Coupe-R build in Seattle

[Jphoenix]

Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time watching CK Wraps. I’m sure I’ll find it challenging when the time comes.
That color looks awesome. What’s the name of it? I’m trying to decide between Vivid Liquid Metal and ultra gloss candy red

Ultra Gloss Candy Red - it has a lot of metallic in it, the photos don't show that very well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MWQ7GS8

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[jbs72697]

The pictures look awesome! I’ll bet it’s even better in person.
I ordered a few sample rolls of what films I was thinking of and then I even bought vivid ‘s sample booklet to help me decide. You helped me settle on that color ��

[PNWTim]

Ultra Gloss Candy Red - it has a lot of metallic in it, the photos don't show that very well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MWQ7GS8

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That's a color you can see on the track! I know virtually nothing about applying film like this - is it difficult or simply fiddly (for want of a more technical term)?

[Jphoenix]

Yes, it's fiddly, and it's not perfect because every tiny dust mote shows through the wrap. My garage is not antiseptically clean so just the process of unrolling the wrap, etc and you get some dust. So, it's a ten footer, but easier, faster and less smelly than painting in this uncontrolled and cold environment.

[Jphoenix]

Progress on the right side. 3 days into this. Doors go back on next.

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[PNWTim]

Yes, it's fiddly, and it's not perfect because every tiny dust mote shows through the wrap. My garage is not antiseptically clean so just the process of unrolling the wrap, etc and you get some dust. So, it's a ten footer, but easier, faster and less smelly than painting in this uncontrolled and cold environment.

C'mon now, painting in your driveway, in the winter, in the PNW, makes for ideal conditions! I can see how it would be tough to make ultra smooth with particulate buzzing around but between ease and cost seems like a great option, especially for your application.

[Jphoenix]

Going back together. The side pipes are MK4 pipes from FFR that mate up very nicely to the Gas'n 302 headers from Georgie.

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[Jphoenix]

Made a bracket for the transponder and finished wiring for the logger, Smartycam (camera controller) and transponder, so cockpit is almost finished. Got a wide angle mirror to install yet - and the doors of course. Still waiting on the oil pump from AVIAID, maybe this week.

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[PNWTim]

Made a bracket for the transponder and finished wiring for the logger, Smartycam (camera controller) and transponder, so cockpit is almost finished. Got a wide angle mirror to install yet - and the doors of course. Still waiting on the oil pump from AVIAID, maybe this week.

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Looks like you mean business. I like how clean and accessible everything is.

[Jphoenix]

Started making oil lines in anticipation of receiving the AVIAID dry sump pump soon. They told me this morning it will ship Friday

The SETRAB remote filter mount has an oil temp regulator within, the aluminum filter housing is expensive but allows full flow and cleanable element. The dry sump system uses about 20 feet of -12 line and 20 hose and AN fittings.

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[Jphoenix]

Sprayed Upol raptor on the hood and mounted it back on the car. Gotta do some bodywork on the hood, then wrap it.

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[Jphoenix]

Cut holes for the side wheel vents in the bonnet.They fit pretty good. I thought they would be carbon fiber when I ordered them because the photos in the FFR gallery show them with a black carbon fiber finish - maybe they used a wrap?

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[Dave Tabor]

What's the ETA on firing up, driving and first track event?

Will you get it street legal?

Any interest in doing the Nevada Open Road/Silver State Challenge (May and September)?

Dave
Gen III #17

[Jphoenix]

What's the ETA on firing up, driving and first track event?

Will you get it street legal?

Any interest in doing the Nevada Open Road/Silver State Challenge (May and September)?

Dave
Gen III #17

Dry sump pump finally shipped from AVIAID yesterday, so first start likely next week. Then it's over to my friends house for roll cage certification and corner weights. First race is May 2/3 SOVREN at Pacific Raceways, so plenty of time to set the engine idle speed and fix leaks. There's a conference race in Portland end of April, might do that one - but if I don't - I still have 8 race weekends this summer - I expect I'll be doing a lot of sorting/modifying/learning this season.

It will not be street legal because of the race height and splitter, etc. Also, I have the 289 for getting the groceries.

I've thought about doing the SSC, but I really only do wheel to wheel racing because its fun and addictive. I haven't done any track days, but I do run test and tunes on the day before the race weekend to fix all the broken or nagging things.

Oh yeah, also have to weld the wing mounts onto the wing yet, so there's that.

[Jphoenix]

The -R front air dam fits pretty good, it's not carbon fiber, just black gelcoat. The splitter (not shown) is carbon fiber and is very nicely done.

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[Jphoenix]

Filling the bonnet parting lines with Duraglass, lightweight filler then hi-build primer and sanding it all off. Prepping the. body for wrapping is a little less work than painting - it still must be smooth - any imperfections show through along with all the dust of course.

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[Shakey]

Jim,

Awesome build! It has been fun following along. What category/class are you planning to race in with SOVREN? I have a Coupe up in Mount Vernon, WA that is road legal but still a work in progress. I have been looking at racing with SOVREN next year maybe.

V/R

Shakey

[Jphoenix]

SONREN will put me in the big bore run group. In Conference I’ll run GTX, SPO, maybe ST something depending on tires and dyno. I still plan to run my Van Diemen CF in SOVREN with the Emerald Cup group - when the Coupe is broken and vice versa when the CF is broken ��

[Jphoenix]

Jim,

Awesome build! It has been fun following along. What category/class are you planning to race in with SOVREN? I have a Coupe up in Mount Vernon, WA that is road legal but still a work in progress. I have been looking at racing with SOVREN next year maybe.

V/R

Shakey

Shakey, do you plan to run your Coupe in SOVREN? Is it caged per SCCA IT rules? If so, it's a lot less expensive to run in ICSCC.

[Jphoenix]

Oil pump came today from AVIAID, took a while and lots of dry-fitting with a mock-up pump, but it fits perfectly. Just have to finish making the rest of the oil lines and mount the breather tank.

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[Jphoenix]

Installing and plumbing a dry sump system is not for the faint of heart. While the Coupe-R provides plenty of room for the pump, tanks, remote filter, regulator, oil cooler and breather tank, it still needs almost 20' of -12AN hose and 24 -12AN fittings, not counting the tanks, pump, etc. fittings. It's taken a couple days of building hose assemblies, installing, removing, adjusting the hose length and installing again to get it all plumbed.

Still have to clamp all the hoses in place, probably another day at least for that activity.

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[Jphoenix]

More photos of the dry sump system. Everything fits nicely under the hood, seen through the wheel vent cutout.

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I think FFR did a great job of engineering the Coupe-R to allow plenty of space for all the extra stuff needed for road racing this car, like the dry sump system, oil cooler, etc. Working on the mechanicals of this car will be significantly easier than my Formula Ford! It's not absolutely necessary to have a dry sump for road racing, indeed some of the guys I race with get by just fine with a large wet sump properly baffled for a road course, but I wanted the extra peace of mind that a dry sump provides. That said, the cost of a dry sump installation has gone up (like everything else) and I think I have over $5k into this one, with $4k of that being the AVIAID parts. Add in the oil cooler, fittings, hoses and all the little bits and pieces and it's much more expensive than a wet sump. Also, I have 2.5 gallons of oil and a wet sump that large likely won't fit in the Coupe with a 3" ride height.

[PNWTim]

It all looks pretty trick to me.

[Jphoenix]

Took a break from wrapping the hood, installed my new starter and started the 363 for the first time. Started right up, no leaks noted. Tested the clutch and trans shifting, perfect. I need to adjust the power steering pump forward a bit as the belt is rifing about a half inch forward, otherwise it's mechanically ready to go. Oil pump and thermostat working perfectly, alternator output is good, fan comes on as set, so pretty happy with all that!

Now that the fun is over, back to wrapping

https://youtu.be/fSSG0Cq9PSA?si=kfD-qXj_YFKWxoVM

[burchfieldb]

Congrats, it looks and sounds great!

[Shakey]

Shakey, do you plan to run your Coupe in SOVREN? Is it caged per SCCA IT rules? If so, it's a lot less expensive to run in ICSCC.

I have been looking at racing with SOVREN. I have zero racing experience so it will take me a while to get up to speed. The car is not caged. Just the standard gen 3 coupe frame. I have been looking at the rulebooks a lot to see what I need to do to get the roll cage up to spec for SOVREN and right now all I can come up with is that I need to add door bars. I'll keep researching though and reach out to the SOVREN tech folks. I'm planning to watch the spring sprints at Pacific Raceways. Hopefully I'll see you there. Congrats on getting it fired up! Looks and sounds great!

V/R

Shakey

[Jphoenix]

Shakey, I sent you a link in your build thread. I’ll likely be running the Van Diemen at the spring sprints - Emerald Cup race. First Coupe race will be with Conference- either Portland end of April or at Pacific in May. Need to get the Coupe cage stamped and logbook issued by Conference.

[Jphoenix]

Body wrap mostly done, gotta do some minor trimming. On to the front air dam and splitter - I'm going with 3.5" protrusion to start with.

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[Steve Powell]

Body wrap mostly done, gotta do some minor trimming. On to the front air dam and splitter - I'm going with 3.5" protrusion to start with.

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Jim, Great job on your build. Well done. I will be running the Rose City Opener with my ex-spec racer (FFR4662SP yellow #133). Would be cool to see you there. If you have interest, we (Cascade) will be having a tech day on March 22nd at PIR. You could get the car "teched" and a Conference Logbook. The 2025 Conference Steward will be there and can stamp your cage and such. We're doing this to try to relieve the Friday night madhouse at the first race of the season. Everybody is trying to get their "annual" tech done for the season. It's tough when we try to get 100 plus cars done before racing starts Saturday morning. Hopefully we can get a head start by doing this tech day. I ran ITE for a bunch of years. That was the best fit for my car. I've just been running the Cascade Nostalgia group for the past 3 seasons. I'm old and fat and slow so the Nostalgia Group works out better for me now. I also run Vintage (VP3) at the Rose Cup Race which is fun. Hope to see you around the track.

[Jphoenix]

Hi Steve, I remember your yellow Cobra, I've been running FM and CF lately. I'm chief of tech for IRDC so fully understand the tech madhouse on Fridays! I do plan to do the Rose City Opener, and the RATS meeting this Saturday as well. Might be a good idea to do the Tech day at PIR as you suggest, I wasn't aware that was happening. I do plan to run ITE, doesn't really fit any other class in conference.

What tires are you running? You get them from Garth?

[Steve Powell]

I've been running 275-40-17 Toyo "RR's". Mostly because that's what the old spec racer guys ran. There are no doubt better choices, but these last a long time and seem to be pretty uniform throughout their lifetime. I'm not exactly running at the "pointy end of the spear" so they are fine for me. Yes I do buy them from Garth at AnT Tire. I try to support the people who support us. I even buy my daily driver stuff from him.