C2 Build Thread

[Pastenseverb]

Well, I did it. I had such a great tim building my MK3 I went out and found an unfinished MK4 to build and bought it. I will be driving to Kansas to pick it up next week. The previous owner has had it for a couple of years and has only installed the front suspension. The rest is still in boxes. He has purchased a donor 4.6/T-45, the Ford Racing PI upgrade and many other extras. I'll pull the motor apart to see what kind of shape it is in and go from there. I'm excited to get going on a MK4. I'll keep you posted on the trip and the build as it progresses.

Here is a pic of my MK3.1
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[riptide motorsport]

Yeah. Building is probably the best part. Congrats.

[edwardb]

Exactly the same as my story! So much fun building the Mk3 I also purchased a barely started Mk4. Been at it a couple months and having a great time. Lots of nice changes, but also a lot that's the same. Enjoy!

[Pastenseverb]

I got the car home last week, moved it into the garage and went through the inventory. I'm missing a few parts but I'm getting there. I installed the pedal box with FFRs clutch fix and now I'm starting on the rear end. I picked it up in pieces and I'm missing the rear brakes. The goal for this week is to put the rear end together and get it installed. Here is the question. I have seen some builders modify the rear brakes on the axle and cut the quad shock bracket off and move the brake bracket inside the mount welded on the axle. This requires you to cut the mount and slide it on over the axle housing. Why would I need to do this? I'm pretty sure my rotors from FFR will facilitate the standard brake set-up. Some advice here would be appreciated. Anyway, here are some pics of the build so far.

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[Pastenseverb]

I have some time off this week so i was able to finish off a few things. Rear end is in! I finished rebuilding and installing the rear end last night. Boy does that feel good. Now, on to the brakes, steering and fuel. I hope to have them completed by year's end. I thought bending the lines were going to be pretty tough but were much easier than I thought so this one should go pretty quick.

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Later Today:

The rear calipers were left at the old owners place. He is shipping them to me so I will finish the rear later.
The day went better than I thought. I had to take the front end apart to drill and rivet the "F" panels and install the front calipers. I found the same problem that I found in my MK3. The calipers hit the spindle bracket so I had to grind some material off to make clearance. The Drivers side was worse than the passenger side. I also got the fuel tank put together and somewhat installed. I just need to find the little plastic caps somewhere in the boxes and put in the last two bolts. Brake and fuel lines tomorrow.

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[frankeeski]

Congrats Doug, you're making great progress. I with you, I love the build process. I think that is why mine is still in gelcoat. It allows me to tweak things and give myself a reason not to rush to paint.

[Pastenseverb]

It's been a while since I posted so I'll catch up. I installed the steering last week and I started to have problems with the steering gear being too long, really long. I posted a thread (http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/301303-do-i-really-need-cut-4-off-my-steering-rack.html) with my problem and, as usual, I got a lot of help. I found out the steering arms were the wrong ones. FFR sent out to the original owner the 33 arms, not the roadster arms. I finally finished the front suspension and steering tonight. Here is a pic from before with my problem.

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file-19.jpg

The difference in the steering arms.
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/attachments/factory-five-roadsters/14710d1271259699-mk-4-steering-arm-alert-steering-arms.jpg

Here it is with the correct arms installed in the correct direction. (see link above)
http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file-25.jpg

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file-22.jpg

I picked up the tires and had them mounted last week as well. The front tires look good with 235/60R15. The rear tires (275/60-15) were way too tall so I reordered the rear tires and went with 295/50-15. Here is the comparison between the front and rear tires before the change...
http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file-24.jpg

I worked on finishing the gas tank installation. FFR either didn't send out the plastic 3/4" tube plugs or they just got lost somewhere. I found some at Lowes and got them installed tonight and finished the fuel tank install. I've found the best way to install the tank is to get a ratcheting motorcycle/ATV tie-down and position it under the metal strap that goes around the tank and start tightening until you can get the nut started. I will have to undo it when I install the trunk aluminum since it goes through the aluminum and is exposed on the inside of the trunk...

I also worked on the rear brakes. I found the right pads and now I need to find the parts in this picture. I was hoping to just go pick them up from the local auto parts store but they haven't seen parts like these and didn't know where to get them.


http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file-26.jpg

[Pastenseverb]

I have a roller! It's been so cold in the garage that I really didn't want to go out and play. I finally finished the brakes and got the lines all mounted to the frame. The rotors have been sitting long enough to have a really nice layer of rust all over them. I cleaned them and the calipers up and finished the job.

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file_zps79f3a183.jpg

http://i769.photobucket.com/albums/xx334/dmeldrum/C2/file_zpsbff4f8f5.jpg