Fuel Lines run, Fuel Pressure reg, Vac Line & Battery Insulation
I ran all the Fuel Lines up to the gas tank. The Aeromotive Fuel Pressure Regulator installed with Vacuum Line installed. I also made the last Fuel Line and the final connection from the regulator to the Coyote's fuel rail quick disconnect. I bought a Quick Disconnect with an AN6 male end off Amazon.
Here's a close up of the Fuel Pressure regulator. Coming out the right side, I added my Fuel Pressure electronic sensor that will feed my Fuel Pressure gauge I'll install later. Then after the sensor joint, I added another 10 micron fuel filter. The vacuum line is attached to a vacuum source at the throttle body.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1687080533
This next shot, you can see I added another gauge sensor to the vacuum line. This vacuum electronic sensor will feed a Vac gauge I'll install later.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1687080494
And another pic of the vac connection to the throttle body. The blue caps you see on both ends of the red vac hose are quick disconnects from a product called Hose Candy.... link: www.hosecandy.com I bought one of their small kits for another build so I used them.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687080513
I had extra heat insulation so I add two layers to the bottom of the battery box. With the right side muffler being insulated followed by a several inches of air gap between the muffler and the battery box the temp should be a lot less then when a battery is located in an engine bay.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1687080554
I installed the battery so I can start running my battery line connections. You'll also notice I have a device called PowerPulse. I've used these on my other vehicles and RVs. They work well and gives the battery an extended life. If you want more details, here's the PowerPulse link: https://www.pulsetech.net/pp-12-l-po...ce-system.html
As I connect the battery lines, I'll also add a quick disconnect for my Battery Tender.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1687080570
Today, I'll continue with the Battery line install, remote battery electronic disconnect and other misc stuff.
Thx Mark
Gas Tank prep and Red Neck suspension weight
Quick update.
I can't keep waiting for the FF Gas Tank bottom plastic cover.
But, I do have a question.... isn't the bottom plastic cover nothing more than cosmetic?..... I mean most all other cars and tracks have exposed gas tanks. Any thoughts on this most welcome.
So I coated my tank with POR-15 so I can install my tank. I can always install the bottom cover later if it's really needed. Heck, the rear valance covers half the tank.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687168282
Lastly, I now (temporarily) have the truck on the suspension with jack stands, i.e. a pair up front next to the grease jerk fitting on the lower ball joints and a pair under the rear axel tubes. I wanted to adjust my Panhard bar to center the rear-end diff relative to the chassis. So, to do that, I needed weight on the suspension. To simulate the body, full gas tank, truck bed, etc. I came up with this red neck solution. Nothing a few wheels/tires, full propane tanks couldn't handle. Anyway, it was enough to get the Panhard Bar level, thereby, the diff in the correct position to make the final adjustment.
I thought you all need a laugh.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1687168322
Now, it you looked closely at the above picture, you may have noticed the orange funnel in the oil line near the rear oil cooler. I was pouring oil in the line to fill it so when I start the engine and the thermostat opened up for the first time the two oil lines and oil cooler didn't suck out ~2 qts of oil from the engine. I stopped this process to order some AN10 fittings (T, 90s, coupler) so I can connect all the oil lines, use the Tee to actually fill both oil lines and the oil cooler. Then I'll put an AN10 plug in the T opening when finished. I'll share a picture when the parts come today and I've have it all connected. The foil backed insulation you see will be used to insulate the oil lines from the exhaust loop over the axels. I'll do the same to the fuel lines on the right side.
more to come
Mark
Gas tank prepped & misc update
With the bottom of the gas tank POR-15 painted a couple days ago, I POR-15 the top of the tank.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1687270162
After the paint tacked up, I put a self sticking firm rubber strip on the back of the tanks seam where it rests against the truck's frame. This will eliminate any metal to metal contact and squeaks. I also put a rubber weather strip on the actual hangers... so the rubber sits between the hanger strap and the bottom of the gas tank.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1687270583
On the front tank seam, it only has two 1" sq contact points where the hanger straps are. Here in this pic is the right side.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1687270600
Under the misc category, I added the oil cooler line Tee to fill the lines and oil cooler with oil (I mentioned this in the previous post). The pic shows with the clear fill tube attached. Once I fill, I'll put an AN10 plug in the Tee (plug shown to the right of the tube sitting upside down on the frame rail). I'm also going to add two Tees at the oil thermostat pointing down. This way I can drain the oil cooler & lines during oil changes if I want. I figure the with all the oil lines and oil cooler this should be an extra ~2 qts of oil.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1687270617
Lastly under misc, I started to fit/cut the trans tunnel.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1687270635
Much more to come.... the work never ends,
Mark
Gas Tank installed, plumbed and lines insulated & Air Comp connected
The Gas Tank installed easily and sits tight against the truck's frame/mounting points. The gas out and return lines connected along with the vent hose to the homemade charcoal filter I made. In addition, the Air Lift Compressor is now connected to the two Air Springs/Bags. I installed two "T" in the air tubing..... i.e., the single air tube out of the compressor hits the first Tee, from that T, I fitted an air line going to a standard manual air valve and the other tube from the T goes to a second T. The two outs from the second T has the left and right Air Bags attached. With this set up, if the compressor ever fails, I can still add or release air pressure manually. I'll mount the manual air valve to the lower valance somewhere (final valve location is TBD). The air lines are AN4 SS braided lines.... which were a bit long. So I simply coiled them up and zipped tied above the gas tank. When looking at the pic below, the grey plastic housing you see (behind the black ground wire sticking up and to the left of the air compressor) is the air filter for the air entering the compressor. You'll also note a black air tub going down by the gas tank fill inlet..... that's the manual air valve to be mounted later.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687345104
The next pic looking forward shows the gas lines wrap with heat shielding insulation and one of the ss braided air lines feeding the right air spring/bag.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1687345123
Lastly, the gas lines going to the the first gas filter and the white PVC homemade charcoal filter. In the lower right corner, you'll see the remote Painless battery disconnect. It's triggered on/off with a momentary button switch to ground I'll mount under the dash somewhere (it will act as a simple security measure)
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1687345152
Last night, I started laying out next steps...... I'll document all that later. BTW, my intent is to have the gas filler tube go to the right bed side vs the truck bed. I need to buy some flexible silicone 2" gas fill hose.... Anyone have a source for 2" flex gas hose?
Thx Mark
Radiator Shroud and Puller Fan installed
I wanted to add a radiator shroud to make my puller fan more efficient. I was going to make one and found out a forum sponsor, i.e., www.replicaparts.com has one for the the '33 hot rod. So I ordered one. I had to make modifications as you'll see below.
First, I needed to cut out the bottom of the shroud to go around the radiator hose outlet and the drain valve. I also needed to make some "L" brackets (pictured below) that used the bolt stubs mounted on the radiator to attach to the shrouds sides. I used some left over GM body to frame shims.... I just bent them 90* drilled a 1/4" hole for the radiator stud, added a washer, red LocTite and tighten.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1687447784
Next, I marked the fan mounting hole locations on the shroud and drilled 3/8" hole for 1/4" threaded rivet nuts as you can see in the pic below. I then place the shroud on the radiator and over the L brackets I made and installed. Once I was fine with the fit and alignment, I drilled 4 - 3/16" holes through the shroud sides and through the L bracket, followed by 3/16" pop-rivets. This step completed the shroud install to the radiator.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1687447807
I then mounted the fan to the shroud with 1/4" button head SS screws, flat and lock washers and blue LocTite.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687447907
The large gap around the lower radiator outlet and drain, I filled with silicon (not shown in the pic)
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1687447862
Lastly, I added silicon to all seams, i.e., shroud to radiator and fan to shroud. With all air gaps/seams silicon sealed, any air pull from the fan will come through the front of the radiator for maximum cooling efficiency.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1687447828
More to follow.
Mark
Radiator fan clearance relative to the shocks?
I had a question regarding clearance between the fan and the Shock tops.... well, I have about 1/2" clearance.... but I haven't complete the radiator final position adjustment.... but I believe I have plenty of room.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1687517707
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1687517722
Now, to figure out where to install the Coyote PCM with the very limited length of the Engine Harness that has to connect to it..... not many choices!!
Stay tuned
Mark
Drive Shaft too long & Power Steering control box mount
First, the Power Steering control box mounting. I decided to mount the control unit on the brake/clutch pedal platform box. I started by taking the "U" shape bracket FF provided and bent the base of the backet 90*. I drilled, tapped and mounted the bracket at seen in the pic below.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1687602822
Here's a pic of the mounted pwr steering control unit
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1687602840
Now for the bad news regarding the drive shaft FF provided with my truck kit. I clearly stated to FF in writing and verbally, I was going with a Coyote engine, Quicktime bell housing and a Tremec Magnum 6 speed manual transmission..... which, all of these options are sold by FF. When I ordered the truck back in July 2022, no one from Factory Five identified any issues.
Well, Long story short.... when I went to install the drive shaft a few weeks ago, it was too long by about 2.5" allowing for the 31 spline to slide in/out with the diff/suspension movement....
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687603592
I contacted Dan at FF to document the issue, it took ~2 weeks for any response only to be told.... It's not a FF problem and it's my issue to fix/resolve.
I documented my dissatisfaction with this and communicated back to Dan with Dave Smith on cc:. So, unless FF resolves this for me, I'll have to find a "local" drive shaft place, at my expense and time, to have it shortened. Where I live, there are no "local" drive shift places... so my travel time to/from to both drop off and pick up will be several hours. And, hopefully, it won't take the drive shaft place too long to do the work. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
Other than the Drive Shaft issue, the products and service from FF has been great!
BTW, I also suggested to Dave that the truck manual needs significant updates. We'll see what happens.
Stay tuned,
Mark
Oil Cooler lines... added two drains points
Just a very quick update.... I added two oil line drain points to the cooler lines at the oil thermostat.
So, I will be easy to drain in the future if ever needed.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1687780763
Still working the AC/Heater box mount and will share progress in next post.
Mark
1 Attachment(s)
Coyote additional coolant hose connection???
I just posted a question on the Coyote thread regarding an additional coolant hose connection I want to make.
Pls read and comment. Here's the link: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...037#post530037
Thx Mark
Attachment 186356
Firewall heat/sound application and Heater/AC evaporator mount
Getting the inside firewall prepped with heat and sound insulation prior to the Heater/AC evaporator box being installed. I first applied the butyl rubber with foil backing, then I applied the fiberglass back and foil over that. The first few pictures show that.
Butyl rubber/foil mat
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1687886176
Next the fiberglass/foil mat
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1687886229
Closeup showing the multi layers
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1687886196
Then I made and installed the backing mount plate for the Heater/AC evaporator box from an old heavy aluminum "Yeild" sign I had. I mocked up the mount plate on the bench with the evap box.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1687886271
Mount plate mounted to the firewall
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1687886257
I'll now be prepping the evaporator box with 4 thermometer sensors that will feed the Dakota Digital Auto heat/AC controller
Mark
Vintage Air Gen II Evaporator install
For my '35 Truck custom AC/Heat system.... I'm not using the AC evaporator FF supplied in the kit..... I bought my Vintage Air Gen II air handler evaporator from Summit Racing that has some key features I was looking for.... 1) separate Defrost, AC Vent outlets and Floor outlets, 2) can be controlled Automatically by setting a temp by Dakota's Digital DCC-2300: Digital Climate Control for Vintage Air Gen II and 3) provides "Set It and Forget It" like a modern automobile.
In the next pic you'll notice four yellow arrows pointing to wires/sensors that come with the Dakota Digital DCC-2300 kit. A = long temp sensor probe that goes through the evaporator air transfer coil, B = a temp sensor that measures the temp of the "Vent" air, C = a temp sensor that measures the temp of the "Floor" air and D = a temp sensor that measures the temp of the "Cabin" air being returned/recycled to the evaporator from the Cab
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1687950240
With the Vintage Air evaporator mounted, I then added the front mounting plate to the evaporator for electrical "stuff" like Paul did on his truck (except I used some scrap metal I had laying around.... not pretty, but functional, and not seen behind the dash).
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1687949884
My intent here is to have central electrical buses here for 1) Constant 12v Hot direct from the battery, 2) 12v Hot direct from the Master Battery remote switch, 3) 12v Hot from the Ignition and 4) a Ground bus. I have all the buses to be installed.
Pictured below is an aux fuse panel that has a Negative bus and two battery "hot" (Batt A and Batt B) buses. I'll use this fuse panel for anything the FF provided fuse panel can't handle
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1687949909
Up next I'll start making the AC and heater hoses and connecting the "AC/Heat system" together.
More to come,
Thx Mark
AC & Heater Hoses made and installed
I made my AC and Heater Hoses. I'll finish crimping the AC hose end fittings this morning... but wanted to share the progress.
First, I bought an inexpensive AC fitting crimper. It simply clamps into a vise and I use a 3/4" wrench to cause the crimper to apply the pressure needed to crimp the fitting to the hose. The first hose in the crimper is a #6 size from the Evaporator to the firewall fitting.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1688116797
Here's a shot of the evaporator to the firewall passthrough fittings.... less the one in the crimper above. Take note for the heater water hoses I'm not using traditional worm hose clamps, but Gate's heat shrink band hose clamps.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1688116832
Passing into the engine bay with the dryer
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1688116850
The compressor fittings
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1688116866
And finally, the condenser fittings. The picture being 2D makes it look like the hoses will interfere with the front suspension, but in 3D there's plenty of room.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1688116880
BTW, I did drain the oil out of the Ford compressor FF supplied to make sure the required amount of 100PAG oil was in it... it was correct at ~4 ozs.
Up next will be more electrical and making a bracket to mount the Coyote PCM to. Not many options on a mounting location, therefore you might be surprised where it will be.
Stay tuned,
Mark
Electric Busses & Vac Test of AC system
Quick update. I added the additional electric buses, i.e., 1) Chassis/batt ground, 2) Batt constant Hot, 3) Master Battery switch Hot and 4) Ignition Hot
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1688210681
I completed all my AC hose Crimps.... no better way to check for leaks than to hook up the AC gauges and vacuum pump. I left the pump run several hours.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1688210699
I left the gauges connected overnight and some 16+ hours later, I'm happy to say the vacuum held overnight!
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1688210714
I also applied heat to the heater hose Gate's PowerGrips heat shrink hose clamps.... easy enough. I'll apply a vacuum on the whole radiator/heater coolant system later today for its "Leak" test. The product I use for this is the AirLift Coolant system as pictured below
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1688211758
Not only does it draw a vacuum to confirm no leaks, but once the vacuum is in the coolant system, you shut the valve off to hold the vacuum, place a coolant pickup tube in a bucket of coolant, open the valve and the coolant is sucked back into the engine's coolant system.... and, thereby avoiding any air pockets. Check up some YouTube videos.... great invention I must say. Here's just one of many videos to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1beZZCBUnt0
Mark
Dakota Digital Auto AC/Heat control system connected
Lot's of little misc stuff started/completed that isn't "post" worthy.... but I did get the Dakota Digital Auto AC/Heat controller connected and tested. Lots of wires and sensors feed the controller that in-turn controls the Vintage Air Gen II evaporator.
A pic of the "nerve" venter for the AC/Heat system
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1688303674
That's the quick update for today.
Mark
Drive shaft and remote battery jumper posts
With the drive shaft FF sent me being too long by 3" I took it to a local (i.e., Asheville NC, Carolina Powertrain) drive shaft company to have it shorten. It took them a few days. They did a great job and also balanced it. The drive shaft FF sent me was not balanced which I thought was very odd and not good I might add. Anyway, I cleaned up the drive shaft, primed and painted it. I installed the drive shaft yesterday and filled the Tremec T-56 trans with ~ 4 qts of Dextron III / Mercon ATF fluid. I'll run this fluid for ~500 miles during break-in, then drain and refill with Tremec's Trans fluid .
I ran all my auxiliary power and ground wires.... I'll have pictures of that later.
Lastly, with the battery being remote and if I every needed to "Jump" the battery, it would have been next to impossible. So, I added a dedicated +/- battery jump posts. It is installed front right, inside the frame, below the starter, but out of sight, for easy access.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1688551318
Today, I'll continue some of the wiring and trans tunnel mounting.
Mark
Coyote Eng Harness connect quesion
For anyone with a Coyote engine, I just posted a question in the Coyote post section on the forum..... any help would be much appreciated.
Thx Mark
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...409#post531409
Electrical and Misc update
Another quick update here.
The wiring in the engine bay is wrapping up, along with the oil separator/catch cans from the left and right valve cover breathers. As you'll see, I installed two. The main one is on the right (passenger side) valve cover that does most of the work.... as normal driving, with lower RPMs, would have the greatest vacuum to pull the crankcase gases, catch the oil to help prevent oil back into the intake manifold and filing it and the valve stems up. The left (driver's side) valve cover "kicks" in at higher RPMs as the vacuum on the right drops off, the vacuum on for the air input tube increases. Anyway, the screw off cups would be emptied at each oil change, or sooner if you had a lot of blow by.
Pic of left front:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1689247211
In the pic of the right front, you'll also notice where I'll be mounting the PCM computer for the Coyote..... it was the only spot I could come up with. I checked this location with Ford Performance and they said it's just fine and similar to the stock Mustang location. I still have a lot of wire to tidy up and wrapping to do as you'll see.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1689247256
Here's a close up of the Coyote fuse box/wire central and the windshield washer tank/pump
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1689247272
Lastly, with so many of my addon's being mounted/located in the rear of the truck bed, I installed a fuse & relay box on the rear support rail, along with the oil thermostat and Oil cooler fan control unit installed below the fuse box and the Hurst brake line lock to the left.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1689247330
A close up:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1689247313
While the trigger inputs will come from the front of the truck, most of the wiring will be in the rear.... e.g., E-Stopp, Oil Cooler Fan, Air Compressor, Brake line lock, the backup lights I'm adding, etc.
The wiring in the cab is still a can of spaghetti.... so I'll take pics later of all that.
Again, As I said before, I markup the FF master wire diagrams to reflect all my changes and additions for future reference. I printed out the wire diagrams on 11" x 17" paper so they were blown-up.
Stay tuned.... Thanks Mark
Cruise Control Arm added to Ididit Steer Column
Continuing my efforts to completing my electrical, I wanted to share how I added the cruise control turn signal arm to the Ididit steering column. I must say up front when I've done this before using Flaming River steering column it was much easier to fish the wires through the column vs the Ididit. On the Ididit column, I had to take the top pieces out, i.e., the horn switch and the turn signal mechanism. So, first up was connecting the wire ends to a "pull" wire that was stiff enough to start fishing, but flexible enough to bend as needed while fishing. So I folded over 2 of the 4 wires and looped the pull wire over them.... Note the shrink tube to the right. The pull wire was a piece of .045 TIG weld wire.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1689417150
Here' a picture of the shrink tube shrunk and ready to go.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1689417173
With the horn switch and turn signal mechanism out, you can clearly see where all the wires go through the column. It's a very tight fit and it took a lot of fishing to finally get past all the obstacles and steering column tilt bits.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1689417259
Finally, success... after removing the rubber gromet at the end of the column where the turn, horn & 4-way flasher wires come out the weld wire became visible.... Note: look closely just to the right of the light blue wire and you'll see the shiny copper weld wire.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1689417219
To finish the cruise control arm installation, you have to tuck the cruise control wire harness to the lower part of the white plastic turn signal mechanism. It was actually built to attach the wires to it... i.e., it has 3 distinct plastic hooks to put the wire into and a couple tabs on the bottom to guide and hold the wire in a channel. Again, if you look closely, you'll see 2 of the three wire hooks at the 6 and 7:30 o'clock positions on the turn signal mechanism.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1689417285
A side note.... because I have a Coyote engine without a typical carb or throttle body, i.e., it's drive by wire, I found a vendor that makes a custom cruise control unit that works with the Coyote drive by wire gas pedal and attaches to to the pedal wire harness sockets. There are no cruise control parts in the engine bay. It does have a small control unit box, approx 3.5"x3"x1" I mounted to the right of the brake/clutch petal box.
Stay tuned,
Mark
GearShift Micro Switches installed
For my Tremec T-56 Magnum 6 speed manual transmission I needed a way to apply +12v power to a solenoid on the transmission that locks out accidental shifts into Reverse.... i.e., when I'd need to go into reverse, I'd have to engage a switch momentarily to to open the solenoid allowing the shifter to go into Reverse. I'm very much aware I could have bought several shift knows with a switch built in.... but in my situation, I also need another 2nd switch. In a previous post to this thread, I shared the Hurst Brake Line Lock for the rear brakes to help in holding the truck still on a steep hill until I could engage the clutch/trans in 1st gear.... therefore the need for the second Micro Switch. Both switches will run through their own respective relay. For the Brake line lock, I pick up the power for the Relay's solenoid from the rear brake light, i.e., no brake "ON" and no Brake Line Lock. The same for the Trans reverse lock solenoid... I pick up the power for the Relay's solenoid from the brake light and the same result.... no brake "ON" and no Reverse. Once the Relay is engaged from the momentary switch, the main power to the various solenoids will from from the Ignition Switch ON bus.
Here's a picture of the two micro switches I found on Amazon and installed on the gearshift rod just below the gearshift knob. I'll run the reverse solenoid from the right micro switch and the brake line lock from the left micro switch.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1689513044
And a close-up of the switch and part number.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1689513063
The four switch were less than $10 bucks.
I'll run the wires down the back side of the shifter is a small diameter woven wire protector. With both the shifter and the wire protector being black... it should blend in well.
I'll show more during final assembly.
Thx Mark
Gearshifter / Micro Switch 2 of 2
Quick share on the gearshift rod and micro switches. I wrapped the micro switch wires in the smallest woven wire wrap maid and attached with black zip ties.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1689589671
top view
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1689589691
Today, finishing up the aluminum panels and sealer.
Mark
Custom Seats lifts installed
The next build item idea came from another build on this forum.... but I can't remember who I got the idea from???
Anyway, the notion is to have my WiseGuy custom seats mounted to something that will allow the seats to lift and tilt forward while bolted to the floor of the truck. The WiseGuy seats are ~16" wide and fit nicely in the truck. The truck's seat area is ~19" wide.
To determine the best height of the seats, I played around with wood blocks/2x4s to determine and test various heights...... I settled for ~4.5". To achieve that height, I installed adjustable sliding seat rails, 2.5" angle iron and the pair of Mercedes rear deck hinges.
I picked up two pair of Mercedes rear deck lid hinges off of eBay and then bought two pair of pneumatic piston lift cylinders. After first installing the sliding seat rails, the angle iron was next. I simply drilled the holes in the angle iron that fit the bolt studs on the sliding rails. Then I clamped the Mercedes hinges to the angle iron sides and drilled those mounting holes. Once all was mounted, I placed the seats in the truck to determine best mounting location and marked the floor boards using the hinge's mount slots as a template.
Here's some pics.
First, the under seat assembly with hinge up:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1689761202
Hinge folded down:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1689761228
Here, I'm holding one of the pneumatic pistons that will be installed once the seat is mounted to the floor.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1689761250
And, last... seat in the truck in the tilted up position for an idea of the final install.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1689761287
I did the same thing for the passenger seat.
Both seats have the optional seat heaters and lumbar support. I intend to wire the switches in the center console I'll design and build later.
I also determined where I'll mount the two 3-way 6x9 rear speakers and the two 6.5" round sub woofers.... all four will be mounted in the aluminum panel behind the seats.... more on all that later. I also have a pair of 6" mid range and 2 tweeters for upfront.... the 6" speakers will go into the door panel and the tweeter somewhere on the A pillars or dash.... all TBD.
Stay tuned
Mark
Old Fashion Headlight Dimmer Switch and Sound proofing applied
Another quick update.
After I finished installing the top center cover on the transmission tunnel, I applied the Dynamat style sound/heat foil backed material on the truck's floor, trans/driveshaft tunnel and inside footwells.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1690020991
Next, How to change hi-beam and low-beam on the headlights. I didn't like FF's way of a switch on the dash.... so I used a good old fashion foot dimmer switch.
First, I soldered heavy gauge wire to each of the 3 terminals on the dimmer switch, followed by individual heat shrink tubing on each terminal then a larger heat shrink tub over everything. On the other end of the three wires I crimped a male spade connector to mate up with the FF wire harness heat light switch wires female connectors.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1690020690
Since I wanted to mount the foot switch with the wires pointing up, that would have left the right bolt hole of the foot switch hanging out past the frame member I wanted to mount it to.... so I fabricated a small 90* angle brace that would allow me to firmly mount the switch to the other side of the frame member.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1690020900
In this last picture, the foot switch is mounted firmly to the frame member..... very solid. I simply drilled and tapped the two mounting points in the frame and used SS 10/32 screws.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1690020922
For today's main task, I'll apply sprayed Lizard Skin to the cab's interior. I'll use both the Lizard Skin Sound and Ceramic Heat shield products. Once I get the cab back on the truck's frame, I plan to add additional heat and sound proofing products... e.g., 1/2" closed cell foam product and some appropriate leather grand vinyl product over the foam. I'll document all that later. I also want (or at least I intend to) to figure out a way to fabricate some sort of overhead/roof "dash" to mount some light indicators, gauges, garage door opener, switches, hand free mic, etc so everything isn't mounted to the dash or console I'll fabricate.
Stay tuned,
Mark
