Project Lightning Coyote [Archive]

Snowman

09-13-2020, 06:12 PM

I ordered the Coupe kit at the beginning of August and am anticipating an early/mid December delivery date from Stewart. Been doing tons of research, much of which came from this forum. Decided it would only be fitting to document the build, and as another forum member explained to me it will add a bit of pedigree to the build. Plus it will be enjoyable to look back on the build. I took a que from P100DHG on his build thread by putting a table of contents at the beginning. Hopefully this proves helpful as the build progresses. Happy building foilks!:D

Table of Contents:

1. The plan (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=427470&viewfull=1#post427470) Updated 9/17/20

2. The kit and parts list

2.1 Delivery (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=427471&viewfull=1#post427471)
3. Engine build-up

3.1 Engine Build Plan (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=428024&viewfull=1#post428024) Updated 10/04/20
3.2 Engine acquisition and tear down (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=429756&viewfull=1#post429756)
3.3 More engine tear down (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=434609&viewfull=1#post434609) Updated 11/16/20

4. IRS

4.1 Acquisition (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=430891&viewfull=1#post430891)
4.2 Diff Install (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=439685&viewfull=1#post439685)

5. Transmission and engine mate

6. Getting it to a rolling chassis

6.1 Steering

6.11 EPAS mounting (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=436775&viewfull=1#post436775)
6.12 EPAS complete (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=437656&viewfull=1#post437656)
6.13 RT Turn Signal (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=440820&viewfull=1#post440820)
6.2 Suspension and Brakes (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=448482&viewfull=1#post448482)
6.3 Wheels and Tires (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=448741&viewfull=1#post448741)

7. Coatings (non-body work)

8. Fuel System

8.1 Fuel Pump (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=439685&viewfull=1#post439685)
8.2 Fuel Pressure Regulator (10.1 HVAC)

Snowman

09-13-2020, 06:14 PM

Table of Contents Continued:

9. Electrical and Wiring

9.1 Door poppers w/magnetic switches (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=437660&viewfull=1#post437660)

9.10 Fob Prototypes (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=440306&viewfull=1#post440306)
9.2 Battery mount (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=440819&viewfull=1#post440819)
9.3 Battery Disconnect (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=442736&viewfull=1#post442736)
9.4 Coyote Computer and wiring (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=448483&viewfull=1#post448483)

9.41 Coyote FPCP harness (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=451439&viewfull=1#post451439)

10. Comfort Items

10.1 HVAC

10.10 A/C Evaporator (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=439685&viewfull=1#post439685)

10.11 Heater Valve and Control (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=440308&viewfull=1#post440308)

11. Driveline install

11.1 Engine Mock Up (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=442737&viewfull=1#post442737)

12. Plumbing

12.1 Tube Straightener (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=442726&viewfull=1#post442726)
12.2 Fuel

12.21 Fuel hard line (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=442730&viewfull=1#post442730)
12.3 Oil

12.31 Remote Oil Filter and Oil Thermostat (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=442734&viewfull=1#post442734)
12.32 Oil Lines (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=448481&viewfull=1#post448481)
12.4 Brake lines (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=443656&viewfull=1#post443656)

13. Dash

14. Soundproofing

15. Aluminum Panels

15.1 Engine bay X panel (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=440818&viewfull=1#post440818)
15.2 Cockpit Aluminum (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=448484&viewfull=1#post448484)

16. Body

17. Reassembly

18. Final assembly (post body and paint)

Snowman

09-13-2020, 06:24 PM

It all started when I had a little too much TV time when COVID hit. Watched a recent movie about Fords racing in the 60s, then saw some shows about FFR kits being built. Looked up FFR and it was love at first sight with the Coupe! :o Did lots and lots of research most of which thanks to this forum. Also, feel it appropriate to make a couple of shout outs, EdwardB, P100DHG and Logan to name a few. I think I’ve read Paul’s thread at least 3 times from beginning to end and made many pages of build notes. I do not intent to copy Paul, but he gave me a ton of inspiration and just reading his thread answered so many questions for me (a must read for any others considering taking the plunge).

This might be a little controversial, but I’m using a junkyard F-150 Gen 3 Coyote and building it up to hopefully a little spicier than the standard Gen 3 crate (more on this later). Planning to use GasN exhaust, just sounded so good on Paul’s. The Coyote will be mated to the Tremec T-56 with all the standard clutch components using the Tilton hydraulic TOB. This will be connected to a junkyard sourced and cleaned up (possibly refreshed internally) 3.73 IRS with Torsen LSD. 18” wheels wrapped in more than likely some Pirelli of some flavor. I want to do something different than the halibrand wheels and at the moment the Torq Thrust from American racing are catching my eye…we’ll see.

Color will be a gray with some type of subdued stripes, thank goodness I don’t have to commit to that decision until much, much later. More than likely this will be something that happens when I start talking to whoever is going to paint it, it certainly won’t be me!

Still considering suspension options, which is why I deleted the Koni’s. Right now looking into QA1 double adjustables and Ridetech double or triple adjustables.

Dash will be a digital dash from AEM, I love the programmability of it and since space is so limited it just seemed to make the most sense over traditional gages. Made a gentleman’s agreement with P100DHG for some trick vents, hopefully that works out. Working a solution for an elegant dash mount for an iphone. UPDATE: Found the iPhone mount (https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/ps/ipad_mounts2/ifdrmount13-18918.php) solution I was looking for. Not going to bother with a stereo. I ‘want’ a glove box, but not sure I ‘want’ to do it, lol ;). Plenty of time to figure that one out.

Interior design is still barely an image in my mind so that will have to evolve organically as the build progresses. I have a friend/coworker that is into 3D printing and they have agreed to make some small parts for me. Hopefully that will make for some fun design touches.

Last thing...the "Lightning" part of the name in no way is indicative of the Ford Lightning truck and that part will remain a mystery for now. If anyone figures it out please PM me :D. I will reveal all closer to the build graduation.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

09-13-2020, 06:31 PM

Ordered a complete kit with the following options:

Powder coated chassis
Body cutouts
Coyote install
IRS
A/C
Carpet
Side windows
Front and rear sway bars
Big wilwood brakes

Deleted (love that they do this):

Gauges
Exhaust (headers and pipes)
Seats
Front and rear Shocks

Other key parts I ordered:

GT350 intake manifold
87mm Bullitt throttle body
Moroso 20570 oil pan with corresponding pickup
Ford Performance Control Pack
Ball joints and tie rod ends (upgrades from the kit provided pieces)

P100DHG

09-14-2020, 12:40 AM

Erik W. Treves

09-14-2020, 07:58 AM

Snowman

09-17-2020, 10:29 PM

Congrats on the order and the upcoming build! Excited those vents will get put to some good use. I like your chosen deletes. Even the new ball and socket headers, though adjustable, needed professional modification so better get ones that work out of the box. I’m excited to follow and watch that table of contents fill up, keep the updates coming and good luck!

It goes without saying don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us if you have questions.

-Danny

Thanks! You've helped quite a bit already. Still doing lots of research, especially with my crazed Gen 3 F-150 engine build, but I'm making headway and parts are starting to arrive :). Check out the slick iPhone mount I found (updated post #3 with link)!

Snowman

09-17-2020, 10:41 PM

The F150 Coyote is up to the task for sure - my F150 Truck has been sporting a Whipple for over a year now 10-12 lbs of boost and pulling trailers all around.... no problems! And they are not too bad to find a reasonable price. And for what it's worth I added the the blower right at 45,000 miles and I am at 63,000+ now...

Glad to hear it will be robust platform. The gen 3 F-150 is proving to add a couple of additional parts challenges, but my research seems to be zeroing in on a viable plan. I do plan to stick with N/A, I think that will be more than sufficient power for me and my build. It is nice to know it can handle that much boost. I have a small supercharger on my straight six jeep and it was a ton of fun...until I did a ported aluminum head and cam shaft upgrade and now I need a bigger supercharger :)

Snowman

09-17-2020, 11:29 PM

I've read through many of the Coyote section threads. I'm sure I'm not the first (I never am), but I have yet to find anyone who has used a Gen 3 F-150 Coyote. It doesn't necessarily make sense to do so unless you are interested in having the dual fuel (DI and port injection) features of the coyote. I love engine tech and I find that a very appealing feature. The reason I'm not going down the Gen 3 crate route is NOT to try and same money, I will spend close to if not a little more in building up the F-150 engine. It's much like the car build, I enjoy tinkering and building engines. I'm actually finishing up a project on my Jeep's straight six. And for the same money I've put into that I probably could have done a V8 swap by now, but I like the straight six and building it and learning are fun to me. Nuf said.

So hopefully I will have a junkyard F-150 Gen 3 in my hands before the end of the month. I have found them within reasonable driving distance for $3000-3500 as a complete engine. Once I have it the plan is to replace a few things and maybe do some tweaks and hopefully I'll get a bit more out of it than the crate motor. I'd like to be in the 550-600HP range, but anything over 500 will make me :D. To get there I'm going for the Comp Cams Stage 2 NSR, a GT350 intake manifold, Bullitt throttle body, some head porting and if possible minor porting to the intake to make sure the transition is smooth. I will also replace the phasers, timing chains, timing crank sprocket and oil pump gears to eliminate any weak links/possibly worn items.

Once those hard things are done I'd like to take it to an engine dyno so when it's time to plunk it in the car it should be tuned to about 90% of what it needs to be. The remainder of the in-vehicle tuning I plan to tinker with for drivability that suits me.

Challenges specific to the F-150 Coyote I've found out during my research:

1. The first is the engine harness, it is different. The F-150 uses a MAP sensor, not a MAF (that led to a whole other batch of research on speed density vs. mass air flow tuning). No big deal, as Paul would say, Mustang replacement engine harnesses can be had new from dealerships selling parts online for around $200. Also discovered another fun fact (confirmed by email from ford performance)...The Mustang Gen 3 uses the same engine harness for automatic and manual transmissions. I don't believe that was the case for the Gen 2 (I'm clueless on the Gen 1). Update, harness is proving difficult to procure. Something about a national backorder. I plan to make a trip to the local Ford dealership next week to see what kind of information I can find on it. I ran into a similar problem when the slave cylinder on my car (Diesel Chevy Cruze) died, took about 2 months for that to get sorted out. Thankfully it was still under warranty at the time.

2. GT350 intake manifold (this one is less F-150 specific) requires the use of the Bullitt 87mm throttle body, NOT the part referenced in the Ford Performance Parts Catalog. The reason has to do with the servos on the two different throttle bodies using a digital signal vs. an analog one respectively. Besides it makes sense on the Bullitt since it came out in 2019 with he GT350 intake manifold on it. A throttle body adapter could be used, but why not upgrade when going to all the rest of this trouble and expense. SIDE NOTE: hindsight being what it is, had I not already purchased the GT350 intake (may have jumped the gun on that a little) I would have just gotten the 2018 Mustang GT intake. The performance differences are not that much and the 2018 can have some porting done to it that puts it nearly on par with the GT350. Oh well, at least I can say I have a Voodoo engine part on my build :D

3. The hole for the EVAP solenoid on the intake manifold will have to be plugged somehow, likely with a solenoid. Thankfully those are pretty inexpensive. The F-150 has a different setup and solenoid altogether so this is just one of those little details that annoy you when you figure it out pretty late.

4. Water pump pulley size. Logan and I had a discussion about this and I still need to fully investigate this one. It's possible the pulley on the F-150 is smaller since that engine never revs as high as a Mustang motor, plus it may also have a greater cooling demand for towing. That is a seemingly easy thing to overcome as well.

5. Not much of a challenge really, but the timing cover will need to be replace just like with the previous generations of F-150 Coyote. Those can be had for around $150 so not a big deal at all.

6. Oil consumption/burning seems to be more prevalent on the F-150 Gen 3 coyote. The F-150 forums all have lengthy discussion threads about this topic, more so than the mustang forums. To the point that Ford has a TSB out on it specifying a very detailed (and good IMO) procedure for measuring oil consumption and it if fails, the corrective action is for a new long block. More on this in my next post, but I did find more carbon build up than I would have liked when I tore the engine down. My plan is to do a leak down test once I get my heads back from porting. Those test results will guide future decisions.

I suspect as far as money spent on the engine build, the port work (not doing this myself, I have a guy for that) and/or the engine dyno are what will drive it over the cost of the crate. Still, with the crate you do have to replace the oil pan and pickup, the flywheel, and the air intake piping so those costs are there regardless of path chosen. It'll be interesting to see how it all comes out.

Other fun facts I've discovered about the Gen 3 F-150 vs Mustang:
The crank, rods, pistons, rings and heads are all the same part numbers for both. This makes sense given both have the same compression ratio. I was surprised the heads are the same. In fact, with the exception of the cams and phasers (timing marks only) all of the components in the heads are identical.

Water pumps and pulleys are identical also.

Oil pump is different and apparently has different thickness of gears. Very specific from MMR.

F-150 balancer is different, it is a 4 / 6 rib combo vs the 6 / 6 on the mustang. Easily fixable with a replacement and provides the opportunity to get rid of some rotating mass, that stock one is really heavy! Like 15 lbs, I think the ATI unit is close to half that weight.

Those are the biggies I've run into so far. As I find more I'll update this post.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

10-04-2020, 06:46 PM

Last weekend I made a little road trip to scout and hopefully score an engine to start working with. Found one I though would fit the bill from a 2018 F-150. Over the past week got it torn down and sourced about 75% of the parts it'll need for the planned build.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135819&d=1601609359

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135820&d=1601609379

One thing I pickup in advance was this lift plate from MMR. That thing is brilliant and well worth the money IMO

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135821&d=1601609390

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135822&d=1601609402

I like to think the Jeep is looking at like when you bring a new puppy home and your dog is confused as to what this new creature is, lol :p

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135823&d=1601609415

Continued...

Snowman

10-04-2020, 06:48 PM

It came from an accident vehicle and had a broken valve cover. I went for the gamble and talked the price down a little bit and drove away with it for $3,250.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135824&d=1601609424

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135825&d=1601609433

The cam caps are thankfully numbered and all oriented the same way. Should make reassembly a little easier. I also read the that cam cap bolts are also torque to yield, can anyone confirm??

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135926&d=1601853773

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135927&d=1601853794

Almost down to just the rotating assembly...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135826&d=1601609442

Torn down as far as I'm hoping to go.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135924&d=1601853698

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=135925&d=1601853701

Overall I'm quite impressed with how easy working on the Coyote is. I really did enjoy the tear down and I'm looking forward to the rebuild. Not sure this thing ever saw an oil change as there was a good deal of sludge behind the oil pump. All of that is cleaned out now and gears replaced with some billet ones. The spark plugs looked great when they were pulled, but was surprised at how much carbon build up there was on the pistons when the heads came off. Did some research on oil burning and it is a thing on Coyotes. A leak down test may provide some insight on if blow-by is the culprit. Also found that many resolved oil consumption with a new PCV valve so one of those is on the way too.

Question to the any engine experts...if a leak down indicates some ring issues can new rings be installed in these blocks as long as cylinder liners (should probably really be called a coating, lol) are in good shape? Read an article (http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/engine/1601-shelby-block-tech-fords-plasma-transfer-wire-arc/) about the PTWA from an interview with Ford and it indicated that rings could be replaced with out any further honing (probably not enough material there to hone anyways) as long as original cross hatching was intact.

I have a running tally on the deltas needed for converting the F-150 Gen 3 to Mustang/crate equivalent for those that may be interested. Once I have the finally tally and parts list I'll post that delta. I'm spending significantly more than that because I wanted to spice it up a bit and we all know HP costs $$$. Plus I'm trying things I've never done before as a novice and so far it's turning into a great learning experience.

Interestingly enough if I do need to have any cylinder work done the least expensive path is to just get a new block from Ford Performance which is already finish honed to 93mm. Not sure if line honing the mains would be necessary, but that would be neat to get a block that doesn't require any machining if that were the case. A set of liners costs just about the same as the new block then all the machine work to go with them and it becomes cost prohibitive unless you want to overbore for a few extra cubes. At that point, may as well go for the stroker and just go fully down the rabbit hole, lol.

Hope you all enjoy the pics!

Cheers,
Patrick

I ordered headers from Gas-N and once those arrive the heads will be taken with headers and intake manifold for porting.

Snowman

10-13-2020, 08:54 PM

A couple of quick minor updates.

I scored this little gem yesterday:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=136310&d=1602639783

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=136311&d=1602639787

Found it on car-part.com and the price was pretty good at 550. Had to make a trip all the way down to San Diego (almost 4 hours for me), but I think it was worth it. I'll get the case cleaned up and treated with Por-15, give it a pair of new seals for the axles and do a flush on it with fresh fluids. I love junkyards, but they pressure wash everything whether holes are covered up or not, lol.

Also, on the return trip I dropped the heads off with my machinist in LA for a valve job and porting. My engine machinist has not done coyote heads before and asked me if I could find out what the installed valve height is (gen 3 heads). I'm waiting on a reply from Ford Performance, but if any one out there knows please share:D.

Thanks,
Patrick

Rsnake

10-13-2020, 10:01 PM

Congratulations Snowman! I ordered my coupe around the same time with the same anticipated delivery date.
Since we are both in California they might be on the same truck. Great build plan, I am looking forward to seeing your build move along and more details on the coyote build. Since I hate typing I am planning on putting my build on YouTube as it's easier for me.

ken33

10-16-2020, 04:40 AM

pictures ?

Snowman

11-17-2020, 12:50 AM

Been a good little while since I've made any updates. In prep for the kit arrival I decided I needed to make some minor improvements to the workspace so I've painted the entire inside (walls and ceiling) of my garage white and added a bunch of LED work lights. Looks like an operating room now when it's all lit up, lol. Got a pack of 8 lights from amazon for $99. Can't complain about that.

With the garage all ready to go I moved back to working on the engine some more. There was a lot of carbon build up on the tops of the pistons and the intake tract was very wet with oil. I researched this a bunch, lived in denial for a good bit, then decided I should do something about this. Some things I found:

1. The F-150 motors are notorious oil consumers.
2. Ford has a TSB out there about it.
3. Sometimes it's just a bad PCV valve, but my research on this was not definitive.
4. If the Ford dealership tech follows the full TSB and the engine consumes more than a certain amount the customer gets a new long block :eek:.
5. Worst case scenario is I may have to replace the block, good news...replacement gen 3 blocks can be purchased from summit for around 850 and they often have them in stock (maybe that's a bad sign...meh, moving forward).

Decided I wanted to replace the piston rings with gapless ones from total seal. I talked to the guys at total seal and they reassured me I could replace the rings with no detriment since the gen 3 blocks have the sprayed in cylinder liners. So I pulled all the pistons tore them all apart and this is what things look like before and after the 1st round of cleaning:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=137856&d=1605590242

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=137857&d=1605590257

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=137858&d=1605590268

The Rotel really helps cut through the carbon build up, lol. Seriously though, the can was just the perfect size!

The cleaning is going in phases with multiple soakings in the solvent, but the final looks pretty darn good. I have a couple more left to go, but I should have that knocked out this coming weekend. I'm still waiting on rings as I found out the dimensions for the gen 3 pistons are different than previous generations (not only in bore diameter). Ultimately what the guys at total seal and I came up with was to just send them one of my pistons and they will figure out the correct spec for the rings and package them all together for me. Then comes the fun task of ring filing and fitting the pistons back in the block. I'm actually looking forward to that process even though I know it will be tedious.

Last thing, I found that if you nag Ford Performance enough they sometimes give in to what you want :D. I was able to get all the Gen 3 engine build specs from them. If anyone is interested PM me and I can send you the file they gave me.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

11-17-2020, 01:07 AM

A very good friend of mine recently pointed out something to me about this project that I knew, but was doing a good job of suppressing from my conscience...I have never driven a vehicle that has this kind of power to weight ratio! With a little internet research, luck and timing on my side I did this on Sunday:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=137859&d=1605592247

I figured this is about as close to a test drive as I'll ever get. It was as bare bones as you can get for a FFR roadster. The owner of the driving experience company claims it has 375HP and weighs in at 2200lbs. No reason not to believe him, it was running an older mustang 5.0. The great part is that is had no power steering, no power brakes and no electronic nannies to cover up for poor driving skill. I had to follow a pace car so that also helped keep me from doing anything colossally stupid. Halfway through my second lap I new for sure that I am building something that I will truly enjoy and as long as I respect it and it's capabilities I should be fine.

For those that are unfamiliar with this part of Cali, I am lucky enough to live only 40 minutes away from Willow Springs. While there I also had the opportunity to talk to a driving coach who works at what used to be the Toyota driving school. There are definitely some good opportunities to run my completed build on the track with instruction from a professional. There are actually a few driving schools on site and HOD frequents the track. Probably a good idea for learning how to drive something like what we build if you have no experience with it. I look forward to it!

Parting eye candy:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=137860&d=1605592257

Superformance, owned by the same driving experience company that has the roadster.

Cheers,
Patrick

Rsnake

11-17-2020, 07:09 PM

Snowman, has factory five completed your coupe order yet and has Stewart given you a firm date yet?

Snowman

11-17-2020, 07:44 PM

Yes, kit is completed and Stewart is picking up on 23 or 24 Nov. They are quoting a delivery between 1 and 4 Dec and will give me a more accurate date as it gets closer. The delivery before mine is in Wisconsin and they might have an airplane to pickup in Chicago which is what's driving the 4 day range in delivery date.

Have you gotten a good status on your kit yet? Todd from Stewart did mention to be there are two California deliveries on this load.

Rsnake

11-17-2020, 09:24 PM

I haven't received a pickup date yet but he wants me to reach out next week, it would be amazing if they could pick it up next week with yours. My son will be home from the Marine Corps for two weeks and really wants to spend the entire time in the garage building with me. I can only imagine how excited you must be!

Snowman

12-06-2020, 12:16 PM

Yay! Christmas came early this year, lol.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138803&d=1607274055

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138804&d=1607274067

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138805&d=1607274076

That was a really cool experience and Eric from Stewart was great. Really cool guy!

Like a kid on Christmas morning I couldn't wait to start playing with the new toy. Started the inventory the same day and by the following morning that chore was knocked out and email sent off for the very few items I needed to add to the POL. Well done Factory Five!

I got all the aluminum panels off except for the left footbox outside wall since there is a screw behind the body. I'm going to leave the body on for a bit with the current goal of getting it to a rolling chassis first, then the body can come off. Front suspension is loosely installed, but hub nuts are on backorder so that's as far as it goes for now. Steering is also loosely installed while I sort out the electric assist steering.

More build updates to come...

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

12-06-2020, 12:56 PM

The first car I ever owned was an 85 1/2 Ford Escort 5 door. It was as bare bones as it gets, 4 speed manual, AM only radio, no power anything to include steering. So oddly I actually like the idea of manual steering...one less accessory on the engine, one less fluid to worry about and excellent feedback from the road. Twenty some odd years later though I admit I enjoy the ease of parking with power steering. So when I found the electric assist kit from epowersteering I thought it might be worth a shot. They don't have a coupe specific kit, but I went out on limb and grabbed the one for Mk4. I took a play out of Paul's book and did a lot of staring at the space where I wanted it to be. Seriously, this took like 3 or 4 of these staring sessions until I could puzzle it out and I think I finally settled on it going just forward of the steering column pillow block with some minor fab work.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138806&d=1607274116

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138807&d=1607274132

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138808&d=1607274144

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=138809&d=1607274155

The bracket can be clocked up and is made from mild steel so it can be persuaded to bend to my will (hopefully). Worst case is I can use it as a template to make a more appropriate bracket. Once in it should be tucked up nice and out of the way.

I will admit it is going to be a tight fit, but there is still over an inch between the brass fitting of the inboard most master cylinder and the body of the power steering unit. This will allow the master cylinder to be removed with out disassembling the all the steering. I also found a good location for the steering ECU and I think that will get mounted using a 3D printed bracket.

The coolest part of it is the amount of steering assist is variable with the turn of a knob so I can have full manual steering and also enough assist to make parking a breeze, and no power steering fluid!

Cheers,
Patrick

Rsnake

12-06-2020, 01:36 PM

Congratulations on the delivery. Let the fun begin.
Your epas makes me rethink my choice of the KRC.
Looking forward to your build.

Snowman

12-06-2020, 10:10 PM

Congratulations on the delivery. Let the fun begin.
Your epas makes me rethink my choice of the KRC.
Looking forward to your build.

Thanks!

I got the mounting bracket tacked in this evening. Once it's burned in the rest of the way and cleaned up a bit I'll post an update with pics. Unfortunately it will be a long time before I can report back on how well the electric assist works vs. traditional hydro power steering. I don't think one way is necessary better than the other, just down to personal preference.

Any word on when your kit will be showing up?

Patrick

Rsnake

12-06-2020, 11:19 PM

I am being told Christmas Day! What a great Xmas gift. It will be fun building at the same time you are.

Snowman

12-12-2020, 09:32 PM

Bracket for the electric power steering unit is fully welded in. It's probably been 15 years since I've done any welding and it looks like it, lol! I intentionally didn't take good pictures of the finished bracket, the welds are a little embarrassing even for a hobbyist that never got any formal training on welding. I should have made more practice welds, but it's done now and it's certainly strong enough. Thankfully this bracket won't be visible unless you start taking things apart. Once the body is removed and I get the to point of installing panels I'll get some paint on the bare steel and areas of the frame that will need some touch up. Unfortunately it will be quite some time before I can report back on the electric power steering functionality.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=139128&d=1607825765

The steering shafts still need to be cut down, but the hardest part of this mod are complete and I'm pretty happy about that.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=139129&d=1607825773

Quick question...Does anyone have any good suggestions for the frame powder coat touch up? A particular paint or other coating product? I'm not super concerned about it, and worst case is I will paint all of the engine bay frame with something. I'm sure I'm not the first person to make a few scratches in the powder coat, plus the nose was in contact with the top of the frame in a couple spots during shipment and rubbed off the powered coat so I knew from he beginning that I would need to do some touchups or somehow address the bare steel spots.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

12-12-2020, 09:48 PM

Snowman

12-30-2020, 11:43 PM

Been a while since I've made any updates to the thread so I figured I should at least write about what's been done lately.

The front hub nuts and all the IRS control arms are still on backorder so I've been keeping busy with odds and ends.

IRS diff is coated in POR-15 and hung. There were some gaps created between the IRS mounts and bushings when I tightened down the mount bolts. I didn't like them so I shimmed the forward mounts, but this dictated slightly longer bolts (140mm vs. 130s included). Thankfully McMaster to the rescue, or at least once the oder arrives, lol.

Fuel tank is installed (temporarily) with fuel sending unit and fuel pump in. I was riding the struggle bus when trying to install the tank, but I eventually succeeded by using some extra long bolts to suck the tank straps up to where I could swap to the included hardware. For the fuel pump I went with the Aeromotive unit, very impressed with the quality of this unit from a fitment perspective. Obviously I haven't run the pump yet, but it's rated at 340 lph which I'm sure is more than enough and should also allow the use of E85 if I ever so desire in the future.

Coyote pedal (APPS) is almost in, lol. I need another mandrel for my rivet nut setting tool. I impatiently, and unsuccessfully, tried setting one with a bolt, nut and washers. It can wait to be done right. I have to give a shout out to EdwardB and shark92651 for their write-ups on installing the the coyote pedal. I was truly stumped with how to install it. I don't think I replicated either of their ideas, but their write-ups gave me what I needed to get what I am truly happy with on installation. Also, much credit to EdwardB for installing that thing with the footbox sheetmetal in place. It was bad enough with complete access while sitting in the empty engine bay, LOL!

A/C evap/heater core unit installed. This was another item that seemed to challenge me more than it should have. It is definitely a tight fit and the funny part is after trying all sorts of modified positions to get it right I came back full circle to exactly (or as best I can ascertain) the location the pictures in the FFR manual call out:o. I guess I should trust the manuals a little more than I have been :rolleyes:. It's in and I'm happy with it.

I started on installing the brake and clutch MC reservoirs. I went round and round in my head about using what FFR supplied vs. something like the triple chamber Tilton unit and eventually settled on using the supplied reservoirs. I realize this means that both brakes share the same reservoir and this is a slight hit on redundancy, but since there is a dedicated emergency brake I'm good with it and they are perfectly good pieces. Final install to come on those pieces.

Next up is getting the heater control valve mounted, going to try and get it mounted inside the footbox to reduce some of the engine bay clutter. I think I have the mount location figured out, but the bulkhead fitting location will have to come once I have the engine in for mock up. I'm hoping to do something like P100DHG did with his, but obviously I'm using a Coyote instead of SBF so we'll have to see what that brings for challenges.

I think that brings everything to current. I'll post pictures tomorrow once I get the reservoirs and heater valve installed.

Cheers,
Patrick

Nigel Allen

12-31-2020, 09:18 AM

Snowman

12-31-2020, 11:11 AM

For a coyote you will require a 4way heater valve, so that coolant flow is maintained when the heater is not required. I couldn't find a mechanical 4way valve, so I got a vacuum operated type, removed the vacuum motor and converted it to cable operation.

The valve that comes with the Heat and A/C kit is a bypass type valve, two inlets and two outlets. I believe this fits the bill and allows coolant to flow continuously whether going through the heater core or bypassing the heater core and with it's variable control this meters how much coolant flows through the heater core thus providing temperature control.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140079&d=1609430655

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140080&d=1609430663

Snowman

12-31-2020, 11:32 AM

Adding in a few pics as promised:

This little guy and I went round and round yesterday, lol. Just a difficult shape to work with in space provided to get clearance around the A/C lines, the outboard drain and the motor housing while trying to make sure all the supplied brackets will line up with a good mounting spot. The forward inboard mount is the one where I had the most trouble.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140081&d=1609430671

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140082&d=1609430679

Aeromotive fuel pump unit. I really like the clean install of this unit. Ya know, because it's so visible on the completed build:rolleyes:. Peace of mind I suppose.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140083&d=1609430724

The IRS installed, please don't judge the POR-15 paint job too harshly. Painting is not my strong suit. I tried to get a picture of the gap between the forward IRS mount and the bushing. It's a solid 3/16 inch gap, not sure if this is normal, but I don't like it so I'm shimming it. Once I had my shim installed I didn't like how few threads were sticking out of the nut so longer bolts are on the way.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140078&d=1609430577

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140077&d=1609430559

I will probably do a block only engine mock-up as I'm waiting for parts to come in. I think this might be helpful as I continue to get major system components installed (PMC, RF fuse panel, fuel plumbing, some of the brake pluming, chassis wiring layout, etc.) while waiting on the key suspension parts to arrive.

Cheers,
Patrick

P100DHG

01-01-2021, 02:34 AM

Great progress. I think you’re heading down the right path going for that clean engine bay look, I think you’ll be able to jamb that heater control in with some careful measurements. I too was impressed with the quality of the aeromotive fuel pump. It takes the AN fittings so nicely too.

So I read your post about one brake reservoir. I think you’ll be fine with one but FFR will sell you another. I bought a second one through them. I really like the quality. Far superior than the Tilton reservoir in terms of looks IMO.

Keep it up!

Snowman

01-06-2021, 12:50 AM

I've read many folks doing door poppers and I like the idea a lot, but I want to do something a little different. Instead of having an RF fob and another electronic unit I'm trying something little more manual. The idea is to mount a magnetic switch on the inside of the body just rear of the door near the quarter window to be able to swipe a strong magnet near. This will activate a relay that energizes the door popper solenoid. I'm working with a friend to 3D print a little coupe shaped fob (similar to what Tesla does with their keyless fobs) that has a strong magnet imbedded in it. I got the magnetic switches and neodymium magnets from amazon. A quick test with a multimeter showed that the switch will activate from a little over an inch away with a strong magnet.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=139126&d=1607825729

The proximity of the roll cage to the switch mounting location is the only real concern I have. It will certainly work in principle, we'll have to see how the application of this goes.

Should be a fun experiment and if it works I think it will add a bit of a cool factor. Kind of like a secret knock knock code, lol.

Small update for this, my friend 3D printed a couple of prototypes for the fob:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140383&d=1609911606

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140384&d=1609911614

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140385&d=1609911622

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140382&d=1609911595

The do have the same magnets in them I used for my magnetic switch test and seem to work pretty good. If all else fails they'll be cool fridge magnets, lol.

The one that looks kinda beat up is what I was playing with for "post-processing" which is apparently the correct term for sanding, finishing or shaping a part after it's been printed. My friend tried her version of post-processing and it got a little out of hand, but she was kind enough to give them both to me to play with. I found that I could get some decent results by normal finish sanding stepping up in grit levels. The best I had was 1000 so I'm sure if I take it finer and then work it with polish I can actually get pretty darn good results. These are made from PLA which is not known for a high quality finish, it prints extremely easily is relatively inexpensive and is best for prototyping.

I need to do some research on a good material that finishes easily. Not sure what the final color will be, but I really like the first hack at this. Good to have friends that want to be part of the project and use it to refine their own skill sets in the process:D

P100DHG

01-06-2021, 12:57 AM

Snowman

01-06-2021, 01:28 AM

Minor update on a few things.

I cleaned up the mounting bolts on the IRS with the shims I talked about, nothing really photogenic there. Glad that is done and I torqued the bolts down. Also picked up some Dykem torque stripe to give that a try and use to keep track of what I've put final torque on. Never personally used it before, but I've broken many a torque stripe while working on aircraft.

I got the brake MC reservoirs mounted up, but took it all back apart to prep my bracket for paint and for got to take a picture, that will have to come after I get it all put back together.

Finished the accelerator pedal now that I have the correct mandrel for 1/4 - 20 rivuts. I'm very pleased with how that turned out, feels very solid and the location feels good to my feet :)

New favorite tool, making holes is fun!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140393&d=1609912387

Heater valve and control box are installed and I'm pretty happy with where it landed. I ditched the bracket for the valve and I think this mounting is much cleaner, keeps it out of the engine bay without a ton of hot heater hose going inside the passenger footwell.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140388&d=1609912337

Added some old school chafe protection and these hoses will run directly to their corresponding connections on the engine. I'm going to copy a little of what Edwardb did with the plates he made for his heater hose and AC line bulkheads, but mainly to provide a seal for the heater hose holes since they are a little oversized. The over size didn't happen on purpose, but it was a happy mistake that I'm glad worked out the way it did. I'm going to try and use as many gates powergrip hose clamps as I can...afford (that's probably the real limiter with those). Again, clean engine bay and I love the look of them. I found a really good source for silicon hoses of all kinds that sell by the foot and are priced reasonably, I feel. https://www.siliconehose.com

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140389&d=1609912344

I thought this was a slick little cubby hole to stash the control box for the heater, it seems like it will be nice and out of the way and can be easily removed if necessary in the event that a maintenance issue arises (hopefully not!).

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140386&d=1609912323

Installed the fuel pressure regulator and filter. Again keeping with the clean engine bay theme I'm putting this at the back near the tank where there is plenty of available space. This will help things look kinda cool for my plans on the fuel supply line to the engine. I'll install a gauge on the FPR for initial setup and tuning and then probably remove after that. I will add a trunk access panel to aid the adjustment and filter servicing, I might be looking for excuses to use my new favorite tool:rolleyes:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140394&d=1609913858

Tons of little stuff still to come, as much as I'd like to get all the suspension completed I'm actually having fun solving all of these little challenges and I know every hour I put into the build gets me closer to completion no matter how long from now that is. This is such a fun hobby!

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

01-06-2021, 01:32 AM

Plastidip works well and has a nice soft touch. I’ve used it on 3D printing parts and looks pretty good, or go crazy and get some bondo, really perfect it and paint to match. Fantastic idea and so cool!

Thanks!

I hadn't thought of coating them. I'm hoping it sees heavy use :D, is the plastidip pretty resilient?

The concept in my head is not to have a super detailed model, but more of a representative shape that is comfortable in the pocket. Truly is inspired by the way Tesla does theirs. Personally not a huge Tesla fan, but good ideas are good ideas in my book.

Snowman

01-10-2021, 09:17 PM

Got some good work done this weekend. Just like most everyone else it seems like the frame cross braces above the transmission in the engine bay just needs to have a panel on them. Plus it also makes a good place to mount some firewall type components.

Sheet metal work is pretty new to me, so I wanted to make it as easy on myself as possible. Without any actual knowledge of sheet metal I picked up a small panel of 5052 aluminum in .052 thickness. I did find that it cuts like butter and is easy to shape and trim. I haven't tried any bending yet, but it's softness makes be think it will be more malleable than the 6061 that comes on the rest of the car.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140580&d=1610330398

I will say the thing I'm enjoying the most are the clecos, those are just plain cool to play with.

What I don't have are any good tools for cutting sheet metal. Open to suggestions for a gadget that won't eat up floor space in the garage, lol.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

01-10-2021, 09:33 PM

Also knocked out the battery mount this weekend and I'm really, really happy with how it turned out. I committed to an optima before I ordered the kit. Been running one on my jeep for over a decade, drained it at least half a dozen times (deep cycle) and it just keeps on ticking.

First I installed 5/16-18 rivet nuts. Those suckers will certainly give you a serious forearm workout, lol!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140587&d=1610330492

Then I used a .25 inch thick aluminum bar to bring the smaller tubes to the same plane as the larger. I didn't have to use the rivet nuts here, but they make it nice if I ever need to remove the battery tray in its entirety

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140585&d=1610330484

With the battery tray bolted down in place. This actually took me quite some time to get here. Since I used all countersunk fasteners they kind of need to be spot on. An inexpensive set of transfer punches from HF and a lot of patience gave me the results I was going for.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140584&d=1610330475

I borrowed the battery from the Jeep for mock up and a photo. I plan to use a yellow top deep cycle since I don't need the extra posts for this application.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140583&d=1610330464

I also started laying out some of the wiring and playing with some locations. I'm a bit of a wiring nerd so I'll probably do a few non-standard things like bulkhead connectors instead of using grommets to pass wires through. Doesn't look like I'll be adding any connections, I'll just replace the connectors to the front and rear harnesses with ones designed to mount on a bulkhead. There will be a lot of wiring work to get it the way I want, but thankfully I enjoy that sort of thing.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

01-10-2021, 09:39 PM

Last update for this weekend. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this most excellent product from Russ Thompson. One heck of a guy and had a much quicker turn around than I had an anticipated.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140581&d=1610330428

The little spacers had to be filed down in my case since I already locked the angle on the steering shaft in place with the EPAS unit, oops. Next time (not sure there will be one, lol) I'll be sure to have all the steering parts in hand before welding in a bracket. No worries though, only took about 30 minutes with files to get them fine tuned to where they needed to be. Still impressed with the quality of the turn signal, you just don't fully grasp that until you have it in hand.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

01-24-2021, 09:02 PM

Been working a bunch more of the little things in the background over the past couple of weeks. Nothing earth shattering, but just keeping forward momentum while I'm waiting on suspension parts and a radiator. Plenty of stuff to do to keep me busy for at least the next month or two.

I wanted to run NiCopp brake and fuel lines. Those only come in coils and straightening by hand does not produce great results or at least not the result I was looking for. Tube straighteners can be purchased online for way more that I felt was reasonable and they seemed simple enough devices so I thought I've try making my own. For about $25 in parts and hardware this is what I came up with:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141374&d=1611538464

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141375&d=1611538475

Since I'm running 3/16 for brakes and 3/8 for fuel I thought I would be slick and add two different sizes of rollers:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141376&d=1611538486

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141377&d=1611538496

This is the first time I've played with the NiCopp line and I really like it so far. If it seals up easily then I'm sure I'll like it even more:D

The 3/16 was very easy to straighten and the pic above shows a couple minor bends left in it which was from me trying to dial in the amount of pressure on the rollers and I tried straightening too much at once with out a helper or some kind of support, lol.

The 3/8 was a bit more challenging to work with.. The rollers I got are actually little too big so if I used too much pressure it would flatten out the tube which obviously won't work for AN tube nuts. I found I could get pretty good results on the 3/8 if I took it really slowly and made many light pressure passes. I would end up with a very slight arc and I was able to tweak that by hand into something straight enough that you can't notice once you start bending it up for the crazy shape the fuel line ended up being.

Overall I consider it a success and highly recommend it to anyone that wants to make their own hardline from a stock that comes in a coil.

Snowman

01-24-2021, 09:27 PM

After the tube straightening experiment it was time to bend up a hardline that runs from the FPR to the panel that covers up the "X" in the engine bay which I'm using like a bulkhead. It took me two tries to get it right. One the final bend of the first line I pulled a bonehead and bent it the opposite direction:rolleyes: Oh well, more practice and the material is not terribly expensive, plus I had enough to give it another shot. Success this time and I'm quite happy with the result:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141378&d=1611538533

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141379&d=1611538545

Stills needs some cushion clamps to hold it in place and I didn't have any 3/8 on hand so waiting on McMaster to deliver. Those will get riveted in place with 3/16 steel Q-rivets.

The NiCopp bends up beautifully and for the AN tube nuts it took a single flare like it wanted to. No pictures, but I used the Summit Racing version of the flaring tool that many have from Eastwood. It looks identical to me and works flawlessly. Money well spent IMO.

I'm still waiting on some -06 AN fittings before I can finish up the two flex lines to/from the FPR. I'll do one flex line from the bulkhead fitting up front to the fuel rail. I think it'll result in a really clean look with the FPR out of the engine bay.

Snowman

01-24-2021, 09:54 PM

Since I started with a truck Coyote from a junkyard the oil filter adapter was a no go for fitment. Also since the stock oil cooler won't work I thought a remote setup with an oil cooler would be fun to design and install. While I was researching the components I ran across oil thermostats and it seems like there is some sound logic for including one when using an air oil cooler. The main things are apparently to get the oil working at it's designed viscosity which is targeted for a specific temperature and also it help to remove any absorbed moisture out of the oil. I ended up with a unit from Canton racing and it's pretty darn clever. I landed on that unit because I went with the FPP remote oil filter adapter and that uses -12 AN fittings. There weren't many oil thermostat options with -12 fittings so it seemed the natural choice. With some special fittings I was able to marry the filter mount and t-stat as one unit for mounting and I think this location will also make mx pretty easy, but I an seriously considering adding a panel to protect them anything kicking up from the road.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141380&d=1611538610

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141381&d=1611538625

The clearance between filter and cross member is about a half inch which is plenty and the filter is easily accessible from below.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141382&d=1611538639

The FFP remote oil adapter is a really nicely build unit and also eliminates the pressure bypass solenoid. And spoiler alert--the block is in for mock-up.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141388&d=1611538891

With the block in for mock-up I was able to figure out what fittings I needed and how much -12 hose to order. That should all be here later in the week from summit so next weekend I should be able to get the oil supply and return lines run. I'm holding off on the oil cooler part until the I have the radiator in hand (another big ticket POL item).

The oil cooler will be a -10 size unit. I did this for two reasons. One, -12 oil coolers in the size I need are hard to find for a price I was willing to pay. Two, the t-stat always sends a small amount of oil to the cooler so in my head the path of least resistance will be the -12 lines for the return to the engine so that when the oil is cold most all of it will bypass the cooler. I'm guessing in reality I'll probably never notice anything and hopefully that is a good thing indicating all is working correctly :D

Snowman

01-24-2021, 10:08 PM

I wanted to run a battery disconnect, but I wanted it out of the cockpit and still have the ability to cut power. I considered the solenoid type, but decided against them since there is always power running to the switch that controls the solenoid. I ended up with a push-rod actuated unit from summit. I'll be using a cable pull mounted somewhere within easy reach to disconnect and it will have to be turned back on by hand. Took me forever to settle on the installed location, but I'm happy with where it landed and I think it'll work well with my plans to have power wires (with the exception of the starter) running down the driver's side of the car.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141391&d=1611539018

I was just playing with the pushrod for clearance purposes, the cable will get a bracket mounted to the frame and/or splash panel as needed.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141384&d=1611538685

A view of the three mounting screws in the wheel well. I promise the abundance of clecos have been removed, I had just finished drilling that panel and also wanted to see what the strength would feel like with the disconnect mounted.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141383&d=1611538674

The disconnect is rated at 250A continuous which is probably murderous overkill, but I'm confident it will serve it's purpose well.

Snowman

01-24-2021, 10:32 PM

Felt like it was time to plunk the block between the frame rails so I could start mocking up some of the other system components like the previously mentioned oil system. It took me longer to find the oil pan bolts (neatly stored in their own little baggy), the timing cover and the alternator kit than it did to actually mount the engine. The harbor freight 2 ton hoist did it's job admirably, although the block with just the crank in it probably only weighs about 150lbs.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141385&d=1611538801

Amazing what an engine block does for a project, I may have sat in the car making some engine noises:rolleyes:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141386&d=1611538814

With the timing cover loosely installed (heads are still out with the machinist for porting and valve job) and alternator in place to facilitate measuring oil lines. I also realized with the the timing cover in place I can check the valve covers for clearance issues too. I was delighted to find out the FPCP PDB is going to fit exactly where I was hoping it would:D

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141387&d=1611538822

I also tackled drilling the radiator tunnel. The top panel threw me for a loop since there was no mention of it in the assembly guide (I think of it as more of a guide than a step-by-step manual), but a quick look at the inventory for the panel box fixed that for me quickly.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141389&d=1611538949

I'm trying to slowly peck away at the panels that can be drilled with the body on the car (most of the footboxes, rad tunnel, front splash guards, trans tunnel, back wall, seat floors and so on). I feel like spreading out that task makes it a little less tedious. Not bad, but definitely tedious. I thought I was doing really well with the #30 bit I was using, but obviously got over-confident and snapped my first one:o I've been using ones I got from McMaster that are shortys and 135 degree. They seem to stay sharp quite well and make a very nice clean hole (I guess those are the things you really look for in a drill bit, lol). I shifted my weight while drilling and that's when it snapped, it was cutting just fine prior to my buffoonery. They weren't terribly expensive and are worth it IMO. Thankfully I grabbed two so changed bits and just kept chugging along.

That's it for this slew of updates. More to come after next week's/weekend's garage sessions.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

02-01-2021, 01:09 AM

Spent a lot of time doing what feels like not a lot, but still forward progress with only a couple little steps back.

Decided I wanted a switch on the parking brake. Had the extra unused switch from the clutch (FPCP for Coyote comes with one) so repurposed it. Took me three tries to get the brackets correct. I guess I was using the measure one cut three times method, lol. It was all small scraps so certainly no loses other than time, but that's part of the fun, right? Since I'll be using a digital dash it'll be easy to integrate a parking brake warning on the screen. Maybe I can idiot proof it as I have a habit of trying to drive when the parking brake is set as I rarely every set it on flat and level surfaces.

Switch closed
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141834&d=1612158274

Switch Open
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141833&d=1612158262

Moved on to the brake lines next. Still really enjoying working with the NiCopp material and man did the flares look professional perfect, hopefully they seal up great too!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141828&d=1612158203

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141829&d=1612158214

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141830&d=1612158224

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141832&d=1612158252

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141831&d=1612158243

Even though the rear suspension is still on back order I think it'll get to a rolling chassis very quickly when it does show up and I'm sure that will be quite satisfying.

I did have a little setback with my battery disconnect. When mocking up the oil lines I realized it would be a good idea to throw the water pump on real quick and route the lower boig cool tube and then saw those two things were occupying the same space...oops. No worries, I'm sure I can find another location for the battery disconnect.

Still need one more fitting to finish the oil lines (on the way), a few more fittings for the flex fuel lines (back order from Summit) from the tank to the FPR, then the plumbing will be complete minus the flex line from firewall bulkhead to the fuel rail. That will have to wait for the heads to come back from porting.

Next up is more aluminum panels and then I start playing with wires!

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

03-09-2021, 09:32 PM

Holy cow! Can't believe I let over a month slip past without posting an update. I had some old friends visit, work picked up a little and some good outdoor wx was too tempting an excuse to get out of the house, lol. Lot's of excuses :D

Even though I haven't been posting I have been working on the car here and there. Plus most exciting of all...I'm down to one POL part!! The Aston Lemans fuel cap which won't hold anything up for a very long time. There was a slight mixup with the certificate of origin when it was accidentally sent to another Gen 3 coupe owner in El Paso. The gentleman there was kind enough to call me and we both contacted FFR. True to form FFR made it right and even threw in a free T-shirt! Thanks to the FFR crew for holding high customer service standards in these incredibly challenging times, no small task I'm sure!

I'll do multiple postings over the next couple of days with pics, but the summary is: the rear suspension is in, front and rear brakes in, transmission on order from Bowler (thanks to Logan for the recommendation), Coyote computer mounted, started shortening the coyote harness, cockpit aluminum is drilled and fitted, emergency brake in and quite functional, drilled the front hubs for metric studs to match the stock ones from the rear and pressed in new studs.

In Logan's build (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?34792-Logan-s-Gen-3-Coupe-R-Build&p=443401&viewfull=1#post443401) there is a good bit of discussion about Forgestar's new F14s in the Ultra deep concave profile which will allow custom offsets so no wheel spacers in the rear, yay! The F14 is my second favorite wheel they offer, but the CF5s (my #1) would require wheel spacers and for me, in this case, function trumps form. Yes, I know wheel spacers are perfectly acceptable, I run them on my jeep presently and have had no issues. I just didn't want to run them if I could avoid it. Probably some silly purist thought in my head. I have a fixture I picked up on Amazon to measure for offset and clearance. We'll see how well that works out. Hoping to get those measurements knocked out this weekend so I can get wheels on order.

Also came to the realization I only have 5 major (expensive) parts left to acquire. This is exciting to me as the logistics have felt quite daunting at times. I'm convinced Edwardb is a master at logistics, he makes it look so easy, lol!

1. Wheels and tires
2. Gas N side pipes
3. Seats (copying Edwardb's Corbeau's)
4. QA1 double adjustable coilers and springs
5. AEM digital dash

Of course the last and probably third biggest expense is body and paint, but thankfully is still quite a ways off. I have a very rough concept in my head, but that evolves as I read everyone else's threads (love the forum!).

Like I said more posts with pics to come in short order.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

03-11-2021, 12:58 AM

Got the -12 oil lines from the engine remote adapter to the remote oil filter/t-stat assembly complete. Need one more clamp so I can isolate the braided ss line from the aluminum boig tube. The ss would cut the tube like a hot knife through butter.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144113&d=1615441846

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144114&d=1615441856

I still need to mount and plumb the oil cooler and then the oil system will be complete.

On another note, I called Bowler transmission today to get a status on the T56 and they are waiting for the quicktime bell housing to come in, I guess that's another supplier impacted by the rona. Oh well, gives me time to get more small, time eating stuff done.

Snowman

03-11-2021, 01:12 AM

Last week I received three boxes of parts from FF and thankfully one of them had the rear suspension parts and the front hub nuts! It felt really good to get those installed and get the brakes on. Lots of boxes sent out for recycling after that session of work :D

My organizational skills at their finest :rolleyes:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144115&d=1615442588

The big brakes do look awesome and the parking brake feels very good, can't wait to give it a test!
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144116&d=1615442604

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144117&d=1615442613

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144118&d=1615442622

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144119&d=1615443044

Soon (hopefully this weekend) I'll have the wheels measured for offset and ordered. Same goes for the QA1 coilers, I should be able to get those on the way very soon.

Snowman

03-11-2021, 01:24 AM

I wanted to get the computer out of the engine bay as best I could so went for a firewall mount. It's actually bolted down to the bar that the firewall is fastened to. I'm happy with the installation, but it is driving a lot of wiring work as the harness needs to be dramatically shortened.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144120&d=1615443333

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144121&d=1615443343

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144122&d=1615443361

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144123&d=1615443385

I've started in on the Coyote harness and it looks like a mess now, but when it's done it should look very clean. I ended up taking the whole thing apart and now it's organized, just need to finish shortening the wires and and wrap everything back up. I'll probably peck away at that one a little at a time since that work is a bit tedious. I'll do a write up on it once it's finished.

Snowman

03-11-2021, 01:33 AM

The cockpit aluminum is now all fitted and drilled. Biggest aluminum left is the rear hatch stuff, but I feel like I'm somewhere around the 50% mark on drilling aluminum. That might be a little optimistic, lol.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144124&d=1615444044

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144125&d=1615444051

I was doing pretty darn good with my #30 bits, even went through a few welds with them, but got careless again and snapped another. I picked up some cobalt steel ones from McMaster and they really do the trick quite well. They stay sharp no matter how fast I drill and unfortunately I end up breaking them before they dull. All user error, can't blame the equipment.

Erik W. Treves

03-11-2021, 08:01 AM

just an observation - on the front suspension - if your A-Arms are torqued and that's why they appear to be able to support the disk and all without any aid? You will want to loosen all the attachment bolts and re-torque them at after ride height is set with weight on the suspension - it appears that you have the "relaxed" state of the bushing at full compression right now.... again only an observation.

Snowman

03-11-2021, 08:52 AM

P100DHG

03-11-2021, 11:41 AM

Huge fan of your build thread. Your technical knowledge and out of the box approach lend another way to building this car.

Snowman

03-11-2021, 11:30 PM

Huge fan of your build thread. Your technical knowledge and out of the box approach lend another way to building this car.

Thanks! Means a lot coming from a guy that leather wrapped his roll bars. I love that touch and can't wait to see it in person!

Snowman

03-13-2021, 01:49 PM

I wanted to stuff as big a tire as I could under the car, common theme amongst the community, and since I didn't go the Halibrand direction it seemed prudent to try and measure as best I could before committing to anything. I picked up a measuring fixture from amazon for cheap and I think it served it purpose well.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144338&d=1615653010

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144339&d=1615653018

Installed on the rear.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144333&d=1615652965

The little tab sticking out just past the fender represents the widest part of the tire, the sidewall. The tread should still be well under the fender at this point.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144334&d=1615652975

This is a very poor picture of the typically tire fitment offending cross brace. The nice part about this fixture is the ability if gives in finding clearance issues.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144335&d=1615652986

Installed on the front.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144337&d=1615653003

It's kinda hard to see, but in this one the red line on the tab sticking past the fender is the farthest outside point of the tire.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144336&d=1615652994

The results:

Front will be 305/30R19 on a 19x10 with +20mm offset Forgestar F14 in the Super Deep Concave profile

Rear will be 325/30R19 on a 19x12 with -25mm offset Forgestar F14 in the Ultra Deep Concave profile

Tires are planned to be Continental Extreme Contact Sport.

Huge thanks to Logan for sharing info and being an excellent sounding board. I measured about a dozen times to be sure, checked and re-checked...then checked again and I'm confident in my numbers, again with a huge thanks to Logan.

The fixture is pretty straightforward to use, but it's a little crud in some regards so I just used a tape measure to verify all the measurements. If anyone is interested in using it I'm happy to send it, pay it forward kind of thing. Just PM me for details.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

03-21-2021, 11:20 PM

Not a ton of note worthy progress since last update, but still plugging away.

Coilovers arrived and I like them quite a bit. I especially like that they can be mounted upside down making the adjustment knobs very easy to access. It's one of the reasons I went with QA1's vs the Koni. Also ride height adjustments shouldn't be too terribly painful either. The only downside of this route is I need to get some new bushings cut for the upper and lower mounts since the bearings on the QA1's are obviously different than the ones supplied in the kit for the Koni's. FYI the QA1 bearing measure exactly 1 inch wide for anyone that's interested in trying them. I don't have the right equipment to make new bushings so I'll order up some Aluminum stock and have a local machine shop cut them for me. Should be a piece of cake.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144916&d=1616384200

As P100DHG mentioned in his thread, we were able to meet up the previous weekend. First time I've been able to meet another forum member in person and man Danny is a great guy! Can't wait until Covid stuff is better and we can spend some serious time talking coupe and car stuff. Anyways, Danny offered up some cessna vents a while back and I took him up on the offer. They were a little smaller than I had realized and Danny suggested testing them with the A/C unit so...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144920&d=1616384291

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144919&d=1616384291

They work pretty darn good and I think I can incorporate them into the dash nicely. They do help me understand why airplanes are so expensive as they are...um, how do I put this...highly engineered pieces, lol. I think they are way cool and I'm excited to incorporate them into the project.

The Coyote control pack harness shortening is ongoing and that will definitely consume many hours for me, but as tedious as that work is I find it extremely rewarding. Plus now I know how the whole thing is wired up, lol. In case anyone cares the two high speed can bus wires are spliced from the same wires that lead to the OBDII port so if you use a digital dash connected to the CAN bus either way of connecting it will produce the same results. Electrically they are no different and come from the same source. I'll save the pictures of the harness for one comprehensive write-up. It just looks like a mess right now, controlled chaos at best, LOL!

I did get some other critical components on the way, Gas-N side pipes (to match the headers), Corbeau Evolution X seats, the previously discussed 19 inch Forgestar F14s with custom offsets and no wheel spacers (I'm very excited about this!) and those will be wrapped in Continental Extreme Contact Sports. 325/30 in the rear and 305/30 up front. Final offsets are -25 in the rear for the 19x12 UDC and +14 in the front for the 19x10 SDC. I measured for a +20 up front, but with the wilwood brake clearance they recommended +14 and since they know their wheels best I went with their advice. The 1/4 inch or so difference should be fine up front. These things will definitely fill up the wheel wells! Lead time is 6-8 weeks and that means I should have a rolling chassis by Memorial day so that's the goal I'm driving towards. Wish me luck!

Last update, talked with Jeff Miller yesterday about paint. Yet another awesome member of this builder community and has a great sense of humor. Pretty sure he's the guy I want doing my paint. No idea what color yet, but the goal is to get it to go-kart by labor day and ready for paint shortly after. In the mean time I might actually do some research on paint colors...maybe:rolleyes:

That's all for this update.

Cheers,
Patrick

ken33

04-01-2021, 09:57 AM

Snowman

04-05-2021, 10:44 PM

would you like to sell your offset tire fixture , i looked on amazon but they are out of them

PM sent

Snowman

04-06-2021, 11:41 PM

Since I'm waiting on wheels and tires, transmission and other various bits and pieces to arrive I've been working on little things. Spring has finally arrived and that means weather good enough to start painting a bunch of little brackets (some I made, some kit pieces).

Onc piece that is coming together very nicely is shortening the Coyote computer harness. It's about 90% done since I need the engine and intake mocked up to get the Alternator harness and MAF harness at the length I want them.

I started off by making a bit of mess...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144123&d=1615443385

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144915&d=1616384133

The cool thing, I think, is that once I got the harness all unwrapped I found that many of the wires already had a splice in them. Most of the wires coming off of the PDB are that way and there is a massive gang ground that everything is common to. In a couple cases like the clutch switch, I just ran the ground wire to a frame ground that I made on the frame in the footbox, one less wire in the bundle. Another thing I think I really lucked out on is the length of the O2 sensor wires was basically perfect for where I mounted the computer. That even goes for the offset to the passenger side which is about 6 inches shorter than the O2 lead for the driver's side. As one of my buddies at work always says...even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145784&d=1617768475

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145785&d=1617768483

The next step is to fish through all of the convoluted tubing I removed and re-wrap everything. The O2 and PDB harness are now all bundled as one which should clean up some of the unwieldy convo snakes running all over the place. I guess this is one of the tradeoffs on running the coyote, gotta put some labor in to get the wiring cleaned up. All in all, I'm very happy with the results.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145783&d=1617768466

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145782&d=1617768458

Unneeded wire...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=145786&d=1617768495

A couple of other wiring notes. I tried to get terminals for the connectors on the computer, but Ford has that info on LOCKDOWN, lol. Contacted the company that Ford uses for the connectors and they require a notice from Ford before they release any "proprietary" information. This would have made for a super clean harness customization, dang...oh well no one will know the difference once it's all wrapped up.

Since I had to cut some wires, I wired the inertia switch into the ground circuit on the fuel pump relay in the PDB. Completely frees up a relay circuit on the RF harness, which will likely be used for the driving lights (the only ones I'm not converting to LED, I actually like the look of them). I'm also going to let the coyote computer take care of the cooling fan control so there's another relay circuit available for use on the RF harness, not sure what that will be used for yet as I'm not adding a lot of electrical...maybe future expansion.

I will say that after digging into the RF harnesses that I would probably either delete or sell them off if I do another build. I'm not terribly impressed with them. I don't think its a poor quality unit and I totally get why the RF harness is a good solution, but I enjoy designing my own circuits. Since I've already pulled the harness all apart I wouldn't try to unload that on anyone, lol. I'll be making some modifications to the chassis harness setups that hopefully will turn out very clean. I'll save that info for those posts.

edwardb

04-07-2021, 06:31 AM

Snowman

04-07-2021, 07:37 AM

Nice work customizing that Coyote harness. I don't normally shy away from electrical challenges. But that's one thing I've left alone on my Coyote builds. One thing to check on. You mention using the Coyote cooling fan wire and not using the RF cooling fan circuit and relay. The Factory Five A/C setup uses the RF cooling fan circuit for the trinary switch. One of the Dk Green Fan Thermo Switch wires goes to the trinary switch. When it switches, grounds the wire and runs the cooling fan. So the cooling fan ends up potentially being powered by two different sources depending on the reason. A/C system pressure from the trinary or engine temp from the Coyote PCM. I questioned Factory Five during my build if this was OK and they assured me it was. A season of driving and both work as designed. Maybe it's possible to wire the trinary differently. But something you should look at.

Paul, thanks for the heads up!

My initial thought is to do similar to what I did for the fuel pump relay and inertia switch. I'll have to look closer at how the trinary switch functions, but if I can make it provide a ground to the FPCP PDB cooling fan relay circuit then it would keep cooling fan control with the Coyote computer. Glad I haven't wrapped the harness yet, that would suck to dive back into it again, lol.

If the trinary switch doesn't work that way I'm sure I can figure out another way to make it work that won't be too painful.

P100DHG

04-07-2021, 02:38 PM

Patrick,

I completely agree with you about the Ron Francis (RF) chassis harness provided. I can't stand those bulky connectors and frankly don't know why they are needed. Jegs has a nice looking harness (https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/10411/10002/-1?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsLWDBhCmARIsAPSL3_3I_Re65JBNEK-HXovEblp8JMmBU3T7oloTQYWb54lAeHKfWyxgQj8aAp8ZEALw_ wcB) I can't speak for the quality but I think it would be a much cleaner install.

I am planning the next build already and what I realized is, the credit FFR gives for deleting some items makes it so it's just not worth deleting that item. I haven't checked what they will give for deleting the wire harness yet but it's one of my biggest gripes. My behind dash wiring on my Coupe could have been 100 times cleaner if it wasn't for those bulky connectors.

-Danny

Snowman

04-18-2021, 10:49 PM

Last weekend this little gem showed up...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146531&d=1618802896

Ordered from Bowler transmission out of Illinois. It has the wide ratio gears for 1st (2.92), 2nd (2.10) and 3rd (1.46), 4th is direct (as always) and the narrow ratios for 5th (.80) and 6th (.63). They also took care of the bell housing, throwout bearing (Tilton hydro) and the indexing plate to properly check runout. They threw in a shifter and knob of my choosing and not knowing exactly what I needed I made a thumb in the wind guess and got lucky! Shifter feels like it's exactly where it needs to be for my goofy long arms.

Promptly mated it to the engine block and dropped it in the car. It was breeze to instal and once I pull it after I get the rest of the harness sorted out it should only have to be installed one last time.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146533&d=1618802911

Paul, if you're reading, the yellow wire on the passenger side is for the trinary switch to activate the ground on the cooling fan relay in the PDB. A quick review of the A/C wiring diagram made this a no-brainer for me. Thanks again for the catch, I had completely forgotten to look at the A/C wiring diagram. I owe you a cold beer (probably multiple) if ever we get the chance to meet.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146532&d=1618802902

I will be running the VSS that will be tied into an AEM expansion module to get that signal on the CAN bus for display on the CD7 dash.

Still contemplating how I want to actuate the reverse lockout solenoid. The methods I don't like are brake light switch or the module for low speed. I kind of only want the solenoid to active when it needs to. I've thought about rigging up a switch and lever arrangement on the stick, similar to how daily driver manuals work (lots of work and may look or be shoddy) or another option is a timer relay (activated for a set amount of time) and dash mounted switch within easy finger reach of the shifter. Brainwave...I may repurpose the horn switch in the kit for this purpose (have to make a note of that).

Open to suggestions or criticisms.

Snowman

04-18-2021, 11:08 PM

When I installed the electric power steering unit shortly after receiving the kit I had prematurely and incorrectly cut the upper steering shaft too short...oops. I didn't have the Russ Thompson turn signal unit yet and and had cut the shaft about 1.5 inches too short. Thankfully not a huge deal as FFR had plenty available and got one out to me. I've had it for about a month, but finally got around to getting it cut to proper length and fitting up the momo steering wheel I've been wanting to use. I'm glad I decided to go this path and very thankful Russ was able to get the momo pattern drilled when he machined the hub. The momo is about 2 inches smaller in diameter than the FFR wheel, this makes it pretty easy for me to get in and out and I'm happy to report that I don't think I'll be needing a quick release steering wheel. Also, if I ever want to put on the FFR wheel that pattern is still available and the nice thing is both are correctly clocked so no further adjustments would be needed.

The coupler from the upper steering shaft to the input of the power steering unit provided a couple of challenges as it's a smooth 3/4" bore on the steering shaft side so I had to come up with a method for attaching it. I settled on a system of set screws because the coupler is not a perfect fit and if the steering shaft is not exactly centered you end up with a noticeable amount of steering wheel runout. Overall happy with how that turned out and I'm also pleased that there is zero play in the steering, or at least not while it's unloaded. I'm geeking out a little about the fact that when wheels and tires arrive next month it will be a rolling chassis with power steering:D, (as long as there's juice in the battery).

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146526&d=1618802650

Last thing on the steering. I'll be using the trick from P100DHG for the horn button in the center of steering wheel https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?29393-P100DHG-Build-Thread-Gen-3-Coupe-138&p=451887&viewfull=1#post451887. A friend is printing the parts for that this weekend. Again huge shout out to Danny for his ingenuity and willingness to share it in this community.

Snowman

04-18-2021, 11:26 PM

Since the factory oil cooler is a no-go on the coyote I wanted to run a remote mount unit. Also since the factory unit is a fluid heat exchanger with the coolant I though it might be a good idea run an oil thermostat to help get the oil up to temp a little quicker and maintain it there. Much of those details are covered in a previous post. Now it was time to get the last piece of the oil system wrapped up, mounting the the oil cooler and plumbing that in place.

I was pretty sure I saw this on another coupe build (my apologies to whoever that was for not making a book mark of their post) where they had the oil cooler mounted in the radiator tunnel. I liked that location since there should be plenty of air flow and the oil cooler shouldn't need ambient air to do what I need it to on this build (similar to the temp exchange in the factory fluid type). I also didn't want to just mount it on the sheet metal as I wanted something a little sturdier. So with some scrap 3/4 aluminum square tube I fabbed up a mount to my liking. I left the tube long so I have options to move the cooler up or down in the rad tunnel if for some reason this location doesn't work out. Of course that means re-fitting lines and cutting new holes in the sheet metal, but not the end of the world. Also one last benefit of mounting in this fashion...I think this is one of the smallest -10AN units made by Derale and they have several larger models that have the same width dimension, just have more plates. I can easily upgrade to a larger oil cooler by simply swapping it out.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146527&d=1618802682

This location also made the lines to/from the oil t-stat nice and short, plus it keeps everything up and out of the way from the road.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146529&d=1618802700

The oil t-stat and cooler are probably murderous overkill for what I'll be using the car for 99% of the time. Hopefully when I do take it to the track (Willow Springs) it will be plenty capable and reliable.

Snowman

04-18-2021, 11:50 PM

With the oil cooler knocked out I finally felt comfortable mocking up the radiator and that proved to be an incredibly quick and easy task so I grabbed the A/C condenser and got that mocked up as well. Now I just need to order up the breeze fan shroud to get the fan mounted. I should be able to get the A/C drier and lines all fitted up in the very near future.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=146530&d=1618802721

Also for those following my build you'll notice the engine seems much more complete...I promise it isn't, LOL! There was a slight set back with my machinist who had the heads for porting and valve job. His normal business is Jeep stuff, but he's been hot rodding for decades. Initially when I asked him if he was interested in doing the job he was happy to give it a go, but as with many businesses in this industry his orders have been through the roof and he's been backlogged for many months. So in order to maintain my schedule I'm taking the heads to MMR for their port work. No ill feelings toward my preferred machinist (he's very interested to see how this project turns out) and he'll be getting more work from me on the Jeep after the coupe project is all completed. Two main reasons I wanted him to do the work: 1. It would have saved me 4-500 bucks. 2. Having an engine machinist you know and trust is priceless.

I picked up the heads from him last weekend and just set them on the block which allowed me to get the wiring for the MAF all squared away. It also gave me a chance to see what type of elbow I'll need as the GT350 intake requires a larger throttle body so the elbow that came with the kit won't work. I think that's a good thing in the end because I didn't like where the 90 degree bend landed the filter. I'll be using a 45 degree bend and putting the filter straight ahead instead of off to the side.

The heads will get pulled tomorrow and taken down to MMR in Camarillo. They quoted me 5 weeks until their CNC machine is up and running then it should be a 7 day turn around once they start machining. Hopefully they don't have too much of a back log. If all that holds true then I should still be on track to start assembling the engine shortly after I return from vacation on the July 4th weekend. The goal there is to get to go-kart by Labor Day. Shortly after that it will likely go to Jeff Miller for body and paint. At least I have a plan from which I can begin to deviate:p

That's all for this round of updates. More to come in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,
Patrick

edwardb

04-19-2021, 07:14 AM

Looking good. You're making great progress. Interesting approach on the trinary switch wire. I didn't consider breaking into the PDB for it. But that certainly should work. Regarding the reverse lockout on the T-56. I did use the speed sensitive module (American Powertrain ELUN-10013) and after 2,200 miles all I can say is it just works. Reverse is always available when needed and I never have to think about it. I don't know the exact speed where it releases the solenoid. I tested it during the build and it clearly let go as soon as the wheels started moving and energized again when they stopped. But since it was on the lift, don't know the exact speeds. But whether it's 0 or 5 or 8 or whatever MPH it's not in a speed range where you'd ever have the shifter over that far to the right anywhere near the reverse gate. Obviously any time you are near the reverse gate (e.g. 5th and 6th) you're far beyond the minimum speed and reverse is locked out. Like I said, just works without thinking about it. If I ever do another T-56 I'd do it exactly the same way.

James Morse

04-21-2021, 10:27 AM

At their site, they (American Powertrain) say: "Our new module eliminates this problem [shifting to reverse by accident] by using the VSS speed sensor in the transmission to tell the solenoid you are at 0 mph". So it sounds like any speed except 0, you are locked out of reverse. Pretty nice!

Snowman

05-23-2021, 09:58 AM

Had to go on business trip this past week and inevitably something important would have to arrive while I was gone, lol. Thankfully Jason at gotyourwheels.com worked with my schedule and delayed the shipping. My flight coming back to cali was delayed by 4 hours and I was pretty tired when I pulled up to the house at 2 in morning, but when I saw a stack of tires waiting on me I was very excited. In our current environment of delays in almost everything it was very nice that they stuck to their advertised lead times of 8 weeks.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=148322&d=1621775892

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=148323&d=1621775892

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=148324&d=1621775892

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=148325&d=1621775892

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=148326&d=1621775892

For reference:

Forgestar F14s with Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires

Front 19x10 with +14mm offset in Super Deep Concave profile, 305/30R19

Rear 19x12 with -25mm offset in Ultra Deep Concave profile, 325/30R19

I did a post a while back on measuring offset with a wheel measuring fixture. I think it paid off as everything fit the way I had measured out. Rears are spot on what I was going for. The fronts are slightly wider than I had originally planned and this was due to Forgestar's suggestion of +14 offset vs the +6 I had measured. They had me send them the wilwood brake profile (thankfully that was an easy download from wilwood's website) and they wanted the extra offset for more brake clearance. With them mounted there is a little over a 1/2 inch to the caliper from the spokes. Might have gotten away with my original offset, but I don't mind the additional clearance. I'm really not concerned about extra tire sticking out, it'll have a nice aggressive look and if it does look goofy for some reason hopefully I can work with Jeff Miller for some kind of body solution.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the results and very pleased I didn't need to use any wheel spacers. Plus I was able to upgrade the front wheel studs to the 14mm size that match the factory rears.

Cheers,
Patrick

ken33

06-11-2021, 10:47 AM

snowman are you going to ship me the wheel offset tool ? thanks and they look great

Snowman

07-19-2021, 09:56 PM

snowman are you going to ship me the wheel offset tool ? thanks and they look great

PM sent.

Snowman

07-19-2021, 10:33 PM

My hiatus from the forum was due to...well life I guess. The list of excuses is long, but that's the way things go isn't it? Not the least of which are these ridiculous heat waves we've been having in Cali! I moved to the mountains so it wouldn't be over 100, lol. Stupid weather! Rant over.

I was still doing some work in the background, but not very note worthy or picture worthy IMO. I painted a bunch of the little brackets (both kit and ones I made). I also tried painting some aluminum panels. I started with the rad tunnel...I have now reaffirmed I an NOT a painter, lol! The rest of the panels will be headed to the powered coater. They didn't turn out horrible, but I made some mistakes that I'm really not worried about since A. it's NOT going to be a show car and 2. hard to see even with the hood open.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=151051&d=1626751693

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=151052&d=1626751693

The rad tunnel is effectively done though, minus radiator/condenser/fan since those need to be out of the way for the engine install with the standard HF hoist I (like many others) own. I'm happy with how the look is with matte black panels and the raw aluminum rivets. I'm pleased with the oil cooler too, eager to see how well that mounting location functions.

Also on the front of fun things, I picked up the coyote heads from MMR last Monday. The only engine parts I'm waiting for are the main and rod bearings. I did a short write up on the bearing selection for the mains from Ford (engine build link in my sig). I'm still surprised at how much information Ford has been wiling to share, just have to ask nicely. Ordered the bearing from Tasca and they have been great, just not the fastest. Hoping to have those in 1-2 weeks from now. Once those arrive I can do final assembly on the engine which is VERY exciting.

I'll be documenting the build in the engine section, but I'll likely cut and paste the posts to this thread. To summarize the engine build thread thus far, I started with a Junkyard F-150 which was a gamble that didn't pay off. No bad feelings about it since I have learned a crap ton about Coyote's and engine building in general. I ended up ordering a new Gen 3 block and crank, and as that was not the original plan both of those were 1300 to the door. Not too bad. The new block needed some clean up work as every machined surface had burrs left over and they like to jump out and tear your knuckles. Still need to clean up some oil passages on the block as the remote oil filter adapter holes don't line up with the ones in the block very well at all. The adapter is a Ford part and very well made. I was kind of surprised that the hole didn't line up, but it will be easy enough to correct with a die grinder and some cartridge rolls. Rings are total seal gapless and are file to fit, that task is now done. Once the block is cleaned it will get a thorough bath and then just waiting on bearings. The engine should go together very quickly.

I need to get the footbox aluminum prepped for PC and installed then the engine/trans can go in for what I'm hoping will be it's final time. Lot's of little details to knock out over the next month or so. Hoping for a first start around Labor Day. May or may not happen, but at least I have a goal, LOL.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

02-28-2022, 11:55 PM

It's been quite a long time since I've been on the forum, but I had kept working in the background. Just got it to the go-kart phase this past weekend with a first start up on Friday. Apologies in advance for the crappy cell phone video, but there is a short story to follow as to why for those interested readers.

https://youtu.be/RNKEqKvKlso

As previously posted I had done a lot of surgery on the coyote harnesses. As you'll see in upcoming posts that also includes the engine harness itself. Overall I pulled almost 8lbs of wire out between the coyote and RF electrical nests!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163229&d=1646109728

I was a bit nervous about the first start-up with all that wiring work, and as would be expected had an issue... One of the connectors in the FPCP harness I euthanized was C146, the auxiliary inline to engine (on the right in the pic above). It was killing me, huge bulky connector with 4 whole wires in it. I replaced it with a deutsch 4 pin which worked out wonderfully up until the point at which the engine didn't start, but back to that in a moment. While trying to crank the engine on a cold Friday evening and it not firing I started running though the normal troubleshooting steps, is it air, gas or spark? Was highly confident in the timing as it's pretty straightforward if you follow the instructions from Ford, the throttle body is working, and compression seems good for new rings and cylinders...ruled out air. Gas...I can smell that in the exhaust pipes so that leaves spark. Spark...crap...I messed with a lot of wires over the course of about 10 months...which ones did I touch, this could be bad. Verified that I didn't have spark with the standard hold a plug against a ground test. Also realized after doing it the hard way the Gen 3 makes this easy on the #3 spark plug with the slightly remote coil, especially if you have a spare plug lying around.

Decided first start was not happening right then and there so went to dinner with a buddy that was helping me out and offered to video the first start. At dinner I kept running through all the different wires I fiddled with and honestly I can't remember what we even talked about that evening. Buddy dropped me off to let me "work through it" after dinner. Back in the garage, I just started starring at it, apparently this helps. I kept gravitating to the aforementioned 4 pin connector so I found my box of unneeded wires and dug out good ole' C146, about 3.8 seconds later realized I mis-pinned the new connector. Quickly got that sorted and still no start. Time to look for fuses and see what kind of damage I caused...BINGO! VPWR4 was blown!. The Jeep donated a fuse quickly and wow did that thing fire up quick!

New problem...won't shutoff!?! Panicked, since the garage door was still closed (I had lost faith that I was actually going to get it started so it surprised me completely) and the ignition switch had no effect. Easy...I hit the battery disconnect switch...still running, crap. Pulled the fuel pump relay...still running. Curiously look at fuel pressure, it was slowly going down, but still idling just fine with less than 20psi! (May need to think about that inertia switch...). Finally pull the ignition relay and of course that worked. All this happened in about 20 seconds, but felt like forever at 8pm while trying NOT to annoy the neighbors.

In the effort to attempt the first start before dinner, I had a yellow wire from the FPCP harness that I had never figured out and there is not much mention of it. It was labeled "switched 12v" so I thought maybe it needed to be attached to 12v power, that's what I did. I now know that it PROVIDES 12v switched power and since I connected it to the ignition switch output I created a neat-o do-loop. OK that's explained. Now why does it run without a battery?? That's easier, I connected the alternator to the wrong side of the battery disconnect. Both issues super easy to resolve...the next morning.

This is why there is a crappy cell phone video labeled 3rd start (2nd start was to confirm my electrical snafu's were rectified). I had to make sure there was video proof to all my friends and especially my buddy Steve since he was being as patient as possible and unable to be there on Saturday morning.

OK, so maybe that was more of a long story, but fun nonetheless and now I have a go-kart that moves under its own power!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163230&d=1646109833

The initial break-in is done and man does this thing sound mean! Huge thanks to Georgie for the sweet Gas-N exhaust note.

Now just need to get on Jeff Miller's schedule and keep plugging away to get it ready for its first adventure outside of my garage!

More updates to come over the next week or two showing the engine build and progress since apparently last July when I had posted last...oops.

Cheers,
Patrick

Skuzzy

03-01-2022, 07:53 AM

I can hardly wait to get to this point. Congratulations!

Windsor

03-01-2022, 12:53 PM

Small update for this, my friend 3D printed a couple of prototypes for the fob:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140383&d=1609911606

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140384&d=1609911614

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140385&d=1609911622

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140382&d=1609911595

The do have the same magnets in them I used for my magnetic switch test and seem to work pretty good. If all else fails they'll be cool fridge magnets, lol.

The one that looks kinda beat up is what I was playing with for "post-processing" which is apparently the correct term for sanding, finishing or shaping a part after it's been printed. My friend tried her version of post-processing and it got a little out of hand, but she was kind enough to give them both to me to play with. I found that I could get some decent results by normal finish sanding stepping up in grit levels. The best I had was 1000 so I'm sure if I take it finer and then work it with polish I can actually get pretty darn good results. These are made from PLA which is not known for a high quality finish, it prints extremely easily is relatively inexpensive and is best for prototyping.

I need to do some research on a good material that finishes easily. Not sure what the final color will be, but I really like the first hack at this. Good to have friends that want to be part of the project and use it to refine their own skill sets in the process:D

Apologies for replying to a 1yr+ (14mo) post but didn't see you revisit this subject, thought I'd speak up.

ABS (and likely ASA) as the print material with post-processing in an acetone vapor bath will give you the professional finished look.

Cheap 3D printers will need the hotend upgraded to print ABS/ASA but the upgrades are relatively cheap.

ASA is "ABS with special sauce," where they add UV resistance and some other goodness that makes it easier to print.

ABS comes in a wide variety of colors. ASA only a handful -- ASA is still relatively new to the market.

I love reading build threads with pics and yours is no exception. Fine work.

Congrats on your first start!

q4stix

03-01-2022, 03:53 PM

Really glad to see the update! Congrats on a real first start and getting those wiring things resolved.

Snowman

03-01-2022, 08:48 PM

Thanks all for the kind words!! Very relieved my wiring surgery has paid off.

Windsor, I have since learned a bit more about 3D printing. Still planning to execute my little fob idea, but I kind of like the rough terraced look of the 3D print. I have some copies in ASA. A friend of mine is working off of a 3D scan from a model and working to clean it up in Fusion 360 (since its free and rather feature rich). Once we get something that is much more passible then I'll share those files with the community. Also, finalizing a design for a printed bracket for the power steering control module. Once that is finalized and tested I'll share with the forum and also the epowersteering guy. They have a strong interest they way I've implemented it and looking to produce a Coupe kit modeled off that, primarily a different bracket that may offer a bolt in solution (drilling required).

Snowman

03-17-2022, 10:53 PM

One of the biggest challenges with a Gen 3 Coyote is trying to keep the engine bay clean. It starts to get messy quickly and the engine itself is really just not a looker like the SBFs are. So in an effort to keep some things a little cleaner I thought I'd try my hand at modifying the wiper motor to have it on the inside of the firewall panel.

First thing was to fully disassemble the wiper motor assembly and it didn't take long to figure out how to swap things around. The only real challenge was cutting the hole in the firewall panel to accommodate the wiper motor. Calipers and an adjustable hole cutter in the drill press make quick work of that. Pretty happy with the out come and I think it'll look even cleaner with the brackets powder coated black.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164122&d=1647574411

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164121&d=1647574411

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164120&d=1647574411

I copied Paul and went with the WWK kit from Specialty Power Windows. Speedmaster had them in stock so that was an easy acquisition. Also picked up the Cole Hersee 75600-04 switch. Obviously I still need to get the wiper gear boxes installed in the body once it goes back on which leads to the next piece of news...

Talked to Jeff Miller and looks like I'll be able to get it into paint in June. This works out great since there are a fair number of must complete things (critical path) before paint and whole lot more desired items I want to knock out before paint. 3 months should make this easily doable to at least maintain critical path (sorry, it's hard not to think about it project terms).

More posts coming to catch things up and also there is another snowy weekend coming so should be able to continue with solid progress in the garage with the heater fired up.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

03-17-2022, 11:38 PM

So I had previously posted about my woes with the junkyard F-150 plan. No worries, learning a ton along the way and I'm quite happy with what I was able to build. One of the last components needed before the engine could be assembled were the main bearings. This turned into a mini-fiasco, mostly because I'm stubborn, but also because I wanted to use Ford OEM bearings. They come coated and have a neat-o numbering system to control tolerances very closely. The details of how that works are in this post in the engine build thread. (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?38336-Junkyard-Gen-3-F-150-Coyote&p=456946&viewfull=1#post456946)

I ordered all the main and rod bearings from Tasca to start with. The rod bearings all came in with no issues. The mains were a different story. The issue boiled down to packaging which created a chewed bearing half.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164123&d=1647575743

This is a representation of how the damage occurred:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164124&d=1647575743

Instead of waiting to go back and forth with Tasca I reached out to the local Ford dealer who have always been outstanding for parts and they continue to be so, but still the problem was with the packing from Ford (or whoever makes the bearings for them). After ordering all of the bearings in the Bakersfield area I was able to piece together enough good halves in the correct part #s to match the clearances spelled out by the codes stamped on the crank and block. I still think that is just a really neat system they devised and the tolerances they hold to are less than .0001 inch. Ford uses metric to the third decimal and honestly there just isn't affordable equipment available to the DIY guy to measure with that kind of accuracy.

While trying to sort out this small logistical headache I continued work on the block prep. I have a brand new block from Ford and at $800 I felt that was really worth it since they come with mains line honed and cylinders finish honed. Quick recap: the junkyard block was showing a fair bit of wear in the cylinder liners so it will be saved for a future project...think sleeved for drag race prep:rolleyes: Back on track...the first step was to clean up all of the super sharp edges on all of the machined surfaces, there are a lot of machined surfaces on the coyote block! Since the aluminum is very soft in comparison to iron and I didn't want to take much material off, just soften things so I could work on the engine without bleeding all over it, I elected to use files and 320 sandpaper. Next was to remove all of the casting flash which wasn't all that much, but there was a fair amount around oil and coolant passages, this was treated with the die grinder/carbide burr and a very light touch. Last bit was to make sure the oil pump and remote oil filter adapter passages line up with their corresponding passages in the block. Oil pump was spot on, oil filter adapter not so much.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164125&d=1647576922

The purple sharpie is hard to see against the blue anodizing, but you can kind of make it out. Purple is just what was handy at the moment, lol.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164126&d=1647576922

Block passages after grinding.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164127&d=1647576922

And now a very nice smooth transition from block to adapter.

Very happy with the block prep and the final step was to give the block as thorough a bath as I can manage with soap, tooth brush and bore brushes in my driveway. After the compressed air blow drying in every possible orifice the cylinders were treated to a coating of WD40, block was wrapped in plastic and awaited its new main bearings for build up.

This process took me about a week to complete by spending an hour or two on weeknights after work and then a good bit of a Saturday afternoon for the block bath. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the block all clean and sparkly, I'm not terribly good about remembering to snap photos when I get in a good garage groove:D

More engine building to come...

Cheers,
Patrick

Glen Davis

03-18-2022, 09:29 PM

Snowman

03-19-2022, 10:39 AM

My son and I are planning to build a coupe next year and I like your idea of the electric steering system. Because of this you put the relay/fuse box on the right side where a glove box would normally be located. You also have the wiper motor in the same area. Are you planning a glove box?

No plans for a glove box due to those constraints. In hind sight I would have ditched the Ron Francis harness altogether and just wired everything up from scratch. I'm very comfortable with wiring and as it is I completely blew apart the RF harness to suit my purposes.

There are some fuse panel options from waytek that could easy work in different locations where you could preserve the electric steering in the way that I've done and also still leave the volume forward of the passenger side of the dash open for a glove box. The two locations that come to mind are a bulkhead style mount on the left hand side of the fire wall and have all of the fuses accessible from the engine bay or possibly on the lower dash corners, but I'm not too sure about what space is available there with the doors installed.

Happy to go into more details if you want to PM me.

Cheers,
Patrick

runamuk

04-07-2022, 08:00 AM

Beautiful work, I love your attention to detail

Snowman

04-10-2022, 12:46 AM

Beautiful work, I love your attention to detail

Thanks! More to come soon...

Snowman

04-19-2022, 09:48 PM

The weekend before last I had some friends over and we took the coupe out for it's first road test. First lap around the block my buddy chased me in his super sweet 16' convertible mustang with a seriously awesome whipple installed. He accidentally recorded his face the whole time so I don't have chase video at present, LOL. All I can say is how surprised I am at the fact I had zero issues! No leaks, everything works (that could) and even though it isn't tuned yet it still runs pretty darn good. Can't wait until I can do some proper tuning on it once it's road legal. HP Tuners is a ton of fun and I love pouring over the data logs, but I digress...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO_VFRf44fY

Hope you all enjoy the videos!

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

04-19-2022, 09:49 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVu09MVGP30

Didn't realize you could only post one at a time:p

Ltngdrvr

04-19-2022, 10:36 PM

Snowman

04-19-2022, 10:48 PM

Had some family visit a few weeks ago and then got distracted with some other things in life, but have time now so let's continue on with the 2nd part of the engine assembly. Not sure how many this will end up being, but probably one more...maybe two :)

The short block assembly was straightforward or at least I think it was since this is the first one I've ever done. Seemed to go just like it does on TV. I did a check with plastigage more as a sanity check as I was pretty confident in the Ford bearing numbering system and the plastigage just confirmed that everything looked right. I did use stock main bolts as the price delta in ARP's was pretty high and I don't see going back into the bottom end again unless something goes bad and then I'll be out quite a bit more $$$ in that event. Rod bolts were also stock but mostly because I used stock rods. I don't think the bolts are something you could really upgrade without using different rods. I did accidentally smoke one rod bolt as I followed the wrong torque spec. Had to order new ones to replace as they are TTY and I proved that in one fell swoop of the torque wrench. No harm came to anything other than the bolt and more time for new ones to come in from the local ford dealer. Pretty inexpensive mistake as they are only a few bucks a piece, no complaints there.

I think I mentioned this before, but I'm the worst at remembering to snap photos of progress so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of assembling the short block, you'll just have to trust me it went well and resulted in this once the heads were on:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165756&d=1650423628

Stuck the valve covers on there to keep debris out. Oil pan was just hung with a few bolts to catch the drips from the assembly lube. Was doing this on weeknights in short sessions.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165755&d=1650423628

I also used the factory pistons and crank (did end up with a new one since the junkyard one had some pitting on a main journal, documented in previous posts and in the Coyote thread). I opted for total seal's gapless rings which are clever. There seems to be some controversy out there about them, more of an old school vs new school thing, but talked to total seal about them a handful of times and I guess they are good salesmen, lol. Also, since the Gen3 is a different bore size than previous Coyote I ended up sending them a piston to make sure I got the correct sized rings. Hopefully they used that to update their database (I never looked back to check). Awful nice bunch of guys at total seal. Only the top rings required filing and not much at that. With the rotating assembly installed I checked the rotating torque and I can't remember the exact numbers, but it could be measured with my inch-pound wrench so that was pretty cool.

This will probably sound pretty dumb, but my heart was actually racing when I knocked the first piston in the hole. I've never done that before and I was seriously nervous that I would break a ring right out of the gate. Thankfully no issues whatsoever, they all glided in smooth as glass which I largely attribute to using one the of the bore size specific tapered ring compressors. I felt the $30 was cheap insurance on a task I've never done before.

Next up was installing the new Mustang cams and doing the timing. Still seems crazy to me you can get those cams for the cost of a good high performance pushrod engine cam. Happy to capitalize on economy of scale. Timing is really pretty darn easy on these, but I can see where it could be much more challenging with the engine installed...as most things tend to be. Lots of good videos out there on how to do it so I just followed one that referenced the ford service manual. Cleary I got it right from the previous videos:rolleyes:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165754&d=1650423628

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165753&d=1650423628

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165757&d=1650423645

I did use ARP head studs and glad I did. The factory TTY bolts have a ridiculously high torque sequence. I broke two different 15mm sockets getting them out. The ARP's get torqued to 125 lb-ft which it still a lot, but seemed way more manageable than when I was trying to break the factory ones loose.

Last note about the heads. Took them to MMR and they did their CNC porting and valve job. While they were in there I had them check the valve guides, which were good, replace the valve seals and they were kind enough to through in a new set of factory springs they had sitting on the shelf. No charge on the springs which was pretty cool of them. The old ones were so dirty from an engine that clearly did not see frequent oil changes that it was easier to replace than clean them. MMR stated that California is so strict about solvent usage that it's just not worth their time to clean stuff like those springs.

I think that will wrap it up for this post.

Cheers,
Patrick

Snowman

04-19-2022, 10:52 PM

Funny how the driver front tire stops turning as you're backing into the street!:D
And, I couldn't get away with go-karting like that, were it me, before I got two blocks down the street there would be three cops ready to write me up!:rolleyes:

Yeah, the driveways where I live are pretty aggressive. I three wheel my daily driver every time, lol. Thankfully the torsen diff handled the three wheeling quite well on the way up the drive.

I'm lucky to live in a quiet neighborhood which is outside of city limits. Even so I didn't want to press my luck and I try to be respectful and not make noise after 8pm. The next time it hits the street will hopefully be during the registration process.

Snowman

04-25-2022, 09:46 AM

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165877&d=1650894845

As I've stated before, I'm not brilliant about taking photos when I should. So this is the glam shot of the assembled engine minus the wiring harness, which will be the primary topic for this installment of the engine assembly. Before that just a few notes on the remainder of the assembly. With all of the challenging parts completed the rest was rather straightforward...timing cover, oil pan and valve covers are all very easy to knock out and as long as you take your time and keep surfaces clean, add the few spots of RTV where there are joints in the various covers then leaks shouldn't be a problem. The rear main seal retainer caused me a little grief as the seal didn't come with any kind of sleeve to make it slide over the crank shaft more easily, but I ended up making something out of some card stock which worked OK. In hind sight I should have also put some kind of a slippery tape on the card stock as it kind of dragged on the seal lips when removing it. Thankfully no issues with rear main leaks so I think I'm out of the woods on that one.

Next up it's time for some engine wiring harness surgery...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165876&d=1650894845

There were two main things to address here. 1) The computer mounting location dictated that I fold the harness towards the back which requires lengthening the wires to the throttle body and the passenger side intake cam phaser solenoid thingy. 2) Since I decided to use the GT350 intake manifold the CMVC connectors are different (basically Gen 2 vs. Gen 3).

For the 1st item, since I had gotten this from a junkyard F150 I still had the harness for that and the F150 harness is considerably longer than the Mustang so I pilfered those wires and connector from the donor harness which worked out to be just the right length I needed. They are easy to de-pin from the ECU connector so it was straightforward, just with the annoyance of unwrapping and re-wrapping the harness. Thankfully that fabric style tape from the factory is reusable as long as it's not too old and/or dirty. You just have to take your time and be careful with it. In the end it pretty much looks like a factory job. For the cam phaser solenoid I did have to cut and splice one wire that is common to many of the sensors, but since there was an existing splice I just cut that out and replaced the splice with my longer wires. No added splices or other connections...goal achieved.

For the second item, this was a bit more challenging and annoying to say the least. From what I can tell the difference between the Gen 2 and Gen 3 CMCV setup respectively is two vs. one solenoid valves and the position sensors are independent of the vacuum actuators. The solenoid valve was an easy fix with a vacuum "T" fitting to remove the second solenoid...problem solved! Interestingly there are kits to go from a Gen 2 to a Gen 3 manifold setup since the 2018 intake was so good compared to previous ones, but not the other way around. I know the Bullit model had at the GT350 intake on a Gen 3 so I thought I could source something from the dealership, but unfortunately this was one time they were not able to come through for me. In the end I found a gen 2 F-150 harness on eBay and picked that up for a decently cheap price. This time I did have to do some splicing, but it worked out well and things seem to working correctly. Of course the wire colors are also different so there was a bit of deductive guess work involved and it came down to a 50/50 shot of getting two of the three wires in the connectors right. I think I got lucky, but I need to check my data logs in HP tuners to be sure. The third wire was common to both sensors so I was confident in that one.

Gen 3 connector:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165874&d=1650894845

Gen 2 connector:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165875&d=1650894845

FWIW, the runners are actuating fine when it runs and there are no codes being thrown. Again, I'll check the data logs to be sure.

Now that all the wiring surgery was completed it was time to get this thing mated to the T-56. So first up was indexing the bell housing. I opted for the indexing plate from Bowler transmission which made the job a snap. I did have to clean up a couple of the bolt holes on the laser cut plate, but otherwise it went smoothly with good results so no need for offset guide pins, yay!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165878&d=1650894845

The clutch install was per the instructions and really not too difficult setting up the hydraulic throwout bearing from tilton. Trans matted smoothly to the engine and all was torqued to spec so I think I can call this a completed power unit.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165880&d=1650894860

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165879&d=1650894860

The clutch was the ford performance part that looks like a re-branded center force and it functions quite well. The flywheel is also the ford performance billet unit that clocks in around 20lbs.

One other part I didn't mention previously, but is barely noticeable in the last picture is the ATI super damper. I picked up the one that has an aluminum hub and aluminum pulleys. It literally weights HALF of the stock part. The only thing quirky about it is you have to warm the aluminum hub up before pressing it onto the crank. ATI recommends boiling it, so that's exactly what I did and it worked out just like the instructions said it would. High quality part and maybe it'll be extra useful in the future if I decide to dry sump this engine. I really like the setup from Dailey Engineering, but future upgrade...finish the car first!

That wraps up the engine assembly and now I'll move on getting the car ready to receive the engine.

Cheers,
Patrick

Skuzzy

04-25-2022, 01:27 PM

Looking good.

Snowman

05-02-2022, 11:54 AM

Now that I have a completed power unit to install it's time to get the engine bay ready. My main purpose for this car is to make it a grand tourer. So sound deadening is a top priority. After calling second skin audio and discussing at length with them my goals, we came up with a custom package to address sound deadening as a strategy instead of just trying to through some peel and stick at it and hoping for the best. This involved providing area measurements for everywhere that we thought products would be needed so of course I made a spreadsheet! Happy to share it with anyone that is interested, just PM me.

The overall strategy is this:

damplifier (peel and stick) on all footbox sheetmetal
spray-on sound deadener on the rest of the cockpit sheetmetal
Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) on top of damplifier and spray-on where possible
damplifier inside doors and a melamine foam on top of that
Melamine foam on the roof before headliner is installed
spray on sound deadener on the backsides of the wheel well sheetmetal
undercoat (UPOL raptor planned) on the exposed side of wheel well sheetmetal

This will come at a weight penalty, but considering the main purpose of the car I'm completely happy to accept that. I'm estimating ~150lbs based on raw material weight.

In order to ease this installation on the footboxes I did all the sound deadening before I installed the panels.

Before the install:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166135&d=1651507625

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166138&d=1651507678

Prepping the individual panel for install. I also installed the carpet at the same time since it was being adhered with contact cement and this just seemed easier to me.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166132&d=1651507625

After install:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166134&d=1651507625

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166133&d=1651507625

The trickiest thing about this method of install was not getting the sealant all over the carpet, but took my time and I'm happy with the results. On the topic of sealant I went to the local HD and had sticker shock at how much a tube of silicon sealant cost. I started looking at alternatives they had on the shelf and came across this:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166136&d=1651507625

I really like this sealant and at only $7 a tube made me feel better about it. It takes about 7 days to cure so plenty of working time and in the event of a mistake its easy to remove in that time frame. Cleans up quite nicely with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits and is easy to remove (compared to silicon sealants) even after it cures. I did a couple of rounds of sealing up all of the gaps that the sheetmetal inevitably leaves behind.

As far as sound deadening is concerned it seems to be very effective, if you tap on the sheetmetal with a fingernail it sounds about the same as tapping on a concrete floor. Hopefully with as many square inches of coverage as I can achieve it will greatly reduce the sound levels and add to a little bit of comfort. I'm not expecting daily driver levels of sound, but hopefully short trips won't require ear plugs. If the sound is still horrible I will likely upgrade with a race radio style intercom with headsets. For now we'll see how it does.

Lastly, The second skin folks are really awesome! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, at the company is required to answer customer calls. If you call during business hours someone will answer. They had everything they carry in stock and shipping was quick. Great american company with outstanding customer service. We went back a forth a few times on the spreadsheet I had created and they were thankful to have that resource to meet my needs. They have also followed up a few times to see how I like the results, unfortunately its too soon to tell how it all worked out until the car is completed.

Cheers,

Patrick

Snowman

05-02-2022, 02:05 PM

Now that the footboxes were installed the only remaining thing to prepare for the engine's final install was to finish sorting out the under cowl wiring.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166153&d=1651516809

This is the harness routing and then it was all removed for the engine install.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166150&d=1651516711

Install was pretty non-eventful and went smoothly. Was kinda cool to see the drivetrain without the cockpit panels installed. Also made adjusting the clutch pedal easy since I could spin the driveshaft by hand while slowly letting the clutch out to see where it started to engage.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166155&d=1651516809

I wrapped the headers in the DEI's titanium colored wrap. Happy with how that turned out on the Gas N headers.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166154&d=1651516809

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166149&d=1651516711

Those are definitely quality pieces and really like the ball style clamp for the collector which makes adjusting the side pipes a snap.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166156&d=1651516809

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166151&d=1651516711

Snowman

05-02-2022, 02:48 PM

With the engine firmly mounted in place it was a matter of getting all the systems plumbed and connected. The cooling system was the first to get sorted out. Decided to go the route of coolant expansion tank vice the overflow bottle. Turns out a tank for an 05-10 mustang works quite well and I used this one from Moroso, a nicely built piece.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166141&d=1651511220

It needed an additional support bracket to secure it which was fabricated from some scrap .060 aluminum sheetmetal. Very solid now and shouldn't be going anywhere.

Also for the first fire-up I bypassed the heater core. Just in case there were leaks I didn't want to complicate the plumbing anymore than I had to.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166142&d=1651511220

Next up was the fuel system which was simply a matter of making a flexible line from the bulkhead connector to the fuel rail. I sourced a -6 AN hose end that mated to the push lock style on the fuel rail. I didn't want any extra adapters I didn't need so this worked well for that purpose. It was a fragola part if memory serves me correctly. Can dig up part # on request if any one wants it.

All of the wiring harnesses were next and those were a pretty quick install with adel clamps applied at previously identified and drilled locations.

I may have mentioned this before, but there is one minor drawback to my computer mounting location, which is to remove the computer I have to also remove the intake manifold. Oops. Not a huge deal as that's not something I plan to pull frequently and the intake manifold is not difficult to remove on these engines.

Last thing before first fire-up was to fill and bleed the clutch and brake systems and those were straightforward as would be expected.

With all of that done it was ready to fire up for the first time.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166152&d=1651516809

If you're following along you've already seen the first start (OK 3rd because I suck at photoing/videoing). Here is the link to that post https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37314-Project-Lightning-Coyote&p=485108&viewfull=1#post485108

With the engine now running, and honestly doing a lot better than I thought it would on the stock tune the computer came with, there were more details to wrap up. On a splurge I picked up the left and right side oil catch can kits from ford performance. The pass side kit is pretty easy and just needs a minor modification to the support bracket. The driver's side is a little more challenging as its designed to interface with a mustang. I'll modify it slightly for a simple tab mount to the chassis tube. For the plumbing I modified the vacuum tubing that came with it by shortening it. I sourced some push lock style fittings from JLT that worked out well in my silicone intake elbow. Did the same for the vacuum port going to the intake manifold plumbing. This should closely replicate the routing of the stock intake plumbing and make the whole PCV system closed while minimizing oil vapors in the intake tract.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=166157&d=1651517180

A quick note on the brakes:

The pedal feel on the brakes was pretty good, but no matter how much bleeding I did (and to the best of my knowledge there is no air left in the system) the first inch or two of brake pedal travel is loose and seems to correlate to pad movement from what I could see. It then firms up into a brick which feels good. So a couple of questions to those out there with the big wilwood kit from FFR. 1) Is anyone using residual pressure valves with theirs? 2) How does the brake modulation feel at speed? It felt OK to me on my first drive around the block, but obviously not enough driving to truly get a feel for them. I'm mostly just curious what others' impressions are.

Cheers,
Patrick