Lance's Roadster Build Thread-Carb Tuning Info

[F500guy]

Well, spent the big money today, to late to turn back at this point! Not sure how well I will keep up with a build thread, but should have some info to add to the group knowledge as the process goes on. Kit is scheduled to be completed first week June. Below is my ordered/purchased parts, thanks to all that helped me spend my money, when the wife kicks me out I will be calling for a couch to sleep on:rolleyes: Hope to be able to track the car when done, may have to ditch the Miata....


Breeze Parts
Radiator Shroud
Radiator Cowl
Battery Box
Oil Cooler Kit
Grill Set (brakes, oil cooler, rad grill) -Plan on Black Powder coat
Gas Pedal
Lower Rad Support
Lower Cooling Tube Support
Lower Radiator Tube
Wilwood balance adjust

Forte Parts
Throttle linkage
Cobra seat heaters (2)

F5 options
Leather/diamond stich seat and door panel
Wilwood brake set up
IRS Set up
Chrome Headers and side pipe
Dual chrome roll bars
Vintage gauges
Powder coated frame
18 Inch Halibrands- (will figure out tires later)
Carbon Fiber Dash (A variation of the 427 Comp lay out)
Leather steering wheel
Wipers
Sun Visors
Wind Wing
Sway bars front/rear
Assembled side louvers
Bumpers
Floor mats
Trunk Struts
Wipers

Engine
BPE 427 (351 Dart Block)
TKX 5 speed
Holley 870 Carb with Mech/Fuel pump
Hydraulic clutch

Other Stuff
DCE E-power steering system (auto/manual controller)
Wilwood 140-15978-RD Electronic Rear Park Brake System (plan to keep the brake handle, maybe hook a spring to make it feel funtional)
Drive Shaft Safety loop, FF Kit

Plan to Shark Hide the Al panels, and I am sure make some changes along the way. Some Items I really need to get my hands on to ensure I want to go that route, like bumpers and things.
Garage is ready, body storage area is ready so I am ready to get moving along.

[F500guy]

Delivery scheduled for June 28-30. As usual, I have a scheduled item I need to attend to on June 29. Hopefully can work around it as the time closes in. ready to put some paws on parts...

[F500guy]

1 Week Until delivery. Got the motor un-crated and on a stand I got from Speedway. good to have the crate out of the way and be able to roll the motor around.

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[F500guy]

Got a call from the delivery driver yesterday, "How about I bring your car by tomorrow around noon?" So here it is, 2 days ahead of the original schedule from last week. Can't say enough about how easy the delivery was with Stewart Transportation. Highly recommend as others have, driver was new to the process (3 months) but had it down, less than 40 minutes to unload from the time he arrived. I provided a nice tip and a sandwich and soft drinks for everyone. Had a couple neighbors help. Pretty light POL list, one shipment actually arriving tomorrow, a extra box with a bunch of small parts, and several boxes actually made the truck at the last minute. Only concern is not really knowing what fasteners you actually got, but that can be sorted and sourced later as needed. IRS has a good "fastener" box that I hope is better than some have experienced. So far very pleased. Looks like inventory will only take a day at most.

Boss during Delivery
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Last Car on the truck
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There was enough room in the garage to start the process.
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Box 1 Inventory Underway
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[zarnold]

Congrats! Now the fun begins!

[F500guy]

Got the inventory done today, see the space difference now that I have stuff relocated all ofter the house, shed, shop and garage...

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Pretty good inventory as I think I know. Touched every part (except Radiator) Notes below:
1) Only 5 items outstanding on POL list at this time, nothing critical for starting the build
2) Only 3 items Missing -front turn signals (x2) said they were in a box but ?, 1 5/16 brass barbed fitting-supposed to be 2 only had 1,
3) You don't know what you may not have...I did not have a small panel lid (driver footbox cover in the engine bay Item #51521) did not see and could not find on inventory.
4) Box 11 Carpet-a bit of a mess, really not sure what I got there a bunch of pieces! without spending all day laying them out in the car to figure where each one goes, guess I wing that one and i hope they are over sized cause the edges are pretty rough!
5) got all the body panels off and stuffed somewhere on my city lot, be like an Easter egg hunt finding where I hid everything.

Progress continues.

[Sarcasticshrub]

There is a carpet inventory in the build manual that shows all of the pieces you should have. Just lay the carpet pieces out and match them to the layout in the manual. I ended up not having any of the trunk pieces.

[F500guy]

I will look for that. Thanks

[F500guy]

Got the Body to the new Home for the next 9-12 months. A few friends and a few beers is all it took. had to turn the body side ways to get thru the opening and on the body stand.

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And completed the Safety wire of the brake rotors. probably not needed but done. I was a Navy nuke and did Mil spec safety wire years, and years ago, but this was a challenge. No Oscars were expected with this performance.

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[F500guy]

Some slow progress, but better than nothing. Some may be basic updates, but hopefully some one will get something.
Shocks are built-I did check the setting, and what a PITA it will be after they are installed. I have heard to set them full soft, I went 1 click from full firm, time will tell, guess I am kind of a rebel that way!
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F-Panels Fitted and will coat tomorrow. Bed liner wheel side, brushed Al inside with rustoleum clear coat. I figured if I did not like the coating on these, easy do over, maybe with fat tire panels from FF Metal. Both sides panels had issues in 3 spots that required trimming or barely got the hole in the frame due alignment. I did not want to push to far forward, so Driver side got 1/8 inch forward only enough to catch the front angled tubing. Forward corner, both panels got trimmed so they were not on the weld. Passenger side had to trim 1/4 inch off the front angle, did not like it over hanging the frame that much. Both passenger and driver side got trimmed above the lower rivet line, again to much frame over hang, nearly 1/4 inch. Added holes for 10-24 nut-serts on the elephant ears, will install after coating. Rivet spacing is closer than the manual, I liked it better after measuring the distance. Sometimes I wish they did not mount the panels, trying to cover the pre-mount holes makes the rivets not line up. But, no need to be OCD yet!
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[F500guy]

Got some progress this past few days. Reminding myself to be patient (had to redo the clear coat on F panels-Taped to early), with all the tools I have, I still need some more! My socket set does not cover some of the large suspension bolts so for official torque, I will need a couple sockets and some crows feet.

Got the F panels finished and mounted. For me, this was hard because it is the "forever" decision of coatings. Hope there will not be a "should done that differently", at least for a couple years of driving, then may not care. Light spray on bed liner (herculiner) on the wheel side and brushed aluminum with Rustoleum clear coat (which I will do on all the engine compartment Aluminum). and, first rivet and I did not have good control of the rivet tool, so a 3 inch long scratch...Touched that up. Patience, patience, patience...

Also got most of the way thru the front suspension. Still need to torque some stuff. Could not find any hardware for the steering arm, so ran to ACE for some grade 8.8 12 mm x 1.5 x 60 mm, but ended up cutting 10 mm off. I like having the un-threaded parts of bolts crossing the transition between pieces of metal, and associated Nylocks and washers. Also noticed that FFR sent a flange nylock nut for attaching the upper A arm to the frame, so the rear nut needed a little shoulder trimming to fit, the manual says to not put a washer in there, but...not what was provided. I Also trimmed the rear link for the upper a-arm to get higher caster and set per the measurements in the manual.
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I also did some work on the rear suspension components. Swapped out studs-Used air gun, grease, hard washer and flange nut and a BFH for popping old ones out. I froze the studs, heated the hubs in the oven 200'ish deg
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I also prepped the rear knuckles, chased the hole 1/2, then the required 5/8 inch. Another run to Lowe's as I did not have a big enough drill bit. Cut the ear off, used my small porta band, a little to big so the cut was nice for about 3/4 of the way, then stuff was getting in the way of the saw, so got a little wonky, but the cleaned up ok on the sander. Another note, they do not need to be trimmed as far back as the manual says. Look a little ahead and you can see both of those holes are still visible.
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I also assembled the rear suspension components and got all the bolts and nuts checked out. Only issue was FFR sent Left hand Jam nuts but the toe link needed Right hand jam nuts, ordered a pack from Summit. (note-I should have ordered a bunch of stuff cause the shipping was more than the part.

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Build on!

[danmas]

I think we are almost exactly at the same place. I got the differential installed tonight. One thing to check if you have power steering, FFR didn't send me the power steering mounting bolts and it wasn't included on the pack list. I sent them a note and they fixed it right away to their credit. None the less, check if you got your power steering mounting bolts...

Fun watching your build and I envy your metal saw....

[F500guy]

Installed manual steering rack. A couple note from a young builder Jeti-There was no sleeves to put inside the bushings in my kit, nor did I see any on the steering rack inventory. Not sure I missed it or not, had stuff on hand to make my own, so I did. Also the manual recommends putting the driverside bolt in first and then the passenger side. I found I need a small amount of rotation, and it worked best to have the passenger side in first, use the steering shaft to assist with the slight rotation. No major torque, just a bit of solid pressure and bolts went right in. Set to recommended length per the manual.
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[F500guy]

Got the Differential installed today, not quite a "Here Hold My Beer" moment, but "Sketchy" could be my middle name! I pondered waiting and scheduling some friends to help, do a little man bonding, I know a week will not make or break my time line. But, in the end curiosity and get 'er done won out. Put the frame back up on jacks and used my skate board to get the diff under the car. Used the engine hoist and leveler to work it in to place. There will be a little chassis touch up after this, but it is complete.
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[F500guy]

Set for delivery tomorrow, the torque wrench was a prime day deal I guess, what ever that helps me for.
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[DanQ]

I see you were the last delivery on his truck. Mine arrived 5/29 and mine was right in the middle, so I could see a Roadster, another Hot Rod, and a Daytona in the back (front?) and even a kit airplane waaaay in the front he said. Customers are not allowed to climb into the trailer, so I could not get a closer look.

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[F500guy]

Actually, I just noted the date and my ride was not picked up until early June. But he did deliver some plane parts just before me!

[Windsor]

I see you were the last delivery on his truck. Mine arrived 5/29 and mine was right in the middle, so I could see a Roadster, another Hot Rod, and a Daytona in the back (front?) and even a kit airplane waaaay in the front he said. Customers are not allowed to climb into the trailer, so I could not get a closer look.

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Deepest in isn't necessary the last stop, surprisingly.

I've seen video of them (Stewart Delivery) digging a roadster+frame out of the truck and gliding it over one or more other vehicles on the way to the extenders hanging off of the open door.

[F500guy]

Got a couple supplies and filled up the Differential. I have 1/2 QT of diff fluid available, local delivery handout only. That stuff is expensive, be nice if they packaged it in half quarts, since seems there is always plenty left over, and always some spilled in the catch can. Added the friction modifier, all got at the ford dealer.
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Picked up some grease and lubed the front end joints, did have to back off one nut on the upper A-Arm because it was to tight and would not accept any grease. There is a note in the manual about that, so check that before you pull the Zirk fitting, don't pull the fitting first, then realize it still does not work until you back the nut off a bit. Save your self a step. There is a lot of little "odds and ends" in the manual, so I have been double checking my work thru the manual, even If I think I know what the end goal is. GOOD SAFETY TIP!

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[F500guy]

Started working on the rear suspension, not sure if this is common or I am just lucky, but the lower Arm was out of alignment by over 1/8 inch.

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I ended up Trimming the bushing shoulders-Front side of the front, rear of the back. I also trimmed the metal sleeve in the front bushing 1/16 inch. I then added washers on front side of rear attachment and back side of the front attachment. I did do a little spreading of the rear brace, but really did not achieve much with that as it is to stiff and sprung back. I am happy with the final results, I will do the same to the other side but it took a bit of work a couple hours for sure.

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[F500guy]

Got the front Suspension all wrapped up. I found a steering rack bushing and extra cotter pins that I was short in a bag that was with some steering parts and POL shipment parts, not sure why I did not see it earlier, as I was looking thru that box numerous times. With new torque wrench, the Hub nut was a breeze!

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Items back from powder coating
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Working thru rear suspension, ready for torque and brakes
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Couple questions for others:
1) I am a washer fan, not sure how else to say it but a nut or bolt with out a washer bugs me. I found some bolts are not the best length to accommodate washers, insufficient final thread sticking out of the nut. I have a bunch of AN washers, thick and thin that I am using, am I over engineering this?

2) There is a mis-drilled mounting hole in the pedal box front Al panel, would that be an option to ask for a replacement. Not building a garage queen, but that is the first place the eyes will go when the hood is up. Just thinking it would be nice to be clean, otherwise I will have to do a unique rivet pattern to cover.
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[OB6]

2) There is a mis-drilled mounting hole in the pedal box front Al panel, would that be an option to ask for a replacement. Not building a garage queen, but that is the first place the eyes will go when the hood is up. Just thinking it would be nice to be clean, otherwise I will have to do a unique rivet pattern to cover.
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Are you referring to one of the holes drilled for the self-tapping screws? If so, you'll find several among most panels that are not in an ideal place. I'd just use a rivet there and move on. I'm sure FFR would sell you a new panel.

[maclonchas]

I would just put a rivet in that spot and move on wit the build. I am not so sure you will be able to see that spot once the body is on and the engine is in place. It is pretty tight in that area.

Thanks

Bill

[danmas]

I also intend to cover a lot of that up with heat shield when I get done.

[F500guy]

Rear Suspension Completed, no issues for me.
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Started foot box Aluminum. Driver side is a bit of a challenge, but I don't mind sheet metal stuff to much. Fire wall drilled, inside done, working thru the remaining parts. Ordered more Clecos 50 is my magic number, I only had 30, with so many interlocking panels in the driver side at odd angles I want to keep them secure as I worked thru it. I will make and install a brace in the middle of the fire wall as others have done and I think that will add a lot of stiffness to the fire wall. I was contemplating making one out of a bunch of .063 stuff I have around, but don't think it will be necessary and pretty satisfied with the kit part with the extra brace. I have the Forte throttle set up, I will brace that if needed. Plan to get them all drilled so I can finish them.

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Time to prep my neglected race car and Miata for some track time...ZOOM ZOOM:D

[F500guy]

Nearly done drilling and fitting Driver side foot box panels. As others have mentioned, had to trim a fair amount from the inboard panel-to-A panel, it overhung almost 1/2 inch. I call this a slog, mainly because I am taking my time and determining what each panel will need as I get it set up. I plan to do some bed liner stuff on the road/tire exposed sides as they come up. I also replaced the bolts on the footbox front with chrome button heads

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Got the pedals installed-Note to self-clean out the 14-20 threads on the pedal cross brace before you put it in, much easier as they were mucked up from powder coating. I added some red flair to the bare parts.

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Got the steering shaft mocked up, I will need to figure the EPS location and mounting. I did have to buy 2 unique knuckles and parts for my steering- 1) 3/4 weld-on round to the 9/16-36 manual steering rack (from Speedway)
2) 11/16 36 teeth to 3/4 DD to connect the shaft to the motor input side (direct from Borgeson)
3) 3/4 round metal 12 inch stock that I will cut down to connect the steering rack knuckle to the EPS motor out put shaft knuckle (McMaster car)

Will submit pictures when I make that up. I hope to weld on a bracket to the lower 3/4 tube and connect to the main 4 inch frame tube. This thought process is still in the works, so subject to change.

[F500guy]

Progress, with some mis-steps along the way. If I can save 1 person the headache, then I will be happy. All is good in the end, but took twice as long for these items.

Breeze Battery box:missed the part in the instructions that said to leave 11/16 inch between the passenger side frame tube and the box. So after first install, I tried to put the the battery hold down thru and it would not fit. So, I slotted the mounting holes in the box to allow it to slide over and fit the battery hold down. I did have trouble drilling the lowest hole, did not get square up with the tube, so that rivnut is epoxied in. The other 4 are rock solid, so not to worried about it, the Rivnuts are 1/4-20. I know some have gust tapped the holes or used rivits provided, I want as much auxiliary items removable as possible so I chose the RivNuts
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Next Up, the Brake Bias adjuster install. Thought I had that nailed, but reviewing build threads I saw the location of the fuse panel, I had thought it was the other side of the foot box. Oh? Sure enough my first install was where the fuse panel went. So further review and found a new location. All, is good!. Note for others, if you buy a adjuster knob, I would go with Tilton and the Tilton 90 deg adapter, I had to drill out the tilton adapter to fit the wilwood cable.

First Attempt
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Final fit up
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Still slogging thru Al panels-85% done with drilling for passenger compartment
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[F500guy]

Real life is getting in the way of fun, and soon other types fun (Hunting, Fishing)and real life will be getting more in the way of progress. Today I got the back wall of the cockpit finished, not happily and not pleased with the fit, will I be screwed down the road?

Real struggle started with the driver rear quarter, tough to line up. then the back wall would not go low enough unless I cut the bottom bend off, which I did not want to do. So I mounted it about 1/4 plus inches high to maintain the the bend lines to mach the rear quarter panels. But then that left the contours not matching the actual frame. Big gap and unable to rivet to the small vertical 3/4" tube at the top and when i put the rear side panel on, gaps everywhere. I can make filler panels to clean up the gaps, but I am worried about the overall height and the fact that the rear side panel does not even come close to matching.

1) Should I just run with it and make filler panels
2) make a new rear side panel to better match the cockpit wall
3) Am i screwed when I put the body on because the wall is now to tall.

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Any opinions welcome!

[edwardb]

It's a little hard to tell a lot because your pictures are pretty dark. But you need those quarter panels properly located for the body to sit correctly on the bulb seal. What you have now -- with the big gaps, etc. -- seems problematic to me. The cockpit back wall should be located so that the bottom edge of the harness slots are slightly below the the top edge of the 3/4" tube behind. That's intentional and indicates the right height. Then your quarter panels should align into that with the lower edge along the upper trunk floor and the upper edge slightly above the upper 3/4" tube going to the back. Here are a couple pictures which maybe help. Don't be confused by the filler panels on the inside of the upper trunk floor. That's something several of us have done. Not required at all. Sorry I don't have a picture without those.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Aluminum%20Panels/.highres/IMG_4061_zpsjjf4eccj.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Aluminum%20Panels/.highres/IMG_4061_zpsjjf4eccj.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Aluminum%20Panels/.highres/IMG_3889_zps0moskqma.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Aluminum%20Panels/.highres/IMG_3889_zps0moskqma.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)

[F500guy]

Thanks for the input!

I just went out again and played with it and without cutting some off the bottom, (like the bent tap plus some) that panel is not going to sit much lower. In order to make it similar height to the rear quarter panel and match that contour, I have most of the square tube across the top for the belt feed thru exposed.

Looks like I will probably look at body fit time and expect to do a lot of trimming on that panel. I will keep the profile of the quarter panel as delivered so as not to create a cascade of problems.

Any others have that kind of issue where the rear panel sits to tall?

[John Ibele]

I know, you asked for response from those who may have a similar problem, not those who didn't. But I did find the sort of picture Paul referred to , which is a shot of the trunk without a (user-fabricated) inner panel in place. It also gives you a decent reference to the frame in multiple spots. You should be able to click on the photo and zoom in if desired. Everything Paul mentions matches what you see in my photo as well. The puzzle for me is your third photo, which appears to suggest that the cockpit rear is positioned more or less correctly, and doesn't have more material above the seat belt cutouts than it should. But perhaps these photos will help you sort through to find the source of the problem. Hope that helps, good luck.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49437626922_3095c9a5ba_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ijCL6Y)
Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2ijCL6Y) by John Ibele (https://www.flickr.com/photos/familycobra/), on Flickr

Front side of rear cockpit wall, for reference:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51367841861_78696c1405_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2mgcBKT)
Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2mgcBKT) by John Ibele (https://www.flickr.com/photos/familycobra/), on Flickr

[F500guy]

Thanks John, I will move on and trim as needed when body fit time arrives. Unfortunately my body is stored and not east to get for a quick check.

[cv2065]

Thanks John, I will move on and trim as needed when body fit time arrives. Unfortunately my body is stored and not east to get for a quick check.


I'd probably spend some time finding out where the issue is versus trimming later. When one thing changes, so does a host of other things. How were the panels affixed from FFR? These panels fit pretty close as is, and as Paul told me long ago early in my build thread, they shouldn't need trimming. If you took pics before removing everything, maybe that can help out as well?

[F500guy]

Thanks, for the idea I just review that and the tape residue lines up exactly as shipped on the parts, but you can see in the picture the panel as shipped is extending out into the cockpit about 4 inches, when it is pushed into final place, it pops up the whole wall about 1/2 inch.

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[F500guy]

Moving slowly forward with some sheet metal work. mapped out the cubby, still staring at it waiting for the "Go Big" flare to shoot out. I originally wanted a smaller 1, will see what Ideas I have to maybe make it removable before I decide the size.
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Mapped out the drop trunk as well, staring at that as well before I cut it.
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Also, did temporary gas tank install. no joke the passenger side strap is kind of a bear, after all the bending, still not ready for final tightening and a bunch of powder coat has popped off. Both straps would not take the 3/8 bolt, had to pound a punch in to open the holes. Had to BFH the 3/4 tube on the passenger side to fit the tank in.

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I have noted that my open boxes list has increased, and my parts sitting around for final install is growing. Seems every time I turn around I have to open a box for 1or 2 items to test, then they never make it back to the original box and end up in tote on the shelf and hope I find them later:confused:

[cc2Arider]

Making good progress Lance!

Craig C

[F500guy]

After thinking on it for a couple days, decided to go big on the drop trunk, I will take it all the way back to the step in the trunk and make a smaller removable cubby behind the seat. Thanks John for the pictures on the "What Size Cubby" thread, it was the look I was thinking I would like.

Lance

[egchewy79]

while you're cutting out the drop trunk, consider making the hole over your fuel pickup/pump larger as well. My AN fittings were significantly forward to the precut hole and it would have been impossible to get a wrench on them if I ever need to undo them.

[F500guy]

Today I was able to put together a McMansion for my trunk monkey. Ended up with 14 1/2" x 24" x 5" deep. Tried to minimize the work of the metal and minimize the shipping of parts.
1) 24"x6" sheets for the front no bends and it rivets to the step down wall, overlapping 1 inch
2) 24"x6" , 1 inch bend at the top to mount to the floor at the back, trimmed around the "V" Frame
3) 24"x 16 " floor bent 3/4" lip for front and back to mount to the 2 pieces
4) (2) 6.5" x 16" Bent top 3/4" to catch the slip under the bottum tray, and then 3/4" to catch the top and 3/4" each end to catch both front and back pieces

Pretty happy, still need to finish drilling for rivets, I did not cut the area around the frame bars so well, so I will need a little filler.

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Also added a mod to my HF sheet metal brake-Notice the bolts in the ends, really helps hold the material and mostly keeps the bar from sliding when bending 24 inch long sheets. I also love the sheet metal shear, this was a HF dream tool-35 bucks about 13 years ago, have cut as thick as .090 aluminum, never even changed the cutting tip yet. A little WD40 and it cuts thru .040 like butter. The Milwaukee skill saw is pretty handy for cuts that are not as convenient for the shear. Also the round file to round off the inside of the bend corners.

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[Bill Elliott]

nice progress, you were the next delivery after mine, same truck I believe. Eric was the driver. I like that you are equipping with trunk monkey, a forgotten feature.

[MPTech]

Looks like a very nice build. Keep the progress and pics coming!

I didn't see it in your list of parts, but if you don't have the Russ Thompson Throttle Pedal yet, it's a game changer, especially with the Mech Throttle. I also suggest the drop trunk mod and the cubby hole (I made my own of both of these and love them)

Good Luck!

[F500guy]

Looks like a very nice build. Keep the progress and pics coming!

I didn't see it in your list of parts, but if you don't have the Russ Thompson Throttle Pedal yet, it's a game changer, especially with the Mech Throttle. I also suggest the drop trunk mod and the cubby hole (I made my own of both of these and love them)

Good Luck!

Thanks,
I have the RT throttle pedal and penciling in a cubby as well.

[F500guy]

Progressing slow, but going forward. i believe the bulk of the Al panel drilling and fitting is done, I think. Time for panel clean up and finishing. I had a challenging couple experiences with the circle cutter, could not get the rear cockpit wall on my drill press, so tried to use it with a hand drill, that was less than optimal, ended up using it as a hand scribe, took a little more effort but a lot less drama! I also tried to use it with out the center drill bit to cut the cover for my fuel sender access on the drill press, some drama, make sure your work is secure and go really, really slowly!

Fuel Access covers done
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I Also completed the cubby, a little small but really just wanted a phone ,tissue, hat, odds and ends storage like note pad and pen kind of stuff. I also wanted to have it removable for future access to roll bar bolt, seat belt stuff. Plan to add a USB charge port inside and will add Velcro to the bottom of it to stick to the trunk carpet and carpet it to match the trunk carpet. Hopefully it will pan out or I will mod it later if that does not work as expected.

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little slow til November due to other commits, but will keep updating as available.

lance

[F500guy]

Got my Tires this week, trip to my favorite race car tire shop (can't imagine getting these done at Les Schwab) and there you go! I have these Falkens on My Miata as summer tires, they are very good, I really like them and the look great! Sometimes the little things help to make it look like real progress!

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[Railroad]

What is the tread rating on those? They look like a lot of traction, there.

[F500guy]

What is the tread rating on those? They look like a lot of traction, there.

These are 200TW tires, they are pretty grippy in the dry and drive-able in the rain. (well with 180 HP on the Miata:rolleyes:)

[F500guy]

Well, before Hunting season gets really going, I managed to get a milestone, at least for me. My son helped me today and we got the foot boxes mounted. Second set of hands for that part was a great help. Got both driver and passenger floors installed as well. So, this is where we put the seats in and made "Vroom, Vroom" sounds. Not real happy with the driver side inside wall, it is done but kind of an ugly hole where the 2 panels and the dash converge. I may just make it a bigger hole with a backing plate and route my clutch hydraulic line thru it.
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Last week I finished up my fuse panel mounting, made it removable as well for future servicing. AS others have done, I added a leg on the back end to help support the bracket.
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Next up-Brake lines, fuel line (Carb with mechanical pump) and my biggest challenge is the electric steering, since I used a different set up than most. But, maybe I will have some nice venison to eat while I ponder such thinks!

[zee]

Looking great!

[F500guy]

In between Hunting trips (I got no deer on first one but was lucky enough to get a second deer tag this year-Getting difficult to get Mule deer tags in Oregon these days-About 3 year wait most of the time and so to come up empty is a real bummer).

Brake lines done, just need to complete the final securing and wait a day or 2 to make sure nothing leaks. Bleeding went well, like I do with my Miata, open all the vents do a couple pedal pumps and walk away for a while, come back to puddles under each caliper, then use a bottle to go around several times and push on the pedal. I did not take pictures of my scrap pile, it was plentiful! Used a combo of the supplied hard line and some Ni-cop for some of the more complicated stuff. Also used a hand flaring tool for the 6 or so flares that i had to do, worked good after about 20 practice flares. Still need to complete the permanent reservoir mounting bracket, this was temporary to be able to test the brakes.
I plan on wrapping the rear feed in heat shield where it goes down the front of the foot box and also use hi temp brake fluid so should be ok.

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Started ordering parts for fuel set up-no filter of the suction, just hope to reuse the original pick up screen.
1) I plan to drill original tank insert for 6 AN bulk head fitting with hose barbs
2) Use gates submersible fuel hose for pick up
3) Jumper original supply and return barbs together using kit supplied parts so I don't have to mangle them.
4) flexible PTFE lined hose from tank to the hard line using either compression-to-AN or AN flare with coupling nut sleeve (Got both to see what I like)
5) SS 3/8 hard line down the driver side to front of engine area
6) Flexible PTFE to connect to mechanical fuel pump

Build on!

[finleycraft]

Great progress! With the engine delivered a year ahead of schedule are you hoping to get the body into paint next year sometime or still wait until '25? Either way, can't wait to see the future updates and finished car. :D

[F500guy]

Great progress! With the engine delivered a year ahead of schedule are you hoping to get the body into paint next year sometime or still wait until '25? Either way, can't wait to see the future updates and finished car. :D

Well,probably not until '25. Originally wanted to spread large payments out over 3 years. I got some great deals on short term borrowing, But i need to close out in '24 and maybe first summer of '25 drive in gel coat then source painting after that.

[maclonchas]

Great job on the brake lines.

[jklapp]

Great work so far. My roadster arrives on 12/16, so a few weeks to go. I also bought the Wilwood E-Brakes so interested to see how tackle mounting and wiring them. I'm also curious about electronic power steering - I'm starting with a manual rack, but second guessing myself now.

[F500guy]

Got some progress going this week. I was out of the garage for Thanksgiving and I also drove the Miata to Las Vegas for the F1 race. Fun drive and just in time before the weather turned!

Got the main fuel rail in, not real happy with the beginning or the end (basically any where I had to bend it)! I tried 3/16 SS but was 80 % done and messed up the bend, no going back with that. Off to Amazon for some Nicopp line this time. Got it done and should be functional, maybe not pretty... I also had to Mod the fuel pick up to get an AN6 fitting on it.

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I also got the rear lower trunk and drop trunk permanently installed. I ended up putting Raptor bed liner on the under side of all the cockpit and trunk aluminum.

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Next up, my Son is headed over on Friday help gas tank install and to drop the motor in so we can measure for the EPAS install, throttle linkage, clutch hydraulic line.

Unfortunately, life will reduce build progress in December. I will be visiting Family in Leander Texas the week before Christmas, flying home on Christmas day. If anyone has time in the area and would not mind a visit, PM me. I will have some time to visit as the Grand kids will still be in school for part of the week.

Build on!

[F500guy]

Got the motor installed, was a bit of work and did not go as easy as some have had. This was the first install so I can start measuring things and will probably need to be pulled again for some fab work. Notes:
1) Did have to modify the engine block and the mount to fit. A little grinding on the mount and the boss on the engine to allow the mount to sit proper, 427 (dart block)
2) Note to others, keep the mounts loose until the motor is in and sitting on the mounts with the bolts and the guide pins in, I had to loosen them to get the bolts and pins to drop in frame.
3) if any side to side adjustments are needed, I will have to open up the guide pin slots as both driver and passenger side are maxed out at the top of the slot.
4) Probably close to 1/2 inch transmission lift needed at the mount to get the tilt correct.
5) tried to put the front end on the floor and rear on my skate boards, but hoist would not clear the front suspension so had to actually jack the front up about 4 inches to clear.
6)*****LOOKS AWSOME*****

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Also got the gas tank installed, I will re-iterate the passenger side hanger is a real PITA and does not fir well, may still rework that one but it is tight and sturdy.
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[egchewy79]

congrats. I remember that being a huge accomplishment getting the motor in. one step closer.

[F500guy]

So, after spending a day or more clean my work area-stuff was getting out of hand...I got the Throttle linkage set up, nice package from Mike Forte. I did make a couple adjustments to my install. I found the foot box lever needed about 1/5 inch taken out to clear the lid of the foot box. I then used a roll pin across the top to close it up. I also drilled the levers for 10-32 set screws instead of the roll pins.

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I also decided to spend more money before thinking things thru on the throttle pedal. I got one of the last RT pedals from Breeze and the set up did not leave enough foot side as deep as I wanted the pedal in the box, so I got a straight bar to use from MMW and still was not happy. Then, the light bulb went off in my head and decided to reverse the RT pedal, required re-drill the pedal locating hole, but a simple solution and really improved the clearance. Pretty happy with the pedal set up now, will still need to get my racing shoes on, but I will be much more comfortable.

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Also got my last POL item, the passenger roll bar so I got the roll bars fitted and drilled. Unfortunately the I repacked and stored as I will not need them for a while.

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[egchewy79]

if you haven't done so, consider creating a flat spot on the throttle linkage where the set screw goes in. it doesn't take much pressure from your foot to get a set screw to move as I found out. I ended up doing roll pins.
If you haven't considered it, look into the boltless option for your roll bars from 520speedworks. it's a nice option to eliminate the frankenstein bolt on the rear member of the roll bar.

[F500guy]

if you haven't done so, consider creating a flat spot on the throttle linkage where the set screw goes in. it doesn't take much pressure from your foot to get a set screw to move as I found out. I ended up doing roll pins.
If you haven't considered it, look into the boltless option for your roll bars from 520speedworks. it's a nice option to eliminate the frankenstein bolt on the rear member of the roll bar.

To late on the roll bar, I agonized over that one, in the end I feel better with the bolt over all. I will probably dimple the throttle rod when I get to finishing touches, good idea.

[F500guy]

Kind of jumping around on my build, but there are so many little things to do that I think it pays to work the little items when you can. This week i installed the seat heaters, pretty easy but a couple of observations.
1) not much glue on some of the pieces so they came apart really easy-good for inserting the heaters, bad for future durability.
2) The leather has some marks from just sitting in the car to test stuff. the leather wraps around the mounting frame in some spots, it will rub on the floor. I plan on adding sliders, (Esparco) but if you don't add sliders, I would recommend a spacer on the bottom of the seat frame.

I purchased the water proof seat heaters from Mike Forte. I trimmed about 2 inches off the back piece and about 4 inches off the butt pad piece. Dis-assemble was pretty easy, pull off the plastic clips and on the bottom pad, pull the back Velcro piece back from the foam, only a light glue job. I ran both wires out the rear inside corner of the seat for either wiring along the inside corner to the dash or pop into the tunnel, not sure which yet. I still need to re-glue some of what i pulled apart, so waiting on supplies.
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I also made a charcoal canister. Used 1.5 in ABS plastic-2 caps, 1 female slip joint, 1 male slip joint, 2 small sections of pipe and 2 hose barbs(1-5/16 inlet from the tank vent and 1-3/8 outlet for some hose I had laying around in my carb package. Got some carbon aquarium pad, but it was not porous enough to breath thru, so I cut 1/2 square chunks and stuffed in the tube like packing. Flows great when I blow thru it. i plan to use the filter holder to secure it to the frame behind the gas tank.

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[F500guy]

Took some measurements of differential and engine angles, kind of bummed. 351W block and IRS. Looks like I will need to add spacers on Transmission for some better angles. Laymen terms, diff points down toward the front 1.8 deg. Engine trans also points down toward rear, so with 1 3/4 to 1 7/8 shim stock to bring the tail of the transmission up to get to about 1 deg between the trans and the diff.If I want better, I would have to look at lower engine mounts.

Curious what the recent cars are coming off the line with the IRS differential angle.

Any clearance concerns for that later in the build with the transmission boosted that high?

Lance

(EDIT:Settled on 1.5 Inches of Shim, the 1.75 Plus was just to much. Angles are about 1 deg delta and if the diff rotates up at all under acceleration it will make it better)194228

[F500guy]

Really have been working on things, but it seems my started and not yet done list just gets longer, waiting parts, coatings or my own decision for path forward. I hate to lock some stuff down until I know there is little likely hood of change later. I have ordered header bolts because with my EPAS installed, difficulty in installing headers. But, it will be full removable with the exception of a bracket welded on the frame 4 inch tube.

I will be using the kit supplied gasket until it is deemed UN-worthy, in case I need to remove headers later. Got These Bolts;
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I am a kind of a hack at fabricating and welding, so not as pro-looking as I would like, but fully functional. Still have some trimming and finessing to do and then determine coating for the bits.

Proof I was working:
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Penciled in results;
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[F500guy]

Progress, despite the storm in Portland area this week, did delay some metal I had ordered to finish up my EPAS, so will get back to that next week. In the mean time I got a few parts in and some stuff back from powder coat. I can now prep my transmission since I don't plan on pulling the engine again if I can help it.

Installed my 3 pin hall effect sensor for the transmission, it goes in the speedo hole. Kind of a PITA, and if you wonder why the support bolt hole is ground down on the driver side of the transmission, it is to clear the sensor. The instruction neglect to say that the standard bolt will not work that came with transmission, so off to the hardware store yet again for hex type round bolt slightly longer than the stock hex bolt. This is the speed sensor for the EPAS.
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I completed brake reservoir install
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Installed the fake parking brake. This was kind of a PITA, simple does not fit well as assembled in the manual. Swapped the bolts that hold the handle assembly so the small button head is against the trans tunnel, and used the other hole at the front to mount the bracket. no clearance issues that way. Added a spring with a couple attachment brackets to make it feel functional. Took way longer than should have...
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Also installed the shifter handle, another small exercise. FFR shifter had no nuts and the bolts seemed to be metric, So I did not have any myself. Ended up throwing in the scrap bolt bin and grabbing a couple 5/16 button heads in the kit supplied fasteners that had nylock nuts. Not sure why they would include the bolts and no Nuts
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Also secured the drive shaft to the diff, loctite (Blue) and torqued

Ordered more wiring supplies to prepare for that part. According to Tremec, the neutral safety switch is supposed to have a relay and can't handle long term current directly in the line for the start solenoid. SO, I will do that and also do the same for back up light. I ordered the pigtails for the sensors and relays.

[cc2Arider]

Looking good Lance :)

I'll be making a similar reservoir mount. Did you drill for riv-nuts (or nut-serts) 1/4-20?

Also, was your final shifter located about the mid-way dimension side-to-side in the trans tunnel, or did it favor the passenger side by a small amount...perhaps 3/4"?

Craig C

[F500guy]

The Shifter is slightly to the side and I did use 1/4 20 nutsert for the reservoir mount. I used some flat Al stock from Mcmaster 6061 2.5x12 1/8 thick and cut the length to size and then powder coat.

[F500guy]

Today I am waiting for the Ice to melt, but I did lock down my transmission the other day before the ICE hit. Filled with fluid, added drive line safety hoop bolted down with all my shims. I had to add a 1/2" shim on the hoop to clear the drive line, that also meant another trip to the hardware store as the supplied bolts were insufficient.

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[F500guy]

Got the clutch lines installed and bled. Made a little bracket to support both the vent and supply lines-used a bulk head fitting on the vent line to pass thru the plate. A little drama and rework and learning.
First issue was my master cylinder seemed to not be working well, hardly pump and seemed many times I would pump the pedal I got very little or no consistent fluid flow. Talked with FF and they were going to help with new. Decided to source from Speedway, same item (may kick myself later)but got it in 3 days so I could proceed. (tore apart the old and maybe a little rough edge on the seal at 1 spot).
Next up was my learning-Tried to outsmart the bleed process, had a brake line vent mounted to the bleed line. Got lots of fluid, but the line was to small. the clutch requires a big (huge compared to brakes) fluid push to get the air bubble to move out, so ended up scrapping my bleed rig and did it the sloppy way as prescribed in the instructions with concurrent puddles and brake fluid all over the place, of course spilling my now full cup of fluid while trying to tighten the fitting while it was immersed in fluid (doing this by myself of course). I then had to re-hook up my vent line to the bulkhead fitting on the support plate, dribbling fluid the whole time down my arm. Got done and cleaned up and happy with final result.

Started with this, that did not work, notice the brake bleeder at the top.
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This is what I ended up with, which in hind site may have worked better with the bigger bleed valve. But for now, the bracket just provides a great support.
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And routing from the clutch, used some rubber fuel line I had around to protect the lines from chaffing-per the manual recommendation.
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Routing from the driver compartment
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finishing up some EPAS stuff, here is my brackets and trimmed lower steering shaft which I just got pro-welded today so at least that is top notch! still need to mount the power controller box somewhere up front.
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on to the dash and wiring as I whittle away at the minor details, powder coating and fit ups.

[F500guy]

AS I continue to explore more building opportunities, my attention span is a moving target these days so I decided to work on some wiring stuff. But, like many things along the way I needed to understand where the dash was going to be located and room for stuff behind and under it. first i did the glove box, worked pretty well, the lock is a little rough so I may need to sand the straight edges of the latch so it operates smother but looks good. had to enlarge the holes in the carbon as they would not allow the screws to pass. This was good because one of the hing holes was off so I was able to enlarge it to better align with the plate and the rear box. I also had to lengthen the slots in the door backing plate to allow the metal to sit better on the back side of the door before I glued it. A little detail felt or something inside later and it will be a nice addition. The whole dash is pretty nice, so pleasantly surprised at the quality. Now I can set the dash and know where I can put things behind it.
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Wiring is going to be exciting, not to concerned about it as my previous life I was a well healed electronics tech. But, looking at the dash wiring harness, there is a little part of me that says-"just bust it open and go wire by wire". But the other part of me says salvage what you can and minimize work load....

I started with the rear harness, got it completed and tested the rear lights and brake converter. All good so far. used duetsch connectors, my go to type that I plan to use during the build.
I landed the converter on the gas tank, I wanted it in the back so I could tap off the brake wire for my third light option. running the trunk wires near the roll hoop mounting point when I install the floor.

Added- Tranny mini harness that has the neutral safety switch and the reverse switch that will go to relays in the dash
Added- Power wire for trunk lights and USB charger that will go into CUBBY
Added (for later option)- Third brake light wire that if I complete that, will be on a bracket attached between driver/passenger roll bar
Added (for later option)- Reverse light wiring that will run from relay in the dash to the same local as the 3rd brake light
Added a ground connection-tapped off each tail light ground and ran a screw to the frame at both corners, discreet little connection
kept the fuel pump wiring in case of future ( i am running mech fuel pump) need so I will leave all that active with fuse pulled for future

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Also ran main and ground from battery, but have not dressed those cables yet, still analyzing my power feed wants and needs.

Build on!

[F500guy]

Completed the front Harness today and tested all the lights with the forward harness wiring. Again choose to use Duetsch connectors. There was no ground wire in the existing harness for the driving/turn signal lights, so I split the ground wire off the light into 2 wires so I could use a 4 pin connector and ran a ground wire between the passenger side and driver side and then added ground at each corner of the frame. For the headlights I upgraded 1 size of connector (DTP series) for the higher amp. only 3 wires so installed a plug on the 4th hole of the connector. Hopefully I got the length correct and used the mounting bracket, ended the harness for the blinkers about 6 inches off the frame and the headlights about 9 inches off the frame.

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I also installed the wiper motor on the fire wall. Things seemed a little flimsy there so I added a re-enforcement plate that I riveted and bonded in place with Epoxy. I also used rivnuts for the motor bracket bolts so it can be removed from the engine side and not have to get behind the dash. I also ordered a connector pigtail for the wiper motor. little expensive I did not realize it was coming from England, but should be long enough to slip into a fire wall grommet for wiring behind the dash.

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Dash Fitting and drilling next so I can tackle the dash wiring. Decided I was going to go wire-by-wire with new connectors. Since the new gauges all have sensor wires and connectors supplied with the gauges and all the gauge stuff in the RF harness is wired wrong any way, I think about 1/2 of the wires in the large main connectors in the RF harness will have a significant number of clipped wires, so it continues!

[F500guy]

Well, decided to take the long road for the wiring, so lot of trimming and re-doing the existing. Making some good progress, maybe about 50% done over all. I will be working on this I suspect until end of March. I want the wiring done before first start, seen lots of post about "I'll get back and clean it up later". I hope to have it cleaned up before I start. With the EPAS and the EPB, a lot of stuff needed to be reworked. I was not familiar with the Delphi connectors so needed some things for those and my own learning curve.
I finished and tested the wiper motor. In the process, made a couple errors. I was assembling my wiper motor harness, wanted to have a connector to the dash switch so the it can be unplugged with out pulling the wires from the switch. I crossed a couple wires, first time I have done that with the Duetsch connectors, so some mild trouble shooting and redoing some connections before the continuity ended at the plug...ARRRRGH! In the process, I pulled off the Park switch and lost the connector that attaches it to the housing and broke the plastic housing as well. $25.00 shipped from Moss Motors and I will get it all fixed up. I was able to hold it in place and verify full functionality of the switch high, low and park.

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Main Power is completed from the battery to the kill switch. I tied the alternator to the battery side of the kill switch. That is supposed to save the 1-wire alternator if the kill switch is open when running.

I removed several feet from the EPB harness and still have to do the control switch side, waiting on some supplies for the little wires before I hack them up, but that will have several feet removed as well. I placed the brake controller behind the glove box, will run the 40 amp service to the firewall fuse box and the 5 amp service from my auxiliary cabin fuse panel that I installed on the passenger side.
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I am enjoying this step of the build, right up my alley. No rush and I think I have done everything 2-3 times as I determine better routing or deciding to combine things in the harness runs. I drilled 2 holes initially in the firewall per the build manual. Used 1 for the rear harness, 1 will be the main power drops, start solenoid from the RF harness to the starter and all the instrumentation from the engine. I drilled a 3rd hole over on the passenger side that will have my EPAS sensors and control wiring, EPB feed and power wiring and power for the additional cabin fuse panel, so will be a somewhat organized layout.

[F500guy]

Still working on the wiring, I really over complicated it I am sure especially with the added EPAS and EPB. Probably about 50% done, milestone today I did power up my fuse blocks and did not let any smoke out! Completed the relay board this week and wired and tested both the back up light relay and safety start relay, which is either transmission neutral or clutch and an option for a bypass switch if I decide to add it later.

I decided to put the seat heater relay behind the dash, so that wiring will need to be done to get to the seats and shorten up the control side. Locked down all the primary wiring and engine side of the firewall.

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[Bill Elliott]

What have you decided to do for your backup light? Why is a relay needed for it? Just asking because I plan on using some kind of led type light for backup.

[Nigel Allen]

What have you decided to do for your backup light? Why is a relay needed for it? Just asking because I plan on using some kind of led type light for backup.

A relay is definitely not required. The LED current draw will not exceed the rating of the reverse switch. In fact it will barely draw more current than the relay coil, so therefore nothing gained by installing a relay.

Cheers,

Nige

[F500guy]

Like Nigel said, the current draw is pretty small so the transmission switch should handle it just fine...But since this is my first car wiring project I went over the top and put a reverse light relay in behind the dash. Kind of liking the learning part of this so I thought it would be fun thing to do. The Neutral switch requires a relay, so since I had to do that, I just did a reverse light at the same time.

[F500guy]

Got my dash layout completed, not with out my usual drama, ended up changing my layout like 4 times due to interference with my hoop attachments, but persevered and am pretty happy with it. I got a new ignition switch since the FFR one was like cast metal and I did not like it. But, I practiced 5 times to install and remove the tumbler before I put it in and still had problems and could not get the tumbler seated in the ignition bezel, last time I tried i pulled it out and all the bits came out of the tumbler..:( So I will get another one and try again. Still need to complete the wiring in the back of the dash, all the other wiring in the car (except cable clean up) is done, had my fuse blocks powered up and all circuits except flashers tested. Still need to install supports and grab handle maybe. I decided to anchor the sides, hopefully they will be accessible after the body is on, if not wont be the first or last change of plans, easy enough to remove.

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[Rebostar]

Lance
Great layout on the dashboard. One I havent seen before. I really like the tach as the central gage.

I'll be over in a few days to take more measurements and pics. I'll call first to check your schedule.

Allyn

[F500guy]

knocked out the dash wiring, tested everything out and so far, smoke stayed where it is supposed to be. I really like the speed hut Zero-dimmer, very nice for dash gauge lighting. When you do the set up, make sure your headlight rheostat is maxed or it can not determine the difference between lights on and lights off. Once I figured that out it worked great, remembers the settings in between turning the lights on and off. Unfortunately if I hit my kill switch and it losses the constant power I think it resets... (there was a sale at their web site about today, 15% off so they were under 40.) Another item that is good to have in the rear view mirror. I also installed a low voltage sensor I got from Ron Francis web site, and it seems to work. And i did order a shiny billet horn switch from amazon, the black button looks out of place and the back nut will not stay on.

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[F500guy]

Got a little bogged down on finishing touches for my dash. With the ignition switch issues and decision conundrum I took some time to think it out. Got the switch fixed, I updated my original post about that problem.

Next was the Grab handle-Yes or No? Well, decided yes so then was the how. Used some info from a few post and settled on a bracket that I welded up that will screw to the front dash tube. Not a great picture, but shows the plan. I had to do a little tweaking of the brackets because the hinge was exactly where I wanted the bracket to be, so I worked around that a bit. Good thing nothing on these cars is symmetrical, this project fits right in! tried to center the grab handle under the lock and not under the glove box opening. I got the handle off Amazon, stainless steel but had round ends that were too fat for the space between the glove box and the bottom curve of the dash, so a little sanding to the handle ends to skinny them down worked great, they are kind of hidden by the curve so can't really even tell.

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Next Up was the under dash panels. This was another issue were initially wanted to use carbon fiber, but it don't bend and the bottom edge of the dash and the top of the 2' tube are not parallel! So 2 steps forward and 1 step back. After playing with a couple ideas, I settled on a bracket for the 2" tube that will then allow the carbon fiber sheet to sit nicely in the bottom lip of the dash. So, got the passenger side done and now need to do similar for center section and driver side. I also used the little round LED lights for courtesy lights, will have 3 across the under dash panels. I also added a USB charger and a straight up 12 v outlet that I can use for a trickle charger or my data system that I use in the Miata has a power attachment for that and I can move it between cars.

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Onward and forward, targeting first start in about 6 weeks.:cool:

[cc2Arider]

Lookin' good Lance :)

I understand about getting bogged down with the planning and decisions, but when you're done it will be truly your unique Roadster!

Craig C

[Jeff Kleiner]

Next Up was the under dash panels... So, got the passenger side done and now need to do similar for center section and driver side...


A caution: don't make the driver's side permanent yet (if ever). You're going to need access in that area when it comes time to fit the windshield and for final assembly.

Jeff

[F500guy]

Thanks Jeff, It will be on the inside of steering bracket and I plan to keep the outside of the steering shaft open, thanks for the great advice and always supporting the community!

[Rebostar]

Lance
Looks good. When you go to fire it up give me a call and I'll drive over and hold the fire extinguisher;). Sounds like your getting close. I need to score some of those carbon fiber panels. I think you told me where you got'em but I forgot! I have some really great ideas for the lower switch / circuit breaker panel and want to use the carbon fiber. Give a shout if I can help in any way.
Allyn

[F500guy]

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Amazon...

[F500guy]

My son came over this weekend and assisted with the rear Aluminum, so good to be done with that, we got the upper trunk, side walls and rear wall completed
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[F500guy]

I completed the Dash final details, the under dash panels, EPAS controller and installed. I Used modern plastic fasteners for the under dash panel-to-Dash connection. They appear to be pretty good and I am happy. I bought several types to test and settled on a screw in type. The center portion is completely removable while the dash is installed to help access some of the switches and wiring. I installed the EPAS controller under the steering wheel for easy access.
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But, Had 1 issue, hope I can fix without taking it back out-Center under dash light does not work, no voltage on the bulb supply wire....ARRGH!!!

[F500guy]

As a final note, I finally got to test out my EPAS! I dropped the car on the wheels today (Garage door spring broke today and I needed to move the car back for the work) and was able to go lock to lock with my little pinky finger using the steering knuckle! I think I am going to like this!
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[egchewy79]

good tip jeff. I used nutserts to be able to remove the dash supports.

[Rebostar]

Lance, the dash looks awsome. Love where you put the circuit breakers. I ordered several of those carbon fiber panels. I'll use one to drop the center of the dash down to the tunnel cover to install all the switches. One for under the right dash for all the circuit breakers and one under the left dash for the EPS switch panel. Really glad your out front blazing the trail for me!
Allyn

[F500guy]

So, now that it is spring time almost, (had a few days of nice weather any way) my volunteer job picks up and my other household task pick up so build progress probably take a hit. Does not help when I bend installed panels.
I was jacking up to do the lower rad hose and my rubber block on the jack was not well positioned and it skidded to the side and the jack caught the bottom of the F-panel, so it got bent a little bit, enough that i want to replace it. So i ordered a new one.

I did get the radiator installed. Tested the Factory provided overflow tank-Only 30 ounces and does not fit well due to the alternator location. So, having heard all the stories about whether it is big enough or not, for my purpose I decided to go after market canton 1.75 qt with sight tube. I will post another question about clearance at that location on another post.

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Obtained a 90 degree hose to do the elbow off the engine. For the corrugated hose, I added (4) 5/32 stainless rivets around 1 rib at the end of the tube. I got some bolt style clamps to install as well.

Went thru my parts and and cannot find the shoulder bolts for the hood hinges not sure if they would be in the hing parts bag or generic fastner box, but I do not remember seeing them ever and do not have a line item on the inventory. Sourced from McMaster , waiting on delivery

[F500guy]

Lance, the dash looks awsome. Love where you put the circuit breakers. I ordered several of those carbon fiber panels. I'll use one to drop the center of the dash down to the tunnel cover to install all the switches. One for under the right dash for all the circuit breakers and one under the left dash for the EPS switch panel. Really glad your out front blazing the trail for me!
Allyn

Allyn, those are actually the dash gauge setup and adjustment buttons. Includes fuel and tach (2 buttons in the rear) and speedo, clock and dimmer (3 buttons in the front.) But, that would be a good place for the ckt breakers.

[F500guy]

Slowly prepping for first start, maybe this weekend.

1) Added oil, cranked the motor for some pre-lube a few times, I just like being able to turn the key....:eek:
2) installed overflow/recovery tank and filled everything with water. Pulled a plug in the manifold to vent the block.
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3) Secured the wiring harness in front to the radiator shroud with some screws and clamps
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4)Installed trunk struts and started filling all the aluminum gaps so I can install the sound mat.
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5)attached the side pipes, torqued the headers. I will put some hangers at the ball joint as others have done and redo some of the hardware and add gasket sealer later, I know these will be off and on a couple times before I am done and I used the kit provided supplies except the bolts to connect the header to the ball flange, could not find anything in the kit that would work so i got some.
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6) i also decided to re-do rear brake line exit from driver compartment, pulled it to the inside instead of outside the front of the foot box and redid all the rear brake bleeding.
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7) I also ended up re-doing the rear toe link chassis side heim and bolt. I continued to have play in the toe link on the passenger side and traced it down to a loose heim joint. I went ahead and replaced the bolt with a full length shank bolt and some good aurora rod ends. Huge difference in those compared to the kit supplied parts and makes me feel better about it. Not cheap, but worth it. I did both passenger and driver side although the passenger side did not have the same issue as the driver side did.

getting ready for starting, I will get some gas this week!

[F500guy]

Was hoping to do first start this weekend, but I could not get the pump to pump. I was able to suck fuel thru to the pump using my lips...., but the pump would not pump. I did not dis-assemble, just ordered a new pump that will get here next week. A little baffled, only thought that comes to my mind is it sitting for a year and the diaphragms wont seal now. I continued on other items.

Started my interior insulation, but I ran out so, on order...Finished the Passenger foot box, started the driver foot box and mostly done with the trunk.
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Made my clutch stop, although not sure if it is important or how to set it up to prevent the throw out bearing from over travel as I can not measure it when installed.
Used a piece of square tube, welded a nut on back side the welded it to the foot box 3/4 tube. Added a rubber end and second nut to lock it after adjusting. Will post on the forum for some input

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[Jeff Kleiner]

You don't have in and out reversed on the pump do ya'? I ask because I've been there ;)

Jeff

[Mike.Bray]

You don't have in and out reversed on the pump do ya'? I ask because I've been there ;)

Jeff

That happened to me one time when I connected the battery backwards. The horn sucked and the radio listened:)

[F500guy]

Thanks, I did check that early on even thought it came 1/2 plumbed from BPE. I also received an Edelbrock pump today, put it right back in the box and submitted a return, the threads were @#$! and the casting looks like it came from a 3rd world country just now learning to make things, not what I expected for a "Made In USA" label.

[Rebostar]

Lance. I had the exact same thing happen to me when I bought a new Holley mechanical pump. It looked like it was made in Pakistan...in a mud hut! I sent it back to Summit and got a Carter. The offer still stands if you want my new Carter pump. If you like it, just keep it and get me a replacement.
Allyn

[zarnold]

Are you certain that the engine was set up for mechanical vs. electric fuel pump? I see the mechanical fuel pump in previous pictures, but how do you test to see if a eccentric was installed on the camshaft? BPE starts all engines (right?), but not necessary using the delivered fuel delivery system.

[F500guy]

There is rub marks on the lever arm and although I am not completely familiar with these, there does appear to be a disk like item that has marks similar to the pump lever that go around it.

[zarnold]

There is rub marks on the lever arm and although I am not completely familiar with these, there does appear to be a disk like item that has marks similar to the pump lever that go around it.

That sounds right. Very weird that the pump would be bad, but I guess it happens.

[F500guy]

https://www.facebook.com/100000226472703/videos/1852023938606833/

hope the Video Link works, but got a running beast today. Big thanks to Rebostar for coming over and helping, he knows his way around these engines way more than me! Had a few issues, some simple water leaks, a bit af questioning about the choke operation, but in the end it seemed to be working OK. Tested the temperature of the fan and thermostat, all worked as expected. Oil pressure and water temperature looked OK.

I wanted to relay my findings on the fuel pump that did not work, got curious and tore it apart and I found that 1 of the suction side diaphragms did not seem to have enough tension to seat, way different than the other one of the pair, so that was my failure analysis...

Issues that will need to address
1) Tach is wonky. Seems to work ok at idle, although I did break out another RPM measuring device and the dash seemed to be about 100-200 high at 900 on my other instrument reading, but was really wonky was revving the motor, it would jump all over the place, up over 5K for a maybe 2-3K Rev, a lot of noise there.

2) The volt meter in the dash was reading 12 volts and my voltmeter on the battery was reading 14.5 with the motor idling. I do have a low volt indicator light in the dash, not sure if that could be impacting the volt meter since it is located at the supply to the volt meter

3) Bottom pulley looked like the wheel of a clown car, so we checked run out, then pulled the pulley and checked the run out on the harmonic balancer, which was good, so will need to get some different bolts and remove the plastic piece that is used to center the pulley, it really does not work well to center the pulley.

4) First Stab at the clutch stop was not enough throw, so I removed my stop to shift the transmission so I could roll the car forward and back, will have to dial that in.

If anyone has had similar issues with solutions, please post. I will contact Speed Hut In the next week or 2. Got the body out of its secure storage location so I can start that.

Next Up alignment, lock down the steering wheel, but in the belts and drive it!

[Rebostar]

Lance
Was great seeing your car again. I hope mine has as few "initial start" issues as you did. Lots of good work done to only have a few issues, none of which were attrutable to your work. A stuck choke, a wonky Tach, and the crank pully improperly installed by Blueprint. I'll be a happy camper if I have a similar 1st run. Also great to meet your son and your freinds.

[F500guy]

Slow progress lately, but progress any way! Working on interior insulation, Dead Pedal and details from first start.

1) Insulation work-Hard part is done, finished the trunk, rear wall and driver and passenger foot boxes. A bit more tedious than anticipated. Will finish the main floor and tunnel after seat install. Note to self, when making a template make sure you don't make a mirror image-it wont stick! I used carpet pieces for some of my templates and that worked great.
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2)Clutch adjustment-Well all great intentions and plans meet reality. I got lucky and ended up with a non-adjustable clutch stop, had to use the full stroke and remove my rubber bumper to get enough throw on the clutch, but it is about perfect so hope it does not change later.

3)Wonky tachometer-Speed hut sent me a filter that I just wired in. Will be testing later today.
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4) Volt meter test-It appears that the volt meter is reading accurately at just above 12 volts at dash power when the alternator and battery is 14.5. I believe the "low Voltage" indicator light sets voltage due to the circuit. I do not think I need to run another separate wire to get the full voltage-but maybe if I take the dash back off I will look at that to separate out the feed to the indicator and the dash power supply. As is everything works so why mess with it.

5) front Pulley-going to run with it, looks much better after we messed with it so I will not concern myself.

6) Installed the dead pedal, did a little mod to Breeze item-drilled some holes to attempt to match the pedals, looks good and feels correct, changed location a couple times to get it correct.

I did reposition the car in my garage to give better access for alignment, so will start that next week.
I have a bit of a conundrum for seats, I asked the question before about time to drill and was recommended to wait for body positioning, but I have a lot of leg room and can not get a solid seat positioning with out mounting. Wanted that for some good pedal evaluation when I go cart. Since I am using sliders, I decided to use the measurements from the F5 installation guide and will be pre-mounting the seats before go-cart.

[F500guy]

completed the alignment this last week. Went OK, except my dyslectic toe reading for the front, had to redo that one! I finished up in a hurry and had to run somewhere. The next day I was looking at the front end, something was not right...put the toe plates back on and said what was I thinking? Re-adjust and check camber and all was good. Front end took some time, but only setting up the caster and keeping camber in in a happy place, also the toe is not exactly where I wanted, seems 1 turn on the tie rod makes a big change, so a little extra toe instead a a little less for hopefully better stability. Hardest part is the rear toe-Trying to ensure there is no side thrust and getting both tires centered.

I use a combination of string, lasers, toe plates and angle measuring device. for my turn plate, a couple floor tiles with some grease between them and my angles marked on the floor. A little ghetto, but works fine.

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Also, before the alignment I was able to set ride height and then adjust corner weight. I think I may like a bit more rear weight, and I only had about 1/2 driver simulated weight in the seat (about 85 pounds).

Next up finish insulation and evaluating seat mounting, I just can not do a proper test drive until I feel good about not sliding around in the seat.

[Rebostar]

Hey Lance
Where did you score those scales? Are they yours? If so can I borrow them in a few months?:rolleyes: Thanks for stopping by on Tuesday, enjoyed the chat.
Allyn

[Jeff Kleiner]

Numbers look good but 2,200 pounds for the go cart alone is kinda' chubby!

Jeff

[F500guy]

You can use them, no problem.

Its just a, baby no diet yet. Not much more to go on, so Will weight again at adult hood!

[F500guy]

Went and dropped the body on for the first time, couple areas of concern but still have some manipulating to do with forum information before I cry UNCLE. I needed body position for my seat mount. Got some great info from Dave about lining up the sliders, best not to use the FF slider measurements for the standard seat, they will leave you out of bounds on the outside of the seat. Not sure, maybe they were meant for the Kirkey seats. I did drill one set of holes in my seat bottum per the FF measurements, then went to see how it sat in the car and it was to far to the outside. Used Dave's measurements and swapped the seat to the passenger side and looks better, will post some pictures after I drill into the floor.

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As seems to be recent, hood drops in, some gaps look over sized with out trimming.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Install the sliders so that they're parallel to the trans tunnel and set the seats so that they are "skewed" on the sliders and point straight ahead. This way the seats will remain equidistant from the tunnel as they move forward and back...if you install the sliders parallel to the chassis tubes as you move the seat forward the front inside corner will hit the tunnel.

Jeff

[JMD]

Install the sliders so that they're parallel to the trans tunnel and set the seats so that they are "skewed" on the sliders and point straight ahead. This way the seats will remain equidistant from the tunnel as they move forward and back...if you install the sliders parallel to the chassis tubes as you move the seat forward the front inside corner will hit the tunnel.

Jeff

Great tip, Jeff. Will remember that when I mount my seats in the next few weeks.

Love the build! Hoping to catch up with you in the next month or so. Were you able to get a good alignment without having to cut the front upper control arm threaded ends? I cut the tubular sections per many suggestions to get Kleiner's recommended front geometry as a starting point but noticed the threaded legs were very close to touching each other. Hoping not to have to cut those to get sufficient negative camber.

[Blitzboy54]

I'm late to the party on this thread. First I really like your dash setup. It's the best CF arrangement I have seen to date. I will likely (definitely?) going to steal a few ideas from you.

Very clean look all around.

[F500guy]

Real life gets in the way of fantasy life sometimes, little shop time the last month or so, but I finally finished off the passenger and driver side insulation and seat mounts. I purchased sparco seat slider-they latch on both sides and seemed a bit more robust, but with that comes a bit more work. Thanks to Jeff and Dave to give me some insight and tips, especially the spotting bit for drilling, no walking bits for that! Not sure yet If i will like them, they seam nice but they raise the seat almost 2 inches by the time all the stuff is added and the carpet is in....time will tell.
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Lay Out:
Minor body fit before I measured out the seat tracks, clearance is tight, having the body on helped locate the seat without interfering. Used Dave's recommendation for this-Inside slider was mounted first along the 4 inch main frame tube, rear hole was offset 3/8 inside center line and front hole was located 3/8 inch outside center line. Both Holes taped for 5/16-24 with out any issues.
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I then placed the seat on the tracks (inside bolted down out side not yet drilled) and adjusted seat to clear the body work. this ended up being 1.75 inches inside the seat frame rail, so I measured that up and drilled the seat frame for the inside track mounting. Then drilled the holes on the seat frame for the out side track about 1 inch inside the seat frame, mounted the out side track to the seat frame. This slider required 1/2 clearance from the seat frame to be able to actuate, so I modded the seat from with 1/2 x 1 inch tube, drilled that to match the seat frame. Drilled the holes 1 bit size over to allow for some wiggle to ensure the seat tracks will be parallel after all is done. Passenger side clears the parking brake, but that seat will only be moved for cleaning/access.
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With both tracks attached to the seat, I placed the seat in the car and marked and drilled the outer track holes in the floor-rear hole goes thru the 2x2 frame, front hole thru the steel floor.. Critical step here-Make sure the sliders are matching on inside and out. I had an issue with one slider 1 click off the other side and left my hole 1/4 inch off, so I had to drill a new hole in the track to match the floor. With every thing bolted in, and operational, I tac welded the extra frame piece to the seat frame so it would all be 1 piece. I then put a coat of black paint on the seat frame and some expanded PVC in the seat center
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Last thing to do was mod the seat latch handle, so I cut the provided piece welded it back together with a little flat plate to ease the operation
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And the end result
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A lot of work for me with the usually (AAARGH, did I really just do that!), makes the Breeze seat mount look a lot better after that! But they work and hope to go-kart this weekend.

[F500guy]

Well, as the new title states, I got her out of the garage today, I quit counting at the 4th guest that I took around the block, probably 7 miles around the block. A very different experience than my Miata, pretty darn fun. 500 HP is a lot of fun! I will need to adjust the throttle a bit to give me more pedal motion and less carb, should be pretty easy to do. The sliding seats are a hit, my son was able to drive it pretty comfortable at 6'2, I am 5'6. Everything worked great, great acceleration, braking and turning.


https://www.facebook.com/lance.spiering/posts/pfbid02TBJPwXmL7XhT6JLyQjJ5zPK6PxuQGaJDVUUCuA8UBtu rEKqjxCa4eBRV5PnZwb9Jl

[Rebostar]

Lance, outstanding!. What a great milestone. Sure is looking good. I went with the FFR sliders, I did make a couple seat risers though. You put a bunch more work in to yours!! Good on ya! Thanks for the Radiator pic, it let me know I had to wait on the Breeze stuff. So now that all the fun stuff is done, are you gonna start on the body soon?
Allyn

[F500guy]

Speaking of radiators, I am going to have to change my top mount. As has been posted, there is not enough clearance between the top of the rad and the Frame. I attached the rad to the front of the breeze hinge and I will have to undo that and attach the rad to the back side of breeze hinge. i thought there was enough clearance, but the vibration and such showed it to be rubbing on the radiator.

[Wizbangdoodle]

I just stumbled across your build from a link you left in another thread. Glad I found it, because I bought that exact seat slider and have been mulling about how to get it mounted. I'll be following your lead on this.

[F500guy]

Working on a couple "Do-Overs" before I get to the real work on setting the body.

1) I am officially in the "Failed Ball Joint Boot" club so will be replacing those, not much experience on ball joints, so a good learning
2) Replacing my bent F-panel, decided to do both sides and not pre-drill for the elephant ears
3) Decided to pull the trigger on replacing Wilwood masters with Tilton before I close up the driver foot box.

Is what it is!

Build on!

[Rebostar]

Working on a couple "Do-Overs" before I get to the real work on setting the body.

1) I am officially in the "Failed Ball Joint Boot" club so will be replacing those, not much experience on ball joints, so a good learning
2) Replacing my bent F-panel, decided to do both sides and not pre-drill for the elephant ears
3) Decided to pull the trigger on replacing Wilwood masters with Tilton before I close up the driver foot box.

Is what it is!

Build on!

Lance, did you have any issues with your Wilwood M.C's? I read a thread earlier about brake issues and J.K. mentioned issues with the Wilwood's. I too have a soft peddle, but I did not bleed them per Wilwood, right, front and rear then left front and rear. I did it the way I've always done them, started with furthest away and worked back to the left front. I'll be re-doing it the Wilwood perscribed method before I get to exited about the peddle feel. I did bench bleed the MC's first, then a pressure bleed from the resivoirs. I also want to bolt in the drivers seat so I get a good feel for it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Allyn

[F500guy]

So, not as much time to work on things, but whittling away a couple items and waiting parts.

Got the ball joint support completed, (No battle plan ever survives first contact), used Jeff K. recommendation. Sourced some hooks and turn buckles from McMaster and an extra set of exhaust hangers from Amazon.
1) Had to modify the hooks and open them up to fit the rubber
2) had to cut 1/4 inch off each end of the turn buckle to be able to really tension the whole set up.
3) Put some black BBQ high temp paint (Note after this I noticed ACE Hardware had some black ones on the rack, could have saved me some shipping and black paint!)
4) Fully functional!
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I completed my redo of the F panels, no drama there.

Adjusted the forte Throttle link to give a little more pedal play to full open.
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Moved the Radiator support to the rear of the breeze hinge assembly, gave me enough clearance for the radiator to the front 3/4 tube.
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Current hold up
1)Got me 3 new Tilton M/C, but the outlet is 3-AN instead of 1/8 NPT, so more hardware and hope it will not have to much impact on my plumbing, I will cover that when done. They also have 5/16 instead of 1/4 reservoir hose, so some rework on that will be coming up.
2)Got my new boot covers for the ball joints. Part number in the picture, but I was really UN-satisfied with the lower boot, would not cover the ball joint when it was skewed, top was great. I ended up ordering another part I found on the forum and waiting for that to arrive. Used a pickle fork and no issues separating the joints.
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[Rebostar]

Looking good lance. I really like those exhaust supports. Do they stay on after the side pipes are properly mounted? Seems like the added support might be a good thing to keep long term.

[egchewy79]

Looking good lance. I really like those exhaust supports. Do they stay on after the side pipes are properly mounted? Seems like the added support might be a good thing to keep long term.

Those exhaust hangers were initially used with shorty headers and J pipes as they were known to sag and stress/crack the J pipe over time.
In the past, with 4 into 4 long tube headers, hangers were not needed. With the addition of the ball joint in the headers, the hangers will help keep the side pipe from sagging over time.

https://www.ffcars.com/threads/first-roadster-build.636356/page-27?post_id=6105372#post-6105372
post #535

[Jeff Kleiner]

Those exhaust hangers were initially used with shorty headers and J pipes as they were known to sag and stress/crack the J pipe over time.
In the past, with 4 into 4 long tube headers, hangers were not needed. With the addition of the ball joint in the headers, the hangers will help keep the side pipe from sagging over time.

https://www.ffcars.com/threads/first-roadster-build.636356/page-27?post_id=6105372#post-6105372
post #535

I've made these front hangers for the J-Pipes as well as the ball flange headers. Left unsupported the front of the sidepipe can rotate downward if the ball flange loosens.

Jeff

[Rebostar]

Lance
Thanks for the offer for the hooks. I already have a set of nice Stainless Steel ones from Ace. Actually they were eye bolts that I cut off a section of the eye with just enough room to install the rubber hangars, which I picked up at NAPA. Currently waiting on a set of closed stainless turnbuckels I picked out of the Bezos catalog. Got my headers mounted today. Side pipes and collectors will be done next week. So'll I'll be lashing it all up the end of next week.

1ST ENGINE RUN IN THE CAR TOMORROW !!!!! I'll post a report.

[F500guy]

Got the master cylinders changed out to Tilton, personal preference and leave it at that. Stayed with 3/4 bore on all three. Tilton has a 3-AN outlet, best fit for me was to use a 3-AN to 1/8 NPT on the outlet, then use the 1/8 NPT to Flare that came with the wilwoods for the brake lines. I had enough give to fit them in. For the clutch, I used a 4-AN banjo bolt that fit right in with the clutch line. Brakes bled and verify the switches for clutch and brake still set correctly. I changed out the supply line from the reservoir with the 5/16 hose provided in the Tilton box.

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I also completed the change out of the ball joint dust covers, had one lower boot gushing grease after my first test drive. Decided to go all in on top and bottum. Used 2 different part numbers, both had 4 boots but only used 2 from each.
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Onward for more body fitting! of course, I will take another test drive and I want to run thru the alignment again just for fun so I can learn it better with the body off.

[F500guy]

Got the bed liner laid in the body, picked the 1 weekend of the last month that we may have rain, so I snuggled it next to the body in the garage. Raptor said it should not get wet for 72 hours...Son is in town for a week and we have Indy Car races to go to next week end, so slow progress will continue.
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My sons dog likes to visit and is a great shop dog!
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[Rebostar]

Looks sharp Lance.
Your still a week or so ahead of me. That Raptor looks great. Can't wait to get mine (grey) done. Soon I hope. I've been busy with the local car show since last Thursday. By the way, a Backdraft Cobra won the Best of Show at the Wapato Showdown, over 300 cars at the show! He got my 4 votes as I put 4 cars, (including the MK4) into the show.

I plan to get back to the body sanding in the morning. Give me a shout when you are about to fit your body on the car, I'll pop over to help.

[F500guy]

I have been working thru some details before body drops on again. Since I will be shipping the car out for body work and paint, I decided to get it prepped over the winter for licensing before I do that, including installing most items, but trying to not make to much to be redone by the pro...

Finished up trunk courtesy lighting, wired in a switch that I will attach to the hinge to on/off the lights. A basic amazon tilt switch.
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I sealed up the drivers foot box, that seems like a big milestone for me and a real sign of forward progress.
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Started the carpeting, but ran out of glue so did not get to much done, and found some issues to address with the carpet. I really like the ease of the DAP indoor/outdoor glue, it has been mentioned here many times. Gives a little work time, but still has a good grab after about 10 minutes. Can't seem to get it locally, so ordered out.
Partially done with driver side foot box, but had some issues with the center carpet dash piece being to short, left a 1/2+ gap at the floor inside driver side. I ended up putting 2 more layers of heat insulation on driver side floor to help close that gap and will secure it when I get more glue. I also made a carbon fiber cover plate that I will put over the cutoff switch after carpet is down.
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Was not to satisfied with the carpet for the upper trunk, it was almost 1/2 short width wise and supper large holes around the roll bars. It made the upper trunk wall look a little "jenky". So I ended up making a panel to cover that area and will carpet it as well. I know some do the whole area back there and I was trying to avoid that. I had ordered a second trunk set of carpet so I would have enough to manipulate the drop trunk carpet Not yet glued down but happy with the cutting and planning I did. I also cut a carbon fiber plate for the fuel pump access I screwed up the cut. so it is a little bigger than I wanted:(. The bottom of the drop trunk will get edge trim and just a sit in place that can be removed.
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Took another neighbor around the block, got to love that "vroom vroom"

[Rebostar]

Yo Lance, The carpet looks sharp. Looks like your getting close to getting the body back on. Let me know when your ready, I'll stop by and lend a hand and bring over those windshield jigs.
Allyn

[F500guy]

I wrapped up trunk and Cubby carpeting. Looks pretty good, the camera shows weird stuff in the carpet that the eye does not see, it looks pretty good and I am satisfied to have that part done.
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I also tackled the ever present Submarine strap issue. I really like the ones that have that function built in to the 4 strap setup, but did not want to pay $500.00 plus a set at this time. I spent a bit of time reviewing this problem and the various solutions across multiple forums. Then I looked thru the boxes of attachment hardware I have sitting around from previous belts I have bought and came up with a satisfactory solution that I feel is close to design needs. Having the seat slider created a unique parameter to work with, I saw others have just attached them to the seat, but if the car hits the track for a track day, I wanted a proper set up. I will not be to excited to cut up my new seat bottom, but I was able to track down a good pass thru piece, which took a lot of effort to find.
Here is picture of sub strap with the seat fully pushed to the rear, which for the passenger side will be the norm.
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Here is the picture with the seat 3-4 inches forward, should be the max movement for driving
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Here is the anchor point under the car
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And I also decided to use the clip on for the shoulder straps, thought that will make it much easier for removal/re-attachment in the future
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I also dropped off a couple carpet pieces to have some edging installed and some vinyl pads for the floor and gas pedal sew on so I can finish the carpeting hopefully next week, trying to get the body on before hunting season starts in a few weeks.

[F500guy]

Here is the link to the seat pass thru piece I found.
https://blackrhinoperformance.com/products/black-rhino-harness-inserts

[F500guy]

Finally got the carpet installed, really looking like a "real" car now. I did have a couple pieces that I had wished were a little longer so I could trim them, had to do some messaging and very close fit.

Really curious about the difference between the passenger and driver floor pieces, why cheat the passenger side and do 2 pieces and not get the full wrap around the front frame tube? Kind of cheesy in IMHO. I did put a small piece of carpet along the frame, I know it is not really visible, but if the passenger has flip-flops or no heel shoe, may be more comfortable. I just hope the edge does not peel back, I can see it getting a lot of abuse unless I get the floor mats installed.

Banding the front of the center piece was a nice choice to give a more finished edge in a really visible location. I also banded the floor piece for the drop trunk since it is a removable piece.

I like the vinyl pieces i had sewn into the driver foot box and hopefully save some wear and tear.

Waiting for a leather boot, console cover and brake lever cover from online shop. Turned out well to carpet the center top under the dash and shorten the tunnel cover, I have 4 bolts to hold it in place. Still debating a cup holder, not to late yet....

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Moving on to set the body on again, think I am ready having made some adjustments to the front mounting points and added to the frame rails a rubber strip on the front and a couple rubber bumpers up the side to help with leaning on the body.

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[F500guy]

I installed my sub belt seat pass thru. Started with a plastic 2 piece unit that I trimmed with some leather on the seat side flange. Cut thru the seat, foam and seat heater to get the piece thru. Kind of hated to cut a perfectly good seat, but the leather trim makes it look like it belongs there!
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[F500guy]

Time to do an update on my build. Been doing bits and pieces here and there, but not enough time over the last 3 months to do a lot at any one time. Finally accumulated enough points to post an update. I think I am still on track to get it on the road this spring, in gel coat!

I also was internally debating how far to go with the build before I select a final body person, I know I will not be do the final fitting, finishing and painting. Lots of “save it for the expert” if you are unsure flying around. Fit and finish not my strong skill, but I decided it best to lay off the internet some and just get ‘R’ done, if it is not what the expert would do, hopefully they can tweak it as needed. I keep reminding myself I took this on to do it myself, so onward!

Got the final body position set, pretty happy with the final lay out, and it looks good.


Set the hood, did the car center line thing and went ahead and cut the scoop out. I did 1 very minor trim on the frond driver side corner of the hood, but that was all, and there are some big gaps at spots on all 4 sides, so centered and adjusted as best as I can get it. Got the latches mounted as well, kind of weird the passenger side bumper at the latch is big and the driver side small, so I leave the final to the experts, looks even now with the hood closed and it is fully functional and looks good as well.
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Opened up the roll bar holes and dropped them in. Driver side was out by ½ inch, so had to open a big hole, but it is smaller than the trim ring, so no problem.

Got the trunk set with the latch installed and that was pretty easy, no trimming and only hinge adjustments to get a good fit. Instructions on the latch was a head scratcher for my small brain just eyeballed it and drilled, nice snug fit but no way to get that nut on the back side. I love when the have instructions that are completely out of sequence, "drill from the back...????"
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Temporarily attached the breeze shroud in the front with 5 rivets so it can be easily removed.
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Next Up Windshield, doors and side pipes and that seems to be the hardest part left, then fit and finish details.

[Blitzboy54]

I found the breeze panel was a challenge to get on and off with the hood hinges in the way. FYI you will want that in before paint or find a way to get your hood off without damaging the paint. I didn't install mine until the car was completely finished.

Car looks great. I respect the can do attitude on the body work.

[F500guy]

So, funny story on my story to obtain some leather bits for the interior. I originally selected redlinegoods, they were great, I was not. When we finalized the set up, I confirmed the measurements and got what I asked, great shjift boot, great parking brake boot, But...tunnel cover was to short "Ah CR$$", not my first or last redo.... I used the factory provided panel, cut short because I carpeted under the dash part of the cover. I ended up going local to get a cover done, they did a great job, 125 + beer money. And, while chatting, the gentleman mentioned that piece looking familiar, I told him it was going in a cobra replica-Low and behold he said "factory 5, I used to do door panels and dashes for smith..." Small world.


I started with the supplied parts, shortened the tunnel cover a bit. Installed the oval cover plate using counter sunk rivets. Then installed 4 riv nuts for the trim ring. Used 2 layers of 1/8 inch closed cell foam from the craft store. First layer went around the oval cover piece, second layer over everything, helped make the oval cover less prominent. Then to break up the flat top, had him sew some stitching in to match the boot cover. Great conversation piece-"WHY IS THE COVER OFFSET FOR THE SHIFTER?" Not obvious when looking from either side, but straight on, it is a statement to the asymmetry of the car...

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[John Ibele]

Car looks great! Nice work. I’m a big fan of the tranny cover :)

The pass-through piece was a great find. I have some leather scraps around, so should be able to cover it. I’ll add that to my list while waiting for Jeff to call.

[cc2Arider]

Lookin' good, Lance!

I also like your "can-do" attitude :)

Craig C

[F500guy]

Lights installed. The headlight was a head scratch-er and had me spinning circles for a bit. The adjustment ring has 3 tabs, but was only properly drilled for 2. SO, spinning up and trying many things, I realized it was not correct, and drilled the other hole for the 3rd tab in the correct location and it fit like it was supposed to. Driver side light, the rubber piece did not have the proper holes, spinning again, I got the punch out and made it right. Last issue with the head lights is the trim ring, looks great but the retaining screw that comes in from the bottom does not line up with the screw boss, so I will have to drill a new hole. Chased that damn clip about 6 times since it seemed to fly off every time I popped the trim ring off, note to self if I ever do that in an uncontrolled environment...

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Also made a cover for the trunk lid access. .020 aluminum panel and some carbon fiber vinyl.
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I opened up the front windshield box only to find I had 2 driver side supports and no passenger side. Factory 5 has responded and the proper part is on the way already. I feel that they have been super good to me on customer support, much appreciated these days.

[F500guy]

Been working over the holidays on Doors. Glad to have it done, satisfied, cried a little every time the screws loosened just a bit to much and the whole hinge went out of whack. I think I had them just right, about 10 times, then go away for a day and come back and get it just right again, only to try and better fix 1 corner and have the screws loosen to much...

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For the passenger side, I cut off the existing post bracket, left a little nub and re-welded a new bracket on to give enough room for the door to close. I tried opening up the old bracket too the very end and still need 1/8 inch, cut and redo did the trick. Was careful to cover and protect the carpet and interior with canvas tarp and welding blanket, all worked out in the end.

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Driver side, I ended up elongating the hole a small amount to get the last bit of pull in for the door, but that was pretty minor surgery with a round file in the drill.

One thing I should have payed more attention to was the distance at the side of the latch. I should have moved my latches in 1/16 of an inch more to the inside to ensure clearance when the cover is on and the door swings open I am pretty close to the side and had to shim the case with a couple washers to move it toward the inside.

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Latches installed per the manual, 30 pages...and they "Close Like Butter" They do seem to be pretty nice and when set correctly, the door practically springs open when unlatched, little force to close.

[PNWTim]

Nice milestone. Not the same but I went through a similar process fitting the side windows on my last project. It literally took me weeks of frustration off and on but eventually they all worked as they should and it turned out well. Satisfying I am sure to hear the click/thunk of the door closing well.

[F500guy]

So, the windshield was a bit of a slug-fest for me over the past week, lots of issues and a bunch of learning and a little insurance money spent for later if needed. As posted before Christmas, I went to start my install and was met with have 2 of the same side post. F5 took care of it and sent the opposite post promptly.

Started last week to install the side post and passenger side only 2 of 4 screws were lined up, so began my first issue. I ended up taking the long brass piece out of the window frame. In order to make that happen, I had to take out 2 corner screws that hold the corner bracket in place as they interfered with getting the side brass out. I was able to cut the side brass in the middle and get all 4 holes to line up. As you can see I had almost 1/8 inch gap to get everything to line up.
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Then the @@** got real, trying to get the corner lined back up to get the 2 screws in to the corner bracket. I got a little over zealous with mallet and realized I was deforming the side edge a "bit". But, perseverance paid off and the screws went back in. Went thru a cycle of fitting the window and pulled it off only to notice the corner was apart again...Well, turns out the corner bracket had cracked, that was not my doing, but required a new L bracket. So a few days later the material I ordered from Mcmaster showed up-not dimensional correct, So I worked it over a bit. Took 4 tries over 2 days to get that corner back together, and it still is not quite right but close enough to continue.
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Then the insurance, I ordered a new complete setup from F5 in-case this frame was too damaged or leads to a cracked window due to the handling...

I must say, I had to bend the frame tips for both sides to get them to fit better around the top curve and a fair amount of manipulation to get a proper fit. I over cut the holes, so will need to back fill those later at final body and paint. I threaded the bolt holes in the sides, huge help there with final install. Ended up with no shims on driver side and 1 washer top passenger side and 3 washers lower passenger side. A couple fit up issues during the process, but end result the window is installed and another tough task in the books!

I think this will go down as one of the harder steps in the build for me. If I had a second chance, I would have done the first part of the window fitting with the body off-Getting the end post set to the mounting location, just not drilled the holes. A lot of twisting and bending of the side post would have been easier with out the body. I also determined it was easy enough after the window was sitting in the hole, removing the side piece while on the car instead of pulling the window out each time to make an adjustment
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[TTimmy]

Hey - appreciate your build thread!

I've got a Mk3 I recently acquired and the windshield has me a bit worried. Thanks for posting these details - hoping mine goes smoother. Stay tuned!

TTIMMY!

[F500guy]

Spent a couple days on the exhaust, wanted to make sure I was getting it correct. Lots of take off-put back on different configuration until I got a good fit. A little give and take on everything, threw away the laser, pulled out the old school yard stick! Not exact side to side but close +/- < 1/2 inch on all measurements. Cheat a little on the level, cheat a little on the height, but side to side is pretty close.
I order 1 each of the wedges from Breeze, figured If I need more I would order more after setting up each side.
1 min wedge used on driver side, used 1 max + 1 Mid on passenger side. I tried to use the gaskets, but they add to much to the overall stick out so ended up with RTV Copper gasket stuff I had on Hand.
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This was my primary measuring tools to get the tip up, level close to the body level, distance away from body along the side.
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Challenge #1 was the hanger on the body. Driver side no way the existing hanger was going to work as planned. Passenger side was close, probably would have worked put I figured I would make them both the same. I re-drilled the hole in the hanger and cut out the 2 pre-drilled holes, allowed the bracket to rotate a bit down to increase clearance to the bottom rail. I have about 1/2 inch between bracket and side of car and same on the bottum.
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Challenge #2, the tip drooped after my set up and first run wanted to maintain close to 4.5 inch clearance to the floor. Solution, I used metal zip tie on the engine side hanger and 3 grunt torque on the ball flange after heat cycle. Final heat cycle and rev'ing and the tip height was good
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Cut out on Driver side will need "build back better" at final body work, but I was mildly impressed with my passenger side cutout...
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Now on to final Aluminum before I license and drive this spring while looking for final body work:cool:

Also note, the lift was a real helper during this evolution, to raise/lower for measure/adjust with just a button push!

[PNWTim]

I suppose the old saying "if it looks right, then it's right" probably applies here. You would never be able to see 1/2" of difference side to side for obvious reasons.

[F500guy]

Got all the inner fender stuff ready for coating. I will stick them on with out any silicone while i drive around this summer so the can be easily removed for final body work.
Rears went pretty well on Passenger side, very little trimming. Driver side kind of a PITA, had to bend up the edge of the gas tank and a bit more trimming required. I also made the filler panels for the opening in the rear of the driver compartment. Just to note, I mounted them just aft of the 3/4 tube mentioned in the manual, gave more rivit space.
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Front required some modifications and extra parts purchase, they really did not fit well and I had 2 choices, make new or get some bulb seal that was larger, Mcmaster has 1 inch that should work, at 1 point it is nearly 1 inch from the body work. Seems that some others have had this problem before. The bottom did not line up well with the F-panel, thank god I am not to OCD, so I let it ride....I had to cut the bottom tab off and add another tab, both sides were to tall to fit otherwise. I also bent the flange a bit to get the panel to angle toward the rear of the opening. Dropped the car on the wheels to check clearance, looks good. Both sides were nearly identical fitment issues.
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Working on front end Aluminum and oil cooler install...hopefully this weekend it will be done.

[F500guy]

Got all the fender panels covered and installed. OK, nothing to write home about. I had to "put the tools down" and walk away from the front, they ended up giving me fits when I went for the final install. Not the first time!!!
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I also turned a weekend job into a multi week, harder than it should have been event to get the oil cooler installed and all the front Al pieces. I ended up making all new pieces, I did mis-drill the oil cooler holes, so that had to be re-done and I did not like the fit of the provided panels for the side. Not sure I did much better, but they fit a bit better. I now need to get some hose holders and finish plumbing the cooler. For the front piece, I stuck 2 studs to the fiberglass to bolt the front of the panel to the cowl, a little HSRF goes a long way! I used Tinnerman nuts for the other screws in the radiator and attaching to the side panels. I used bulk head fittings at the side and routed under the cross tube. This week I will install the thermostatic plate and secure the hoses.

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[PNWTim]

Oil cooler installation looks great. I figure I am lucky if I finish any project on schedule.

[Rebostar]

Lance
I think I may have some extra screen for your oil cooler inlet. Let me know if you need it. I also have the "bucks" for forming them.
I think you managed to get a "vacume" seal on those plash shields! They look great. Oil cooler install looks great as well. Looks like your down to the "short strokes".

[F500guy]

Thanks Rebostar, I have brake duct, oil cooler and front end cover from Breeze. Not sure I will use the front cover. I did order some rad protection as well. I just drug the nudge bars out of my storage and will start windshield wipers here as well. Had a little trouble with oil line hook up, nothing a few more parts and a few bucks wont solve...;)

[F500guy]

Few more items knocked off the list, Wipers and nudge bars, which I still do not know weather I will use the bars, over-riders or quick jacks. More decisions for after paint.
Front Nudge bar, new style i guess as it has the over riders pre-welded to the bar. I think I got luck on this, they pretty much bolted right up. I will some final tweaking after paint to get the distances more uniform, but pretty happy that it went as planned. Since the overriders are pre-drilled and threaded, I can see some some tolerances adding up to make it much more difficult, but worked for me.
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Rear bar was pretty straight forward. Since I have all thread, I drilled out the threaded holes and used nuts on the back side of the overriders. Everything lined up pretty well again, so happy about that! I see some have added a smaller bolt between the bars and the overriders in the center, not sure the exact reason, maybe to line everything up and prevent shifting. Will possibly do that at final assembly
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Wipers-Did not have to give up my first born, but it was close. Not sure the measurements in the instructions are optimal, but the will work.

Drilling the hole was the first task, Used the install tool to locate the center of the hole. Then used a counter sink bit to start the hole because the regular drill bit was dancing around. An acrylic bit would probably be best option and tried to drill thru the alignment tool, but could not get it to stay steady either, so I approximated the angle and finished with regular 1/2 bit then finished the hole to the correct size with a dremel sanding drum.
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I did a little sanding on the rubber angle piece to get a best fit. Originally they were to tall and the driveshaft did not extend far enough to put a collar and nut on. Then fidled with the supplied stainless rods, hit and mis at best and had real trouble getting the retaining nut on the wiper box and getting the first piece to line up, but my "light bulb" moment hit and I loosened the motor mounting bracket and was able to better align everything. Bending that stainless was areal PITA and my first attempt failed but left me with a long enough piece for the section inbetween the 2 motors. Then I made a flare and forgot to put the nut on for the motor side, but was able to re-flare and still have enough to fit up. packed everything with grease and assembled.

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I had to bend the wiper blade a bit to get a good alignment with the window bottom, but at least 1 time they parked perfect! Under no illusion it will always be like that. Had trouble installing the blades on the shaft, not sure how they will ever come off again.

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Next up, License and title and make my list of stuff to fix this summer and what the body work person will need to fix for me. :rolleyes:

[Rebostar]

Lance
Great job on getting all that done. I might come over to see how those nudge bars look. Good on ya for installing the wiper system as well. I have one too. It's in a box where it will stay until, (1), I sell the car (2), wreck it because I could not see out of a windshield full of rain, or (3), the "chief wants it on.

[cc2Arider]

Looks great Lance :)

Did you drill the firewall for the wiper motor mount before you fit the body? I have a heater/defroster and that leaves only so much room for the wiper motor mount :rolleyes:

Maybe another way to ask is if it mattered that much about the angle of the motor mount to work with the shape of the cable guide/sleeve that you bent?

Craig C

[F500guy]

Looks great Lance :)

Did you drill the firewall for the wiper motor mount before you fit the body? I have a heater/defroster and that leaves only so much room for the wiper motor mount :rolleyes:

Maybe another way to ask is if it mattered that much about the angle of the motor mount to work with the shape of the cable guide/sleeve that you bent?

Craig C

I eyeballed the location based on pictures way back when I installed the fire wall, kind of snugged it as close as I could to the frame in that corner and added an angle. No heater for me to work around. I would say you diffidently want to minimize the bend, but it will need to go over your box, so line it up as best as you can.

I will add an update, I was playing around with the wipers and the more I played around, the funky stuff started. I could not get the arms to seat very well on the knurled shaft, so I played with that, then the wipers started popping in/out as they cycled. Thought it was a little weird so I pulled it all apart again and fiddled. Fiddled a lot....Then the wiper arm and the retaining clip gave me the bit of distress. I found that trying to push the wiper blades on the shaft was bending the retainer lever arm in the wiper box, giving me all kinds of slack so the gear would move up and down. So, I fiddled some more, and some more and ended up pulling those retaining clips and getting some set screws. With the retaining clips removed, the wiper arm would seat much better on the knurled knob and then tighten the set screw, re-bent the tab by the gear, reinstalled and wow, what a difference, much smother operation and pretty sure they won't fly off the first time I use them at 60 MPH. Much happier:cool:

[F500guy]

So I decided to get a passenger side rear view mirror, so I ordered 1 from Factory five. They are shipping the new Convex lens, so I got a great comparison. Here is a couple shots for comparing the difference, when I get on the road this spring I will determine which I like best and make them both the same. Both pictures taken at similar distance to the mirror.

Old style flat mirror
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New Convex
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Appears you can just change out the lens, although I did not do that, they appear to be same construction and I pulled the new one apart because it was sloppy on the mount, found the 2 inside screws loose so had to tighten them.

[cc2Arider]

Hey Lance,

I've been thinking about that change, too :) Mostly because I like symmetry and I was told that with a standard mirror in that location, it's difficult to see over the Roadster's "hips"...

Can you verify that you've got a good rear viewing angle now?

Craig C

[F500guy]

Hey Lance,

I've been thinking about that change, too :) Mostly because I like symmetry and I was told that with a standard mirror in that location, it's difficult to see over the Roadster's "hips"...

Can you verify that you've got a good rear viewing angle now?

Craig C

I will have to get it on the road to verify. The passenger mirror is a little behind the windshield post, wanted both sides to match and with the aluminum panel there got be a bit careful on locating. I can see 80% of the mirror and was waiting until I drive it for full visibility evaluation. If I deem it is not helpful enough, I will remove it before final body work.

[PNWTim]

The field of view from a convex mirror is pretty significant comparatively, especially considering the size of the lens. I think you will really appreciate the increased visibility.

[cc2Arider]

Thanks Tim :)

Craig C

[F500guy]

Well, I thought with the front mount battery box I would be able to use the kit provided #4 battery cable. But now that it is pretty much done and doing some minor drive time, I have found that restarts when hot are sometimes difficult. Looks like I will go ahead and upgrade to a #2 wire. This is with a BPE 427 and cut off switch at the front bulkhead.

Looks like Battery Cables USA is pretty cost effective and when I pull the 2 cables (battery-to-Cuttoff) and (cuttoff -to-starter) and measure length I can get all the ends pre-installed.

[PNWTim]

Well, I thought with the front mount battery box I would be able to use the kit provided #4 battery cable. But now that it is pretty much done and doing some minor drive time, I have found that restarts when hot are sometimes difficult. Looks like I will go ahead and upgrade to a #2 wire. This is with a BPE 427 and cut off switch at the front bulkhead.

Looks like Battery Cables USA is pretty cost effective and when I pull the 2 cables (battery-to-Cuttoff) and (cuttoff -to-starter) and measure length I can get all the ends pre-installed.

You can also make your own cables to the exact length and size you need. I have a cable crimper if you would like to borrow it.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Well, I thought with the front mount battery box I would be able to use the kit provided #4 battery cable. But now that it is pretty much done and doing some minor drive time, I have found that restarts when hot are sometimes difficult. Looks like I will go ahead and upgrade to a #2 wire. This is with a BPE 427 and cut off switch at the front bulkhead.

Looks like Battery Cables USA is pretty cost effective and when I pull the 2 cables (battery-to-Cuttoff) and (cuttoff -to-starter) and measure length I can get all the ends pre-installed.

Upgrade your ground cables as well; battery to chassis and engine block to chassis. The entire system is only as good as the weakest link.

Jeff

[F500guy]

You can also make your own cables to the exact length and size you need. I have a cable crimper if you would like to borrow it.

My initial pricing said that thru that company, they may be cheaper than buying bulk cable and the ends. Once I measure it all, I will get an exact cost, but the web site made it pretty easy to order exactly what you need!

[F500guy]

Latest Growing pain-Noticed on my last trip that my fuel gauge was on "E" . Well, 35 miles on 15 gallons of gas is pretty crappy fuel mileage. Local trouble shooting and I can not get a consistent OHM reading out of the sender. Gauge seems to work appropriately with resistors to indicate level, but the sender is all over the place. Sometimes 0, sometimes very high, well above normal and sometimes high when it should be low and sometimes low when it should be high...

Trudge on!

[egchewy79]

Have you calibrated the fuel sender yet? Do you have the speed hut ones?

[F500guy]

Have you calibrated the fuel sender yet? Do you have the speed hut ones?

Oh ya, more than once and a non-standard. The sender resistance seems to be a moving target.

[Blitzboy54]

Latest Growing pain-Noticed on my last trip that my fuel gauge was on "E" . Well, 35 miles on 15 gallons of gas is pretty crappy fuel mileage. Local trouble shooting and I can not get a consistent OHM reading out of the sender. Gauge seems to work appropriately with resistors to indicate level, but the sender is all over the place. Sometimes 0, sometimes very high, well above normal and sometimes high when it should be low and sometimes low when it should be high...

Trudge on!

Hey there,

My fuel sender did the same thing. Dropped to empty. I have a programmable Autometer gauge very similar to the Speedhut. After much troubleshooting it was the sender. Took me a while because I assumed it was the guage but just like yours the resistance dropped out of the sender. I purchased a new one and now it works fine.

[F500guy]

New Sender-Dorman off amazon 55.00 (auto parts stores wanted over 100.00, got to love and hate on amazon...) and the resistance is 17 ohm empty, 170 or so full-I will put it in today and hope it last.

Seems we the people are now the QC department for this stuff, how can a float with a resistor fail?:confused:

[F500guy]

Well,
After a nice vacation to Barcelona, Spain-I am back on the car. Did take a visit to Circuit de Barcelona and watch the opening round of the 2025 season for European Endurance Series, not a bad seat in the house at that track, wish I could go to F1 race there. I got to say, those LMP2 cars are some of the loudest, sitting at the front straight at WOT make the ears bleed...

Back to the Cobra:
1) Got and installed a new Holley 670 Street avenger, will start tuning after I get it running again. Got a carb tuning book by David Vizard- A Real eye opener even though only about 15% of the book is what i need to deal with, most is way over my head for needs and desires. He is a real proponent of vacuum secondaries. I know now why the BP 427 is outfitted with such a big carb, even though most non-race driving it is probably overkill and why it has to run so bloody rich at part throttle or sudden full throttle. More updates when it is driven.

2) Upgrade of new #2 battery cables-only 76 bucks, all pre-made with the ends, big difference from the tiny #4 now I just need to put them on and get 'er rolling again.
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3)Licensing completed "Insert Party Picture here". Nice trip to the DMV despite the activity for everyone getting the "Real ID" wrapped up. I was in and out in what I would consider a reasonable amount of time. The took my money, used the serial number for the VIN, titled as 1965 Factory Five..... This makes it exempt from emissions monitoring. time to hit the road this summer before I get it painted!

[F500guy]

Got in a couple drives yesterday after the upgrades.

1) Minor tweaking only so far on the carb, better throttle response, will still need to review the info for calibrating the primary pumper, but very positive. Hard to stay in the throttle for more than a couple seconds before hitting the legal speed limit! But the initial throttle bog is very much reduced. Also less smoke on cold start.

2) After a couple good heat soaks, the engine fired right up. Made first official trip to the gas station-have been using fuel cans up 'til now.


Next up-putting on miles, play with pedal layout, seat positioning and learning to heal/toe this big motor on down shifts...

[BUDFIVE]

Lance, Warning, the below is very detailed and not for people who hate carbs-Mike Bray is gonna tease me for this post:)

I think the BP427 has a pretty big cam(248/258 duration at .050)?
If so, to give it enough air for idle, you will open the primary throttle quite a bit with the idle stop screw. You may move the primary throttle plate into the transfer slot. The transfer slot enrichens the mix as you roll the throttle from idle to cruise—this is not the accelerator pump that sprays fuel out the nozzles at the top center of the carb when you smash the throttle. Anyway, if at idle you are into the xfer slot, the mix will be rich and the idle mix screws will be virtually unresponsive. Further, when you roll into the throttle, it will have a dead bog or lag till the engine draws enough air for the main circuit to correct the mix.

The street Avenger 670 is vacuum secondary but still has 4 corner idle including an adjustable secondary idle stop (most under the carb mounting plate)? If so, flip the carb over and see if the primary throttle plate is too far into the transfer slot. If so, close the primary throttle idle stop till the throttle plate just touches the slot. Then open the secondary throttle plate until it touches its slot—this gives the engine the extra air it needs. Then with the carb back on when you start the engine, the idle speed may be too fast or slow but minor adjustment of primary stop screw should get it back on target. Now the idle mix screws will be responsive and you need to iterate on idle mix vs idle speed stop. The primary transfer slot will now be fully available as you ease into the throttle.

While the change from a Holley 870 to 670 will improve streetability in many ways, this specific idle issue gets worse as you must open the 670 primary more for the same amount of air as the 870.

I went through this exact scenario this summer on my big cam 347-the throttle response improved dramatically and was verified in 3 go-cart sessions. I had to pull the carb twice to get the primary and secondary openings right—my secondary opening stop is on the bottom.
I wrote about this in my build thread post #52.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?47734-BUDFIVE%92s-CenTex-Build-Exhaust-Ball-Joint-Support-and-Front-Body-Mount-Prep/page2

Vizard’s book has a section on the transfer slots. There are also good videos on this-I can share some links if you need them. Feel free to PM if I can help.

[F500guy]

Thanks for the info, next summer I plan on digging in more to this. I bookmarked that info for now, I am looking forward to playing around with this stuff.

[Mike.Bray]

Lance, Warning, the below is very detailed and not for people who hate carbs-Mike Bray is gonna tease me for this post:)

You know me! Hahaha

That is just way too much work for me, I don't have near enough energy to try that again at my age. I'm thinking after al those painstaking fine adjustments and then the car sits over the winter with the gasoline in the carb evaporating and leaving behind the ethanol residue in all of those teeny time passages....

Fun story for you, I just bought a 68 SS Camaro to fix up. It's a nice clean recently restored car that just needs my touch. It's currently got a mild 350 SBC, about 300HP, with an Edlebrock intake and, are you ready for this, a carburetor! Oh no!! Plans are to build a big block Chevy and of course install port EFI.

[cc2Arider]

Hey Lance,

Nice that you got your State DMV to title it as a 1965 :)

I'm really hoping I can do the same in my state!:cool:

Craig C

[F500guy]

Well, time for a 500 mile report. I clicked thru 500 miles pretty quickly, with only running around town and a couple 50 mile cruises around town and the highway. I have yet to light up the tires and refrained from to serious driving of mountain roads until i had completed my nut/bolt check. Next 500 miles will be putting it thru some more aggressive stuff, pushing a little more and practicing my poor heel/toe to improve down shifting. Compared to the Miata, it is quite the beast, like I mentioned before i is hard to stay in the throttle more than a few seconds and remain reasonable legal speed. Seems I get a lot of waves and folks trying to talk thru the windows at stop lights. Here is some key points

1) 427 Carb-I would do it again if I had never done it. I dropped on the 670 carb and I can roll into the throttle to 6K in first gear no problem. Stop and go traffic, no problem. I will probably go back to the 870 or a 750 DP next summer, but the engine has been working great, no issues. Had the car out yesterday, close to 90 deg, some traffic and all was good. Second gear really punches hard on the on-ramp :D But, the Holley street avenger as I have read on other forums, hard braking and the engine dies, will need to work on that but really only a problem when doing a good brake check at this point.

2) Turn signals-I opted for manual and really who needs them anyway-Only when I want to be courteous.

3) Primary wire electrical-Since I changed to the 2 gauge primary, no issues with hot restarts.

4)Nut/bolt check-Found a minor issue for my watch list, the toe link connection point to the driver side rear hub has a minor wiggle. That would be poor quality ford part or possible out of tolerance bolt. I may source another bolt as first option, passenger side is rock solid. Early in the build I replaced all the chassis side rod ends with higher quality due to a wiggle in the toe link, they are rock solid on the chassis side.

5) Made some alignment adjustments, and ride height adjustments, the front end seemed a little squirmy under acceleration.

6) Not really happy with pedal geometry, I ended up putting on the Breeze throttle pedal, which if I keep I will need to make sure it is solid and probably hard mount it and not leave it adjustable. I like the toe relief better than the straight bar. I ended up getting some piloti driving shoes, but may still end up re-configuring the pedals. That will take some patience and seat time, would like a bit longer throttle pedal to reach lower towards the floor for my heal to grab.

7)EPAS Eval-Spent the first 500 miles with it turned off, did not seem to be to big a deal. I will turn it on for the next 500 miles. I have a speed sensitive setting so I will set that up to reduce assist at very low speed. It is nice when playing around in the garage...

8)Annoying electrical issue-This is possible related to the RF harness and I will have to troubleshoot some more. I installed a low voltage indicator light I got from Ron Francis and connected it to the dash power supply. When I first start up/engine cold my dash voltage meter reads 12.5. When engine warms and on the road for a bit, it settles about 11 to 11.5. I turn on my headlights, the voltage drops to 10.5 to 11 and the low voltage light comes on. I have verified that all the primary voltage points where the RF harness gets supplied are 14+ volt when idle and system is hot. so, seems a big voltage drop in the harness. Every thing still runs fine, but annoying. I will have to drop the dash and and maybe 1) run separate monitoring ckt wire from my cutoff switch, thus eliminating the RF harness. 2) Check all wire connections at the fuse box and ignition switch for and issues. 3) Ditch the low voltage light and install a low oil pressure light. Probably save that for a winter project.

9) Brakes-I changed out the pads from the kit supplied wilwood BP10 to the wilwood BPQ, has a higher coefficient of friction . The BP10 were fine for streeting, but I wanted to have some more aggressive stopping power and the prospect of little dust was appealing, you know because you know! I will try them out for 500 miles and if I am still not satisfied, well I will change again. (I have Hawk HPS+ on my Miata and really like them I also ran the Hawk DTC-30 on my Miata and they were the bomb, but to noisy and dusty for street)

All in, I am a happy camper and hope to hit 2k before I drop it off for final body work and paint so Ken can fix all my sh**** that I messed up on the body work. Final color and paint scheme has been selected. Well, actually 4 different paint schemes depending on the cost and input from the painter so hopefully next driving season it will be sporting final colors.

[F500guy]

####8)Annoying electrical issue-This is possible related to the RF harness and I will have to troubleshoot some more. I installed a low voltage indicator light I got from Ron Francis and connected it to the dash power supply. When I first start up/engine cold my dash voltage meter reads 12.5. When engine warms and on the road for a bit, it settles about 11 to 11.5. I turn on my headlights, the voltage drops to 10.5 to 11 and the low voltage light comes on. I have verified that all the primary voltage points where the RF harness gets supplied are 14+ volt when idle and system is hot. so, seems a big voltage drop in the harness. Every thing still runs fine, but annoying. I will have to drop the dash and and maybe 1) run separate monitoring ckt wire from my cutoff switch, thus eliminating the RF harness. 2) Check all wire connections at the fuse box and ignition switch for and issues. 3) Ditch the low voltage light and install a low oil pressure light. Probably save that for a winter project.####

So I tore my dash out to investigate this issue. Root cause is the "Zero Dimmer" from Speed hut that is used to adjust the LED gauge brightness has a "Gauge Power Supply" Output that is supposed to power the regular 12 volt supply to the dash gauges. Well, it is not a pass thru from the power supply, some how regulated or pulled off the lighting ckt functions and is not 12 volts. Static condition with the gauges hooked up it was about 10.5 volts (car off and battery at 12.3 volts), lighting my low voltage light and show very low on the dash volt meter about 10.5 . So, I disconnected that lead to the gauges and ran a separate supply to the gauges power and all looks good. Before I put everything back together, I have a tech support call out to speed hut to ensure that the "zero dimmer" can run without that output loaded. All gauge lighting is working fine.

@@@@Update-Speed hut confirmed that I do not have to load that output-good to go and they did say usually .5 volt drop, (but i am closer to 1.25)

[F500guy]

So, kind of like tweaking, and not drug related...I added some engine bling. I did calculate the air flow and it is not what a 427 should have so I will not use the air cleaner for tuning, but sure looks nice:cool:

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[cc2Arider]

Looks Good Lance!

Can you reveal the Supplier source for that, or shall it "not be named"? :)

Craig C

[F500guy]

Ansen made this

[cc2Arider]

Hi Lance,

I looked thru FMan's build several years ago for inspiration, and I believe he used the same filter assembly...

What were the air flow numbers that informed you that the assembly still might not be adequate for your engine?

Craig C

[F500guy]

Finally got a first Data Run with my AIM EVO4s/Smarty Cam system. I am a bit rusty on my squiggly lines stuff so I will for sure re-learn some more this winter. Still have a couple sensors to add and system clean up for the wiring. Seems that the last software update really fubar'd some stuff so I have a couple good head scratcher issues to work thru and hopefully they will get addressed in future updates. AIM is usually pretty receptive to looking at logs and assisting. I have never worked with the AFR, so some learning there for sure and it is running pretty rich across the board.
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[Grubester]

...or maybe data inputs that can handle monometer inputs, such as from a 0-2 in Dwyer monometer and/or air velocity data input. Be great for resolving air flow issues in and around the radiator and the engine bay. Seems this is often an area of discussion.

[F500guy]

So, this is where the EFI folks look the other way, nothing to see here! I decided to put off paint until next year, so I inevitably thought "what I am going to screw with before the driving season ends?" I decided to pull in my purchase of my "forever" carburetor and get it set up. Fall here in NW Oregon has been great, many more weeks of driving than I thought I would get so I was able get through my tuning. Lengthy post but may help a future carb person! It was a bit of a circus at times, and I spent some time waiting for jets and pump nozzles and such.

What I got-Holley Street HP 750 double pumper, no choke.

Problems I created for myself-( this was the circus part)
Forgot to put a boot on the spark plug, it burned real nice on the exhaust manifold, had trouble with my throttle position sensor, kind of fixed but not sure it is reliable as installed, burned my data download cable 3 times across the manifold and the side pipe Attention to detail, lots of hot stuff. My timing light clamp ended up contacting the header, almost melting closed. Made some initial assumptions, had to back out but at the end it was close to my initial assumptions.

What I had to learn, Timing for the SBF and a little self-study on the vacuum advance, how to adjust the MSD distributor mechanical advance.
Study Material-Found great stuff on the other Factory five site about tuning and timing, Wayne has a great how-to article for setting up a carb https://www.ffcars.com/threads/carb-tuning-101.273476/

I wont hit all the details, the tuning is described really well in the link. For Timing, (vac Advanced disconnected) I ended up with 15 deg BTDC at 800 idle, 35 deg at about 3300. Mechanical advance starts about 300, by 800 it is about 2-3 deg, and my distributer is set for 21 deg max advance. I changed the springs in the distributor to get full advance about 3300.

I run E10 fuel, 10% ethanol here, so that makes a Lamda of 1 =14.1 AFR (pure gas would be 14.7 AFR) so I tried to adjust my set points for the lower AFR, or use the lambda value, my data system gives both numbers and I can set it for what fuel I run.

My Carb does not have adjustable Idle Fuel restrictors or Power valve fuel restrictors, they would have to be blocked or drilled if I wanted to get a more exact number. I cheated with the 4 corner screws, leaned them a tick after getting best idle, I found this would not effect the idle, but would affect light cruise test.

Still a little blurry on accelerator pump, I have no bogs and loud pedal does its job, seems most of what I found was a bit subjective-“works with no bogs, does not dump black smoke”
A bit of work with all test runs, If I did it again, probably only need ½ the test runs.

Runs very, very well. I went 1 jet size passed what I ended up as final setting and started to get a lean bog with some on/off throttle stuff so I am sure this motor probably would rather be a tad rich than a tad lean. If I needed to tune for a competitive advantage, I would need a dyno to see what the motor likes best for AFR or do some 0-60 or ¼ mile runs-Not good to do out in public! Very happy with the results and knowledge gained, Think I may play with my other carbs next year, may be able to get the 670 to be a fuel miser. I attached a couple example pictures of my data and my final set up information. Pictures are from my 2nd to last run, you can see on 40-60 pull AFR was not dipping and stayed up to lean, so this lead me to go back up 1 jet size on primary and secondary mains. I then changed my plugs and took a 80 mile cruise today, works wonderfully, I am over 1400 miles this summer-missed my goal of 2k, but still happy!:cool:

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[F500guy]

Last week I hit the 2k mile mark, made it before conclusion of year 1 of official licensing. So work begins to make changes and repairs for the next driving Season.

1) Replaced all the plug wires, this was because I burnt 1 up last year and my new set has the heat wrap and are 3 mm larger than my previous ones, so last year I replaced 1 and now I finally completed the matched set. I should have added some bling wires, it took a bit more effort than I expected. Most of the wires fit well, 1 was a bit short and 1 was a bit long, but they all made it! A simple SBF kit from Moroso, had to add the end to the coil wire after trimming to size.
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2) Repaired my windshield chip. Used Rain-X kit from Amazon only about 13 bucks. Results-Better than expected but not perfect. The resin penetrated the 1/2 moon crack, but not to the very ends. There is still a small surface blemish. Bit of a learning curve there, but would use it again, kit can be reused and there is a lot of resin left after this 1 small repair.
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3) Added a Throttle position Sensor to the my carb. My first attempt last year was kind of jenky and not working well. This part I got off the Internet for Holley 4b carbs and was able to splice a cable to it for my data system. So far testing it is very robust and will proved the ability to get data about what happens when the secondary operation starts since I will now know when I am >50% throttle. Kind of fun to know how deep into the throttle at different times, like I noticed a 30-60 run entering the freeway on-ramp in 2 seconds.
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4) Report out on Wilwood BPQ pads-Super happy with them. went to clean the wheels the other day and very little residue, most just road dust and they stop great, way better than the BP-10 compound that shipped with the kit.

5) First coolant leak, looks to be the lower hose connection, radiator side. I tried tightening, re-orienting the clamp and still a couple drops a day. I will monitor to make sure that there is not a radiator problem, which would get addressed at paint/bodywork.

6) Continue to tweak the carb, looking for some more fuel efficiency with out tanking performance-I swapped the pump cams to red in the primary and white in the secondary and down sized my primary squirt-er nozzle to try and lengthen the primary shot, reduced primary main and increased secondary main Super happy with the performance as it is Zoom-Zoom it goes!

7) Outlawing the wife from having open cans in the car, 1/2 full and still got spilled...I was not even grabbing much throttle at the time!

8) Next up is finishing my high mount brake light, I have had idea and supplies for a year, wiring is present and just need to get my rear in gear on this one.

[F500guy]

So I made an attempt to soften the door hinge. This is the first run and I will sit on it and see how I like it before I do the rest. I started with some 1/8 inch closed cell foam with sticky on one side, put down 2 layers

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Then I wrapped it with a layer of upholstery stuff I had laying around and secured at both ends with Zip Ties. Not show car quality, but I do have some left over leather that I could use and look a bit better

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[Stangrob]

Looks good!

Rob

[egchewy79]

So I made an attempt to soften the door hinge. This is the first run and I will sit on it and see how I like it before I do the rest. I started with some 1/8 inch closed cell foam with sticky on one side, put down 2 layers

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Then I wrapped it with a layer of upholstery stuff I had laying around and secured at both ends with Zip Ties. Not show car quality, but I do have some left over leather that I could use and look a bit better

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Consider tennis grip wrap or bike handlebar wraps if you wanted to go this route. It might also give you some options for color/patterns.

[PNWTim]

Following the theme you might also be able to use some really high density foam covered with a stitched steering wheel wrap. You could cut it into four pieces and stitch it in place on the back side, would almost look factory.

[F500guy]

I mostly finished my high mount brake/backup light combo. I originally wanted something functional that could be removed if needed, non permanent and still look decent. Well, I hit functional and can be removed...Final product did not really meet my cool factor. I will leave it on for now and maybe think of something different or just jet the small lights that Breeze has and forget about the back up part. There is still time to look at something else before I get the body worked over.

I started with some Oznium LED's the small 5mm ones, a piece of carbon fiber and a fire extinguisher holder from H3R I drilled and tapped the fire extinguisher holder and made a small plate from some carbon fiber that I had. I then installed and wired 2 white LED's for Back up and 4 red Brake light leds for each side. Works great, thinking of getting one of those "flash your brake lights" controller some real annoying fun. Any way, done but not super excited with the results, concept was way cooler.

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I also mounted a RAM mount for my phone, pretty functional low key thing.
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Now I am ready for some spring cruising!

[F500guy]

Since there are a few on the forum that are enjoying playing with their carbs, thought it would be fun to share info. Since this is my first time to really play with a big engine like this, I am really pretty amateurish on this subject, far from an export but enjoying the process. Here is my latest update on my tuning. My next item to work on is the transition for moderate throttle before the secondaries come on line, and along with that do some efficiency tuning. My car runs great, and if I was just driving, I would be happy but since it is a new hobby, always have to tweak something.

Here is my current set up with recent tweaks:
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Here is a steady state cruise. I would like to get over 14 for the AFR (14.1 stoic for 10 ethanol) so it is not to bad anyway, but think I can go better by reducing the main jet.
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Current struggle is the 20-50% throttle pulls the AFR high-over 15 when that should be lower like 13 or so. To the best of my knowledge I will need to drill out the Power Valve restrictor. it is a fixed size in the holley and I can try and drill it out or drill and tap it for a 6-32 jet. Then I can adjust the secondary main to compensate for that extra fuel flow thru the power valve. At more than 50% throttle, the AFR climbs back down to a reasonable level.
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Maybe take it to a dyno when I feel mostly done to find the real power number for the AFR. Drives great, accelerates smoothly.