EdwardB’s 35 Hot Rod Truck Build - Well Traveled

I like what you’ve done with the wiring. I started to disassemble our RF harness (from a circa 2012 coupe kit!) then decided against it- but should have done it. I actually sold Ron Francis a new Mercedes back in the 80s. I think his son now runs the business. They’re just up 95 from us in Chester PA. Hard to believe you’re on your 3rd FF5 kit. Yesterday George and I tackled the driver’s door. It’s certainly a 3 dimensional job- fitting the hinges to the frame, fitting the door to the body and finally fitting the door to the door frame! Oh, then adjusting the latch mechanism to the latch.
Good luck on the truck!
Mac Morgan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JohnMac

I like what you’ve done with the wiring. I started to disassemble our RF harness (from a circa 2012 coupe kit!) then decided against it- but should have done it. I actually sold Ron Francis a new Mercedes back in the 80s. I think his son now runs the business. They’re just up 95 from us in Chester PA. Hard to believe you’re on your 3rd FF5 kit. Yesterday George and I tackled the driver’s door. It’s certainly a 3 dimensional job- fitting the hinges to the frame, fitting the door to the body and finally fitting the door to the door frame! Oh, then adjusting the latch mechanism to the latch.
Good luck on the truck!
Mac Morgan

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Good stuff. Yeah, I'm looking forward to more work on the doors. :p This is actually my 5th FF build. Not as many as some. But enough to keep me busy.

Pretty lightweight update this week. My buddy Greg gave me a hand to pull the LS3/trans assembly out. Nice that it goes in/out basically intact with plenty of clearance. Including leaving the headers installed. Put it on the crate stand the engine came with until it’s time to go back in for good.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1620598780

Then removed all the front and rear suspension components. Down to just a bare frame with the exception of aluminum panels and electrical components in the dash area. I wanted to get the firewall and front footwell panels fitted and drilled before powder coat. But once starting into that, realized just how critical the firewall placement is to the main body placement since it’s inset into the front. But then decided before putting the body back on, I’d get it all trimmed and cleaned up. Something that needs to be done plus just makes sure it goes on exactly how it should. With that spent the better part of a day outside cutting and sanding on the main cab. Factory trimming wasn't too bad except for the bottom on both sides. Now everything is all cleaned up, straight, and consistent including door and window openings. Checked the fit of the windshield and rear glass. Looks good. Should be easy installs compared to the windshield on the Coupe. Like very much that the glass already has the frit black borders.

Another detail for the firewall/front footwell panels is the routing of the A/C and heater lines. Decided to work on that too. Figured out and ordered all the final fittings and hoses. My goal, as I mentioned before, is to put the heater valve on the inside. Up high enough that it's out of the way. Looks like that’s going to work. I mocked up the manifold locations and hoses with some temporary aluminum and have a configuration that looks promising. Will confirm this fits under the body when I drop it back on before cutting the holes in the footwell panel.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1620598745

One free tip I’ll throw in. Maybe I’m the only one. But when it came time to start fitting the front footwell panels I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how they could go in. The manual just shows them magically in place without any guidance. Tried a bunch of directions, bending, etc. and just wouldn’t go. They are made from 1/8" aluminum and very stiff. Started considering maybe some trimming was needed. But that violates one of my cardinal rules which is trimming as the last resort. Figure it out first. Looked through some build threads and watched a few videos and found a hint of an idea that ultimately works. Rather than explain step-by-step, just took a picture and I think it's obvious. Hook the panel on the smaller chassis tube with it flat against the firewall. Then rotate down into place. Crazy easy (and a bit obvious) once you do it that way. Ignore the clamp in the picture. That was so I could have two hands to take the picture. I did have to tweak the bottom bends just slightly on both sides so they went in a bit easier and also fit the floor panels a little better. Which go on top of the footwell panels BTW. Maybe this will save someone the aggravation I had for a while.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1620598721

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1620598727

That’s it for now. Busy week coming up with non-build activities. So don’t expect to work on this much. But getting close to rounding everything up for powder coat.

Nice tip! So it’s just not me, I struggled with those panels too. One particularly frustrating evening I was trying all sorts of combinations when it finally fell in place. Bad part was I could not remember how I did it. After a few more iterations I was finally able to master the technique.

With limited time to work, the goal for this week was to get the firewall and front footbox pieces mocked up. Our oldest grandson, in town after finishing his first year at university, helped me put the cab back on the chassis. After checking to make sure it was sitting exactly where it’s supposed to, located the cab rear to bed aluminum panel and then started fitting the firewall. I found the outline of the firewall opening not exactly symmetrical and offset to the passenger side about 1/4". This with the rest of the cab exactly centered. No huge surprise as body asymmetry has been part of every other build. I could force the cab over to the center at the firewall, but I could see that moving the door areas slightly. So, decided to go one step further and do the initial fitting of the doors to confirm the proper fit and location of the cab. One of my mistakes (and regrets) with my Coupe build was fitting the doors without properly taking into account the main body and cowl. Didn't want to make that mistake again. For doors, my process is to only trim them enough to get into the opening. Then hang them on the hinges. Then do the final gap trim. In this case I would only do the first step to confirm the fit.

After careful trimming, had both doors set in the openings. I’ve read a number of build threads and nearly everyone had issues with the door fit. Some extreme. I’m happy to report my passenger side door is perfect. Scary perfect. The driver side is maybe about 1/8” off depending on where you put the difference. Pretty sure I can get that sorted when hinged and gaskets installed. If I push the firewall area to the center (as described previously) the fit changes and is not as good. Other people’s experience may vary. But can’t help but wonder if this is part of the reason others have had issues? The build manual has you mount the firewall before ever checking the fit to the body. Based on what I've seen, maybe not the best approach. Obviously, I’m not at final assembly, so the jury is still out on the final alignment. But I’m very encouraged at this point. Also relieved since I bonded the inner door frames already as described previously.

So with that, did some light trimming on the firewall to get it to fit into the cab with the doors in position. I’m using 3/16” SS rivets on both the firewall and the footbox front pieces. Except around the top perimeter where it attaches to the body. There I’m using 10-32 SS button head screws into nutserts in the body made for plastic (McMaster 97217A376). Still need to cut holes for the brakes, HVAC connections, etc. But happy with how this turned out. It's amazing how rigid the cab is now when attached to that 1/8" thick firewall.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1621297461

These are the doors as they’re sitting in the openings right now. I made some blocks with pieces of aluminum for something to set on along the bottom sill. Otherwise it’s impossible to hold them in place with any accuracy while marking and trimming. With the metal frames and power window mechanisms installed they are surprisingly heavy.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1621297532

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1621297525

Body as it sits right now. Starting to look like something. Too bad it comes apart. Again.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1621297470

A few more details and it will come the rest of the way apart and out for powder coat. I know. I’ve been saying that for some weeks now.

A super cool observation about non symmetry with the cab.

Nice fit on the doors!!! 👍🏼👍🏼

Paul, FWIW, a shim between the PS doorsill and chassis of 3/16" - 1/4" was needed to make the Gen I Hot Rod body approach symmetry. Some light firewall trimming was then required to make everything fit properly. I have no idea if this issue continued into the Gen II HR or the truck - haven't noticed it mentioned on the forums. Just "heads up" from someone who learned the hard way...

Your build is going great! I can't wait to see the next installment...

Keith HR #894

one thing I overlooked early on when doing the doors is that the bottom of the door sill can be moved out to help "cheat" the door gaps.. there is enough tolerance with the frame to allow for some tweaking.

looking good.. I like the door supports- might need to borrow that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Erik W. Treves

one thing I overlooked early on when doing the doors is that the bottom of the door sill can be moved out to help "cheat" the door gaps.. there is enough tolerance with the frame to allow for some tweaking.

looking good.. I like the door supports- might need to borrow that.

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Thanks for the hint Erik. Borrow away on the door supports. I was really fighting with the doors before coming up with that simple idea. And thanks for following my build. I guess that F9 build isn't keeping you busy enough. :D

ha - well I am just about out of parts to put on the car...lol... gonna bring the chassis by the painters this weekend and do one more test fit to make sure we aren't missing anything - then interior time... and clean up.... then I need to make room from the GTM....never a dull moment around here. - Your truck is gonna be nice for sure.... I really enjoy the performance of the coupe - but for running to the store the truck was awesome - easy entry drove nice and the auto was the ticket! I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Erik W. Treves

ha - well I am just about out of parts to put on the car...lol... gonna bring the chassis by the painters this weekend and do one more test fit to make sure we aren't missing anything - then interior time... and clean up.... then I need to make room from the GTM....never a dull moment around here. - Your truck is gonna be nice for sure.... I really enjoy the performance of the coupe - but for running to the store the truck was awesome - easy entry drove nice and the auto was the ticket! I enjoyed it quite a lot.

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Hey Eric, I sent you PM on another subject this morning.

Knocked out a bunch of smaller things this week. Came up with a configuration I’m happy with for the heater and A/C hoses out of the Vintage Air evaporator and through the firewall. I used two Vintage Air inline 2-port bulkheads. Wanted to have the maximum flexibility depending on how it laid out. In hindsight, could have used a single 4-port. But that’s OK. Accomplished my goal of getting them into the engine compartment below the frame tube, out of the way of the LS cables that are in the same general area behind the firewall, and also with the heater control valve inside. Got out the Master Kool A/C hose crimper and made the inside lines. Will do the rest when the engine is back in and everything located.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1621994324

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1621994324

With that, finalized the exit of the LS harness cable. Stripped the cable and reconfigured it a bit. There was a Y that split to the power distribution box and the PCM. Of course that split ended up just outside the firewall which looked a little clunky. So moved it inside behind the firewall and re-wrapped the harness. I was going to try to anchor the cable to the firewall. But decided I’m going to wait until the engine is back in to make sure it’s as optimal as possible.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1621994384

Finalized the location for the wiper boxes. They’ll fit below the dash OK. Also used this to finalize the location of the defrost vents and cut them into the dash (no picture). I still need to cut the shafts on the wiper boxes. Obviously. But again will wait until final assembly when I put in the drive cable.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1621994136

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1621994136

Finalized the placement of the fiberglass transmission tunnel cover and drilled for 3/16” rivets around the perimeter. That will be one of the last things to tie down permanently. I was a little disappointed with the fit of the cover where it met the lower footbox firewall pieces. The 45-degree angle doesn’t fit very well into the 1/8” aluminum pieces. Pretty big gaps that will take some filler when the time comes. Also finalized the placement of the aluminum driveshaft cover at the back of the cockpit. The pre-bent tabs on the cover didn’t fit the back wall well at all. Bends were soft and not very accurate. Rather than fight with them, I cut them off and riveted on new 90-degree tabs. No big deal and all good now. This picture was before I drilled the rest of the rivet holes.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1621994257

I have just a couple small remaining tasks and really will take it all apart and get the powder coat happening. But today was a big day for another reason. Last week I was advised of a shipment that contained more POL items. It arrived today. Woo-hoo! Five items plus my nameplate and certificate of origin. That’s it! POL and short/defective items complete. Approaching six months after my original completion date. Which unfortunately for a lot of reasons is more the norm now. Fortunately, I never ran out of things to work on and now I’ve really run out of excuses. Included in the shipment were my hood, right front fender, shift boot, spindles (!!!), and wood bed.

About that wood bed. Each update from Factory Five (Brent) was they were having trouble getting it from the vendor. No longer even returning phone calls. About a week ago, they contacted me and said they have totally struck out with the wood bed. Cost plus mainly availability. Lumber is crazy right now if you follow in the news. They recommended a wood grain aluminum product, sent me pictures, and I approved. Upon receipt, learned the kit is from Smokey Bones Rod Shop. Made for Factory five including the gas tank cutout. The kit contains all the required pieces -- SS strips for between the boards, mounting hardware, even a piece to finish the ends at the tailgate. The instructions are a little sparse but I'll figure it out when the time comes. Not clear whether the SS floor piece should be used or not. We'll see. Here's a picture of just the wood grain pieces after I took them out of the box. Appears to be some kind of vinyl (or whatever) clad material stuck onto the aluminum. It wraps around the ends and underneath so you can see that's what it is. No finishing required, should be very stable, and is advertised as more durable than wood. I’m not planning to haul gravel or building materials in my truck. I think it will be OK. I like it.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1621994444

With that I’ll be taking the next week off. We leave tomorrow for a trip to the west coast to attend the memorial service of my otherwise healthy brother who did not survive his battle with COVID. This is a hard time for our family. Like so many others. Not going to get into the politics. But take this seriously. I don’t care what the survival rate is. Get vaccinated and take the proper precautions. It's real.

Nice progress Paul! The wood-grain aluminum bed looks really nice, and I'm sure it'll be much lower maintenance than a real wood bed.

My sincerest condolences about your brother.

Condolences and safe travels.

Paul, very sorry to hear about your brother, I know what it's like to lose a sibling. Be safe.

Sorry to hear about your loss, Paul. Hope you have a safe trip.

My condolences on your loss Paul. Really puts all this into perspective.


Be well

My sincerest condolences, Paul. Like you, I’m betting your brother was a class act. RIP

Thanks for all the comments guys. Really much appreciated. We're back home. It was quite a family reunion which doesn't happen too often because we're so spread out. So great to see everyone. But hard under the circumstances of course. We are a family of faith and believe we will see Jim again. The service really was a celebration of his life and a real encouragement to everyone. But all unplanned so his family is working through mourning and also his very successful business. My elderly parents (92 and 89) are doing OK. But my dad is in failing health. The last thing they needed was losing a child. So lots going on. Starting to do a few things on the build again, but it's not the most important thing right now. Thanks again everyone.

This is my brother's business: https://www.borrorcabinets.com/. They have a related countertop business in Medford, OR ran by his son.

My condolences to you and family Paul.

Thanks again for all the comments guys. Certainly appreciated. Have spent some hours the last few days getting back to the build. After a couple last minute details, finished stripping the chassis of all the remaining parts and removed the main body. As much as possible, I bagged and tagged everything that came off and hopefully will go back together without any drama. Parts are all over the basement right now… I’m in the process of deburring and cleaning up all the tins and parts that will go along with the chassis to the power coater. Because of my uncertain schedule, haven’t contacted anyone yet. I have three possible sources and will call next week. Afraid I could be in for a wait based on how busy everyone is. But we’ll see. Ideally maybe done after London in a couple weeks. But that could be wishful thinking. I have some other work I can do while waiting but could run out. We’ll see. Nothing else to say right now except sure looks an awful like delivery day six months ago. Progress, right?

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1623449826

As of today, the chassis and all affected parts are at the powder coater. So the garage is looking a little empty. I was lucky the shop that did most of the coating for Roadster #7750 had time to take my project and start on it right away. With the added benefit they’re only about 15 minutes away. The other two I was considering are much further. No shop time for the next week or more with a family visit and then London. Hopefully everything will be done not long afterwards. The chassis and tins will be silver. A box of various brackets and such (door hinge mounts, hood hinges, etc.) will be satin black. Some of the fabricated parts from Factory Five were already coated satin black. So just going with it for the rest. I’m going to paint the front suspension parts. Also satin black. Decided not to PC those. I just don’t want to mess with the greased ball joints and remove the boots on the LCA. Since I’m doing fenders, hood, etc. the suspension won’t be exposed. So just need it to be something other than unfinished like now. I’m still looking at options for the grille. Don’t want to leave it raw aluminum. I’m really looking forward to going to the next assembly step and leaving things together. :p

I used my 16’ Serpent Express to transport the chassis. I learned two things in the process. First, it’s not light. With zero parts on it, the truck chassis still weighs (our estimate) 300-400 lbs. Given the size and weight, just about max for two people to handle getting in and out of the trailer. Second, confirmed the finished truck will not fit in my Serpent Express. My 16' trailer is long enough. But with the frame flat on the trailer floor, the roll bar just clears the rear door and is close to the roof at the front when all the way in. There was a suggestion maybe the truck could be backed in. But still the low door barrier. I’m not surprised. Also not an issue for how we plan to use it.

Got a couple of other smaller things done. I’ve been looking at options for dressing up the LS3 some. I’m not going to get crazy but wanted to clean it up a little. One of the most common is the individual coil packs on the valve covers. There are some options out there to move or hide them. But decided to keep it simple with some polished Holley covers that deletes the OE metal bracket holding the coils and also the plastic raceway pieces for the harness. Pretty straightforward swap (and another contribution to the pile of unused LS3 parts). Only surprise was now the stock dipstick didn’t fit. Ran into one of the slightly relocated and angled coil packs. So installed a Lokar dipstick which is better looking and fits. My only other plan for now is to paint the intake cover the body color. That should do it. Here are before and after shots with the new valve covers and cleaned up coils.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1624044065

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1624044073

The other thing I did which is truly trivial is dyed the leather door check straps and also the tailgate straps used on the truck. I’ve done this on my other builds and IMO the black finished leather is a nice upgrade over the raw unfinished leather. I use the Fiebing’s products pictured. Easy to use and works very well. Another Amazon purchase from several builds ago. One hint. The products are applied with wool applicators. It’s easy to knock the bottle over while dipping in and out. If you tip over the dye, you will have permanent stains on anything it touches. We left our previous home with a giant black stain on the basement floor. Don’t need to explain further. I put the bottles in a drill vise while open and using. Just saying.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1624044105

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1624044097

I’ve also started working on power cables and prepping electrical items. Order of parts from DelCity.net received. Made a run to West Marine. I really like their marine quality battery cables, which they sell by the foot. I’ve shown that on previous builds. I use Fusion battery clamps and the rest are crimped. Will show more details when installation starts.

That’s it for now. Can’t wait for London and hope to catch up with some of you there.

Paul, I had my grille polished and it doesn’t look bad but not perfect. I would love to have it chromed but I haven’t found the right guy with the right price yet. 3k is out of the question for me. If you go the chrome route and it’s reasonable let me know. Another note my headlamp buckets are looking shabby I had some streaks on them and tried chrome cleaner and it rubbed off the chrome finish cheap crap I guess. I might paint them this winter but would rather have them re chromed. Rob.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robodent

Paul, I had my grille polished and it doesn’t look bad but not perfect. I would love to have it chromed but I haven’t found the right guy with the right price yet. 3k is out of the question for me. If you go the chrome route and it’s reasonable let me know. Another note my headlamp buckets are looking shabby I had some streaks on them and tried chrome cleaner and it rubbed off the chrome finish cheap crap I guess. I might paint them this winter but would rather have them re chromed. Rob.

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Polishing the grille is one of the options I'm looking at. I haven't priced chrome but not even considering. My powder coat guy says he "knows some people" so he's going to ask around. See what he comes up with. Sorry to hear about the headlight buckets. I took them out of the box during inventory but then back in and haven't touched since. See what happens there too. Appreciate the feedback and comments.

I was super lucky to hit an opening in the schedule at a local powder coat shop and get my chassis and all the rest of my powder coated parts done in less than two weeks. For previous builds, I haven’t been as lucky so really appreciated it this time around. Since 4-5 days of the time were taken by going to the London Cobra Show, even better. Speaking of London, one quick picture from the Saturday morning lineup. It was a great event this year. Especially since last year had to be cancelled. Chased some rain on Friday, but otherwise the weather cooperated nicely. Really enjoyed everything about the show this year and taking the Coupe for the first time. If you haven't attended and have the chance, go for it.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1625279330

For my powder coat, we did the frame and all the aluminum panels in Alesta® FF Super Silver II. Happened to be a powder he had on hand and I liked a lot. This color has a clear top coat. So really makes a nice finish. As mentioned previously for the frame, I had spent some time cleaning up welds, removing splatter, etc. Plus they did a great job media blasting it. Final product is a nice upgrade over the standard factory powder coat. But like everything, you pay for it. I had the uncoated rear suspension parts plus a box of metal parts (door hinge brackets, hood hinges, etc.) all done in satin black. He called it “20% black” which seems to match the few satin black parts from Factory Five. I’m painting the front suspension parts also in satin black. I just didn’t want to deal with the ball joints (clean out, re-pack, etc.) so choosing to paint the parts. Hopefully will complete this weekend.

For pictures, thought this one while the frame was in process kind of interesting. They made up some wheels so it could roll in and out of the oven. Apparently the roll bar was too high to go through the oven door using their standard cart. Looks a little like an airplane fuselage. Well OK. Just barely…

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1625279277

Close up of the final finish.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1625279277

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1625279277

Back home in the garage shop. Ready to get back at it.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1625279287

Couple hours later, rear suspension and tank installed. Bolts all torqued and marked. Goes pretty quickly having practiced once already.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1625279287

Next up are aluminum panels including the double floor. Then the front suspension. Then the engine back in.

Really nice finish on the chassis Paul :cool:

Jeff

Looks very nice. I like the color a lot . Having the roll bar coated will look great when finished if you choose to have it exposed inside the cab . Rob

Looks great Paul, still following the build.

Paul-

Great choice on the powder coat -- it is really going to provide a nice contrasting color for you. The finish looks outstanding!

I am enjoying, as I have on all your previous builds, following along on your progress. Great work and commentary as always! I look forward to seeing the rest of the details.

Regards,

Steve

Thanks for the picture of the London Cobra Show. Sounds/looks like a lot of fun! Would love to attend, someday....

The PC looks sharp, Paul! And, perhaps easier to wipe clean with the clear top coat?

That looks great Paul. I do agree it kinda looks like an airplane! Maybe you should pursue that angle and let your son fly it for you!!

PC color is close to the 15th anniversary color my brother has. They did a beautiful job, and grinding off the weld splatter is an added benefit.

Can't wait to see it come together!

:)

Wow, that powder coat finish is beautiful!

Good stuff, Paul. It's been great following this build

Quite a few things to update this week. Unlike some of the previous updates. Amazing how much faster things go together after the second or third time.

I already showed the rear suspension and gas tank. Then moved to the front suspension. As I mentioned before, I decided to paint the pieces rather than flush out the welded and greased ball joints on the upper and lower control arms so they could be powder coated. Upon the recommendation of a buddy with a lot of automotive paint experience, I sprayed the parts with PPG DP90 and DP402 catalyst. This after cleaning up the welds a bit, thorough cleaning and degreasing, etc. While technically an epoxy primer, it’s tough, has great adhesion, sprays out nicely, the semigloss black reasonably matches my PC semigloss parts, and as long as not exposed to UV, holds up well by itself. I’m happy with how everything turned out. With the parts painted and cured for a couple days, assembled the front suspension including the Wilwood brakes. Also riveted the three firewall pieces with polished SS rivets.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1626043042

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1626043042

Interesting side note. I’ve used these same Wilwood brakes a couple times and they’ve always gone on the trailing side of the rotor. For the truck (and I’m assuming also the hot rod) they go on the leading side of the rotor. Checked the instructions a couple times just to be sure. The back is the same. Also checked my wheels to make sure the 1” spacers give the proper offset and clearance. All good. Confirmed the rear suspension as well. Man I like these wheels.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1626043031

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1626043253

Next up moved to aluminum panels. The truck uses a double floor with foam insulation between. As I understand this was an early add to the truck and also added to the Gen 2 hot rod. Provides insulation from the under-chassis exhaust. Also I’m sure adds a level of sound isolation. I followed the instructions exactly. First riveted the bottom pieces on. Then troweled in 3M 5200 Marine Sealant. Then pushed in the foam insulation, added another layer of the 3M 5200, and riveted on the tops. Took four tubes just like the manual said. Quick comment – although I guess it’s been around for years, first time I’ve used 3M 5200. There have been numerous threads and questions about using something for regular aluminum panels other than the recommended silicone RTV. Other products have been mentioned, like Sikaflex, etc. But I don’t recall anyone mentioning the 3M 5200. It’s definitely something I’d consider. Also a polyurethane. But a nice consistency, slow setup so lots of working time, cleans up with just a wipe of mineral spirits, and clearly is very strong and durable. At just under $20 a tube, not cheap. But similar cost as other non-RTV options. Anyway, here’s the double floor in process.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1626043297

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1626043297

The finished interior with all the aluminum panels installed. I used light grey GE Silicone 2 RTV from Home Depot and the usual recommended rivet spacing.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1626043323

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1626043323

Another quick comment. I used a hand pop rivet tool for my first Mk3 Roadster build. Graduated to a Campbell Hausfeld pneumatic puller for the next builds. Liked it a lot. But then you are always dragging around an air hose. When I saw that Milwaukee had a cordless rivet tool, and M12 like the rest of my Milwaukee cordless tools (I think I have most of them…) I picked one up last summer. This is the first time I’ve used it for a build. I can only say I highly recommend it. Works perfectly. Of course, 1/8” rivets pull pretty easily by hand. But I still like just pulling the trigger. I used some 3/16” SS rivets on the firewall. I would never have been able to pull them by hand. The Milwaukee tool pulled them with ease. It runs fine with the smaller lighter battery. Just happened to use the larger one because it was charged at the time. Anyway, I’m sold.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1626042986

Last thing I did this week was insulate the firewall and then mount everything that had been previously mocked up. I used a double layer of Dynamat Dynaliner on the inner portion, and a double layer of Second Skin Damplifier Pro around the outside. Made paper patterns, cut the pieces, then applied. In hindsight, would have been easier to do before mounting the firewall on the frame. Maybe next time.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1626043466

With that, mounted the majority of the components. This time they're staying. Also plumbed the heat and A/C to the firewall bulkhead fittings. Added insulation to the #10 A/C hose fittings per the Vintage Air instructions.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1626043466

Yet another comment. One thing I noticed was that the ididit steering column horn button is attached to the RF horn ground wire through the hot rod connector. Pushing the horn button grounds the wire to the column itself. But no mention is made of making sure the column is connected to chassis ground. I ground off the powder coat on one of the chassis mounting tabs and made sure there was solid metal-to-metal contact to the column.

That’s it. Tomorrow we’ll be dropping the engine back into the chassis. Then lots more stuff to add. I filled our recycle bin with cardboard boxes that I’ve emptied. That alone is a sign of progress.

Very nice! It's really coming together nicely. I really like those wheels too.

One comment regarding the 3M 5200. It's well-known in the marine industry, and is an EXTREMELY strong adhesive. There are stories of multi-ton keels being held onto sailboats only by the 3M 5200 that was used to bed the keel, after all the keel bolts were discovered to have broken. You've mentioned before that you've had trouble removing panels that were bonded with silicone. I have no doubt that a panel bonded with 5200 would be completely destroyed if one were to try to remove it.

Looking nice!! On the horn wiring, find the section in the manual for Steering column wiring, it talks about cutting and capping a couple of wires from the dash harness, one is a horn wire to prevent the horns from going off without the horn button being pushed.

Gary

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Originally Posted by House Money

Looking nice!! On the horn wiring, find the section in the manual for Steering column wiring, it talks about cutting and capping a couple of wires from the dash harness, one is a horn wire to prevent the horns from going off without the horn button being pushed.

Gary

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Thanks for the hint. Makes sense to guard those wires since they're alive along with the steering column connector. I'll be dieting a lot of the RF harness so will deal with it. Appreciate the feedback.