Mk4 1,500 mile report. There are some issues to address.

[Jeff_J.]

I graduated my MK4 late last year, I left it in gelcoat this year for a shakedown figuring I'd remove the body this winter and do the undercoat and other adjustments that need to be done. Paint is off to Jeff K next year, looking forward to finalizing a color too... Since it's not painted the interior is still not all in but that hasn't stopped me, I just crossed over 1,500 miles. I was a little concerned about going too far earlier but beginning to trust the build and take it on longer day trips.
Things to address:
The ball connector for the side pipes has caused me a lot of grief - have had to tighten the nuts half a dozen times. Going to change the bolts /nuts to grade 8..
Distributor stopped working, luckily, I was at home when it failed, Blueprint stepped up and sent me a new one. No more issue after the new one was installed. Took it for a tune up at 800 miles, it's tailored more to how I want to drive the car and its running great.
Sniper- been having problems with the sniper when the engine is idling it flutters in rpm and almost stalls before recovering. I'm going post a new thread on this specifically.
Taking large right hand corners were the fuel rushes to the left side of the tank is an issue, the car stalls till the fuel comes back, wish they put baffles in the tank, I’m going to pull the tank and see if my in tank Areomotive fuel pump/pickup can be extended lower into the tank.
Wire the clock to full time battery power - I shut the master power off when not using the car and of course the clock stops.
Toasted the fan relay and noticed the blue wire to the fuse was a little discolored, maybe install a secondary relay to help with the load.
Had a leak in the PS/PB Hydroboost unit from Mike Forte, he took care of it for me - Mike is the best!
Stripped the adjuster screw on the headlight by pushing on the headlight, my fault for pushing on the headlight but maybe a metal housing instead of plastic would have been better...
***Buy new beer fridge, the old one died last week.
Who knows what else I'll think of this winter..

[Jeff Kleiner]

Regarding the pipes; make yourself a pair of front hangers like I show here. These are on J-Pipes but I do them exactly the same for the ball flange headers & pipes. It's all just a few bucks worth of hardware store turnbuckles, nuts and bolts and a generic Mustang style double donut rubber tailpipe hanger.





Cheers,
Jeff

[Rebostar]

Jeff is Good, Jeff is great, now we thank him.... for .....well, a lot!

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[CraigS]

The tank should have a baffle in it. Maybe new versions of a Mustang OE tank leave it out? If you tank doesn't have one unfortunately I think a new tank is the only fix. I autocrossed my MkII for 15yrs w/ a stock tank and no problems.

[F500guy]

My tank has a pickup baffle, make sure the pump extends into the pick up area as low as possible. My tank was standard received with the kit in 2023.

[nuhale]

No baffles in the fox tank. There should be a surround reservoir where the fuel pickup is that limits the fuel starve issue with slosh. My Roadster tank (unknown supplier) just has a hole in the side roughly 1" dia that allows fuel to flow into the reservoir area. The spectre F12B I put in my coupe build has formed areas from under the reservoir to allow fuel to flow. Much better design. I too notice engine starving in turns or rapid acceleration after the tank gets to a certain fuel level with the tank in the roadster.

[Al_C]

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't worry about the clock. They aren't all that accurate anyway. Either way, you're going to be adjusting the clock a lot, so the path of least resistance would be to leave it as is.

[Jeff_J.]

Thanks for the comments - advice. I had see these exhaust hangars before Jeff - Thanks for reposting!!
The tank.. it's my kit supplied tank, I'm going to pull the tank this winter and see what going on in there I'm thinking this could be an easy fix by extending the pickup into that surround res Nuhale mentioned.
I was wondering how accurate the clock might be Thanks Al C, If I have to adjust it anyways maybe I'll leave this one off the list.
Thanks for the input guys!
Jeff J.

[egchewy79]

clock runs about 15min fast every 2-3 months. I bought an extra cord/button to reset it when it bothers me enough. some leave it out or replace it w/ another gauge (oil temp, etc). I ran a fused bypass between my master cut off to keep my EFI and clock running even if the cut off key is removed. If someone tries to start the car w/ the key out the fuse will blow. I use the GPS clock on the speedo gauge most of the time anyway and don't rely on the clock on the dash.

[Jeff Kleiner]

clock runs about 15min fast every 2-3 months. I bought an extra cord/button to reset it when it bothers me enough. some leave it out or replace it w/ another gauge (oil temp, etc). I ran a fused bypass between my master cut off to keep my EFI and clock running even if the cut off key is removed. If someone tries to start the car w/ the key out the fuse will blow. I use the GPS clock on the speedo gauge most of the time anyway and don't rely on the clock on the dash.

OK, here's the deal with the clock, which I figured out after sending one back to Speedhut twice. If you're using the RF harness it shuts down accessory power when the key is in "Start" and then returns when the key is in "run". One of these circuits that gets shut down momentarily is gauge power. When the power is shut down to the clock and then restored it moves ahead one minute. So...every time the car is started the clock gains a minute! If you feed direct unkeyed battery power to the clock it will always stay powered up and will no longer gain time.

Jeff

[Mike.Bray]

OK, here's the deal with the clock, which I figured out after sending one back to Speedhut twice. If you're using the RF harness it shuts down accessory power when the key is in "Start" and then returns when the key is in "run". One of these circuits that gets shut down momentarily is gauge power. When the power is shut down to the clock and then restored it moves ahead one minute. So...every time the car is started the clock gains a minute! If you feed direct unkeyed battery power to the clock it will always stay powered up and will no longer gain time.

Jeff

That explains why the clock runs faster in the summer than in the winter!

[egchewy79]

OK, here's the deal with the clock, which I figured out after sending one back to Speedhut twice. If you're using the RF harness it shuts down accessory power when the key is in "Start" and then returns when the key is in "run". One of these circuits that gets shut down momentarily is gauge power. When the power is shut down to the clock and then restored it moves ahead one minute. So...every time the car is started the clock gains a minute! If you feed direct unkeyed battery power to the clock it will always stay powered up and will no longer gain time.

Jeff

fascinating. I clearly don't drive it as much as I should.

[AC Bill]

Using stover nuts might be the simple answer for the exhaust. They won't back off.

I'm not familiar with the Sniper system, but have to wonder if it has an ECM that when all power to it is shut off, it's memory is wiped clean. It then takes some time driving to adjust itself. Could that possibly be the issue with the fluttering/near stalling, you mention?

[OB6]

OK, here's the deal with the clock, which I figured out after sending one back to Speedhut twice. If you're using the RF harness it shuts down accessory power when the key is in "Start" and then returns when the key is in "run". One of these circuits that gets shut down momentarily is gauge power. When the power is shut down to the clock and then restored it moves ahead one minute. So...every time the car is started the clock gains a minute! If you feed direct unkeyed battery power to the clock it will always stay powered up and will no longer gain time.

Jeff

Ah yes, the clock. To me it's little more than a decoration, so I really need to decide if it's worth running a wire upstream of the master disconnect switch.

[Jeff_J.]

Well I think we have an understanding on the clock, it's back on the list - I like the fused direct connection to the battery for constant power idea.
The sniper is a challenge I haven't figured out yet, I'm doing this from memory but I think the sniper has a direct connection to the battery, the master switch doesn't affect power to the sniper. I was thinking a faulty sensor or injector but above idle it works fine.
The ball connector... I was thinking about changing the bolt and nut there this winter - Jeff K. posted about using a threaded connector on the bolt instead of a nut, gonna read a little more on this.
Great input..
J.

[Al_C]

This turned out to be an interesting thread - about the clock! Sorry we got you off track, Jeff! As for me, the next time I have the dash off, which is hopefully never, I'll rewire the clock. As for the header hangers - I made a set for my car and they have worked well. Highly recommended.

[rich grsc]

Using stover nuts might be the simple answer for the exhaust. They won't back off.

I'm not familiar with the Sniper system, but have to wonder if it has an ECM that when all power to it is shut off, it's memory is wiped clean. It then takes some time driving to adjust itself. Could that possibly be the issue with the fluttering/near stalling, you mention?

DO NOT use stover nuts, use brass. No they do not lose their memory, is on a non-volital memory. When the key is off there is no power to the ECM, they have a trigger wire that sends power to an internal switch when you key-on.

[AC Bill]

Rich, Is there a locking type brass nut available?
I could certainly envision brass being easier to remove than steel stover nuts. Stover's have lasted 14+ years on my header to side pipes without moving an iota, but the one time I had to remove them for the roadster to get painted, they were a pain in the butt.

[Theshandman]

...the next time I have the dash off, which is hopefully never...

LOL. Not sure how many times you've had your dash off, but I'd wager there will always be one more 'opportunity'.

[rich grsc]

Rich, Is there a locking type brass nut available?
I could certainly envision brass being easier to remove than steel stover nuts. Stover's have lasted 14+ years on my header to side pipes without moving an iota, but the one time I had to remove them for the roadster to get painted, they were a pain in the butt.

Get these from Amazon; Dorman 680-104 Brass Hex Nut - 3/8-16 In.

[CraigS]

I kept thinking I should get brass nuts but never did. I use standard grade5 hardware store bolts and double nuts. An advantage I like vs any locking nut is I can run them on by hand and then only need a couple of turns w/ wrench. Run one on and wrench it. Run the next on and wrench it. Done.

[Mike.Bray]

Get these from Amazon; Dorman 680-104 Brass Hex Nut - 3/8-16 In.

Agree with Rich. I used these bolts and these nuts. Just be sure and torque them to get the proper amount of stretch.

[Ray from Long Island]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for the recommendation on the bolts and nuts.
Can you tell me what the proper torque number for these would be ?

Ray