Every time you post I spend money. Got this last week. Thanks…. I guess? I kid. Great to follow alongQuote:
Originally Posted by cv2065
Every time you post I spend money. Got this last week. Thanks…. I guess? I kid. Great to follow alongQuote:
Originally Posted by cv2065
Got this. Nice quality carbon filter. Thanks….Quote:
Originally Posted by cv2065
Hey, John in NC. I am in the process of completing the wiring on my MK4 and a little stumped on the tail light wiring. Do you have any directions or pictures of how you wired yours? Not getting much help from FFR.
dippertj@gmail.com or (704) 806-1336
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
A few more updates since the last post. Again, not moving as quickly as I would like but work has been hectic the last part of the year and have to squeeze some face time in with my son as he's been home from college. So let's see where I left off....
I had just finished up getting the bellhousing setup and have to say that the stock Ford bell that I used last time was much less of a headache than the Quicktime. All went well but between the dialing in the bell to the pivot ball length trial and error, the stock bell was much easier. But, aluminum vs. steel, ya never know and want the protection. So in getting ready to mate the trans and engine block, I cut some 7/16-14 threaded rod to help pull the trans evenly into the bellhousing. I had the trans strapped to my trans jack which worked perfectly! I centered the clutch fork and held up with a string and guided it right in putting some pressure on the clutch fork with a c-clamp. Put a VERY light coat of grease on the input shaft. I must have had this thing dialed in perfectly as the transmission went right in like butter with zero issue. Oh, and don't forget the QT fitment ring on the trans input shaft! It would suck to get it all together and forget to put that in. I used the silver one, not the gold.
Secured with two bolts then pulled the threaded rod and installed the last two. Torqued down to 45 foot/lbs. The QT instructions state to torque 35-45 ft/lbs, and didn't matter which value you selected as long as the torque values on the bell to the block were the same as trans to the bell to maintain 'parallelism'. So I certainly wanted to maintain that! :cool:
I've got the Forte mid-shift kit on my TKX. Man that thing looks COOL!!
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Speaking of the trans, when I attempted to run through my gears before stabbing into the car, mine were jacked up from shipping, so had to readjust the shifter levers. First pic is the how they were coming out of the box, second is them back in line like they are supposed to be and enable manual shifting through all gears. I just used a small screwdriver to move them. The top of the box has a molded gasket in the cover. It looked good so just cleaned up the mating surface and reinstalled.
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By the way, if you really want to understand how these transmission parts go together, Paul Cangelosi from 5-speeds.com that has done many videos on a variety of transmissions which has greatly helped me over the years, especially when I rebuilt my Muncie 4 speed. Here's one on the TKO (similar to TKX).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YBeFZzv83Y
Next up was the Forte hydraulic clutch. I wouldn't do a build without this. It's a little expensive but well worth the money and if the slave cylinder ever goes out, it's very easy to change out. Might grab me an extra slave just to have in my 'road' kit. Getting the rod cut to the right length is key and thought I could go off of my last build, but that was wrong and cut my rod too short. No big deal, just ran down to ACE Hardware and got another 5/16-24, 4" bolt and cut the head off and back in business.
Getting this right is simple once you get the hang of it as it really doesn't come with instructions but Mike Forte is always there if you need him. Bottom out the pushrod w/cap into the slave cylinder and then measure to flush on the cylinder with the TOB against the clutch. Add in another 1/8" for TOB clearance, mark and cut the rod. I added a little grease to the cap where the rod sits. I also adjusted the clutch fork bracket to where it was aligned on the horizontal plane with the MC and locked it down. I would have liked to have put two bolts into that bracket but wasn't able to. I'm sure it will hold it with the locking nut I added. I added the length of my rod after I cut it below, but as I mentioned, this might get you in the ballpark but it seems different for every build. I torqued the bolts to 30 ft/lbs. The Forte aluminum bracket is beefy, but don't want to strip anything out. Should hold fine with a little blue loctite.
I'll add the hydraulic clutch line later once the engine is installed. I just may trade out my Wilwood clutch MC for a Tilton. Thanks Mike Bray! :p
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New favorite grease!
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Finally put the car on the ground so I could get my IRS axle nuts tightened down. I've been delaying this as I was himming and hawing about which axle nuts I was going to use. I ended up using the current Ford version which is the CCPZ-3B477-G instead of the ones I got with my IRS parts. Those were virtually impossible to find aftermarket unless you purchased IRS axles, so went with a part that's readily available. Plus, the ones that come with the IRS are pinch nuts and from what I've read, can damage the spindle threads when coming off if you ever need to replace. The new Ford version has some kind of green thread locker and are 32mm, not 36mm.
Torqued them to 98 ft/lbs and then a 45 degree turn. On my last build, I couldn't get all the way to 45 degrees, maybe 38-40. This time I was able to get all the way. Not sure if it had to do with the nut or not, but put a witness mark on the nut and good to go. I'll check them after go-karting. Speaking of which, I also bought some axle hub locking nuts that I'll install right at the end of the build. They go on like any nut and then torque to 100 ft/lbs. to double nut and keep everything in place. I got them here:
https://www.opmustang.com/store/p426...Mustang.html#/
Notice the extra long, knurled lug nuts. YES!!!
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Getting everything ready and noticed that the orange plug in my TKX was smashed into a few pieces that went all up into the tail shaft from UPS man handling and storing it on its end during shipping. I had a hard time getting it all out with some needle nose pliers. The hard plastic ripped my seal and had to install a new one. Come to find out that there are seals with a metal shroud and then there are all rubber ones with metal inserts that come from Tremec. I went with the same one that Tremec sent as they are very easy to get locally. Went to NAPA first and they gave me a metal one that didn't fit, so next to O'Reillys and was good to go. The Tremec part (TCSJ11277) is also under National part #710431.
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Seal removed with a gasket remover tool and popped back in. You don't want to scratch the sides to avoid leaks, so there is a tool for everything! One thing I did notice when the seal was out is that the tail shaft metal sleeve is jagged on the edges. This seems to be 'normal' and was told that is where the tranny fluid is allowed to flow. Not sure about that but ran it by my man Paul Cangelosi and he said no worries just to lightly file down any burs before installation of the new seal.
Once installed, I twisted the output shaft by hand and it turned so smooth like butter!
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Seal Tapping Tool (2" plumbing coupling)
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I've been working quite a bit on the electrical and just about have everything wired, except for the turn signal from ie. 427 and the MSD box. Just have to get it all cleaned up and looking nice. Here's a nice side view of the effort after I put the car on wheel dollies which I got from HF and they work great. What's nice about them is that they are angled and support the tire in a cradle. Might help with any longer term flat spots on the tires.
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MSD box is on the passenger footbox. I used a Pertronix distributor last time, so no box. This time I'll have a box and heard some don't like them and mixed reviews on reliability. Either way, wanted to make it accessible. Roush sent me the Street Fire box. Although it got good reviews, I didn't like how the harness is not removable from the box, so if something went wrong, you literally have to disconnect all of the wiring. To future proof a bit, I went with the MSD Digital 6AL, which does have a removable harness plug in the event the box has an issue, it can be swapped out with little effort. It also has a rev limiter built into the box which is pretty cool. The vibration resistant Master Blaster 2 coil will go to the front side of the engine on the passenger side.
This is the one I have: https://www.holley.com/products/igni...et/parts/64253
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Engine Time!! I decided it was time to get this in. As mentioned, my son is home for the holiday so perfect timing! He's almost 20 now and he helped with the last engine install when he was 14. Didn't remember a thing...LOL.
Install was uneventful and took about 30 minutes. I was on the lift and my son was guiding. I put the car up on jack stands in the back and on locked roller wheels in the front. Perfect height to get the engine crane legs underneath the car. Armed with a great leveler and we proceeded. You can get the one I used here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
All the way up, over the front cross beam and then 60 degrees nose down. Then down, level off, down, level off, until we were in. I used a jack to support the trans from the rear and ensured that it was over the 4" tube without damaging the seal. The engine mounts were on the engine but I left them just slightly loose so that they would go into the mounts a little easier. The passenger side threaded stud and pin went right in. The driver's side was a little off so tapped with a piece of wood and snapped right in. Tightened the engine mounts up to 50 ft/lbs. I'm leaving the frame mounting nuts loose until I have the driveshaft in and pinion set just in case I need to move anything around. On the last build I had to remove the starter during the install as there was some interference, so left it off again. It probably would have fit and is kind of a pain to install after the fact. but such is life.
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And a blast from the past:
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After the engine install, I did have a little bout with the A frame and aligning the trans mount bolts as they were about 1/8" off center. I had read that you could flip over the A frame, but that's not possible, at least with the present MKIV version, as its only designed to install one way. So I lifted the engine about an inch or so, lifted the trans up with a floor jack about an inch, then had my son pull the tail shaft to the driver's side while I let the engine back down. Worked perfectly and centered the trans mount bolt holes.
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A couple of nice bonuses that I wasn't sure of until install. First is the Forte mid shift kit placement. It fit perfectly in the tunnel where no cutting of the cross tubes is necessary. I ran through the gears with zero issues. YES!!
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Second bonus was the oil pan. I have the Canton 15-690 and it is just above the 4" tube, so no interference there either. I'll see the final spot once I get my pinion situated, but looks great so far. I won't have to trim the QT bellhousing lip either. This is the non SFI version, so that might back a difference.
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I put the driveshaft adaptor in and torqued the bolts down to 41 ft/lbs with red loctite per the manual. FFR manual states that there is a yellow zinc version (manual) and a clear aluminum version (automatic), but this is the only one I received and it fits perfectly. Seems like the manual needs to be updated. So now we are ready for the driveshaft install, but I'm going to work on the radiator first.
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Looking good man!! If you updated your thread a little more often, you wouldn't have to stay up till after 2AM catching everyone up!!
Have a good holiday!
Higgy
Yeah no doubt Higgy! Merry Christmas Bud!Quote:
Originally Posted by Higgybulin
Looks so good! I can tell this is going to be aesthetically just beautiful. What wheels did you go with? Are those Konig?
I love the direction of this one.
Merry Christmas Chris.
Thanks Chris! Likewise. Can't wait to see how your build unfolds. It's going to be a stunner! You'll probably be driving before I am. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitzboy54
Those wheels are BC Forged (KL17).
Merry Christmas to you as well!
Sometimes I forget how time consuming some of this stuff is. I used all of Breeze's radiator upgrades including the upper hinge, lower support and tubing brackets. First off, I wanted to see if my radiator support was level. Yep, looked good to me but as has been said before, the angle is off by a little less than 1/2". I saw that in full glory when I was installing the lower radiator support brackets.
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Second was to get the hinge installed. The shipping box with foam was perfect to keep it off the ground and enable me to rivet, screw or whatever else I needed to do. To satisfy my OCD, which I didn't do the last time, I made sure to drill my larger bolt holes at the same time I was laying out the rivets so they all meshed together somewhat in spacing. Not like anyone is every really going to see it again, but that's what we do.
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I then cut off the 2"x3" pieces from the frame with my cutoff wheel, sanded down the remainder with my grinder and then painted to match the frame. The Rustoleum Satin Black from Lowes does a great job at matching the FFR black powder coat. Get everything covered up, especially the wheels and engine!
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Then time to install. Drilled pilot holes into the piano flange before mounting into the 3/4" radiator mounting tube. Makes things a little easier to align. Then supported with my jack and clamped evenly to the top.
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Used the jack to pull up the radiator to 58 degrees (Horizontal) as I'm using the Replica Parts nose metal. That looks SWEET!!! You can see the angle of my finder. If you put the finder on its side, then you are measuring vertical and the numbers won't make sense. I actually ended up with 58.4 degrees, or something in that ballpark. I then secured it with 4 evenly spaced 1/4-20 bolts, but I bolted them all the way through instead of using rivnuts or tapping the 3/4" tube like Breeze recommends.
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I installed the lower radiator support. One thing I noted was that the support brackets were a little uneven from side to side (about .4") due to the 'unique' angle of the radiator frame. I tried to use my tape measure to see exactly where the angle comes from but read something about Mustang donor builds as the reason. I don't recall even seeing it on my last build, but I'm sure it was there. Then we have the finished product. I still have to pin the radiator at the bottom, but it's pretty much a done deal.
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Ah, one of my favorite upgrades!! I had already drilled for my support brackets and sidewall hole for the stainless rod, so really just needed to measure out the clearances and cut the rods to length. Again, my measurements from my last build were not accurate on this one, so did everything from scratch.
First step was to enlarge the RT gas pedal actuator hole to fit the 1/4-28 eyelet mount. I got this version of RT's pedal from TJ at Mountain Metalworks and it's a nice piece. I also have the Breeze gas pedal pad to match the Wilwood ones for the clutch and brake pedals. It's small and once you install to one side, there is PLENTY of room between the sidewall and pedal, even after insulation and carpet.
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After measuring the inside and outside actuating rods, it was time to cut, drill and tap! I used my cutoff wheel and grinder to get to the right size. The inside rod was ~9.5" and the outside rod going to the carb was ~11.75". There's plenty of adjustment as the pivot eye has very long threads. I still have to pin the arms, paint the rod and tighten everything up. I also may get a bushing and move the accelerator arm to the top hole as it makes a HUGE difference in the way the gas pedal feels. Feather touch where the lower hole that I have it in now is a little heavier. Overall, this is 95% completed.
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By the way, if you need an idea on how to hold the tubing while you drill and tap it, I just used the chuck of another drill to hold it and my vice to stabilize it with aluminum jaws and it never moved with zero damage to the tubing! #3 drill bit and 1/4-28 tap.
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I was not really looking forward to this struggle as it can be somewhat of an aggravation for many builders, but NOT TODAY!!! :D
I have the trans mount spacer kit from Forte. He gives you three in 1/4" increments. I did an initial eyeball and installed all 3 for a 3/4" lift. I haven't done the pinion angle yet, so it was just an initial guess, but I will say that I needed to remove these to get the driveshaft in. So don't do what I did. Anyhow, once those were out, I coated the yoke with some trans fluid and literally inserted it within 15 seconds! That made my night! Came in from the driver's side and if you really look at the driveshaft, there is only one configuration where you can get the yoke straight on with the rear of the transmission. Once you know what to look for, it's a light bulb moment and I wonder how I struggled with it so much last time.
I made sure to use the four M10-1.50 cap screw bolts in the kit that are 20mm and not the 25mm version. They fit flush and will tighten to 70 ft/lbs with blue loctite. And for reference, I went to the Loctite website and they recommend blue loctite for bolts from 6mm all the way to 19mm. I didn't know that it was for bolts that large.
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I had to return my starter and am awaiting a replacement. Tomorrow I'm going to get my engine electrical tied up.
Looks really clean. Seeing the theme start to tie itself together. Car show quality all the way.
It’s crazy how fast the kids grow up. Went from packed weekends of sports and events to almost empty nest overnight.
So today was one of those "I thought I was going to one thing but got lost doing other things" days. All the small stuff I did today was not as exciting as others but had to be done. First, I went to torque my driveshaft bolts and had planned on torquing from the top through the tunnel as you can't get to the bolts from underneath with a torque wrench. So I would be torquing the bolts, rotating the rear tires, torquing, rotating the rear tires, etc. until completed, so now that it's all hooked up to the transmission, I thought I would get the tranny filled with fluid beforehand.
Mr. Forte sent me 3 bottles of Pennzoil Synchromesh with my TKX. I'm not sure who puts these plugs into the Tremec transmissions but they must be herculean as these things were in TIGHT! Almost thought they were reversed threaded or something. They are 3/8" plugs so used the end of my 3/8" ratchet as well as a socket and extension on the bottom handle to give me some leverage. Finally popped out and then got out my Slippery Pete!! This little pump is awesome. I was able to snake it through the top and into the hole. It has a little catch that keeps it in the hole. 10 minutes of pumping fluid into the hole and all done with zero mess! Thread sealer on the plug and back it went using the Goodntite method. No leaks so far - KNOCK on wood. If you want your own Slippery Pete, you can get one here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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My next adventure was getting my tunnel top cut for the shifter. Feels so good to have all of that installed and locked down! After I marked the location of the stick shift from the bottom on my tunnel cover I used a 2.5" hole saw to cut it up. The beauty ring around my shifter is anodized black and a Backdraft piece. Beautiful! It's 4" round so plenty of room to mark for my rivnuts. Cut and put into place. Perfect! Do I do any kind of cup holder or tray? Not sure yet....
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I did get a little power action in this afternoon by mounting my MSD Vibration Resistant Coil. I bought a single screw black holder which was just ever so slightly too big, so I also bought a small roll of 1/16" thick, 1" wide rubber that has adhesive and mounted some on the inside of the bracket. Worked like a champ and its new home is on the passenger side attached to the head. I would have preferred the driver's side but the PS pulley takes up that space. Bracket and rubber tape are available here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0847LFGCR...fed_asin_title
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6LKSMZ2...fed_asin_title
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I rounded out the day with setting my ride height as I'm planning on having the same guy come out next week that does mobile alignments. He's got a laser computer setup and did an awesome job last time around. Ride height was set to 4" from floor to tube in the front and 4.5" in the back.
Maybe tomorrow I'll get to finishing up my engine electrical!
All progress is progress as they say. I have that same pump and have used it for rear ends, transmissions and lower units on outboards, works great.
I really appreciate the way you detail out things in your threads. You have saved me hours of frustration and also given me some really good ideas. Thank you.
Finished drilling out my console. Wasn't sure about the cup holders but remembered how much I used them. Not so much for drinks, as a typical bottle won't fit up there height wise, but just for keys, change, or small food items. I did buy a cup phone holder that should fit in there easily as well. The 2" coupler that I used to install the tail shaft seal was the exact size I needed. Again, the drill press is invaluable and everything fit perfectly.
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So I had to swing back and pin the arms on my Forte mechanical throttle linkage before I forgot. During the last build, I tried to do this by hand and had a crazy time penetrating the hardened steel of the rod. In fact, I don't think I ever got all the way through and left as is. This time I marked the arm/rod alignment with a marker before removal, then took it slow with the drill press, carbide bit and a little oil and made quick work of it. I put the pin all the way through the arm in the engine bay and left it a little long on the arm in the footbox for easy removal just in case. Either one can be pulled out with a little effort but they are in with just enough friction that they'll stay in. I used 18-8 stainless steel pins from Mcmaster Carr (3/32" diameter and 1-1/4" long), item #92373A152. Also, if you need more of the 1/4-28 black oxide thin flanged locking nuts that Forte sends out with his linkage, you can also pick them up at Mcmaster Carr, item #90949A018.
If you also look close enough, you'll see that I made a guard for each arm of the mechanical throttle out of 1/16" aluminum and epoxied them on to the bracket. They are super light/thin so no difference in operation and should the throttle arm drop for any reason, I have this safeguard to keep it in place until I can properly secure it. I did one for both outside and inside arms.
Added the return spring and bracket, then painted with my favorite black gloss epoxy and done.
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I needed to get my radiator fan hooked up as I was waiting on a few things. First off, I needed to re-route my front harness as I didn't want the harness hanging below the radiator. I routed this across the top radiator channel last time and did the same here. It takes a few hours to unravel the harness, pull the wires and cut/shorten/lengthen correctly so that it makes a natural turn across the radiator, but again the operation was successful and looks great. My horn wires came up a bit short but will lengthen them.
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I upgraded to the 16" Flex-A-Lite Wave Electric Fan (#FLX-105390). I didn't have any issues with the stock fan on the last build except that it was really noisy, especially when I shut the car off. I read that this one is a bit quieter and is a 3K CFM fan which will be appreciated during the hot FL summers. I originally bought the Flex-A-Lite mounting feet (FLX-123218) but they don't play well with the Breeze shroud, so left them off (for now). The Flex-A-Lite fan came with 12-gauge wires from the motor. It's a little hard to find a pig tail in that size of wire but found this one that is rated at 30A. The fan is rated at 18.5A, so should be fine.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0858Y6FFV...sin_title&th=1
I was looking for the best way to route the wiring, which is where the feet came into play. Instead of zip tying to the fan itself, I installed the feet on one side with a little epoxy and they made perfect secure points for the fan harness to naturally run down the side where there is no stress on the connection. I also used nuts and bolts to secure the fan to the shroud instead of nutserts. I figured that its impervious to any kind of vibration, or nutsert spinning which would really suck, and not that much more work to remove should I need to.
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I had originally selected the larger, 2-quart Canton overflow tank but it was just too large to fit above my brake lines, even when I pushed it out from the passenger side F-panel where it was to be mounted. I sent it back and settled for the 1.25-quart size. I think this will be fine and it fits perfectly. Funny how they were the same price from Summit, but Canton is sure proud of their billet tank caps.
I used some 3/4" aluminum spacers that I had laying around originally to space it out from the F-panel but it was not very stable, so took those out and used 1/2" SS fender washers which did the trick. Used a level to ensure it was good to go. Drilled the holes and secured with nylon lock nuts and bolts. I used a 5/16" hose barb x 1/2" NPT Male swivel for the fitting. This just cleared my brake lines. You can find it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0828V44MQ...sin_title&th=1
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/CTR-80-200
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-81-236
I will most likely have this powder coated black when I do my next run.
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I had my tubes powder coated a while back and was finally able to get them installed. The top tube came from Boig and the bottom came from Breeze. These fit up nicely and secured with black worm clamps. I had to cut an inch off of the 90-degree rubber hose at the top to ensure that it clears the hood as it is way too high as is. Mark from Breeze also has a bracket that secures the lower tube to the x-frame. It has a curved piece that looks to be 3D printed, which enables it to hug right up to the tube. Totally worth the investment there versus having the lower tube hang out, ready to get hit.
I'll be adding a new radiator cap as that one doesn't match everything else. I'm also thinking about adding some silicone black hoses to match the gloss pipes, but I hear that they have a tendency to leak? Might try them anyway. I didn't have all of my hose clamps on at the time of picture, but they are now secured with black clamps.
URL=https://hosting.photobucket.com/239a0216-6f9e-4cc9-a0be-2ec53fb3e15d/66e329bd-e6ec-4857-9942-b3eed865e486.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds]https://hosting.photobucket.com/239a...720&fit=bounds[/URL]
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I had 4" speakers in the doors the last build and they sounded terrible. Not that I'm looking for audiophile quality, but these were really bad. I decided to add some 5.25" speakers to the trans tunnel this time and so far they came out great. I wasn't sure about the clearance to the transmission or hydraulic clutch slave cylinder, but if you mount up a bit higher from the floor there are no issues.
To help with the clearance, I did use 1/2" speaker spacers which matched up to the speaker perfectly. The speaker wire pigtails that come with the speakers are 22GA and really hard to work with when you have 16GA coming from the amp. Again, 16GA speaker wire pigtails are hard to find, but did and you can see the components I used below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EZWFNKA...d_asin_title_6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WH5VFY9...d_asin_title_1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CY4T6ZK...fed_asin_title
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CYQLG49...sin_title&th=1
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I also finished up the insulation on the trans tunnel and front cockpit area. While I was at it, I thought I'd get some shots for the insurance, as I will need it for go carting soon and also needed it to secure a plate. It's all coming together and looks great with the seats sitting in there! I won't be able to secure until I fit the body for the first time.
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I'm about 98% done with the cockpit and engine wiring and will post some pics of that over the weekend.
Looking good brother!!
Higgy
Looking nasty in all the best ways. Love the color themes here.
I have the same setup with the Boig upper hose setup and Breeze lower, it's a nice setup. I had to cut the 90 degree rubber hose also.Quote:
Originally Posted by cv2065
You might look at the Gates compression clamps to blend with your black out look.
https://www.imagecoast.com/images/Mi...1215173841.jpg
Yes, coolant will leach through silicone hoses so you might think about this.
Looks really nice, Chris!
You mentioned Boig upper tube...did you purchase it a while back? The last time I looked at the Boig website, they weren't making the upper tube for a SBF... :(
Craig C
Hey Craig - I’m not sure if they still sell it. I bought mine last year some time and I only see headers on their new website at Tubular Automotive.Quote:
Originally Posted by cc2Arider
Looking Awesome Chad.... Beautiful!!!
Thanks dude!Quote:
Originally Posted by BadAsp427
I've had a few goals over the past couple of weeks, and that was to finish the electrical (Ugh!), power steering hoses/reservoir, install a Tilton clutch MC and fit my headers and get them ready for ceramic coating.
First off is the electrical. Not much to say here except that this was much more involved than my last build with the custom buttons and gauges, start button with keyed start and 3 relays, USB ports, separate turn/bright indicators, cutoff switch, BT amp straight to battery, tunnel speakers, MSD box as well as i.e. 427's custom turn signal, which has been wired out but not hooked up yet. The 3 dedicated gauge engine bay sensors also added some fun versus easily connecting through the harness before. All the while adding a little slack back into each connection, enough to pull the dash away.
I've learned a lot on the way and thank the forum for handing out its wisdom once again, especially with wiring diagrams as despite doing many hours of research in previous threads, still managed to get some of them wrong out of the gate. It all looks relatively clean until you add the dash back into the mix and things get a little squirrely where you've got to keep it as organized as possible. Especially when you've wired everything up and placing the dash against the hoop for the first time. Some things fit, while others have to be worked around as it's hard to visualize everything as you are working. A couple of things I used:
- Electrical wire tags
- Individual grounds for all gauges
- Perma Seal Connectors
- Enough wire slack so that the dash can be pulled
- Adhesive Zip Tie Holders and Plastic Epoxy to Attach to the back of the dash (Made organization a lot easier)
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Found some 90 degree battery lugs for the starter. Worked out great come from the engine bay.
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There's a lot going on in the engine bay but tried to clean it up as much as possible, especially around the mechanical throttle linkage. I gave everything its own loom in the event I need to address something down the road. A little more busy that way but I think I contained it OK. I also tried to ditch the electrical tape and go with shrink tubing for all of my electrical connectors. I saw that on Edwardb's build a few years ago and always thought it looked so clean as the electrical tape sometimes likes to come off with the heat over time and looks sloppy. Just have to be sure that you aren't going to open it again as its almost impossible to pull off after the fact. You really can't find the larger stuff locally, but you can find a great quality with all sizes here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8VJ1DGC...n_title_3&th=1
Speakers in the tunnel are all wired and ready to plug in as soon as I get carpeting done so I can reinstall the speakers over it. Plenty of room here for those that are giving it thought. This carbon fiber dash is a real looker. FFR did a great job here integrating the glove box.
I was able to reduce one relay and have to tilt my 'you told me so' hat to Kleiner and a few others for trying to get me to go the simple routing on the independent fan button, but I refused and had to go down the hard road of an unneeded relay. Removed the independent relay that I had added, re-routed the secondary thermo wire from the front harness to the engine compartment, and then just tapped the push button into that where it overrides the circuit and turns the fan on.
Also, if you haven't tried Nordlock washers instead of lock washers, these things are on a different level. A little expensive but they don't take as much room as a lock washer, secure excellent in terms of vibration and can be reused over and over again. I found mine here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VAW2F8...sin_title&th=1
Looking so good. Really clean and your dash looks terrific against those gauges.
I agree, those gauges POP!!
Higgy
Power steering reservoir and hoses were next. The external reservoir was a bit of an aggravation as I tried a couple before settling on the final one. Roush goes with 'Turn One Steering' for their pumps. I had never heard of them but apparently they make some high end (and expensive) stuff. Not sure why Roush did not go with an integrated reservoir like Blueprint does, but it’s probably a good thing in case there was interference with the steering shaft as I’ve seen others grapple with.
The outlets are so important based on your configuration and some didn't work for me. For example the Holley reservoir that some have used has front facing ports. By the time I got it test fitted, I didn't really have enough room for fittings and hoses. I settled on a Billet Specialties unit that has both the 6AN and 10AN fittings at the bottom, which lined up with the rack and reasonably well for the pump return.
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When it comes to the hoses, the fittings Mark from Breeze uses in his kit are really effortless and of high quality. I'm not sure if they are Aeroquip or what, but the PTFE stuff went together so much easier than some other brands. He also has a 150 degree fitting that comes from the steering box that you really can't find anywhere else. I used some of Evil Energy hoses and fittings to start, and not sure what was up, but over two orders the hoses were too large for the fittings. I did create my own 10AN return hose from a local company here in Orlando called RaceFlux. Nothing is tried and true yet for leaks but looks promising!
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As I was test fitting for the USB and Cutoff switch faceplate, I hit a gotcha moment where the faceplate of my Joe's Racing cutoff switch was 90 degrees to the right of the switch orientation after I had run all of the power wires. I'm not sure how that got rotated but....DOH!!! Once I oriented it correctly, I did have to re-make the alternator and power wires as they were not long enough. Just check that stuff before you measure everything out.
All looks good now. I had my USB below the dash on the last build and the cord always seemed to get in the way of my legs. I also only had one outlet so no one else in the car could charge. So I put a dual outlet this time and its located on the lower panel of the dash. The cords will be out of the way and not hanging all over the place.
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I wanted to quickly fit up my Gas n Pipes headers so that I could get them off to ceramic coat this week. Something I should have done a while ago as I've had them sitting in the box. Georgie makes some super high quality pipes, unfortunately, all of the holes from the header were not aligning with the heads. I could get 4 of them threaded, but the others were just so slightly off to avoid threading. I tried loosening them all up, pulling the header away, etc, but no dice.
I reached out to Georgie and his response was lightning fast, and on a weekend no less. Said he would hone them again. Sent me a prepaid shipping invoice and I had them in the mail by the following Monday. Delayed my first start slightly, but I give Gas N Pipes an A++++ in the 'after the sale' customer service department. Top notch vendor!!
As soon as I get those back, I will be a footstep from a first start!
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Too bad that you already shipped them. I was going to recommend that with them (semi) mounted you need to make sure that you can get a socket on the plugs and if not have him address that as well. Just sayin' based on some things I've seen ;)
Jeff