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Carl's 20th Anniversary #8690 - Graduated... 15,000 miles
Hello All, So I figured I better get this thread started before I get really into it and get behind!!!
So, if you've seen any of my previous posts, I had ordered a roadster from FF and was anxiously awaiting Sep 15th to get here as that was the expected kit completion date. On the same day that I placed that order, I also contacted Blueprint Engines and ordered my 347ci Carb motor and transmission. Blueprint also gave me a date of Sept 15th as their completion date. So, the "big" orders are done and out of the way, now I have 45 days +/- to get my garage ready. The preparation of my garage is documented on a couple of my other threads. Then, a post popped up on Facebook on the Factory Five Cars Rule page that 20th Anniversary MK4 was available and since the decision to get a roadster was done, it only became a matter of do I want to stick with my current order that included every upgrade except wilwood, that FF had to offer at 50% off .... or .... go with the 20th Anniversary option. My decision was difficult as the 20th was actually going to cost me about $3k more than my maxed out order at FF. I spent nearly an hour on the phone with FF discussing the actual order that delivered the 20th to it's original owner and comparing what I would be or not be getting. The list was short... I would not be getting the 2nd roll bar, power steering, trunk opening hinges & brake duct screen. But I would be gaining the 20th Kit... Decision made, and on 8/18/18 I traveled with truck and trailer to Raleigh NC, about 275 miles and picked up my #8690 Asp... number 8 of the 20, 20th Anniversary kits sold 3 years ago.
My build plans are as follows,
Mk4 with all the 20th Anniversary Kit Upgrades : Learn More Here
347ci Carberated Blueprint Motor with TKO 600 Transmission: Learn More Here
Heater/Defroster option
Modification I'm Planning Currently (Of course I'm always seeing other cool thing and this list may change)
- Drop Trunk :rolleyes:
- EPAS Electric Power Steering :rolleyes:
- Cubby Hole between seats :rolleyes:
- Drop Battery in trunk area :rolleyes:
- Heated Seats :rolleyes:
- Hidden Bluetooth Audio system (maybe)
And as I said, I'm sure I will see other cool options
So I'm going to end this post with this information and I'll get my build started in following entries.
I'm using this photo as my goal and final planned look for my build, it is a large poster that will soon be on the wall of my garage...
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This photo added on 12/24/20 to show the final look, compared to my original plan.
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Building the Chassis Dolly
Tonight, the inventory complete, I can start the process of getting ready for the Chassis and Body to come in out of the trailer. While it is a little thing, it was kind of rewarding looking back into my garage as I left it tonight and seeing this dolly coming together in the middle of the floor. Having purchased my kit from a private party that had built a previous roadster had a nice advantage. The original owner included his high rise body buck with the deal. So all I needed to do was build a Chassis Dolly to put the Chassis on once I get it into the garage. I plan to have this thing up pretty high to help my back... I decided to go with the Chassis Dolly that chrisarella had designed and posted the plans for (Click Here to See Those Plans ) I made some planned modification that will allow the bottom of my chassis to be at 21"+/- above the floor. Here are some photos I took tonight as I assembled the dolly. The wheels have been ordered and should be here in the next day or two. Then I will get the body and chassis into the garage and get started...
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The modification I made include using a 4 x 6 in place of the 4 x 4 in the original plan and then a 4 x 4 will be added to the top of the 4 x 6 and securely fastened to each other with 7" lag bolts and wood glue between all parts will create an extremely sturdy dolly.
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Out of the trailer and onto the chassis dolly
So ever have one of those days where you spend 20-30 minutes composing an update, only to want to close the photo you are looking at but hit the "X" for the whole page... Yup... I just did....
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So, anyway, while I was waiting for my casters to arrive via FedEx (they did today) I was able to paint the chassis dolly. I used the red epoxy I had for the floor lines. I think it came out pretty good and at least initially seems to be a very hard finish... Should do very well.
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So today I installed the casters and got it flipped over, it is heavy, I would guess 200 lbs +/-.
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So now, I have to get the car out of the trailer, into the garage and then up onto the 21" dolly. I guess it is at this time that I should mention that I do just about everything by myself. I can get very creative as I did tonight...
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Ok, the body/chassis and the dolly are all in the garage, now if I only had special powers and could just point a finger at it and have it raise up onto the dolly.
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So, with a small floor jack that only has a max height of 14" and a dolly that is 7 inches higher that that, I had to get very creative with blocks of wood, jack stands, a bit of balancing the car and moving very slowly... it is up on the dolly and it is so easy to move around in the garage.
Tomorrow I will begin documenting and marking the body and aluminum pannels and get ready for the big undressing... The body buck is still in the trailer, but I should have no problem getting it into the garage and the body onto it in the next couple days.
AND THEN The real fun can begin.....
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Now the Real Work Can Begin!
Ok, so the body is off the chassis and up on the buck. Turns out I will be able to work with both of them in the garage at the same time but with a minor adjustment to the positioning of the car during the build. I can turn them both sideways in the garage and have loads of room all around both of them and should not have any problems. In fact, if wanted, I can actually roll the chassis over to my work bench and still have good room. (So back in March 2015 when I bought my home, this large detached garage was the only reason I bought the property, true story :-) I had visions for this garage and it is now becoming reality)
So I removed the body from the chassis with only myself and 3 tie down straps, or in this case tie up straps. With a lot of back and forth, front to back, a little at a time I raised the body up to my rafters and then was able to move the chassis out of the way and roll in the buck. Lowered it down and now its time to get down to business.
I took the advice of several on here as well as on the video from FF and marked my front and rear body (overrider) bolts, but I'm not sure of the purpose of this exercise as they were all exactly the same on the front and on the rear... Perhaps it will all make sense later.
I'm following EdwardBs build post as my primary go to, and a little from many other here on the forum as well as the series on Youtube from FF. Excited is an understatement.
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The Beginner Begins... The "F" Panels
So now that the garage and chassis and body are all in the "let's get busy" position, Today I got an early start on what I hope to be a very productive day. And as the build manual says, you start with the front suspension and to do that, the "F" panels go on first. This job took me a little longer than I think it normally would have as I was spending a lot of my time preparing for the mess of metal shavings that I was expecting. I found good use for the 9,032 feet of brown paper that comes with your kit. I guess they know you will need it.
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First things first, I used some plastic clamps to hold the "F" panels in place while I got them all lined up. If that is possible. I found that on the DS, the panel and the diagonal support were not as consistent as was the passenger side. And on the PS I had to shave a little bit off one area to allow for the weld, but only slightly.
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Once I got them lined up the way I liked them, I marked them with a "DRY ERASE" marker so that I could mark up the drill holes. Using the kit provide "tool" I then marked all of my drill points and went to the drill press and went to town. I also set up a small shop vac that I had with a little duct tape to my drill press so that 85% of the shavings went away immediately. The rest, I'll clean up at the end of the day. I also drilled out the rear edge with the 9/32s drill in preparation for the nutserts / rivnuts that EdwardB recommended in his build. I should be able to install those with the panels installed on the chassis when they arrive. EdwardB Build Thread I also cut out the small square at the top rear corner just as was discussed in his thread as well. Learn from the one of the best and trust it will all come together...
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Once the panels were drilled, it was back to the Chassis to again line it them up and clamp them in place. I then drilled out the frame through the holes in the panels. I must say, the first couple holes into your new power coated chassis can cause a lot of double checking to be sure all was in place. As I drilled a hole, I immediately filled it with a clekos to insure all was in place and not moving around as I continued with the rest of the drilling. After all the steel chassis drilling was complete, I then removed the panel, gave it a good cleaning and I applied the clear silicon to the F panel using the drilled holes as my guide. I then place the panels up on the chassis and attached it with clekos all the way. I did the PS first, and allowed it to set up while I worked on the DS. Then I came back and began the task of riveting it on permanently.
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So to do the riveting, I got out my brand new harbor freight pneumatic rivet gun and "Primed" it as the instructions stated. Gave it a test fire and it covered me with oil. I was somewhat expecting it from other posts I had read. I took it outside and fired it off several times until it seemed to have the oil spray out of it's system and then merely wrapped a rag around the area where the air vents out and zip tied it in place. This allowed for the slight oil mist each time I used it to be collected and not transmitted all over my pretty white power coat panels. The rivet gun worked perfect, but I found that it was best to remove the used rivet from the front rather than just pushing it through as it is suppose to do. If I did not do this, I could only get 3 rivets completed before I had to take the front off of the gun and release the spent rivet rods manually. I found that 70 PSI worked great with this gun.
So the "F" panels are complete,Attachment 91884
Lunch time and then back to the actual front suspension...
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First Full Day of Building Complete
OK, this concludes my first real day of actually working on the build and emptying parts boxes... that is a good feeling to see the stack of trash that I created today to get to the final product of the day. So I completed the front basic suspension. I say basic because I still have the sway bar and steering to get installed. But here are some of the lessons learned from today's work.
First thing was I completed the same Mod that EdwardB identified in his build thread for his 20th. This is the mod that fixes the bind that happens at the bottom of the double adjustable Koni shocks. The lower shock mount has to be modified with a grinder to prevent the problem. Learn more about this at EdwardB's post HERE.
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This is my completed modification, also my first use of POR-15. I like it!
Once that minor modification was complete, I installed the shocks. It seems that my shock mounts were very tight with the spacers. I had to grind a small amount off of one of the spacers to be able to get it installed. I actually think it would have been a perfect fit if it were not for the Powder Coat. Again, this was very minor.
Spindles, Hubs, Dust Caps, Shocks all installed. Done for the day.
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Next I think I will be working on the Wilwood brake package.
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It was a day of cleaning and preparing...
So I started out today thinking I was going to put together the IRS and Wilwood brakes all around. That did not happen. I started out with the front Wilwood kit, got it all ready to go and when I went to get out my safety wire, I found there was only about 5" left on the roll. Oh, also, the Wilwood disks are directional. So I stopped there for now as far as putting them on the car. But then I got the "make it look pretty bug." So I started with the bolts for the caliper mount. I thought that if it looks like it could rust, I'm going to wire wheel them and clear coat them with several coats of clear enamel. So that's what I did. Oh, then I broke open the Wilwood box for the rear and did all those bolts as well. Figured I would get them ready now.
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So the "Make it Pretty Bug" continued with everything for the IRS. I started with the 3rd member, remember, it's been in the box for 3 years along with everything else. I spent some time with wire brushes and wheels on the drill along with the clear paint. The Photos show the before, during and after. Perhaps tomorrow I'll actually get started on the IRS install. I'm excited...
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Next, or rather in conjunction with the 3rd member, I also started on the required modifications of the rear spindle knuckles. Cutting into a perfectly good, several hundred dollar part is scary, but after studying the IRS instructions as well as photos from EdwardB's built, I was confident I was doing it correctly. So, cut off the ear on the knuckles and drilled out the required hole from less than 1/2" to the required 5/8". Also cleaned up the casting lines on the knuckles along with the rough cut area. They came out pretty good... currently they have clear on them and they are drying and getting ready for a hopeful install tomorrow. I also found another use for the 9,394 feet of brown paper, I made a vice bib to catch the aluminum shavings created with the saws-all.
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So with the addition of the POR-15 on all the steel parts and clear enamel on the cleaned aluminum, this is what it looks like. I'll get a final photo after everything is dry and I can move them for a better photo.
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Oh, the IRS (at least it's not the tax people this time)
So today I started the IRS on my 20th Anniversary build. I started by trying to follow all the directions that I have in a supplemental instructional guide.
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Can anyone tell me if this is the most recent version of this?
I followed it and put together all the control arms and the toe arm, and laid them out to get a feel of what I had going on.
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Notice I have my differential under there as well, just have it on a furniture dolly for the moment. And that was just a moment as next I moved all the control arms out of the way and started the task of putting in the differential. It took me about 20 minutes once I developed my plan of attack. Doing this alone I was planning to raise it up as other have done with straps or lift of some kind, but the upper trunk deck area has a plate in the way and I was not able to do it from above. So, I did it from below, I just balanced the differential with the shaft pointing up on my small floor jack and a 2x6 and raised it straight up into the hole, when it was high enough, I tipped it forward into the tunnel opening and let it set in place, raised up the back of it and slide in one of the rear bolts and got it to start to thread in. This was enough that I knew it could not fall out and then I lifted the front in place and got one of the front bolts to slide in enough that a rubber mallet could convince it to go all the way in. Then it was just a matter of using the jack to raise and lower ever so slightly to get the other two bolts in place.
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So that is as far as I actually got tonight. I came a complete stop as I can not seem to find the rear sway bar mounting bracket that has to go on with the same bolt as the toe arm. I have a bag full of hardware for the IRS Sway-bar, but can not find the brackets anywhere. Perhaps EdwardB can remember where his were hiding with his kit???
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A Night of Preparation for a Bigger Day Ahead!!!
So today was a day of getting ready to work more on another day.
I'm on a work standstill as far as putting the IRS together pending getting the rear sway bar brackets that did not get shipped with the kit. A couple emails to FFR and David B and they are in the FedEx box and in route with expected delivery on Thursday, I'm starting to see a big Saturday coming up.
The list of things completed today include:
- installed the new studs in the rear hubs. I actually used an old lug nut I took off of my trailer and a hardened washer, just like the manual said, then I used an impact wrench and pulled them in until they were just barley seated on the back, then finished them off with a 100 ft Lb pull with the torque wrench. I've seen where some people have them pressed in, the key to using the lug nut pull method is lubrication on the threads and the washer, if it can all slide well, it will pull them in without any problems IMO. I used WD40 and that seemed to work real well.
- Re assembled the rear hub assembly, I may have gone overboard, but even the bolt heads received a good wire brushing and several clear coats before being reinstalled onto the hubs. I think they look good and will look real good up on the car. I'm also hoping that any surface rust will be avoided.
- Assembled the rear Wilwood Brake rotors and hats. (Still waiting for the safety (lock) wire to arrive, should be here tomorrow. All 24 bolts have their loctite and have been torqued to the required 112 in/lbs.
- Cleaned up the IRS CV Axles. They were actually in really good shape and I did not want to do anything to them and cause problems in the future. I did see that the dust shield that is on the differential end was kind of bent up on both of them. I spent a little time on them and they are straighter now.
- Cleaned up and applied several coats of clear on the steering rack.
So now I have a bunch of IRS parts all laid out and ready to install. Just waiting on the bracket from FFR.
I also discovered that on the hiem joint end of the toe bar, the instructions says to install a 1/4" spacer and a 1/8" spacer. But my kit came with all 1/4" spacers and no 1/8" spacers. I'm going to have to find some 1/8" spacers as with the 1/4" ones, it will not fit. Little things won't stress me out... little things won't stress me out... little things will not stress me out... little things......
Here are the only photos I took today...
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A little more prep work for this weekend
So today I received the Safety Wire, Rivnuts and most importantly the IRS Sway Bar brackets from FFR. The sway bar bracket look to be stamp cut out of thick steel and then bent and welded as needed. This left them with some pretty sharp edges that I took a grinder too and smoothed them out as well as ruffed up the surface a bit for the POR-15 to adhere too. I painted them up and left them hanging to dry as I took on the Wilwood brake safety wire.
Now, having been in the Air Force for a full 20 years, 11 of those as a Jet Engine mechanic, I have done a lot of safety wire on everything from F16s, B1 bomers, to little small gas turbines. I have won several, for fun, safety wire competitions... But last night, I did not have the skill that I know I did 25 years ago. But it was fun and if you look close, you will see only one continues safety wire for all 12 bolts. And that was completed on the first try without braking the wire and starting over. I also greased up all of the suspension parts in preparation of installation. This weekend the front suspension/steering and the IRS should all be completed. Fingers crossed.
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Firewall and Heater Defroster Preparation
So as I'm doing this build, I've been trying to follow the sequence in the build manual from FFR. At the same time, I'm following several different threads but specifically following EdwardB's. He jumps around a bit, mostly because he did not have all the parts while he was building and he has the experience of knowing what he can do without jeopardizing something that may be coming in the future of the build. I'm using that knowledge to vary a little from the build manual... but I'm staying pretty close to it for the most part. So, having said all this, the next subject in the build manual is the Firewall, so that is where I went next.
Another challenge for me is that with the 20th Anniversary kit having many panels powder coated white, they came in a box and not pre installed on the chassis. I did not have the opportunity to see them installed or pre mark them as I took them off, so it's all new to me. I'm not worried about it, I'll just figure them out as I go. So, lets get started with the powder coated Firewall is one of them, I started with a lot of protective tape to help me keep it clean and scratch free. In the build manual, it has a note; "those builders that plan to install the heater/defroster it is easier to cut the holes for that upgrade before installing the firewall". SO, I did just that. Using the template provide in the instructions, I followed them to the letter. Even broke apart the heater box and fan box and double checked everything.
Everything taped off and marked for engine side (kept me straight more than once)
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So the instructions say to verify that the template and the actual parts align. The six mounting screw holes were a perfect match, but the two holes for the heater lines were off just a little bit. You can see the new center point at the tip of my pencil. I used a one inch wood drill bit to cut the larger holes out as indicated by the instructions and then my high speed drimel tool with a sanding drum on it to open it up the rest of the way to 1.25" I was very pleased at how easy the wood bit cut through the aluminum and made a very nice hole. I did drill a 1/8" pilot hold for it to follow. Don't let the torn tape fool you, the holes turned out to be a very clean cut.
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Next I had to cut out the large air flow opening for the heater fan. The instructions suggested using tin snips, but even the photo of where they did that did not look like a good finished product. (I know, it will be hidden inside the heater, but I would know) So I set up a little 2 x 4 jig on my outside work bench that would allow my jig saw blade clearance but give me a very good support to hold the panel down while I cut it. It worked perfectly and I cut very slow so that I would have a nice smooth edge, mission accomplished.
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So, now that the firewall is in place, the heater/defroster holes cut, I completed the process of drilling out and gluing/riveting the firewall in place. I then held the padded dash panel up in place and it is obvious the glove box will be really nothing more than the door. My hope is that when it is done, the door will still open and close and I can have my registration and insurance papers just inside for quick access. That little modification will be for another day...
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After I completed the firewall, the next step in the build manual is the pedal box. So I found all the hardware and parts and took the metal ones out to the outside workshop and cleaned them off and shot them with some black spray paint to get them ready for tomorrow.
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Pedal Box Clutch Pedal Interference Fix
Ok, so I know there are several different fixes for the Clutch Pedal and Chassis interference in the pedal box. I have read many of them and was convinced that there was no way that FFR would send out a kit that would have this problem and I just knew I would put mine together and not have any issue... LOL... I was wrong... So, taking what I had learned from many of you, I came up with a fix that I believe is perfect. I also believe in what EdwardB said yesterday about this being up in the bowels of the pedal box and will never be seen. But I still wanted it to be strong and be a clean modification. Here is what I did.
To start with, I identified just exactly where the pedal hit the 3/4" tubing. Then I drew a line that was parallel to the swing of the pedal. I then determined where I was going to bolt on my 1/4" thick x 3/4" wide and 4" long patch bar and drilled the patch bar, then used the bar as the template to mark the 3/4 bar. I then drilled out the 3/4" bar while it was all still connected. I wanted the firm rigid bar rather than after I cut it trying to drill it if there was flex. I then created a paper floor pan to catch the clippings and metal shavings as I used an angle grinder and hack saw to to the deed. I then cleaned up the 3/4" tubing, and the patch bar and put it all together. I used 1/4" x 3/4" long bolts with lock nuts. I used a small magnet to hold the nut inside the tube while I started the bolt into the threads. Then, I jammed a large flat screwdriver in between the side of the nut and the tube and was able to tighten them down. Shot some gray metallic paint on all of it and there you have it.
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Pedal Box - Steering Rack - Clutch & Gas Cables
Today, after I completed the clutch pedal interference modification, I also installed the Steering Rack, Tie Rod Ends, Complete Pedal Box, Master Cylinders, Clutch Cable and Throttle Cable and Gas Pedal.
And before you tell me, I know about the upgrades that can be done with the mechanical linkage on the throttle and the hydraulic clutch option... I'm attempting to build this as close to FFRs build as I can. Some upgrades will be utilized, but as few as possible and still be a nice build. Building on a very tight budget. Perhaps some modifications will come in time, but for now it is what it is!
The rest of the items installed today were all completed following the FFR Build Manual (including installing and removing and installing and removing the wilwood pedal box about 30,000 times) so no real need to explain all of this. One minor modification was the clutch cable pass through tube. I opened up the 4 bolt holes to 1/4" and installed some stainless steel bolts to add a little bling to that area... you know, just in case someone looks...
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I'm thinking of creating a little safety net on the clutch cable connection to the quadrent. I'm thinking of drilling a small hole straight through the quadrant just above the cable at the end (pen is pointing where I think I will drill) and then just put a cotter pin through there. Not sure if the cable popping off is a problem or not, but I could see it happening and I think this would keep it down in place should it somehow catch a little slack at some point and want to flip up off of the quadrant.
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Rear Brakes/IRS Completed Fuel Tank Next
Today I was able to spend some time and went back to the IRS and Rear Brakes. I had missed putting on a safety washer on the top heim joint and I was able to get the rear brakes and E-Brake installed. No brake lines or cables as of yet. Actually that has not come up in the manual just yet. When I do get to the brake line, I'm planning to use the basic line that comes with the kit, but I'm going to clean it up with 600 grit emery paper and clear coat it. Almost looks stainless / chrome. I think it will look really good. Calling it a night early today as I have a big day at work tomorrow and really need to go to bed on time.
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Brake Line with the normal finish and the slightly "polished" look.
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According to the build manual, my next task is to install the fuel tank. I have all ready installed, loctite and torqued the couplings for the rear bumper/body mounts so that is done. Oh, I actually purchased Stainless Steel Bolts for the couplings. I figure they may be out of sight, but I don't want them rusting if I can avoid it.
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QUESTION: In all the experience out there, is there anything else I should really consider doing before I put the tank up in place? Wiring, Brake lines, etc. Or are all of those easy enough after the tank is up in place?
