Factory Five Forums - Blogs - JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?6882-JeepFlyer Builder community site for Factory Five Racing. en Sat, 02 May 2026 22:30:36 GMT vBulletin 10 https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Factory Five Forums - Blogs - JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?6882-JeepFlyer Progress (First 48 Hours) https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?773-Progress-(First-48-Hours) Sat, 11 Aug 2012 14:24:05 GMT Delivery went well. Bob, from Stewart Transport was very helpful and we had no problem wheeling the body and chassis up into my rental garage. I... Delivery went well. Bob, from Stewart Transport was very helpful and we had no problem wheeling the body and chassis up into my rental garage. I pretty much immediately went to work on the inventory. The girlfriend stopped by and assumed the role of box checker while I created a pile of crate paper the size of Jabba the Hut. The backorder list wasn't too bad. The main items missing were the radiator, IRS upper and lower control arms, gas cap, rear springs (which actually arrived the day before my kit), wiring harness, rod ends, e-brake, and NP/COO whatever that is. I had already taken leave on Wednesday because I wouldn't have been of any use at work. It seemed like most of that day was spent running back and forth between the garage and Sears, Lowes, and Autozone. Due to my work schedule, I got a couple solid hours in on Thursday as well, and was able to take a few pictures of my progress. As she sits right now, the front suspension is completed, as well as the front brake calipers mounted. I skipped around a bit in the manual because I didn't have the body off but I had an entire day to do something. Sitting inside the wheel well and installing the control arms and shocks was not exactly convenient. Regardless, the body is now off, as well as all of the aluminum. For the life of me I could not get the upper ball joint boots to seat properly. I've read about using the PVC pipe method, and I might give that a try.

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The "to do" list for the weekend includes the pedal box, upper steering shaft, and steering rack (minus tie rod ends). Right now I'm waiting on the rear IRS components from Mike Forte. A third master cylinder for a hydraulic clutch, tie rod ends, IRS UCAs, wiring harness, rod ends, e-brake, and the NP/COO are on their way in the mail right now.

One more thing...

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I wanted to get the Seals-It rod end seals for the upper and lower shock mounts. Need to do some measuring and research here to find out what would work best.
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]]> JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?773-Progress-(First-48-Hours) Progress (Pre-Delivery) https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?772-Progress-(Pre-Delivery) Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:44:22 GMT In the picture from my last post seen here... Attachment 11174 (https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11174) ...you can... In the picture from my last post seen here...
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...you can see I've already started a collection of parts.

I've been trying to lay out parts in the general vicinity of their location on the car. I'm sure this system will quickly fall by the wayside as soon as the plethora of boxes arrives on the Stewart truck. Going to the factory and seeing the pallet of boxes that comes with the kit was helpful to mentally gauge the size of the area needed. I figured I would try to document, as best I could, the upgraded/extra/modified parts I get as they come in. So here goes nothing.

The first part to arrive was actually a pedal pad (no picture, sorry) I bought from Wilwood before I had even ordered my kit. With the planned Coyote build, and the manual calling for cutting off the stock accelerator pedal to jerry-rig on the FFR supplied pedal, I figured there had to be a better way. So basically, what I will have is three identical pedal pads. I'm planning to modify the accelerator pad to make it thinner but have not yet gotten to that point. More pictures to follow when that bridge is crossed.

The first major component I got was my steering rack. I went with the Autozone power steering rack and pinion found [URL="http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Rack-Pinion/_/N-8oxk3?filterByKeyWord=6439&fromString=search&isSearchByPartNumber=true"]HERE[/URL]. I went with the 2.5 turn stop-to-stop option because it was a bit more aggressive, and I want to autocross and/or track day this car in the future.
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Autozone has the cheapest power steering rack available, and while it is remanufactured, it has a lifetime warranty at any Autozone store in the country. They have three options as far as steering ratio. Here is the info for them:
Part #64163; 2.25 turns lock to lock
Part #6439; 2.5 turns lock to lock
Part #6406; 3.0 turns lock to lock (this one is listed $10 cheaper)

My custom Speedhut gauges showed up next. Thanks to [B][I][U]MTSCustoms[/U][/I][/B] having a sale, I got these at a great price, and they were exactly what I wanted. I've been tempted to connect the leads to my car battery, just to see them in action, but I'm making myself wait.
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The next UPS delivery brought my wheels. I went with the Halibrand Vintage 17" wheels. I've got 9" fronts and 10.5" rears. I'm still trying to decide what to wrap them with.
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My brakes were the next to arrive. With the 50% off sale going on I couldn't resist upgrading to the Wilwood kit.
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This ended up being about a full day's work, not because of the mock-up and assembly, but because of the safety wire. Luckily, I took an aircraft maintenance class in college, and learned how to do safety wiring. With that said, I still ended up "practicing" a couple times on the same two nut when I started. Overall, I don't think it ended up looking too bad.
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I got my Breeze engine compartment battery box kit last week. This just seems to make sense to me. Why run battery cable from behind the seats, all the way to the engine compartment. Cheap and easy alternative.
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Well that's all for now. I will definitely have pictures from the delivery tomorrow, just not sure when I'll be able to pry myself away from it to upload them.
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]]> JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?772-Progress-(Pre-Delivery) Christmas Eve https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?771-Christmas-Eve Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:03:35 GMT While it definitely feels like Christmas Eve to me, the unfortunate truth is Santa Clause (in this case) won't bring me my kit while I sleep. That, and he drives an 80' long semi-trailer. Hopefully everything goes off without a hitch tomorrow. Due to the delivery being on a weekday and likely mid afternoon, I might not have a lot of help unloading it. Luckily I've spent the last month or so getting everything ready so it already has a nest to settle into.

Speaking of that nest, I figured I would take some pictures before the place just got out of control with parts everywhere.

Here is my body buck, which grew into a large storage shelf
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I had originally considered putting casters on the bottom of it as well, but it's going in the corner and not moving... mostly due to its size and weight.

As you can see I've also been collecting a few parts here and there for the last month. More on that in the next post.
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]]> JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?771-Christmas-Eve Factory Five Tour https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?765-Factory-Five-Tour Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:54:53 GMT I got the opportunity to visit Massachusetts for work on the same weekend my kit was due to be completed. It was just too good of an opportunity to... I got the opportunity to visit Massachusetts for work on the same weekend my kit was due to be completed. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up! I took a few pictures, but feeling like a kid in a candy store, I quickly forgot about documenting the trip. Either way, if you are thinking about it, do it!

The Coyote/Boss featured on the Musclecar TV show
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The kit we thought was destined to be mine
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funny story...
Like I said my kit was due to be completed Saturday. I spoke to Stewart Transport two weeks ago to pay my bill and asked when it might be picked up. They said probably not until the weekend after it was completed, due to scheduling. So, during the tour I searched high and low for anything with my name on it, but to no avail. Finally when we reached the final assembly area I saw one going together that was equipped with IRS. No one remembered seeing my name anwhere, so we assumed it was mine that he was putting together right in front of us. They offered me a sharpie, and said if I signed it they would make sure it was sent to me.

So I did.
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Only after I got home from my weekend trip, and was able to call Stewart today, did I realize that wasn't my car. I was informed that it was done early so they picked it up on Friday before I arrived. It is on its way to Arizona to ride along with a few deliveries before it shows up here in NM at the end of the week or first of next week. But, to whoever gets a kit with IRS and has the initials "WTH" scribbled on the driver's footbox... sorry for writing on your car.
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]]> JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?765-Factory-Five-Tour Stir Crazy https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?763-Stir-Crazy Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:06:13 GMT I realized I was going stir crazy waiting for my kit to arrive (currently day 23) when my floor level body buck started to grow. It first grew legs... I realized I was going stir crazy waiting for my kit to arrive (currently day 23) when my floor level body buck started to grow. It first grew legs to put the body approximately six feet off the floor. Then it sprouted two shelves which will be perfect for storing parts in boxes. When it was about to grow a third shelf, and angle cut support struts, it hit me. I desperately need my kit to get here so all of this energy can be channeled into my car, and not what is a glorified piece of furniture.

So I've turned my attention and energy to my build plan/budget, which has been neglected while I spent so much time in my man-cave. For those planning a build in the future, I would encourage you to use something similar to wrap your head around the sheer number of parts and options. Understandably, this endeavor can quickly balloon out of control, over budget, and behind timeline with little to no warning. I am viewing it as an exercise to test my logistical skills and financial planning abilities. More on that later.

I've attached a slightly cleaned up version of my build plan/budget. Anyone could probably easily deduce what the major components of my bulid will be, but to save you the time, here are the highlights:

Mk4 complete kit
Coyote 5.0 crate engine
Tremec TKO 600 (TCET5008) mid-shift
Independant Rear Suspension
Torsen Differential (3.73 final drive ratio)
Halibrand Replica Wheels
- 17"x9" front (275/40R17 tires)
- 17"x10.5" rear (315/35R17 tires)

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This is a .xlsx file for excel but it wouldn't work without zipping it first. Let me know if you have any problems
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]]> JeepFlyer https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?763-Stir-Crazy