The start of a new project

[rj35pj]

P9271205.JPGThe pedal box bolts under the steel bracket. To get the bracket to line up with the 3/4 square tubing, FFR advised me to assemble the bracket to the firewall loosely and then move (force) the bracket over to line up with the square tubing, drill and bolt it and then tighten everything down. It sounds a little iffy, but it does work.
Good luck,
Bob

[LDave]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I took Jacobs advice and re-drilled the front mounting plate. Moved the pedals under the bracket, and made it all fit.

[CJBergquist]

Dave, here is a link to some photos of my Wilwood installation that my help. I did not have any fit/install issues.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5110304...7622799552919/

[LDave]

Thanks, looks good! Unfortunately I think maybe the fitment of the metal installed into my car may not have been the same as others. It was clearly off by a lot and I wasn't able to bolt it in like it should have been. But its all figured out and in there, thanks to the help and suggestions from this forum.

[LDave]

Here's a little teaser pic for you guys!

[LDave]

So a buddy of mine came over with his Cannon 5D and took some pretty cool pics of my car. Just felt like sharing with ya'll.

[Tpa65cpe]

Nice job so far LDave!! Keep up the great work and pic's, pic's, pic's!!

[LDave]

Was able to hit another mile stone today. Body is back on!

[xlr8or]

Lookin good.

[MuddyRoverRob]

LDave...

That looks FANTASTIC!

the LS1 looks really happy in the coupe...

[rj35pj]

It looks great, you are really moving along, much faster than me.

[loeffler1]

LDave

Hey, are you building the coupe in your kitchen? Looks like a kitchen floor with appliances in the background.

Bill

[LDave]

Hahah, The people who owned the house before I did had turned the garage into a living space. I quickly turned it back into a garage by spilling lots of coolant / oil in there. Haven't found the time to remove all the Linoleum squares though.

Building the car in the kitchen would be fun, Arms reach from a cold soda whenever you felt like it!

[Sailor]

Soda? Surely you jest. Beer is what you reach for. Soda? Forsooth! LOL

[skullandbones]

Nice pics. I too had more than just minor fitment problems with the bracket on my roadster. It was not from FFR but very similar in construction. I don't think the providers like to admit that variation in construction of these smaller items (welding variations: heating and cooldown) can cause real fitment issues. I ended up persuading the bracket to fit with a large adjustable wrench after partially bolting it into place. But once installed it is very solid. I didn't adjust the cast Wilwood bracket but did use a couple of washers as spacers to improve the fit. WEK.

[Mad Dog]

Love the black and white photo, as well as the other, but the b&w one caught my eye. Great looking build!

[Jacob McCrea]

Yes, the black and white photo does look great. I need another hobby like I need a hole in my head, but becoming skilled at photography would be pretty cool.

[LDave]

Teaser pics! Teaser pics!!! Everyone likes pics!!!

[skullandbones]

LDave,
Did you already cut down your seams in the hood or does the Gen II come that way? The gelcoat looks nice. I thought you had painted it red when I first saw the body pic but then I remembered: "they come that way!!!!" Keep the pics coming. I noticed you refined your cool air and simplified it. I used a rubber plumbing fitting to connect my throttle body and stock induction tube. Sometimes those things work pretty well. Keep the pics coming. WEK.

[WIS89]

LDave-

She's beautiful! I echo the comments about the b & w photo; your friend is quite skilled!

Your build looks awesome, and I look forward to more pics.

So, spill.... what color?

Regards,

Steve

[LDave]

I told my buddy about your guys photography comments and he was quite happy to hear the compliments! His Exact words were, "wait till I take some pics of it once its completed!"

I haven't sanded or cut down any of the body yet, I just connected the nose to the hinges and laid it down on there for the time being.

My extra long intake pipe was off of my truck and was just on there temporarily for my "first start up" Hahaha, I wasn't planning on using that thing permanently.

As for colors... I'm not 100% set on anything as of now, I was thinking about doing a flat or gloss black with some stripes. but who knows, that could change at any time.

[LDave]

Got my exhaust all finished up. Here is a quick little video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch3QV...ature=youtu.be

[xlr8or]

I got to come check out your progress.

[LDave]

I got to come check out your progress.

Anytime man! Its going to be 100% different then when you first came over. 0% progress to a damn near finished car.

[xlr8or]

Cool. I'll need to pick your brain about an LS swap I am considering. I'll PM you when I have some time to come over.

[LDave]

Sounds like a plan. I've got about 4 - 5 LS swaps under my belt now. So I should be able to help you out with any questions.

[LDave]

Took the car out for a little spin around the block tonight, Must say that I haven't had that much fun in a long while!!! What a great feeling. :-)

Looks like my buddy had a good time too. Haha

[jkrueger]

So cool! Lets see some pics of what you did with the exhaust pipes.

2 months till I pick my car up.

JC

[LDave]

For the exhaust I used Cadillac CTS-V manifolds flipped around. They tucked in the tightest with the flange placement where it needed to be. On the driver side I still had to add an extension off the collector and put a flange down there. Ended up fitting pretty well though.

So first I had to merge the two pieces of the side pipe together by means of this... And ended up using my own flanges.







The driver side was a little more tricky, but still not too bad. I purchased a stainless Weld EL 2.5" ID and welded it straight onto the manifold. Relocated the flange down lower since in the original position it would make contact with the engine mount, After trimming the engine mount a little I discovered that the flange that would bolt to the manifold would make contact with the frame. So rather then cut the frame relocation was a must.

[LDave]

[Jacob McCrea]

That's some really nice fab work there, Dave; thanks for sharing. I was surprised to see how much hood clearance there is with that engine. Also, I'm curious about how you welded to what I assume is a cast manifold? My understanding is that the best practice is to preheat the cast iron in an oven. Any guidance would be appreciated. Again, nice work.

[jkrueger]

very cool. Thanks for sharing.

JC

[riptide motorsport]

Fantastic work!!

[LDave]

Thanks for the comments guys!

As for the welding... The manifolds are cast iron, and the elbow is stainless. Lots of people out there are probably going to tell me that I'm doing it all wrong, but it has gotten me by so far. I just tig weld the two together with stainless filler rod. And sometimes when it cools I'll hear a loud POP, which is the weld cracking. So I'll lay down another bead over the entire thing. If it cracks again I'll weld another bead over the entire thing, until it stops cracking. Every time I have done this, it always eventually stops cracking. That's pretty much all I do. I've welded a few V-band flanges to turbine housings of turbo's, Tubing / flanges onto cast manifolds for waste gates, and several flanges onto the ends of manifolds to better suite my application. So far so good!

I have heard of people putting the work in the oven to pre-heat it. I might consider doing that but my oven is broken. Haha! Usually by the time you're doing the second bead, the manifold is already damn hot from all the tig welding.

[LDave]

So... is my Gen2 coupe the only one that does not have the Metal bar where the front of the body would rest on?



Not having this support here causes the front of the body to sag slightly when the nose is closed. And when it sags, it tweaks the windshield flange a little bit. Did FFR accidentally leave this piece out??? Or was it left out for a reason?

[xlr8or]

Remember I pointed that out when I first saw your car? We figured the new coupe must just use the firewall sheet metal to support the body with weather strip going across it. That firewall piece is different from the black body coupe too.

[rj35pj]

All the gen 2 coupes including ours do not have the bar....I don't know why.

[Jacob McCrea]

Here is an email I got from FFR on this very subject after asking where my bar was:

Hi Jacob,

I just talked to welding and engineering, and the way that your Gen 2 Coupe
is constructed in that area is correct. That area has changed from the Gen 1
to the Gen 2. The reason that you see a Gen 2 on the forum with the Gen 1
dash steel, is that component was a running change. There is a handful of
Coupes that have the MK4 front end, but still retain the Gen 1 Coupe dash
setup. So in short, you are all set, and your frame is good to go.

Thank You


Dan Golub
Technical Support
Factory Five Racing, Inc.


I haven't given it more than a few moments of thought, but perhaps riveting a piece of 1" aluminum angle horizontally across the back side of the "firewall" piece would stiffen it enough to prevent the body from drooping. Perhaps you could position the aluminum angle facing upwards and contour it at the edges so that it would accept a bulb seal, and the body could also rest on it.

[LDave]

Rj and Jacub, Thanks for the info. I feel a little better knowing that something wasn't left out. But don't feel good knowing the the body "tweaks" slightly when the hood closes. I already have a seal on the top of the aluminum under the body there but I would like to add some more support. As always, I'll figure something out.

[LDave]

So I ended up making a piece that runs along the bottom side of the body and is secured by the screws that come down through the rubber bump stops for the hood. It anchors to a piece of 1x1 on the passenger side on the foot box, and the other side anchors to the right side of a piece of the driver foot box 1x1. When I had it all mocked up the body was VERY stiff in that area, so I don't think I will have any flex problems after this. :-)

BTW... I'm just about at the point where the windshield needs to go in. And when reading the manual it says to shim the body between it and the frame until the flange makes full contact on the glass. Then you're suppose to run a nut / bolt through it to act as another body mount. Do any of you guys have pics of what you did at this step? The book didn't have any pictures of this, although I think it should Let me see what you guys got! Thanks in advance. I'm getting so close I can taste it!