the top and the firewall essentially becomes the front wall of the heater. Yes, it will get warm, no I don't think that matters (it's tiny heater core and not that much hotter than the engine bay itself. I will also put a layer of insulation between the core and wall. The entire arrangement puts the blower 7.5" from the firewall which will clear and gives me full clearance for the glove box.

[Namrups]

Whow! Look at this boy go!! At this rate you will have it registered by Christmas!! Great start Jesse!

[Blitzboy54]

IRS Prep

While I am wait for powder coat I am starting the IRS prep beginning with the grunt work. I pulled the hubs and knuckles and got to it.

Mercifully you only have to make this cut once (well twice). I don't trust that my sawsall won't jump around so slow and steady won the race using my pneumatic air saw. It took a while but made a pretty clean cut.




Next it was time to take the hammer to the metric wheel hub studs. These came out without any issue at all.



I started torquing down the studs.



I gave Scott a call to see if there was a better way and he unsurprisingly had all kinds of "done it before" knowledge. He had a re enforced bearing that allows the washer to rotate instead of rub against the lug nut. This makes everything a lot easier. Naturally I got so busy torquing down studs I forgot to take any pictures so your going to have to trust me when I tell you it worked better. He also had a 5/8 drill bit so he brought that along. I drilled out the knuckled and front differential mounts while he was here.

At this point I figured we were done but then we said to hell with it, and started hanging the pumpkin.

Now this was really cool. I have read enough threads to know that this job gets dicey. Scott even said this might be ugly since we didn't have the tapered bolts. We pushed the rear of the framed and centered the pumpkin under the large eyebolt I have mounted in a joist for lifting heavy things. We used an ingenious method of using two ratchet straps to pull up then tip the pumpkin forward to line up the bolt holes. It was so ingenious and worked so well we had the thing hung in 20 minutes. Smooth as butter. It went so well I again didn't take any pictures of it. The bad news is I am complete failure with the build documentation this time around. The good news is the IRS center section is done and it looks fantastic.





I found some inconsistency in the build manual. After we hung the diff I torqued the bolts to 100 lb-ft per the manual.



Then later in the section I found this



I am not clear why they would want it torqued to 100 then later 129. Did anyone else leave it at 100? Not the biggest deal as I will re toque them but I found that a bit odd.

[Blitzboy54]

Building the rear end

One of the things I didn't do the first time was I never marked any of my bolts. I torqued everything per the manual then put the car up on stands every year and checked them with a torque wrench. It just doesn't need to be that hard. In the Marine Corps we used torque seal on everything. Any bolt that didn't require safety wire got a hard plastic seal that you could visually see. So I went back to my roots and purchased this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q84FX6K...fed_asin_title

It works great and is kind of thick. It dries hard and gives you a clear visual reference. This time the plan is to lift the car and simply have a look.



I started putting the IRS together. It's a fun erector set of parts. I have a question though. The manual says not to torque the CV Axle nut until the parking brake is installed. Is that because you have to use the parking brake to hold it while you torque it down? Is there any other reason? I appreciate your input.

[JMD]

I'm still on my first build but can already imagine how much faster it would go the second time around. I spend so much time on research, making sure I have the right hardware, making sure things are oriented properly, not knowing what it's supposed to look like until I'm done...I could go back and do it again in half the time now! I can imagine taking pictures is less of a priority this time around as well. I look forward to following this build. Godspeed!

[Namrups]

Building the rear end

One of the things I didn't do the first time was I never marked any of my bolts. I torqued everything per the manual then put the car up on stands every year and checked them with a torque wrench. It just doesn't need to be that hard. In the Marine Corps we used torque seal on everything. Any bolt that didn't require safety wire got a hard plastic seal that you could visually see. So I went back to my roots and purchased this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q84FX6K...fed_asin_title

It works great and is kind of thick. It dries hard and gives you a clear visual reference. This time the plan is to lift the car and simply have a look.



I started putting the IRS together. It's a fun erector set of parts. I have a question though. The manual says not to torque the CV Axle nut until the parking brake is installed. Is that because you have to use the parking brake to hold it while you torque it down? Is there any other reason? I appreciate your input.

Looking good Jesse! I don't remember what my final torque was on my bolts. Not sure it makes a difference as long as they are not moving. At this rate you will have a roller in two weeks!! Start looking for an old set of mustang wheels and tires to use while you wait for the custom ones you want to order! I enjoyed helping with the build. Anytime you need help, just give me a call.

[Blitzboy54]

As I was rounding 3rd base on the IRS there is mention in the manual not to torque the CV nut until the parking brake cables are run. What I think they are trying to say is you can't tighten the nut fully until you have the parking brake to hold it. I build in a very specific way. I am also this way at work. I have to finish things completely or I am running the very real risk of not getting back to it later. I realize there are all kinds of grown up ways I can prevent this but I am not building a race car in my garage because I am a grown up.

That being said I prefer to finish the entire IRS now. Fortunately I have this tool that is used to secure the pinion for removing the pinion nut on my previous build. It is designed to accept a 3/4 in breaker bar so it is plenty stout to hold the drive line.



I wrapped a rag around the frame and got to work




This worked great until I discovered why the Ford spec for the CV nut is 98 lb-ft (or maybe this is just a coincidence) because at 99 lb-ft the limited slip diff kicks in. I can torque it to 98 but anything passed that and the whole thing rotates. I cannot get the 45 deg passed 98 lb-ft.

So to solve that (which also solves the original problem) is I came up with this. Simply pinch the ebrake with channel locks and use a clamp to hold it. It worked really well.



So now my IRS is complete. I can't get over how physically attractive it is. I have seen hundreds of pictures but in person with the Wilwood brakes it really is a thing of beauty. I will have to work on the front of the car as soon as possible because my frame is getting tippy. . While waiting for powder coat I will move on to the pedal box.

[Mike.Bray]

It is a thing of beauty!

Well done.

[Fman]

Nice work! What did you end up setting your Koni shocks at? Hard or Soft ride setting?