General and Coupe specific questions

[Carlos C]

I'm hoping to get some good knowledge from the good people on this forum.

1. I've heard good and bad things about Eastwood's Thermo-coustic sound deadener. Is it true that the insulating barrier will melt easily, creating a gooey mess? If so, it would explain why the company states not to use its product for hoods or overhead insulation.

2. Has anyone used Eastwood's Hot Coat chrome powder coat? Is it of good quality, and does it have a reasonable shine?

3. Has anyone tried to use the seat tracks with the Coupe's standard low-back Kirkey racing seat? The instructions provided with the tracks only show their use with the Roadster seats. The Coupe's seat bottom frame has multiple angles (it's not flat), and seems like brackets would have to be fabricated in order for the tracks to attach to the seats. I have after-market sports seats from my donor, but they are a very tight fit; and although they have their own tracks, they're useless inside the Coupe due to the lack of space to move or tilt the seat, unless I decide to heavily modify these sports seats.

4. Looking for pointers on using a 3-point shoulder seat belt. I want to use the Mustang's or an universal set, but need to find the optimal spot to weld the shoulder point's anchor. Also a seatbelt reccomendation proven to work with the Coupe would be great.

5. Inertia switch: how effective is it when mounted under the dash, as per FFR's instructions? Seems to me that the further away it's mounted from the rear of the car, the less effective it would be at registring a rear-end colission.

6. I know that the '87 - '93 power brake booster cannot be used on the Roadster without modifying the frame. Is this also true with the Coupe?

7. I'll be installing a ProCharger blower on my kit. It uses an air-to-air intercooler that mounts in front of the radiator. Has anyone installed this set-up on their Coupe? I'd like to make sure that it is possible to do, and how much modification it is required on the kit to install the intercooler and run the air piping.

8. I heard that there is a hood latch which has a locking mechanism, that works perfectly on the Coupe without any mods. Does anyone know where I can get it, what brand and/or part number?

9. So far, I only know of one person who has successfully installed power windows on their Coupe doors. Unfortunately, he never kept track of parts used or a detail set of instructions on how he did it, with any required mods. And although Gordon from Levy Racing has been working on a kit for a few years, it is not finished yet. Hope that there's someone else out there who has successfully completed the install, and wouldn't mind sharing the info.

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to be ready for my kit's assembly of custom parts. Thanks in advance!

Carlos

[John Dol]

Carlos,

On point 6.

It does fit and Whitby's sells a complete install kit

http://www.whitbymotorcars.com/UInvDetail.asp?s_keyword=brake+kit&s_cat=&inventoryid=1608

It fits in the roadster and the coupe.

I made the frame mod differently then the supplied brace and had it omitted from the order.

If yours looks good you van use it. Mine looked very rusted once it came out so ordered the kit.

http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae46/jdcoupe1969/Frame%20mods/Framemods008.jpg (http://s956.photobucket.com/user/jdcoupe1969/media/Frame%20mods/Framemods008.jpg.html)

I cut a piece out of the rail, inverted it and welded it back in. This way you don't have to have that odd bump in the rail.

http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae46/jdcoupe1969/Firewalldone004.jpg (http://s956.photobucket.com/user/jdcoupe1969/media/Firewalldone004.jpg.html)

Much cleaner look IMHO.

On point 8. Ron Schofield has a bracket he's fabricated. With an MG latch you can lock the hood.

Hope that helps,

John

[Carlos C]

Hey John:

I sent Ron an e-mail through his site yesterday. I may try to reach him here. Thanks for your input. I see that the Coupe's frame does need to be modified, just like the Roadster, to accept the brake booster. I'll decide later which way I'll approach that modification.

I did however, get a resolution for question #3. Kirkey makes a bracket set that works with or without the seat tracks. They're sold by Summit Racing.

I'd appreciate others' input. Please chime in. Thanks.

Carlos

[conway witten]

I bought the sliding tracks and didn't use them, they are very poor quality and only one track locks. So bad that you can twist the seat and feel it move. I don't know about you but I don't want my seat mounted flimsy. The seats supplied won't set on the floor because they don't have a flat bottom. Factory Five told me "make them work." So I bought some Kirkey seat mounts that mount on the sides of the seat not the bottom. They are Kirkey part number 99204, they won't mount on the frame mounts because they are to wide, I used a 16 x 19 inch plates that mount to the frame then mounted the seat to it. PS the assembly manual shows using a flat seat.

[Carlos C]

Conway:

I realized about the design flaw on the tracks after I purchased them. There should have been a rod crossing to the other track with a locking mechanism. The sports seats I planned to use have good quality tracks, which I purchased as an option from the company when I bought the seats. Unfortunately, these seats are too much of a tight fit to use on the Coupe. I plan to test FFR's tracks, and if I'm not happy with them, I'll use the ones from my sports seats, or fabricate a locking mechanism for the other track.

As for the brackets, I just purchased those today. I sent FFR an e-mail with pictures, showing them that the tracks do not work with the Kirkey seats, but I didn't get a response. They did respond however, when I attached a link for the brackets, and recommended that they added this to their inventory. Their response was that they'd look into it. Hopefully they will. Otherwise, they're selling parts to customers, which they're aware that they do not work together. I also pointed out to them the discrepancy on the manual.

Thanks for your input.

Carlos

[John Dol]

Carlos,

Since you have not coated the frame yet another mod you may want to consider is the seat pan drop. Karen has done it in her race coupes as have others. If I wasn't this far along I would probably do it.

John

[Carlos C]

John:

Unfortunately, my frame is powder coated. Is there someone selling this floor pans, or are people just fabricating them on their own?

Dropping the floor an inch or so may help clearing the top of my sports seats, but they are also very wide. I'll probably take the tracks off, so I can gain another inch of clearance at the top. If the seat seams to fit much better, I may consider dropping the floor, even if I have to destroy the powder coat. We'll see... Thanks for the idea!

Carlos

[snakebit31]

Carlos,


On point 8. Ron Schofield has a bracket he's fabricated. With an MG latch you can lock the hood.

Hope that helps,

John

It's actually from the Triumph Spitfire. Here's a link in the Victoria British Catalog. It's item number 17.

http://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/sg/full.aspx?Page=24

Rob

[Carlos C]

Rob:

Thanks for the link. FFR uses the same latch as the Spitfire. The lock set is an option that gets installed next to the latch on the Triumph. Not the most aesthetically pleasing view, but it works. I'm hoping to find the one that I saw years ago, which had the lock incorporated into the latch itself. Unfortunately, I can't remember who made it. If I can't find it, I may have to mimic the Spitfire's set up. My main goal is to keep unwanted eyes and hands out of the engine bay when I'm not around, so I can't be too picky...

Carlos

[John Dol]

I think VNMSS (Karen) or TCOON can get you some pretty good guide lines as how to do the drop pan, but don't think there is any ready made kits for it.

John

[Carlos C]

I'll try to contact her about it. Thanks, John.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Still looking for input on questions 4, 5, 7, 9. Anyone willing to share their knowledge, experiences, and/or suggestions, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Carlos

[Timb]

Carlos regarding #5 FWIW here is where I mounted mine along with the fuel pump driver module the modular motors use. I used a factory harness that I dieted so I kept them in the rear where they are easily accessible.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vnl1bAI6tnk/T-MPSCe0MAI/AAAAAAAAAL4/RXfhSGXAIUU/s1600/IMG_6272.JPG

[Carlos C]

I'm hoping to get an answer as to how effective the inertia switch is when mounted under the dash. I'd rather keep it at that location, but unless the part of my brain that calculates physics is failing me, the answer is that it'd be considerably less effective. If that's the case, I'll probably mount the switch on the backside of the trunk's rear panel, with an access hole for the reset button, alas the Mustang. I'd just have to do some minor surgery to the RF harness to make it work. Thanks for your input, Timb.

Carlos

[Timb]

From an effectiveness standpoint it is really designed to trigger if the car is inverted more than from an impact so I suspect up front is just fine in fact the one on my wife's Lincoln is in the passenger front kick panel

[Carlos C]

From an effectiveness standpoint it is really designed to trigger if the car is inverted more than from an impact so I suspect up front is just fine in fact the one on my wife's Lincoln is in the passenger front kick panel

Thanks! Maybe I'll just mount it on the 2" cross member up front. Although I may tape it up at both locations, and try to recreate a rear collision using a big rubber mallet to the frame, and see what that does, if anything.

Carlos

[Timb]

Likely a rubber mallet is going to do nothing. All the OEM switch consists of is a heavy metal ball inside the housing that pushes the button out if it's upside down

[Carlos C]

Likely a rubber mallet is going to do nothing. All the OEM switch consists of is a heavy metal ball inside the housing that pushes the button out if it's upside down

Sudden shock also disconnects the switch. If you hold it in your hand right side up, and lightly smack it with your other hand, you'll hear it click. I had mine electrically connected when I performed this test on my Mustang, and it killed the engine. I had to push on the reset button to get the engine to start up again. My only question is how much of this rear impact shock is lost by the time it transfers to the 2" crossmember. The rubber mallet test may not work, but all I'll lose is a few minutes of my time.

Carlos

[S2D2]

Carlos, Greetings from Apollo Beach. I just ran across this post. I installed the adjustable seat tracks in my Coupe, only to find out that they were useless for me as the seat is placed as far back as possible and the cockpit is still tight. The rails also add about an inch or so to the seat height making the entry and exit more difficult, as the edge of the seat sits higher than the door sill. Good luck on your build.

[skullandbones]

Carlos,

The inertia switch position on the Summit harness is also under the dash and it works fine there. I actually had to reset mine when I "dropped" the roadster with engine, trans, etc... off the build dolley. It wasn't a complete drop but enough to trip the switch. I checked it before I did my first start as I remembered a forum member stating that he couldn't get his engine started because of that. It was the last thing he checked. I guess it's possible to hit a giant pot hole and trip it. Haven't yet though.

Have you considered doing the seat mod for the coupe? I'm not sure if that allows for seat adjustment but does give more room. I completely disassembled some Fiat seats and narrowed the seats (cut and rewelded) to fit another small roadster I had. It was a lot of work but resulted in a perfect fit seat after a good upholstery guy rolled and tufted them.

Good luck on your many projects,

WEK.

[Carlos C]

Carlos,

The inertia switch position on the Summit harness is also under the dash and it works fine there. I actually had to reset mine when I "dropped" the roadster with engine, trans, etc... off the build dolley. It wasn't a complete drop but enough to trip the switch. I checked it before I did my first start as I remembered a forum member stating that he couldn't get his engine started because of that. It was the last thing he checked. I guess it's possible to hit a giant pot hole and trip it. Haven't yet though.

Have you considered doing the seat mod for the coupe? I'm not sure if that allows for seat adjustment but does give more room. I completely disassembled some Fiat seats and narrowed the seats (cut and rewelded) to fit another small roadster I had. It was a lot of work but resulted in a perfect fit seat after a good upholstery guy rolled and tufted them.

Good luck on your many projects,

WEK.

I'll probably keep the inertia switch up front, on the 2" crossmember. As far as the seats go, I've basically given up on trying to fit my sports seats on the Coupe, and don't plan to modify them to make them fit. Unless I find some smaller production seats, which are in good condition and aesthetically pleasing, I will just use the Coupe's standard seats with the Kirkey seat mounting brackets, and FFR's sliders. I still have plenty of time before I get to that stage of the build. Thanks, WEK.

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Does anyone know how else to get a hold of Ron Schofield? I've tried contacting him via his website and this forum with no replies. I'd like to get a hold of his MG latch brackets.

Any input on question #4? Has anyone tried to implement a three-point standard seat belt in their Coupe?

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Carlos, Greetings from Apollo Beach. I just ran across this post. I installed the adjustable seat tracks in my Coupe, only to find out that they were useless for me as the seat is placed as far back as possible and the cockpit is still tight. The rails also add about an inch or so to the seat height making the entry and exit more difficult, as the edge of the seat sits higher than the door sill. Good luck on your build.

Thanks for the input. Did you get the PM I sent you about 5 days ago?

Carlos