Gbranham's MkIV 427/IRS/TKX Build Thread...Spark Plug Shenanigans

[gbranham]

Okay...first post on my new build! I took delivery last Tuesday, July 11th, 2023. I'll keep my build progress updated here. Looking forward to the journey and help from the wise folks on this forum.

***Full Final Build Specs in post #391 on Page 10***

Details:
MkIV Complete Kit
Coyote Crate Engine from Factory Five (Have pivoted from this, and building my own Boss 427W stroker)
Wilwood Brakes
Front and Rear Sway Bars
IRS
Lots of other enhancements along the way to be determined (think lots of Breeze and Forte's parts, among others)

In the past week, I've taken inventory, removed the body, and removed the aluminum panels. First step is to drill all the aluminum that will be exposed, so I can send it off to powdercoat. Only a short POL list, and bits are already trickling in. The first POL to arrive was the sidepipes. I was disappointed to see they're not packaged very well (no padding), and the UPS driver sat the box down heavy on its end and bent the outlet of one of the pipes. Easy enough to straighten, and they're uncoated, so no big deal. I'm likely going with the Gas'N pipes, anyway.

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I've ordered a new press to press in the rear hub wheel studs, and other various bits have been ordered to get started...drill bits, silicon, clecos, etc. Looking forward to next steps!

Greg

[egchewy79]

welcome to the party. it looks like you have a nice clean space for all your toys

[gbranham]

welcome to the party. it looks like you have a nice clean space for all your toys

Thanks, and yes sir! I moved out to the country a few years ago, and finally have a proper shop to build one of these things. I built my first in a 2-car garage, and it was a bit cramped. I insulated the 30x30 shop last year, and put in a mini-split, which helps tremendously!

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[egchewy79]

open up the trusses in the middle and you can fit a lift in there!!

[gbranham]

open up the trusses in the middle and you can fit a lift in there!!

I've thought about it. I had a 4-post lift at my first house, and it sure was handy.

[gbranham]

Made some progress today. Spent time doing the drill and cleco dance. Once I have everything drilled, I'll take it all back off and turn the panels over to a friend of mine who will powdercoat them for me. Thinking a silver-ish color.

Also had that same buddy stop by today in his 2020 Huracan Performante. Sheesh, what a car!

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[gbranham]

Got all the exposed aluminum bits off to the powdercoater. I'm going with Prismatic Powder, "Hilltop Silver". It's sort of a textured dark silver with lighter blacks mixed in. Should look good. Spent today drilling cockpit and trunk aluminum, and painted the kit-supplied calipers. I'll go with the standard Mustang brakes for now (manual brakes), and if I feel like I need the pricey Wilwoods after I get it on the road, I'll do that.

Having fun...

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[460.465USMC]

Hi Greg. I'll dispense with the Welcome aboard and say Welcome back! Will be interesting to get your take on the differences between the MK III and MK IV. Great workspace. Plenty of room with temperature control. Very nice!

P.S. how cool to have a friend with a Lamborghini. What fun.

[gbranham]

Got my aluminum bits back from the powdercoater today. Riveted up the F-Panels, and bolted up the front suspension. Roughly set the UCAs according to many posts here on the forum, and I'm waiting for my Amazon peeps to bring me a 36mm socket to finish up. Please check my work. I'm not excited about the cotter pin engagement on the upper ball join castle nut; before I had it fully torqued, the nut was far past the cotter pin hole in the ball joint stud. Not sure if others have had this issue, but thinking the upper needs a spacer like the bottom. Thoughts?

Anyway, having fun!

The driver's side:

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And the passenger side:

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I also got into the habit of laying out out the hardware for each subassembly like this. Pretty handy!

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[Jeff Kleiner]

All looks good Greg but yes, if you add a hard washer under the UCA nut the cotter pin will better align with the reliefs in the castle nut.

Jeff

[gbranham]

Thanks for the eyeballs, Jeff, and the tip.

[gbranham]

Had some time in the shop today to prep some IRS bits. I got the pumpkin in by myself...that sum***** was tough by myself! Ratchet straps were my friend! Anyway, take a look and let me know if I whiffed on anything. The build manual does not show washers under the front diff bolt heads, but that seemed like a no-brainer!

Was getting ready to install arms, but then I realized I needed to prep and paint the rear swaybar mounts first. Cleaned up the welds, primed and painted them. Should be able to button up the IRS setup next weekend. Labor Day, y'all!!! :)

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[gbranham]

Got all the IRS and swaybar bits bolted up Friday night. I'm disappointed in the build manual for this assembly...missing part numbers, wrong part numbers, etc. And nearly every mount tab for control arms, toe arms sway bar mounts had to be widened and/or spacers had to be ground down. I'm chassis number 10,000 something or other; you'd think by now FFR's welding jigs would be dialed in. Oh well...it was good shop therapy!

Anyway, if you pros could check my work, I'd appreciate it.

Greg

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[kirby]

Your moving right along. You will catch me before long

[gbranham]

Your moving right along. You will catch me before long

Long way to go to catch you! Hope you're healing well from your surgery! If you're up for a visit soon, let me know. Would love to hear your beast fired up!

[F500guy]

looking at the upper A arm on the rear, looks like you could benefit from centering the adjustment, there is is a bunch of threads visible for the rod end, but not much on the threads into the tube.

[kirby]

Long way to go to catch you! Hope you're healing well from your surgery! If you're up for a visit soon, let me know. Would love to hear your beast fired up!

I just tore the cooling system out to start over otherwise I would love to have you stop by.

[gbranham]

I worked on the pedal box today. I'm going to go with the Gen3 Coyote Crate from FFR or Forte, and what was lost on me is that the clutch switch and accelerator pedal are part of the control pack that comes with that package. Not sure why I didn't know that. So, after hours of scratching my head and visiting a local FFR builder with the same setup (thanks, Don!), I am on the right track. I do think FFR sent me the clutch switch mount for a hydraulic clutch setup, because a) my inventory list says that what they sent me and b) the Gen3 Coyote Installation Instructions tell the same story. Oh well, I'll get it swapped out for the cable-driven clutch setup.

I did notice the brake pedal arm hits the 3/4" cross tube and stops there while 'at rest' with the master cylinders installed. That doesn't seem right, but I don't see any other way to install it. I did thread the master cylinder threaded arms into the two clevises (clevii?) just far enough that I could see the end of the threaded rod starting to protrude into the inside hollow area of each clevis, so I think I did it per the instructions. Also cut off 5/8" from the end of each master cylinder threaded rod, per the instructions. Any advice would be appreciated.

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[edwardb]

Got all the IRS and swaybar bits bolted up Friday night. I'm disappointed in the build manual for this assembly...missing part numbers, wrong part numbers, etc. And nearly every mount tab for control arms, toe arms sway bar mounts had to be widened and/or spacers had to be ground down. I'm chassis number 10,000 something or other; you'd think by now FFR's welding jigs would be dialed in. Oh well...it was good shop therapy!

Anyway, if you pros could check my work, I'd appreciate it.

Greg


I've done several IRS builds and can't say I found any big issues with the instructions. Adjusting the tabs is pretty much the norm. Nothing wrong with the fixtures. The tabs are mild steel and relatively small. The locations are correct and tacked into place while in the frame fixture. Then removed and put on a rotisserie for the complete welds. The tabs will distort some when welded. Hopefully you used the threaded rod with nuts and washers trick (shown on multiple build threads) to spread them. It's easy and quick. Also spread vs. grinding spacers.

Regarding your pictures, something (unfortunately...) not mentioned in the instructions is the need to center the adjustments. That gives you the most flexibility when doing the alignment and insures you don't run out of threads. They should be centered like this with the same amount of threads exposed on each side:

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Independent%20Rear%20Suspension/.highres/IMG_0153_zpsshxrqbwz.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Independent%20Rear%20Suspension/.highres/IMG_0153_zpsshxrqbwz.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds)

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Independent%20Rear%20Suspension/.highres/IMG_0152_zpsixzfry84.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Independent%20Rear%20Suspension/.highres/IMG_0152_zpsixzfry84.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds)

[gbranham]

Thanks, edwardb! I've adjusted all of my IRS arms to have equal threads at both ends. Just finished up.

[gbranham]

Got the steering rack and shaft installed...easy peasie. Also assembled the Wilwood rotors. Safety wire is tedious, and my fingers are now sore!

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[gbranham]

Got my Wilwoods installed today. Easy peasie...took maybe an hour and a half. Didn't need any shims in the back, and started with two on each caliper bolt on the front. That did the trick. So glad I ditched the stock rotors and calipers at this point, rather than letting it bug me for years. Big expense for sure, but I'm glad I did it.

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[gbranham]

Got my Mountain Metalworks dropped trunk installed today. Pretty easy, and should look great once it's all carpeted.

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[cv2065]

Got my Mountain Metalworks dropped trunk installed today. Pretty easy, and should look great once it's all carpeted.

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Looks great. I've got mine sitting here in a box waiting for installation.

[gbranham]

Got the rear harness roughed in, and installed the gas tank, dropped trunk mod, Kleiner mod, and lower trunk floor. I widened up the lower trunk aluminum around the passenger side rear tank strap bolt. Makes it easy to take out the lower trunk floor. So far, so good!

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[gbranham]

Roughed in the front brake lines today. I was planning on using the kit-supplied lines as templates, and was going to use NiCopp, but my mock-ups seemed pretty decent, so I left them alone.

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[gbranham]

Plumbed the fuel lines today. 3/8" feed and return lines. Also have a Walbro 255lph pump. Next purchase is the Pro-M Racing fuel pump hanger for 87-93 Fox Mustang, and Aeromotive pressure regulator and gauge with 3 fittings. Also will purchase Aeroquip PTFE SS braided line (10 feet), ~12 PTFE -6AN connectors, and a nice fuel line cutter. Getting closer to completing the fuel delivery system. My lines aren't super pretty, but I think they'll get the job done. Lots of fun!

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[nashuanuke]

Got my Mountain Metalworks dropped trunk installed today. Pretty easy, and should look great once it's all carpeted.

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How'd you order this? Email them?

[gbranham]

I emailed TJ Jones at tj@mountain-metalworks.com, after I saw his post on Facebook on the Factory Five Buy/Sell page, where he mentioned his drop-trunk mod was ready to ship. I suggest you email him and ask to purchase it. He'll send you an invoice via email. Great product.

[kirby]

Plumbed the fuel lines today. 3/8" feed and return lines. Also have a Walbro 255lph pump. Next purchase is the Pro-M Racing fuel pump hanger for 87-93 Fox Mustang, and Aeromotive pressure regulator and gauge with 3 fittings. Also will purchase Aeroquip PTFE SS braided line (10 feet), ~12 PTFE -6AN connectors, and a nice fuel line cutter. Getting closer to completing the fuel delivery system. My lines aren't super pretty, but I think they'll get the job done. Lots of fun!

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Greg I have a nice unused aeromotive fuel pressure regulator if you are interested

[gbranham]

Greg I have a nice unused aeromotive fuel pressure regulator if you are interested

Interested, indeed! What's the max PSI of it?

[gbranham]

Got my fuel delivery mostly plumbed. Waiting on the Pro-M pump hanger with both 3/8" feed and return. Everything is 3/8" line with -6AN fittings. PTFE braided stainless flex hose, Aeromotive regulator (thanks Don Kirby!), Summit fuel filter, and 255lph pump from Walbro. Should be good to go for the Gen3 Coyote! Thanks to everyone who answered all my questionson fuel delivery. I don't know why it had me so confused. Looking at the system now, it's pretty darn straightforward.

Anyway...if folks could put eyeballs on what I've done and let me know if I have messed up somewhere, I'd appreciate it. I'll need to shorten the hoses where they connect to the hanger at the tank, but I'll do that when the hanger gets here this week and I get it installed.

Thanks!

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[Railroad]

Nice job! Remember you need access to connections after the body and sheet metal is on. Filter location should be easy too.

[gbranham]

Nice job! Remember you need access to connections after the body and sheet metal is on. Filter location should be easy too.

Yep, thanks. The filter is accessible from below and just in front of the gas tank, so should be okay with the body on.

[gbranham]

Got some wiring roughed in today. Cold outside in KC, but nice and warm in the shop!

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[cv2065]

Got some wiring roughed in today. Cold outside in KC, but nice and warm in the shop!

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Great progress so far! Hopefully I'll be catching up to you soon! Just an observation. I see that you have the rear brake line going down the front of the footbox. The headers are there and not sure if you want that line directly exposed to the heat? If you had it come out of the bottom of the footbox you could avoid the exposure. Just a thought.

[Mike.Bray]

Just an observation. I see that you have the rear brake line going down the front of the footbox. The headers are there and not sure if you want that line directly exposed to the heat? If you had it come out of the bottom of the footbox you could avoid the exposure. Just a thought.

I wasn't comfortable exposing a brake line to the header heat so I ran my clutch and rear brake line on the inside of the foorbox.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20220623151832mediumrotated.jpg

[gbranham]

Thanks, guys. This gives me something to ponder. Easy enough to move that line inside the footbox.

[Jeff Kleiner]

I have to agree. I got one in for paint that had the line run there and it was less than 2" from the header. I suggested to the owner that he let me move it inside but he declined since the footbox was already insulated and carpeted so we compromised and I insulated it with 2 layers of DEI heat sleeves. As far as I know he's had no problems...but at this point moving yours to the inside would be a simple change.

Jeff

[BlueSilver]

I am just wondering when you buy the complete kit do the brake lines come precut to the proper lengths and pre flared with all the appropriate fittings on the lines? I never see anyone talking about cutting the lines to length putting on fittings and double flaring the ends. Another question some will have a loop in the line next to the end. What is the reason for the loop?

[gbranham]

I am just wondering when you buy the complete kit do the brake lines come precut to the proper lengths and pre flared with all the appropriate fittings on the lines? I never see anyone talking about cutting the lines to length putting on fittings and double flaring the ends. Another question some will have a loop in the line next to the end. What is the reason for the loop?

The complete kit comes with a handful of straight 3/16" preflared lines with fittings attached. They are generally long enough to run everything you need, but will have to leave awkward service loops here and there to take up the slack. I didn't want loops, so I cut off the flares, bent my lines, reflared, etc. It's not hard to do with this tool. Very easy!

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[nashuanuke]

The complete kit comes with a handful of straight 3/16" preflared lines with fittings attached. They are generally long enough to run everything you need, but will have to leave awkward service loops here and there to take up the slack. I didn't want loops, so I cut off the flares, bent my lines, reflared, etc. It's not hard to do with this tool. Very easy!

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I ended up needing to buy one 72" piece to get from the footbox to the right rear. I couldn't make mine fit at the lengths provided.

[edwardb]

I am just wondering when you buy the complete kit do the brake lines come precut to the proper lengths and pre flared with all the appropriate fittings on the lines? I never see anyone talking about cutting the lines to length putting on fittings and double flaring the ends. Another question some will have a loop in the line next to the end. What is the reason for the loop?

The kit comes with multiple pieces of stock brake lines. The kind you can buy at any parts store. They can be joined with unions for the long run, e.g. front to back. The service loop(s) some use is often to take up excess length and avoid cutting and flaring. Also has some value to not make the connection(s) too tight so they can removed if necessary for service. Also some think they're necessary for vibration purposes. Often seen in older vehicles. But not needed IMO for these builds with overall one-piece chassis.

There is a lot of discussion on this forum about cutting and flaring brake lines, what tools work best, what materials work best, etc. Surprised you haven't seen it. Maybe since you just joined? I personally make up custom lines and don't use service loops. I've done rigid stainless and plain steel. A lot of guys recommend NiCopp nickel/copper brake lines.

[Mike.Bray]

Just in case you want to go top of the line with stainless steel tube and AN fittings this (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?45694-Stainless-Steel-AN-Brake-Lines) will help.

[nashuanuke]

A lot of guys recommend NiCopp nickel/copper brake lines.

That's what I bought for one run, man it was malleable, didn't need a bender or anything.

[gbranham]

Good day in the shop today. Got my Pro-M fuel pump hanger and GSS340GS pump installed, new Energy Suspension boots installed on the UCAs (the correct ones this time), and rerouted my rear brake line so it's inside the footbox, and not in front of it, at the suggestion of several of you...thanks for the eyeballs on it!

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[gbranham]

Spent a few minutes today getting the fuse panel mounted. If you already have your steering shaft installed, it's a lot easier if you remove the upper shaft. Don't forget to catch your Belleville washers when you remove it. Slide hammer is your friend.

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[gbranham]

Glued and riveted the cockpit bits yesterday. Very cold in KC today (3 degrees today, and -14 tonight, actual temps), and my mini-split is keeping up! I cut the bottom tabs off the rear cockpit wall, so I could align it vertically better with the seat belt slots. I have since fabbed up some right-angle .040" aluminum to cover the gaps. It's been glued and riveted, as well. It has some ancillary benefit...that part of the floor is kind of floating, so it added some rigidity, although I don't suppose there will be any weight or pressure on that part of the floor. Also siliconed all the interior where panels meet. I'm sure that's overkill, after gluing them to the frame, but belt and suspenders, right? Anyway, none of it will be seen with sound and heat mat, and carpet.

Also wired in the 'trailer harness' for the LED tailights. Easy peasie. I put it behind the dash, just downstream from the rear harness plugs that connect to the main harness.

Go CHIEFS!!! Stay warm, people!

Greg

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[John Ibele]

I wondered about those gaps until reading your text. Other than that (which you addressed) the back panel looks right - you do want that cross frame member showing above the bottom of the seat belt cutouts.

I don’t think the silicone in the gaps is overkill. Some use aluminum tape from the local big box HVAC aisle to tape the seams. Either way will keep the water from coming in - and keep it from draining out of the cockpit - when it rains :rolleyes:

[gbranham]

It's been awhile since I last updated my build thread...life has gotten in the way. It's been a nice break, actually...I feel rejuvenated and I'm ready to get back at it! Over the past week, I've laid out my Speedhut gauges with life-size printouts. It's an atypical layout, but I think it makes sense for me. Please critique it for both ergonomic and wiring issues. The turn signal I plan to use is the kit-supplied throw switch. While I know most who use it have it on the left side of the steering column, it makes more sense to me to have it on the right side, where I can reach it with my gear-shifting hand. I sat in the car and simulated, say, and left turn from a red light. As I go through the intersection, I would likely shift into 2nd at some point, but would still be turning left, so my left hand would be busy holding the steering wheel. It made more sense to me to have my right hand free to 'cancel' the turn signal. I dunno...makes sense to me, but please critique it. Maybe I'll end up with the updated version of Russ's stalk-mounted solution.

For the rest of my day, I spent time installing all my Breeze bits. Mark Reynolds is the man! His solutions are just spot on. I've been a customer for 20 years, and his solutions never cease to impress me. For this build, I've used the standard bits for the radiator...the fan shroud, the piano hinge, and the lower adjustable crossmember. I used my handy-dandy cell phone to dial in 51 degrees. Didn't have that option 20 years ago! However, as you can see in one of the pics, to achieve 51 degrees, the top front of the radiator housing hits the frame...substantially, I may add. The piano hinge is under some stress to achieve that 51 degrees, because of the frame interference. Maybe that's not unexpected. Regardless, the radiator is solid as a rock. I didn't tap my hinge to frame fasteners; I felt better with through-bolts and nylock nuts. Yes, my third from left bolt is too high; my drill bit walked on me, and I'm pretty irritated by it, but I assume I won't see it when I have my body on and Breeze's upper shroud installed.

Anyway, it was 70 degrees in Kansas City today; what a great treat for February 24th. 77 degrees tomorrow! Not sure what's next on the build, but I'm sure having fun! Maybe I'll cut the dash holes for the gauges and switches!

Greg

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[Jeff Kleiner]

... I used my handy-dandy cell phone to dial in 51 degrees. Didn't have that option 20 years ago! However, as you can see in one of the pics, to achieve 51 degrees, the top front of the radiator housing hits the frame...substantially, I may add. The piano hinge is under some stress to achieve that 51 degrees, because of the frame interference.

For what it's worth Greg, I have never measured a radiator angle. What I do instead is match it to the nose aluminum side panels which I temporally position by keying the cutouts in them to the holes for the bumper/QJ bolts. Just another means to an end.

Jeff

[gbranham]

For what it's worth Greg, I have never measured a radiator angle. What I do instead is match it to the nose aluminum side panels which I temporally position by keying the cutouts in them to the holes for the bumper/QJ bolts. Just another means to an end.

Jeff

That's a good approach, Jeff. Thanks. I'll check that out in the AM. It will be interesting to see how far off I am. I realize 51 degrees is just a suggestion, and gets me close to the angle I'll need for the nose aluminum. I'm not fixated on hitting 51 degrees, but rather, getting the radiator and aluminum bits to line up properly with the frame and body.

[gbranham]

Had some quality time in the shop today. 75 degrees in Kansas City. Windy, but we'll take it, for March 2nd! I spent some time in Microsoft Visio, laying out my dash bits. I'm going to use the kit-supplied turn signal toggle, and the hi-beam toggle. Also using the kit-supplied headlight switch and ignition switch. I bought several switches and indicators off of Amazon, and they appear to be good quality. I don't want to use the kit-supplied dash mat; it feels too 'cushy' if that's a good description. I want something with less foam backing on it. The wife and I are going to hit the fabric stores in the coming weeks to find something that feels right. Anyway, check out my dash layout for anything that's a showstopper. I realize it's an unorthodox layout, but I wanted something different, and it makes sense to me, ergonomically.

Also got my Toyo Proxes R888R tires today. 255/35-18 front and 315/30-18 rear. Going to order the FFR 18" Halibrands this week. I'm running out of 'big purchase' items...time to save my pennies for the Coyote/TKX package from Forte or FFR!

Greg

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[gbranham]

Oh happy day! Got my wheels today! They look fantastic! I'm not going to use the faux-spinners (so if anyone wants them, let me know), and I'll need to find some black lug nuts. I bought some, but they are too short...looks like they need to be about 1/4" longer. If anyone knows the spec, I'd appreciate seeing it.

Anyway, great looking wheels!

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[gbranham]

Tinkered with setting up a rough alignment today so I can gokart a bit without chewing up tires, when the time comes.

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[Mike.Bray]

I'm not going to use the faux-spinners (so if anyone wants them, let me know)

Tossing an idea out there for you to plug the hole in the center, you could have a center cap 3D printed like this for something Cobra but still unique.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/steeringwheelinsert005.jpg

[gbranham]

Tossing an idea out there for you to plug the hole in the center, you could have a center cap 3D printed like this for something Cobra but still unique.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/steeringwheelinsert005.jpg

For sure like that idea! Now, if only I could find someone to make it for me...

[Mike.Bray]

For sure like that idea! Now, if only I could find someone to make it for me...

I can help you with that.

[gbranham]

I can help you with that.

Let's do it! I think I measured something like 68mm OD and 62mm ID for the center caps, with something like 9mm depth. But, I'm sure you've got the dimensions Mike. Let's chat...send me a PM?

I'm thinking a black center cap.


Greg

[gbranham]

Covered the dash today in a Hobby Lobby vinyl that has a thinner back than the kit-provided pad. I like it. I fabricated some blind mounts for the dash, and the screws for it show through the vinyl a bit, but I think when the body is on the car, most of it will be hidden. To make my hidden mounts, I made 90 degree pieces of .040" aluminum, and connected the angle iron bits to the dash with flathead screws. The other end of the angled aluminum connects to the bottom of the dash hoop with self-tappers...the ones that came with the kit to hold the aluminum panels on the frame. To connect the angle aluminum to the dash, I dimpled the dash with an old 302 Ford pushrod (literally) and a hammer. I then drilled my holes for the mounts through the dimples. The screwheads stuck out a bit, so I ground then down. What you see in these pics it the dimpled area around the ground-down screw head. Oh well...it looks better than the kit-supplied screws, and again, I think when the body is on, I won't see them as much.

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[gbranham]

Spent a little time in the shop today working on the heat and sound insulation. It's kind of fun...easy to cut with scissors and adheres to the aluminum panels very well. It's comical to hear the difference when you knock your knuckles on a panel with the mat on it versus one that doesn't. I'm sure this will really help make the car feel more solid when on the road.

Anyway...having fun in the shop! Spring is coming, and the grass is getting green. This weekend is chilly and wet, but it'll help to green things up! Happy weekend, everyone!!

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[gbranham]

Got my FFR 18s and my Toyo Proxes R888R mounted up and bolted on today. First time out of the garage! 255s front, 315s rear. At full lock, the front tires definitely rub the F-panel, but I'm not worried about it. Could use rack limiters, but if I'm turning in a parking lot and hear it rub, I'll back off a hair.

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[gbranham]

Decided to remove the 3/4" square tube above the drop trunk today. Turned out pretty good!

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[TrackDay17]

Greg, I'm new here and actually live in Western Shawnee, coincidentally my name is Greg also !
I'm here to learn and get ideas because I plan to build my own in the next year or two.
If you ever need a hand in the shop I'd be happy to lend a hand since I'm retired.
Semi retired definitely amateur motorcycle road racer and track day guy.
Since Heartland Park has closed I lost my nearby playground.

[gbranham]

Greg, I'm new here and actually live in Western Shawnee, coincidentally my name is Greg also !
I'm here to learn and get ideas because I plan to build my own in the next year or two.
If you ever need a hand in the shop I'd be happy to lend a hand since I'm retired.
Semi retired definitely amateur motorcycle road racer and track day guy.
Since Heartland Park has closed I lost my nearby playground.

Hi, Greg! I saw your introductory post a few weeks ago, and responded to it, letting you know we should sync up. I'll be wrenching in the shop this weekend if you want to stop by. I'll send you my cell# in a private message.

[TrackDay17]

Hi, Greg! I saw your introductory post a few weeks ago, and responded to it, letting you know we should sync up. I'll be wrenching in the shop this weekend if you want to stop by. I'll send you my cell# in a private message.

Thanks, if I have time I'll definitely stop by if I can ! I've got dinner plans Saturday night but I think that's it....... Unless my wife tells me otherwise !

[gbranham]

Worked on Thermo-Tec installation today. I've been through three 36"x60" rolls, and still have the driver's footbox, driver's side of trans tunnel, and all of the trunk to do. Will likely take two more rolls.

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[gbranham]

I had random scraps of Thermo-Tec left from the three rolls I used for the interior, so I cobbled them together to do my drop trunk from Mountain Metalworks. Turned out pretty good!

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[kirby]

Greg are you doing the rest of the truck area as well?

[gbranham]

Greg are you doing the rest of the truck area as well?

Yes, sir! I need to order two more rolls of Thermo-Tec from my friends at Amazon. I'm going to wait to finish the trunk area once I have the engine in and have ensured all my wiring and fuel delivery is working properly.

[gbranham]

Started some of my dash wiring. Maybe I'm a masochist, but I think wiring is a lot of fun!

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[gbranham]

After much research, I've decided to ditch the Gen3 Coyote route, and go with a 427 Stroker, with Holley 2 EFI and Hyperspark. I'm going to build it myself. I figure I'll save some money, and likely will have it completed before Blueprint could get me the same engine (they told me if I ordered now, it would be September at the earliest). I'll be leaning on some of our perennial forum vendors for parts (looking at you, Mike Forte), and Summit will be on speed dial as well.

I've already started receiving parts. This is getting exciting. Next purchase is the 427 Boss short block. I like the combo kit from Summit that comes with cam, lifters, dogbones and spider, bolts, gaskets, timing cover, timing set, etc. But I'll probably call Mike to spec out a simliar package from him.

I've sent back to FFR my Coyote headers, driveshaft and engine mounts. They're sending me SBF replacement parts. All on my dime for shipping of course. I still have all my other Coyote bits left in the For Sale section if anyone is interested.

Happy weekend, everyone!

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[Mike.Bray]

Very nice! I love those pushrod engines in Cobras. I love the Coyote also, just in Mustangs lol

I built my short block myself using a Scat rotating assembly, I would highly recommend Scat as they were first class to deal with. It wasn't any real challenge but did require quite a bit of research and a good machine shop that understood SBFs. Not sure I would do it again, I would probably just buy a short block from someone like Forte.

[gbranham]

Thanks, Mike. I, too, love the pushrod SBF. Built many of them over the years.

[gbranham]

Oh joy of joys!!! The 427 BOSS short block has arrived!

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[kirby]

Very exciting. Looks like you will not lack for power!!

[TrackDay17]

I love the sound of the SBF over the Coyote myself, 500 hp should be easy for those components.

I've got to come over and see your car and progress, I've been busy around here since we had the hailstorm.
Got my truck, wife's car and took out my roof on the house and shop unfortunately.

[cv2065]

Excited for you. Nothing like a nice clean beautiful block to work from!

[Mike.Bray]

Man that's a nice short block and those heads are going to work well with it. Before you invest in a Sniper you should take a good look at stepping up to either the Edlebrock Pro Flow or put together a port injection system yourself with either a FAST Sportsman or Holley Terminator X ECU. For not a huge premium in cost you would be getting such a better system and with total control over the tuning. Sniper tuning is very limited and relies on it's own auto-tuning.

The Sniper is a low cost entry level EFI system and has a lot of issues. You get what you pay for. There are complete forums dedicated to Sniper issues as well as numerous threads on this forum. I love EFI and was an early adopter but I hate how the Sniper gives EFI a bad name. And I hate to see you with such a nice engine but not being able to enjoy it because of issues with the Sniper. FWIW

[gbranham]

I love the sound of the SBF over the Coyote myself, 500 hp should be easy for those components.

I've got to come over and see your car and progress, I've been busy around here since we had the hailstorm.
Got my truck, wife's car and took out my roof on the house and shop unfortunately.

Hit me up when you're ready to come over, and sorry about the damage. I drove by Mill Creek HS a few days after the tornado. Lots of trees and roofs took the hit.

[gbranham]

Man that's a nice short block and those heads are going to work well with it. Before you invest in a Sniper you should take a good look at stepping up to either the Edlebrock Pro Flow or put together a port injection system yourself with either a FAST Sportsman or Holley Terminator X ECU. For not a huge premium in cost you would be getting such a better system and with total control over the tuning. Sniper tuning is very limited and relies on it's own auto-tuning.

The Sniper is a low cost entry level EFI system and has a lot of issues. You get what you pay for. There are complete forums dedicated to Sniper issues as well as numerous threads on this forum. I love EFI and was an early adopter but I hate how the Sniper gives EFI a bad name. And I hate to see you with such a nice engine but not being able to enjoy it because of issues with the Sniper. FWIW

Yep, you convinced me last week to shy away from Sniper. Pretty sold on Edelbrock ProFlow4 at this point.

[gbranham]

Excited for you. Nothing like a nice clean beautiful block to work from!

Thanks! I'm pretty excited to build another SBF. Getting it on the engine stand today!

[gbranham]

My son and I got the short block uncrated and settled on the engine stand today. No drama. Took about 15 minutes. Man, this BOSS short block sure is sexy!!! Picked up some assembly lube at O'Reilly this AM, and will stab the camshaft in this evening! Building engines is so much fun!

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[Mike.Bray]

will stab the camshaft in this evening! Building engines is so much fun!

Hydraulic roller cam?

I agree, I always enjoyed building my engines. First engine I ever rebuilt/built was a SBC with a 6-71 blower on it. Thought I would start with something basic and simple lol

It's such an adrenaline rush when it fires up for the first time (and you have oil pressure). Rebuilt a SBC for my daily driver one time and the machine shop didn't install the last cam bearing all the way in so didn't have oil pressure. Fortunately we didn't run it long enough to do any damage but still had to pull it out and tear it down to fix the problem. Last engine I ever built that I didn't do a pre-lube on before starting, certainly made a believer out of me!

Looking forward to following along with your build.

[gbranham]

Hydraulic roller cam?

Yes, sir!

[Mike.Bray]

I'm in a couple of 351W groups and see people building engines and planning on using hydraulic flat tappets and it blows my mind. With all of the advantages of hyd roller cams why anyone would use that ancient flat tappet technology with all the quality issues there are today, I just can't get my head around it.

[Jeff Kleiner]

What are you putting on top of it Greg?

Jeff

[gbranham]

What are you putting on top of it Greg?

Jeff

TFS 11R 190 heads, TFS cam, TFS 1.6 roller rockers, and I think Mike Bray has me talked into the Edelbrock Pro Flow 4 EFI setup.

[gbranham]

I'm in a couple of 351W groups and see people building engines and planning on using hydraulic flat tappets and it blows my mind. With all of the advantages of hyd roller cams why anyone would use that ancient flat tappet technology with all the quality issues there are today, I just can't get my head around it.

Yep, I don't get it, either. Maybe that's just what they've always used, and they're comfortable with it. Dunno.

[Fman]

Thanks for sharing those pics, I really admire the builders who also put together there own engine. I have yet to have the balls to do it! Is the Ford Racing block similar to a Dart block? I see the 4 bolt main caps. And FWIW I have 6300 miles on my 427 with the Edelbrock PF4, up to this point it has been solid.

[gbranham]

Checking p-v clearance today, LOL. Clearly not a big enough ball of modeling clay, so I'll do it again. But, at least I know I'm not smacking valves into pistons. Pretty mild cam, for sure. This is part of Summit's MkIV 427W valvetrain combo package. Summit sent me 17 lifters, so I filled one with washers to do the test. Guessing it'll be in the 525 FWHP range.

1) TFS 11R 190CC heads
2) TFS 1.6F Roller Rockers
3) TFS Chromoly pushrods, 8.050"
4) TFS Cam .499/.510 lift
5) TFS Hydraulic Roller lifters

I'm sure I'm leaving HP on the table, but I'm not looking to run this engine on the ragged edge.

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[Mike.Bray]

I'm sure you're fine, I'm running 0.579" lift with flat top pistons and haven't had any issues.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20211112171505mediumrotated.jpg

[gbranham]

2nd attempt. Still plenty of clearance. I also noticed the FMS head gaskets aren't actually totally round; they don't follow the cylinder bore at 2-o'clock and 8-o'clock. All cylinders and both sides of the block were this way. Wonder why?

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[JMD]

Checking p-v clearance today, LOL. Clearly not a big enough ball of modeling clay, so I'll do it again. But, at least I know I'm not smacking valves into pistons. Pretty mild cam, for sure. This is part of Summit's MkIV 427W valvetrain combo package. Summit sent me 17 lifters, so I filled one with washers to do the test. Guessing it'll be in the 525 FWHP range.

1) TFS 11R 190CC heads
2) TFS 1.6F Roller Rockers
3) TFS Chromoly pushrods, 8.050"
4) TFS Cam .499/.510 lift
5) TFS Hydraulic Roller lifters

I'm sure I'm leaving HP on the table, but I'm not looking to run this engine on the ragged edge.

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I've heard a lot of good things about those heads. I'm curious about cam duration, if you don't mind sharing. I went very mild with mine. Learned my lesson a long time ago when I built a '69 Camaro. I felt that car deserved to be the most powerful car on the road...couldn't live with myself if it got walked by a rice burner. Problem is I overbuilt it and it wasn't really a good driver. So I'm making sure everything I do with this car is street friendly. I don't need to be the fastest on the road anymore. Organic clutch, quieter exhaust, milder cam...maybe I'm just getting old...

Keep it up!

[gbranham]

You bet....here's the cam: Trick Flow Specialties TFS-51403001 Trick Flow® Track Max® Hydraulic Roller Camshafts for Ford 5.0L | Summit Racing (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-51403001)

[gbranham]

Thanks for sharing those pics, I really admire the builders who also put together there own engine. I have yet to have the balls to do it! Is the Ford Racing block similar to a Dart block? I see the 4 bolt main caps. And FWIW I have 6300 miles on my 427 with the Edelbrock PF4, up to this point it has been solid.

I think the 427 Boss block is similar to the mid-level Dart block, from what I'm reading. In other words, SHP<427 Boss=Sportsman<Iron Eagle. Maybe?

[StangRacer]

2nd attempt. Still plenty of clearance. I also noticed the FMS head gaskets aren't actually totally round; they don't follow the cylinder bore at 2-o'clock and 8-o'clock. All cylinders and both sides of the block were this way. Wonder why?

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A good way to check PTV clearance is with a degree wheel, "checker" springs in place of the valve springs and a dial indicator set up on the retainer along with a roller lifter converted to solid, as you have already done... Start "plotting" out the PTV clearance about 20 degrees before TDC for each valve to about 10-15 degrees ATDC. Rotate the crank 5 degrees, then push the valve down until it hits the piston and take a reading on the dial indicator. Go another five degrees and repeat. When you start getting close start only rotating 1-2 degrees and take another reading. You will pick up .010 - .030 piston to valve clearance with your actual valve springs installed due to pushrod flex, rocker stud flex, etc... A buddy of mine who used to build NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock engines told me he never bothered checking the intake piston to valve clearance. He used to say as long as the engine rolled over it was enough clearance on the intake...

Those TFS TW heads are very nice heads. They are bigger than what the intake port volume indicates. Due to the intake valve being moved the intake runner is shorter. So even though the port volume is 190 cc the cross section is closer to what a 205 cc intake runner would normally be on a SBF.

[gbranham]

Spent an hour or so in the shop today. Got the gasket mated to the timing cover with RTV, let it dry, trimmed it up, then coated it in RTV, then on to the block. I put the water pump on just to snug up the bolts while the RTV for the timing cover cures. Next will be the gasket between the water pump back cover and the timing cover. Also got the Milodon oil pan installed. All in all, a quality day in the shop. Probably going to start on the top end in the morning. it's been about 8 years since I built a SBF, but muscle memory is taking over.

Have a great weekend!

Greg

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[Mike.Bray]

Looking good!

[gbranham]

I had a couple of hours today to sneak out to the shop. Finished up the water pump installation, then knocked out the heads and valvetrain. Got the heads installed and torqued, and installed the lifters, pushrods, and rockers, dogbones and spider, and got the rockers set to zero lash. It's easy but fun, repetitive work. I'm out of parts, save the valve covers, and will install them later. I have an Amazon delivery tomorrow (big Trick Flow engine storage bag), and will get it placed on the engine when it gets here. For now, I'll save my pennies for the next bit...clutch, bellhousing, TKX, etc...then the Edelbrock ProFlow 4, then front dress....getting closer!!

Have a great week, folks! Hot (102 degrees) and humid in Kansas City...already ready for Fall!

Greg

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[JMD]

You bet....here's the cam: Trick Flow Specialties TFS-51403001 Trick Flow® Track Max® Hydraulic Roller Camshafts for Ford 5.0L | Summit Racing (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-51403001)

I admire your restraint on cam selection. A lot of guys seem to go wild on the cam and while it sounds cool and pulls hard, it's just not a good overall package to live with. This is going to be both smooth and crazy fast.

I hope your shop has AC...the heat has been brutal this past week!

[gbranham]

Yeah, it's a mild cam for sure. At 2300lbs, it doesn't need much. I suspect it'll be in the neighborhood of 525-550hp, and that's plenty. My last car was a C7 Z06 with mild mods, and it made about 750hp/800ft-lbs at the crank...this should be a similar Hp to weight ratio.

Yep, my shop is nice and cool. 71 degrees in here right now! Insulated, and I have a mini split.

[gbranham]

Spent a couple of hours in the shop today installing the rear trunk side aluminum panels, and the gas struts for the trunk. Nice day in Kansas City...80 degrees, slight breeze, and relatively low humidity. For June 30th, that's amazing. Have a great week, everyone!

Greg

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[JMD]

Looking good! Those are some serious tires. You anticipating any track time at some point?

Any particular reason for insulating the trunk side panels? I was originally going to insulate everything, but now rethinking that approach. I want it to feel solid but also like the minimalist approach to keeping it as light as possible. I'll probably end up insulating some of the panels strategically instead of all of it. Of course with a 427 to push you along a few extra pounds won't even be noticed... ;)

Yesterday was a yard work day for me. Taking advantage of the break in heat to trim some hedges and knock out a bunch of mowing. Back to the build today!

[gbranham]

Looking good! Those are some serious tires. You anticipating any track time at some point?

Any particular reason for insulating the trunk side panels? I was originally going to insulate everything, but now rethinking that approach. I want it to feel solid but also like the minimalist approach to keeping it as light as possible. I'll probably end up insulating some of the panels strategically instead of all of it. Of course with a 427 to push you along a few extra pounds won't even be noticed... ;)

Yesterday was a yard work day for me. Taking advantage of the break in heat to trim some hedges and knock out a bunch of mowing. Back to the build today!

I'm applying Thermo-Tec to all aluminum panels, for heat insulation where appropriate, and to minimize rattles and other acoustic nonsense...basically to make it feel more solid. Not planning on any track time, but with the 427, I will have traction issues...I got the best tires I've ever had in the R888R's. They are magic on dry, warm pavement.

Greg

[Railroad]

I think those are directional tires and it looks like the right, rear is mounted for the drivers side.
I could be wrong. Your drivers, side rear looks correct.
I am going to look at a set on my GT500 and see how they look.
Later,
Yep, mine are Toyo Proxies R888's and the sipes are pointing toward the front on both sides.
I have them just on the rear of my car.
If all your tires are all the same size, you might be OK and able to correct. If the rears are a different size, one tire will need to be broken down and remounted, or buy a right side tire????
I think. I may be having one of my goofy impressions.
good luck,

[gbranham]

I think those are directional tires and it looks like the right, rear is mounted for the drivers side.
I could be wrong. Your drivers, side rear looks correct.
I am going to look at a set on my GT500 and see how they look.
Later,
Yep, mine are Toyo Proxies R888's and the sipes are pointing toward the front on both sides.
I have them just on the rear of my car.
If all your tires are all the same size, you might be OK and able to correct. If the rears are a different size, one tire will need to be broken down and remounted, or buy a right side tire????
I think. I may be having one of my goofy impressions.
good luck,

Mine are R888r...different design than the R888. R888s are directional; R888r are asymmetric. On many other cars I've seen with R888r's, they are the same as mine. The tire has the word 'Outside' embossed on the sidewall, to ensure they're mounted correctly. Mine all have 'Outside' on the outside.

We would like to inform you that if the tread pattern seems to have a different orientation on either side of the car, this will not change anything with the overall performance of the tyre. There will be no problem if the grooves on one side of the car point upwards and on the other side downwards, after you fit these asymmetric tyres. The long, steep grooves on the outer shoulder of the tyres are designed to direct as much water as possible to the outside via the shortest way and therefore in shortest possible time. These tyres are designed in such a way that the water can be drained in the direction of the shoulder, to the outside, as well as in direction of the deep circumference grooves. The angle in which they run has no impact on the aquaplaning performance and the driving comfort of the tyre. '

[Jeff Kleiner]

I think those are directional tires and it looks like the right, rear is mounted for the drivers side.
I could be wrong. Your drivers, side rear looks correct.
I am going to look at a set on my GT500 and see how they look.
Later,
Yep, mine are Toyo Proxies R888's and the sipes are pointing toward the front on both sides.
I have them just on the rear of my car.
If all your tires are all the same size, you might be OK and able to correct. If the rears are a different size, one tire will need to be broken down and remounted, or buy a right side tire????
I think. I may be having one of my goofy impressions.
good luck,

Joe,
Greg has R888R which are asymmetrical. The old, now discontinued R888 was uni-directional. The R888R can be mounted on either side however there is an outside and an inside so the tread will be opposite side to side.

Jeff

EDIT: Oops! For some reason Greg's reply wasn't showing when I posted saying the same thing!

[fauxbra5.0]

Looks great so far! Vicariously living through your build thread (and a few others) until I get my ducks in a row to grab a kit of my own.

[gbranham]

Looks great so far! Vicariously living through your build thread (and a few others) until I get my ducks in a row to grab a kit of my own.

Thanks! SO much fun! My kit was delivered one year ago today! My posts in this build thread are not terribly wordy, but nothing I'm doing is revolutionary, so I figure pics are clear enough to explain what I'm doing, and can be pretty helpful to others, and may help others spot my errors.

Greg

[Railroad]

Sounds good to me. Obviously you know more about the Toyos than I did.
Glad you have everything right and no need to undo anything.

[TrackDay17]

I need to take you up on the offer to see your project soon, too many projects lately myself.
I can't wait to see that engine all ready to bolt in, that thing should be beast !

[gbranham]

I need to take you up on the offer to see your project soon, too many projects lately myself.
I can't wait to see that engine all ready to bolt in, that thing should be beast !

Any time! Let me know.

[gbranham]

Fabbed up a fancy schmancy Vapor Can from some spare parts, and some 2" PVC I had laying around. Amazon helped with the two PVC end caps and some activated carbon, for a total of $15. Sanded down the PVC to give it some tooth and hit it with several rounds of rattle can silver. Sweet! :)

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[gbranham]

Got the cockpit carpet installed this weekend. I have been dreading this, because I hate installing carpet. But, I sucked it up and got it done in 4 or 5 hours over two days. I used the brush-on Weldwood contact adhesive. It worked great, and allowed some adjustment when the carpet was applied to a panel before it stuck in place. I used about a quart and a half. Not sure what I'm going to do with the top of the trans tunnel, or the rear of it. Thinking about fabbing up some sort of cubby at the rear, and maybe some sort of body color match on the trans tunnel.

I have to say, the kit-supplied carpet seems to be of better quality than I remember from my MkIII. Maybe it's the same, and maybe I'm just a bit better at this than I was 20 years ago, but I think it turned out great. I have one or two spots I'm not proud of, but they won't be visible with the seats in.

Have a great week, everyone!

Greg

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[Rebostar]

Greg
Great job on the carpet. Looks good. I just finished the insulation install. I thought I'd wait on the carpet till the body work was done.

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[gbranham]

Installed Forte's mechanical throttle linkage today. Very high quality product. I can see that it's infinitely adjustable. A couple of things I learned:

1) The roll pins that come with the kit are essential. I haven't installed them, but they are absolutely necessary to keep things from slipping.
2) The footbox linkage needs to be cut, drilled and tapped. The instructions say nothing of this, but maybe it's implied. I cut mine to 12", drilled out with a 7/32" bit, and tapped with a 1/4-28 tap.
3) The lever that connects the gas pedal rod to the main rod that goes through the footbox wall...it hit the top of the footbox, as expected. I ground down the top of that lever, and that did the trick. See my pics to see how much I ground down, relative to the outboard lever at the other end of the main rod.

I read several posts about installing this kit, so I felt pretty confident going in. I installed the rod ends on the firewall, just above the 2x2, and ground down the washers on the inside of the firewall to get the bolts as close as I could to the 2x2. It seems plenty solid with the kit-supplied firewall. Next, I measured and cut the footbox linkage to 12", drilled and tapped (see specs above). I'm using the kit-supplied gas pedal, so I had to take it out and drill out the top hole to accept the rod end threaded post and nut. After I drilled the gas pedal, I installed the shortened rod. Next, I slid in the solid rod that goes through both rod ends on the firewall, and marked where it hit the inside wall of the footbox. I then drilled a 3/4" hole in the footbox wall, and hogged out the center of a 3/4" ID paintless dent repair plug I had (I used to do PDR for a living), and pushed the plug into place. Then slid the rod through the footbox wall. I then installed the footbox lever on the rod, and bolted everything up. Pretty simple and straightforward. Oh, I did have to grind down the footbox lever, as mentioned above. That gave it the clearance it needs to prevent rubbing the top of the footbox. I'll have to dial it all in when I get my engine installed and fired up, but for, I'm calling it done. . It looks pretty good.

Fun Sunday project. It's 98 degrees outside, but I had the shop at a comfortable 73 degrees. Can't wait for Fall, and FOOTBALL!!!

Have a great week, everyone!

Greg

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[Rebostar]

Great job on the throttle linkage. I had the same issue with the outer lever hitting the top of the footbox. I left the lever as is and made a hole in the top of the footbox, then made a cover.
well done

202508202509

[JMD]

Way to go! I installed the same throttle linkage about a week ago, haven't put up the pics yet though. It is a quality piece with some extra work needed, but well worth the effort. I did mine over two days as the first 2 hours trying to measure and calculate the geometries and clearances started giving me a headache. You can vary the ratio of pedal travel to throttle linkage movement in all sorts of ways. I've heard to give yourself as much pedal travel as possible, so I did that for mine. I could not get the roll pins to secure properly so drilled the holes and bar then used self tapping sheet metal screws (like the ones removed from the aluminum but longer) to secure it. They are even stronger than the roll pins and are removable, which is a bonus!

Now you just need an engine to attach to it... ;)

[cc2Arider]

Nice work Greg! :cool:

Craig C

[TrackDay17]

Greg, thanks for allowing me to visit and check out your project.
Your car is going to be really nice when it's finished, your craftsmanship looks top notch !

I'm definitely excited to plan out my build and order a kit in a few months.

[gbranham]

Greg, thanks for allowing me to visit and check out your project.
Your car is going to be really nice when it's finished, your craftsmanship looks top notch !

I'm definitely excited to plan out my build and order a kit in a few months.

You're welcome...any time! It was great to meet you, and I look forward to hearing more about how you spec out your FFR.

Greg

[gbranham]

Today's project was to replace the small Summit Racing bullet-style fuel filter with an Aeromotive canister-style. Not sure why I didn't do this from the get-go; it's bothered me since I installed the Summit piece. It felt like I cut corners. The Aeromotive piece is very nice. I lubed up the o-ring between the lid and body with a dab of oil, and hand-tightened it. I tried to snug it with the embossed hex on the bottom of the canister and a 26mm wrench, but it was tight. The last thing to do was shorten both of my PTFE braided lines on either side of the filter. The Summit unit sat in the same spot, but was much smaller, so the fuel lines had to be shortened to accommodate the larger Aeromotive unit. Maybe an hour and a half in the whole project. I feel much better now.

The other exciting piece of news is that I ordered my Edelbrock Pro-Flo4, intake manifold gaskets (Fel-Pro 1250S3), ARP intake studs, RAM flywheel, RAM clutch, Quik-Time bellhousing, and TKX from Summit this AM. Oh, and a dial indicator from Amazon. Thanks to the pro-tip from Kleiner...I ordered the TKX TCET17765 with the .68 5th gear.

Last hot day in KC, knock wood. 92 today, and a cold front tonight. Much cooler tomorrow and next week. No rain in 3 weeks, and it looks like another 7 days without rain. We could really use it!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Greg

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[Mike.Bray]

The other exciting piece of news is that I ordered my Edelbrock Pro-Flo4, intake manifold gaskets (Fel-Pro 1250S3), ARP intake studs, RAM flywheel, RAM clutch, Quik-Time bellhousing, and TKX from Summit this AM. Oh, and a dial indicator from Amazon. Thanks to the pro-tip from Kleiner...I ordered the TKX TCET17765 with the .68 5th gear.

You're ordering the good stuff there! Just remember to check the flange on the bellhousing to make sure it doesn't hang below the frame rails. You'll probably need to trim it some.

[gbranham]

You're ordering the good stuff there! Just remember to check the flange on the bellhousing to make sure it doesn't hang below the frame rails. You'll probably need to trim it some.

Yes, sir! Will do!

[gbranham]

I've been tinkering with gear ratio calculators this afternoon and put together a spreadsheet and graph. This shows car speed in various gears at various RPM. Looks like I'll be turning around 2250 RPM in 5th at 70MPH. Not too shabby.

205203

[JMD]

Fun step! I've got that same transmission. Even with my moderately built 302 I'm hovering around 300 ft/lbs at 2500rpm and with as light as this car is (and a conservative cam) I don't ever anticipate lugging at low rpm to be a problem. I don't even need to touch the gas pedal to get moving from a standstill. From idle I just let out the clutch and start rolling. I haven't had it on the highway yet, but from what it feels like so far I would bet a 3.31 rear gear would be the sweet spot, especially with a larger displacement engine.

Looking forward to the weather this week!!

[BUDFIVE]

Greg,
Spreadsheets and Graphs—I’m getting emotional :)
I have the same TKX but with 0.81 fifth (TCET18084). So, I’ll be ~20% higher revs at cruise, my cam is NOT mild. It’ll be fun to compare notes when we’re logging some miles…enjoying your build thread.

[gbranham]

Greg,
Spreadsheets and Graphs—I’m getting emotional :)
I have the same TKX but with 0.81 fifth (TCET18084). So, I’ll be ~20% higher revs at cruise, my cam is NOT mild. It’ll be fun to compare notes when we’re logging some miles…enjoying your build thread.

I love spreadsheets and graphs! My wife thinks I'm a dork. She's probably right.

[Mike.Bray]

I love spreadsheets and graphs! My wife thinks I'm a dork. She's probably right.

Same here except my wife calls me a nerd. At work they call me boss:)

[gbranham]

Oh joy of joys!!! Christmas has come early! Going to be a fun weekend! TKX, QT bellhousing, RAM clutch, RAM flywheel, Edelbrock Pro-Flo4 EFI, and some other supporting goodies. I'm excited to get started!!

Greg
205399205401

[gbranham]

Unboxed some goodies today.

The ProFlo4 sure is purty! Here's several pics of both the ProFlo4 and the transmission, as reference pics if anyone needs them. I know I probably will.

Beautiful 75 degree weather here in KC this weekend. No rain so far in October. It's the first year ever in the history of weather record-keeping (130 years) that KC has gone the first 19 days of October without rain. Oh well...the weather is great. Have a great weekend everyone!

Greg

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[gbranham]

A couple more:

205451205450205452

[TrackDay17]

Looks like you're going to have the engine wrapped up soon !
I like the black logo valve covers.

[gbranham]

A few more reference pics.

205477205478205479

[JMD]

Very nice...one heck of an early Christmas!

Don't forget to cut the mounting tab off the side of the TKX that's right over the fill inlet. Mine got in the way during the install and I cut it out afterward, but would be easier to do prior to install. Actually I think all the mounting tabs on the side can be trimmed as we don't use them...but that's the only one that really gets in the way, iirc. You keeping the shift location in the rear or changing it?

Excited to see the progress!

[gbranham]

Very nice...one heck of an early Christmas!

Don't forget to cut the mounting tab off the side of the TKX that's right over the fill inlet. Mine got in the way during the install and I cut it out afterward, but would be easier to do prior to install. Actually I think all the mounting tabs on the side can be trimmed as we don't use them...but that's the only one that really gets in the way, iirc. You keeping the shift location in the rear or changing it?

Excited to see the progress!

Thanks for the reminder on the mount that needs to be removed. Will get that done before dropping in the drivetrain. I'm leaving the shift location where it is.

Greg

[gbranham]

Worked on my Ram 1529 flywheel, Ram clutch and QT bellhousing installation today. Flywheel and backing plate...check. Install clutch and pressure plate to set clutch fork pivot bolt depth...fail. Summit sold me ARP 150-2201 pressure plate bolts, 5/16" - 18. They do not fit. Wrong thread pitch. I've reached out to Ram for the correct bolt (I think I need ARP 150-2202, 8mm x 1.25 20mm).So, on to checking bellhousing runout. I'm going to take a ribbing for this, but setting up my magnetic dial indicator contraption was easily the most frustrating part of my build yet. I'll hand in my man card now. Hah! After a few hours of fiddling with it, I got it, and got down to the business of checking runout with my trusty sidekick and wife, Lisa:

1) Check to ensure dial indicator returns to 0 after a full revolution...check
2) Determine most positive value as Lisa turns engine with breaker bar. +.004" at 5-o'clock...check
3) Re-zero dial indicator at this point...check
4) Rotate engine 180 degrees and check runout...-.004" at 10-o'clock...check.
5) Divide that number in half for total runout...-.002"...check.
6) Well within .005" tolerance.
7) Mark all this on the SST warranty sheet, and email it...check.

Oh, I also got my Edelbrock ProFlo4 intake manifold installed with Fel-Pro 1262 S-3 gaskets, gasket sealer, and RTV on the front and rear walls. Also a thin skin of RTV on the water ports front and back. Lightly torqued bolts, will wait until tomorrow to do final torque.

Beautiful Fall Saturday in KC...65 degrees with light breeze. Finally got rain 2 nights ago, after 29 days with none. 1.33" really helped! GO CHIEFS!!!!

Have a great weekend, and Happy Halloween, everyone!

Greg

205763205764205765

[Blitzboy54]

Engine looks mean. Really clean as well.

[gbranham]

Some quality time in this shop this morning. I got my clutch and bellhousing bolted up, and stabbed the TKX in. As expected, it stopped about 3/4" shy of mating up with the bellhousing. Tried several times, same result. Then did all the things one does in this situation...remove bellhousing, pressure plate, clutch, realign, try again, try again, and try again. After 2 hours of this, working by myself, I was frustrated, and my arms and back were a bit tired from lifting the TKX several times. So, I stopped, said some colorful words, caught my breath, and regrouped. I stabbed the TKX in again, and again it stopped 3/4" shy of the bellhousing. Only this time, I stopped there, and supported the TKX with jack stands so it wasn't stressing the pilot bearing. I got a ratchet strap out and hooked it to the clutch fork and engine stand, to disengage the clutch. Then pushed the TKX...went in like butter. Feeling pleased with my accomplishment, I then remembered reading about this tip on the forum, but clearly archived this helpful tidbit somewhere deep in the noggin. Anyway, all good now, things are buttoned up, and clutch fork seems to be centered in its bellhousing window while the throwout bearing is just touching the pressure plate fingers. I'm calling this stage done, and now will purchase an engine leveler to prep for the drivetrain installation.

Soggy and much-needed weekend in KC. Feels and smells like Fall. Have a great weekend everyone, and GO CHIEFS!!!

Greg

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[gbranham]

A few more:

205970205971205972205973205974205975205976

[Mike.Bray]

will purchase an engine leveler to prep for the drivetrain installation.

Do yourself a huge favor and order this leveler. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w41036

I don't know much about football but that Taylor Swift guy sounds really fast.

[gbranham]

Do yourself a huge favor and order this leveler. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w41036

I don't know much about football but that Taylor Swift guy sounds really fast.

Yes, sir! That's the leveler I ordered about an hour ago.

Hah! And her boyfriend is a heck of a singer!

Greg

[gbranham]

All prepped and ready to drop it in. I removed the radiator to get a bit more reach and put all tires on wheel dollies to get the legs of my hoist to clear the frame. Rear of the car is elevated a tad above the front, so with the leveler, it should be a quick task (knock wood). Next weekend's project!

Greg

205981205982

[TrackDay17]

Nice ! looks like your almost ready to go !
One step closer to making noise !

If you need another set of hands with the install let me know, I'd be happy to assist if needed.

[gbranham]

Nice ! looks like your almost ready to go !
One step closer to making noise !

If you need another set of hands with the install let me know, I'd be happy to assist if needed.

Thanks, and yes, I could use a hand. Gonna shoot for next weekend if you're around.

Greg

[TrackDay17]

Thanks, and yes, I could use a hand. Gonna shoot for next weekend if you're around.

Greg



Sure, I'll be around just let me know what time you're ready.
Working on remodeling the master bedroom every day, I can always use a few hours break from that !

[Fman]

A few more reference pics.

205477205478205479

What intake manifold gasket did you end up using? I am asking because I also have the PF4 and Edelbrock sends a gasket with the manifold. My engine builder ended up using the Edelbrock gasket and it turned out to be a complete bust, leaked and sent oil into the intake on all cylinders. I ended up recently pulling the manifold and installing a new Fel Pro gasket which took care of the problem. After my experience with the Edelbrock gasket would not recommend it.

[gbranham]

What intake manifold gasket did you end up using? I am asking because I also have the PF4 and Edelbrock sends a gasket with the manifold. My engine builder ended up using the Edelbrock gasket and it turned out to be a complete bust, leaked and sent oil into the intake on all cylinders. I ended up recently pulling the manifold and installing a new Fel Pro gasket which took care of the problem. After my experience with the Edelbrock gasket would not recommend it.

I threw the Edelbrock gaskets in the trash, and used Fel-Pro 1262-S3, based on recommendations here on the forum.

[gbranham]

Today was the day to drop in the drivetrain. I got it all done, from first hoist to cleanup, in an hour and 5 minutes, working by myself. Totally doable with the engine leveler. When I got the snout of the tranny down in the engine bay, I couldn't get enough of an angle with the leveler to get it to clear the firewall, so I gently dropped the oil pan front sump down on the 3/4" upper radiator square tube (with towels on the tube), which helped lower the tranny snout. Also put the snout of the tranny in the driver's side corner of the tranny tunnel (up against the driver footbox), and the bottom of the oil pan all the way to the passenger side. That helped persuade the whole assembly into the engine bay. Once the pan cleared, it was smooth sailing from there. I suspect if I would've had a second pair of hands to push down on the tranny snout, it would've gone in quicker, or if I raised the rear of the car more, but I had a small window of time to get it done today, so I just went for it.

Leveled it up and called it a night. Tomorrow, I'll bolt everything down and get the driveshaft in. Fun times!

Greg

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[gbranham]

A few more:

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[TrackDay17]

Looks like a nice fit, glad to hear it was fairly easy.
Can't wait to hear that beast come to life !

[Blitzboy54]

Getting the engine in is such a big milestone. I have to say I am super jealous of your work space. That is quite a garage.

Car is looking great!

[PNWTim]

Load levelers are a god send. They are great when they work well and terrible when they don't. Yours looks like it has a nice crank handle on it which is a plus. Good job shoe horning that thing in there.

[BUDFIVE]

A fun milestone and I look forward to the video (audio really) when you fire it up.

[Mike.Bray]

Load levelers are a god send. They are great when they work well and terrible when they don't. Yours looks like it has a nice crank handle on it which is a plus. Good job shoe horning that thing in there.

I have that same leveler and one of the things I like about it is the handle can be removed and adjusting done with a socket on a speedhandle. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w41036

[gbranham]

I have that same leveler and one of the things I like about it is the handle can be removed and adjusting done with a socket on a speedhandle. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w41036

Indeed! In fact, when I had it tilted with the tranny down, the handle was hitting my lift chain, so I had to take the handle off and spin it with a ratchet and socket. I used a stubby ratchet. Easy peasie. There was no OOMF required. Smooth as butter. Thanks for the recommendation on this leveler, Mike. The chains that come with it were too short to mount to both front and back heads, so I bought two 12" lengths of chain and some strong carabiners on Amazon. All had 1300lb working strength. Worked well.

[gbranham]

Getting the engine in is such a big milestone. I have to say I am super jealous of your work space. That is quite a garage.

Car is looking great!

Thanks! I love this shop. It was one of the main reasons we bought this house. It's 30x30, and since we've been here, I've insulated it, put up sheet rock, and put in a mini split. Heat in the winter and cool in the summer. My favorite place to be! I don't think I'll ever spruce it up to look like one of those garages you see in ten million dollar homes; it's super functional as it is.

Greg

[gbranham]

Good morning in the shop today! Was up and at it at 6am (I was a bit excited to start the next phase of the project, now that the engine is in).

*Got the ground strap installed. Will probably hang a 2nd one from a starter bolt to an engine mount to block bolt.
*Installed the driveshaft. Amateur Tip: Before you tighten up the engine mounts, use a 2x4 to lever the tranny snout to the left or right. I was working by myself, so I hooked a ratchet strap to my 2x4, and tied the other end to my workbench. Cinched it up, and it moved my tranny just enough to the driver's side to slip in the driveshaft. The driveshaft seems to be fairly level and doesn't have any extreme angles, using 3 Forte tranny spacers. You guys could talk me out of it, but I don't think I'm going to bother getting too precise with the driveshaft u-joint angles. I'm just going to let it ride as-is.
*Got my fuel line cut and terminated to connect to the PF4 fuel rail. Ordered the Fragola fuel line pressure test kit from Amazon last night, so I can test it when it gets here.
*Started installing my Edelbrock throttle cable bracket (#8041), but I don't think I'm going to need it, and besides, the Forte mechanical throttle linkage hits it. I'll do some research.
*Torqued the engine mount to block and frame bolts and nuts.
*Clocked my PowerMaster 9503 starter (nice piece...thanks, Mike Bray), and am waiting for starter bolts from Amazon.
*Reinstalled distributor and PF4 throttle body.
*Installed my clutch cable. I have to do some research on how to adjust it. I also bought a BBK adjustable quadrant for the outside of the footbox. Gotta research a bit here.

I removed the radiator to have more room to install the engine, but I think I'm going to leave it off until I absolutely have to install it. It's a lot easier to reach the front of the engine with it removed.

I can't find the four 12pt driveshaft bolts with threadlocker pre-installed on them. They're allegedly in the driveshaft box, but no have got. I'll call FFR in the AM and get a set shipped out.

I think that's about all I did this AM. Beautiful cool Fall morning, in KC. Have a great week everyone, and GO CHIEFS!!!

Greg

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[BUDFIVE]

Greg, good idea waiting for the radiator, especially while you put in the accessory kit and engine sensors and harness. The last thing before start up for me was radiator and hoses and it worked well.

[Mike.Bray]

I used studs and nuts to mount my starter. When I had to remove it recently I sure was glad I installed studs.

[gbranham]

Was thinking the same thing, Mike. Going to tinker with it this evening.

[gbranham]

End of weekend.

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206302

[JMD]

Nice progress...well done! The engine sure looks comfy in that thing... ;)

[gbranham]

I took the day off today to tinker in the shop, and made some good progress:

*Hooked up the mechanical throttle linkage
*Used my Fragola fuel line pressure test kit. I think I still have a very small leak somewhere. I can pressurize to 70PSI, and about 10 minutes later, it's down to about 64PSI. Maybe that's good enough. I sprayed soapy water on all the connections, and I don't have any bubbles anywhere.
*Adjusted the clutch cable and installed the BBK firewall adjuster
*Started installation of the ProFlo4 wire harness. It's really well labeled and seems to be a quality product.

Back at it in the AM. I need to order Forte's little sandwich plate that goes between block and oil filter, to gain a bung for my oil temp sensor. Also need to purchase the hex shaft that connects to the block near the oil filter, so I can thread in my oil pressure sensor.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

Greg

206438206439206440206441206442

[Mike.Bray]

There's not a bung in the oil pan you can use for the oil temp sensor?

[gbranham]

There's not a bung in the oil pan you can use for the oil temp sensor?

Nope. I have a Milodon pan. All it has is a drain plug. Between the Forte piece, and the bits I ordered for the oil pressure sender (a hex shaft for the block, and a few NPT reducers and plugs), I should be good.

Greg

[gbranham]

I had a few minutes this evening, so I threw on the short shifter. Not sure why I have both the standard stainless shifter and the short shifter in my kit. The standard longer stainless shifter bolt holes won't work with the bolts on the TKX; the bolts are too large. But, they work great on the short shifter. I like the angle, and I think it looks pretty good, too. I'll have to find a different shift knob. I remember from my MkIII days how unbelievably hot the chrome and stainless knobs get in the summer sun.

206469

[gbranham]

Spent some quality time in the shop this morning, getting myself familiar with the ProFlo4 system and all it's wiring. Really impressed with this system. Thanks, Mike Bray, for steering me toward it. I got the ECU, relay and fuse installed on the inside of the firewall, away from heat and the elements, and started roughing in some wiring. I need to get some sensors for my gauges installed before I can button up the wiring, and also need to get my accessory drive researched and purchased. Oh, and a water neck. Once all that's done, I'll tidy up all the wiring, likely with the heat-resistant fiberglass loom. I really like the look of it.

Anyway, having fun with all the wiring. It's a lot to take in, having been away from this stage of a build for so long, but it's coming together. According to the ProFlo4 instructions, my 255lph Walbro pump doesn't draw enough current that I need a relay, but I'll likely put one in, anyway.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Greg

206476206477206478206479

[Mike.Bray]

Check out this thermostat housing, not cheap but doesn't leak.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/csi-9111c

[Blitzboy54]

I had a few minutes this evening, so I threw on the short shifter. Not sure why I have both the standard stainless shifter and the short shifter in my kit. The standard longer stainless shifter bolt holes won't work with the bolts on the TKX; the bolts are too large. But, they work great on the short shifter. I like the angle, and I think it looks pretty good, too. I'll have to find a different shift knob. I remember from my MkIII days how unbelievably hot the chrome and stainless knobs get in the summer sun.

206469

I like that shift A LOT. Where did you pick that up?

[gbranham]

I like that shift A LOT. Where did you pick that up?

It came in my Complete Kit, along with the standard shifter. It was in Box28, listed as #16744 "Short Shifter Handle Parts". I don't see it as an option I chose, so I don't know why they sent it to me. I dig it, though.

206523

[TrackDay17]

I had a few minutes this evening, so I threw on the short shifter. Not sure why I have both the standard stainless shifter and the short shifter in my kit. The standard longer stainless shifter bolt holes won't work with the bolts on the TKX; the bolts are too large. But, they work great on the short shifter. I like the angle, and I think it looks pretty good, too. I'll have to find a different shift knob. I remember from my MkIII days how unbelievably hot the chrome and stainless knobs get in the summer sun.

206469



Look at Speed Dawg, I found they have a lot of cool shift knobs, even a couple with a snake logo.

[gbranham]

Look at Speed Dawg, I found they have a lot of cool shift knobs, even a couple with a snake logo.

Oh, jeez...I checked out their website. That's a toy store! I'll have to make a purchase from there for sure.

[gbranham]

Got an hour of time in the shop this morning and worked on installing my senders for my Speedhut gauges. After a trip to Home Depot (which sadly for me is a 35 minute one-way trip), I got the fittings I need to get things moving forward. I decided to forego the oil pressure hex extension commonly found on Ford pushrod engines, and just screwed a 1/2NPT to 1/8NPT fitting into the block. The only reason those old extensions existed were because Ford has a very large, bell-shaped oil pressure sensor which would hit the block. I like my solution. Time will tell if it works. Also found an oil filter sandwich on Amazon that has two 1/8NPT ports in it. Should be here tomorrow, so while I was wiring up the oil pressure sender, I ran the wiring for the oil temp sender. I also got my water temp sender installed in the manifold by installing a 3/8NPT to 1/8NPT adaptor. I opted to put it behind the 1/2NPT port, so I could use the 1/2NPT port to bleed off air when I fill the coolant system. Also allows me to get a water neck (yet again, thanks for the recommendation, Mike Bray) without a sender port in it.

I got all the wiring through the firewall and connected to the appropriate gauges. Next weekend, I'll work on installing my Amazon-provided relays and +12v Constant, +12v Switched and Ground bus bars. The relays will be for the ProFlo4 to trigger the fuel pump and radiator fan. I figure I'll install the bus bars for future expansion.

Having a lot of fun with wiring. It's very satisfying for some reason. For those that haven't reaching this point and are dreading it...don't. It's fun if you go slow...one wire at a time.

That's all for this weekend. I hope everyone has a great week. Wet, windy weather the first half of this week in KC, and then early winter sets in, with temps dropping off pretty sharply, and staying there. Will soon have to fire up the heat in the shop. Leaves have been raked up, final mowing has occurred...time to settle in for the holidays. Great time of the year.

Oh, and GO CHIEFS!!! I'm a bit worried the Bills are going to send us to 9-1. I'm good with that. I like Josh Allen.

Greg

206537206538

[jklapp]

I like the routing of the Proflo wires through the end of the dash. I'm in the middle of wiring the Proflo myself. After weeks of studying, I think I have a wiring plan , but we'll see as I get into it deeper.

The proflo has a water temp sensor in the manifold. I was going to use the FFR provided water temp sensor to feed the gauge on the dash. But, I was wondering if you could tap into the Proflo wires to keep it to a single gauge? LMK if you have any thoughts here.

For the fuel pump, I'm going to use the RF wiring harness power, and then ground the inertia switch to Proflo4 ECU wire (ground switch). I'll then terminate the Proflo4 positive wire.

Where are you going to connect the Proflo4 ignition wire? They say it needs a feed that needs power during both crank and run.

Progress looking great!

Joel

[gbranham]

I like the routing of the Proflo wires through the end of the dash. I'm in the middle of wiring the Proflo myself. After weeks of studying, I think I have a wiring plan , but we'll see as I get into it deeper.

The proflo has a water temp sensor in the manifold. I was going to use the FFR provided water temp sensor to feed the gauge on the dash. But, I was wondering if you could tap into the Proflo wires to keep it to a single gauge? LMK if you have any thoughts here.

For the fuel pump, I'm going to use the RF wiring harness power, and then ground the inertia switch to Proflo4 ECU wire (ground switch). I'll then terminate the Proflo4 positive wire.

Where are you going to connect the Proflo4 ignition wire? They say it needs a feed that needs power during both crank and run.

Progress looking great!

Joel

I didn't mind separate water temp senders for the dash gauge and for the ProFlo, so I'm simply using both. Wasn't sure if the ProFlo sender would work with the Speedhut gauge, or vice versa, so to avoid that problem, I'm just using both senders. For the fuel pump, I'm going to use the power and ground from the RF harness that feeds the pump, and tap into it behind the dash with the ProFlo wiring, and a relay, so the RF harness won't trigger the pump in any way. Doing the same for the radiator fan...a relay, and the power feed to the fan from the RF harness, but letting the ProFlo control the fan. I'm letting the ProFlo manage fuel pump and rad fan. Haven't studied the ignition wire yet, but I kind of figure I'll connect it to the ignition switch on the +12v switched or 'Run' terminal.

[Mike.Bray]

Power the ECU with the Orange wire labeled "EFI or Coil" as this wire is hot during cranking. Somewhat important, don't ask me how I know.

[gbranham]

Power the ECU with the Orange wire labeled "EFI or Coil" as this wire is hot during cranking. Somewhat important, don't ask me how I know.

I interpret this to mean the orange "Coil or EFI' wire in the RF dash harness should connect to the red/black ignition wire on the ProFlo harness? The ProFlo also has a power and ground lead directly to the battery.

Greg

[Mike.Bray]

I interpret this to mean the orange "Coil or EFI' wire in the RF dash harness should connect to the red/black ignition wire on the ProFlo harness? The ProFlo also has a power and ground lead directly to the battery.

Greg

I'm not an expert on the ProFlo but that sounds right.

[jklapp]

This sounds correct based on my examination of the wiring diagram. Thanks for the feedback guys. I’m going to use the fan and fuel pump relays in FFR fuse box. I had to break out the magnifying glass to study the wiring diagram…wish it was a true pdf and not a fuzzy image pasted into the pdf!

[gbranham]

This sounds correct based on my examination of the wiring diagram. Thanks for the feedback guys. I’m going to use the fan and fuel pump relays in FFR fuse box. I had to break out the magnifying glass to study the wiring diagram…wish it was a true pdf and not a fuzzy image pasted into the pdf!

I definitely have to wear my cheaters when reading those schematics!

[gbranham]

Awesome day in the shop! I got my oil filter adaptor installed, and put my oil temp sender in it since I don't have a bung in my oil pan. Also got my coil mounted to the back of the driver's side cylinder head. I love the wiring phase of the project...it's very satisfying for some reason. I installed three bus bars on the firewall (GND, +12V Switched, and +12V), and got out my voltmeter and put it on the continuity setting to test which post on the ignition switch gets 12V when the key is on and engine running. It's the ACC post. So, I ran a lead from that post on the ignition switch to the main post on the +12V Switched bus bar, and ran a 2nd lead from the B post on the ignition switch to the +12V bus bar. Then grounded the GND bus bar directly below it on the frame. I soldered and heat-shrunk my leads. Everything seems solid. Also mounted my radiator fan and fuel pump relays that will be triggered by the ProFlo. Will get them wired up tomorrow. Next up after that is finding a home for my MSD CDI box, and then getting it all wired up. I love this stuff!

Great sense of accomplishment today. Back at it early tomorrow!

Greg

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[Rebostar]

I am just wondering when you buy the complete kit do the brake lines come precut to the proper lengths and pre flared with all the appropriate fittings on the lines? I never see anyone talking about cutting the lines to length putting on fittings and double flaring the ends. Another question some will have a loop in the line next to the end. What is the reason for the loop?

On the brake line sizes, it depends on how you route them. So far I have not seen two builds that routed the lines the same. On mine I had to cut and re-flair 3 of the 4 lines. Pretty simple task though. Auto parts stores rent the flairing tools or you can get them from Amazon or HF.
Happy trails

[Rebostar]

Awesome day in the shop! I got my oil filter adaptor installed, and put my oil temp sender in it since I don't have a bung in my oil pan. Also got my coil mounted to the back of the driver's side cylinder head. I love the wiring phase of the project...it's very satisfying for some reason. I installed three bus bars on the firewall (GND, +12V Switched, and +12V), and got out my voltmeter and put it on the continuity setting to test which post on the ignition switch gets 12V when the key is on and engine running. It's the ACC post. So, I ran a lead from that post on the ignition switch to the main post on the +12V Switched bus bar, and ran a 2nd lead from the B post on the ignition switch to the +12V bus bar. Then grounded the GND bus bar directly below it on the frame. I soldered and heat-shrunk my leads. Everything seems solid. Also mounted my radiator fan and fuel pump relays that will be triggered by the ProFlo. Will get them wired up tomorrow. Next up after that is finding a home for my MSD CDI box, and then getting it all wired up. I love this stuff!

Great sense of accomplishment today. Back at it early tomorrow!

Greg

206712206713206714206717206716206718206719206715

Looking sweet! I like the temp sensor in your filter adapter. I shoulda done that...oh well next build! Love the custom wiring too. Where did you find the buss bars? I had to build my own.

[gbranham]

Looking sweet! I like the temp sensor in your filter adapter. I shoulda done that...oh well next build! Love the custom wiring too. Where did you find the buss bars? I had to build my own.

Thanks! The bus bars and the oil filter sammich adaptor were from Amazon. I think a pair of the bus bars was $12, and the adaptor for the temp sender was $30. Seems to be a quality piece, too. Got good reviews.

Greg

[edwardb]

I installed three bus bars on the firewall (GND, +12V Switched, and +12V), and got out my voltmeter and put it on the continuity setting to test which post on the ignition switch gets 12V when the key is on and engine running. It's the ACC post. So, I ran a lead from that post on the ignition switch to the main post on the +12V Switched bus bar...

You're right. The ACC post is powered when the ignition is on. But it's also switched off when the key is in the start position. Intended to allow maximum current to the starting circuits by switching off non-essential circuits. Depending on what you wire to that bus bar, may give you unexpected results. The ignition post is powered with the key on and in start. That would likely be the better candidate for your switched bus bar.

Not sure how many circuits and current you plan to run through that switched bus bar. I've done the same thing on my builds. But typically power it through a relay with battery power and only use the ignition voltage switch to trigger the relay. Something to consider.

[gbranham]

Great info, Paul. I'll make some adjustments.

Greg

[gbranham]

I got to sneak out to the shop for a few hours late this afternoon, so I finished up my dash wiring and installed my CDI box. Shout out to Travis (Fman) for the assist on CDI to ProFlo4 wiring. My ProFlo installation instructions are in black and white, and even though the wires are labeled 'red', 'white', etc in the instructions, it just wasn't clicking for me. Travis set me straight, and when I looked at the instructions in color from an Edelbrock link Travis sent me, it made much more sense. Easy peasie. I followed Paul's (edwardb) recommendation to use a relay to power my +12V switched bus bar; got that installed and triggered off of the IG post on the ignition switch. Also shortened up my Speedhut sending unit wires into the dash; they were all about 4 feet too long. All in all a good day in the shop. Next up is the battery cable installation. I guess I should buy a battery soon to test my gauges and other toggles.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone!

Greg

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[gbranham]

I had another productive morning in the shop today. Roughed in my battery cable, and installed a USB/USB-C port in the dash. Also joined up the behind-the-dash wiring to the dash wiring itself...gauges, headlight switch, ignition switch, etc. Also installed a battery cutoff switch on the horseshoe. I'll have to test all of this stuff sooner than later; I guess it's time for a battery.

Anyway, have a great weekend! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Thanksgiving. For those traveling this weekend, I wish you a safe and drama-free journey! I added some additional engine bay pics for reference.

Greg

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[BUDFIVE]

I definitely have to wear my cheaters when reading those schematics!

I took the Ron Francis wiring harness pdf to Office Depot and printed on 11x17. This was a big help, even with readers :)

[OB6]

Looking good! Where did you get the on/off bezel for the disconnect switch? I have the same one.

[gbranham]

Looking good! Where did you get the on/off bezel for the disconnect switch? I have the same one.

I got the switch on Amazon, and it came with the bezel.

https://a.co/d/dhGFCSe

[JMD]

Where did you get the oil filter adapter? I replaced my clock with an oil temp gauge in the dash but don't yet have a spot for the sending unit. That looks like it would fit the bill nicely and I like how it measures the oil temp actually circulating instead of what's sitting in the pan.

[gbranham]

Here you go!

https://a.co/d/3UWidmh

[JMD]

Perfect...thanks!

[gbranham]

Another productive Saturday morning in the shop today. I finished up my battery cable to the cut-off switch and starter, and replaced the temporary zip ties with insulated clamps on the passenger side 3/4" tube, holding my ProFlo4 and CDI box power and ground cables to the battery. Also mocked up my headlights, turn signals, taillights and license plate wiring. My trusty Amazon peeps are bringing me an Optima Yellow Top battery tomorrow, so once I have it installed, I can check all my wiring. I'm feeling pretty confident that everything is wired correctly, but we'll see! I've attached a diagram of my illumination wiring. Please check my work and let me know if I committed a Buckner anywhere.

It's a beautiful 58 degrees in KC today and tomorrow. Nice end of week treat after the cold week. Have a great weekend everyone, and GO CHIEFS!!!!

Greg

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[Jeff Kleiner]

...My trusty Amazon peeps are bringing me an Optima Yellow Top battery tomorrow...

Greg



Sorry about that. If you didn't buy a charger put it on your Christmas list because you'll need it.

Jeff

[gbranham]

Sorry about that. If you didn't buy a charger put it on your Christmas list because you'll need it.

Jeff

Interesting comment, Jeff. Say some more. I thought the Optima batteries were one of the best you can buy.

[cv2065]

Interesting comment, Jeff. Say some more. I thought the Optima batteries were one of the best you can buy.

Jeff's right. I had an Optima on the last build and it always had to have a trickle on it week over week. Bought a Walmart Everstart Platinum and I put one on maybe once a month, but if I forgot, it was still always ready to roll.

[gbranham]

Jeff's right. I had an Optima on the last build and it always had to have a trickle on it week over week. Bought a Walmart Everstart Platinum and I put one on maybe once a month, but if I forgot, it was still always ready to roll.

Super! Well, I'll give it a go, and if it's no bueno, I'll buy something else. I've been googling, and it does appear their quality has gone way down. I had no idea...thought they were still great batteries.

Greg

[Jeff Kleiner]

… I thought the Optima batteries were one of the best you can buy.

Used to be but over the past decade that isn’t the case. Hit and Miss at best. My experience has been all misses…over the last 6 or 7 years I’ve probably had a dozen cars come through here with Optimas and EVERY ONE would be dead if they sat anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks. I now tell customers if you’re bringing me a car with an Optima battery make sure to bring me the charger too.

Jeff

[gbranham]

Used to be but over the past decade that isn’t the case. Hit and Miss at best. My experience has been all misses…over the last 6 or 7 years I’ve probably had a dozen cars come through here with Optimas and EVERY ONE would be dead if they sat anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks. I now tell customers if you’re bringing me a car with an Optima battery make sure to bring me the charger too.

Jeff

Noted....LOL. I'll bring you a charger with mine. Or better yet, there will be no trace of an Optima battery in my sloppy jalopy.

[gbranham]

Had a great morning in the shop today. I got my battery installed and clamped down. It was time to throw the main battery switch, and test all my wiring. I was a bit nervous. Fortunately, everything worked! Fuel pump cycled, horn works, turn signals work, headlights, brake lights, parking lights, hi-beams, hazards...all of it. The only thing I had to do was rotate my turn signal toggle on the dash, as right was left and left was right. Loosened up the bezel nut, rotated it 180 degrees, and tightened it back down. Success!!! I've ordered weatherpack connectors for the lighting, and my trusty Amazon peeps are bringing them to me tomorrow. I'll get those installed tomorrow.

Also primed the oil system, and verified oil at all rockers. Buttoned up the valve covers, checked for leaks (none, thankfully), and called it done!

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[gbranham]

And one other small project. I removed the standard e-brake on the passenger side of the tranny tunnel, since I'm going to use the Wilwood electric park brake. Patched the tranny tunnel, and recarpeted.

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[Blitzboy54]

Getting all the electrical circuits is in my opinion the single most satisfying milestone after first start. Looking really good

[gbranham]

Getting all the electrical circuits is in my opinion the single most satisfying milestone after first start. Looking really good

Thanks! It is very satisfying...it gives it some life.

Greg

[Rebostar]

Great milestone! No matter how often we do major wiring, untill you "throw the switch" there is all sorts of demons in our heads. Best of all outcomes is no giant blue flash with accompaning billows of smoke calling forth the genie laughing at you for having the moxie to think you could do it! HA! Begone genie! Well done!

[gbranham]

It's been awhile since I updated my build thread...been waiting on parts for some time, but they are on their way! Mr. Gordon Levy hooked me up with a nice accessory drive setup (alternator, bracket, PS pump, reservoir and cooler, etc), and the Wilwood electric park brake setup. Looking forward to getting the park brake installed, and I'm glad I removed the kit-supplied park brake setup and patched the side of the trans tunnel. I hated it from day one, and don't know why I wasted my time installing it.

While I've been waiting on parts, I got the itch for a project, so I bought an LED light bar on Amazon for my UTV...I don't know how I'm going to survive when this car is complete and I don't have endless weekend projects! Hummm...that Coupe-R looks pretty nice...

210135210134

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back after it, and hope to have a first start post in the near future!

Oh, and lest I forget...GO CHIEFS!!!!

Greg

[cv2065]

That should put out some light Greg!!

[gbranham]

That should put out some light Greg!!

For sure, and a completely unnecessary purchase, but I really needed something that allowed me to turn wrenches and run some wiring. I need to finish up wiring it this weekend, but it's kept me occupied while I wait for parts for the Roadster.

[Rian_Colorado]

Ha! I had the same "I need something to do" issues while waiting 10 months for my Coupe during covid. I outfitted my entire shop, and built a race trailer from a basic cargo trailer, replaced the entire front end on my Dodge 2500, and lots of other things..... I don't think I've gotten that much work done since!!

Waiting for parts makes me itchy! Might explain why I'm anxious about the motor and other parts I'm still waiting on for my Roadster too!

You'll be back on the path soon..... This is the way

Rian

Rian

[gbranham]

Ha! I had the same "I need something to do" issues while waiting 10 months for my Coupe during covid. I outfitted my entire shop, and built a race trailer from a basic cargo trailer, replaced the entire front end on my Dodge 2500, and lots of other things..... I don't think I've gotten that much work done since!!

Waiting for parts makes me itchy! Might explain why I'm anxious about the motor and other parts I'm still waiting on for my Roadster too!

You'll be back on the path soon..... This is the way

Rian

Rian

Roger that! This is the beautiful insanity Factory Five creates. A vehicle is the nice byproduct. :)

[Infinitybox]

Hi Greg, let me know if Infinitybox might be of help to make your build easier! Good luck and enjoy the process.

www.infinitybox.com

[TrackDay17]

I can't wait to hear that beautiful engine come to life !

[gbranham]

Had a quality morning in the shop today. I received my accessory drive bits from Gordon Levy yesterday (Thanks Gordon!). Quality stuff for sure. I installed the PS cooler on the front x-brace with 1/4-20 button heads, drilled and tapped, and then installed the PS reservoir on the driver's side F-panel. Then installed the Jones Racing PS pump (really nice piece), and the alternator and tension bracket. Finally, I installed the water pump and crank pulleys that came with the kit, after removing the pulleys I had already purchased. The water pump pulley is the same March unit I bought, and the crank pulley Gordon sent is a smaller diameter than the March pulley I had on there, so I swapped it. If anyone needs a polished March water pump and crank pulley, let me know. March part #'s MCH-2008 and MCH-2012. I'll make you a smokin' deal. (Smokin' deal CLAIMED) :)

Anyway, fun morning. Now I have to figure out how to plumb the PS system. I believe the cooler should be inline 'after' the PS rack and before the reservoir, but I'm unsure which fitting is which on the rack...the red and blue-capped fittings. I'll have to research. But the path of PS fluid flow (I think) is PS pump-->PS Rack-->Cooler-->Reservoir-->PS Pump. Experts, please check my thoughts on this one. This is new to me. My MkIII was manual steering.

Have a great weekend, everyone! And GO CHIEFS!!!! (I realize that's an unpopular sentiment these days).

Greg

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[cv2065]

Which remote PS reservoir are you planning to use? I'm in that dilemma now as I tried the Holley version that Mike and others used, but it seems too close to the pump on the front fitting for me. May be challenging to use a bottom feed as it comes a little close to the brake lines as many of those reservoirs are 8+ inches tall. PSC has a nice one with rotating side mounts but $300 is a little crazy. For the money of those reservoirs, I thought about just getting another pump with integrated reservoir, but its too wide and will interfere with the steering shaft.

Ugh...Might revisit the Holley one and look at some different fittings.

[gbranham]

Which remote PS reservoir are you planning to use? I'm in that dilemma now as I tried the Holley version that Mike and others used, but it seems too close to the pump on the front fitting for me. May be challenging to use a bottom feed as it comes a little close to the brake lines as many of those reservoirs are 8+ inches tall. PSC has a nice one with rotating side mounts but $300 is a little crazy. For the money of those reservoirs, I thought about just getting another pump with integrated reservoir, but its too wide and will interfere with the steering shaft.

Ugh...Might revisit the Holley one and look at some different fittings.

My PS pump and reservoir are from Gordon Levy...he sources them from Jones Racing. See my pics above...clearance seems to be good.

Greg

[Jeff Kleiner]

Greg,
The lower port on the rack is high pressure from the pump and the upper is return. Yes, the cooler goes in the return between the rack and reservoir. Curious what cooler that is.

Jeff

[gbranham]

Greg,
The lower port on the rack is high pressure from the pump and the upper is return. Yes, the cooler goes in the return between the rack and reservoir. Curious what cooler that is.

Jeff

Thanks, as always, Jeff. Your response clears up my plumbing questions. I'm not sure what brand or model the cooler is...Gordon sent it to me along with the other bits, as a package deal. The cooler wasn't in a manufacturer's box and didn't have any identifying marks on it. It was just boxed up with the other parts by Gordon.

Greg

[cv2065]

My PS pump and reservoir are from Gordon Levy...he sources them from Jones Racing. See my pics above...clearance seems to be good.

Greg

Ah I see it.

[gbranham]

Finished up plumbing my power steering system. Also got the correct length serpentine belt installed. I ended up with a 59.5" belt. Good day in the shop. Cold and blustery this weekend, with snow on the way tonight and early next week. Very frigid temps next week, with lows to -15 and wind chills to -30, then 50s and low 60s next week. Gotta love winter in the midwest. Stay warm, everyone!

Greg

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[gbranham]

After a brutally-cold week, 12 degrees felt warm this morning in KC. Warm temps ahead!!!

Spent the morning finishing up my accessory drive components that Gordon Levy hooked me up with. I didn't like the routing of my PS return line from the PS reservoir, so I made some adjustments, then filled and primed the PS system. I spun the PS pump with the serpentine belt removed, using a 1/4 hex socket a drill to confirm I had no leaks and that fluid would circulate properly. I did this after priming the system by raising the front tires off the dollies, and turning the steering lock to lock probably 15 times until the reservoir level stayed constant. Took about 40 ounces of Honda PS fluid to fill the system. I then reinstalled my 59.5" serpentine belt and bolted up my Canton water neck sans gasket, and only used RTV, per some of the recommendations here on the forum. Next up...cooling system plumbing.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Greg

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[Gordon Levy]

Move the adjuster for the alt one hole to the pass side of the pump and then take the slack out of the adjuster. Move the PS pump in, reinstall the belt and pull the PS pump tight then adjust the alt adjuster for final tightness. That will get the alt off the water neck.

[gbranham]

Move the adjuster for the alt one hole to the pass side of the pump and then take the slack out of the adjuster. Move the PS pump in, reinstall the belt and pull the PS pump tight then adjust the alt adjuster for final tightness. That will get the alt off the water neck.

Sir, yes sir! Thanks, Gordon. Awesome system you sold me, and killer customer service. Thanks, brother!

Greg

[Mike.Bray]

I was just wondering how you were going to get a hose & clamp on that bypass fitting. Now I know lol

[gbranham]

I was just wondering how you were going to get a hose & clamp on that bypass fitting. Now I know lol

It was definitely going to be tight.

[gbranham]

Alright, I made the change. If I want to route the belt the way I had it, I'll need a slightly longer belt. Or, I can run it this way, but the PS pump is as far to the driver's side as it can go, and I don't have much adjustment left on the turn buckle. I'll probably get a longer belt and route it the way I had it. All good.

Greg

210698

[Jeff Kleiner]

Greg,
You may find that winds up a little shy on crankshaft belt wrap. Looks like it's only about 90 degrees of contact.

Jeff

[gbranham]

Greg,
You may find that winds up a little shy on crankshaft belt wrap. Looks like it's only about 90 degrees of contact.

Jeff

Yes, sir. Agreed. I also get a bit better wrap on the water pump if it's routed the way I had it before, so I'll get another belt. I measured it to be about 1.75" longer than what I had, or 61.25". Amazon, here I come.

Greg

[gbranham]

Had a nice morning in the shop today and got my Canton 2qt expansion tank installed. Seems like a nice product, as is most of Canton's stuff, and I like the visual indicator of fluid level. That's all I have to install this weekend, sadly. Waiting on several parts to come in this week, hopefully:

*Wilwood Electric Park Brake setup from Gordon Levy (If anyone wants my Wilwood standard emergency brake calipers (in black), let me know. I'll make you a smokin' deal.)
*Breeze Front LED Light Kit #70805
*Breeze Lower Hose and Tube Kit #70783
*Breeze Lower Radiator Hose Bracket #70785
*Breeze Bypass Hose Kit #70502
*Breeze Coolant Fill Tee Kit with Cap #70586

Once the Breeze bits get here, I should be able to button up my coolant system, and move on to exhaust gaskets and studs. Keeping with the ARP fastener theme throughout the engine build, I found the ARP exhaust manifold stud kit I need...400-1404 sheesh...$173!!! Oh well, gotta do it. If anyone has a recommendation for the 'spare no expense' exhaust manifold gaskets, I'd appreciate it. After exhaust is spark plug wires, then I think I'm ready to fire up the ProFlo ECU and load a base tune, then go for first start up. Getting close...

Oh, and I have to take my passsenger rear wheel/tire back to my tire shop to get it rebalanced. I found the wheel weights sitting on my suspension a few weeks ago. The car has sat on dollies for so long, the weights fell off. They were at the 12 o-clock position, and left absolutely no trace of where they were affixed to the wheel. Sigh...

Have a great weekend, everyone! Spring is near!!!

Greg

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[Mike.Bray]

Looking good!

I have the ARP exhaust header studs and love them. For gaskets might as well go with the best, Remflex. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfl-3083

Remflex make gaskets for the collectors also. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfl-8023

I used Power Grip hose clamps on my radiator and bypass hoses, these things are really sweet and look better than any mechanical clamps. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all30257

[gbranham]

Thanks, Mike. I'll get all of that ordered. I really like those Power Grip Hose clamps. I guess they're single use, so if I ever needed to remove my radiator hoses, I'd need new Power Grips. That's okay, though. Cheap enough, and they look so much better than traditional clamps. Thanks, as always, for steering me in the right direction, Mike!

Greg

[TrackDay17]

You might consider putting a strip of colored duct tape over your stick on wheel weights.
It's required for road racing motorcycling.
its a little bit of insurance, once the wheel gets some heat in it the tape will stick well.
I've never had a taped one come loose, only on a street bike when I didn't tape them.

[Mike.Bray]

Thanks, Mike. I'll get all of that ordered. I really like those Power Grip Hose clamps. I guess they're single use, so if I ever needed to remove my radiator hoses, I'd need new Power Grips. That's okay, though. Cheap enough, and they look so much better than traditional clamps. Thanks, as always, for steering me in the right direction, Mike!

Greg

Yeah Greg, they're single use. They make a tool for cutting them off but I didn't have much luck with it so I resorted to a box cutter. Like you said they're cheap enough.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20241215173841.jpg

[gbranham]

You might consider putting a strip of colored duct tape over your stick on wheel weights.
It's required for road racing motorcycling.
its a little bit of insurance, once the wheel gets some heat in it the tape will stick well.
I've never had a taped one come loose, only on a street bike when I didn't tape them.

I've never had one come off, either. KC Trends balanced them. But then again, I've never had new wheels and tires balanced, then let them sit for months with gravity working against the weights. I'm sure it'll be fine when rebalanced. By then, I'll be ready to drive it.

[cc2Arider]

Hey Greg,

That Canton tank fits really nice! I was considering getting one, and wondered about installing it on the F-panel...

Any concerns about the "arch" in the panel after tightening it down with the tabs? Did you bend the tabs a little to fit to the contours?

Craig C

[gbranham]

Hey Greg,

That Canton tank fits really nice! I was considering getting one, and wondered about installing it on the F-panel...

Any concerns about the "arch" in the panel after tightening it down with the tabs? Did you bend the tabs a little to fit to the contours?

Craig C

I watched that as I drew it tight, and didn't see any distortion in the reservoir. The F panel seemed to conform to the reservoir. If anything, the lower rear bolt could maybe be shimmed with a couple washers.

[cc2Arider]

Thanks Greg :)

Craig C

[cv2065]

I watched that as I drew it tight, and didn't see any distortion in the reservoir. The F panel seemed to conform to the reservoir. If anything, the lower rear bolt could maybe be shimmed with a couple washers.

That's what I did. I shimmed it with a couple of washers.

[gbranham]

I received all my Breeze bits this week, and got my coolant system plumbed. I bought 3 gallons of premixed coolant, and threw it in the system, but I need more apparently, as the level hasn't reached the top of the manifold, where I removed the plug just in front of the water temp sensor. Thinking another gallon or so will probably do it. The lower radiator hose is a bit close to my serpentine belt, but I have a inch or so clearance, so that should be plenty. I routed the Breeze lower radiator hose kit above my power steering cooler, and just below the center of the front 2" X-brace; if that cooler wasn't there, the lower stainless tube could sit lower, and likely give me more clearance at the belt, but there's no room to lower the cooler. Should be okay. My Remflex header gaskets and ARP header studs should be here today, so I might bolt all those bits up this afternoon or tomorrow. My plug wires will be here Thursday, 3/13, so I might be attempting a first start next weekend. Already getting nervous/anxious, just thinking about it. I've built several engines over the years, and never had a failed first start (knock wood), but it always makes me so nervous, thinking about all fasteners that have to be right for it to a)not leak like a sieve, and b)not fail catastrophically. Hah! Oh well, part of the experience!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Greg

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[Mike.Bray]

Can't wait to hear that baby rumble!

[gbranham]

I received my Remflex header gaskets and ARP header bolts this afternoon, along with some Permatex anti-seize for the header bolts. Those Remflex gaskets are thick!!! I had some fun getting the ARP washers and nuts threaded on the studs. I had to flat-spot several washers because the header tube was so close to the bolt hole. Also had to 'thin up' a 12-point wrench to get all the nuts tightened up; I took the wrench to my bench grinder, and removed a lot of material around the closed-end head of the wrench. That gave me the clearance I needed to snug up the header stud nuts. The entire time I was doing this, I kept thinking abut the Coyote folks...I was thankful for the space I had to work, even though it was cramped...can't imagine the frustration bolting up headers on the Coyote in a MKIV. Once all that was buttoned up, I thought I'd throw on my FFR-supplied side pipes, but nope...I can't find the sidepipe to header bolts, washers and nuts. I think they are a hex head M10 x 1.50" long fastener (maybe), and if that's the case, I can't find them. Oh well...Amazon is my friend.

Anyway...it was a productive evening in the shop, with great weather. Highs in the 70s this week...WooHoo!!!!

Greg

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[Blitzboy54]

Yeah, now that I’ve done it Coyote headers are an experience for sure.

FYI this thicker gaskets will compress with heat cycles. After you get say 20 hours on the car do yourself a favor and re check your torque. She is really looking sharp.

What do you think if the build compared to the MKIII?

[Mike.Bray]

211282211283211284

Are those headers polished stainless? They are sure gorgeous. I had polished stainless and it didn't take long for them to turn ugly so I had them ceramic coated. Very glad I did.

My new cylinder heads have both sets of header bolts, standard and spread. I wish I had spread bolt headers for the reasons you mentioned. I might change them out one day with some Gas-N ones, I like his ball joint better than the Factory Five ones. I've talked to Georgie about a set, I'm just not real big on paying in full and waiting 5-6 months for my parts.

Looking good Greg! Crank it up!

[gbranham]

Are those headers polished stainless? They are sure gorgeous. I had polished stainless and it didn't take long for them to turn ugly so I had them ceramic coated. Very glad I did.

My new cylinder heads have both sets of header bolts, standard and spread. I wish I had spread bolt headers for the reasons you mentioned. I might change them out one day with some Gas-N ones, I like his ball joint better than the Factory Five ones. I've talked to Georgie about a set, I'm just not real big on paying in full and waiting 5-6 months for my parts.

Looking good Greg! Crank it up!

Those are the kit-supplied FFR headers. They are pretty, but I suspect that won't last long.

Greg

[gbranham]

Yeah, now that I’ve done it Coyote headers are an experience for sure.

FYI this thicker gaskets will compress with heat cycles. After you get say 20 hours on the car do yourself a favor and re check your torque. She is really looking sharp.

What do you think if the build compared to the MKIII?

I can't say the MkIV build was much different than the MkIII, but it's been 20 years since I built my MkIII, and I think I'm a better wrench now, so it went together easier.

[TrackDay17]

Looks like your getting really close to first start !
I can't wait to hear it !

[cc2Arider]

Hey Greg,

Looking good! :cool:

I noticed your Breeze radiator fan shroud appears to be coated or painted. I like it and am considering doing the same for my build. It's about the only piece that I'd like to coat on the radiator. I noticed some previous Builders added cosmetic (and practical) touches to the front side of the radiator. Are you considering doing that, too?

Craig C

[gbranham]

Hey Greg,

Looking good! :cool:

I noticed your Breeze radiator fan shroud appears to be coated or painted. I like it and am considering doing the same for my build. It's about the only piece that I'd like to coat on the radiator. I noticed some previous Builders added cosmetic (and practical) touches to the front side of the radiator. Are you considering doing that, too?

Craig C

I powdercoated my Breeze radiator shroud the same as all my aluminum bits, and I have (albeit uncoated) Everson's nose aluminum, too. I like his solution vs the FFR nose aluminum pieces. I'll probably polish Everson's piece, but I won't powdercoat it.