CV2065 MKIV Roadster Build Thread #2

[danmas]

I extended the Kill Mat into the floorboards and tunnel, but because my dash 'workstation' is sitting on top of that, I don't have any pics right now. However, I did remember that the one place I used to get heat from in the last build was right at the door where the side pipes ran. The heat didn't blow in, but the radiant heat was certainly noticeable on hot days. I decided to insulate that part of the door on both sides. I used a 10 mil black tunnel heat shielding from Design Engineering. It's rated to 1,750 degrees. I may put some on the front of my footboxes but haven't decided yet. It's pretty stout but cuts fairly easily. I bought it here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Every time you post I spend money. Got this last week. Thanks…. I guess? I kid. Great to follow along

[danmas]

I debated whether to put a charcoal filter on but decided to go for it. I didn't use the PVC route this time but used an 8AN fuel filter Kit with nipple. Simply unscrew the end, cut some scotch brite pads up and place at the bottom inlet to keep the charcoal in place and ventilate. Fill with charcoal and replace the top. I bought an 8AN nipple for the top hose and it even came with a mounting bracket. I did place on the driver's side of the car in the rear as the passenger side is just too congested with the fuel and brake line hangers. Here's the cannister, fitting and charcoal I used:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0967CXJXC...roduct_details
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKBVL59Y...roduct_details
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GN7ZQ70...roduct_details

It's a thing of beauty that no one will see. The clamp on this makes it really easy to remove if the need arises in the future. It really wasn't far off in price from the PVC version. Vent tubing runs along the backside of the tank to the Big Bore fitting. I'll secure it with clamps after I install the drop trunk for the final time.

Got this. Nice quality carbon filter. Thanks….

[AquaDuck07]

Hey, John in NC. I am in the process of completing the wiring on my MK4 and a little stumped on the tail light wiring. Do you have any directions or pictures of how you wired yours? Not getting much help from FFR.
[email protected] or (704) 806-1336

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[cv2065]

A few more updates since the last post. Again, not moving as quickly as I would like but work has been hectic the last part of the year and have to squeeze some face time in with my son as he's been home from college. So let's see where I left off....

I had just finished up getting the bellhousing setup and have to say that the stock Ford bell that I used last time was much less of a headache than the Quicktime. All went well but between the dialing in the bell to the pivot ball length trial and error, the stock bell was much easier. But, aluminum vs. steel, ya never know and want the protection. So in getting ready to mate the trans and engine block, I cut some 7/16-14 threaded rod to help pull the trans evenly into the bellhousing. I had the trans strapped to my trans jack which worked perfectly! I centered the clutch fork and held up with a string and guided it right in putting some pressure on the clutch fork with a c-clamp. Put a VERY light coat of grease on the input shaft. I must have had this thing dialed in perfectly as the transmission went right in like butter with zero issue. Oh, and don't forget the QT fitment ring on the trans input shaft! It would suck to get it all together and forget to put that in. I used the silver one, not the gold.

Secured with two bolts then pulled the threaded rod and installed the last two. Torqued down to 45 foot/lbs. The QT instructions state to torque 35-45 ft/lbs, and didn't matter which value you selected as long as the torque values on the bell to the block were the same as trans to the bell to maintain 'parallelism'. So I certainly wanted to maintain that!

I've got the Forte mid-shift kit on my TKX. Man that thing looks COOL!!









Speaking of the trans, when I attempted to run through my gears before stabbing into the car, mine were jacked up from shipping, so had to readjust the shifter levers. First pic is the how they were coming out of the box, second is them back in line like they are supposed to be and enable manual shifting through all gears. I just used a small screwdriver to move them. The top of the box has a molded gasket in the cover. It looked good so just cleaned up the mating surface and reinstalled.





By the way, if you really want to understand how these transmission parts go together, Paul Cangelosi from 5-speeds.com that has done many videos on a variety of transmissions which has greatly helped me over the years, especially when I rebuilt my Muncie 4 speed. Here's one on the TKO (similar to TKX).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YBeFZzv83Y

[cv2065]

Next up was the Forte hydraulic clutch. I wouldn't do a build without this. It's a little expensive but well worth the money and if the slave cylinder ever goes out, it's very easy to change out. Might grab me an extra slave just to have in my 'road' kit. Getting the rod cut to the right length is key and thought I could go off of my last build, but that was wrong and cut my rod too short. No big deal, just ran down to ACE Hardware and got another 5/16-24, 4" bolt and cut the head off and back in business.

Getting this right is simple once you get the hang of it as it really doesn't come with instructions but Mike Forte is always there if you need him. Bottom out the pushrod w/cap into the slave cylinder and then measure to flush on the cylinder with the TOB against the clutch. Add in another 1/8" for TOB clearance, mark and cut the rod. I added a little grease to the cap where the rod sits. I also adjusted the clutch fork bracket to where it was aligned on the horizontal plane with the MC and locked it down. I would have liked to have put two bolts into that bracket but wasn't able to. I'm sure it will hold it with the locking nut I added. I added the length of my rod after I cut it below, but as I mentioned, this might get you in the ballpark but it seems different for every build. I torqued the bolts to 30 ft/lbs. The Forte aluminum bracket is beefy, but don't want to strip anything out. Should hold fine with a little blue loctite.

I'll add the hydraulic clutch line later once the engine is installed. I just may trade out my Wilwood clutch MC for a Tilton. Thanks Mike Bray!








New favorite grease!

[cv2065]

Finally put the car on the ground so I could get my IRS axle nuts tightened down. I've been delaying this as I was himming and hawing about which axle nuts I was going to use. I ended up using the current Ford version which is the CCPZ-3B477-G instead of the ones I got with my IRS parts. Those were virtually impossible to find aftermarket unless you purchased IRS axles, so went with a part that's readily available. Plus, the ones that come with the IRS are pinch nuts and from what I've read, can damage the spindle threads when coming off if you ever need to replace. The new Ford version has some kind of green thread locker and are 32mm, not 36mm.

Torqued them to 98 ft/lbs and then a 45 degree turn. On my last build, I couldn't get all the way to 45 degrees, maybe 38-40. This time I was able to get all the way. Not sure if it had to do with the nut or not, but put a witness mark on the nut and good to go. I'll check them after go-karting. Speaking of which, I also bought some axle hub locking nuts that I'll install right at the end of the build. They go on like any nut and then torque to 100 ft/lbs. to double nut and keep everything in place. I got them here:

https://www.opmustang.com/store/p426...Mustang.html#/

Notice the extra long, knurled lug nuts. YES!!!

[cv2065]

Getting everything ready and noticed that the orange plug in my TKX was smashed into a few pieces that went all up into the tail shaft from UPS man handling and storing it on its end during shipping. I had a hard time getting it all out with some needle nose pliers. The hard plastic ripped my seal and had to install a new one. Come to find out that there are seals with a metal shroud and then there are all rubber ones with metal inserts that come from Tremec. I went with the same one that Tremec sent as they are very easy to get locally. Went to NAPA first and they gave me a metal one that didn't fit, so next to O'Reillys and was good to go. The Tremec part (TCSJ11277) is also under National part #710431.



Seal removed with a gasket remover tool and popped back in. You don't want to scratch the sides to avoid leaks, so there is a tool for everything! One thing I did notice when the seal was out is that the tail shaft metal sleeve is jagged on the edges. This seems to be 'normal' and was told that is where the tranny fluid is allowed to flow. Not sure about that but ran it by my man Paul Cangelosi and he said no worries just to lightly file down any burs before installation of the new seal.

Once installed, I twisted the output shaft by hand and it turned so smooth like butter!





Seal Tapping Tool (2" plumbing coupling)

[cv2065]

I've been working quite a bit on the electrical and just about have everything wired, except for the turn signal from ie. 427 and the MSD box. Just have to get it all cleaned up and looking nice. Here's a nice side view of the effort after I put the car on wheel dollies which I got from HF and they work great. What's nice about them is that they are angled and support the tire in a cradle. Might help with any longer term flat spots on the tires.





MSD box is on the passenger footbox. I used a Pertronix distributor last time, so no box. This time I'll have a box and heard some don't like them and mixed reviews on reliability. Either way, wanted to make it accessible. Roush sent me the Street Fire box. Although it got good reviews, I didn't like how the harness is not removable from the box, so if something went wrong, you literally have to disconnect all of the wiring. To future proof a bit, I went with the MSD Digital 6AL, which does have a removable harness plug in the event the box has an issue, it can be swapped out with little effort. It also has a rev limiter built into the box which is pretty cool. The vibration resistant Master Blaster 2 coil will go to the front side of the engine on the passenger side.

This is the one I have: https://www.holley.com/products/igni...et/parts/64253

[cv2065]

Engine Time!! I decided it was time to get this in. As mentioned, my son is home for the holiday so perfect timing! He's almost 20 now and he helped with the last engine install when he was 14. Didn't remember a thing...LOL.

Install was uneventful and took about 30 minutes. I was on the lift and my son was guiding. I put the car up on jack stands in the back and on locked roller wheels in the front. Perfect height to get the engine crane legs underneath the car. Armed with a great leveler and we proceeded. You can get the one I used here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All the way up, over the front cross beam and then 60 degrees nose down. Then down, level off, down, level off, until we were in. I used a jack to support the trans from the rear and ensured that it was over the 4" tube without damaging the seal. The engine mounts were on the engine but I left them just slightly loose so that they would go into the mounts a little easier. The passenger side threaded stud and pin went right in. The driver's side was a little off so tapped with a piece of wood and snapped right in. Tightened the engine mounts up to 50 ft/lbs. I'm leaving the frame mounting nuts loose until I have the driveshaft in and pinion set just in case I need to move anything around. On the last build I had to remove the starter during the install as there was some interference, so left it off again. It probably would have fit and is kind of a pain to install after the fact. but such is life.







[URL=https://hosting.photobucket.com/239a0216-6f9e-4cc9-a0be-2ec53fb3e15d/ff1fce9c-c7c0-4dc1-b957-b521cb8f655e.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds][





And a blast from the past:

[cv2065]

After the engine install, I did have a little bout with the A frame and aligning the trans mount bolts as they were about 1/8" off center. I had read that you could flip over the A frame, but that's not possible, at least with the present MKIV version, as its only designed to install one way. So I lifted the engine about an inch or so, lifted the trans up with a floor jack about an inch, then had my son pull the tail shaft to the driver's side while I let the engine back down. Worked perfectly and centered the trans mount bolt holes.



A couple of nice bonuses that I wasn't sure of until install. First is the Forte mid shift kit placement. It fit perfectly in the tunnel where no cutting of the cross tubes is necessary. I ran through the gears with zero issues. YES!!



Second bonus was the oil pan. I have the Canton 15-690 and it is just above the 4" tube, so no interference there either. I'll see the final spot once I get my pinion situated, but looks great so far. I won't have to trim the QT bellhousing lip either. This is the non SFI version, so that might back a difference.



I put the driveshaft adaptor in and torqued the bolts down to 41 ft/lbs with red loctite per the manual. FFR manual states that there is a yellow zinc version (manual) and a clear aluminum version (automatic), but this is the only one I received and it fits perfectly. Seems like the manual needs to be updated. So now we are ready for the driveshaft install, but I'm going to work on the radiator first.

[Higgybulin]

Looking good man!! If you updated your thread a little more often, you wouldn't have to stay up till after 2AM catching everyone up!!
Have a good holiday!
Higgy

[cv2065]

Looking good man!! If you updated your thread a little more often, you wouldn't have to stay up till after 2AM catching everyone up!!
Have a good holiday!
Higgy

Yeah no doubt Higgy! Merry Christmas Bud!

[Blitzboy54]

Looks so good! I can tell this is going to be aesthetically just beautiful. What wheels did you go with? Are those Konig?

I love the direction of this one.

Merry Christmas Chris.

[cv2065]

Looks so good! I can tell this is going to be aesthetically just beautiful. What wheels did you go with? Are those Konig?

I love the direction of this one.

Merry Christmas Chris.

Thanks Chris! Likewise. Can't wait to see how your build unfolds. It's going to be a stunner! You'll probably be driving before I am.

Those wheels are BC Forged (KL17).

Merry Christmas to you as well!

[cv2065]

Sometimes I forget how time consuming some of this stuff is. I used all of Breeze's radiator upgrades including the upper hinge, lower support and tubing brackets. First off, I wanted to see if my radiator support was level. Yep, looked good to me but as has been said before, the angle is off by a little less than 1/2". I saw that in full glory when I was installing the lower radiator support brackets.



Second was to get the hinge installed. The shipping box with foam was perfect to keep it off the ground and enable me to rivet, screw or whatever else I needed to do. To satisfy my OCD, which I didn't do the last time, I made sure to drill my larger bolt holes at the same time I was laying out the rivets so they all meshed together somewhat in spacing. Not like anyone is every really going to see it again, but that's what we do.



I then cut off the 2"x3" pieces from the frame with my cutoff wheel, sanded down the remainder with my grinder and then painted to match the frame. The Rustoleum Satin Black from Lowes does a great job at matching the FFR black powder coat. Get everything covered up, especially the wheels and engine!



Then time to install. Drilled pilot holes into the piano flange before mounting into the 3/4" radiator mounting tube. Makes things a little easier to align. Then supported with my jack and clamped evenly to the top.



Used the jack to pull up the radiator to 58 degrees (Horizontal) as I'm using the Replica Parts nose metal. That looks SWEET!!! You can see the angle of my finder. If you put the finder on its side, then you are measuring vertical and the numbers won't make sense. I actually ended up with 58.4 degrees, or something in that ballpark. I then secured it with 4 evenly spaced 1/4-20 bolts, but I bolted them all the way through instead of using rivnuts or tapping the 3/4" tube like Breeze recommends.



I installed the lower radiator support. One thing I noted was that the support brackets were a little uneven from side to side (about .4") due to the 'unique' angle of the radiator frame. I tried to use my tape measure to see exactly where the angle comes from but read something about Mustang donor builds as the reason. I don't recall even seeing it on my last build, but I'm sure it was there. Then we have the finished product. I still have to pin the radiator at the bottom, but it's pretty much a done deal.

[cv2065]

Ah, one of my favorite upgrades!! I had already drilled for my support brackets and sidewall hole for the stainless rod, so really just needed to measure out the clearances and cut the rods to length. Again, my measurements from my last build were not accurate on this one, so did everything from scratch.

First step was to enlarge the RT gas pedal actuator hole to fit the 1/4-28 eyelet mount. I got this version of RT's pedal from TJ at Mountain Metalworks and it's a nice piece. I also have the Breeze gas pedal pad to match the Wilwood ones for the clutch and brake pedals. It's small and once you install to one side, there is PLENTY of room between the sidewall and pedal, even after insulation and carpet.





After measuring the inside and outside actuating rods, it was time to cut, drill and tap! I used my cutoff wheel and grinder to get to the right size. The inside rod was ~9.5" and the outside rod going to the carb was ~11.75". There's plenty of adjustment as the pivot eye has very long threads. I still have to pin the arms, paint the rod and tighten everything up. I also may get a bushing and move the accelerator arm to the top hole as it makes a HUGE difference in the way the gas pedal feels. Feather touch where the lower hole that I have it in now is a little heavier. Overall, this is 95% completed.







By the way, if you need an idea on how to hold the tubing while you drill and tap it, I just used the chuck of another drill to hold it and my vice to stabilize it with aluminum jaws and it never moved with zero damage to the tubing! #3 drill bit and 1/4-28 tap.

[cv2065]

I was not really looking forward to this struggle as it can be somewhat of an aggravation for many builders, but NOT TODAY!!!

I have the trans mount spacer kit from Forte. He gives you three in 1/4" increments. I did an initial eyeball and installed all 3 for a 3/4" lift. I haven't done the pinion angle yet, so it was just an initial guess, but I will say that I needed to remove these to get the driveshaft in. So don't do what I did. Anyhow, once those were out, I coated the yoke with some trans fluid and literally inserted it within 15 seconds! That made my night! Came in from the driver's side and if you really look at the driveshaft, there is only one configuration where you can get the yoke straight on with the rear of the transmission. Once you know what to look for, it's a light bulb moment and I wonder how I struggled with it so much last time.

I made sure to use the four M10-1.50 cap screw bolts in the kit that are 20mm and not the 25mm version. They fit flush and will tighten to 70 ft/lbs with blue loctite. And for reference, I went to the Loctite website and they recommend blue loctite for bolts from 6mm all the way to 19mm. I didn't know that it was for bolts that large.



I had to return my starter and am awaiting a replacement. Tomorrow I'm going to get my engine electrical tied up.

[Blitzboy54]

Looks really clean. Seeing the theme start to tie itself together. Car show quality all the way.

It’s crazy how fast the kids grow up. Went from packed weekends of sports and events to almost empty nest overnight.

[cv2065]

So today was one of those "I thought I was going to one thing but got lost doing other things" days. All the small stuff I did today was not as exciting as others but had to be done. First, I went to torque my driveshaft bolts and had planned on torquing from the top through the tunnel as you can't get to the bolts from underneath with a torque wrench. So I would be torquing the bolts, rotating the rear tires, torquing, rotating the rear tires, etc. until completed, so now that it's all hooked up to the transmission, I thought I would get the tranny filled with fluid beforehand.

Mr. Forte sent me 3 bottles of Pennzoil Synchromesh with my TKX. I'm not sure who puts these plugs into the Tremec transmissions but they must be herculean as these things were in TIGHT! Almost thought they were reversed threaded or something. They are 3/8" plugs so used the end of my 3/8" ratchet as well as a socket and extension on the bottom handle to give me some leverage. Finally popped out and then got out my Slippery Pete!! This little pump is awesome. I was able to snake it through the top and into the hole. It has a little catch that keeps it in the hole. 10 minutes of pumping fluid into the hole and all done with zero mess! Thread sealer on the plug and back it went using the Goodntite method. No leaks so far - KNOCK on wood. If you want your own Slippery Pete, you can get one here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1






My next adventure was getting my tunnel top cut for the shifter. Feels so good to have all of that installed and locked down! After I marked the location of the stick shift from the bottom on my tunnel cover I used a 2.5" hole saw to cut it up. The beauty ring around my shifter is anodized black and a Backdraft piece. Beautiful! It's 4" round so plenty of room to mark for my rivnuts. Cut and put into place. Perfect! Do I do any kind of cup holder or tray? Not sure yet....







I did get a little power action in this afternoon by mounting my MSD Vibration Resistant Coil. I bought a single screw black holder which was just ever so slightly too big, so I also bought a small roll of 1/16" thick, 1" wide rubber that has adhesive and mounted some on the inside of the bracket. Worked like a champ and its new home is on the passenger side attached to the head. I would have preferred the driver's side but the PS pulley takes up that space. Bracket and rubber tape are available here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0847LFGCR...fed_asin_title
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6LKSMZ2...fed_asin_title



I rounded out the day with setting my ride height as I'm planning on having the same guy come out next week that does mobile alignments. He's got a laser computer setup and did an awesome job last time around. Ride height was set to 4" from floor to tube in the front and 4.5" in the back.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to finishing up my engine electrical!

[PNWTim]

All progress is progress as they say. I have that same pump and have used it for rear ends, transmissions and lower units on outboards, works great.

[danmas]

I really appreciate the way you detail out things in your threads. You have saved me hours of frustration and also given me some really good ideas. Thank you.