289 USRRC build in Seattle

[Jphoenix]

Renee's 289 and my Coupe-R arrived. Doing inventory now on something like 70 boxes - both kits almost entirely complete. Waiting on the shortened 3 link axle, it drop-ships from Moser, any idea how long that takes?

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[JimStone]

Wow, two kits at once. Good luck!

[Jphoenix]

I've been working on the Coupe-R non-stop, but today brought the 289 chassis down from the barn to start on it. Renee will mark the aluminum tomorrow and remove it all, then begin prepping for paint - 2 coats of black POR-15. I had the Coupe-R powdercoated by FFR and I'm glad we decided not to powder coat the 289 because the quality of the powder coat on the Coupe frame is terrible. So bad they even tried touching up the bits that were flaking off with spray paint prior to shipping it to me.


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[Jphoenix]

The shortened Moser 3 link axle arrived a few days ago, the short LCA's should be here tomorrow from FFR, they were very accommodating in trading my longer arms for the shorter arms I needed for the pin drive Trigo FIA's.

The plan is Renee builds the car - does all the dirty work like cleaning painting, drilling, riveting, bolting up the suspension bits and installing the engine and trans while I do the bodywork - eventually.

Power steering
Stock FFR brakes
Trigo pin drive FIA's with the same size tires Erik used on his 289, but BF Goodrich T/A's.
Probably going with a Blueprint 302/TKX combo.

Renee says white, maybe Wimbledon white with black stripes - or maybe no stripes.

[Blitzboy54]

I've been working on the Coupe-R non-stop, but today brought the 289 chassis down from the barn to start on it. Renee will mark the aluminum tomorrow and remove it all, then begin prepping for paint - 2 coats of black POR-15. I had the Coupe-R powdercoated by FFR and I'm glad we decided not to powder coat the 289 because the quality of the powder coat on the Coupe frame is terrible. So bad they even tried touching up the bits that were flaking off with spray paint prior to shipping it to me.


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Wow! That is bad. What did FFR have to say about that?

[Jphoenix]

I haven't asked them yet, I was going to just keep touching it up with white POR-15 (which is very durable) but seems everything I touch it just flakes off. It's a race car, so going to get abused quite a bit, not sure if I want to strip the entire frame and re-paint it at this point. Just kinda surprised, it appears others are not seeing the same issue with the normal powdercoat by FFR? I've always used POR-15 on my other race cars and it withstands the typical track rash very well, even better than the typical nickel plate on the formula car A-arms.

[Jphoenix]

Got started on the 289, completely cleaned and metal-prepped the frame, two coats POR-15, now installing the front suspension. The manual I was sent in an email is title the mMK4 base kit Assembly Manual Rev. J and it states to "Use the mount holes that are horizontal on the top of the 2”x 3” tube, not the side vertical ones.".

The manual I received with the kit is rev. K - it states to "...use the mount holes on the side, not the top horizontal ones". So, K being most recent revision, that's what I did, but with the upper control arm mount arm in the side holes, and the short LCA's for the pin drive wheels, that gives me about 15 degrees of positive camber = not right. So, I moved the mount to the top horizontal holes and it looks better, almost zero camber, but I'm out of adjustment in the upper control arm, may have to shorten the adjustment links, but I'll see when I get it on the ground.


So, if you're building a 289 with pin drive wheels, use Rev. J version of the manual for the upper control arms.

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[Jphoenix]

Front suspension installed, FFR sent me three 350# springs and one 500# spring, so sent them a message. Looks like it's all going to work out OK, I used the pin drive template from Trigo to align the pins, then ran them down with the included hex drive. Found I needed to trim the wheel studs approx. .437" to allow the rotor, hub and pin drives to screw on with some room left for the hex nut wrench. After trimming, it's perfect.

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Should have engine parts from Forte and headers from Georgie next week so can proceed on the Coupe as well.

[Jphoenix]

Got the front brakes on and the axle installed. For a 3-link installation, it’s hard to beat the Moser, especially if you go with the shortened axle for pin drives. Effortless axle install.

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[Jphoenix]

Power steering rack went in, it's a tight fit in the 289. I removed one of the hydraulic lines to let it slip in. The initial measurement of 53.063" is not applicable to the pin drives because of the shorter LCA's. I had to cut about an inch off the end of the tie rod threads to allow for the shorter span between tie-rod arms. Installed pedal box and steering gear and put the wheels on. Looks like a roller!

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[Jphoenix]

Finished up the pedal box and accelerator pedal installation this morning, then put it on the ground for a quick alignment. Centered the rear axle with the panhard bar and checked the front caster. Minor adjustment gave me the 7 degrees recommended for power steering, then on to camber, dialed in half a degree negative, plenty of adjustment available. Finally adjusted the toe to an eight inch total in. Rolls nicely.

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[Jphoenix]

Working on cockpit aluminum now. Jumped the gun a bit and installed the handbrake. I fabricated a bracket to hold the right side handbrake cable away from the RH shock absorber. Engine arrives Tuesday, so I can start planning the wiring, brake reservoir location, fuel line plumbing etc.

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[Jphoenix]

Reading the assembly manual, it says "drill, silicone and install the cockpit panel..." It doesn't say, remove the drilled panel and deburr all the holes I just drilled, both sides. So, that's what I'm doing drilling hundreds of holes, cleaning and deburring all the holes. Also, I decided to shoot solid AD rivets in the panels inside the engine compartment because I have easy access with a bucking bar. I'm using the blind rivets where I can't access the back side or the rivet goes into a tube.

Some day, this will be done :)

Tomorrow, the Blueprint 302 arrives from Summit. They ship fast.204688204689204690

[rpard508]

Got the front brakes on and the axle installed. For a 3-link installation, it’s hard to beat the Moser, especially if you go with the shortened axle for pin drives. Effortless axle install.

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Jim,
Your 289 build looks great! I’ve got the same 289 FIA setup as yours (pin-drive, 3-link, Moser etc.) and just wanted to say to check that the wheelbase is the same side to side. I had an issue where the Moser was not parallel to the front axles centerline due to how the Moser brackets were welded on (DS rear hub was about 1/2” further back than the PS). I had to use the Breeze adjustable LCAs to correct the misalignment. Other than that, no issues.
Cheers,
Rich

[Jphoenix]

Jim,
Your 289 build looks great! I’ve got the same 289 FIA setup as yours (pin-drive, 3-link, Moser etc.) and just wanted to say to check that the wheelbase is the same side to side. I had an issue where the Moser was not parallel to the front axles centerline due to how the Moser brackets were welded on (DS rear hub was about 1/2” further back than the PS). I had to use the Breeze adjustable LCAs to correct the misalignment. Other than that, no issues.
Cheers,
Rich

Good point Rich, I'll check the wheelbase.

[Jphoenix]

I measured my wheelbase, exactly 90.25" both sides, so I got lucky!

[Jphoenix]

Finished the cockpit aluminum and still waiting for parts from Forte for the Coupe, so decided to rob the accessories off the 363 and install them on the 302 that arrived a couple of days ago. Struggled a bit with the spacers for the mount plates due to the reverse rotation water pump, but finally managed to find a serpentine belt that fits. I think next time (for the Coupe) I'm just ordering everything from Summit since they have good stock, anything I need and ship fast. Engine showed up within four days. Coupe has gone out back in the barn until I get the Cobra running.

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[Jphoenix]

Flipped the 302 and installed a low-profile pan and dialed in the bell housing under the watchful eye of the garage supervisor. Then installed the SST midshift kit on the TKX and dropped the engine in. I'll have to move one of the tunnel braces an inch or so to clear the midshift position.

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[ehansen007]

Looking good man. I'll be right behind you.

[Jphoenix]

As shown previously, I moved the shifter to the mid shift position on the TKX. After installing the engine/transmission, the typical chassis brace interference issue arises, so I cut the brace out and repositioned it aft a couple of inches and now it's good. I really like the firm crisp shifts of this transmission.

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[Jphoenix]

I started to run the hard fuel lines this morning and to determine the location of the fuel pressure regulator, I first needed to locate the heater/defroster unit. I printed the template, but it did not print accurately, so I used an airplane sheetmetal repair technique of using a piece of Lexan to find the hole locations on the heater and also the outline of the cutout for the blower.

Then I located the Lexan template on the firewall, drilled the holes and cut out the rectangular blower hole. Not sure I like the little #6 sheetmetal screws that hold the blower motor to the heater core, seems kinda flimsy, so I will try to find a better way of fastening the two parts together.

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Now I can finish running the fuel supply and return lines and locate the regulator and inline filter.

[Jphoenix]

Side pipes are on, engine bay wired, dashboard wired up, need to locate and plumb the remote oil filter and some other minor items, then engine start, maybe early next week.

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[Grubester]

I got 300# springs for the rear, BUT should have been 400#. They new ones (and a FedEx label quickly)
They sent two left-hand calipers for the rear (IRS), but just got the new replacement.
Having 'fun' right now measuring the lateral runout on the discs. Started at rear and it's about 0.003" - 0.004" (generally a good spec number is about 0.002" TIR)
Also had to increase the bore of this one disc so it would fit to the hub w/o "rocking" a bit. Took about 0.006" off the I.D. Fits nicely now.
For the rear caliper alignment (the face of the 'puck' being parallel to the face of the disc surface), I'm looking at some additional shimming for how the caliper faces the plane of the disc surface so that pressure (when applied) is even.

[Jphoenix]

Put the Cobra on the ground after removing the upper A arm links and shortening them per the manual dimensions. Adjusted the caster to get 7 to 8 degrees, no problem. Dialed in half degree of camber and adjusted the toe-in to about .200" total, then readjusted the camber and readjusted the toe until it all worked out. Still have 7+ degrees of caster, so I'm good with this quickie alignment.

Poured in a bunch of fluids and primed the oil pump, got pressure up and the engine started right up. Sniper 2 working fine. Just had to adjust the engine idle and the fan on/off temps. Oil leaks on the oil filter remote mount, had to reseal the fittings going into the filter mount. Also forgot to tighten the power steering fittings on the rack, otherwise no leaks noted.

Drove to the end of the driveway and back, all gears going in the correct direction, but alas no video.

Caster
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Shortened measurement
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Comparison
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I have the 2 piece spindles and the Trigo pin drives, shortened LCA's, upper mounted in the horizontal holes. Also got the missing 500# spring from FFR and installed.

[Jphoenix]

Finishing up the aluminum.

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[Jphoenix]

Worked on the interior while waiting for exhaust parts. Center console trimmed. thinking I may use some of the industrial velcro to fasten it in place instead of screws or rivets. My Formula Mazda uses 2" velcro to hold the radiator side pods on at the bottom - stuff is very strong. Electrical is all done, everything works, even the wipers park.

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Exhaust bits arrived in Fedex this morning so started fabricating it - not sure how it will all work once the body is on, but I can go back to side pipes if this doesn't pan out. Still thinking about best way to insulate the floorboards from the muffler heat. I have a layer of Thermo-Tec and another layer of heat reflective sheet on the bottom of the floor under the seat. Maybe wrap the muffler and pipes as well.

[Jphoenix]

Sorted the support bracketry for the muffler. Got a longer extension coming for the exhaust tip to get it out further, at least past the body line.

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The mufflers I'm using are Spin-Tec 3000, 4" thick, not as thin as the 7000 series, but more quiet as a result. Pretty sure I'll have 4" clearance when all done. The lowest part of the exhaust, the muffler, hangs about an inch below the bottom of the main frame tubes.

I'm going to start on the right side, then paint and bolt it all up.

[Jphoenix]

Painted the exhaust, installed some aluminum-backed fiberglass insulation with wide head pop rivets and installed the exhaust. On the ground, I have 4.5” clearance to the lowest point of the exhaust. The frame rails are at 5” front and 5.5” at the rear. I may lower it more after I get the body on.


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Ran the engine and drove it for a while, no heat coming through the floor, so that’s working - so far. There is 3/8” air gap between the muffler and the insulation. The fiberglass mat is on top of a layer of Thermotec, and there’s the Dynamat on the inside of the floorboard.

The Spin-tech 3000 mufflers are the quietest of the Spin-tech products (I think) but the exhaust is still pretty loud, not as loud as the side pipes and definitely a lower rumble as well, deep throaty sound.

[FRM]

Cool exhaust idea. Will reduce, if not eliminate, leg burns. I already got a warning on that one. Not a burn, but those side pipes get very warm. Where's Bonney Lake? I lived in the Seattle area long ago. Still have family there. Love those mountains.

[Jphoenix]

Cool exhaust idea. Will reduce, if not eliminate, leg burns. I already got a warning on that one. Not a burn, but those side pipes get very warm. Where's Bonney Lake? I lived in the Seattle area long ago. Still have family there. Love those mountains.

Bonney Lake is south of Seattle, directly east of Tacoma.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how the layers of insulation keeps the heat off the floorboard - and surprised again that I have one seat mounting bolt buried under the muffler and all that insulation that I can't reach - not smart! I know what I'll be doing this morning :(

[FRM]

I'll bet you have a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier on clear days. Bummer on the seat mounting bolt. I had several challenges where I decided the location of things only to find out later that I had to reconsider. I tried to drill as few holes in the frame that I found out I didn't need later. Live and learn.

[Jphoenix]

Yes, Rainier is only 18 miles away as the crow flies. Today is another nice fall day and I got the body out of the barn, going to get ready for first fit try - probably take a few iterations to get everything trimmed.

I presume I need to fit the body without the seats installed? Seems like they will be in the way of fitting the rear bulkhead?

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[Jphoenix]

I'll bet you have a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier on clear days. Bummer on the seat mounting bolt. I had several challenges where I decided the location of things only to find out later that I had to reconsider. I tried to drill as few holes in the frame that I found out I didn't need later. Live and learn.

Yeah, I learned not to pre-drill rivet holes in the aluminum until I verified I could get a drill and rivet gun in that location, only had to learn that lesson three times.

[FRM]

I didn't bolt the seats down until near the end. I left them in loose and they seemed to collect all kinds of dust and metal shavings and fiberglass shavings but I had the basic low back seats and I don't think they would impact fitting the body. My body when it went on was slightly in back of the rear bulkhead and shoving and pushing moved it forward into place.

[Jphoenix]

I didn't bolt the seats down until near the end. I left them in loose and they seemed to collect all kinds of dust and metal shavings and fiberglass shavings but I had the basic low back seats and I don't think they would impact fitting the body. My body when it went on was slightly in back of the rear bulkhead and shoving and pushing moved it forward into place.

Yes, I plan to leave them out until all the grinding and sanding is done. I've read that we typically must trim firewall, the rear bulkhead, both rear trunk sidewalls and the trunk floor flange - was that your experience as well? Did you leave the dash in? I may remove mine anyhow because I don't like the FFR padding, I'll likely change to a very thin padding and leather-like vinyl.

[FRM]

I did not trim the firewall and I left the dash in. I trimmed quite a bit from the rear trunk sidewalls and put bulb seal on those, but not across the back cockpit bulkhead. No bulb seal on the rear bulkhead. I also trimmed the rear most trunk floor flange, probably more than I should have, but that was a sticking point for getting the body to settle down. I also had to trim off fiberglass around the fuel tank. For my dash I did not use the FFR supplied padded stuff, but rather this vinyl product https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PYK74SG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. top to bottom it fit well and was just a small bit short left to right, but that part ends up being bent back and tucked out of sight. I had all my gauges in place and wired before the body went on too.

[Jphoenix]

Good info, thanks. I like that vinyl.

[Jphoenix]

Dropped the body on today. Fits pretty good, have the typical trimming and adjustments.

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[Jphoenix]

The manual shows a front body mounting bracket that goes from the frame mount to the turn signal cutout. I don’t have that bracket - is it used on the 289?

[SteveWorth]

Jim
The mounts shown in the manual I did not find in my kit either but there is a cross brace shown in the 289 supplement that goes below the radiator to the body.
Steve

[Jphoenix]

Jim
The mounts shown in the manual I did not find in my kit either but there is a cross brace shown in the 289 supplement that goes below the radiator to the body.
Steve

Ah, right! I have that cross brace. Thanks for reminding me - it's here somewhere, probably in one of these boxes.

[lasse2]

Hi Jim,
It seems like you have figured this out but I'll confirm that the 289 kit doesn't have the mounts to the turn signal bracket. Just the cross brace bracket which I think does a better job anyway. I'm curious if you will run into some of the same challenges I had. My body would not fit correctly using the factory drilled front quick jack bolt holes. It would sit too high by about 5/8" and not allow the sides of the body to tuck under the frame. I ended up drilling new holes in the frame for the quick jack bolts a little lower than the original holes and it seemed to fix a few issues including the hood hinge geometry. Fitting my doors required a spacer to shift the hinge of the passenger door back so the hinge could clear the body while the driver's side was okay without a spacer. I had to clearance the body slightly to allow the doors to open fully as well. Awesome to see another 289 being built locally. I'm in North Seattle and would love to meet up at some point in the future. My car has been done and on the road since spring. I really need to post an update to my build thread but the amount of info I need to summarize and time spend linking photos has me putting it off. Compared to the MK4 build threads it seems like very few people are reading this anyway.
Lars

[SteveWorth]

Lars,
What I am seeing is that on the passenger side the body needs to move forward about 1/4" in order to properly clear the door hinge. The body can't move forward because the lower trunk flange is on the body and the passenger side bulb seal is fully compressed so I need to pull the body off again and trim these areas.
As Jim had done I trimmed the lower edge of the body around the fuel tank and this has made it much easier to get the body on and off.
Steve

[lasse2]

I had to trim about half an inch from portions of the lower trunk aluminum to get the cockpit to line up with the dash and rear aluminum and to get a bulb seal in this location. This allowed things to shift forward but didn't eliminate the need to shim the passenger door hinge a bit. In addition to this I had to remove quite a bit of the rolled lip at at the dash and rear cockpit. It looks fine when done but had me nervous. I also needed to trim the lower body at the fuel tank. I thought I had trimmed enough initially but ended up sanding more away with the body in position until it wasn't touching anymore. I used a bit of self adhesive 36 grit paper attached to a paint stirring stick to sand the body where it was still touching until it had clearance. Took some elbow grease but looks nicely fitted now.

Another thing you might want to check... With the body in place and no bulb seal installed, I found a couple locations on the body that were tight to the vertical trunk aluminum that needed to be trimmed slightly. I used a spacer and sharpie to match the other gaps so that the body would be evenly supported by the bulb seal when it was on for good.

[Jphoenix]

Lars and Steve - I spent the day trimming aluminum, body wheel arches and sanding to get a better fit. I’m really good at getting the body on and off now, having done it at least four times now. I trimmed the rear trunk floor to allow the back end to move forward enough to get the rear bulkhead to fit. Also trimmed both fore and aft cockpit edges, that helped a lot, but also had to trim the firewall some. It’s getting closer, but the front is not aligned left and right yet - about a half inch to the left when the front QJs are installed. Been thinking about relocating those bolt holes like Steve mentioned.

The body sits high in front, almost an inch of clearance at the end of the frame rails, one thread I say said it should be a half inch. I’m not sure how much clearance I should have between the top of the front tires and the wheel well arches, might bring it down a bit. In any case I expect I’ll have a few more days of alignment and adjustment. Haven’t started on doors or hood yet.

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I’m glad this is my fun hobby, if I did this for a living, I’d be *****ing!

[Jphoenix]

Lars, I know the local Cobra club meets at the Pacific Northwest Historics, there were a few there last year. I’m always there with my Formula Ford, but next year I’ll likely be running the Coupe-R there, but in any case I’ll be at all the SOVREN and ICSCC races at Pacific if you feel like coming out - always some very cool cars racing, last year there was an original Cobra with a side oiler doing the test and tune, but it didn’t race.

[Jphoenix]

My new Quickjack TL7000 arrived yesterday, bought an open box special they had with a few hundred dollars off, around $1300 shipped. Glad I did this, so easy to raise and lower the car now. Got it up high to remove the left exhaust so I can adjust the angle of the muffler and exhaust exit pipe, required grinding and re-welding, now it's perfect. I have 4.5" of clearance under the lowest part of the mufflers now - so I may lower the body a bit in front to close up the wheel arches.

More body fitting as well, with the QJ's, I can adjust the shock towers to the proper ride height, lower the car and see how the body fits, then raise it up again, remove the body again, trim some stuff and lower the body again. Going to take another day or two to get it situated properly, up and down, left and right - until it's all square and even. I guess this is the fun part of the build.

The car is very low when on the ground so the QJ makes it easy to raise it up to do wiring, etc. I also need to move the brake reservoirs - I had them mounted to the 3/4" tube on the left side of the engine bay, but the hood opening interferes. I'll make a plate to mount them on.

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[lasse2]

Interesting that your body is sitting high in front as well. What I used as a guide was the sides of the body where it tucks under the frame. At first I couldn't pull the body in. After I had drilled new holes for the quick jack bolts, everything seemed to slip into place. The new lower holes were very close to the point where the tube intersects the plate with the holes. I had to grind off part of the washers to get them into the "corner" where the new holes were. Another thing you might check once you get the body in place is how much clearance you have between the body and the upper dash support tube. Mine was much tighter on the driver's side than the passenger's side. Neither was touching but I definitely had less clearance than what is typically reported by the MK4 427 builds. I've heard of people bending this down to get more clearance. Unfortunately by the time I noticed, I had the dash vinyl and gauges complete and didn't want to pull everything apart to move where the steering shaft came through so it could be lowered a bit on the left.

[Jphoenix]

Yes, the dash support tube is lower on the drivers side, just as you describe. I tried bending it down a bit as discussed in the manual, but it didn’t move much. So yesterday I removed the dash entirely (I want to replace the padded vinyl anyhow) and now I can try to even that up - but the body is sitting properly now, driver door’s initial fit is fine, needs more work, but surprised it fit at all!

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I adjusted the shock height about a quarter inch and I now have 4” clearance and the wheel arches looking much better.still a bit more trimming in the right rear and other fiddling to do.

[Jphoenix]

With chassis leveled, I checked the height of the dash square tube on both ends and also level - so it appears the body is hanging up higher on the right side because the dash support tube is level and equal height on both sides. I see an area on the firewall that needs to be trimmed down about 1/4" = and that should do it. Keeping in mind the bottom of the body has to fit up against the lower 2" square frame tube and at some point the doors have to fit.

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[Jphoenix]

The body needs to move aft about 1.5", but I think I have the rear wheel arch height good. Still have 4" below the mufflers - getting closer to being close enough... almost. Once I get the body close, I'll start on the passenger door. I lost some of the square nuts that hold the door hinges in place and have some coming from McMaster today, so I can work on the dash while waiting for those.

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[Jphoenix]

I made a bracket to mount the brake reservoirs - moved them down off the 3/4 rail so the hood will close. Then removed the padded cover from the dash, glued on some Hexcel closed cell foam, thinner and more rigid. Smoothed the edge with tape and glued new vinyl to the dash. Gotta make some little brackets to re-mount the dash lower.

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[Jphoenix]

I'm curious if you will run into some of the same challenges I had. My body would not fit correctly using the factory drilled front quick jack bolt holes. It would sit too high by about 5/8" and not allow the sides of the body to tuck under the frame. I ended up drilling new holes in the frame for the quick jack bolts a little lower than the original holes and it seemed to fix a few issues including the hood hinge geometry. Fitting my doors required a spacer to shift the hinge of the passenger door back so the hinge could clear the body while the driver's side was okay without a spacer. I had to clearance the body slightly to allow the doors to open fully as well.

Lars, yes - I’m seeing exactly what you described above. So far I have a .25” spacer between the pass. door hinge mount and the frame, moved the door aft .25”, but not quite enough yet, going to go to 3/8” and hope that gets it closer. I don’t want to trim the front of the door because there is a large gap on the ft edge and the entire door just needs to move aft. Driver side fits fine. Also plan to clearance the body as you did to get the doors to open wider - but without contacting the body exterior skin.

Also seeing about 3/8 to 1/2” high at the front, so will adjust the front QJ holes as you did.

[Jphoenix]

I fabricated some aluminum shims between the door hinge bracket and the frame to move the door hinge aft 3/8". Now the door is much closer to fitting in the body. Still had to trim the front edge of the door a bit, but that's to be expected.

I noticed that the studs mounted inside the door are at the extreme aft position inside the door inner skin. If the door stud mount had been installed inside the door at the most fore position, the door would be very close to center - similar to the driver's door. That would be preferable to adding shims between the mount and frame as I've done. I don't see a way to change the location of the door mounting stud bracket inside the door without some intrusive surgery.

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[FRM]

I didn't enjoy the doors much. Yours look pretty good to me. I got it as close as I could and moved on. I plan to revisit the doors when I get serious about paint, but for now they open and close and fit OK. Pax door went more smoothly than driver's. Will be a future project. I have to say since I got tags I have taken it for a couple of 15 or so mile rides I didn't think about or notice the doors. I probably should care more.........next summer I will.

[Jphoenix]

I didn't enjoy the doors much. Yours look pretty good to me. I got it as close as I could and moved on. I plan to revisit the doors when I get serious about paint, but for now they open and close and fit OK. Pax door went more smoothly than driver's. Will be a future project. I have to say since I got tags I have taken it for a couple of 15 or so mile rides I didn't think about or notice the doors. I probably should care more.........next summer I will.

I agree, not going to worry about perfecting the door gaps until I take it to my sister's in Montana for paint. My brother-in-law is a master at gaps, and many other body related tasks. They are considering giving up insurance work and just go to all custom work, like Cobra's, etc.

Now I'm trying to figure out the door latches, the manual is useless on the latches, my latches look nothing like what is described in the manual, also, no rivnuts in the kit, etc. I see the 289 supplement talks about the strike plate, but not the latch mechanism, should be able to figure it out, and I have plenty of rivnuts if I go that direction, but it appears they want to me to install the latch mechanism with countersunk sheetmetal screws into the fiberglass door?

Got all the lights working properly now, so that's a milestone done.

[FRM]

I think the supplement has door latch info. Is very different from the manual. The parts simply bolt to the frame and door. No rivets. Also there's a build by an individual named Wayne who describes using lag bolts to keep the latches from separating. I'll try to dig it up.

[Jphoenix]

I think the supplement has door latch info. Is very different from the manual. The parts simply bolt to the frame and door. No rivets. Also there's a build by an individual named Wayne who describes using lag bolts to keep the latches from separating. I'll try to dig it up.

Thanks, I've got it figured out now, there's a steel plate behind the door skin I can either screw into or use some rivnuts.

Got the fuel filler located and installed.

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[FRM]

Here's the link to the door latch fix that prevents the lever from popping off the pivot.

https://www.linger.com/cobra/DoorLatchRepair.htm

It is from an individual named Wade.......not Wayne. My apologies. One of my handles was disengaged when I opened the box. I'm glad it was as I applied Wade's fix and think it won't happen while attached to the door. I used some of the lag bolts in the kit that were extra. I hope this helps.

[Jphoenix]

Here's the link to the door latch fix that prevents the lever from popping off the pivot.

https://www.linger.com/cobra/DoorLatchRepair.htm

It is from an individual named Wade.......not Wayne. My apologies. One of my handles was disengaged when I opened the box. I'm glad it was as I applied Wade's fix and think it won't happen while attached to the door. I used some of the lag bolts in the kit that were extra. I hope this helps.


That’s a great tip, thanks.

[Jphoenix]

Got the door latches installed and adjusted, working very well. Then I installed the windshield, only took a couple of hours of fitting, trimming, twisting the windshield frame side brackets a bit.

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[FRM]

Nice work. I had difficulty getting the windshield right. Fortunately I didn't strip the brass fittings along the edges, but went and ordered the Whitby Motors steel inserts for when I do remove it for paint. The driver's side bolts were especially troublesome reaching past the fuse block. I think next time I work that I'll detach the fuse block and get a better grip on the bolts attaching the windshield frame to the chassis. Looks like you aren't having "Cobra weather" in your part of the world right now. Fall in DC has been ideal, but winter is coming.

[Jphoenix]

Nice work. I had difficulty getting the windshield right. Fortunately I didn't strip the brass fittings along the edges, but went and ordered the Whitby Motors steel inserts for when I do remove it for paint. The driver's side bolts were especially troublesome reaching past the fuse block. I think next time I work that I'll detach the fuse block and get a better grip on the bolts attaching the windshield frame to the chassis. Looks like you aren't having "Cobra weather" in your part of the world right now. Fall in DC has been ideal, but winter is coming.

Windshield is a bit of a puzzle, in and out three times, but I needed to get it located so I can mark the defroster vent locations. With that done, I can remove the body to finish up some bulb seal, rear bulkhead trim, etc. - hopefully for the last time before paint.

It was a bit breezy here Tuesday, but in Bonney Lake we missed the worst of it, never lost power. 10 miles down the road in Enumclaw they got slammed pretty hard.

[Jphoenix]

Got the radiator lower mount in along with the radiator side panels.

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Been struggling getting the trunk trimmed and in position. I could not figure out how to get the trunk seal to contact the trunk lid. Looking at the Roadster manual and this video: https://youtu.be/QTEoSe0mlwA

My trunk has a return flange around the edge, essentially makes it an "L" angle - the manual and the video show that edge lip coming straight out, so it appears I need to trim that return flange off to get the seal to be properly positioned?

If I do that, then the trunk lid will rest on the seal as intended. What have you guys done? What am I missing?

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[FRM]

I did it the way you have it. I haven't tested it by driving in the rain or squirting with a hose, but it feels like it creates a seal.206970206971 I should add....no trimming of the fiberglass for me.

[lasse2]

I trimmed off the flange so it matched what was in the manual and would work with the seal. I also found that the seal that F5R provided would not provide a good seal when the trunk was closed. It also caused the trunk lid to sit lower than the body. To correct this, I ended up ordering a 3/4" bulb seal which turned out to be too tall and settled on a 16.5MM or 21/32" seal which was a little tight at first but now seals very well. The one I purchased was from Amazon and isn't quite as high quality as the one provided in the kit but should work fine and is cheap to replace if necessary in the future.

These were the specs for the bulb seal I ended up settling on:
Height: 16.5 M.M Width: 14 M.M Edge thickness: 3.5 M.M Grip range: 1.0 : 3.0 M.M

[Jphoenix]

Thanks FRM and Lars, after much investigation and digging through building threads, I decided to cut the flange off (as you did Lars) and now the seal fits fine. Haven’t done a final trim and fit yet, but it’s much better than it was.

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[FRM]

Hmmmmm. Maybe I should reconsider. What did you use to cut the flange off?

[Jphoenix]

Hmmmmm. Maybe I should reconsider. What did you use to cut the flange off?

Fred, I used my air saw, then 80 grit on a DA to reduce the thickness of the flange to about .156" so the seal snap in nicely.

[Jphoenix]

The throttle cable(s) have defeated me. First one I left lying on the headers while running the engine - forgot to properly secure it, so it was toast. Then I installed a new one from the Coupe-R that I'm not going to use because I'm using a mechanical linkage on that car. Nice to have a handy spare. So, I installed it and promptly twisted the threaded output end off while tightening the nut because I've been retired for almost a year now and I've completely forgotten how to properly torque a hollow thread tube. Some days I wonder if I'm getting old or getting stupid - don't answer that.

So, some digging around to find an old thread I remember someone had posted all the McMaster parts needed for a mechanical linkage setup, found it (forum member skidd) and McMaster had the bits here within 2 days, as usual. Only took a couple of hours to get it all in and adjusted, easy with the body off and the driver's footwell not riveted yet. Just need a couple more springs and it's ready, then I can reassemble the footwell aluminum and drop the body back on. Almost ready for fill, sand and paint.

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[Jphoenix]

Finished up pedal adjustments, brake bias setting, put the driver's footwell carpet in and riveted the driver's footwell aluminum in place. Then I re-covered the dash (again) because the thin foam I used is too thick, so just cut another piece of naugahyde and re-did it again. Gonna have to go hunt down another nauga as I'm out of my stock now. Like Wayne on the Ol'2stroker YouTube channel says: "We do it nice because we do it twice". I would modify that a bit to thrice instead of twice. But it's raining and what else have I to do on a Saturday?

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[Jphoenix]

I set my initial brake bias setting same as how I do it on the race cars:

Get the bias bar set up per the instructions in the manual.
Bleed brakes really good - which means do it twice, then wait a week, do it again until the pedal is firm.
I use an adjustable clamp to put just enough pressure on the pedal to lock the front brake so I can't turn it with my 4' steel bar/strap wrench around the front tires. I can also check that both front brakes are close to being the same lockup.
Then I go to the rear wheels and see if I can turn them with the bar, typically I can if I've set the bias up properly initially.

I want the front brakes to lock up just before the rear brakes lock up.

To adjust the front/rear bias - release the pressure on the pedal, turn the bias adjuster until I can get the rear brakes to lock up just after the fronts. Takes a few iterations and a couple hours to get it how I like it, also sometimes gotta bleed the brakes again because left side locks before the right side, always going to be some difference, but it's a good way to see if I still have air in the system somewhere.

That's the initial setup, final setup is on the skidpad, parking lot, whatever, even better if the road is wet, you find out real fast if the rear locks up first as you enjoy that merry-go-round ride. This being solely a street car, I'll adjust the bias to the front and leave it. On the race car I adjust often with the knob, dial in a bit more rear when it's raining, but not so much that I lock up the rears and spin - I can easily spin in the rain with poor downshifting technique, don't need help from too much rear brake bias!

[Jphoenix]

Car is all back together, just carpet, bodywork and paint remaining. Loaded up and headed to St. Ignatius, MT where my sister and brother-in-law have a body shop.

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I brought the Coupe-R back in to finish building it.

[Jphoenix]

Race car is in the trailer until the next race - so I have some time to kill and brought the 289 back in the garage to start on some rough bodywork before it goes to Montana after the next race in the Daytona Coupe.

Made a slideshow: https://youtu.be/xir6yEU4O4Q

[Jphoenix]

Finally got the 289 to Montana for final body work and paint. The process begins.


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[Jphoenix]

3 days of adjusting, gapping, filling and sanding- much more awaits ��

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[Grubester]

I'm building a Mk4 - 289 (BP347/TKX):

For the three mounting screws along the top of the dash... what was the dimension you used for the mounting point being below the 3/4" square tube?
I want to proceed with the dash but not wanting to put the body back on just now to observe where the cowling "roll-over" is regarding the location of the three screws.
Any comments on that part of the assembly/fab process?

[Jphoenix]

I'm building a Mk4 - 289 (BP347/TKX):

For the three mounting screws along the top of the dash... what was the dimension you used for the mounting point being below the 3/4" square tube?
I want to proceed with the dash but not wanting to put the body back on just now to observe where the cowling "roll-over" is regarding the location of the three screws.
Any comments on that part of the assembly/fab process?

I cut three angles from 3/4" aluminum angle stock and riveted them to the bottom of the steel 3/4 rail and installed a rivet into the middle of each of those aluminum angles, so about .375 from the 3/4" square tube to the center of the rivet. I riveted the 3/4" angles to the square tube. Did that answer your question?

Drove home for the weekend in the body shops loaner BMW 328 after a grueling week of sanding and filling. Driving back over on Monday to continue filling and sanding.

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[Jphoenix]

When my brother-in-law and nephew reviewed the body after I’d filled the mold seams and did some basic long boarding on the flat surfaces (I was instructed to stay off any curves, and it’s all curved!) they found that the front fenders aft of the wheel wells had a hollow area, so they filled that in with duraglass, USC glaze and finally glaze mixed with Rage Gold. I was not allowed to sand the curves section and was delegated to sanding the very few flat area like forward of the trunk and the aft of the hood - and also the inside of the doors, hood, trunk, etc. I am learning a lot from these guys. I report back to work Tuesday morning for another week of filling, shaping and sanding, capped off with a final coat of PPG CRE. That will cure through next weekend before blocking it down - at least another 2 or 3 days of blocking prior to paint the following week.

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The shop’s loaner BMW 328 (my sister’s car) that I’m driving between home and St. Ignatius comes equipped with a fine selection of classic rock CD’S.

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[PNWTim]

Sounds to me like you have some pretty good connections, tunes and all!

[Jphoenix]

More filling and sanding, going on day 7 (with weekends off) with good progress, getting the body and doors straight, true and properly curvy. Even the dogs are tired of sanding.

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[PNWTim]

Dogs know better...

[Jphoenix]

Dogs know better...

Indeed they do.

[Jphoenix]

Got the week off while the PPG CRE epoxy primer cures, so drove the bus home for some rest, beautiful country driving west out of St. Ignatius, MT. Spent an entire day of shaping, filling and sanding on the hood. The hood, doors and trunk lid are two pieces glued together and they all had seam voids, so we dug out a lot of the seams and filled them with heat-set, then Duraglas, then rage. Getting there. They'll block down the CRE next week and shoot the base coat on, PPG trim-coal metallic white with some pearl - my sister can concoct amazing colors. I'll go back and help put the body on and get the hood and trunk set before stripes.

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My experience working with my sister and brother in their shop has been eye-opening. There is so much work that goes into getting this body straight and the doors, trunk and hood straight and properly prepared - I had no idea. I think this 289 body was probably not the best to come out of the molds. It appears the rear trunk area of the body - not the trunk itself - but the fenders and turtle deck had gelcoat sprayed on after it came out of the mold. Likely the body sat somewhere for a while and it lost some shape and developed a hollow in both sides just aft of the front wheel openings. It's not obvious, but you can see if if looking in the right angle. Getting all that straight and proper takes a lot of time and careful sanding with long blocks. I'm learning a lot.

[Jphoenix]

PPG CRE epoxy primer going on. Almost 2 mil thick, plenty to block down.

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[Tooth]

Looking great. I spent a year of Friday's with my uncle (recently retired body guy) on my mark iv bodywork. I'd done bodywork before, but had no idea what I was in for on that thing. Was hoping the 289 body might be better, but it doesn't sound like it.

[Stangrob]

Jim,

BTW did you ever mention what your color scheme will be for your car?

Rob

[Jphoenix]

Jim,

BTW did you ever mention what your color scheme will be for your car?

Rob

White metallic tri-coat with white ghost stripes. Ghost stripes will be interesting: https://youtu.be/_bWp__5kEE8

[tundra2050]

I know my question is a year old and I may have missed it elsewhere, but did you go with the Moser axle and rear brake kit from FFR?

Thanks!
James

[Jphoenix]

I know my question is a year old and I may have missed it elsewhere, but did you go with the Moser axle and rear brake kit from FFR?

Thanks!
James

Yes, got them from FFR - sorry for the delayed response.

[Jphoenix]

Weeks of sanding and filling on the body, almost ready for primer.

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[Dmac800]

How is the painting going?

[Jphoenix]

Hi Don, It's on hold for the winter since I'm not fond of driving over the three passes with the bus - also it's deer season at the body shop and they're very busy replacing front clips, windshields and sometimes totaling cars. Lots of deer in the Mission Valley. I'll head back over in late March to get it finished, it's in epoxy primer right now, just needs to be blocked and then base coat, etc.

[Jphoenix]

How is the painting going?

A mild winter in the Mission Valley allows for some time to primer the Cobra. Fewer accidents due to ice on Highway 93, so sister Kathy got a few coats of primer on the 289. I'll head over at the end of the month to help blocking it out. Brother-in-law Pat and nephew Josh did all the major body work - and it was extensive to get the body straight and faired. As I noted in previous posts, this body was pretty bad - like it sat outside for a long time at FFR and warped in some areas.

I did some sanding when I was there last fall, but my skills are developing, but not nearly the skills Pat and Josh have, they are masters and ridiculously anal about stuff.


https://youtube.com/shorts/HLVbNrid70k?si=gpOv0c0XabxhKQmd

https://youtube.com/shorts/yV1aYeNxTNk?si=0V3PxOdrgVob4PeP

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