Am I done?

[Alphamacaroon]

I think graduation day doesn't technically come until the car is titled and registered, but I think for me it's "done" (because let's face it, it's never really done) when you are confident enough to take your wife for a Sunday test drive and not worry about ruining her day with a tow truck ride :D Finally did that today!

Still a lot of cosmetic cleanups (door numbers, cowl vents, paint touchup/cut/buff in a few places, door cards and sills, etc.), and more engine and brake tuning, but I'd definitely call it "mostly a car" now. Thank you all for your generous help and support along the way— really couldn't have done it without you. Hopefully next set of pictures will be with a license plate!

140279

140278

140280

140281

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[65 Cobra Dude]

Nice work Jim!!!

[KDubU]

Stunning! Great job.

[Jacob McCrea]

That looks great Jim.

What process did you use to get such a good fit on the headlight covers? Mine are oversized and I hesitate to use a benchtop belt sander on them, but I haven't thought of with something better.

[GoDadGo]

Wow!

That's One Fantastic Build!

Great Job!

[Alphamacaroon]

That looks great Jim.

What process did you use to get such a good fit on the headlight covers? Mine are oversized and I hesitate to use a benchtop belt sander on them, but I haven't thought of with something better.

I was terrified to do this part of the build for the same reasons. Didn't want to get sandpaper anywhere near my covers. But you want to know the funny thing? I didn't do a damn thing... They fit pretty well perfectly out of the box. The original set of covers I got from Factory Five were a bad batch from their old supplier— they had all sorts of manufacturing defects. So FFR sent me a new pair after they settled on their new supplier, and they were pretty damn spot on out of the box. Keep in mind they aren't PERFECT (they could probably still use a very small amount of trimming), but I don't think anyone would know unless they put their eye right up to it, and the potential for damage outweighed the need for adjustment.

Have you pulled the protective plastic off your headlight covers yet? If not, you might do it sooner than later. It's possible they are also part of the bad batch and FFR might send you a new set. I wasn't going to take off the protection sheet until right at the end, but when others started discussing the problem, I took them off and sure enough I had a bad set. It took a while to get them because FFR hadn't settled on a new supplier, but they sent me a new set no questions asked when I showed them the shape the original ones were in.

[FF33rod]

Looks great Jim, gotta be incredibly proud of that!

Steve

[P100DHG]

How did you attached the rear grills without screws that’s a great look!

[edwardb]

Looks really great. Congratulations! Good luck getting the brakes sorted out. No fair you get to be out driving now. We had two inches of snow today. :(

For the headlight covers, I too have the newer ones. The fit was close, but a little trimming made it better. I left the film on and very carefully used my 8-inch benchtop disk sander. Then sanded and polished the edges. It wasn't hard and really nothing to be afraid of.

[Alphamacaroon]

Looks really great. Congratulations! Good luck getting the brakes sorted out. No fair you get to be out driving now. We had two inches of snow today. :(

For the headlight covers, I too have the newer ones. The fit was close, but a little trimming made it better. I left the film on and very carefully used my 8-inch benchtop disk sander. Then sanded and polished the edges. It wasn't hard and really nothing to be afraid of.

Thanks Paul! Couldn't have done it without you.

Agreed on the headlight covers— my new ones still need a slight trim if I wanted them absolutely perfect. I'm adding them to my list of "things that most people will never notice, but I will, so at some point I'll go back and perfect it". On the brakes, considering NAZ's last response, maybe they are generally OK— they seem to work pretty well, it's just the wear pattern that seems odd to me. Will put a pressure gauge on it soon to hopefully put it all to rest.

P100DHG thanks! If you're curious how I attached the rear grilles, I came up with what I called a "slot and tab" install. Not only is it screw-free, but it's also adhesive-free. I wish I had some pictures to explain— but when I trimmed the grills, I left 3 tabs (about an 0.5" wide and an inch or two long) at various parts around the grills. Then I plunge cut 3 small slits around the inside perimeter of the grill indent in the body using a reciprocating multi-tool in the same position as the tabs. Then you just slide the grill tabs into the slots until the grill is sitting flush, and bend the tabs around the back side to hold it in place. You could also glue the tabs into place on the back if you wanted some extra holding power, but it didn't seem necessary to me (plus they are easier to remove if I ever need to replace them).

[Gordon Levy]

Very nice, when you have had enough fighting with the brakes you have give me a call for brakes that will work every time no matter what you want to do.

[Alphamacaroon]

Very nice, when you have had enough fighting with the brakes you have give me a call for brakes that will work every time no matter what you want to do.

Will do! The plan was always to upgrade to Wilwoods at some point, so it's just a matter of time.

[David Williamson]

looks great. Show us the interior and engine please.
I have the Wilwoods from Gordon and they work well, they are manual and do require more effort then a normal car with power brakes.
David W

[bil1024]

Sweet!

[Garry Bopp]

Very nice, Jim!

Garry

[RJD]

Done? I'd say well done. Congratulations.

[John Dol]

Very cool Jim!!
If it looks like a car, smells like a car and drives like a car.....
Substantially complete to use an industrial term. You have to be stoked. How did the wife like it?

John

[Alphamacaroon]

Very cool Jim!!
If it looks like a car, smells like a car and drives like a car.....
Substantially complete to use an industrial term. You have to be stoked. How did the wife like it?

John

Had a grin on her face the whole time. Even refused to wear earplugs at first, but then decided against it a few minutes later :D

[Alphamacaroon]

Latest in-car shots with some views of the dashboard. I'll follow up with some final pictures of engine bay and interior in a few days:

Make sure to pump up the volume! :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM_GwvJ8b9A

Some might notice a rattle sound at certain RPMs— that's just the door handles rattling (not currently hooked up).

[Bob-STL]

Latest in-car shots with some views of the dashboard. I'll follow up with some final pictures of engine bay and interior in a few days:

Make sure to pump up the volume! :D

....

Hoooooo nice!

[P100DHG]

Beautiful build. Fantastic video. Man does that car sound good!

[edwardb]

Looks and sounds great! Nice road to stretch its legs. Required viewing for anyone who doesn't think a Coyote sounds good. :eek:

[Joel Hauser]

I usually turn the sound way down on posted videos...but could not resist listening to yours. It sounds incredible. Did you notice How high the motor revved, or what what your speed was?

[Alphamacaroon]

I usually turn the sound way down on posted videos...but could not resist listening to yours. It sounds incredible. Did you notice How high the motor revved, or what what your speed was?

Thanks! I wasn't looking at the RPM's much, but the few times I looked I don't think I got it much over 6K. Still learning the sound of the engine in order to get shifts right. You sit so close to the instruments (at least from what I'm used to) that the RPM gauge is almost useless to me for quick glances without losing concentration on the road. I'll probably end up putting a shift light in at some point.

A for speed, without implicating myself, I'll say that all speeds were somewhere less than 100 mph ;) I will also say that it's amazing how quickly you can go from "quiet Sunday drive" to "I'm going how fast?" without even realizing it.

[John Dol]

Awesome vid, car sounds amazing!

John

[q4stix]

Looks great, sounds great, and I'm sure handles great too. Awesome job!

[ggunter]

Your car is georgeous, and if thats you house nice digs as well. But what I really want to know is WHERE IS THAT ROAD!!! I want to drive there. Where I live its three gears then mash on the brakes.

[Straversi]

Wow, that’s a gorgeous car. Great job!
-Steve

[Fujin]

Love that quilted dashboard! Nice job. Do you find the Coyote exhaust note in person is unbearably loud after a time?

[Alphamacaroon]

But what I really want to know is WHERE IS THAT ROAD!!! I want to drive there. Where I live its three gears then mash on the brakes.
Eastern, WA state— Kennewick/Tri-Cities area. We are completely spoiled here. Hundreds of miles of roads like that through hills and farmland— newly paved and not a soul in sight. Lots of winding canyon roads. etc.


Do you find the Coyote exhaust note in person is unbearably loud after a time?

Oh yes. It's painful for even short periods. I wear ear plugs at all times. But even with them in I've found that you don't lose any of the exhilaration or enjoyment of the engine noise— you just lose some of the resonant frequencies that rattle your eardrums (and brain). And funny enough it seems to make it easier to hear your passenger and/or outside noises.

[marshc56]

Gotta love those Eastern WA open roads! Done them on two wheels for years... can't wait to try them is the MkIV.

Marsh

[Rsnake]

Beautiful car and great video. What are you using for the microphone on the video? Sound is perfect.

[Alphamacaroon]

Beautiful car and great video. What are you using for the microphone on the video? Sound is perfect.

Thanks! Recorded by my son on my iPhone 11 Pro.