Rebostar MK4 Build in Gaston Oregon

[Rebostar]

Rolled the chassis back out to the lift and brought it up to a comfortable working hieght. I started on the carpet installation. First was vacuming and cleaning all the interior and trunk surfaces. I then stripped all the footbox vent ducting and loose items out of the trunk area along with the carbon fiber fuel access covers and battery cover. Then removed the tunnel cover and rear switch panel. I'll be using a medium grey carpet for all the bottom horizontal surfaces and the black FFR carpet on all the vertical side surfaces. This will somewhat replicate the leather FFR seats and door cards. The grey carpet will be great at hiding dirt too!! As anyone with black carpet knows. Every tiny spec shows.

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[Rebostar]

I loaded the body onto my trailer today. On Monday morning I'll be bringing it down to the paint shop in Salem. I'll be golfing tomorrow morning and its supposed to rain starting around noon. I did not want to load it up in the rain. So its off to the paint shop on Monday. Quite a milestone! My painter friend tells me he will be hunting every weekend while deer season is open untill he bags one. So I'll be rooting for him to get a Black Tail this weekend! But as soon as he gets his deer he'll put the car into his paint booth. The plan now is HOK Kandy Brandywine with HOK Galaxy Grey Metalic stripes. That Galaxy grey is a spot on match for the Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic that I have a few items in the cockpit painted, ie, cup holders, oh sh*t handle, and E brake handle. The only fly in the ointment might be if he looks over my prep job and finds it "wanting". In which case I'll drag it home with my tail between my legs, and do what ever he needs to make it right and up to his prep standards.

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After loading the car body it was back to carpet installation. I have the upper trunk deck carpeted. Grey on the bottom and black on the sides and back of the cubby, back of the cockpit wall, and inner side walls. Tomorrow is golf and Monday is taken with the body delivery. Looks like Tuesday for the lower trunk.

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[Rebostar]

I finished the lower trunk carpet. It took all day! I also put another layer of 1/8" foam sound and heat insulation on the cockpit floor. Mostly because I had a lot left over, but figured it would'nt hurt. I needed to do that before I glue down the grey floor carpets, which are cut and ready to install in the morning.

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[F500guy]

I have a couple extra quarts of Weldwood if you need any. 2 Tone carpet looks great!

[Rebostar]

I have a couple extra quarts of Weldwood if you need any. 2 Tone carpet looks great!

Thank Lance, but I bought a quart the day before yesterday, so I'm good to go. Give a shout if you need those windhield fixtures.

[Rebostar]

I got another good days work on the carpeting. I got the floors, back wall and tunnel sides done. Tomorrow should see the front firewall areas carpeted. Gonna leave the footboxes for last as thats really gonna suck!

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Looks nice!

Jeff

[Rebostar]

Well then! I have the carpet finished. Except for the drivers side foot box left side panel and the two outer panels below the doors. I'll put the carpet on them as I install them for the last time. Soon I hope. I ditched the FFR shifter boot and installed the Holley black leather boot that is removable from the top. So I wont have to remove the tunnel top to remove the boot. I also decided to use my aircraft grade cargo compartment flooring material in the two lower foot wells rather than carpet that will wear over time, or I would have to install and secure floor matts. The material is indistuctable and I've never seen anything that can stain it. It also has non-skid built into it. I bonded it on with a generous helping of contact cement. I think with the leather FFR seats and door cards installed the grey floor will be a good look.

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[Rebostar]

I'm gonna call the carpet done. I installed carpet on the drivers side footbox outer panel and side sections bellow the doors. I also mounted the dimmer switch on the custom made mount screwed to the outer panel. I will have a couple of corner seams to fill on that last piece of carpet. That will get done in the morning. No golf, going to rain, so I'll be working on the car in the morning. I also got the seat belts installed. I went with black 2" web, cam lock, 4 point system. Not a fan of the Simpsons. I ordered a set of the shoulder belt trim Bezels from Mike at replicaparts.com. I'll paint those the Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic along with the defroster opening trim fittings as soon as I get bezels from Mike.

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[Blitzboy54]

Those seats are sweet. The interior is really coming together. I love it.

[Rebostar]

I made my own brake cooling inlet duct screens. I bought a section of gutter screen from Lowes ($5 bucks). I made a paper template of the duct inlet opening, then added 3/16" all around to account for the body thickness. Then I cut out the template and transfered that to a piece of 3/4" oak. This I cut with a jig saw with about a 15' angle to mimick the shape of the inside of the duct, then I made a duplicate out of the same oak board. I cut out the gutter screen section leaving 3/4" oversize, then clamped the screen section between the two oak "bucks", which I clamped into my bench vice. Then using a small ballpeen hammer I flattened the outside flange all around. Then removed it from the bucks. I then laid the screen flat side down on the bech and using 1/2" line tape as a guide I cut off all the excess screen. Test fit shows a perfect fit. The screen appears to be powder coated and can be painted any color of your choice. Mine will be Silver/Aluninum to match the Stainless Steel radiator rock deflector that will cover the radiator.
Happy Trails
Allyn

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[Rebostar]

I bought a section of honeycomb radiator screen from Summit. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL30158 This I cut to fit the radiator. TIP... use a new exacto knife blade so you dont tear the honeycomb. The honeycomb is paintable and will be painted "Aluminum/Silver". I also bought a section of stainless steel 3/16" opening screen from McMaster Carr to use as a rock deflector. I'll make some sort of attachment system using wing nuts when I fit the radiator sheet metal after the body is on.

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[Rebostar]

Slack day today. Went over to see Lance's (aka F500guy) Mk4, Had a nice visit. He's starting the door fitting process, just enough to get em to open and close without rubing anything. He said he was going to farm out the fitting and paint. After 30 days of sanding and prep I cant blame him. Speaking of which, my painter just gave me the all in price for painting the body and panels. From sealer to cut and buff. $7500. Includes all the required HOK paint & materials and 6 days of labor. He'll be starting on it right after SEMA.

[Wizbangdoodle]

I bought a section of honeycomb radiator screen from Summit. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL30158 This I cut to fit the radiator. TIP... use a new exacto knife blade so you dont tear the honeycomb. The honeycomb is paintable and will be painted "Aluminum/Silver". I also bought a section of stainless steel 3/16" opening screen from McMaster Carr to use as a rock deflector. I'll make some sort of attachment system using wing nuts when I fit the radiator sheet metal after the body is on.

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How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

[Rebostar]

How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

I wish could say it was my idea, but I found it on a You Tube video. Seems the main purpose is to keep bugs out of the radiator fins. He had it attached in such a way that he could take it out and clean it then just pop it back in. He said the temp gauge showed no change. As far as the airflow goes, the holes in the honeycomb are in alignment with the gaps in the radiator fins, so I see no difference in the way the air will flow through the radiator. The SS screen is to keep rocks out of the works. I'll drop a thread when I get the car on the road.

[Jphoenix]

How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

I use it on my race cars. The Formula Mazda has two radiators, at a very high angle to the inlet, 70 degrees maybe. No effect on cooling. Also on my Formula Ford, no difference, except I haven't had a punctured radiator or oil cooler - which is very easy to do on a road course with others throwing gravel up at the apexes.

[Rebostar]

I use it on my race cars. The Formula Mazda has two radiators, at a very high angle to the inlet, 70 degrees maybe. No effect on cooling. Also on my Formula Ford, no difference, except I haven't had a punctured radiator or oil cooler - which is very easy to do on a road course with others throwing gravel up at the apexes.

Jim, Did you make a post on You Tube? It might have been you I was quoting! If I remember correctly (I suffer from CRS) the poster said exactly the same as your post above. Most notably no temp change.
With the "trout mouth" opening it will suck in every bug within yards of it. We all know what a pain in the A## it is to clean them out. The video (which I can no longer find) showed him removing it shakeing it out and blowing compressed air though it, then reattaching it clean as new. I believe he painted it flat black.

[Jphoenix]

Jim, Did you make a post on You Tube? It might have been you I was quoting! If I remember correctly (I suffer from CRS) the poster said exactly the same as your post above. Most notably no temp change.
With the "trout mouth" opening it will suck in every bug within yards of it. We all know what a pain in the A## it is to clean them out. The video (which I can no longer find) showed him removing it shakeing it out and blowing compressed air though it, then reattaching it clean as new. I believe he painted it flat black.

That wasn't me, my videos are just racing. But it's common in road racing - also getting oil coolers holed by rocks is common, so we learn quickly that $30 of nomex honeycomb is cheaper than a new Setrab!

[Rebostar]

OOPPPS, I forgot the oil cooler inlet. Not to worry one section of that "Lowes" gutter screen is enough for both brake duct inlets AND the oil cooler inlet. Same techique as before!

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[Rebostar]

OOOPPPS Cought another mistake. Above I said I bought the stainless steel screen from McMaster Carr. It was actually from Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL22272

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[Rebostar]

There was lots of leftover rock screen from my radiator protection screen. So I made a set of screens made from the Summit .035 X 3/16" stainless steel screen. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL22272. I'll paint the Lowes Gutter Screen set House of Kolor Galaxy Grey Metalic to match the stripes and compare those with the stainless steel set and install the ones I like the most.

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I also took a few minutes to dye the two leather door straps black. I found the leather dye at my local kraft store.
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[Rebostar]

I reinstalled the body on the chassis once again. Thought I'd fit the front radiator sheet metal and wheel well (elephant ears) sheetmetal, while I was waiting on my painter. (delivering it Nov 12). I will be installing an oil cooler so I decided I wanted more than a .040 piece of aluminum keeping it attached to the car. So I duplicated the FFR lower aluminum panel in 18 gage steel. I also did not want to secure the front of it to the lip of the body inlet as per the FFR manual with pop rivits. That sure looks like crap, and they would have to be drilled out to remove the body. I bonded on three 1/4-20 studs with 2 ton epoxy to the underside if the lower lip. So there are 3 studs holdig the front and 5 screws on the rear. So the panel is removable. Speaking of the rear attachment (radiator side) I made a Z angle strip to hold in the bug screen and Stainless Steel rock screen using those 5 lower screws. I also made a second Z angle to attach the upper end of the screens using the existing upper radiator mounts. Tomorrow I'll make a couple of side angles and rivit them all together so the screen attachment will come off as one unit.

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[Rebostar]

Today I finished the mounting bracket for the bug and rock screens. I used two 3/8" aluminum angles 18.5" long on each side. I made four gussets for the corners to attach everything together. I had to joggel the top and bottom ends and used countersunk 3/32 rivits. There are 5 nuts on the top that pick up the 5 upper radiator mounts and 5 screws on the bottom that attach to the lower radiator flange. I also fitted the two side/corner pieces. I installed 10-32 nut plates with countersunk rivits to tie into the bottom piece. I can remove the entire set of screens and keeper in 3 minutes though the front opening. So it will be easy to remove and clean. Everything except the bug screens will be painted Carbon Fiber Metalic. The Nomex bug screen will be primer grey. The outer sides and bottom side of the lower piece will be painted grey Raptor Bed Liner.
Tomorrow will be installing the oil cooler.

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[Wizbangdoodle]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

[Rebostar]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

The 3/4 tube is FFR, it came with the chassis. I cut off the 3" blocks that FFR installed to mount the radiator. Then I stitched welded on a 2" x 1/8 steel plate the length of the upper tube. To that I installed McMaster Carr 1/4-20 3/4" dia shock mounts. That is the upper radiator mount. For the lower I copied the Breeze unit, but welded on the mounts.

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[Rebostar]

I got the oil cooler mounted today. The steel plate will be way better than the .040 aluminum. I will not be using the FFR supplied AN-10 hose fittings. I ordered a set of four 60' fittings that will come off the side pieces about 4" higher than the 90' supplied by FFR. I also ordered a set of bulkhead fittings rather than cutting a hole and lining it with a grommets.
I also got the two front splash panels (elephant ears) mounted. Tomorrow : rear splash panels.

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[Wizbangdoodle]

The 3/4 tube is FFR, it came with the chassis. I cut off the 3" blocks that FFR installed to mount the radiator. Then I stitched welded on a 2" x 1/8 steel plate the length of the upper tube. To that I installed McMaster Carr 1/4-20 3/4" dia shock mounts. That is the upper radiator mount. For the lower I copied the Breeze unit, but welded on the mounts.

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Sorry, I meant the actual radiator hose coming from the engine to the radiator.

[Rebostar]

Opps, sorry my bad, I was following the thread of the radiator mounting.
The upper radiator tube was a polished stainless steel 1.5" diameter tube I found on the internet. I'll have to dig for the reciept to tell you who I bought it from. I bought 2 pieces one 2ft straight and one 2 ft with a 30' bend in case I needed it. I found a beading tool on Amazon. Check back tomorrow and I'll have that vendor for you. If nothing else you can get the one for the lower hose from Breeze and just cut out the straight section you need then bead it.

Allyn

[Rebostar]

I got the two rear splash shields installed. The left one was a bit of a "bother"! I had to make the shield fit over the battery box that now lives there. I also plan to install them with rivnuts so I can take them off if I want to remove the body without having to drill out all the pop rivits. The lower attachment on all four will be with a nut plate and a 10-32 SS screw.

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While installing the rear shields I noticed the front of the rear wheel wells had a gap of about an inch that I'll make a removable filler plate with a bulb seal on it to close that gap

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[Rebostar]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

The upper radiator tube came from www.allpurposepipes.com out of Colorado. P/N 001585 for a 2' straight section of 1.5" SS tube. #001553 for the same with a 45' bend. The beading tool came from Amazon.
Happy Trails
Allyn

[Rebostar]

I finished fitting the under door aluminum. I also made a couple of seals for the body gaps in the front of the rear wheel well. When that was done I broke all the new peices down for paint. I'll be removing the body again in the morning. It has to go to the paint shop early Tuesday morning.

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[Rebostar]

Its been a few days since I posted. Been doing all the little things prior to installing the body for the last time. Small things like adding rubber bumpers to the top front long square tubes as they are about a half inch below the body. Repositioning the passenger seat closer to the tunnel to get the seat away from the body corner. Mounting the filler plate on the left of the dash. And about a half dozen small issues none of which I took a pic of....sorry about that.
I also loaded the body and panels back into my trailer and delivered it all to the painter. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll get it back fully painted and ready to install a week from this coming Monday. The roll bars will be back from the chrome shop on the 18th. So looking at wrapping this project up by Jan 1st.:rolleyes:

[Rebostar]

After delivering the body to the paint shop yesterday, this morning I started mocking up the oil cooler and all the associated plumming. I allready had the oil cooler mount sorted, so I just needed to route the -10 oil hose. I used two 30' AN-10 fillings per side off the oil cooler. I also used 2 AN-10 90' bulkhead fittings to go through the side panels. I got the oil filter adapter from Breeze with the internal thermal switch. Off that I used two 90' AN-10 fittings and plummed to fit. Then just clamped everything down to make it all secure.

I have all the panels laid out for prep and paint. The splash panels will get grey Raptor Bed Liner on both sides. All the front inlet panels will have the same on the down and outsides and Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic on the "show" sides.

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[Rebostar]

Today I installed all the rivnuts that will attach all 4 of the splash shields and the two filler plates on the forward side of the rear wheel well. I did not want them rivited on. They will attach with 8-32 screws so they can be removed for body R&R. I also scotch brited all the remaining panels then etched them, then primed them with eurathane primer. Tomorrow will see the splash shields painted with Grey tinted Raptor Bed Liner and the nose section panels painted Carbon Fiber Metalic. I also painted my "bug" screen primer grey.

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This is the unused trans mount
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[Rebostar]

Today I decided to see if I could fit the Metco Drive Shaft Loop using an alternate mounting method. I saw AAron use the webs on the rear of the 4" tube and I wanted to do something similar. I started with a light cardboard cut out to see what would fit. Then I transfered that to 3/16" steel. I bent the first set of angles with a vice and torch. For the second angle I cut off the section and welded it back on at the correct angle. So now I had a base to attach the hoop to that would bolt to those angle webs. Then I mocked up the hoop and cut off the mount section that I needed. I clamped that in place to make sure everything would clear. Then I welded that section onto the previous piece. Looks like it will clear all the E-brake cables and pulley. Tomorrow I will drill the mounting holes to attach it to the car. I will weld on a pair of nuts on the inside of the upper flanges so It can be un-bolted. I'm sure this has been done a few times but on the other Metco thread I did not see or hear anything about it except what I posted about AArons installation.

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[Rebostar]

I forgot to metion that I got all the splash shields painted with Raptor Bed Liner and the nose pieces and several interior pieces Carbon Fiber Metalic:)

[Rebostar]

This mornings festivities included finishing up the Metco driveshaft hoop. I put the reat axle on jack stands and worked the rear suspension system to make sure everything would clear. It does. So break down and primed and painted the new piece. I'll leave the hoop itself black powder coated. I also got some of the painted pieces installed. I slid the seat belt eschutchens on the belts. I have to remove the seats to drill out the mounting holes. I'll get that done tomorow. But the trim looks great painted the Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic. I also painted the E-brake handle. I dont want any chrome or brushed/polished aluminum anywhere in the cockpit. I installed the two side nose peices and attached the oil cooler hoses, then installed the upper filler plate, which I'll have to remove in order to install the bug and rock screens. Tomorrow I'll be painting the center section and spokes of the steering wheel.

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[Rebostar]

Detail, details, details, Seems like they never end. Because I want to be able to remove the splash shields, I cannot seal them. So I have some adhiesive backed 1/8" rubber strips I got from West Coast Classic Cougar and made some gaskets that would allow space for the rivnuts that hold them on and be water proof. A real Pain in the A** punching out all those holes. Then I needed to attach all the bulb seal. So now I have removable splash shields.
I got the steering wheel and hub painted its gonna look great with the Tony Branda Cobra center logo. I'll post pic tomorrow. I also spent the time to add an axle vent line. Because I have lots of leftover AN-6 stuff I decide to use it. I know its overkill but its better than letting all those parts collect dust.
The bummer for the day was the Chrome shop wont have my roll bars till next Monday....a week late, but at least I called first before driving an hour over there.

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[Rebostar]

I've plum run outta stuff to do!! Well here is a pic of my overkill axle vent line as prosmised. I added 5 gallons of gas and calibrated my "Fuel Link" per the Classic Instruments manual, so I now have an accurate fuel gauge. I replaced a leaking steel oil plug in the Canton Pan with a brass one. Hopefully that stops the weeping. I installed the leather E-Brake boot I got from Poland. ( Very nice and well made, thank you for the tip Lance! ). I got the shoulder belt trim pieces drilled and screwed on. Oh yea, I drilled out the "air" hole in the steering wheel hub to allow air to escape when I install the Cobra Emblem, then I reassembled and installed the steering wheel. One small tid bit I added a few inches of heat shrink between the outer steering shaft bearing and the steering wheel hub so the 3/4 steel shaft wont rust. And lastly I added a quick disconect to the Liecence plate light wire.
Now I'm stuck till I get the body back from paint. Guess I'll work on my Studebaker engine (331 Ford Stroker actually), but it will power the 57 Studebaker Silver Hawk I'm building.

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[Rebostar]

Seems I've run out of ideas to keep working on the MK4. Ive read through the entire build manual and I've done everything I can without the body which is still at the paint shop. Seems like I was promised one thing but am getting another. That is, I delivered the body to the paint shop on the 12th and was told it would be done after this weekend. I have yet to see a spray out. Much less having anything done on the car. So I've been condemmed to "paint jail".
I was not totaly overjoyed with the way the oil cooler in and out lines came out. They kinda looked like an after thought. So I made another pair and changed the routing and color of the fittings. I like the new lines better.
As the oil cooler lines were all I could think of to do, I decided to put my 331 stroker back on the run stand as it was given the boot when I built the 427W thats in the car now. So I rolled it out of storage and put it back on my run stand. I have it partialy connected and will wrap that up tomorrow. Its supposed to rain here for the next week, but they are promising a break over Thanksgiving so I should get a run in then.

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[Rebostar]

Damb, I'm bored!! Looking for stuff to do. I'm still in "Paint Jail". I decided to make a cover for the wiring that is on the back side of the rear switch panel that has the seat heaters and vent blower control switches. I just did not want moisture, dirt and crud on the back side of those switches. Fortunately I have a supply of bread and muffin tins that I scored from the Goodwill for a buck apiece. I usually use them for hardware storage when disassemling something. But today one of the old fasion bread pans is now my inside cover for the rear switch panel. I had to shorten it an inch and weld a flange on each side to mount it to the 3/4 tubes, then weld on the shortened end after making clearance for the wire bundles that run through the area. Primed and painted ready to install tomorrow when the paint is dry! Then cut some anti-chafe strip to protect the wires.

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[Rebostar]

Here is the finished product after painting and edge protection. I also installed some 1/8" self adhesive anti chafe strip on the mounting flanges.
Happy trails!

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[Rebostar]

I just wanted to give an update on the paint job. ( I know your all waiting with baited breath! :cool:). It seems House of Kolor was a few weeks late in shipping out the secret "additive" that makes the Shimmerin II Brandywine pop. My friend Pedro plans to shoot the body this weekend. I hope to get it back after next weekend. He will need time for the paint to cure and a few days to cut and buff. I'll post again when I get more info or my car body back.

[Rebostar]

I just got the bad news from the painter. More bulls*#t excuses. No paint job. Hence the term "paint jail"! I got off the phone with a couple of other local body shops. They were obviously smoking crack, asking 15K for a top coat and cut & buff. That comes out to $2500. a day for 6 days work. Or $312. per hour. I guess I'll wait! I have a Studebaker Silver Hawk to resto-mod as I while away the hours and days.

[Rebostar]

HA! At last some progress on the paint. Just the underside of the hood and deck lid, but its a start!

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[danmas]

That looks amazing. That will be a head turner when it is done…

[Blitzboy54]

Looks great. What's the strip color or are you going solid color?

[Rebostar]

Looks great. What's the strip color or are you going solid color?

This color is HOK Brandywine. The stripes will be HOK Galaxy Grey Metalic (-05 the darkest shade). Though I plan to check it out after he finishes the body but before the stripes go on. I'm not yet fully commited to the stripes, though I did buy the paint for them. I chose the dark grey to tie the body into the grey highlites in the interior.

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[Blitzboy54]

That will look sick.

[Wizbangdoodle]

Amazing. I saw a Cobra this color at a car show this summer. Even took pictures of it. It's the color I chose as well. Although when I looked at HOK, they had several Brandywine tints. I'd be interested in what your stripes end up looking like...if you do stripes. I haven't decided on stripes yet either.

[Mike.Bray]

HA! At last some progress on the paint. Just the underside of the hood and deck lid, but its a start!

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That's going to look spectacular! IMO you can't beat HOK for wow colors. We went with an HOK candy blue over silver and when the paint shop screwed it up they wanted to redo it using their brand of paint instead of HOK. Fortunately we still had the original spray out so my wife runs out to the truck and gets it. We told them we didn't care what brand of paint but here's the color. The new painter they had hired, who I actually knew and is quite capable, had a real "oh crap" look on his face when he saw the spray out. Six weeks later he threw in the towel and admitted he couldn't match the HOK color.

I still have the spray out hanging on the wall in my office.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20230301180514mediumrotated.jpg

[Rebostar]

That's going to look spectacular! IMO you can't beat HOK for wow colors. We went with an HOK candy blue over silver and when the paint shop screwed it up they wanted to redo it using their brand of paint instead of HOK. Fortunately we still had the original spray out so my wife runs out to the truck and gets it. We told them we didn't care what brand of paint but here's the color. The new painter they had hired, who I actually knew and is quite capable, had a real "oh crap" look on his face when he saw the spray out. Six weeks later he threw in the towel and admitted he couldn't match the HOK color.

I still have the spray out hanging on the wall in my office.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20230301180514mediumrotated.jpg

My painter friend did my 64 Fairlane Thunderbolt clone in this exact color (Brandywine). It was the Shimerin I, Kandy over a silver metalflake base. This new HOK is Shimerin II over a black base. All the shinny bits and secret sauce is added to the base paint. Pedro says he can repair/blend this newer HOK paint, whereas with the old Shimerin I he would have had to re-shoot the whole car if it was ever damaged.

[Rebostar]

Hot dam Maynord! I just received these pics from my friend Pedro who's doing the top coat for me in his auto body shop. Thats HOK Brandywine. I assume it has clear coat on it as thats the usual procedure. It has to cure before the stripes go on. I will stop by his shop tomorrow to give a thumbs up or down on the stripes depending on how it looks now without them and what kind of tone contrast the HOK Galaxy Grey Metalic has.
I'll take some better pics and post them tomorrow.

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[Rebostar]

As promised above I went to look over the paint top coat. Below are the pics. After shooting the HOK Shimmerin II Brandywine, Pedro shot a light coat of "Intercoat" to protect the paint while he masked off and shot the stripes. So it does not have any HOK clearcoat on it. Pedro say's he will wet sand the intercoat with 1000 grit then shoot at least 2 maybe 3 coats of HOK Clearcoat. After that dried for a few days or a week or so he'll cut and buff it. Then it's back home for final assembly.

After looking over the paint, and seeing the amount of pearl and metalflake in it I'm thinking that the HOK Galaxy Grey stripes would be a distraction. What do you think? I'll post a question on the roadster general topic forum. Please chime in.
Thanks
Allyn207959207960207961207962207963207964

[cv2065]

Wow...that's beautiful. Reminds me a little of that Soul Red. The sunlight is going to light that color up! I looked at that Galaxy Grey and its stunning as well, but I see what you are saying. Maybe a ghost stripe would be better? Did the painter do a sample draw down of both colors together?

[OB6]

That red is outstanding, and I love the glassed-in hood scoop. I wouldn't worry about stripes taking away from that color... I don't think it's possible!

[Rebostar]

Wow...that's beautiful. Reminds me a little of that Soul Red. The sunlight is going to light that color up! I looked at that Galaxy Grey and its stunning as well, but I see what you are saying. Maybe a ghost stripe would be better? Did the painter do a sample draw down of both colors together?

Yes sir. He did a spray out of both colors together. The Brandywine overpowers the Grey a lot, and the pics I have are in direct sun light that does not show the pearl in the Brandywine. If the Grey had some pearl in it that might be different, but who knows. Not sure I want to "experiment".

207979207980

[Mike.Bray]

I have a buddy that runs Classic Recreations where they build very high end "new" 68 Mustangs and other cars. I've seen them put vinyl stripes on cars when the customer can't decide on stripes/no stripes or the stripe color. He told me one car they did 6-8 times before the customer decided.

[Rebostar]

I have a buddy that runs Classic Recreations where they build very high end "new" 68 Mustangs and other cars. I've seen them put vinyl stripes on cars when the customer can't decide on stripes/no stripes or the stripe color. He told me one car they did 6-8 times before the customer decided.

Yea Mike I know what you mean. I know I'm a bit anal, with me only once or twice, maybe 3 times, but 6 or 8.....I'm not "that" anal! This being said I have been thinking about vinyl "carbon fiber" stripes to match the dash and console. Somewhere down the road if I dont go with the HOK Galaxy Grey.

[Rebostar]

I just recieved these pics from my painter friend, Pedro. The clearcoat is done. He says I can come pick it up on Tuesday at 3pm. YEEEEEHA!!

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Looks great! Stripes would add nothing to that :cool:

Jeff

[Blitzboy54]

Looks like glass. Congratulations on almost being done. This is the best part!

[Mike.Bray]

That's going to look amazing with your American Racing wheels. Can't wait to see it.

[PNWTim]

Going to be a really beautiful car. I am guessing it will really pop in the sunlight.

[Rebostar]

After 2 months I'm finaly out of paint jail! I picked up the body and panels today and brought them home. Very happy with the results. Giving it a close once over I'm pleased that all the hours of body work and sanding and fitting and sanding and gapping and sanding have paid dividends. I'm quite pleased that I did not try to attempt to shoot the HOK color. I could never have had this kind of result.

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[gbranham]

Mile-deep shine! Love it!

[Rebostar]

Well, back to the salt mine! In preperation for installing the body I thought it would be best to test the lights again as I installed weather Pack connectors on all the lights while waiting for paint. Hooked them all up with the connectors and behold, they all worked as advertised. So I installed the front turn/parking and rear turn/brake lights. While I was at it I installed the trunk lid seal too. As you recall I made oil cooler and brake duct inlet screens. Those I siliconed in place. I used some scrap tubing and wire to put tension on them while the silicone dries. I mounted the gas filler assembly. I got the pre-made FFR louvers that I modified to make them removable, then had them chrome plated. They got installed as well.
Tomorrow should see the headlights and defroster ducts installed as well as anything else I can think of that needs to be done prrior to installing the body on the chassis.

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[Rebostar]

Slower day today....I slept in!!
As some of you may recall I installed a small heater/defroster behind the glove box. It has two outlets one will go to each side of the windshield. I found some defroster vents and matching vent covers on Summit. I installed those today. The ducts are currently collapsed and should extend to the defroster as I lower the body onto the chassis.
When one looks down at the wheels/wheel well areas there are portions of the inside of the body that can be seen. I had painted the inside of the body grey tinted Raptor bed liner. There was quite a bit of various overspray from the black sealer and top coat as well. That would not do! So I mixed up some of the left over HOK paint and covered all the areas that can be seen from the outside. I know its a small thing, but now is the time for these pesky little details that would have bugged the crap out of me later down the road.

208470208471208472208473208474208475208476

[Rebostar]

Well, I've poured over the build manual, and made sure everything they said needed to be done before the body goes on, is done. I got the headlights installed. One of the three clips that hold the lamps to the attachment rings needed to be drilled on each of the head lights. But that was no big deal. Everything was pretty straitforward. I also had to add a foot of ducting to the left side defroster duct, as what came with the defroster was way to short. I had plenty of friction tape on hand so it was an easy task. Last thing was to install the side footbox seals on each side and remove the oil cooler for body install.
Lance (aka F500guy) will be coming by in the morning along with my brother-in-law and we will mount the body to the chassis. (hopefully for the last time). "Stay tuned"....."dont touch that dial.

208488208489208490

[Nigel Allen]

A suggestion. Once you have got the body in position and still have someone in the shop to give you a hand, grab a torch and go looking for leaks in the firewall. Even the smallest gap will make it feel like a furnace on a hot day.

By the way, absolutely love your workshop, it oozes cool. Must be a great place to just hang out.

Cheers,
Nige

[Mike.Bray]

Nige is Aussie, by torch he means a flashlight. Not an actual torch. I work for an Australian company so I speak the language.

[Nigel Allen]

Whoops. Mike is right. An Acetylene torch with a #12 tip will certainly light things up, but not in a good way ...

I haven't even managed to come to terms with hood (bonnet), trunk (boot) or transmission (manual gearbox, automatic transmission) yet.

[Mike.Bray]

When I first started with my company we had a tech over from Sydney working on one of our machines in our warehouse. He's buried deep up in the machine and asked one of our techs for a "torch" meaning of course a flashlight. Our guy hands him a propane torch! Thank goodness it wasn't lit!

For a long time when I would be looking for something I would go to our VP who was from Oz and ask him what he would call it. A set screw is a grub screw. A spacer or shim is a packer. A wrench is a spanner. It took me awhile to learn to speak Aussie.

[Rebostar]

The job I had when I retired at the end of 21 had me working on a Navy (Military Sealift Command) AKE Supply/Ammo ship as a helicopetr wrench (mechanic). We had the opertunity to visit Austrailia a couple times as we were working in the southwestern Pacific. Also got to see Singapore (6 times), Guam (lots), Philippines (lots) Guadlecanal, Tarawa, Munda, Kwajalaine(sic) and Thialand twice. Lots of Aussie's in that neck of the woods, so I picked up the lingo. The one "English" language that may as well be Greek to me is whatever that gibberish is they speak in Scotland, cause it sure aint English or sould I say "Merican".
But I digress. To late, for the "air leak" inspection. Though I do have a "torch" that mounts on my head! We set the body on early this morning. Lance and his bro-in-law and my bro-in-law showed up at 10am sharp we made short work of it. Took 5 minutes. Would have been half that, but I had to make the defroster duct connections as we lowered the last couple feet. After everyone left I managed to get the front and rear body mounts set and had all my origonal alignment marks met. I got the 4 lower bolts in their respective "slots" setting the fore and aft alignment. I had moved the front outriggers to the right to get the lateral alignment perfect then attached the over riders on the front. Then I re-installed the oil cooler and its mount plate. So the body is officialy on.

208550208551208552208553208554208555

[Rebostar]

A suggestion. Once you have got the body in position and still have someone in the shop to give you a hand, grab a torch and go looking for leaks in the firewall. Even the smallest gap will make it feel like a furnace on a hot day.

By the way, absolutely love your workshop, it oozes cool. Must be a great place to just hang out.

Cheers,
Nige

Thanks Nigel
Here are some "unclutered pics.

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[Rebostar]

But wait! There's more!!

208563208564208565208566208567208568208569208570

[Mike.Bray]

The one "English" language that may as well be Greek to me is whatever that gibberish is they speak in Scotland, cause it sure aint English or should I say "Merican".

I know what you mean, the owner of our company is originally from Scotland so we get a mix of Scottish & Aussie from him.


https://youtu.be/NMS2VnDveP8?si=_U216mfdrjUyR83l

[Rebostar]

I Know! The front overriders are on upside down! I like the look better. Also they will protect the lower fiberglass around the oil cooler better. I'll have to see how it looks with the rears on. I may flip them back the way they should be if it looks goofy.

208575

[Rebostar]

Ok, dumb move! After installing the rear over riders the fronts did in fact look goofy. So both front and rear installed per FFR. Also made all the electrical connections for the lights. Tested and all works as advertised.

208629208630208631208632208633208634

[Cobraman]

Looks absolutely beautiful can't wait until I'm at this stage of the my build :cool:

[Rebostar]

Looks absolutely beautiful can't wait until I'm at this stage of the my build :cool:

Thanks for the kudo's. I'm at the point now where everything I do adds to the appearance. Also since I brought the body home from the painters I only approch the car at half speed. I dont want to drop a wrench on it or fumble a screwdriver and scratch it. So I'm taking my time and every action I do is thought out and deliberate.

Allyn

[Rebostar]

Today was roll bar install day. As you may recall I fitted a set of the Breeze Roll Bars. I got them back from the chrome platers last month. They did a great job with the polishing and the chrome was 1st class. I really like these Breeze Bars they look so much better than the standard MK4 "paper clips". I had to remove the rear wheels to get the outboard Pins in so while they were off I installed the rear wheel well splash shields. Last thing I did today was install all the hardware on the deck lid. I also wired it up with a weather pac connector. Ready to install the deck lid first thing in the morning.

208676208677208678208679208680208681208682

[Mike.Bray]

I have to admit I'm partial to that candy color and chrome Breeze roll bars!

[Rebostar]

This morning had me installing the deck lid. I left the two axis bolts in place so all I should have had to do was install the 4 Lateral adjustment bolts. HA! Not sure why but I ended up having to pretty much start from scratch in getting the deck lid gaps all even. But its very close now. I can fiddle with the fine tuning later. I ended up with the wire connector tucked neatly out of sight. Here are the deck lid pics.

208699208700208701208702208703

[Rebostar]

Lance,(aka F500guy) stopped by early this morning with two of the small hood bumpers I asked him for if he had any left over. Last night he suggested we install the windshield while he was here. So I had everything preped and nicely laid out when he arrived. It took us about 20 minutes to get the windshield installed. I had made up some jigs when I first fit the windshield. They made short work of the whole install. I decided to do the top of the windshield rear view mirror install. The bracket I got from replica parts is chromed aluminum and looks great and the mirror will be where I would always be looking for it! The last thing I did for the day was build up the hood for installation in the morning.

My pile of parts is getting very small!!

208704208705208706208707208708208709208710208711

[F500guy]

Great incentive to hit the garage seeing your final assembly!

[Rebostar]

I installed the hood today. I had prefit it while I was doing initial body work. One thing I noticed was that the hood was too small for the opening FFR made for it. Without touching the hood I set it in the hole and measured 3/8" gaps front and rear as well as both left and right sides. I mentioned this here on the forum and was told that was "normal" and with all the primer, sealer, top coat and clearcoat the gaps would fill in to the acceptable 3/16". So all I did was round the corners and trimmed about 1/16" off the front center 6" or so. I ended up with even gaps all around. Well, now after all the primer,sealer, paint and clearcoat I now have 1/4" gaps all around. I bit larger than I expected but I can live with it. I will have to move the bumpers inboard to hide them as they can be seen in the 1/4" gaps. Not a big deal. The hood looks great and the gaps are consistant all around. It's starting to look like a "car"!!

208768208769208770208771208772208773208774

[Rebostar]

After the hood went on I still had half a day to spend in the shop. So, on with the doors. I first installed the matching FFR leather door cards. All the pre-fitting on the doors paid off as they went on like butter. Two minor adjustments on the pax side lower body bolts and they both fit like a dream. I just had to drill the holes for the check straps which I had dyed black and rivet them on the vertical door support. I can see that I'll need to move the pax seat back as the seat touches the door lever. No big deal. Tomorrow will see the under door sheet metal and carpet done and a start on the exhaust side pipe install.

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Good job on the door to body interfaces Allyn! That's where all the time and money is :) Oh, and regarding those gaps...set it out in the sun on a hot day and you'll see that they have grown tighter. You have to be especially conscious of this when doing a dark color car.

Jeff

[Rebostar]

As mentioned yesterday I fit the under door aluminum and the carpet this morning. I also installed the "D" seal the JK recommended (Thanks Jeff). Made a big difference in the way the cockpit looks. I ordered the black leather streeing wheel from FFR. I initialy ordered the wooden wheel when I ordered the kit. But after completeing the interior I/we (read; the chief and I) decide the black leather was the way to go.

208846208847208848


I started to mount the side pipes. HA!!
I'm having an issue with the Pax side (right) header to side pipe alignment. First let me reassure you that the engine is sitting square to the frame. Checked and double checked. Engine is level. Both pins 1/16" below the top of the mount groves. So I know the engine is installed correctly and is square and level. The issue is the right header is 1.25" higher than the left (drivers side) measured just inboard of the ball flange. The left side pipe went on just as advertised. No shims, just a gasket. The pipe is level and square to the body and the lower mount aligns as it should. Left side= everything is groovy! Right side not so much. When I did a mock up for the "go cart" I noticed the differance and ordered up two 1/4" and one 1/8" tapered shims from Breeze. I thought that would "fix" the issue. Not so much. I used both the 1/4" tapered shims to direct the pipe downward and used most of the ball flange just to get the side pipe square to the body. Now the issue is the side pipe is 1.25" inches higher than the left. I would not worry about it because you cannot look at both headers and side pipes at the same time so who would ever notice? Except that with the right side pipe that high the rear attach bracket would not fit per FFR. I can however modify it to work, which is my plan in the morning by welding a vertical extension on the bracket.
I called F500guy (Lance) and he measured his headers and the right side is also 1.25" higher than the left. So he has the same issue.

So what are folks doing to remedy this? If I order another header or set of headers from FFR I'll end up with another set that was not welded correctly in the jig. I'm sure the angle of the head base plate to the 4 pipes is off by between 3 and 7 degrees thus accounting for the 1.25" discrepency.

I thought about removing the header and heating the collector pipe up cherry red and bending it downward. That would ruin my $350. Ceramic Coating job.
Or I can leave it as it is.
What other options have you guys come up with?

208849208850208851208852

[Jeff Kleiner]

The solution to correcting sidepipe alignment is wedges from Breeze. Probably 50%!of the cars I do require them (especially those with other than FFR headers &/or pipes).

https://breezeautomotive.com/

Jeff

[Rebostar]

The solution to correcting sidepipe alignment is wedges from Breeze. Probably 50%!of the cars I do require them (especially those with other than FFR headers &/or pipes).

https://breezeautomotive.com/

Jeff

Jeff
My entire exhaust system is from FFR, Headers and Side pipes. I have a half inch of Breeze wedges on the top of the flange, any more and it will contact the inside of the body. (see pic below) Wedges wont fix it. Any other ideas?

208862

[Jeff Kleiner]

Jeff
My entire exhaust system is from FFR, Headers and Side pipes. I have a half inch of Breeze wedges on the top of the flange, any more and it will contact the inside of the body. (see pic below) Wedges wont fix it. Any other ideas?

208862

Cut, modify and weld the intermediate pipe between the ball flange and sidepipe.

Jeff

[Rebostar]

I called FFR this morning and sent them a batch of pics. A couple of the engineers looked things over and really had no solution. They recomended I rock the engine over. But that would have the effect of having both sides a half inch high and niether side bracket would fit without modification and the engine would no longer be level with the frame. In addition to that I'd have to raise the engine, remove the mounts, then add an additional 1/4" to the pin slots in the mount brackets. Right now the pins are maxed at the top of the slots. So having one side correct (Left), the engine level to the frame, and one side (Right) 1 inch higher than the other is preferable to all three being out of spec. So thats what I'll do. Keep the engine level, have the left side correct and modify the right bracket to mount the right side a bit higher.
I'm certain the angle of the cylinder attach plate of the header was welded to the primary pipes at an incorrect angle. Only a few degrees would give you the 1.25" deviation at the end of the header. Another builder with the same engine and headers as I have, measured his headers and found the right side 1.25" higher than the left, exactly like mine. So this is not unique to my installation. The good news is no one can see both headers and side pipes at the same time. But the perfectionist in me is having a hard time with it.

208878208879208880

And the right side completed

208881208882

[Rebostar]

I wrapped up the exhaust system. I modified the right side pipe bracket to allow for the 1 inch higher pipe. As the folks on this forum recomend using only one of the two attach bolts, I cut the upper "ear" off of both brackets to use the lower holes. I installed the right bracket to the underside of the car per FFR, except I drilled two 5/16 holes to use 2 through bolts instead of the 3/16 self tapper FFR supplies. Then I slid a bolt through the lower hole of the side pipe and attached my two "ears" and clamped them to the lower bracket. Then weld, trim, polish ,clean, prime and paint. Also primed and painted the left bracket. When dry I assembled everything and all the bolts went in with slight pressure.
Exhaust is officialy done...........................for now!

208945208946208947208948208949208950

[Rebostar]

With the exhaust sytem done the last bit of assembly will be the wind wings and Breeze rear view mirrors, plus a couple of badges I scored from Tony Branda. That will happen tomorrow. On Tuesday my black leather FFR steering wheel arrives and after I paint the spokes Carbon Fiber Metalic to match the other painted pieces in the cockpit I'll replace the wooden steering wheel.. Next week promises dry weather so I should be off to the local DMV come mid week.

My pile of parts grows thin!

208957

[Rebostar]

I installed the wind wings and Breeze mirrors this morning. It was all pretty straight forward. The instructions called for the bottom DS hinge screw to come up from the bottom. If you do that there is no room to use any screwdriver that I own to hold the screw while tightening it. So I installed all four pointing down with the nuts on the bottom. Everything works fine and I can tighten them in the future.
Next I installed the only piece of "bling" I'll be putting on the car. The Tony Branda 427 side logos. I clipped off two studs, used a die grinder to trim them flush and used thick 3M double sided adhiesive tape to attach them. I decided I will not be using the two Cobra logos that would go on the front and rear of the car. I guess I'm just not a "bling" guy. I left 90% of the trim, logos, and brick-a-brack the manufacturers seem to stick on all over their cars, off my builds. Engine call outs being the exceptions.

Today at 9am I installed the last part (the engine call out badges). So assembly is offiacaly finished! I received the kit March 1st of last year. It took me 11.5 months to build the car and engine. 6 hours a day 6 days a week for 11 months.

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[Mike.Bray]

I have the Breeze mirrors with the windwings and love them. No sunvisors for you? They really deflect a lot of wind up and over your head, assuming you're a little guy like me:)

[Rebostar]

I have the Breeze mirrors with the windwings and love them. No sunvisors for you? They really deflect a lot of wind up and over your head, assuming you're a little guy like me:)

Yup, I'm a "short" 6'-2". I thought I'd see what it was like without the visors. If it blows my hat off I'll get a set. Right now its just that the "look" is cleaner without them.

[gbranham]

Yup, I'm a "short" 6'-2". I thought I'd see what it was like without the visors. If it blows my hat off I'll get a set. Right now its just that the "look" is cleaner without them.

Agreed. I had neither on my MkIII

209045

[Rebostar]

I have 27 mic. FFR kit parts I did not use for the build. I posted them in the 4 sale section. Some have prices, some are "make offer" some are free. Check'em out and PM me if you need anything.

209143209144209145209146209147

[Rebostar]

As I mentioned above. Build is done. Now the tinkering begins. First up is a replacement steering wheel. I bought the wooden wheel when I ordered the car. After the interior turned out the way it did. I decided that the black leather wheel was the way to go. It arrived from FFR yesterday. I painted the spokes Carbon Fiber Metalic to match the rest of the painted inerior bits, then installed it. I think its a way better look than the wood wheel.

Next up will be painting the door hinges semi-gloss black as well as the body directly behind them. As they are now your eye is drawn right to them. I want them to be LESS noticable!

Before: 209238

After: 209237


209237

[Rebostar]

Fixing up another anoying detail. I did not like the silver door hinges so I removed the doors and hinges then painted them semi gloos black along with the visible area of the body behind the hinges. So now your eye is not drawn to the hinges. They kinda hide in the background. I know, a small thing, but thats how I roll!

Before:
209305

After:
209306

[gbranham]

Definitely a good adjustment. They're not the most attractive part, so letting them hide in plain sight is a good move.

[Rebostar]

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!

Another anoying detail that needed addressing: The Moroso dip stick was too long. It was a "universal" unit, a cut to length affair. Problem was the alen set screw stripped out before the set screw moved. I had to drill the darn thing out. Turns out they filled the set screw threads and the cavity that holds the dip stick handle on with RED loc-tight....morons! So, Drill and tap, then off to Ace to get an oversized set screw. An hour and a half to do what should have been a 10 minute task. But good now.
After reading Lance's thread about his ride hieght changing after a few drives I checked mine and sure enough all were low. re-set fronts to 4" and rear's to 4.5". Also he mentioned his exhaust pipes sagged a bit so I also tiightened up the brass ball joint nuts.
Last up was installing my side pipe heat shields. I'm not sure I like them. I dont know if they'll stay. Maybe they'll "grow" on me. But there on for now.

209318

[Mike.Bray]

209318

I love everything about your car.....except the heat shields. Fully appreciate the usefulness of them but just can't get over the looks.

We noticed a real difference in temperature between the polished stainless sidepipes and the Jet Hot coated ones. They'll still bite you but not nearly as bad. With our last car being a Viper we've learned to be careful getting in and out.

[Rebostar]

I love everything about your car.....except the heat shields. Fully appreciate the usefulness of them but just can't get over the looks.

We noticed a real difference in temperature between the polished stainless sidepipes and the Jet Hot coated ones. They'll still bite you but not nearly as bad. With our last car being a Viper we've learned to be careful getting in and out.

Thanks for the tip Mike. I completely agree with your assessment. Those heat shields look cheey!. Another member turned me onto a very nice looking set. He sent me a PM with the link for them. I think I'll be getting them. First I have to drive over to Lance's house (AKA F500guy) to check out the set he has. I'll leave this set on untill I get a replacement set.

[Rebostar]

Sunday seems like a great day to sit on my butt and watch football. Besides its 35'F outside and the only heater I have in the shop is a aligator diesel fired space heater.

So here is the promised breakdown of the major assembly parts used and costs;

Kit Invoice from FFR=$24,736.
OPTIONS:
351 SS Headers
Body cut out
Carbon Fiber Dash
Wind Wings
Trunk gas rods
Over-Rider kit
Oil Cooler kit
Front sawy bar kit
Seat track kit
Diamond Stiched Door panel kit
Diamond Stiched Leather seats
Assembled side louvers

ENGINE:$8,843
1969 Ford 351W Block machined and bored .060 oversize $500
Scatt 418 Stroker kit $2530
Summit Racing engine parts $5993

DRIVE LINE: $9,876
TKX Transmission $2895
Bellhousing $300
Quick Performance Ford 9" rear end, modified to replace Ford 8.8 w/ 3.50:1 gears $2655
American Racing Polished Halibrand style wheels $2795
Tires, ordered from Summit $830
Custom built drive shaft $401

BREEZE PARTS: $3,227
Roll Bars $582
Roll bars chrome plateing $1620
Radiator installation parts $319
Mirrors, gas peddle, mic $561
Oil Cooler adapter plate $145

MIC:$16,449
Stewart Transportation $2678
Paint (top coat) $8000
CVF Pully/Altinator kit $462
Classic Instruments Moal Bomber Style Gauges $1326
Electronic Power Steering Kit $835
Willwood Front Brake kit $1807
Willood Rear Brake kit $1321

The above listed costs are just the large ticket items. There are too many expences under $500 to list here. However I did add up all my reciepts. To say the least I was shocked! Knowing the kit cost, and a rough idea of the engine parts costs I was thinking someing in the mid to upper 50's. HAH! Silly me.
Total reciepts come to an all in cost of $72,171 not including DMV costs of $239.
I estimate 1500 hours of labor over 10 months at 6 hours a day, 6 days a week.

This is the cost of being a perfectionist. Its who I am! I'll never get out of it what I put into it, but that was never my intention. I just wanted to build the best Cobra Roadster I could.

[Rebostar]

After finishing the Cobra, I went back to restoring the 1957 Studebaker Silverhawk I was in the middle of when I bought the MK4. I've been keeping up with the forum however. In a couple of recent posts I read where people are trimming (shortening) the rear upper A arm sleeves to allow sufficent adjustment to get the 7' castor required. F500guy confirmed the need to do that on a recent visit to his shop. I had set it up using the dimentions in the build manual and used my "FastTrack" alignment tool. I had gotten close to the -.5' camber but ran out of threads. I figured it was close enough to go-kart, and would let the alignment shop deal with it. At the time I was completly unaware of "trimming the sleeve" requirement. In one of the threads J.K. gave some better dimensions which I just used to re-set the alignment. I started from scratch after removing, trimming, and re-installing the sleeves. I was able to get the castor dialed in, in three adjustments with about 1/4" of threads left on each rear sleeve end. The camber took two adjustments. Toe-in took three adjustments to get it right. Tomorrow morning I'll double check all the settings then torque everything.

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[Blitzboy54]

I have never seen chrome hailbrands before. I can't say enough good things about this look. Really really well done.

[Mike.Bray]

I have never seen chrome hailbrands before. I can't say enough good things about this look. Really really well done.

They're made by American Racing and sold through Vintage Wheels (https://vintagewheelsus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_62_94&products_id=634). They are available in bolt-on and pin drive and are gorgeous IMO.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20220617093413mediumrotated.jpg

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20240511141756mediumrotated.jpg

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20240907135433rotated.jpg

[Rebostar]

I have never seen chrome hailbrands before. I can't say enough good things about this look. Really really well done.

Thanks for the kudo's. As far as the wheels go...what Mike said above is spot on. That's where I got them. I love the polished look, way better than the grey paint. Also a bit cheaper if I recall.

209790

[Mike.Bray]

209790

We almost have the same car with the HOK candy paint, polished Vintage wheels, SBF, and ceramic coated exhaust. I actually wanted red, it's my favorite color, but my wife wanted blue. So we compromised and went with blue.

[Rebostar]

We almost have the same car with the HOK candy paint, polished Vintage wheels, SBF, and ceramic coated exhaust. I actually wanted red, it's my favorite color, but my wife wanted blue. So we compromised and went with blue.

Ha, you forgot the matching chrome Breeze Roll Bars! Also here, the "chief" wanted HOK Rasbury but they discontinued it. So this tint of Brandywine was as close as we could get. I was looking at Highland Green al'la Steeve McQueen and "Bullit" but she nixed that 5 seconds after the words escaped my lips. She, as usual was right on with the color.

[Mike.Bray]

Ha, you forgot the matching chrome Breeze Roll Bars! Also here, the "chief" wanted HOK Rasbury but they discontinued it. So this tint of Brandywine was as close as we could get. I was looking at Highland Green al'la Steeve McQueen and "Bullit" but she nixed that 5 seconds after the words escaped my lips. She, as usual was right on with the color.

I'm with her, not green! A cartoon car needs to look like a cartoon lol

I only have one Breeze bar, the wife said she could duck as she liked the traditional single bar look..

[Rebostar]

Drummer Mike's heat shields arrived yesterday afternoon. I put the Cobra on the lift to make it easier to install the new heat shields. Pretty straight forward installation. Very high quality. These were the only ones I found ceramic coated ready to ship. The coating matched the side pipes exactly, which was a concern when I ordered them, but not to worry. I really love the "no visible means of support". Hats off to Mike. We got a break in the rain for a few hours so I pulled the car out of the shop to get some idea of how the shields would look in the sun.

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[Rebostar]

Howdy folks!
Been a while since I posted. I thought I'd update the ongoing saga. When last I posted I had swapped out the exhaust sheilds. I put about 150 miles on the car. Mostly just short trips. Working out small bugs. One small bug that turned into a large one. I just spent a month in Europe and when I left the average temperature here in Oregon was still in the 60s. Well now its in the mid 80s to 90s. So now you know this story is temperature related.
I've used Holley carbs on all my cars. I know em and trust em. For some reason I decided to try a Quick Fuel 750 CFM "holley clone". Let me preface this little story by saying every... and I mean EVERY Holley I've ever used worked great right out of the box with only minor adjustements after installation. I build cruisers not race cars. I expected the same with Quick Fuel. Silly me! Big rookie mistake on my part. In the cold weather the WAY to high float level (no fuel level in the sight glass) was dumping vast amounts of fuel into the intake but still running reasonable well for a new engine and cooler temps. Also it turns out the choke was not pulling off. Well upon attempting to take the "chief" for a Sunday drive after we returned from Europe it flooded and refuesed to start. So out with the spark plugs and off with the carb. Cleaned and dried everything. Set float level to spec (centered). Re-installed everything. Started right up. Set idle mixture with vacume gage. RPM to 750. Re-set the choke after warm up. So now all is well.
The moral of this story is I could have burned my car to the ground because I assumed the Quick Fuel quality control was as good as Holley's. But its on me for not checking the float level as soon as it started. They all take a bit of dialing in, but I assumed the factory would have set everything to "nominal" WRONG!!!
I just wanted to share this little saga in the hopes no one else does the bone head move I made. If you have a new carb, check float level first!!

Oh yea we did drive to a car show yesterday in Independence Oregon. 100 mile round trip. Car was flawless!

[Mike.Bray]

216009

[gbranham]

LOL, Mike, and right there with you. With the myriad EFI options today that look very similar to carbs in the engine bay, I just don't understand why one would want to deal with the carb nonsense. To each their own! :)

Greg

[cv2065]

just don't understand why one would want to deal with the carb nonsense. To each their own! :)

Greg

It's all about the sound dude! EFI tames that beast. I like it shankin' not stirred. :p If I were to initially go EFI, I'd just roll with a Coyote and not a pushrod.

[gbranham]

It's all about the sound dude! EFI tames that beast. I like it shankin' not stirred. :p If I were to initially go EFI, I'd just roll with a Coyote and not a pushrod.

My pushrod 427 w/EFI shakes and barks. I know there's a difference in sound between carbs and EFI, but it's not like a pushrod EFI doesn't growl and bark.

[cv2065]

My pushrod 427 w/EFI shakes and barks. I know there's a difference in sound between carbs and EFI, but it's not like a pushrod EFI doesn't growl and bark.

Definitely agree that the EFI systems are more efficient than a carb when setup properly, especially if you have different elevations. I'm not crazy about the fuel smell at times either. I've added a return line to my fuel system in case I ever want to switch. The issue I have is that the EFI systems stabilize the idle, removing some of the rumpety rump that I enjoy. Some of the systems have timing control that could be turned off to get a better idle sound and drivability, but that's kind of defeating the purpose of the investment. Here's a good article on it.

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2015/...y-not-like-it/

[Mike.Bray]

If an engine has more lope with a carb vs. EFI it's simply because the tune is crap, you're just hearing a crappy running engine. The other is the cam LSA, EFI likes more LSA than a carbed engine. But EFI engines can lope right along with them and as an added benefit not foul the plugs or constantly try to die at idle.

This is idling at 750 RPM and 12 degrees initial timing.


https://youtube.com/shorts/Z6fe29wFXuM

[Mike.Bray]

:p :p

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[cv2065]

:p :p

216074

:D:D;)

[Rebostar]

Did'nt really want a Carb, EFI debate. I just wanted to warn anyone who installs a Quick Fuel carb to beware.

Call me thick headed or a redneck....is there a difference? I just run with what I was raised with. I dont want 50 psi of high octaine fuel running around the chassis and suspension, nor a mini computer to run it all. I hate computers!

[danmas]

Did'nt really want a Carb, EFI debate. I just wanted to warn anyone who installs a Quick Fuel carb to beware.
I hate computers!

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[gbranham]

"They don't hate you". Good one, Danimal!

[Mike.Bray]

I just run with what I was raised with. I dont want 50 psi of high octaine fuel running around the chassis and suspension, nor a mini computer to run it all. I hate computers!

So this means you're running drum brakes, a points distributor, a generator, and have an 8-Track player? :p

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[Mike.Bray]

I hate computers!

The ProFlo and now the Terminator can be tuned with your phone through Bluetooth. Does that work for you? ;)

216199

[Justin]

It seems there have been a few issues on some builds with the Forte throttle linkage LH adjustable lever clearing the top sheetmetal of the LH footbox. Sure enough, after making all the throttle adjustments I wanted, I cleco'ed the top sheet metal in place. The lever sticks out about 1/4 ".


This is something FORTE needs to address. I was lucky and caught mine. The 351 engine's throttle linkage is so high that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get that linkage bar level without putting that lever into the footbox top. I do like your solution.