Doug's Roadster Build #9423 Cockpit Modifications

[Kool AC]

After receiving my kit last September I finished up the restoration of my Uncle Harvey's 1936 John Deere BR farm tractor and a seemingly endless garage rehab I am finally ready to start the build. My brother in law came over and helped me remove the body and the fun started.108050
Last year I bought a rear clip from a wrecked 2017 Shelby GT 350 that had about 2000 miles on it. The center section has the Torsen differential with 3.73 gears. I wanted the Torsen for road course lapping and the occasional autocross, we will see how the 3.73 gears work out. I drilled out the holes in the front bosses per the FFR instructions. After reading about some folks having trouble getting the center section aligned I used a 21/32 drill over the 5/8 called for in the instructions. Taking a cue form Paul Borror's, (a.k.a. Edwardb), 20th anniversary build log I decided to use the engine hoist to get the center section up into the frame. I placed two ratchet straps under the ears of the cover hooking them in the back and one ratchet strap around the pinion flange. Using the hoist I raised the assembly partially up into the frame. I then used the front ratchet strap to lift the pinion flange up and over the horizontal 4" tube. Using the hoist again I raised the assembly until I could get the rear bolts started. Using the front ratchet strap I lowered the nose until I could slip the front bolts in. I must be living right, am just plain lucky or the 1/32 over size holes I drilled allowed me to get everything aligned and installed with no trouble.108051108052108053108054108055108056108057 On to the next.

[Desert Snake]

Subscribed!

I'm also interested to see what opinions are on the 3.73.

[Kool AC]

Moving on to the IRS knuckles. Drilled out the tapered seat hole to 5/8".108065
The manual shows cutting the extended portion of the knuckle in a straight line. I chose to match the contour of the factory milling cutter.108067
Found a piece of round aluminum stock, tapped a hole through it and screwed it to the knuckle near the cut I wanted to make. resting the puck on the table of the band saw would keep the cut perpendicular to the machined face. Repeated this on the disc sander until the saw marks were cleaned up.108068108069108070108071108072

[Kool AC]

Next I turned my attention to the various unused drilled holes in the knuckles. I drilled them a little larger and turned aluminum plugs on the lathe that I could insert and loctite into the holes. After milling the plugs flush with the surrounding area the holes virtually disappear.1080761080771080781080791080801080811080 82108083
Trimmed all the parting lines and flash from the castings, a quick trip through the glass bead cabinet and a couple coats of Eastwood Diamond Clear satin and the knuckles are ready.108084

[Kool AC]

Wanted to get the studs changed out in the IRS hubs next. The manual shows the original studs being driven out with a hammer, which would work, I used a press to extract them. It didn't take a whole lot of force to get them out. Based upon the amount of force it took to press the FFR supplied studs into the hubs I can see it would be troublesome and possibly cause damage to the stud or the lug nut doing it the way the manual shows. I recommend using a press if you have access to one.108155108156108157108158
After reading many posts about getting the proper caster angle when using power steering the consensus is you need to shorten the rear adjusting sleeve and studs on the upper control arm. To shorten the sleeves I chucked them up in the lathe and turned down the extended portion of the sleeve, which ended up being about .200" from each end. Did the same with three of the threaded studs taking off about .180" from the end. The fourth stud that needed to be shortened is welded to the ball joint boss so I just used a hacksaw to shorten it, and used a hand file to clean up the cut.108159108160108161108162
Next I turned my attention to getting the ball joints installed into the control arms. It seems many have had trouble getting the FFR supplied Mevotech ball joints to thread all the way into the control arm. I read a post from Jeff Kleiner I believe, saying you have to clean the paint off of the threads with a wire wheel to get them to fit. I did this and both ball joints threaded all the way in with no problem. Not saying this would work in every case but it worked for me.:) Next I coated the inside of the adjusting sleeves with anti seize and did a rough alignment setting on the control arms and now they are ready for installation.108163108164

[edwardb]

Hey Doug. Hello to Armada. We're practically neighbors. You're doing some really nice work there. If you have any questions or need anything I can help with (not sure you need it...) give me a shout.

[Kool AC]

Thanks Paul, really appreciate it. Finally getting some nice weather here in Michigan. I'm sure I will need help sooner or later, probably sooner. Following all the builds on this forum over the last couple of years helps immensely. I keep your 20th anniversary build open on my tablet all the time. I refer to it just as much as I do the build manual.

[Kool AC]

Before I mounted the front lower control arms I wanted to modify the bushings. I think I remember a post from someone that attended the build school at Mott college saying that the instructors recommended cutting slots into the face of the lca bushings to allow grease to get to that area. Looking at the upper control arm bushings, slots are molded into the faces from the factory. So I decided it would be a good idea to duplicate this on the lca's.108224
I used a piece of steel tubing and turned a counter bore in one end to press over the head of the bushing. I then cut eight equally spaced slots into the face of the tube on the opposite side of the counter bore. I now had a tool i could use to help me keep the slots i cut into the bushings consistent.108225
After tapping the inner sleeve below the face of the bushing I installed the ring onto the bushing head aligning the slots on the tool with the slots on the i.d. of the bushing. Using a hacksaw with a 32 pitch blade sitting in two opposing slots I gave three or four strokes to cut the slot into the face of the bushing. Then did the other three slots. Repeated the process on the remaining seven bushings and set the inner sleeves back flush with the head. This whole process probably isn't necessary but I feel it was worth the time to do.108226108227108228108229108230

[phileas_fogg]

Man, this is a great build thread. You've obviously studied many previous builds, and I love your attention to detail & informative pictures. And I'm jealous of your tool collection!


John

[Kool AC]

Thanks a lot John. Just hoping I can give a little back to the forum to pay for all the knowledge and great ideas I've seen here. Couldn't imagine building one of these cars without this forum.

[Kool AC]

After checking the control arm mounting brackets welded to the frame were reasonably perpendicular to the 4" tubes I started fitting the control arms. The left front only needed a small bit of tweaking to get the bushings to fit between the brackets with no shims. With the front and rear bolts in place I measured the gap between the left rear bushings and brackets with a stack of feeler gauges. Turned out to be .100" on both. The right front needed a .080" shim and the right rear bushings needed .100" shims on both bushings. The FFR supplied flat washers/shims were about .139" thick, so onto the surface grinder they went to get them down to the required thickness. Assembled the control arms and shims to the frame and torqued the bolts to 100-110 ft lbs. per the manual.108300108301108302108303108304108305

[Kool AC]

Started working on the F panels by tracing the frame rails on the back of the panel and laying out the hole spacing. Drilled and deburred the rivet holes and holes for riv-nuts along the flange to attach the splash guards at final assembly of the car. These will get powder coated with the rest of the panels later. Next, I altered the male and female rod ends per the manual, cutting the ends shorter using a parting tool on the lathe. Moving on to the hubs, removed the tone rings using a gear puller, not going to utilize abs so off they came. Then cleaned and coated the back of the hubs with POR15.
To get the stabilizer bar bushing brackets to sit flush on the frame I had to mill part of the bracket away to clear the welds. I clear coated the brackets with the same Eastwood Diamond Clear I used on the IRS knuckles.
Before assembling the springs on the shock absorbers I disassembled the hats and adjustment rings and coated all the parts with Sharkhide from a spray can. Reassembled the shocks and springs and mounted them to the frame after installing the upper control arms. I also coated the front face of the hubs with Sharkhide. This is the first time I've used Sharkhide, interesting stuff. There is virtually no film build so it can be used on parts with screw threads without causing any interference with the thread form. I think the spray can applicator is fairly new as Iv'e only seen it offered in quart cans before. Will see how it holds up.
The spindles, hubs and steering arms went on next finishing up the front suspension assembly.10894910895010895110895210895310895410895 5108956108957108958

[Kool AC]

Moving on to the rear suspension. When threading the adjusting sleeve into the upper control arms the sleeve would bind up about a quarter of the way in. Perhaps the tap that was used was getting worn or the arms were welded after it was tapped and distorted form the heat. At any rate I was lucky enough to have a 1 1/4-12 tap at work and used it to chase the threads in both arms.
Both upper and lower control arms received the same bushing head treatment as the front lower control arms, slotting the heads. When applying grease to the zerk fittings after assembly you can see the grease squirting out from the slots.
The tabs on the toe arms were about a 1/16 of an inch to narrow to fit over the knuckle bearing. Bending the tabs enough to get over the bearing caused them to be way out and not parallel to each other. So I put a second bend between the first bend and the holes in the tabs getting them parallel and in full contact with the knuckle bearing. When assembling the toe arms to the frame there was a little too much for/aft play using the spacers provided by FFR, so I turned up a new set out of stainless steel a little wider to get the play out of the connection. When assembling the toe arm adjusting sleeve and rod end I ran both jam nuts up as far as they would go and screwed the sleeve and rod end in as far as they would go. Then, holding the toe arm I turned the adjusting screw out to an initial setting. This keeps the adjustment equal between the adjusting sleeve and rod end. Also did the same procedure for the camber adjustment on the upper control arms.
I shortened up the anti sway bar rod ends the same way I did for the front bar, disassembled the shocks and sprayed them with Sharkhide before reassembling them with the coil springs, pressed in new seals in the differential housing and clear coated the bare metal on the half shafts with Eastwood diamond clear and finished the IRS assembly. 10941910942010942110942210942310942410942510942610 9427
Any of the small problems I had with the IRS assembly is in no way slamming FFR. I certainly expected some problem solving to be needed along the way of the build, and so far only very minor issues. I am really impressed with the quality of the components and workmanship provided by FFR on this kit. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do something like this. Having a blast and enjoying every minute of the build

[Kool AC]

To mount the steering rack I didn't use the FFR supplied bushings but made my own out of 6061 aluminum similar to the Breeze units. Instead of making them adjustable I waited until I had the rack aligned then marked the holes in relation to the frame mounting tabs. To get everything centered up I started by getting the pinion centered to the rack, equal number of turns in both directions. Then I measured to the ends of the inner tie rods, split that dimension and put a mark on the steering rack housing. After that I aligned that mark with a mark I made on the center line of the frame then drilled the holes in the bushings and bolted the rack to the frame. Now I have the pinion centered in the rack, the rack centered to the frame and I have an equal number of threads in the outer tie rod ends with the wheel hubs pointing straight ahead.
The next thing was to get the steering shaft mounted and the steering wheel clocked. I am using Russ Thompson turn signal assembly so I temporarily mounted it to the frame with a c-clamp. After countersinking the six screw holes that hold the steering wheel to the hub a little deeper to get the center cap to sit flush, I mocked up the whole system clocking the hub to Russ's turn signal and the wheel to the hub. To get this all lined up I oriented the steering shaft splined hub to the splined input shaft on the rack housing until I got the best orientation I could get.
I didn't like the way the splined hub on the steering shaft fit on the rack input shaft. It only barely engaged the second spline after the relief cut on the shaft and was quite wobbly. I ended up grinding the inner shaft down flush to the end of the splined shaft to get more engagement with the splined hub. Then of course the set screw ended up below the relief cut so I ground a flat on the shaft for the set screw to tighten against. I ended up gaining almost another 5/32 of an inch engagement and the hub felt a lot more secure on the shaft.
Lastly I tapped two 8-32 holes on each side of the upper steering shaft for set screws the will take any play out of the connection to the lower steering shaft. I got that idea from edwardb's 20th anniversary roadster build thread. Thank's Paul.
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[Kool AC]

Decided to tackle the Wilwood brakes next. After assembling the rotors to the hats on the front brakes I went about safety wiring the bolts. Well, after a couple of hours and doing each pair of bolts at least twice I finally got it down to where I was satisfied with the results. The rear assemblies went much smoother.
I wanted to mount the brackets for the flexible caliper hose fittings a little differently than the manual shows. I put a 90 degree bend in the front brackets and mounted them under the 3/4 tube. Cut a 7/8 inch hole in the f-panels to allow the fitting to come through. With the f-panels on its almost a flush mount, the hoses have no obstructions and have good clearance and length when turning lock to lock. The rear fitting brackets I left flat and mounted them a little further back than the manual shows. I think it gives a more direct routing to the caliper with no obstructions. Followed the Wilwood instructions to assemble the brake assemblies, Went very smooth.
Assembled the Wilwood pedal box next and found the clutch pedal lever had a slight interference with the 3/4 inch tube that many others have documented. I marked where the interference was on the lever and milled out a portion of the ribbing to clear the frame. After reassembly the clutch pedal now goes all the way to the rear foot box wall. So far so good. Will be working on the parking brake next. Probably doing something similar to what edwardb did going over the 4 inch tube and then on to routing hard brake lines.11067511067611067711067811067911068011068111 0682110683110684

[Kool AC]

I wanted to utilize the FFR parking brake ratchet assembly and cables but like many others was not crazy about routing the cables under the 4" tube. As low as these cars sit I would be concerned about them getting tore up if you happened to bottom the car out. Having seen some good alterations on other posts I wanted to incorporate some ideas I had. I decided to use a bell crank arrangement to keep the pulling forces from the handle to the cables in some what straight lines. I started with some cardboard cut outs until I got the length and angle of the bell crank arms where I wanted them and another cardboard cut out of the pivot block to get the dimensions I needed for making them out of steel and aluminum. I used the vertical bracket welded to the 3/4 tube to mount the pivot block I made out of aluminum. Also turned a couple of stainless bushings to fill the holes where the screws went through the bracket. I then machined the bell crank arms out of mild steel and turned a hub to go between the arms and welded the three pieces together. Bored a pivot hole and pressed in a bronze bushing. I wanted to incorporate an equalizer between the rear arm and the cables similar to what the factory would do. Without the equalizer it's possible that only one caliper would lock up if there was any difference in pad wear or caliper adjustment. With the equalizer you are sure to get equal pressure on both calipers. I made triangular pieces out of stainless steel flat stock and drilled three holes in them to act as the equalizer. Next I turned the cable ends out of stainless and drilled a hole for the cable to be inserted. Drilled and tapped a 5/16-24 holes on either side of them to act as cable clamps. I made sure I drilled theses holes deep enough to get past the cross hole for the cable so that when the set screws were tightened they would actually push the cable down into them creating a very tight hold on the cable. Made a couple of tie rods out of 5/16 stainless steel and assembled everything with 5/16 rod ends form our friends at McMaster Carr and it worked very well. With the tie rods threaded a little longer than needed I have adjustment in the future for cable stretch.111417111418111419111420111421111422111423 111424111425111426
I tried to keep the whole assembly as tight as I could to the 1" tubes so there was clearance for the driveshaft. After setting the driveshaft into position it looks like I will have clearance. On the ratchet assembly itself I turned a couple of bronze pivot bushing to replace the nylon bushings that come with the kit. I also turned up a release button out of stainless to replace the aluminum button.
In the interest of complete disclosure the first bell crank I made I got a little to happy with the lightening holes. When I really gronked on the parking brake lever the arms started buckling in the webbing around the holes. So I decided to make another set without the lightening holes and these worked out much better. All in all I think it worked very well. Maybe a little over kill but I had fun doing it and for me that's what the build is all about.

[Kool AC]

I saw a roadster graduation thread posted by "DANW" some time back. He did a beautiful job on his roadster. One of the things I really liked is what he did with the brake reservoir mounted in the top of the foot box, so I decided to copy it. I purchased a small three chamber reservoir from Scott's Hot Rods, (not a supporting vendor). Mocked up a cardboard mounting bracket then transferred it to a piece of 14 ga. stainless steel, cut it out and bent it. Using right angle fittings for the brake cylinders the hose routings ended up being nice and short. The forward most chamber will be for the hydraulic clutch cylinder when its installed. I also made an extension piece out of aluminum to mount to the reservoir to extend the top so I didn't have a hole where the sheet metal surrounds it. After some careful trimming of the cover plate I installed a length of push on trim I purchased form McMaster Carr. With the trim I got a good snug fit all the way around the reservoir. 112518112519112520112521112522112523112524
I also wanted to do something about the way FFR blocked the slot in the front of the pedal box sheet metal where it is cut out to fit around the 3/4 tube. It looked a little Frankenstein-ish to me. I cut a piece of sheet stock to fill the opening and flush riveted it to a backing plate. The backing plate will then get riveted to the front of the foot box creating a nice flush mounting.112525112526

[edwardb]

Agreed DANW's build is amazing. Saw it in person at London. Two comments: Putting the reservoirs there is clean, that's for sure. I'm assuming you've checked body clearance. Gets a little close back there. Should be OK, but wondering. Also, I'd make absolutely certain you have a good seal. Hot air intrusion into the cockpit is a big deal. You want it positively sealed everywhere. You can feel even small leaks. For that other filler panel, what you did is nice. That area is almost invisible with the body installed and everything around it though. Not that I've ever spent time making something pretty that isn't seen. :rolleyes: Keep up the good work!

[Kool AC]

I did check body clearance as best i could without actually putting the body on, just using templates and measuring. Thanks for the thoughts on sealing everything up. I think I will want to seal the cover plate to the rest of the foot box due to the slight gap between them created by the heads of the riv nuts.

[Kool AC]

Have been working on fitting and drilling panels lately. Continue to be impressed by how well they fit together and to the frame, very little tweaking. Also been working on the pedal box and pedals. I started by machining about .09" form each side of the brake and clutch pedal pad to gain a little more clearance between them and the other pedals. I definitely wanted a dead pedal for driving on the track and somewhere to rest my left foot for street driving. I purchased four pedal pads from Wilwood that match the brake and clutch pedals. I took .09" off each side and .38" from one end on each of two pedals and flattened them out in the press. I then machined a bracket from aluminum angle to mount the pads to. After riveting a stiffening panel to the side of the foot box I installed four 1/4-20 riv-nuts from thew outside of the panel.
The riv-nut bosses will act as dowels to help keep the bracket stationary. The bracket is also butted up against the panel kick-out for even more stability.115928115929115930115931
Turning to the Ford Coyote accelerator pedal I utilized the two remaining Wilwood pedal pads. I again machined .09" from each side and about .62" form one end of each of the two pads. Using a .15"x1.25" piece of stock I made small bends about every quarter of an inch to match the curvature of the Coyote pedal. I then turned up a boss and tapped a 1/4-20 thread all the way through and mounted it to the pad I made with a short piece of threaded rod. The tap in the other end gets a button head screw to secure the pad to the Coyote pedal assembly. Just to make sure the pedal didn't rotate I installed a 3/16" dowel to key the pad to the pedal assembly. Before mounting the pedal pads I traced the outline of the pad I made and trimmed the Coyote pedal assembly to match. 115932115933115934115935
For the Ford Coyote clutch safety switch I did something similar to what Paul, (aka EdwardB), did on his anniversary roadster build. I made a bracket out of .09" stainless flat stock to mount the switch and a switch dog out of the same stock. Mounted the switch plate using the pedal box mounting screws and the switch dog to the clutch pedal adapter.115936115937

[Kool AC]

I wanted to use Russ Thompson's drop trunk mod to take advantage of the unused space above the fuel tank but I did not want the cross braces running through it. So I started by cutting the diagonal braces off the frame. Cut a piece of 1" square by 1/16" wall tubing to fit between the three hole flange plates that are welded to the frame. I then cut to length a piece of the 3/4" tubing I removed from the frame to fit between the new 1" tube and the rear 3/4" horizontal tube of the frame. On other piece of 3/4" tube I cut off the frame I cut two pie sections from the tube to create a 90 degree transition and welded them closed. This piece attaches to the underside of the new 1" tube and the rear lower 3/4" tube on the frame. This piece will run between the under side of the drop trunk box and above the fuel tank. As it turns out there is approximately 1/8" clearance below the trunk box and tube and about 1/8" clearance between the top of the fuel tank and the tube. After all the pieces were aligned, I welded it all together and coated all the new pieces.
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[edwardb]

Very nice work. I'm personally not a fan of removing anything from the frame, and find in actual use those cross braces really aren't in the way. But understand some just want them removed, and yours is one that stands out as exceptionally well done. Beautiful welding too. With your fabrication skills, surprised you bought Russ's box instead of making your own. :o

[cv2065]

Build is looking fantastic. Your e brake setup is a work of art!

[Kool AC]

Thanks guy's, I'm having a lot of fun on the build.

[Kool AC]

When deciding how and where I wanted to mount the battery I was not to keen on the FFR method of installing it in the upper trunk area. Would seem to have a pretty high center of gravity and take up a lot of valuable trunk space. Using the IRS there is no room for a conventional battery under the trunk. I considered the Breeze battery tray mounted in the engine compartment, nice option but did not really want to see it there, just personal preference. I did see an option I liked on Miller7448's thread where he used two 6 volt Optima batteries mounted in series under the trunk and behind the IRS center section so I decided I would try that approach. Of course I was already committed to this plan before Jeff Kleiner started a thread on cars equipped with Optima batteries were going dead while at his shop. Seems that the quality of these batteries has suffered after operations were moved to Mexico. So to cover my bets I plan on installing remote battery terminals and purchasing an Optima digital charger to keeo the batteries topped off when not using the car.
Started with a sheet of .060 thick 5052 aluminum and cut out and bent the main part of the box. Then cut out and bent the sides. I didn't want the batteries sliding around in the box so I made a couple of nests out of UHMW to fit snugly in the bottom. Cut a piece of aluminum angle that will support the front of the box on the frame rail. Made corner tabs with nutserts for attaching a cover and made battery hold downs out of stainless steel. Installed 1/4-20 nutserts in the frame rails to mount the box to.
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[Kool AC]

Made a terminal connector from a solid piece of copper and a cover out of the .060 aluminum. Also I wanted to get rid of the fuel tank strap connection from the inside of the trunk. I cut off the original bracket, made a duplicate of the bracket on the left side and welded it to the frame. Next I cut a 1 5/16 section out of the strap just below the eye and butt welded it back together. Just for a little insurance I plug welded a small plate to back side of the strap straddling the butt weld. Made a cover for the trunk sheet metal and riveted it in place.
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[Kool AC]

I went with the Ford evap canister, part number CP2000, for the fuel tank with a couple of modifications. The inlets on the canister are for 1/4" and 3/8" i.d. hoses. I'm using the Breeze large bore breather vent that uses a 1/2" i.d. hose nipple. Not wanting to choke that down at the canister I cut both nipples off and plugged the smallest one. On the on the other, I tapped a 1/4 pipe thread and installed a 1/2 barbed nipple and connected the canister to the tank breather with a 1/2" i.d. hose.120477120478120479120480
For grounding the starter battery to the frame I turned up an insert with a 3/8-16 tapped hole through it and welded it to the frame. I wanted a few more threads for the bolt than the just the frame tubing would give me. Made some cables to attach remote battery terminals to the battery. Purchased a remote battery terminal box from Summit Racing an cut the appropriate hole into the back wall of the drop trunk box.120481120482120483120484120485120486

[Kool AC]

When planning out the fuel line routing it didn't take much planning at all, pretty much copied edwardb's method in his 20th anniversary roadster build, thanks Paul. I made several aluminum clamps, three for the flat surfaces and four for mounting to the 4" frame tube. Copied these from one of the vendors on this forum and they worked out very well. Also made a new bracket out of stainless for the fuel regulator that mounts on the firewall. This allows for the Coyote wiring from the PDB to the PCM to be routed behind the regulator ans against the firewall.
Using 3/8" stainless steel lines I started at the fuel filter with the feed and return lines and ended in the engine compartment. Ended up with one piece lines for both. Used Aeroquip Teflon braided lines and 6an fittings to connect the lines to the in tank fuel pump and the regulator.1204871204881204891204901204911204921204 93120494120495120496

[Straversi]

Fantastic work!
-Steve

[TMartinLVNV]

Beautiful work. You are a true craftsman.

[Blue Viking]

Look great! I am going with ss lines and the same filter and pump hanger as you. I was planning on running ss lines all the way to the pump, I see you use braided lines there. Is it a bad idea to do what I was thinking?

[Kool AC]

I think generally you would want to use a flexible hose connection between two fittings if there is any chance of movement between those connections so as not to cause stress on the fittings and possibly eventual failure of the connection, but with the tank mounted to the frame and the lines clamped to the frame that should not be the case. Although, if the tank straps ever unknowingly came loose the tank could shift from side to side and stress the connections. I went the way I did for ease of installation, and peace of mind. I think it would also be easier to get one piece of tubing bent and fitted for fuel delivery and return terminating this way.

[Kool AC]

I wanted to use stainless steel for all the hard brake lines. Bought two straight 8' sections and one straight 10' section from a local vendor along with the stainless fittings. I also purchased a Ridgid tubing bender and the turret style flaring tool to make the double flares at the tube ends. I got the flaring tool from Jeg's, looks identical to the one from Eastwood Tools and other vendors. Even with the stainless steel tubing it produced perfect double flares every time. Used the 8' sections to do the front lines and the rear line across the back and the 10' section form the rear master cylinder to the left rear caliper. I thought the 10" section was going to be more than enough but as it turns out I actually could have used another half foot. But it worked out.1222211222221222231222241222251222261222271222 28122229122230

[Kool AC]

Started working on some of the wiring layout. I made a few cable clamps to hold the main battery cable and rear wiring harness that route through the trans tunnel. I also made an aluminum plate to mount the battery cut off switch. Below the firewall in the engine compartment I fabbed up an aluminum panel to cover the two vertical frame tubes above the tunnel and cut a hole for the cut off switch and mounted the main power fuse block to it. After all the wiring is laid out and all other systems are configured I will dismantle everything to get the aluminum panels out to powder coat and then begin final assembly.12223112223212223312223412223512223612223 7122238

[TMartinLVNV]

I wanted to use stainless steel for all the hard brake lines. Bought two straight 8' sections and one straight 10' section from a local vendor along with the stainless fittings. I also purchased a Rigid tubing bender and the turret style flaring tool to make the double flares at the tube ends. I got the flaring tool from Jeg's, looks identical to the one from Eastwood Tools and other vendors. Even with the stainless steel tubing it produced perfect double flares every time. Used the 8' sections to do the front lines and the rear line across the back and the 10' section form the rear master cylinder to the left rear caliper. I thought the 10" section was going to be more than enough but as it turns out I actually could have used another half foot. But it worked out.1222211222221222231222241222251222261222271222 28122229122230

Wow, beautiful work! Looks better than factory.

[Kool AC]

Started with taking the factory oil cooler off and installing the shorter oil filter adapter, Ford part no. AL3Z-6890-A, and using the same oil filter. Next up was removing the stock oil pan and replacing the oil pick up tube and oil pan with the Moroso pieces, pick up part no. 24570 and pan part no. 20570. The alternator and belt tensioner, Ford part no. M-8600-M50BALT, were assembled to the engine. When I purchased the roadster kit form FFR I also purchased the KRC power steering option from them. I replaced the stock flow control valve with a 4 liter per minute valve recommended various places on this forum and installed the system on to the engine. Easy installation, just be sure to get the pump bracket spacers in the correct location as there are two different heights. The Speedhut temp sensor was next. I purchased a 3/4 npt to 1/8 npt fitting to screw into the block thus eliminating one reducer bushing that the FFR instructions show. Assembled the heater bypass hose using the reducer bushing included with the Coyote fitment kit from FFR.
The Speedhut oil pressures sensor needs to be installed while retaining the Ford pressure sensor for proper computer function. As mentioned in "edwardb's" Coupe build thread the stock oil pressure sensor has a m12x1.5 thread and the Speedhut sensor has a 1/8 npt thread. I machined a brass adapter that in conjunction with a 45 degree npt adapter will allow both sensors to be installed in the same port, similar to Paul's solution.
I also referred to "edwardb's Coupe build thread for the CMCV and fuel pressure regulator vacuum source. There are two vacuum ports behind the throttle body, one with a 1/2" tube fitting and the other with a 3/8" tube fitting. I made up a small manifold and bracket with three 1/8 npt ports. Two of the ports will connect the 3/8" vacuum source to the CMCV vacuum port and the other will be used for the fuel regulator. The 1/2" vacuum port is capped off. I used one of the intake manifold screws to mount the manifold bracket.
I also purchased a JLT oil separator for the engine. This helps keep crankcase blow by from going back through the intake manifold from the PCV system. I used the connection hose that came with the filter that goes to the PCV valve on the valve cover and cut the stock hose to attach the filter to the intake port. This ended up putting the filter in a nice location away from the power steering reservoir.
Assembled the motor mount spacers per the FFR instructions and installed on the motor. I will be setting the motor into the frame temporarily so I can work out a bracket for the computer, fuel line connection, cable lengths, etc.1234031234041234051234061234071234081234091234 10123411123412

[jiriza84641]

Next I turned my attention to the various unused drilled holes in the knuckles. I drilled them a little larger and turned aluminum plugs on the lathe that I could insert and loctite into the holes. After milling the plugs flush with the surrounding area the holes virtually disappear.1080761080771080781080791080801080811080 82108083
Trimmed all the parting lines and flash from the castings, a quick trip through the glass bead cabinet and a couple coats of Eastwood Diamond Clear satin and the knuckles are ready.108084

I'm going to send you my knuckles to do the same and a frozen deep dish chicago pizza as payment. ;)

[jiriza84641]

Damn good skill set you have there!

[Kool AC]

Damn good skill set you have there!

Thanks man! Best of luck with your build. Reach out to me anytime if I can help. This forum is a great resource as you may already know.

[Kool AC]

I wanted to set the engine in the frame temporarily to get the PCM mounted in the proper location for the main wiring harness from the engine to reach and for setting other wire harness lengths. Made up a flat plate out of .09” aluminum and installed nutserts to mount the PCM. Also machined stand-offs to sit under the ears of the PCM. Very solid. I also did some dieting of the control pack wiring harness. First, I unwrapped the harness and removed the EPAS wiring, not needed. Moved the starter solenoid wire back to the firewall. This wire will run parallel to the 12-volt cable down to the starter solenoid. Also moved the cooling fan feed wire to behind the firewall. Will run this wire through the front harness to the fan. Then removed the ambient air temp sensor and intercooler pump connectors and wiring and re wrapped the harness with the same factory wrap I found at Inline Tube. On the O2 sensor harness I unwrapped and removed the connectors and wires for the two unused O2 sensors. Lengthened the wiring going to the left side O2 sensor and shortened the wiring going to the right side O2 sensor and re wrapped the harness.125198125199125200
Recently picked up a powder coating kit from Harbor Freight. Have been wanting to try this for some time now. The Harbor Freight kit actually had better reviews than the Eastwood kit and at about half the price. Pretty low cost to get started, figured I could upgrade later if I liked the process. Bought a 6 slice toaster oven and started with the hood hinges. Used a satin black powder similar to the car frame. Turned out very well. Now I’m powder coating everything that will fit into the oven.125201
In Michigan the law requires all vehicles to have windshield wipers. I picked up the Specialty Power Windows WWK2 form Speedway Motors as recommended by Paul, aka edwardb. Very simple and solid unit. I wired up and tested the motor and two speed switch. The motor parked consistently in the same spot. The instructions recommend mounting the unit with the cover accessible to service the unit which means mounting the motor on the back side. I attached rubber mounts on the four corners of the housing and cut out the firewall to clear the motor. With the unit mounted this way I will still have about a 4” deep glove box. Of course, I had to powder coat the frame and cover.125202125203125204125205125206125207

[jiriza84641]

Thanks pretty sure ill reach out!

[jiriza84641]

Doug, the power window kit, is that how it comes it looks sleek and clean.

[Kool AC]

Doug, the power window kit, is that how it comes it looks sleek and clean.

It is a windshield wiper kit manufactured by Specialty Power Windows. Of course they also manufacture power window kits. The wiper kit comes as shown less the rubber mounts I added and in bare steel. I powder coated the frame and cover. Also included are the wheel boxes and shafts to mount the wiper arms that I did not show. Wiper arms and blades are not included in the kit but can be purchased from them.

[edwardb]

Very interesting take on the wiper motor installation. I never would have thought of mounting it that direction. I had to adjust the sweep on mine a couple times before I got it right, and just took the whole thing off each time. That sure would have been easier. One hint would be to make sure you seal up around that opening in the firewall. Hot air from the engine compartment will find even the smallest openings and feel like your heater is on during hot days. Make sure to pack it full of grease even before running very much. Will be very interested to see how it sets up on your Roadster. Sure works well on my Coupe. Just like OE wipers, which you can't say for the Lucas version.

[Kool AC]

Yeh Paul, I think it will work great, although I hope I'll never have to use it. Forgot to mention I plan on sandwiching some foam rubber between the firewall and motor frame at final assembly to keep the hot engine bay air out.

[BMR12]

This is great work on the fabrication. I'm definitely not anywhere near that level! Great ideas to keep in mind for when I eventually start mine.

[Kool AC]

This is great work on the fabrication. I'm definitely not anywhere near that level! Great ideas to keep in mind for when I eventually start mine.

I studied build threads on this forum for over a year gathering ideas before I purchased my kit. I think you will be suprised what you can do when you start your build.

[Kool AC]

After reading several threads about the TKO transmissions shifting weaknesses at high rpm, I wanted to make improvements to my TKO-600 before I installed it in the car. Stopped by Liberty’s Gears and purchased their “Upgraded/Synchronized Component Kit”. Before tearing into the trans I downloaded the TKO Parts Catalog and the TR-3550/TKO Service manual from Liberty’s Gears website. The catalog and manual are also available on the Tremec website, just easier to find on Liberty's site. I also watched a very good YouTube video by Paul Cangialosi on his “Gearboxvideo” channel. He completely dismantles and rebuilds a TKO transmission.
The kit includes three carbon fiber lined synchronizer blocking rings for 2nd,3rd and 4th gears, six bronze shift fork pads, a modified 1st/2nd shift rail and spring, modified shift finger, stock blocking rings for 1st and 5th, roll pins and o-rings.
I dismantled the trans enough to get the output shaft assembly out of the case and replaced the 2nd, 3rd and 4th synchro blocking rings on the assembly. On the trans cover I replaced the 1st/2nd shift rail and detente spring with the kit parts. Next, I pried off the nylon shift fork pads and replaced them with the bronze pads from the kit. Lastly, I replaced the shift selector finger with the one in the kit. After cleaning all the mating surfaces it was time for reassembly. The manual says to use anaerobic sealant on all mating surfaces. My trans was originally assembled with RTV sealant on all surfaces except for the front bearing retainer which they used the anaerobic sealant. So, I decided to reassemble it the same way. All in all, the upgrade went very smooth. The only place I deviated from the manual was to remove the front bearing retainer and the input shaft assembly as one unit instead of individually as the manual shows. Not a very difficult job, just be sure to keep everything very clean when reassembling.
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[edwardb]

Very cool. I've had Liberty's Gear do their upgrade on both TKO's I've used and they shift very nicely. Interesting to see the actual parts used. I would never try to do it myself. Way to go.

[Rsnake]

How much were the upgraded parts? Might do this as I am not thrilled with how mine shifts.

[Kool AC]

How much were the upgraded parts? Might do this as I am not thrilled with how mine shifts.

The kit was $350. Does not show up on their website. You can call them at 586-469-1140. Got a skeleton crew there now, but may be able to send out a kit.

[Rsnake]

Thank you. Now I just need to figure out if it's worth pulling the transmission and doing.

[sread]

Yeah, I just watched that same video on youtube a couple days ago...that guy is good - he makes it look so easy - well, not that easy, alot of parts that need to go back in the exact order. Been trying to decide if I want to tackle it.
Hey, how do those new bronze shift fork pads go in? do they just press on?

[Kool AC]

Yeah, I just watched that same video on youtube a couple days ago...that guy is good - he makes it look so easy - well, not that easy, alot of parts that need to go back in the exact order. Been trying to decide if I want to tackle it.
Hey, how do those new bronze shift fork pads go in? do they just press on?

Yes, you can pry the original nylon fork pads off easily and the new bronze pads press on. I used parallel jaw pliers to press them on but a c-clamp would work just as well.

[Kool AC]

Started with installing the roller pilot bearing Ford part no. M-7600-B into the crank. Set the bell housing backing plate on the dowels and mounted the flywheel, Ford Performance part No. M-6375-G46A mounted on to the crank with an ARP bolt kit No. ARP-156-2801 torqued to 70 lb/ft. Next, on went the clutch disc and pressure plate, Ford Performance part no. M-7560-T46 mounted to the flywheel with Ford bolt and dowel kit part no. M6397-B46. The clutch is actually manufactured by Centerforce Clutches. Mounted the Quicktime RM-6080 bell housing using the supplied bolts. I did check runout of the transmission pilot bore and mounting face of the bell housing prior to installing the clutch. Ended up with .007” tir runout on the bore and the face. A little more than I would have liked but still within tolerance. 127232127237127238127240
Next was the Tilton 6000 series hydraulic release bearing, part no. 60-6102. The instructions call for a .125” gap between the face of the release bearing and the clutch release fingers. After measuring for this gap, the bearing retainer was only threaded into the bearing with about one or two threads. Turned up a ¾” long spacer on the lathe to be able to thread the retainer into the bearing farther. The instructions also state that a clutch pedal stop must be used. Wanted something adjustable so I made up a stop that mounts to the ¾” tube that runs between the clutch and brake pedal. Once the trans is installed I will set the location of the stop and drill a ¼” hole in the tube to mount it. Will be using a 13/16” bore master cylinder per the Tilton Instructions.127241127244127245127246
Reading several roadster build threads the general consensus seems that a ¾” transmission mount spacer is needed to get the correct pinion angle with the Ford Coyote -TKO assembly. Machined up a spacer out of aluminum and later powder coated it. The whole engine/trans assembly is now ready for installation.127247127248

[Kool AC]

After disassembling all the aluminum panels and getting them to the powder coater, I decided to tackle the dash and glove box. I started with the FFR blank dash and laid out the gauges similar to the Cobra competition layout adding the switches I wanted to use. I added an oil temp gauge and moved the clock towards the glove box. I turned up an extra bezel to fit behind the clock to set it off from the gauges and give it its own personality.
For the glove box itself I modeled one up in CAD and emailed the file to a local company called Thingsmiths to have it 3D printed. Received it a couple of weeks later. I think it worked out quite well. Made a set of hinges, door, inside catch and used the VW latch to finish it off.
I radius-ed the ends of the dash using the sheet metal brake making 30, 3-degree bends .21” apart to create a 4” radius 90-degree bend. I believe the small bends in the aluminum will not be noticeable after the dash is covered with 1/8-inch foam and leather. Bent a flange and drilled a hole on each end of the dash to attach it to the brackets I made and riveted to the frame.
Once I am sure I won’t need any more holes in the dash I will cover it with the 1/8 foam and black leather.
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[Kool AC]

I started the brake bleeding process by disconnecting the front and rear lines from their master cylinders and made up short lines to pass the fluid back into their respective reservoirs. With the reservoirs full of brake fluid I pumped the brake pedal a few times until no more air bubbles came from the end of the lines, (bench bleeding). Then I reconnected the front and rear brake lines. I wanted to try vacuum bleeding with the Mityvac MV8500 vacuum/pressure gun since I did not have a helper to pump the peddle. I attached a hose and catch cup to the upper bleeder screw at the caliper and pulled a vacuum. This did work pulling fluid through the lines but was also sucking air around the bleeder screw so it was hard to tell if I had evacuated all the air from the line and caliper. So I decided to use the pressure side of the gun. I turned up a cap on the lathe and threaded the inside with a 1 3/8-20 thread. On the other side of the cap a 1/4 npt and screwed a hose barb into it. Made up a rubber washer for a seal and connected it to the gun with a piece of clear hose. After filling the reservoir with fluid I screwed the cap onto the reservoir and pumped about 10 psi of pressure and opened the upper bleeder screw at the caliper. This worked very well. Repeated this at every caliper and when done I had a very firm brake pedal.
Since I plan to track the car I wanted to be able to adjust the brake bias easily at the track if needed. I purchased the Wilwood 340-4990 brake bias adjuster and a Tilton 72-560 balance bar coupler form Summit Racing. I milled up a two-piece bracket to be able to mount the adjustment knob to the 2” square frame tube behind the firewall. This put the adjuster within easy reach from the seat. I cut the adjuster cable to length and mounted everything up. I may never actually use it but I wanted to have it In case I do.13166913167013167113167213167313167413167513167 6131677131678

[Caddy Dad]

PM sent. Thanks!

[Kool AC]

I know it’s been awhile since my last update. Been working on the roadster, just not taking the time to snap many photos or update the thread. So just a quick update.
I took the aluminum panels in to get powder coated to a place I have used before. They did a great job at a very reasonable price. I am installing Dynamat on almost all of the panels along with Dynaliner in the footboxes to keep engine heat out of the cockpit.
The engine/trans install went very smooth. I worked by myself and just took my time. That Coyote sure is a tight fit. Installed the driveshaft and a Metco safety loop afterwards. I used a 3/4 inch spacer under the tail of the trans to obtain the proper drive line angle. The same as many others have posted on this forum that have installed the Coyote with the Tremec TKO. I made up a stainless steel bracket for the Moroso degas tank and installed a Spectre 4” cold air intake.
Next up was the instrument panel. I first glued 1/8 foam, (thanks to Paul, aka edwardb for the idea), on the panel and cut out the gauge and switch holes. I purchased a full hide of black dyed leather from a vendor on ebay. cut out an oversized piece and glued it to the panel over the foam. After some more tedious cutting, trimming, stretching and gluing I think it came out quite well.
I did start the wiring by running wires to the turn signals and head lamps but I will show more of that along with the dash wiring on the next update. Looking forward to first start soon!
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[Kool AC]

I started on the dash wiring by modifying some of the connector legs from the Coyote wiring harness. I separated the mil from the OBDII connector and shortened up the legs on them. I also shortened the legs on the clutch pedal travel and pigtail connectors. I ran the orange fan wire through the firewall and spliced into the blue fan wire in the front harness. Then mounted the Ron Francis fuse panel and started on the dash wiring. Main power wiring runs through a master disconnect switch to the fuse panel. The main alternator wire has a 150 amp fuse between the alternator and fuse panel. I also added a 10 ga. wire from the coyote PDB to a 4 position fuse panel I mounted to the frame to give hot at all times power to the gps speedometer and the clock. Working on the Ron Francis wiring harness I removed the hot rod connector and associated wiring per the manual. I shortened up the wiring going to the headlight and ignition switches taking out about 12” of wire to get them to a good position to mount them to the dash. I also made up a center dash brace to mount an “IDIDIT” high beam/low beam switching relay and “Powerwerx” USB and cigarette lighter sockets. The switching relay works in conjunction with the Russ Thompson turn signal high beam toggle button on the stalk. Easy to wire and works perfectly. I used the kit supplied toggle switch for the hazard flasher and a kit supplied switch for the relay in the in the fan circuit I am using for the Powerwerx outlets. Since I am letting the Coyote control the fan, I am using the Ron Francis fan circuit for the power outlets. Since I am not using the speedo sense wires for the speedometer, I am using that circuit for a backup light. Got a TKO trans connector from Summit and used the speedo sense wires that come out of the rear harness right next to the switch on the trans. I also ran wires for a third brake light and trunk courtesy light. Mounted the OBDII socket to the frame on the passenger side and the inertia switch to the firewall and wired up the windshield wiper motor. Next wired up the dash itself adding the Russ Thompson turn signal wiring and seat heater power wiring utilizing the heater circuit from the fuse panel. Mounted the dash and plugged in all the connectors and everything is working as it should.
I wired the engine oil pressure, water temp and oil temperature sensors using the supplied engine wiring harness adding the alternator and tach signal wires. I spliced into the No. 7 cylinder coil wire for the tachometer signal. Calibrated the fuel gauge and tachometer per the Speedhut instructions. With all that done I had no excuses not to try staring the engine. Put about 5 gallons of premium in the tank and jumped the fuel pump relay to set the fuel pressue to 65 psi. Turned the key and let it crank about five seconds, nothing. Turned the key a second time and let it crank about another five seconds and just before I let go of the key it fired up and idled smoothly with good oil pressure. Boy did that feel good! Let it idle until the fan kicked on. After about a minute or so the fan did its job and shut off. The fan cycled a couple more times after letting the engine idle for a while. Checked accelerator pedal response and all is good.
To complete the wiring I am using Deutsch connectors for the running lights, brake lights and headlights.
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[Caddy Dad]

Congratulations on first start. You've got an awesome build going there. Impressive work!

[Kool AC]

Congratulations on first start. You've got an awesome build going there. Impressive work!

Thanks Frank, enjoying every minute of this build.

[jiriza84641]

Started with taking the factory oil cooler off and installing the shorter oil filter adapter, Ford part no. AL3Z-6890-A, and using the same oil filter. Next up was removing the stock oil pan and replacing the oil pick up tube and oil pan with the Moroso pieces, pick up part no. 24570 and pan part no. 20570. The alternator and belt tensioner, Ford part no. M-8600-M50BALT, were assembled to the engine. When I purchased the roadster kit form FFR I also purchased the KRC power steering option from them. I replaced the stock flow control valve with a 4 liter per minute valve recommended various places on this forum and installed the system on to the engine. Easy installation, just be sure to get the pump bracket spacers in the correct location as there are two different heights. The Speedhut temp sensor was next. I purchased a 3/4 npt to 1/8 npt fitting to screw into the block thus eliminating one reducer bushing that the FFR instructions show. Assembled the heater bypass hose using the reducer bushing included with the Coyote fitment kit from FFR.
The Speedhut oil pressures sensor needs to be installed while retaining the Ford pressure sensor for proper computer function. As mentioned in "edwardb's" Coupe build thread the stock oil pressure sensor has a m12x1.5 thread and the Speedhut sensor has a 1/8 npt thread. I machined a brass adapter that in conjunction with a 45 degree npt adapter will allow both sensors to be installed in the same port, similar to Paul's solution.
I also referred to "edwardb's Coupe build thread for the CMCV and fuel pressure regulator vacuum source. There are two vacuum ports behind the throttle body, one with a 1/2" tube fitting and the other with a 3/8" tube fitting. I made up a small manifold and bracket with three 1/8 npt ports. Two of the ports will connect the 3/8" vacuum source to the CMCV vacuum port and the other will be used for the fuel regulator. The 1/2" vacuum port is capped off. I used one of the intake manifold screws to mount the manifold bracket.
I also purchased a JLT oil separator for the engine. This helps keep crankcase blow by from going back through the intake manifold from the PCV system. I used the connection hose that came with the filter that goes to the PCV valve on the valve cover and cut the stock hose to attach the filter to the intake port. This ended up putting the filter in a nice location away from the power steering reservoir.
Assembled the motor mount spacers per the FFR instructions and installed on the motor. I will be setting the motor into the frame temporarily so I can work out a bracket for the computer, fuel line connection, cable lengths, etc.1234031234041234051234061234071234081234091234 10123411123412

What part is the picture in #7. with the black cylinder and 3 ports. do you have a part number?

[Kool AC]

What part is the picture in #7. with the black cylinder and 3 ports. do you have a part number?

That is a small manifold I made up for the intake manifold vacuum lines. You can see it installed in the upper right hand corner of photo #8. You can do pretty much the same thing using a tee fitting.

[ggunter]

Hi Kool AC, I have had a slow day at work today and read your entire build thread and I am so impressed in your fab skills and love your engineering abilities. Obviously you have a lot of experience in machining and automotive abilities. Your fix for the e brake is beautifully complicated but I bet it works beautifully as well. FFR should hire you as an engineer.

[Kool AC]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm a mechanical engineer by day in the gaging field and a part time machinist after hours. I hope you are having as good a time on your build as I am having on mine!

[GoDadGo]

Very Nicely Executed!
I wish I had your knack for wiring!
Congratulation on your to this major milestone of your first start!

[Kool AC]

I wanted the convenience of cup holders, but I didn’t want to see them when not in use. I decided to make a box with a hinged cover and recess it into the trans tunnel cover. The first thing I did was cut out part of the angled brace above the trans and weld in new cross pieces to make room for the box. I fabricated a box and hinged cover and installed it to the trans tunnel cover. Next I machined up the actual cup holders out of a piece of blue uhmw. Blue, for no other reason than that’s what I had available. The cup holder will hold two Yeti tumblers side by side. The cup holders nestle inside the box and can be easily removed if I wanted to use the box for storage. I used a magnetic spring latch for the cover so when closed it looks nice and clean.
To hold the trans tunnel cover in place I bonded a piece aluminum to the underside front of the cover that will catch under the lip of the “A” shaped piece of aluminum that’s riveted under the dash. To hold down the rear of the cover I mounted a 45 lb. pull magnet to the frame and bonded a piece of steel to the bottom of the cover that lands over the magnet. It takes a pretty good tug to release the cover from the magnet, should be all right.
I wanted trunk access from the cockpit for storage of small items so I cut a 5” x 14” hole in the back wall. Made up a set of hinges and door and used the same style magnetic spring latch to keep the door closed. I’ll probably make up a small removable partition in the trunk later for a storage area.
I mounted a 1lb. fire extinguisher to the panel behind the tunnel cover and an original style ash tray in the cover. The cockpit will of course all be covered in leather and carpeting later.
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[Papa]

Slick design for the cup holders! Well done.

[mosh1999]

Love the magnetic spring latch for the cup holder lid.