Casey Family Build Thread (coupe)

[Gordon Levy]

Mike is such a slave driver

[QSL]

Sorry guys, we went on vacation. Hit up the Caribbean for a week. Was a great trip!!!

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 47 & 48:

Vacation is the best thing on the planet. Man, I love getting away from it all. We took a cruise from New Orleans to Cozumel (Mexico), Belize City (Belize), Roatan (Honduras) and Costa Maya (Mexico) before heading back to New Orleans. For the record, there are lots of Volkswagens in other countries and driving is terrifying. Honking and passing are two favorite pastimes. Yikes! We didn't see any Factory Fives, but the roads were a little rough in places. It was a glorious vacation and I have lots of pictures to prove it (just not of the car variety). We should be back to working on Coupey this weekend (I think).

[Timb]

Glad you had a good vacation. How was the experience compared to HAL?

[MRSQSL]

HAL is still an excellent cruise line. There are some definite advantages and disadvantages of each. Overall, I'd say take HAL if you are looking for a relaxing cruise and don't want to spend a ton of money. If you want to party, HAL is not for you. NCL is way above HAL if you are getting a suite though. The suite perks on NCL are amazing. We were treated like kings. On Holland America, the suite was nice. It's a big room and you get a different color card as well as priority boarding and disembarkation and tendering. That's about the extent of the perks (at least that I can recall). On NCL, we had all that same stuff, but we also had a butler and concierge. We had a whole section called "The Haven" which is a lounge area, pool, hot tub, sauna, exercise equipment, snacks/drinks and a sun deck that we only shared with other suite guests. We had access to breakfast and lunch in the steakhouse at no extra charge as well as reserved seating in the shows and priority seating at all restaurants. The butler would take your order for dinner if you didn't feel like going out and he'd serve you in your room. It was quite an experience. We were spoiled rotten. Not all NCL ships have The Haven, but the jewel class ships do (Pearl, Gem, Jewel and Jade). I believe the Epic, Breakaway and Getaway do as well, but I'm not positive. I don't think I'd cruise with NCL (first choice anyway) if we weren't in a suite. It seemed to be crowded by the pool and the buffet wasn't nearly as good as Holland America. If you have any specific questions, let me know. I could talk about cruises for hours on end.

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, you ARE the cruise master. Someday I will take a cruise somewhere.
Doug

[MRSQSL]

I did a TON of research before we ever booked our first cruise. I feel like I could be a travel agent with all the knowledge I've accumulated. Everyone should try cruising at least once in their lifetime. It's my favorite way to go.

[SoCalMike]

Julie, Have you guys been to Alaska yet. That was the most amazing cruise we have taken. Absolutely beautiful area of our country. I would recommend that cruise to anyon?

[MRSQSL]

The cruise before this one was to Alaska. It was absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend waiting until at least June before going. We went in May. The salmon weren't running so the bears weren't really out. Also, I wouldn't get a balcony cabin for that. We spent more time on deck. Actually, ncl has the perfect stateroom for Alaska. If we get the chance to go back, that's the one I'm booking. No balcony, but floor to ceiling windows. Sitka might have been the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The sound of a glacier calving in glacier bay is incredible. Yup, loved Alaska. It's not as relaxing as the Caribbean because it's cold and you have to bundle up though. If I could find a way, I'd cruise around the world. There are so many places I'd like to see.

[NukeMMC]

If I could find a way, I'd cruise around the world. There are so many places I'd like to see.
Go see your local US Navy recruiter!:p

[MRSQSL]

LOL!!!! That's a terrible idea. The Navy would take one look at me and fall on the floor laughing. I think I'll stick with brainstorming ways to become a million or billionaire.

[NukeMMC]

I had to go the Navy route. My brainstorms ended up nothing more than a light drizzle.

[loeffler1]

Hey, Let's get back to work on the coupe!!!

[MRSQSL]

Would love to, but I can't work on it until the weekend. Sorry. Work gets in the way during the week. If it helps, I've been trying to find tires. I managed to get the last two ecsta xs tires for Scoopy, but so far have only found one for Coupey. Didn't buy it, but hopefully they'll make some more soon.

[NukeMMC]

That is why I went with the Nitto NT05s. They will be all I need for as long as they last. By the time I replace them the Ecsta XS's will be available or superseded.

[bansheekev]

I found two 315 Kuhmo Ecsta XS's in December at the Tire Rack. I had been looking trying to find them for a month ANYWHERE in the country and was about to give up when magically out of no where the availability date changed from back order to the next day. Called immedately and they said they had two coming into the east coast (who knows from where). I paid for them on the spot and sure enough they were delivered 10 days later. I was convinced I had found the last two in the country at the time. A friend of mine is a tire distributor and he called his Kumho rep and pretty much got laughed at. His feedback was that there are none availalbe from Kuhmo, none in the pipeline, and Kuhmo has no idea when more will be made.

Good luck... I was one day from going Nitto NT-05's...

Kevin


Would love to, but I can't work on it until the weekend. Sorry. Work gets in the way during the week. If it helps, I've been trying to find tires. I managed to get the last two ecsta xs tires for Scoopy, but so far have only found one for Coupey. Didn't buy it, but hopefully they'll make some more soon.

[MRSQSL]

I'm so jealous!!!! You lucked out getting those two in December. I was pretty proud of myself for finding the one (actually the same place I found the two for Mike a couple years ago), but Mike told me not to buy it because the date code will be different and one really won't help me since I need two. Fine. I realize it isn't their best selling tire, but there is definitely a demand and I wish they'd make them more than once a year (or however often they do it). I guess I'll have to check each day and see if I can find two. If you happen to stumble across a couple, please let me know. I am looking for 315/35r17.

[frankeeski]

I am looking for 315/35r17.

Julie, with the coupe I think you can go all the way up to a 335/35/17

[bansheekev]

I'm so jealous!!!! You lucked out getting those two in December. I was pretty proud of myself for finding the one (actually the same place I found the two for Mike a couple years ago), but Mike told me not to buy it because the date code will be different and one really won't help me since I need two. Fine. I realize it isn't their best selling tire, but there is definitely a demand and I wish they'd make them more than once a year (or however often they do it). I guess I'll have to check each day and see if I can find two. If you happen to stumble across a couple, please let me know. I am looking for 315/35r17.

The date codes on my two rear 315/35-17's from the Tire Rack were there same 3/2013. I sourced the fronts (255/40-17) from the local tire place I have done business with for 20 years and they had them in 3 days.

Kevin

[MRSQSL]

You're right Frank, but I can't find where Kumho makes an Ecsta in that size. We are really impressed with the tires on Scoopy and I want something that sticks as well (you know for all the maniac driving I plan to do).

[MRSQSL]

Week 49:

We don't own every single size, shape and configuration of tool on the market. Shocking, right?

Saturday morning I decided it was time to tackle the rear rotors and rotor hats. We bought the correct socket/allen head thing and we bought thread lock. This should take a few minutes and then on to the next project. Can you guess what went wrong?

I couldn't find one of the bolts. I had taken it to the store to find that stupid adapter thing and I put it in the small front pocket of my purse. We left the store and I clearly remember announcing to Mike "When I ask you what I did with the bolt, remind me I put it in the small pocket in my bag". I had checked that little pocket before we went on the cruise because I didn't want to be setting off alarms or metal detectors or weight limit monitors because of this odd little metal thing. It wasn't in there and so off we went to enjoy our vacation. Before I panicked, I asked Mike if he had maybe left it in his pocket (I handed it to him in the store and maybe my brain made up the memory of putting it back in my purse). He said he never had it and that we had gotten the thing at Harbor Freight and so therefore it's all my fault. No. We got it at Lowes. He didn't believe me until we looked at the tool and it said Kobalt. Ha!!!! In your face!!!! Wait, I want him to help me find the bolt, not hate me. I checked every pocket of every outfit he'd ever worn (clean and dirty). I checked the counters, drawers, on top of the washing machine, etc. No luck. Mike searched the garage. I began repeating my story to Mike. When I got to the purse part, I shoved my hand deep into that little pocket just as I had done several times before and as I was saying "see", my finger hit a little metal thing. What a relief, but what a waste of time. Sorry Pookie.

I plopped on the ground and began assembling the rotor contraption. I got to the torquing part when I realized I couldn't hold the rotor from moving and pull hard enough to torque. Wouldn't you know Steve chose that exact moment to appear in the garage with a question about his science project. Aha! I grabbed him and forced him to assist. Mike took some probably awkward looking photos of me trying to hold the rotor down while Steve torqued. I repeated the process on the opposite side. The next step would be safety wire, but we all know Mike agreed to do it for me so I wouldn't turn into a homicidal maniac (again). He was busy with Scoopy, so I turned to the caliper bracket and a can of paint instead. Not my finest paint job. I take that back. My finest paint job, but not the finest I've ever seen. Da Bat would be horrified.

Mike required my assistance with Scoopy, so that's all I was able to do for the next hour or two. Afterwards, we both plopped on the sofa to watch the Factory Five DVD we received but never had time to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but now Mike is insisting we need a bigger garage because we need to build three more cars (GTM, '33 and 818). I'm not arguing, I just don't see any way to come up with that kind of money or space. During the DVD, Mike safety wired the rotors. Let me tell you what he ended up having to do. I don't want to get yelled at if this is a bad thing, but it just might help a future builder. Because of where the bolts are (different than the fronts), it was pretty much impossible to thread the wire through the holes in about half of the bolts. I suggested to Mike that he unbolt my previously torqued bolts enough to get the holes turned to a convenient position, thread the wire through and then retorque. It worked. Yay!

Planning to pack it in for the evening, Mike thought it would be nice to throw the finished rotors onto the wheel studs and check out our combined work efforts. How many times have I told him not to do things like that????? The fat part of the wheel stud was too fat for the rotor hat holes. The rotor didn't sit correctly or flushly or whateverly. I was willing to let it go by just throwing duct tape wherever necessary. Mike, darn perfectionist, wanted to fix it by drilling out the holes. Loser. :) He emailed Gordon Levy who agreed they should be drilled and the correct size would be 9/16. Guess what size drill bit we didn't have (anymore).

Sunday morning we went to Lowes. They had one 9/16 drill bit in stock. One. I realize all I needed was one, but this was for something I've never heard of (dening or duning or deming or something). Whatever. It'll have to work. We headed home and I attempted to drill. Nope. It would grab the hole and fling me and/or the rotor all over the universe. Mike ended up holding the rotor while I drilled. Proud of myself, we carried the rotor assembly to the rear and plopped it on the studs. Nope. Still too small. I said we should just wobble the bit, but Mike wanted the holes to be straight and clean, not jerky and oblong. FINE!!!! We can do it right. He used the calipers to find out the diameter of the fat stud (no, the bolt thing...not himself). Hee, hee. It would require a drill bit of 37/64. What?! Do those exist???? He suggested we go back to Lowes. Ummmm...no. They won't have it. We looked online and saw people had gotten them from Napa. Napa closed at 4:00 and it was 3:42 at that point. We raced to the truck (I drove because his back was killing him, but my neck was killing me and I couldn't turn my head to the right - what a pitiful couple we made). We made it to Napa with a few minutes to spare thanks to my amazing driving skills. It could be that Napa is one exit away, but still...

Napa announced they don't sell drill bits. Noooooooo!!!!!! Mike bought coolant for the Cobra and off we went to Home Depot. I don't even have to tell you they didn't have it. They had a sandpaper chunky thing that seemed to be the right size, but not a drill bit. No tap either. Mike is going to McFadden Dale Hardware by work today to see if he can get the right size.

I'd say "to make a long story short", but clearly it's too late for that. I guess I'll just close by saying we got essentially nothing accomplished on my car, but managed to waste an entire weekend doing it. We did have a serious discussion about kicking in the NOS. We need to get moving on this car and he has agreed to my terms. Now that I've done the bulk of the suspension which I didn't do at all on Scoopy, it's fair to say I built the car myself and now he and the kids can get in and we can build it family style like we did the Cobra. We haven't told the kids yet though. Mike asked what I wanted each of them to do. I responded by saying I didn't even know what I was going to do next. I guess I need to pick up the manual again. The next couple months should be interesting. The plan is to trailer it to Huntington Beach for the FF show in April. It needs to have tires, wheels and brakes. It'd be nice if it had an engine. I'm not setting the bar that high. I'm going to do some research on the Nittos mentioned above.

[MRSQSL]

Update on my update. Mike just texted me. While he was at the store getting my drill bit (which I don't know if he got or not), someone bashed their car door into the side of the Challenger. It looks pretty bad in the picture he sent. This is at least the third time he's had to have work done on the car for the exact same thing. Why can't people be more careful with their doors????? It's not like you can't see the car. It's bright orange! I don't know any other details. Hopefully he got the guy's info. Super sad face.

[loeffler1]

Julie

You are close to Hollywood, I think you need to start making a movie of this. Especially all the trials and tribulations. Maybe a TV show, could this be the next "Modern Family" only a car version!! LOL

[QSL]

couple pics...

[QSL]

used the 37/64 bit last night on the hats so they clear the shoulder on the lug shoulders. Perfect fit. Very nice! YES!

[68GT500MAN]

Glad to see that progress is being made. Julie, your driving skills are improving.
Doug

[BFFofMRSQSL]

Jules, this line had me cracking up - "He used the calipers to find out the diameter of the fat stud (no, the bolt thing...not himself). Hee, hee. "

:)

P.S. Nice cleavage.

[MRSQSL]

Week 50:

Stuff happened. I have a smidge of a cold, so my head is a little foggy and I'm having trouble remembering what we did. Mike is really sick, so I can't whine too much about my slight ailment.

My assigned chore for Saturday was to look in the manual to figure out what to do next. Mike had told me he would finish buttoning up the brakes. What a sweet man!!!!! He never did, but that's beside the point. I dragged out the manual and began flipping pages. Next step would be installing the piece of aluminum that goes in the front of the pedal box. Nope. That needs to be finessed because of the round tubing we added in the front. Next. Pedal box. Okay. I pulled out the pedal box (Wilwood) and the instructions from the roadster (complete kit). Step one. Take off some pedal so you can put the brake light switch bracket and brake light switch on. Hmmmmmm...I don't recall seeing those. I looked through all the inventory lists and then used Mike's garage computer to surf ffcars (better search engine) and discovered the stupid little parts are not in the base kit. Trying to be self sufficient, I had not asked Mike for help yet. I trundled over and asked if we had ever purchased a switch or bracket. D'oh! No. Okay, researched and decided I'd just call Factory Five on Monday. I put the pedal box back and flipped through some more pages. Next step would be the A shaped aluminum piece that goes in the cockpit over the trans tunnel. Okay. I searched high and low and could not find that little annoying metal sheet. All the footbox aluminum had been stacked behind the boxes and behind the engine in the garage. There were two pieces of metal up high and I pulled out a ladder. Climb, balance, swivel, balance, sway, balance, crap. Well, not literally. These were not the right pieces either. I was ready to throw myself in a heap on the floor and cry for a few minutes to get it all out of my system. Instead, I hitched up my big girl panties and my thinking cap. I dragged two giant, heavy tires off the top of some boxes and proceeded to rip open the cardboard. Success!!!!! My missing aluminum was in the top of box 6a. Yeah, so the inventory sheet shows this is a box of aluminum, but not the footbox stuff so I didn't think to look there. Guess I must've shoved it in during inventory or shortly thereafter. My fault. I drew and drilled until the piece was clecoed in place. Very proud of myself, I was. Mike wanted to know why it was taking so long. Was I using enough cutting oil. What? Cutting oil? Ohhhhh!!!! I forgot about that stuff. D'oh! No, I wasn't using any and we don't have any. Added to the mental list of things to buy.

The next step appeared to be assembling the passenger footbox. I checked with Mike and he said it would be a good idea to get all the pieces out so we could see what we'd need to remake and what we'd be able to use as is. He's a smart man. Step 1 was to find the top of the box. The manual showed a triangular end and a squarish end and who knows what on the other side because it was a lousy picture for that kind of info. I had already gone through every piece of aluminum more than once. Just before I threw myself in the aforementioned heap, I decided to pull out the other pieces and just skip that one. Moving ahead in the manual, I noticed that suddenly that top piece had transformed from the one in the original picture to one with a hole and a slightly different shape in all future pictures. What? What happened? I knew where the piece with the hole was. I'd seen it several times and I raced over to grab it. I eventually showed the picture to Mike and he confirmed that the first shot in the manual is of the roadster and the rest of the shots are of the coupe. It's a different piece of aluminum for each car. Very odd. In the end, we got the footbox assembled and in, but it didn't fit quite right and would need some help. This required taking the floor panel in and out at least 8 times. I had to tape up the side impact bars so we wouldn't mess up the powder coat. Mike did all the grinding. In and out, in and out. It was really, extremely frustrating. Just a hair more. Once again, that was a fat *** piece of hair (excuse my foul language). It's all in (temporarily), but some work still needs to be done to get the top panel to stop bowing. We discussed the footbox drop mod, but the floor mat would be an issue and I really didn't think the small bit of space would be enough to make the car comfy for a large passenger. We decided (at least for this moment) to forgo that.

Sunday was another day to work on the car, but we were both feeling pretty sickly (stupid cold) and neither had the desire or the energy to do much. Rather than work on Coupey, we took Scoopy for a drive. What a beautiful day. The car is still running really well. Yay!

I called FF this morning and ordered the switch and the bracket as well as a seat track and a couple fluid reservoirs. The man on the phone was extremely friendly. I love Factory Five!! I also got online and finally sucked it up and ordered tires. If we are going to HB with the coupe, we need tires. I can't wait around for Kumho to decide whether or not they'll ever make the ecstas again. I had begun research Friday and continued up until we decided yesterday. Thanks to all the people that have ever asked tire questions in the past. If I couldn't have my Ecsta XS, I wanted a 335 in the back. Anyone looked at the 335 selection lately? Yeah, not gonna happen. We agreed on the Nitto NT01 tires and I got them off of discount tire direct this afternoon. It was the best price I could find with free shipping and $25 off for ordering four tires. I'm getting 275/40/17 in the front and 315/35/17 in the rear.

My plan is for all of us to be healthy next weekend so we can devote much more energy to the car. Mike's family is visiting the following week, so I'm not sure how much work we'll be able to do then. HB is rushing towards us and there's still so much to do!!!!!!

[MRSQSL]

Oh! I forgot to say that the manual shows drilling holes and riveting across the top of the A aluminum and down the sides. Don't do it. I did it and Mike flung the cleco out while fiddling with stuff. It is indented in those legs and there is no way to get the aluminum to sit right if you drill. He thought I was being my usual stupid self until I thrust the manual in his face with a lot of finger pointing and "there" words. Also, my birthday is the 18th of this month and Mike got me an early present. At first I thought he was a little strange, but after trying it out...I'm in love. He bought me a Chicago Pneumatic riveter. No, that's not a Harbor Freight brand. It's an amazing riveter that is so smooth and it catches the rivets and I can't say enough wonderful things about it. I held it and petted it and talked to it and I'm very possessive so expect to lose a few fingers if you try to touch it without my permission. Just saying...

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, you will LIKE the pneumatic riveter - they are fun to use.
Doug

[MRSQSL]

I can't find enough things to rivet. I'm pretty sure the kids slept with one eye open last night. It didn't even rough up the face of the white rivet we tried. So much better than the one from Harbor Freight!!!!

[QSL]

Its amazing what happens when you spend some money on a tool. The harbor freight air one spit oil at you, was noisy as heck, jammed and jerked when you use it. The new one is so nice, that you swear it did not work when you pulled the trigger. But it did. Its a nice clean finish thats quite and fast. Plus it appears it won't jam anymore!!!

[68GT500MAN]

Good tools DO make a difference! I bought mine several years ago from Craftsman and it never disappoints.

[Dave Dellinger]

As usual, nice write-up. Hope you guys get to feeling better.

[j.miller]

Hey Mike -n-Julie, I just got two coupes in the shop and in another three weeks there will be two more....It's gonna be like,like,like Coupepolloza at the Batcave. You'll have to come by and check it out. I average 1 every 2 years and now 4 at the same time......I feel a disturbance in the Force...da Bat

[MRSQSL]

Can we disturb your force Saturday morning? I realize you'll only have two of the four, but I'm not sure if I could handle four in the same place anyway.

[Gordon Levy]

Things go in cycles. I am currently doing 2 coupe turnkeys as well as a spider and will start on another coupe in a couple months.

[j.miller]

It would have to be around 8-9. Late morning I have to move a horse. What's up with that? A horse! I know, right?..da Bat

[WIS89]

It would have to be around 8-9. Late morning I have to move a horse. What's up with that? A horse! I know, right?..da Bat

So Jeff, what did the horse ever do to you?? ;-o)

Regards,

Steve

[QSL]

Finished painting that horse ehh. Bet u regret offering that free pickup deal now. See you abou 8:30. I need to ask you for another favor too. So you have that to look forward to. Lol

[j.miller]

DUDE! Bring my mold release wax! I got the horse stuck!

[QSL]

don't worry, going to bring the wax and the molds... LOL...

[Rodster]

Those drill bits --- I do hope you bought more than one - cause when it breaks or gets dull, you will have to run all over the place to get a new one. Check McMaster-Carr - they have all the weird sizes and it gets to your door the next day!

No work on my Coupe lately - I got stuck in the east coast snow storm (ATL) last week......

-wayne

[QSL]

This weeks pics. Julie will comment tonight.

[jayguy]

Big Blocker (Pete) and I were wandering around our local C&C on saturday, and spotted this badge on the grill of a GN. I thought it might be a cool idea for Steve's new ride.

2631426313

[QSL]

LOL, SWEET! Gonna show him that tonight. Thanks for sharing that!!!

[MRSQSL]

Week 51

Da Bat has quite a nice collection of coupes at the moment. I'm hoping he'll find a way to stuff the other two in the shop once he gets them and maybe we can visit again. I learned a lot from the two he has currently. Very inspirational. As usual, Jeff entertained us with stories of his recent adventures. I could listen all day. Unfortunately, he had a horse to move, so we only stayed for a little chunk of the morning. No work got done on my car after because Mike's family is coming for a visit Wednesday and we had some stuff we needed to do to get ready for their arrival.

Sunday was car day. Okay, I guess we did a smidge Saturday. We had the wheels and tires along for the ride and stopped at a Big O in Temecula. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a buy two get two tires free sale and were booked up for three hours. We opted to go to the Big O we normally use in Lake Elsinore instead. We arrived and were told the same thing. They were booked because of the sale, but could get to them before the end of the day. They wanted $5/tire more than the other store. When I questioned them, though, they didn't seem to care and weren't going to cave. Whatever. I blame Mike because he stayed in the truck so Aly and I were in there looking (apparently) like two gullible, helpless females. It didn't matter that I could answer another customer's nitrogen questions just as well as the sales people. To make a long story short, they were not done by end of day as promised.

First thing Sunday morning, Mike and I drove to Big O. Once again, Mike opted to wait in the truck. I went in by myself and discovered they were currently working on the balancing. I could see the wheels being thrown in a machine. They didn't seem terribly apologetic, but said it would only be a few minutes. In the meantime, I could pay. I brought up the higher price again and this time they agreed to lower it. Yay!!!!!!! After answering the same question at least four times, we left with our new wheels (what are these going on?).

As soon as we got home, I let the air out of the tires. Not all of it, but I lowered the pressure from 40 psi down to 22 and 24 psi depending on whether they were a front or rear tire. Mike tossed them effortlessly up on Coupey and then the real fun began. All we wanted to do was put the little car on the ground. Sounds so simple, doesn't it? Two trips to the store and about 5 hours later, the car was firmly planted on it's own little feet. We no longer had the engine hoist we had borrowed previously. That was how we had manuevered the car on and off the stand prior. Mike could lift the front, so he suggested we get some wood (we didn't have any the right size) and use that with the jacks to lift the rear and then he could lift the front while we slid the stand up and then we'd put the front on the other end of the stand and then lower the rear then move the jacks and lower the front. It made sense when he said it. We went to the store and returned home and cut wood. Mike jacked up the back and realized he could no longer lift the front because of the "fulcrum" (whatever that means). We got out the jack for the Jeep and thought maybe we could use that to lift the front. We now know the Jeep needs a functional jack. This one did not work any longer. Sigh. We sat and thought and I threw out some useless yet amusing ideas. My number one plan was to run out to the sidewalk and wait for cars to drive by. I'd flag down the drivers and see if I could collect enough strong people to muscle the car up and then down. Mike said that wouldn't be safe. Safe schmafe. In the end, we drove to Harbor Freight to buy a hoist. Too bad the one we went to had none in stock. They wouldn't sell us the floor model even after a lot of puppy dog eyes. They had the top portion, but not the bottom and offered to sell us the bottom of a lighter duty hoist. Ummmmm...no. It didn't have the bolt holes in the right places and seemed lighter duty. They checked stock and found 7 in Moreno Valley. That's about 30 miles from the Murrieta store we were currently at. Sigh. We bought the hoist and drove home and assembled it. Assembly isn't fun when it's dark and we are tired and the directions are unclear. Anyway, we got it together and used it, two jacks, wood, four jack stands and a lot of skill. I'm beyond thrilled with the car. I don't know why it inspired me so much to see it on the ground, but it did. I jumped in and pretended to drive it and hugged it and talked to it and petted it. I think we bonded. It looks SO low to the ground though. Mike measured it at 5 inches. I assume the engine is going to drop it the extra inch. It took a full weekend to basically do nothing. Mike's family will be here next weekend, so I'm not sure if we will be able to do anything. I'm waiting for the parts I ordered from Factory Five anyway. The parking brake handle we bought from a fellow member (thank you Ski Bum Vince) arrived tonight, so I'm looking forward to playing with that. I built the one in Scoopy, so I'm betting I can build this one too. I wouldn't gamble too much money on that though. Definitely not a sure thing.

[QSL]

Jeff, I came up with a clever new nickname for you today too. "Panama jack" lol. It's perfect!

[68GT500MAN]

Your new lift from Bend Pac will be a great addition to your shop.
Doug

[xlr8or]

You certainly could have borrowed the hoist again. Just sayin..

[Quatro007]

its an 84 regal grand national. Its a rare year since they made so very few, but the newer ones have more power so are a bit more desirable. I picked this up with a deal for a new business we acquired. It was sitting in the warehouse for 10years on a Non Op.

Awesome on the GN! Please make sure you have an alarm system or some other anti-theft device on yours. I had an 86 and an 87. I had the 87 first and loved it but it was stolen within a few months of owning it. It was stolen less than 20ft from my bedroom window. I didn't even have a chance to fully hook up the NOS system. Parts from the car were on the market within a month. :mad: The 86 was nice but never really ran right.
Anyway, just wanted throw out the warning that these are a very commonly stolen car. Hope you enjoy yours!

[QSL]

I had that feeling too. There is a little too much interest from people about the car. Its a little odd to me. :)

[QSL]

You certainly could have borrowed the hoist again. Just sayin..

Shhhhhh, i am riding the "buy whatever tool you need" train. Don't derail it dude.

[MRSQSL]

Plahieowgyhaujex!!!! That was the sound of your tool train derailing.

[David Hodgkins]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26351&d=1392764443

[xlr8or]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26351&d=1392764443

Oops.

[STLMARSHALL]

The Coupe is looking good. I have been running the NT01 on the street now almost 1 year. Great tires that out perform the XS. They have so much traction it is hard to do a burnout. They look great against that silver frame!

[QSL]

Glad to hear that. Thanks for the info. Julie needs all the grip she can get. Lol

[MRSQSL]

Week 52:

I guess it has officially been a year since the beginning of Coupey. Happy Birthday!!!!!

We were able to spend the day in the garage. Not to rub anything in, but it was pretty toasty today. I would guess over 80. We have some visitors from back east and they spoke with people in their town and it was covered in snow. I'd say neener, neener but that wouldn't be very nice.

I'm sorry if I type strange things. I'm watching the Daytona 500 while I type this and just saw a huge accident. I'll try to stay focused.

I assured Mike I was absolutely positive the CV half axles did not click into place when I installed them. I still stand by that. We took off the wheels and rotors and knuckles and then Mike tugged and tugged and tugged some more. Those shafts were firmly implanted. My theory is that the axles were not in all the way until we bolted down the knuckles and that must've been enough to click them in. I'm hugely relieved we didn't have to grind or extend grooves and I appreciate all the help we got when I asked about it. We reassembled everything and Mike said he'd torque my axle nuts to keep me from straining all my muscles and still not succeed. Yay! I was going to start on the pedal box now that my brake light switch and bracket arrived. That didn't last long. I got out the torque wrench and the 36mm socket and looked up the 175ft/lb specs. I handed Mike all the tools only to discover the socket bottoms out and we need a deep one. Where do you find a deep socket on a Sunday. Before you all start yelling out answers, we don't live near any of those awesome stores you have. I called Lowe's. Nope. I called Napa. Nope. Didn't even bother with Home Depot because they have a terrible tool selection. Mike and his dad hopped in Scoopy and headed off to Lowe's to get the hardware for my pedal box. I hunkered down to work on the pedal box.

Step 1: Remove C clip (snap ring).

Raise your hand if you're surprised I couldn't get the stupid ring off after at least 50 attempts. Don't laugh, but I actually got desperate enough to go to the computer and look up a video on how to use snap ring pliers. I was doing exactly what the video showed, but completely unsuccessfully. I blame it on the tool. One of the ends kept falling out even though I tightened the set screw several times. I finally had some luck after I completely dismantled the tool and put it back together. Anyway, I got the ring off just as Mike was pulling back into the driveway. He (silly goose) thought I didn't hear the car coming and was concerned about Scoopy's health. I explained I was finally getting the ring off and didn't want to risk looking up and blowing it. Believe it or not, I was actually very proud of myself. I managed to paint some parts and disassemble the pedal box without any help at all. Sure it took an hour, but slow and steady wins the race (so there).

I drilled the hole in the bracket and in the pedal box all by myself. Mike never even checked to make sure I was on the right track. I did ask if I had the pedal backwards before I put the C clip back on. Yup. Backwards. I can't help that I want the brake light switch to work opposite of how it actually functions. It's also not my fault that my mental master cylinders were facing backwards. I'm not turned around anymore. I get it. It wasn't easy getting the washers in between the pedal and the edges, but I actually did it much faster than with Scoopy. I'd almost say it was fun. What wasn't fun was everything after that.

I messed up the paint on my brackets. Oops. Then Mike suggested we work on the pedal box since he had been making a new front aluminum driver's footbox piece. We put round tubing in and the panel was made for square tubing. You really can't fit a square peg in a round hole or vice versa. We spent a long time sitting and staring. How does Mike make a nice front panel that will fit over the round tubing but not look all chopped up? We mulled over several ideas (not always in a friendly manner) before deciding on one Mike had apparently mentioned early on but I misunderstood. I thought it was the perfect solution and nodded my approval. He is making a totally new panel so he can use a hole saw to cut the two important holes (steering shaft and round tube). Then he planned to use the press machine thing and cut the panel totally in half right where the round tube is. That should allow us to put the panel on without an issue and not have unattractive patchwork. It worked pretty well so far. I had to try to build the footbox while Mike handled the panel. It was not easy for me to figure out what went where and the manual was zero help. Got it figured out and we spent the next hour or so fiddling and drilling and clecoing. I think it is looking really good and I'm anxious to see how it eventually turns out. Oh and Mike also lowered my rear end so it isn't sticking up as high. I sure wish humans could be adjusted so easily. I have a few corrections I'd like to make.

[QSL]

Sorry for the delay, here are some pics!!!

[QSL]

more

[MRSQSL]

Week 53:

I'm getting really, incredibly, nauseatingly sick of going to the store to get nuts and bolts (and especially washers). Mike consistently points out the base kit was probably still cheaper, but I evil glare him in response. We didn't go to the store nearly as often with the complete kit. I'm not complaining...yes I am. Let's just say I'm not going to quit my day job and become a mechanic. If I were to ever build a car again, I would buy the complete kit.

Not much progress was made. I blame this entirely on myself. Mike was a champ, but I was feeling a little under the weather (oncoming cold) with zero energy and a lousy disposition. "Grumpy" would be an extremely generous way to describe my mood.

I marked the rivets for the driver's side footbox, but I didn't drill anything because the floor wasn't placed down yet and that can't be done without a lot of grinding to make clearance for the side impact bars. With So Cal rain Thursday through Sunday, Mike wasn't willing to stand outside and grind (understandably). As soon as the weather improves and Mike finds the time to shave off "just a hair", I'll re-mark (if needed) and begin the hole making process. I'm actually a little excited about that because it's something I know I'm capable of and shouldn't need much (if any) guidance.

My next step was to mock up the pedal box. I bolted in the larger of the two brackets and then promptly scratched my head when attempting to put the actual pedal box and second bracket in. Mike came to my rescue and together we discovered the little legs of the second bracket wouldn't line up with the bars on the frame where it should mount. Imagine my lovely and incredibly mature response when he told me I had to remove the bracket so he could "oval" the holes. Truly it wasn't a big deal, but I was a foul beast and whined the entire time. He made the holes larger and I reinstalled only to find nothing changed. I plopped on the ground in a huff and pouted. Mike came over and muscled the thing into place while I glared. I would've mocked up the rest after, but we needed more bolts, nuts and washers. Sigh. Mike had previously gotten the ones for the bracket and the nuts for the master cylinder studs, but neither of us had thought about the ones that attach the pedal box to the mounts. ARGH!!!!!!! The plan was to go to the store and then come back and finish up. We didn't. We went to the store, but then rented a movie and pigged out on Wienerschnitzel. Ever tried the limited edition Marshmallow Crispy Oreo cookies? Sooooooo good. Totally amazing. Yum!!!!! I digress.

Before we left for our amazingly healthy meal, Mike finished up some details on the front footbox cover. We also plotted and planned how to mount the reservoirs (love the idea we came up with and really hope it works) as well as the best way to run the brake lines, electrical and where to put the doohawhaws for the brakes. I can't remember what he called them. Wait, it's coming to me. Hang on...bulkheads. Yes! Those things.

Overall, little progress was made, but at least we did something. Lots needs to be finished before Huntington Beach, but I think we'll make larger strides in the coming weeks. I doubt Mike will post any pictures because I don't think he took any. Not much changed anyway.

[NukeMMC]

You must endeavor to persevere ....
26693

[Storms]

Keep up the great work and progress!!! I have really enjoyed listening/reading to MRSQSL updates on both builds......There really should be a TV series done on both your builds!!!

Colin

[QSL]

No pics of julies progress, but here is pic of my new banner!!! Ohhhhh yea!

[bil1024]

No pics of julies progress, but here is pic of my new banner!!! Ohhhhh yea!

Oh I need one of those banners !!!!!!!!!!

[68GT500MAN]

Mike, where did you get the cool banner? I want one too!
Doug

[QSL]

i just had one of those online banner sites make it. I want to say it cost about $100 to my door. Very happy with it so far!

[NiceGuyEddie]

Well guys, that was a really good lunch break for me. I don't read on this forum very much but I just read the whole thing!

Cheers,

[Ray]

Mike, where did you get the cool banner? I want one too!
Doug

Doug,

I've used this company for several banners, even a huge 14x25 for the Scottish Society: http://www.rocketbanner.com/

Ray

[HCP 65 COUPE]

MrsQsl

Take a look on http://www.mscdirect.com/ for fastener assortments they will save you alot of time and money in the long run. I have found that you can usually buy a box of 50 or 100 fasteners for around the same price as 1 trip to the hardware store. Get yourself an assortment of small SAE socket head cap screws, washers and nuts. If you find yourself using allot of a peticular size buy boxes of 50-100. It will save you allot of gas. I have used over 200 10-32 stainless button head cap screws in my build so far, for attaching all the little brakets and wire hangers and such. I just drill a hole and tap it right into the tubing works awsome, buy some good taps and a few drills tho. the 10-32 tap drill size is .157-.161 dia.

[xlr8or]

I've used www.boltdepot.com for stainless hardware. Boxes of 100 are cheaper than 8 or 10 at the hardware store.
10-32 X 1" stainless button head screws is under $10 for 100.

[MRSQSL]

Week 54:

I took apart the pedal box to paint the brake switch bracket. It had been bugging me. In the back of my mind I knew I should've done it before. Sure it's a tiny little piece and it won't get wet so it should be fine. Still, I could see it in the coming years getting rusty and weak and looking unattractive next to all the other painted pieces of steel. FINE! I'll paint it!!!!!! That's all I did on the car though. We weren't home Saturday. We went to help Frank plumb up his car on Saturday which was a lot of fun (especially since they didn't make me do anything). I had to work all day Sunday. That's also why my update is so late. I have had to work late pretty much every night this week. I can't wait until things get back to normal.

[Rodster]

Julie and Mike -
You are so far ahead of me I might have to have you come over and help me build my car! I finally settled on a way to mount my external fuel pump, after 4 or 5 different tries. Final answer is so simple, I feel really stupid. I made some triangular brackets that I will use to route the e-brake lines. Should look OK. Not my idea, I saw it on someone's Roadster build, I think.

I am reading up on electrical, some items are a little weird, but I will figure it out. I am also playing around with some ideas for the switch console.

BTW - the dash is looking excellent!!!!!

-wayne-

[Rodster]

JULIE -- Yes - glad you painted the pedal box. Those things get rusty, and you don't want Coupy to turn into Rusty.

[cozmacozmy]

JULIE -- Yes - glad you painted the pedal box. Those things get rusty, and you don't want Coupy to turn into Rusty.

:)!

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 55 and 56:

I normally update even if we didn't do anything, but I just couldn't muster the oomph last week. All I managed to do was re-mock-up the pedal box. Everything else would require Mike's assistance and he was busy. We did have a great time over at the first start for Alan. Great guy with a beautifully built car and it was a thrill to be there for the actual first attempt at starting. Can't wait to see it with the body on cruising around So Cal.

This week we made a little progress. Saturday we took Scoopy to Jeff's for a little sprucing up. Mike can't seem to resist touching the car and apparently he hasn't been using the best cloths. There were some minor scratches on the fenders and Jeff buffed them out for us. Mike was told what exactly he should and should not use to wipe down the roadster. I've got my eye on him. Anytime he gets near it, I yell at him not to touch. I suspect it's only a matter of time before he evil glares me out of his man cave and back to the kitchen "where I belong". Hee, hee.

After running errands and blah, blah, blah, no time was left to work on my car. I figured Sunday was all me, me, me. I was only kinda right. The first part of Sunday turned out to be a trip to the store. No, I wasn't getting bolts for once. The afternoon was all about Coupey though. Mike made me a new footbox cover for the passenger side since the old one had a hole in it (supposed to be there for some unknown reason that Mike told me but I promptly forgot). Also, we changed out the square tube in the front to the round tube and now the footbox aluminum doesn't fit exactly right. His first attempt was perfect except that the folded section on the edge needed to be more slanty to conform to the slope of the tubing. Try number two was every bit as nice except for the one little spot that only he and I know about which doesn't bother me at all, but will probably eat at him for years to come. It only took about 6 "mock ups" to get it all fitting just the way we wanted and I was finally able to start drilling holes. I don't recommend the drill bits from Harbor Freight. The one I was using didn't break, but it sure didn't cut through the metal well. I was getting really frustrated before Mike pointed out that was the issue and suggested I change to one of the DeWalt ones and it made a huge difference.

So there I am drilling away when it becomes clear (thanks to an announcement by Mike) that I'm going to need to switch to the right angle drill (which I discovered was an air tool). He got it all set up for me because I'm lousy with the quick disconnects (and chucks). Upon handing it over, I immediately accidentally depressed the button flap thing and it started drilling the air. Eeeep! I shrieked and tried to hand it violently back to him. He rolled his eyes and walked away. I carefully began the drilling process and reconfirmed I'm really not a fan of air tools. They are loud and feel less controllable than battery operated tools. So I'm drilling away with all my might (no laughing strong men that drill holes in a matter of 5 seconds to my 30 seconds of painful, muscle scorching pressure) when the air compressor erupts in loud vibratory air condensing noises. It scared me, but not a violent scare, just a brief startle. Mike had wandered off to some other corner of the house or yard. Drilling, drilling. I hear a noise and look up. It sounded like something fell off the air compressor. I don't mean like a belt or a fan or a motor or anything...something smaller. I eyeball the large machine before movement caught my other eye. Something was rolling down the driveway. Crap. It's the bottle of air tool oil Mike just used on the air drill. Before I had the good sense to do anything half way intelligent, I realized I was still pushing hard on the drill and now my neck was craned awkwardly and BAM! The muscle in my neck howled from misuse. I set the drill down, grabbed my neck, leapt over the railing (I was in the engine compartment portion of the car) and raced down the driveway to save the bottle. Mike came back in to find me whining about my neck. No sympathy for me. Back to work.

I didn't get to drill much because I was forced to go fetch meat for dinner. I made some progress though and Mike was able to finish up the other footbox "mocking up" while I was gone. I'm actually excited about going out to work on the car and plan on heading out as soon as the work whistle blows. It has been awhile since I've been this excited about garage work. I think it's because I know I can do this and I know I don't need help. Well, that and I did the really hard holes first (the ones going into the frame rather than flimsy aluminum). Mike wants me to have them done by tomorrow so he can take them for powder coat, but I think that might be a smidge optimistic. I'm just happy progress is being made (and I can turn my head without massive neck pain).

[frankeeski]

Keep up the good work Julie.

[Rodster]

Julie -
When you are drilling stuff - add some lube - it will do a whole lot of good things as you are making holes. You can use tapping fluid or oil - but I use alcohol (an old Navy dude suggested that to me a long time ago) - it does the same thing and it just evaporates when you are finished making holes. Just squirt some on the drill bit and start drilling. Or yo can use a small jar to keep a small amount of alcohol in, and dip the drill bit. This works for tapping threads, too.

Need more pictures!

-wayne-

[MRSQSL]

Sadly, I do use fluid when drilling. I simply don't have the strength of ten men (or even 1/4 of a man). The fluid definitely helps, but it's still embarrassing to have people watch me drill holes. I need to grow some muscles. Maybe if I eat some spinach...

As for the pictures, that's Mike's department. I took some over the weekend, but he needs to post them.

For the record, I did work on the car last night. Yay me!!!!

[John Dol]

Or you can use a small jar to keep a small amount of alcohol in, and dip the drill bit. -wayne-

That and a straw.....:cool:

John

[jimgood]

Whenever I can I try to use a stepper bit. With metal, starting with a small hole and working up to a larger hole is always easier, faster and runs cooler. They're usually shorter than regular bits and they don't break as easily.

[CobraKai]

I got the complete kit and find myself running to the hardware store constantly anyway! I think it is inevitable with a build like this....

[WIS89]

That and a straw.....:cool:

John

John-

That's what I was thinking! Especially if "an old Navy dude" is the one that recommended it.

I mean, come on -- if it was a real Navy dude, that was 100 proof alcohol! HAHA

Regards,

Steve

[HCP 65 COUPE]

Alcohol works great on aluminum but works even better with 15-20% wd-40 mixed into it, the alcohol evaporates and cools and the wd-40 lubricates. I use it when I ream holes in aluminum all the time and it always produces mirror finishes.

[NukeMMC]

John-

That's what I was thinking! Especially if "an old Navy dude" is the one that recommended it.

I mean, come on -- if it was a real Navy dude, that was 100 proof alcohol! HAHA

Regards,

Steve

I rep-resent that remark!

[WIS89]

I rep-resent that remark!

Absolutely Chief! I have had a few similar experiences myself! ;-o)

Regards,

Steve

[MichaelW]

Keep up the good work Julie.

Ditto, and I can't tell you how much I miss my coupe. Maybe I will build another one. LS3 coupe sounds fun.

[MRSQSL]

I miss your coupe too! That satin black was menacing. You should totally build another! Do it! Do it!!!!!!!

[QSL]

When discussing our theme, Julie kept referencing your car. We almost went with something similar...

Here are some pics of the latest progress!

[QSL]

and just a couple more. :)

[Rodster]

and just a couple more. :)

You got the red rubber hose for the brake master cylinder from The Factory earlier this week -- right? (Actually, it was first some black hose, which is what came in my Complete kit, then another package with a letter from Dave and some red hose. I need to put that on - later. Good thing I didn't fill and bleed yet!

-wayne-

[QSL]

Yes, however we will be using stainless Teflon braid hose.

[68GT500MAN]

Looking good.

[MRSQSL]

Week 57:

As I mentioned, I did get some work done on Monday evening. I didn't make more progress, though, because Mike realized the firewall would need to be placed and he wasn't sure if that would mean he'd have to redo a portion of the driver's footbox or not. I only drilled the passenger side. Also, I got to the very bottom and realized the panel was sticking out slightly over a weld and wouldn't lay flat. I marked it (poorly) so Mike could trim it off (which he did yesterday). So the car sat alone in the garage (well Scoopy was there) until Sunday. I had known ahead of time Saturday wouldn't be an option because Alyssa turned 18 and planned a party for Saturday. This required the usual cleaning, grocery shopping, party preparing junk and didn't leave room for car admiring. I can't believe she's an adult already!!!!! Steve isn't allowed to grow up. He's going to be my baby for ever and ever. So there.

We made lots of progress Sunday. The first order of business was to go online to one of the places suggested earlier in the thread and buy some bolts in bulk. I got a confirmation today with a tracking number. I'm pretty excited. No more Lowe's or Home Depot for us. In your face!!!! My maturity is astounding and karma (if it exists) is going to kick my butt and I'll end up having to go buy more hardware. Sigh. Anyway, Mike started the reservoir installation project while I mostly watched. I did finish drilling a couple of stubborn holes I'd neglected, but couldn't really get to the driver's side until he took a break. Hole after hole appeared in the metal. My least favorite are the ones into the face of the steel piece in the footbox. Ugh. Steel is not a soft substance. The drill and bit could handle it just fine, but my wimpy arms kept having to take breaks. Man I hope all the rivets will line up just right. Scared face. I did hit a rough patch when the drill battery died. I put it on the charger and fetched the backup. Wait, why is it dead too?! Miiiiiiiike! He had taken it to work to do some stuff around the Wilmington location and forgot to put it on the charger. Oh well. My weak appendages could use a break. Besides, pizza arrived. Yum!!!!!

In the end, Mike was able to fit the reservoirs which I absolutely love and I got all the panels drilled (except for the bottoms and a few various areas which I'll do after powder coat). I took them off and handed them to Steve who transported them to Alyssa who wiped them down with acetone. We counted (20) and loaded them into the back of Mike's car so he could take them for a thorough coating of powder today. They are supposed to be done Thursday. I'm excited. Can't wait to see them. I'm a little worried about color, but they look great in my head. I guess I just need to find a way to smear my head pictures onto the panels so they can see how amazing they should look. Mike and I discussed a possible alteration on the flange/flap portion of one. I guess we'll see how it looks when done before deciding. Anyway, my amazing husband also remade the top panel on the driver's side. Here's the thing. We finally got a kit with the hole precut so you can access the master cylinders. Yay! Well, maybe not so yay. On the coupe, it is on the engine side of the footbox. I was mentally trying to imagine leaning way over the body and foot box and then craning my arm into the hole and then reversing the direction of my arm to reach in. I'm not a contortionist and I got a mental arm ache at the thought. I asked Mike if he thought anyone ever moved the hole to the other side. We pondered the situation for a bit and he decided there wasn't any reason we couldn't do that and he was actually willing to do all the work. Yes!!!!!!! My husband is the best husband on the planet!!!!! He did an excellent job. We haven't cut the new opening on the other top piece yet, but there's no reason to do it now. We need to install the firewall extension pieces first, but to do that we need to put the body on. It is a beast of a job to get the body off and on with those side impact bars, so we'll wait until Huntington Beach (planned to put the back portion on for the show anyway).

Scott (Xlr8tor) warned me in the beginning to put nerf like stuff on the roll cage so I won't hit my head. Scott, I ignored your advice and smacked my head on one yesterday. Let me just say "ouch" is an understatement. Mike kissed my boo boo and I went back to work like a big girl (with a pout).

I don't think we'll have everything we had planned done in time for HB. Shoot, that reminds me I need to go try to rent a trailer. I think we'll have enough done that it will at least get a few people stopping by to look though. Stay tuned for the return of the powder coated panels.

[xlr8or]

Julie Julie Julie..... I'm not saying "I told you so" but I learned from experience.. Been there, done that.

Now go get some pool noodles and put them on there for while you work on it.

[xlr8or]

Almost forgot, The heck with renting a trailer... Mike needs a new tool. ;)

[MRSQSL]

The trunk of Alyssa's car is full of pool noodles. Why didn't I think of stealing a couple of those?!

Mike can buy all the trailers he wants, but he has to find a place to store them. Not allowed here because of the HOA. I'd be willing to pay to put the Buick in storage for safe keeping, but not a trailer. Nope. I'm a mean, awful wife like that. Can he keep it in your new "garage"? :) We could keep an eye on your truck for you in exchange.

[bansheekev]

Put the Buick on the trailer and store two for the price of one...


The trunk of Alyssa's car is full of pool noodles. Why didn't I think of stealing a couple of those?!

Mike can buy all the trailers he wants, but he has to find a place to store them. Not allowed here because of the HOA. I'd be willing to pay to put the Buick in storage for safe keeping, but not a trailer. Nope. I'm a mean, awful wife like that. Can he keep it in your new "garage"? :) We could keep an eye on your truck for you in exchange.

[frankeeski]

Mike can buy all the trailers he wants, but he has to find a place to store them. Not allowed here because of the HOA. I'd be willing to pay to put the Buick in storage for safe keeping, but not a trailer. Nope. I'm a mean, awful wife like that.

I've got room at our shop for a trailer and the Buick. And the rent is cheap so go for it.

[QSL]

Frank, your a good friend man! May take you up on that some day...

[HCP 65 COUPE]

Julie,

Find some good quality 135deg split point cobalt screw machine length drills, they will cut much faster and with less force and last alot longer.

Get them from a place like MSC or Mcmaster Carr Try Percision Twist Drill or Chicago Latrobe, dont waste your money on coated ones your not generating enough heat to make the coating do anything.

Like these http://www.mscdirect.com/product/78543816

[MRSQSL]

Week 58:

Beautiful, amazing, sore muscle inducing progress! Mike will post pictures (I hope).

No more messing around. Huntington Beach is right around the corner and we needed to get our butts in gear. I worked the entire day Saturday like a good girl. With the panels back from powder coat, I carefully and lovingly unwrapped each one and realized it would be smart to put them all (or at least most) back on to "mock up" the foot boxes before silicone and rivet time. I would've hated for one or more panel to be incorrectly located and throw off the entire car. I can't afford to throw it away and start over. :) Why is it once you take the panels off and coat them, returning them to their same positions is nearly impossible? Seemed like one side would line up, but the others wouldn't or two sides would line up and one little section wouldn't. Very frustrating. We (Alyssa helped) eventually crammed everything together until it fit well enough to call it official. Mike decided to "teach" me how to use silicone so I wouldn't have any overages like on his car (which apparently annoys him even though I tried to explain any remaining silicone blobs are underneath the car and nobody will ever see them, but he knows they exist and therefore I destroyed Scoopy). Anyway, I was mildly amused when we ended up with silicone on the panels where it shouldn't have been. I'm sure it's still somehow my fault, but at least I'm not the one who applied the silicone this time. The new rivet gun is AWESOME!!!! It's so far superior to the Harbor Freight one, I can't even begin to compare the two. Maybe the best present Mike has ever given me (besides the kids and of course our marriage oh and the cruise we went on). On a slightly less happy note, the rivets I needed were in box 2. Guess where box 2 was. Yup. The very bottom box in an extremely tall stack of boxes. Mike thought it was funny. I was less amused. He and Aly or he and Steve or Steve and Aly put the boxes back after I retrieved my long lost rivets. I wasn't really paying attention as I was distracted by the sheen on the rivets. Shiny.

Anyway, I decided to be smart this time around and mush fat mat on some of the panels BEFORE installing them because it's awkward to squash myself into extremely uncomfortable shapes in order to get the fat mat around and under bars. In fact, Mike cut the first piece of fat mat to fit the panel and it looked professionally done. I was mightily impressed. The piece I did? Well, let's not talk about that. It'll look amazing covered in carpet.

Mike got his tool fix for the weekend as he bought a drill for him and I bought a drill for me. Mine is a cordless right angle and I LOVE it. I can drill faster, easier and in tighter spots. The grip is a little large for my hands, but I'm learning how to handle it without accidentally pressing the on button and scaring myself. Mike's drill is excessively torque-y and scares me too much to use. I'm certain I'd rip off a finger if I tried to install or uninstall a drill bit.

It took a full day, but I got pretty much every hole drilled except for the footbox floors. I don't mean every hole in the car. That would be crazy. Just the ones in the engine compartment that needed to be done. We only siliconed in the front of the driver's side footbox and the inside wall (but not along the top). Clecos are protruding from all over the place like a porcupine with "husky" quills. I wore safety equipment when I drilled upside down, but there's a piece of safety gear they haven't made for women and I think someone should invent it. I found out the hard way it's not comfortable to have metal shavings fall down your shirt and into your bra. Sorry if that's too much info. Just saying it's something women deal with that men don't. Not fair!!!!

I worked less Sunday, but still got some stuff done. I drilled the driver's side floor along with a few odds and ends here and there. I also permanently (better be anyway) tightened the hardware on the pedal box. Mike made my reservoir area blingy with some fancy fittings and hose. I thought the hose might be too much along the front, but it actually looks really nice and I can admit Mike was right AGAIN. He brought home lots of stuff for the brake system and I'm anxious to see how he runs the lines. I know he has a plan and we've discussed it, but I can't wait to see how it actually looks.

Our bolt collection arrived Friday. The box was 38 lbs, so it was too heavy for me to dead lift off the porch. I had to go out front and shove it on an end and then roll it into the house. This wasn't as easy as it sounded because the box was not round. Clonk, clump, clonk, clump. Mike saved the day when he got home and hefted it all the way to the garage and onto the sofa out there so I could do inventory and point out which bolts were cute and which were pretty. He helped me put them in the bins I had previously prepared for just this occasion. I don't think we have nearly enough hardware to survive an apocalypse, but it'll have to do for now. Imagine the look on my face Saturday morning when Mike said we had to go to the store to get some washers. What?! We just bought hundreds of washers. How could this be????? He needed stainless ones to make my footbox blingy. Oh. Okay then (anything for bling). I suppose we should be ordering some stainless hardware the next time he lets me place a stock order.

So all in all it was a good weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we spent some time lounging out back. Mike installed some shade and Steve put together a hammock stand and hammock. I don't know how we survived all these years in California without a hammock. Steve, Taco (Chihuahua) and I laid in it while Mike barbecued last night. AMAZING!!!!!! I think I might be turning into a man (a very weak one) though. Mike walked into the garage in the afternoon and there I was working on the car, drinking a beer (does apple flavored Smirnoff Ice count as beer?) and commenting on the quality of our new tools (bought one of those split tip drill bits suggested previously, but I haven't tried it yet). I need to get my nails done or shop for a dress to recapture my more feminine side. Oh and to those concerned about my safety, I was not even tipsy and I wasn't using anything dangerous during or after my yummy drink. I promise.

[QSL]

Don't let Julie fool you, we only completed 1/5 of what was planned....

[QSL]

couple more shots.

[frankeeski]

I love the Milwaukee right angle drill. The trigger takes a bit of getting used to though. Nice progress.

[xlr8or]

Love the extra hardware and I'm not talking about Julie's nuts...... And bolts.

Julie they already invented the cleavage protector, it's called a collared shirt. A few of them made it to the market before we shot the inventor. ;)

[JJ'snakepit]

couple more shots.
You had to bring out the BIG guns.... The car is looking great....

[Bradyman]

Nice job on mounting the reservoirs. Very clean.

[68GT500MAN]

Is Julie trying to protect her new supply of stainless hardware from the fastener bandit? PS-The brake reservoirs look great.
Doug

[QSL]

Is Julie trying to protect her new supply of stainless hardware from the fastener bandit? PS-The brake reservoirs look great.
Doug

No, it's just lately we have been seeing more and more cars driving by with bama stickers on them. You just can't tell what those people will do.

[loeffler1]

Julie - You sure get into some strange positions, if that were me they would have to call the rescue unit to untangle me!!! Hey, were is the hydraulic clutch reservoir?

[xlr8or]

She's goin slush box on Coupy.

[MRSQSL]

I was just about to say "this is the part where I get banned from the forum" and then disclose that Coupey is going to be sporting an automatic trans. Scott beat me to it. Go ahead. Let the flaming begin. I'll climb back into one of those awkward positions and ignore the bashing.

[NukeMMC]

Just remind folks that Mr. Shelby's famous twin-supercharged Super Snake sported a C6 automatic.

[QSL]

I could not even convince her to use manual valve bodies...

[xlr8or]

With a nice interior, A/C etc it's going to make one heck of a Touring car.

[loeffler1]

Well on the bright side of things, there are some automatics that shift just as good, if not better than manuals. I.E. Porsche, Ferrari and others.

[Rodster]

Did ya see that? Go here:
https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-new/join-us-7th-annual-huntington-beach-cruise-april-26th/#_comments

See you in HB!

-wayne-

[Rodster]

Firewall and plumbing are looking great! The hardware rack looks more better stocked than the Home Depot down the street from me.

No one should argue with Julie on the auto tranny - she's heavily armed. . . . .

[MRSQSL]

Week 59:

We had an entire three day weekend of car stuff. Unfortunately, none of it involved our cars. Mike and I spent Friday through Sunday at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Other than some very loud, drunk idiots sitting next to us that were constantly invading our space, it was a lot of fun. Neither of the drivers I root for won, but then they never do when we go to the race. I think we're bad luck.

While working on the car last week, Mike pointed out (unnecessarily because it was glaring at me as well) one of my rivets was slightly off compared to the others. This made me extremely grumpy, but Mike "painted" one black using a paint pen. Interesting. I believe black might be the way to go. Rather than painting them all, I got online and found some black ones. Thanks to the amazing new rivet gun Mike bought me for my birthday, riveting colored rivets is possible. We tried one the other night once they arrived and the black looks really nice. I'll drill out the ones I already did that show and all future rivets will be the new fangled black ones. I'm excited. We have a TON to do this weekend to get ready for the show. No distractions!!!!!!! Look at the dog. Look at the open house. Look how the sun shines on the car. Look, my foot moved. Lizard!!!!! Yes, these are some of the many, many thoughts they keep me from accomplishing my weekly goals. The world is just so darn distracting.

Oh! I can cross something off my bucket list. Mike took me to see a Russian Submarine!!!! We spent Saturday night on the Queen Mary and there happens to be a Russian sub parked next to it. We didn't think we'd have the time with the busy race schedule, but Sunday morning allowed a few spare minutes. Submarines are fascinating yet terrifying. I have incredible amounts of respect for anyone that has ever served on one. I didn't expect the interior to be so...busy. Every ounce of exposed wall has a button or gauge or switch. The "head" (two of them actually) are scarily not plush. The sub was all function. Not a single frill anywhere. I think a woman's touch is needed. Maybe foofoo up the beds with some colorful blankets and put up some frilly curtains for a little privacy. Oh and make the round holes between sections easier to climb through (maybe some decorative beads hanging down for a little bit more of a festive feel). In all seriousness, a submarine is a scary place to serve and I have nothing but respect for those that have.

[QSL]

few pics!

[QSL]

couple more shots for who care...

[QSL]

last few.

[68GT500MAN]

Mike, you and Julie do races right! Looks like you had a great time, except for climbing through the small hole.
Doug

[QSL]

it was great practice for getting in and out of the coupe!!!! ;)

[Ray]

couple more shots for who care...

We have one here in San Diego (and a pretty big carrier as well!)

Ray

[Big Blocker]

Jeeez Julie,

What are you . . . about 4' 9"? (LOL) I've been in that exact position before (post 854) but had to get the paramedics to shoehorn my fat A_ _ back out again. I told a friend of mine to stand by with the engine hoist (tied to my waist) in case I got permanently fixturized to my roadster.

Sea Ya at HB . . .

[MRSQSL]

Fixturized!!!! Hee, heeeeeeeee!!!! That cracked me up. Can't wait to see you at HB and this time I won't be riding in the roadster, so I won't be brushing my hair.

[Big Blocker]

Julie,

You can do whatever you need to do, to be your wonderful self - I'm just gunna pull up a chair, whip out a cold beer until your ready . . . LOL !!

I'll be the one holding the Coors Light for Mike and the apple flavored Smirnoff Ice (yes, it counts as brew).

Doc

[QSL]

Doc, I am holding you to that! LOL

Man, it was a long weekend. Julie will comment soon enough I am sure, but here are a few pics!

[QSL]

And the last few! Thanks to all that came by saturday. Not only was it a great help, but it was a lot of FUN!!!!!

[Garry Bopp]

Wow ... that is one awesome "build in progress"! Coupey will draw a huge crowd at HB!

Garry

[frankeeski]

Great progress, oh and nice hat. :)

[JJ'snakepit]

Hope your bringing your coupe to HB.. Love to see it. Awesome progress. Mine is not going to be there this year. Since it isn't finished again I thought I would just enjoy the show....I'll see you there or at Dave's party....... JJ

[David Hodgkins]

Hey Mike, GREAT progress!.

As an aside, are you using black rivets? Where did you get them?

:)

[68GT500MAN]

Julie looks to be having too much fun with her new rivet gun! This will look great on the streets of HB Saturday, see you then.
Doug

[MRSQSL]

David - I got the rivets at rivet gallery .com. I couldn't find any 3/16, but they had the 1/8. I got a pack of 1000 and they were fairly inexpensive and delivered via USPS, so cheaper on shipping. Wait, this wasn't a trick to get me to mention a non supporting vendor so I get banned, right? :)

Thanks for all the compliments. I love these cars. I'll update later this afternoon. Taking a couple hours off this morning to go to the dentist. Oh boy!! Isn't that what everyone wants to do on a Monday morning?

[68GT500MAN]

Julie/David, McMaster-Carr has 3/16" Black rivets (or six other colors) as well as 1/8".
Doug

[John Dol]

That where I got mine too. The manual rivet gun also did no harm to the finish, in case you need to rivet where you can not get the gun in a tight area. All my rivets where done with the hand gun.
BTW the car looks great!!

John

[David Hodgkins]

.../Wait, this wasn't a trick to get me to mention a non supporting vendor so I get banned, right? :)


Hmmm, Fell right into my trap!!

:D

[Carlos C]

Hey Julie:

Thanks again for the info you provided me with a couple of months ago for a car dolly. I ended up finding a small company instead that makes some very trick and non-intrusive dollies. I purchased and used it to pick up my Coupe from FFR.

Great build so far. I keep checking your thread for ideas to "borrow", although I plan to build an unique interior on mine as well. What seats are you planning to use on your build?

Carlos

[WIS89]

New engine looks great guys!

Nice progress over the weekend. Can't wait to hear the new heart beat.

Regards,

Steve

[MRSQSL]

Carlos - I'd like to see a picture of the dolly you are using. As for the seats, we are using the Kirkey high backs. (My spell check doesn't like the way I spelled that, so sorry if it's wrong.) So far they seem to fit and are comfy enough. We have to put seat tracks in since Mike and I are not exactly the same size and shape and I'm interested to see how that works out.

I still plan to update this afternoon, but let's just say you won't be hearing that "heart beat" anytime soon. The engine will have to come out at least one more time. Sigh. I hate mocking things up.

Thanks for the tip on the 3/16 rivets. I'm not sure if I'll end up using any, but good to know in case I do.

[David Hodgkins]

Hey, how do you like your new status??

:D

[MRSQSL]

Hee, hee. It's much better than just plain "Banned". Thank you! I feel honored to have reached post newbieville status.

[David Hodgkins]

Julie, Carlos wants to send you the link to his build thread but is having issues. Here it is:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?13732-My-daytona-coupe-build-Ten-years-in-the-making

He may chime in with a post reply number...

:)

[MRSQSL]

Thank you! I found the post on the thread. That is way different than the dolly we used, but I can see how it would allow for easy moving of the car and hardly any interference. That thing is going to be really nice. When I have more time, I'm going to read the whole build thread. It looks really interesting.

[Carlos C]

David:

Thanks for linking my thread. I hate my iPad...

Julie:

Thanks for the compliment. And yes, that dolly is awesome. There are different attachments for it, and it's height-adjustable. I found it at: www.uni-dolly.com

For others who may be interested in looking at a picture of this dolly supporting a Coupe, go to post #25 on my thread "My Daytona Coupe build... Ten years in the making".

Carlos

[Carlos C]

Julie:

The reason I asked about the seats, is because I have the standard low-back Kirkey seats, but the seat tracks won't work in their current configuration, due to the fact that these seats are not flat on the bottom; they have various angles. I would have to fabricate brackets in order to pair the seats to the tracks. How does the bottom aluminum section of your seats look like?

Carlos

[MRSQSL]

I don't know. I never looked at the bottom. That's a good question. I'm hoping Mike is 10 steps ahead of me on this and already knows how to mount the seats and the tracks. I know in Scoopy, we have the low back Kirkey seats and those are mounted on brackets to the floor, but not on tracks. It never occurred to me the high seats would have any issues with mounting. Then again, I had no idea my car needed a torque converter nor do I know (still) exactly where it goes or what it looks like. If it wasn't for Mike, the steering wheel would be glued in and I'd have to use my feet to start and stop like the Flintstones.

[Carlos C]

Well, then I'm glad he's there to "help". Please let me know once you guys take a look at the seats and tracks. Thanks.

Carlos

[David Hodgkins]

As an aside, in Karen's coupe the Kirkeys are on sliders but she still has a formed pad that she uses to raise herself up and forward. It might be worth looking into...

:)

[MRSQSL]

I have that same pad for Scoopy so I can see out the window and not hit my head on the body when Mike applies pressure a little more ferociously than I'd like. I plan to use one in the coupe as well.

Week 60:

I knew going in that this was going to be a tough weekend. Mike worked on the car during the week. I don't know how he does it. He works all day, has at least a two hour commute each way (depending on which branch he's going to) yet he still has oomph to go in the garage after work. Such an amazing man.

We put out a call for help for Saturday afternoon and fortunately several folks came by. First thing Saturday morning, though, I raced out to the garage and marked the holes for the passenger side floor. I drilled the holes through the panel and threw it back in with some silicone and drilled a couple of holes which got riveted. With that done, Steve came out and peeled the tape off my side impact bars. This had been protecting the powder coat from taking that aluminum in and out and in and out for fitment. I then dismantled one section of the passenger footbox at a time and siliconed it all together. Once silicone was oozing from every opening (I'm not so good with that caulking gun), Alyssa handed me rivets (while reading a book for school). Our free labor (I mean guests) began to arrive and it wasn't long before the engine was dangling precariously over the frame. I can't thank these guys enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I am skilled enough to drill some holes and bolt a few things together, but not to mount an engine to a trans and then get everything hoisted and aligned and tilted and tilted some more and maybe tilted a little this way and then bolted in. The legs of the engine hoist were too tall to fit under the frame of Coupey so the car had to be jacked up (always makes me nervous). I guess Mike forgot to grind one little section by the starter and that was a slight issue with installation, but nothing the guys couldn't overcome.

Pizza arrived so we all ate and chatted and then I suspect none of us was thrilled about standing up and finishing the engine bolt in or putting the body on. I know I was eyeballing a shady spot on the rug in the garage. I could rough it and go without a pillow or blankets.

The body actually went on much, much more smoothly than previously. I think part of it was due to the fact that Mike cut out more of the body where the side impact bars are. As with the engine, I opted to stand around scrunching my face in fear, making appropriate "scared" noises and taking pictures. Again, I can't think you all enough and I apologize if I get any names wrong or spelled incorrectly. Thank you Derrick. Thank you Ricky and Monica. Thank you John. Thank you Mike. :)

After the work was done, people drifted off to return to their regular lives and we got back to work on the car. Mike thought it would look better with the headers on and said it would only take a couple minutes. JINX!!!!!! Of course it didn't take a couple minutes. There were all sorts of issues, but he managed to push through and get those bad boys on. I agree it looks way better. He also put the gauges in (mocked up) and I immediately smiled giantly. He takes such good care of me. The second Mike turned his back, I darted into the car and admired the gauges and engine from inside. I made mental vroom vroom noises, but nothing out loud. When I try, it always sounds like a bumblebee having a seizure.

Sunday was another work day despite the fact that it's a holiday and we should've been celebrating with ham and cheesy potatoes. Mmmmmm...that sounds really good. Alyssa went to brunch with her boyfriend and his family while we forced Steve to wash the Buick. Turns out there are a couple of really deep scratches in the side. It would appear a kid with a scooter or a bike had some issues with the handlebar vs the car. What can you do short of wrapping the car in bubble wrap? Anyway, I finished drilling the passenger footbox holes and riveted. Now that I see the pictures, I'm thinking I'll have to buy Coupey a larger hat and maybe a different color. It was hot. I started out in jeans and ended up in a skirt and flip flops. I know. Safety police don't need to chime in. My feet are fully intact today. I'll wear real shoes in the future. Mike worked on Scoopy most of the day. He changed out some fluids and made the garage smell bad. I think he said it was the friction modifier. I was too busy scrinching my nose up and groaning to properly pay attention. He also finished off the top of the windshield with some black vacuum line. What a difference that makes! I think he changed the valve cover gaskets as well. On my car, I semi bolted down the intake, carbs and valve covers so they wouldn't blow off during the trailer ride next weekend. Our handy dandy new bolt assortment paid off. I felt like a mechanic running over and grabbing the sizes I needed. Then less like a mechanic when I dropped them on the ground and grabbed the wrong wrench size, etc.

So, the car is just about ready for it's debut next weekend, but I need to detail it. I vacuumed the inside yesterday evening, but lots of other stuff needs to be wiped down and spruced up. I'm really sad the engine has to be removed once more. I begged Mike to let me keep it, but he said the torque converter which we haven't bought yet (I'm supposed to be selecting one) has to go between the engine and transmission (I think). I spent a couple minutes trying to decide if there was some way to leave everything in and somehow wedge whatever a "torque converter" is into its proper home, but I gave up when a lizard ran by the open garage door. Mike is going to work on the brake lines in the evenings and I need to drill a few more holes the next time the car is jacked up. Otherwise, I think it's ready to be ogled. Hopefully it arrives entirely intact next Saturday. Looking forward to seeing lots of you there. Just make sure that you use your screen name during introductions (if I don't already know you). I'm bad with real names, but do pretty well with screen names.

[QSL]

Yes it's bottom is like the low backs. I purchased the kirky seat brackets and plan on mounting them to a plate and then the plate to the sliders.

[CJBergquist]

Julie, the car is looking great. Looking forward to seeing it next Saturday and meeting you and Mike...and some of the SoCal FFR family. I would have brought my Coupe but I made a prior commitment to bring my T-Bird to the Ford show at Knotts Berry Farm on Sunday...so it's the T-Bird this year.

[Carlos C]

Mike and Julie:

Here are a couple of photos showing the issue with the tracks.

28207 28208
The picture on the right shows how the track would be positioned on the seat for the optimum seat angle and best comfort. Unfortunately, that position makes it even more complicated to mount the sliders. Either position would need fabrication to make them work. When I asked FFR for instructions on this, they referred me to the seat track manual, as it also covers the Coupe. I pointed out to them that the manual only works for the Coupe if the Roadster seats are being used, and not the standard Coupe seats. I have yet to hear back from them on this discrepancy.

Mike, what seat brackets are you referring to? Could you please attach photos and info as to where you got them? They could save me the time of having to fabricate my own, if they work for me. Thanks.

Carlos

[QSL]

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/kir-99204?seid=srese1&gclid=CI-BpImS9L0CFZWSfgodAhsAhQ

These will give you a flat surface and allow you to angle the seat comfortably.

[Carlos C]

Awesome! Thanks, Mike. That's exactly what I need. You'd think that FFR would offer those brackets, especially if a customer orders the sliders.

Carlos

[Rodster]

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/kir-99204?seid=srese1&gclid=CI-BpImS9L0CFZWSfgodAhsAhQ

These will give you a flat surface and allow you to angle the seat comfortably.

Mike -
Thanks for sharing that seat mount bracket. The Complete Kit provides some 1/4-in. bolts.... the bracket should be a better solution. I don't remember - Coupey has the Kirkey high-backs - correct? Those are the ones I got.

Looking forward to seeing you and Julie and Coupey this weekend!

-wayne-

[General Goodtimes]

Mike and Julie:

I stumbled upon your build while researching the FFR Coupe in general. I am honestly blown away by: 1. the quality and vision behind your build (especially the intake and that dash!), and 2. your commitment to the rest of us in the car community by bringing us details of the process. It's impressive to see how strong the bonds among the FFR family members are. In all honesty, seeing what is possible with the kit via your work, and knowing that there are a ton of people eager to help, I'm pretty certain I now know the answer to the "build it, buy it, or restore it?" question that has been nagging at me for a while now, and that I fully intend to answer this year.

Thanks to you guys (and to everyone that has contributed to this thread) from a cat all the way across the country that you don't even know. Keep up the phenomenal work!

[QSL]

Thank you very much for those kind comments...

These cars bring a LOT of great experiences to the table. The cost to build one of these is easily offset by the finished product and the journey that is included throughout the whole process.

From the day you call FF and order your car, to years later when you are done with it and go to others "first start" parties you will be part of something special that just can't be described here. I think to myself daily how lucky I am to own such machines and be involved with such a great company and community.

[rj35pj]

Thank you very much for those kind comments...

These cars bring a LOT of great experiences to the table. The cost to build one of these is easily offset by the finished product and the journey that is included throughout the whole process.

From the day you call FF and order your car, to years later when you are done with it and go to others "first start" parties you will be part of something special that just can't be described here. I think to myself daily how lucky I am to own such machines and be involved with such a great company and community.

I could not have said it better!

[Rodster]

Yes - this is all true - it's exactly what Dave Smith means when he says on the Factory Five Racing video - something about you begin a journey and you will get much more than a great car..... things will happen to you that you will never expect - or something like that.

I am looking forward to seeing "Coupey" tomorrow. Oh. And Julie and Mike, too.....

-wayne



Thank you very much for those kind comments...

These cars bring a LOT of great experiences to the table. The cost to build one of these is easily offset by the finished product and the journey that is included throughout the whole process.

From the day you call FF and order your car, to years later when you are done with it and go to others "first start" parties you will be part of something special that just can't be described here. I think to myself daily how lucky I am to own such machines and be involved with such a great company and community.

[MRSQSL]

Week 61 (HB week):

I may need to break this into two updates to keep from dragging on so long everyone falls asleep.

We worked on the car each night after work (more Mike than me). Thursday night I was supposed to drill the holes under the brake lines for the rivets on the clamps that hold the brake lines firmly to the car. Seemed easy enough. I got all my supplies together and began the process under the driver's side footbox. Wait, these 3/16 rivets don't fit in the rivet gun. Oh yeah. You have to change tips. Miiiiiiiiike! He did it for me since I was laying underneath the car in a rather awkward position. I got things all lined up to try again. Miiiiiiiiiike! The car wasn't high enough to fit the rivet gun straight up and down. He jacked it up higher. Kerplunk. One rivet down. I'm a beast with this thing. Yes!!!!!!! The second rivet didn't go in quite as easily, but I still managed to wrangle it into place. Who's your Daddy...errr...Mommy?

Things intensified as I moved onto the area where the frame and brake lines meet. Mike told me to use the step drill bit so I'd have more stability while drilling and the end happened to be 3/16. Piece of cake. I plopped on the ground and wedged myself between the footbox and the tire. I marked the spots to drill and grabbed the tool. Wait, how do I hold up the brake line so I don't accidentally drill into it and still hold the drill with enough force to make a hole? I ended up using my foot on the back of the drill, but it took only one try to realize I wasn't the contortionist I credited myself to be. I opted, instead, to use my foot to push up the brake line while I pushed on the drill with my hand. This lasted about 2 seconds before I became aware of muscle pain. Yeah, even that basic contortion move was too much for my aging bones. Miiiiiiiike! He drilled all the holes for me. Yay!

With the front brakes fully installed and bled, Mike said we should test them. Oh yeah, huh? Okay. I climbed in and pressed on the pedal while he tried to spin the wheels. No spinning. Yay! He lowered the car to the floor and worked on something else for a tad. About 30 minutes later, I was sitting back inside (can't remember why) when Mike asked if I wanted to go for a ride. Yes please!!!! He rolled the car way back and then shoved really hard so I'd go flying towards the back of the garage. Weeeeeeee! I slammed on the brakes and my foot flopped right to the floor. Milliseconds later I heard a crash as the front of the car rammed into the jack. Uh oh. Mike couldn't figure out why I didn't use the brakes. I was a smidge offended he thought I was dumb enough to forget about the brake pedal. I shrieked at him that the brakes didn't work. I sincerely don't think he believed me for the first several seconds after my proclamation. He had me push on the pedal as he gently rocked the car to and fro. Seeeeee, I bellowed. After a lot of looking, we discovered one of the lines hadn't been tightened completely. Mike made the correction and we rebled the brakes and retested in a more gentle fashion.

I won't go into detail about Friday other than to say we detailed the Cobra and it took a really long time. My least favorite thing about that is discovering all the chips and scratches you didn't notice before. Poor paint job. California is brutal on these cars.

Mike picked up the Uhaul for me Friday on his way home from work and we decided to load the car up that night rather than getting up even earlier than the buttcrack of dawn Saturday morning. It took several tries to get the car lined up with the trailer ramps, but Mike is a champ at pushing the thing and being patient with me. When I sit in there without a seat, I can't see anything but the dash. I can't see the tires. I can't see the front. I can sometimes see the sky. We made sure the brakes still worked before shoving it in any direction. A guy riding by on a bike was kind enough to stop and help Mike shove during the last up the ramp attempt. Victory! No rest for the weary though. I had to put the car cover on the Jeep since rain was threatening. We measured the garage and discovered the trailer was too long to fit in the garage. Crap. Where is my poor little car going to sleep? Certainly you can't suggest outdoors!!!!!!!! Not only was it suggested, it happened. I wrapped the engine and dash in a tarp and then put the Buick car cover over that, weighted with wheel chocks. It was a sad sight, but I couldn't come up with any other options. We packed up the truck with as much as we felt safe leaving in it overnight and finished up our evening.

[MRSQSL]

Huntington Beach:

I think everyone driving to HB knows the answer to "how dark is it at 6 am?" It doesn't matter because I'm too tired and cranky, nervous and a wee bit excited to really care. Mike pulled the truck with trailer out of the driveway for me so I wouldn't accidentally hit any or all of the three cars potentially in harms way. He and Steve hopped in Scoopy and off we zoomed. I was in the lead with the truck, trailer and Coupey and Mike was in the rear with Steve and the Cobra. First stop was the gas station since Mike discovered he gets about 6 miles to the gallon. I waited patiently out on the street.

I think it took us about 1.5 hours to get to HB. It may have only been an hour. It felt like a month. I've never concentrated so long and hard on trying to keep the truck centered in the lane and going 55. Who drives 55 on the freeway? It's hard!!!!!!

We made it safely to registration where Sally told me I couldn't pull in with the truck. Ummmmm...no. I have way too much to unload. She broke the rules and let me park temporarily on a side street. It was a only a matter of seconds before Da Bat and several others were helping roll the car (with me inside) off the trailer and down the road, into our parking space. This is when I realized how much water had actually gotten through the car cover and under the tarp. Sigh. Lots of cleaning was in my future. It rained like 4 days the entire last year in California. Why did Friday night have to be one of them????

As I was busy scrubbing the dirty rain remnants out of the car, I looked up when a shadow blocked my light. Hi Officer. Eep. She explained our truck was parked illegally and needed to be moved. Miiiiiiike! He had parked where he was told, but I guess the police didn't like it. It took forever before Mike returned. He told me it wasn't within walking distance anymore. Poor guy.

HB was amazing as usual. I finally got to meet Big Blocker. Thank you again for the beverages. You truly didn't have to, but we appreciated it. We also were able to put faces to a lot of other names. Steve told me later I sounded like a goober (not his word) when I asked people for their screen names. Sorry! I can remember those much better.

We got lots of compliments on the cars, but I think the mini versions of our cars garnered most of the attention. For anyone that wanted to ask, but didn't (most common question we get). Yes, the engines really do work and no I won't start it so you can see. :)

Mike stayed with the little cars during the award ceremony so he missed out when his name was called and it was a little awkward that Steve and I went up instead of him. I insist, though, that Scoopy is still mine even though I now have Coupey. We built that car together, so Mike doesn't get to claim it. It is still OURS. Coupey may or may not be OURS. We'll see. Hee, hee. Anyway, we were honored to have received the awards. As usual, there were tons of awesome cars there. I didn't really get to wander around and look at all of them, but the few I was able to "tour" were gorgeous indeed. Lynn's was absolutely beautiful with that brand new blue paint job and yellow side stripes. I was jumping for joy when he won the women's choice award. Yay Lynn!!!!! I also drooled over the engine of that blue car. It was an aluminum block and was breathtaking. I also spent a lot of time ogling the charcoal hot rod parked a couple spots down from us. Don't ever let Pete tell you his car is "worn out" or whatever such nonsense he tries to fill your head with. It looks beautiful. Unfortunately, the guys on that end of the street got the brunt of the wind and sand. It was cold over there too. Shiver.

Anyway, we had a great time and I'm looking forward to driving the coupe next year. I realize this is a lofty goal, but I'm going to try. Pulling a trailer wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as much fun as driving a race car (I assume anyway).

Special thanks to SoCal Mike for following us home and then taking Mike to the airport instead of rushing home to take his wife out for their 23rd wedding anniversary dinner. There are just so many amazing people in this car community and I don't think I've met a bad egg yet. I don't have pics to post, but hopefully Mike will when he gets a chance. I only took one picture on my phone and Mike happened to step to the side just as I took it. I'm also not sure if Mike will post a pic, but for those of you I whined to, Alyssa DID make it to prom, although not exactly on time. Still don't know why the school chose Dana Point as a Prom destination, but it was a long, long day of driving for me. She had a good time and that's all that matters. It's just my biased opinion, but I think she looked extremely beautiful as well.

[xlr8or]

Congrats on the awards Julie.

[Carlos C]

I second that statement. Congratulations to both of you, Julie and Mike! Keep it up.

Carlos

[68GT500MAN]

Julie (and Mike), the coupe looked as awesome as I thought it would from the photos. Congratulations on the awards for the roadster and I look forward to seeing Julie's face when the coupe win knocks Fernando from the top spot!
Doug

[Big Blocker]

Julie -n- Mike,

Glad we finally got to get together, it couldn't have been a more memorable day, HBCI, perfect weather, near the beach in SoCal . . . You guys are amazing people and the "beverages" were "required" because Julie said I should introduce myself in a way that she would remember me - what better way to make an impression? Congratulations on the TWO wins this year, you guys deserve it. The Coupe is coming along perectly and should be a real crowd pleaser next year for sure.

Julie - I was only kidding about my car being all worn out (LOL !), she's been real good to me for 12 years now, real reliable . . . we have an understanding, her and I - She doen't break down when I'm far from home and I'll continue to "tickle her belly" whenever she needs a little attention. Every year (just before HBCI) I do some little thing to improve her, so she is very appreciative. This year she got her "Fiero ebrake mod" and a new steering wheel grip. We put 800+ miles on her this past weekend, to-n-fro SoCal, and she ran flawlessly. She loves to come to the beach . . .

Doc

[MRSQSL]

Your car is beautiful and you are lucky to have each other. I only hope Coupey treats me as well as your worn out car. Hee, hee.

Doug, my face would be frozen in shock and disbelief if Coupey ever knocked Fernando from the top spot. His car is absolutely amazing and I drool over it each time I have the pleasure of seeing it. He deserves the top spot.

I was perusing the calendar this morning and discovered we may have a potential conflict with HB next year. Eeeeep!!!! If the coupe is done, I'm taking it even if Mike can't go. I just haven't told him yet. :)

[SoCalMike]

Julie,

No worries. It all worked out fine and I believe Mike arrived safely for his flight that I hope wasn't delayed again. It was great to see you, Mike and Steve again. Haven't been able to get down to Casa De Cassey lately as we discussed, but the coupe is looking awesome. Hopefully I can make a trip down to twist a wrench soon. HB was awesome again, and I too was also given the opprotunity to talk with many of the fantastic people within this FFR family that came from all over. It really is truly amazing to look at all these "Way Too Cool For School" cars and see the diversity and passion within everyone involved and what appeals to each of us and how that passion is expressed through these cars. Mary and I will talk tou you guys soon.

Mike

[Tom Mauldin]

I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading all of the updates! Thanks for taking the time to do this. Keep up the good work.

[QSL]

Here are a few shots for all your enjoyment...

Yea Mike, I made it safe and no more delays. It was a huge help having you there. Thanks again man and we need to do that dinner.

Doc, I laughed liked crazy when I saw that brown bag... Very cool!!! Problem is though, i kicked it over and had to open that can. Then I poured it in my coffee container hoping to save it, but it was hot out and it was warming fast. The only action I could even think of doing was consuming it. Yea, I took one for the boys that day, but thats the kinda guy i am. :)

[WIS89]

Mike-

It looks like a typical teenager being forced to wake up early in the morning in that one shot.

Cool pictures. Congratulations on your awards; well deserved! Also love the miniatures.

Enjoying your build progress.

Regards,

Steve




Here are a few shots for all your enjoyment...

Yea Mike, I made it safe and no more delays. It was a huge help having you there. Thanks again man and we need to do that dinner.

Doc, I laughed liked crazy when I saw that brown bag... Very cool!!! Problem is though, i kicked it over and had to open that can. Then I poured it in my coffee container hoping to save it, but it was hot out and it was warming fast. The only action I could even think of doing was consuming it. Yea, I took one for the boys that day, but thats the kinda guy i am. :)

[General Goodtimes]

Mike and Julie:

Congratulations on the well-deserved awards! After seeing how tight this FFR community really is, getting this type of recognition must make all of the busted knuckles and welding burns worth it (as if going into the garage and firing these beauties up doesn't!). Thanks again for sharing with us.

Well done, and carry on!

[MRSQSL]

Week 62:

Nothing happened. I meant to say that sooner, but I am just now finally getting around to it. After all the stress of getting ready for HB and then the towing and getting everyone situated that evening, we just didn't have the oomph to work on the car at all. Plus, it's hard knowing the next step is to take the engine out again when it looks so darn nice in it. I know we need to get to work if we plan to have it ready by HB next year. I think I need a good, hard shove to get back in the groove. If I'm in a full body cast next week, you'll know Mike took that literally. :)

[John Dol]

Congrats on the awards, maybe next year I can join you guys!

John

[Presto51]

Week 62:

Nothing happened. I meant to say that sooner, but I am just now finally getting around to it. After all the stress of getting ready for HB and then the towing and getting everyone situated that evening, we just didn't have the oomph to work on the car at all. Plus, it's hard knowing the next step is to take the engine out again when it looks so darn nice in it. I know we need to get to work if we plan to have it ready by HB next year. I think I need a good, hard shove to get back in the groove. If I'm in a full body cast next week, you'll know Mike took that literally. :)

Julie, Julie, Julie, what you all need is a build party with as many forum members as you can handle, that would get Coupey back on track and on time.

Shoot if you can get the Da-Bat to show I'll fly out and help out! Oh the heck with it, even if he doesn't show I will :cool:

Plan it and we will come

Ron

[MRSQSL]

John, I hope you get the job. It would be great to have another Coupe out here in California.

Ron, we've always said if the garage door is open, come on by.

[xlr8or]

Build party! Build party! Build party! :D

[68GT500MAN]

I like the idea of the build party - I can't see if your garage door is open from Fresno.
Doug

[David Hodgkins]

Did someone say build party??

:D

[MRSQSL]

I don't know about a build party, but I'm down for a "pull the engine out of the car" party. I have proven over and over again I should not be anywhere near heavy dangling objects and it goes much more smoothly when Mike has outside assistance. I'll take pictures (probably mostly of my fingers).

[Rodster]

When? May 24/25
? June 7/8?

[SoCalMike]

BUILD PARTY??? Who, What, Where, When? Did I hear build party? WHOA, Chick cars, other cars and beer. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Seriously Mike, if you need a hand, you know i'm only a phone call away. Lets plan it for next saturday to pull the motor and trans, among other things that we can get done. Text me and let me know.
Talk to you two soon.

Mike

[QSL]

ehhh, just taking a break from the cars for now and getting some home stuff fixed. Looking forward to cranking on it again in a few weeks. Heck I have not even really played with my new lift yet. :)

[MRSQSL]

Week 63:

Again, nothing car related happened. It's nice to take a break and work on the house. Frank and Julie came on Friday to install some recessed lighting and will be back today to do another room. Mike put some dimmers on those switches so we have a little more control over the brightness. Now I don't have to shrink from the massive amounts of light in the bedroom (and that was only with two bulbs). There was one room we rarely ever used, but we made some changes and now we practically live full time in there. It's so nice when your house feels like a home. We need to paint the bedroom (hopefully Julie can help me with a color choice today) and do some more decorating and eventually pick tile for the kitchen floor. Then we can sit back, relax and enjoy all our (Frank's) hard work.

We are taking Scoopy to a car show this weekend, but I doubt we will work on Coupey until the following weekend. Stay tuned though. You never know what may happen around here.

[MRSQSL]

Week 64:

Please don't unsubscribe. I promise we will get back to working on Coupey.

Saturday we went to a car show in Upland and had a great time. Scoopy is such a fun car to ride in. Even though I was hot, had a headache and was really tired, I didn't want to get out. We planned to take a short drive Sunday morning, but ended up with too much to do.

The bedroom is getting a fresh coat of paint. I'm doing as high as I can reach down to the floor and Mike was kind enough to climb on a ladder and do the top portion on a couple walls. I bought another gallon of paint and I think I can finish tonight or maybe tomorrow. Then I get to start on the bathroom portion of the paint job. Anyway, it should be done by the end of the week so we should be able to work on the car again soon. I've got the itch to get back in the garage. We'll post something in the So Cal section or pm people if we need help with the engine removal. We really appreciate how helpful and wonderful the people of this community are.

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 65 and 66:

Sigh. Mike keeps me so busy, I can't get near the garage. I threatened him this weekend though. If I don't get to work on my car next weekend, I'm going to... (I never finished the thought, but whatever he can conjure up is probably worse than anything I can scare him with). There will be a legit update next weekend or I'm just going to sit on the floor and cry. I don't think it'll accomplish anything, but I'll probably feel better.

We were camping this last weekend which is why nothing car related happened. Other than getting the Jeep smogged (special star station requirement this time around), I don't think we have anything planned next weekend. Poor neglected little Coupey.

[frankeeski]

:( Sadface. You're getting more done on your car than I am on mine. You can take that as a positive, I guess.

[Presto51]

Weeks 65 and 66:

Sigh. Mike keeps me so busy, I can't get near the garage.

Hey Mike leave Julie alone so she can get some work done on her car..............Wait a minute............. I've seen pictures of Julie..........

It's okay Mike I wouldn't be able leave her alone either.:rolleyes:

Carry on my man

Ron

[MRSQSL]

Week 67:

Sunday morning was "go time". I bounded down into the garage, looked around, sat on the sofa and wondered if I really wanted to do this after all. We had been doing work on the house and had moved some stuff in the garage so it was not as clean as usual. I mustered up the courage to stand and began looking around for the manual. Found it where it belonged which isn't where it has been for several months. According to the instructions, I'm pretty much done with the car. Gotta toss the gas tank in, run some fuel and brake lines and electrical and then it should be ready to go. Hmmmmm...or not. Fuel tank installation it is. I remembered how horribly that went with Scoopy, but convinced myself somehow that it'd be a piece of cake this time since I had prior experience. Yeah! Pep talk worked and I sprang into action.

The inventory list said my fuel goodies were in box 2B. Excellent, where's box 2B? Oh, yeah. Where else? The BOTTOM of the pile. My advice to anyone in the build stage, don't put box 3 anywhere but the bottom. It's super heavy and is full of things you won't need for a really long time. Of course this advice comes from a woman that has had to retrieve the bottom box essentially on a weekly basis regardless of which one I put down there. Box 3 is currently on the very, very bottom (it's the only one I can't lift by myself and I have to sort of kick/squash it around).

I looked around and discovered I was alone in the garage. I was going to need some liquid help. I hit the intercom button and asked the kids if they would make me a cup of coffee. Since I'm a lightweight, I need to eat something with coffee or I get nauseous and shaky (even with half caf which is what I'm currently drinking). I went back to the stack of boxes and began by removing the light stuff that always accumulates on top like the air conditioning unit and spoiler. I managed to move a couple of the large boxes when Alyssa walked out with a tortilla. That'll do. It's not the most appetizing thing I've eaten, but at least it'll keep the coffee from kicking my butt. She slid it into my mouth as my hands were full at that moment. I finished moving the box in my arms and proceeded to look for a clean, food-grade spot to put my uneaten tortilla. My mouth appeared to be the safest. Steve brought the coffee out and set it on the work bench and laughed as he watched me move a bunch more boxes with a giant tortilla dangling from my face. Sigh. After reaching the base of the stack, I grabbed the items I needed, switched box 3 to the bottom and loaded the cardboard tower back up. I plopped on the sofa to scarf down my food and drink. This is the moment when Mike walked out and looked at me as if I had done nothing other than recline and eat. Grrrr...I set him straight about my endeavors and then had to ask really nicely if he'd fetch the giant fuel tank box which was way up on the tippy top shelf. He eventually did and I pulled the odds and ends out only to discover the little square cap things did not exist. I wasn't able to even get through step one which I assumed was the only part I wouldn't struggle with. I skipped to step two which was bolting the straps on. Nope. Car wasn't high enough for the straps to clear the floor. This was solved by Mike playing with and assembling his new Quick Lift. We got the car up, put it on jack stands as well just for safety and I was able to bolt away. That was all I accomplished because the next step requires the first step to be done and I didn't feel like going to the store. It was hot, really really hot. Instead, I went inside, took a shower and relaxed for a bit.

Hopefully I'll remember to go to the store this week and get the little square things so I can proceed with the tank install next weekend. Oh, we took the body off the coupe. That wasn't fun. It took all four of us and a lot of grunting, squealing and other assorted noises. I was impressed we managed to get it over the fence and back down the side yard without dropping it or injuring each other much. At least we made a tiny bit of progress and Mike got to play with the new lift (which I was reaching under the car to grab and noticed I have a giant scratch down my driver's side 4" tube which I'm NOT happy about). I can only assume the scratch was from the trailer when we went to HB. Super sad face.

[Movieman]

You write well. You give people the sense of they are there with you.

[MRSQSL]

Thank you! That's so sweet!! Believe me when I say you should be glad you weren't really there. It was HOT this weekend and summer isn't really even here yet. It doesn't get super ugly hot until August. My August/September updates are going to be angry and irritable. I strongly dislike summer (except that the kids are home and it stays light out longer and heat in the evenings outside is one of my favorite things).

[Carlos C]

So... You do like summer after all?

Carlos

[QSL]

So now you guys see what I deal with...

[turbonut48]

Yes I can relate. My "Princess" says she likes the warm weather, until it hits 80, then wants the AC on. 70, and shes freezing. Pretty narrow comfort zone.
The Nut

[MRSQSL]

My comfort zone is 72-78 (maybe...72 seems awfully cold). I would get along well with "Princess". Mike's comfort zone seems to be 55-70. Clearly this causes some conflict. Let's just say I enjoy summer days as much as I enjoy mocking things up. As for Mike, as far as I can tell all he has to "deal with" is a loving wife who makes his life oh so much better in a multitude of ways. No sympathy.

[Big Blocker]

Julie,

Try a comfort zone of 40° to 110° - that's my limits for driving the Cobra . . . I rewired my dash in the cold of winter (44° in the garage) and rebuilt the exhaust system in the heat of the summer. But, I do understand your level of "comfort" perfectly. Like mentioned above, my wife wants the t-stat set at 72° but then complains about how cold it is - raises it to 76° and then starts looking for a fan to sit in front of . . . go figure.
We have two to three week "In-Season" times here in Vegas, so working on the car is well planned out in advance.
Not to worry, you'll get back to it - have Mike climate control the garage for you during your home remodels . . . Ha Ha Ha.

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, Your updates are missed.
Doug

[jayguy]

Yes Julie, please come back to us!

[MRSQSL]

Awwwww...thanks. I was out of town until about a half hour ago and I didn't have cell service or wifi or anything!!!! I'm off tomorrow, but I'll try to pop in and do a quick update of the nothingness that happened. :)

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 68 and 69:

I failed. I couldn't find those stupid little 3/4" thingumabobs that you shove up into the gas tank support jobbers. Mike says he'll go to McFadden-Dale and try to score me some. Since this is our first day back at work after vacation, I suspect he'll be entirely too busy to go today though. That's alright. I can give him an extra day. That's what a supportive, loving wife I am.

Before our Sequoia camping excursion, we took Scoopy to the Murrieta Father's Day car show. It was much cooler than last year and we had a good time.

Other than rambling on about how incredibly nice it was in Sequoia, there's probably not much I can say. I need to find a way to get Mike motivated to help me with Coupey. I realize it's my car and I need to be doing the work, but it's difficult to go in the garage if he doesn't want to go too. I'd get lonely (sniffle). I heard a rumor about an upcoming three day weekend, so crossing the old fingers some progress is finally made.

Oh, I did happen to notice a Stewart Transport truck just outside of Bakersfield Tuesday afternoon. Someone is very happily doing inventory I suspect.

Another oh. Mike and I celebrated another wedding anniversary during our trip. I love you Mike!!!!!!!!!!

[cobrajj]

Julie, let me know if Mike doesn't find these 3/4" plugs. Maybe I could see if anyone stocks them around here. Breeze has them but seems like a long way to ship. http://www.breezeautomotive.com/details.php?prod_id=912&cat_id=27

Jim

[MRSQSL]

Thanks Jim!! I'll let you know once he gets over to McFadden-Dale. I thought about asking Factory Five but then realized shipping would be extremely expensive. Yikes!

[NukeMMC]

Lowe's or most any hardware store carries them in the hardware section.

[MRSQSL]

Home Depot doesn't. I knew I should've tried Lowes instead.

[68GT500MAN]

Happy late Anniversary to you and Mike!
Doug

[David Hodgkins]

Julie, McFadden-Dale is right around the corner from me. Say the word and I'll have 4 of those caps in the mail to you this weekend.

:)

[MRSQSL]

You guys are all amazing. Thank you! Mike went to McFadden-Dale yesterday and brought home 3/4 caps. They don't fit. Too fat. Argh! He thinks we can cut slits or something to make it work. I'm positive the manual said 3/4 but Mike muttered something about od and id so I'm guessing they had both and he picked the wrong one, but I didn't ask. He's like a magician sometimes and can make just about anything work or at least that's how it appears to me. Nim not worried. The fuel tank was a nightmare on Scoopy so I was fully expecting this one to be a jerk face too. Thought I'd get further than the cap things before it gave me a hard time but apparently not.

[frankeeski]

When I talked to Mike yesterday Julie, I told him that your caps are most likely lying on the floor at the powder coating shop. Those caps come preinstalled from FFR, at least mine did. I use those type of caps all of the time for 3/4" tubing and usually pick them up at Lowes. I believe you will find them there. Hope you have better luck this weekend.

[Presto51]

Happy late Anniversary to you and Mike!
Doug

X2 on the anniversary for you two. :cool:

BTW How many happy years does that make it for you all :confused:

Ron

[MRSQSL]

I'm going to try to get to Lowes today for the caps. Had my 20 year high school reunion last night and visited with some friends during the day. Didn't get anything done but had a good time.

Mike and I met in high school. We've been together for 22 years...married for 16. I think he's willing to put up with me for another two years but when I hit 40, he's trading me in for a newer version (or so he claims). :)

[cobrajj]

Julie, here's a link to plastic finishing plugs with dimensions that may help. http://www.mcmaster.com/#plastic-finishing-plugs/=smhzlk

[MRSQSL]

Week 70:

Success! Well, kind of. I went to Lowe's and found the plugs. They only had two though. I raced home and shoved them in. Perfect fit! Now I need to find another Lowe's. That was the bulk of my car success for the weekend. Mike informed me this morning that he ordered a four post lift though. He swears it is so I can get lots and lots of work done quickly on my car. I don't buy it, but at least he'll want to spend time in the garage again.

Nothing exciting to report other than going to my first high school reunion. I missed the ten year, but decided I was absolutely, definitely, without a doubt going to the 20 year. I had an excellent time, but I'm pretty sure I look old. I was shocked at how old other people looked and therefore concluded they must feel the same when they gaze upon me. How quickly time flies. Someone commented we are a very good looking graduating class still and I would agree. I only wish more people had attended. It was a good turnout, but out of several hundred of us that left the school that year, only fifty or so ventured back. Anyway, that's it for my news this week. I've given up saying I'll get anything done the following week because it seems to jinx things. I will definitely try to get to another Lowe's so at the very minimum I can plug the other two holes and begin fuel tank installation. Maybe the lift will have arrived shortly after and we can pull the engine and then get back to the serious work at hand. I SOOOOOOO want to drive my Coupey!!!!!!

[Big Blocker]

Belated but well wished . . . Happy Anni you guys!!
Now put down the Champagne and get to work - no more excuses - it's gunna be August soon and you won't want to go out in the garage at all (unless of course Mike did "climate control" it for you).

Doc

[MRSQSL]

Thanks for the anniversary wishes.

I'm not avoiding work on the car (intentionally). Mike got the lift today and is bringing it home tomorrow. Installation day is Friday which I find terrifying. I have already made it clear I have zero interest in helping. I'll make sandwiches and fetch drinks, but that's it. I hope once the lift is ready for use, he will feel more inspired to spend time in the garage. Plus I need to get the other two plugs from Lowes.

No climate control and it's already hot. It has been just below 100 for a whole lotta days. I don't like summer. Wah.

[QSL]

Steve Hard at work in the garage!

[QSL]

Sorry for being off the grid for so long guys. We are finally getting to the point where we should start making some more progress. Here are a few teaser shots until Julie gets a moment to post!

[Presto51]

Very, Very Nice Indeed :cool:

Ron

[68GT500MAN]

Mike, Details on the 4-post lift please, how high is your garage ceiling?
Thanks,
Doug

[QSL]

My ceiling is 110". I purchased the 8,000 lift from Greg Smith. I was pleased with their service and fast shipping. I also purchased the sliding jack and I am VERY glad I did. It rocks! Assembly was easy, however very heavy. The ramps are unbelievably heavy. It took 6 of us 6hrs to do it all including lunch. Plus it was wicked hot out.

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Atlas-Garage-Pro-8-000


The quality of the lift is great and it really does not cramp up my garage really at all. When its down, its almost like its not even there. I am a happy camper!!!

I still need to lift the garage door. But that can wait.

[MRSQSL]

Week 71:

It's a good thing we had an extra day off this week. The lift looked like a handful and a half. I had made it perfectly clear from the beginning that I wanted NOTHING to do with that project. Heavy things are scary things and I dislike being scared (unless I'm reading a good book). I would not recommend anyone build a lift without at least 3 or 4 other strong, healthy men. I am actually very impressed by the thing. I still stare at it out of the corner of my eye to see if it's going to suddenly collapse, but it might be pretty darn safe. The most shocking thing is that the garage feels BIGGER now instead of smaller. For the record, we are not storing the cars in a stacked configuration. Mike drove Scoopy under just to make sure both vehicles could fit at the same time (on the off chance they mate and unexpectedly produce a GT40). I have no explanation as to why the garage feels larger and I'm definitely not complaining.

The first task (once the lift was built, installed and tested) was the fuel tank. We had gone to Lowe's and fetched the last of the stupid little 3/4" plugs. I shoved them in and smacked at them with a mallet. The next step was to dump all the fuel related components around until I found the rubber things the manual (using Scoopy's manual for this portion) demanded. Like I've said multiple times...I remember the fuel tank being impossible in the Cobra. I had little hope of doing anything by myself. When I was able to shove and mush and get the bulk of the gasket-like jobber in the hole, I shrieked with delight. I did request Mike check it out just to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. I'm sure he adjusted somehow because it looked better when he handed the tank back. I also had to push a smaller version into another hole and I was beside myself with joy when I did it 100% by myself. Feeling overly confident, I decided to move on to the fuel pick up. I wasn't entirely certain how to get it in properly, but apparently it didn't matter because Mike informed me I was going to have to "hit it hard with a hammer" so I should wait until I mounted the tank so I could get better leverage. Ummmmm...this sounds terrifying.

The instructions say you need to jack up the tank so you have free hands to tackle the nasty bolts that hate me. I was a little nervous about using the jack Mike had bought for the lift, but quickly realized this was the greatest thing since Oreo cookies...well maybe sliced bread. The jack worked flawlessly and it was a piece of cake (or sliced bread) to operate. My only complaints are that the lift puts the car at just the right level so that I have to duck a smidge if I stand under the drivetrain yet still reach high above my head to fiddle with the gas tank mounts. It isn't the lift's fault, but I didn't realize how much of an upward workout it was going to be. The major complaining comes from the tank though. Stupid bolts weren't long enough, but we knew that going in and Mike had gotten me a variety pack of sizes. I found two that worked, but each is a different length. I hope that won't be a problem. Anyway, note to future builders: In order to get the strap up near the bolt area on the passenger side, it must pass the round bar diagonally crossing the area. This is impossible. The solution was to go around to the very back of the car and unbolt the strap out there and then run back under the car and loosely attach the strap where it needs to go. Then you can run back out and scream obscenities as you attempt to reattach the strap to the correct position at the very rear of the car. It took several tools, a husband and some shaking muscles before it submitted. Once the tank was in, I smiled at Mike. Job well done. He turned to me and said "good job mocking it up". I considered dropping the lift on him. Mocking it up? Mocking it up?! NOOOOOOOO! He laughed. I will never remove that tank again unless it is absolutely necessary. I mean, there is NO other option.

The next day I attempted to finish off the tank by putting in the filler neck and bracket, fuel pick up unit and weird other metal unit. Unfortunately, Mike had to do the bulk of it. He left me to smack it with a hammer until the little edges slid around and locked in. I'd say it was fun, but I hit so many things other than the tool I was trying to smack. I hit fingers, thumbs, metal bars, absolutely nothing but air...

So, the gas tank is fully installed (I think) and Mike has begun work on the front brakes. I don't know what he's doing since I thought they were mostly done. At least progress is being made again and the lift is really nice. I hate to admit it, but I think we should've gotten it sooner. Mike claims we need to raise the garage door, but I truly don't think we do. I'm not going to argue though. If he wants to tackle the job, who am I to complain?

[rguillen04]

MR and MRS QSL, I just want to thank you and congratulate you on a great build!! Its been really fun reading about both your builds and I have to say, your attention to detail is great. I'm still saving up for my coupe, and when I order it, I just hope I can do a half-as-good job as you guys are doing. Cant wait to see your finished coupey

[MRSQSL]

How nice of you! It makes me smile when I hear nice comments like these. You will have a blast building your coupe even though I totally understand now why a straight jacket is involved. Can't wait to start reading your build threads when the time comes.

[rguillen04]

It might be in a few years, but I will have my coupe!! And probably the only one in Mexico at that.

[MRSQSL]

Mexico? Wow!!! I imagine shipping internationally is slightly more difficult. Too bad you aren't ready right now since FF is having that nice 50% sale again on options.

[rguillen04]

Im thinking that when the awesome day finally comes I will ship to Texas, and from there import it into Mexico. I've been reading your posts for the last couple of months and I'm anxious to see when I'll be able to afford it. Got married 5 months ago so my first order of business is buying a house, afterwards comes the Coupe!! I know I'm a stranger, but my wife has family in San Diego, and when we go visit them it would be a pleasure to drive up to meet your family, Scoopy and Coupey. YOu do such a great job with the build thread that everyone feels a part of your family.

[MRSQSL]

You are more than welcome to come visit when you are up this way. San Diego is not far from us at all. In fact, our daughter will be going to college down that way in the fall (buttcrack of summer really). Just shoot one of us a PM when you have an idea when and we'll work out the details.

Oh and congrats on the marriage!!

[rguillen04]

Thank you, and Happy Anniversary to you as well!!

[QSL]

Does not look like a lot of progress, however a huge monkey is off my back now and it feels good. Julie will comment shortly...

[MRSQSL]

Week 72:

I'm not sure if there will be any pictures. I haven't brought the camera down nor have I charged it, so any recent pictures have been taken on our phones. I don't recall seeing anyone snap pictures this time around. Not too much has changed visually anyway, so I guess that's okay.

We worked on the car Saturday morning while it was still "cool" (in the 80's). Mike wanted to fix the front brakes (we never actually got them dialed in before HB). I know what you are thinking. Why is Mike working on brakes? Well, I was ready to throw things when we had tried to get the spacing correct months and months ago and at the end of the evening he told me not to worry about it and he'd fix them. I'm not sure how I reacted outwardly, but a giant mental hug was issued. While Mike raised the car to a good height for him and began the process, I grabbed the manual to see which piece of aluminum should be drilled next. Since we still haven't pulled the engine and trans, aluminum work is about all I can do at the moment which is fine with me since I am mostly capable of doing so without gobs of help. U-joint cover was the winning piece so off I waddled to find it in the mass of boxes/parts. I checked the inventory list and discovered it was not one of the things attached to the frame upon delivery so it should be found in box 6. There are two box 6's. I dove into the first one only to discover it only held large pieces which clearly were not U-joint covers. I managed to wiggle the big box off onto the floor and pawed through the second box. Do I have to tell you where I found the missing part? It was at the very bottom. I repackaged the entire contents and danced back to the car on the lift. Hmmmmm...how was I to install this little doodad when the car was higher than me? I couldn't ask Mike to lower the lift since his back was bothering him and it wouldn't help if he had to bend (plus he was doing me a tremendous favor with the brake work). Sigh. I reached up and grabbed the side impact bars and heaved myself up onto the edge of the ramp (or whatever you call it). I slithered into the car (both seats were inside making it extra difficult) and proceeded to fiddle with the cover. It only took a few seconds of drilling before I realized I was in trouble. No matter how or where I placed the metal, it didn't fit closely enough to the bars for me to drill and eventually rivet. Why does my car hate me?

I climbed off the lift (for the fifth or sixth time because I wasn't organized enough to get everything I needed the first time) and whined to Mike I needed a consult. It took him less than 5 seconds to solve my problem. All I needed to do was lower it a smidge more than I had attempted to. I drilled and clecoed.

I climbed back off the lift and fetched the trans tunnel rear corner pieces. Which goes where? I shifted and flipped and ogled and pondered. I was pretty sure I had them correctly on their respective sides, but neither wanted to fit properly. "Miiiiiiiiike", I shrieked. "Consult" Poor guy. I announced it was not physically possible to get either one in so I didn't know what we were going to do. Five seconds later he had them mocked up and told me just to smack the edge with a mallet until it went down low enough. I got the mallet and smacked. I smacked all sorts of things and from all sorts of angles. I only made it worse. "Miiiiiiiiike!" He came back and smashed the mallet onto the poor, helpless aluminum and walked away. Oh. "Miiiiiiike!" I'm fairly certain he was beyond annoyed at this point, but he had to be patient since he agreed to marry me for better or for worse. "Where am I going to drill? This side doesn't skish up against that side." He pointed and walked away. I drilled, but the entire time I announced I thought he was wrong. He wasn't wrong.

I tried to repeat the other side with less help, but that darn metal was even more stubborn and disrespectful. Mike had to hold it while I drilled. So in the end I got the U-joint cover and two corners in. I would've put the rear wall on, but we put those side impact bars in just the right spot so the edges of the flat aluminum hit the round bars and will need to be persuaded gently to conform. I didn't have the heart to beg Mike to do the grinding and I certainly wasn't going to destroy such a large piece of aluminum by doing it alone.

Mike fixed my front brakes completely. Turns out the brake pedal was hitting the cross bar, thus keeping the brakes from totally releasing. He made some minor adjustment and the problem was solved (also had to reshim things). He started on the rear brakes Sunday, but we agreed to let a friend borrow the lift to change a motor mount so we didn't work on the car until the hot afternoon. Wait, "WE" didn't work on the car Sunday. Mike did. I watched soccer and entertained the friend while Mike slaved away, claiming I couldn't be useful until he ground down the sides of my cockpit wall. Thank you Mike!!!!!

If I can just persuade Mike to do some grinding, I should be able to keep myself fully occupied (and without many consults) drilling all the millions of holes on that rear piece next weekend. Fingers crossed.

[68GT500MAN]

Your new lift is becoming quite the tool of choice. Working on the brakes while standing is something I only dream about, until next year when I purchase the same lift for my garage.
Doug

[MRSQSL]

The lift is great unless two people are trying to work and are different heights. That's the only real issue we've run across so far. I can honestly say I wish we had gotten one sooner. I have pretty much completely lost that slightly panicky feeling of being under the car wondering if I could turn my head this way or that if the car fell off the jack stands and if I'd survive. I don't worry that the car is going to fall off the lift and I'm not even all that worried anymore that the lift is going to suddenly collapse. I still prefer to be on top of the lift rather than under it, but I guess now I know it'll be certain death if it collapses so it takes the mystery away. That was kind of morbid. Sorry. Truly, it feels much safer and when we looked up four post lift failures on the internet, we really couldn't find anything so that was comforting.

[QSL]

Doug, you will love the lift. I am soooooo pleased with it. I love working on the cars again. It makes everything so easy. Its like having your car on the kitchen table. :)

[SoCalMike]

Mike, I don't think she is going to let you put that lift in the kitchen above the island.

[Rodster]

Working at different heights - ha ha. Have Julie stand on a box to reach. Kidding. Have Mike stoop down to reach. Kidding again. Now I need one of those lifts!




The lift is great unless two people are trying to work and are different heights. That's the only real issue we've run across so far. I can honestly say I wish we had gotten one sooner. I have pretty much completely lost that slightly panicky feeling of being under the car wondering if I could turn my head this way or that if the car fell off the jack stands and if I'd survive. I don't worry that the car is going to fall off the lift and I'm not even all that worried anymore that the lift is going to suddenly collapse. I still prefer to be on top of the lift rather than under it, but I guess now I know it'll be certain death if it collapses so it takes the mystery away. That was kind of morbid. Sorry. Truly, it feels much safer and when we looked up four post lift failures on the internet, we really couldn't find anything so that was comforting.

[QSL]

again, the lift kicks *** and highly recommend. for maintenance its going to be killer. I have not had a chance to get the roadster on it. but I can't wait as I have a couple things that need to be done.

I think julie would let me put it in the kitchen, she is that awesome!!!

[MRSQSL]

It WOULD make it easier to reach things on the top shelves. Hmmmmm...

[68GT500MAN]

That is good thinking Julie, then you could put the boxes on the ramps and have the kids lower you and the box down. NOO more ladders!
Doug

[MRSQSL]

Week 73:

I'm almost positive there are no pictures this week and trust me when I say you don't want any. We knew we wouldn't really get to work on the car Saturday. We were at one of the shops where we work for several hours and then the kids were gone so we had "date night" (planned to go out, but realized we are old and tired and stayed home with dinner and a movie instead). Sunday was going to be the big working on the car day. The first step was to go to Home Depot and get a battery powered ratchet. I wasn't thrilled about it, but Mike said he "needed" the tool for my brakes, so whatever. Who am I to argue? One little impulse buy ended up costing us the rest of the day. The extra item we bought (wifi sprinkler timer doohickey) was faulty so after several failed attempts and time on the phone with technical support, we went back to HD and exchanged it. That one didn't work either and tech support said they'd mail us a good part, but Mike has the patience of a toddler so we went to a different HD and finally got one that worked. We still had several hours where we could've worked on the car, but Mike decided to mount the thing and discovered our water pipes are not copper, but some sort of plastic (PEX?) and a drill bit can go through them easily if you don't know they're there (it was a really stupid place for the main water line anyway). Water squirted across the garage. At first I stared in absolute shock, but then came to my senses and screamed "what can I do?". Mike was already trying to turn off the water, but you know how smoothly things go when time is of the essence. I ran to the offending leak and (having watched too many cartoons as a child) shoved my finger over the hole, announcing I stopped it. Not so much. Apparently the water got angry and made an extra hole in the drywall and hit me in the face with plenty of added force which now caused the water to Bellagio Fountain its way across the garage, smacking directly into the garage door opener, diverting the stream onto my poor naked Coupey and splattering all over the inventory sheets mounted on the cabinets. Mike got the water turned off and the drying process began. To make a long story short, a plumber was called but he didn't have a "sharkbite" nor did he think he could make anything work on a Sunday evening so he left with the promise to come back the following day and charge 5x the amount we were originally quoted. I'm proud to say that Mike is handy and decided a trip to Home Depot would probably be in order. This was our fourth visit for the day, but who's counting, right? We got there just as they announced the store was closing in 15 minutes. I did not expect a "sharkbite" to look like it did, but we bought one and raced home. Mike did a bunch of measuring and calculating and cutting and mushing and water was restored to the house. I'm not sure if this is really the right way to fix a damaged water line, but it seems to be holding up and the plumber was fine with it when I called to cancel and told him what we'd done. Mike feels terrible about the whole ordeal, but I say it could've happened to anyone. First, who knew our water lines weren't copper? Two, why would the builder stick one in such a stupid spot? (I left out the part where the water accidentally got turned on and we had a repeat of the Bellagio Fountain and I had a chance to wipe down my car one extra time.) Needless to say, Coupey didn't get any attention other than the two drying sessions. The garage door opener is toast, but that's okay since we were going to take it down anyway once the garage door lift thing was done. Sigh. Anyway, I learned a lot about plumbing so that's a plus. Hopefully next weekend will go a little more smoothly.

[frankeeski]

After talking to Mike both last night and tonight, I'm convinced. The "Sharkbite" ROCKS! Continue building.

[MRSQSL]

I'm relieved you think it was an okay way to fix it. Oh and the garage door opener works now that it has dried out. Yay!

[CraigS]

I am kind of disappointed. No pictures and I was expecting a repair involving some rubber hose and a couple of hose clamps, ha, ha. I haven't used one but I understand that the sharkbite system is really quite good so I would consider it a permanent repair. I bet coupey had some dust on it that you guys were not noticing so actually the two wet dry sessions were good things. Coupey is now a little cleaner!

[MRSQSL]

Coupey is spotless. Water was everywhere with puddles in the seats and floorboards. It completely coated the car. Who knew that much water could fly free that quickly? Mike had to do some drilling on the same wall last night. I was torn between hiding in a corner in fetal position and throwing things over the car to protect it from a third shower. Fortunately no more water lines were injured. Scoopy had some water spots from the previous episodes though. Mike cleaned them all up. Scoopy had a cover on when it happened but apparently some water got through. Things could've been a lot worse, but I wouldn't recommend piercing water lines just for the fun of it. Makes the weekend feel a lot shorter.

[Carlos C]

Uff... I absolutely hate that kind of weekend.

Carlos

[xlr8or]

Julie I had that happen a couple of years ago. During our remodel I was installing some cabinets in the laundry room and when I was putting the last screw for the lower cabinet I heard a sudden hissing...The self tapping cabinet screw went right through the copper pipe.. Pulled the screw out and sure enough water followed.
Worst part was the valve outside the house was stuck and wouldn't shut off so it ran for about 10 minutes. Then I had to tear out the drywall I had just re-textured and painted.

[QSL]

Yay! I feel better. :)

[xlr8or]

Thanks for enjoying my misery. Oh did I mention it was on my birthday? The night before Thanksgiving, with about 20 people coming over for turkey... Yeah it was a fun day. ;)