4th or so brake line re-route and starting alignment
With my recent first start I realized that my brake lines were a little close to the CATS, so I moved them, again and hopefully for the last time. I'm not sure how I didn't notice this before with all my meticulous planning. Here are the photos. I was a little irritated at first but find that I kind of enjoy routing brake lines.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1554951296
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1554951268
I then had to bleed the lines (including hydraulic clutch) so I decided to go ahead and replace my DOT 3 fluid with DOT 4 RACING fluid. I used this slick CNC brake bleeding cap thing that makes this an easy one person job. I love this little gadget.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1554951459
Next, I worked on centering my power steering rack. I found this thread helpful,
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...etup-Procedure
Clutch pedal stop and cooling fan light
I fabricated and installed a clutch pedal stop bracket. I copied this directly out of the 40 watt garage build thread. Thanks Fixit! I'll powder coat it later.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1554956292
I also tapped into the blue cooling fan power wire in the front harness and wired in a cooling fan LED light for the dash as per instruction from Edwardb. Thanks Paul! I don't have a photo of that but I did test it and it works!
I must say that I love just firing up the 9130 and listening to her purr. Can hardly wait to start go karting !!
Seat Heaters and more Electrical
I put together the Cobraheat seat heaters. Pretty straightforward. I hope that spray adhesive holds them in place.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1555992198
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1555992270
I think that they must have shortened the cables that come with these things, I couldn't get them to reach the aft part of the cockpit. I was hoping I could get them to come out behind the restraint anchors.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1555992321
this will have to do.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1555992360
I am in the middle of wiring mayhem but little by little it is starting to make sense. I am making meticulous notes of my progress. I have been puzzling over the switched power source and wiring for some time. I decided to hit the EASY button and get a fuse box from Painless for my 12V switched power. I will run it off of the Electric choke feed with the power coming from the Busbar. This thing is really nice for inexperienced folks like myself. It comes all prewired with two relays, two circuit breakers, and seven switched sources for all my ridiculous electrical mods...
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1555992448
Breeze Quick release Steering Wheel Hub
I ordered the Breeze splined quick release steering wheel hub kit. It is top notch and I am very happy with it. The instructions are meticulous but I found them puzzling, that is, it calls for removing the upper steering shaft to properly align the steering wheel to the polished aluminum hub adapter. I read through the instructions several times and it was clear to me that I would screw it up doing it that way. Also, my steering shaft has been in and out multiple times and it is now in with red loctite everywhere including set screws and its not coming out unless I rearend a parked car doing 70mph. I searched both forums to see if anyone posted installation without removing the steering shaft but came up empty handed.
The polished aluminum hub adapter has two concentric circles. The smaller circle fits snuggly over the steering shaft and the larger circle is the same size as the inner circle of the steering wheel which just fits the billet aluminum FFR badge thing. It made sense to me that these two circles need to line up perfectly in order for the badge to fit and this should center up the steering wheel perfectly on the shaft. I saw no reason I couldn't just do this on my bench and then just mount the whole thing. That is what I did.
I started by cutting off 5/8" of the steering shaft so the length would be appropriate.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1559364584
Next I welded the spline to the shaft.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1559364629
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1559364658
I then carefully aligned the steering wheel to the polished aluminum hub adapter and drilled and tapped the six holes for mounting. I used a drill press for the drilling. I put it all together and it came out nice. The arrow in this photo shows the two circles, the inner being on the polished aluminum hub adapter and outer being on the steering wheel, which needed to line up perfectly.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1559364814
Very happy with the outcome.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...7&d=1559364761
Power coating my dash and wiring it
I have spent some time customizing my dash and powder coating it. I actually purchased a cow hide to cover the dash but I didn't really like how it looked on my practice pieces. This powder coating method is a bit unorthodox but it works. I kept the fire extinguisher handy...
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1560214365
I wired it up and tried to button down the loose ends.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1560213957
Tested the dashlights, this is encouraging. I must have done something right.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1560213985
installed.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1560214019
Fired up the engine but I'm having serious stalling issues. Not sure why, planning to rerun the sniper setup wizard again this weekend but if that doesn't solve my stalling problems I may start a thread for help.
Getting the Speedometer to function
I had trouble getting my "Autometer" speedometer to function. I followed the Chassis wiring harness manual and the MK4 manual but there was this unanswered question of this gray wire labelled "speed sensor" and COMPLETELY ignored in the manuals.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1561347608
I couldn't figure out what to do with it. The autometer instructions have about six different ways to hook up the speedometer depending on your set up and none of them seemed like what I have. I have the Ultra-Lite Guages with Sniper EFI, Tremec TKO 600 transmission. I finally just grounded that gray wire and now the speedometer works! I don't know why they don't just call it a speedometer ground. Frustrating.
I had plugged my rear wiring harness into the electronic speedometer port, shown below. I never installed that mechanical speedometer gear that came with my kit. That thing seemed flimsy and I'm glad I didn't need it.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1561347759
At any rate, if you are a newby and your speedometer isn't working this post could possibly save you some time.
Oil Temperature Gauge Riddle
So, the only other gauge that isn't working is my oil temp gauge. I have the Autometer Ultra-lite gauges and I really like how they look and they seem to be functioning well other than the oil temperature gauge. I did a continuity test with my ohmmeter because I figured the problem was probably with my substandard wiring technique. To my surprise the wiring was good and there was continuity from the sensor to the gauge. Therefore, the problem had to be either the sensor or the gauge itself. I emailed Autometer tech support and actually received two emails from two different technicians giving me the same advice (encouraging) on how to test both the gauge and then the sensor. First up, the guage. Their instructions were to ground the sending terminal with nothing else connected to the terminal and power up the gauge. If the pointer deflects past 250 the gauge is good. The result...
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1561686883
The gauge is good! Next up the sensor. The advice was to measure the ressistance across the sensor which should be 1100 ohms at 100 degrees, dropping to 65 ohms at 250. I watched some youtube videos on how to do this, no big deal, I did it, and sure enough the sensor checks out ok!
Now I'm confused. My gauge checks ok, the connecting wires between the gauge and sensor are good, and the sensor is good. Why doesn't the thing function properly?? One of the youtube videos recommended not using teflon tape on the NPT threads to the sensor because it would inhibit the ground. I don't use teflon tape but I do use this stuff. And it works great.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...1&d=1561686615
Here is a photo of my sensor.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1561686578
I thought maybe the Loctite thread sealer was messing up the ground so I cleaned it all off and tried again. Still no Oil Temperature gauge function and now I have oil leaking out around the sensor! :mad:
I touched a ground wire to the sensor and the gauge kicked in! So I went ahead and wired a ground to the sensor, reapplied Loctite threadsealer, and now the Oil temp gauge works just fine. Here is a photo.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1561688728
I don't know why the sensor didn't just ground itself through the NPT threads but the recurring theme of grounding the shietz out of this car keeps coming up in my build. I ground everything.
More wiring including LED Headlights.
I got a lot of wiring done this weekend starting with my heater after I fried my switch a couple months ago. I took CraigS's advice and just removed the actuator cable and will just use the knob to run the fan. I wired my cubby and trunk lights using my Painless fuse block as the 12V source. I wired my stereo harness. Then I installed my fancy regulation FFR horns. I was thinking that these are one of the few things that I haven't modified on my build although I did use this cool push button https://www.amazon.com/ESUPPORT-Mome...ct_top?ie=UTF8
Its a bit tricky and has five connections. I watched several youtube videos but still don't have it working correctly. No horn sound and no halo, yet. Thats ok I'm still basking in the glow of getting my oil temp gauge and speedometer working to be bummed out about my horns.
Finally, I wired up my awesome LED headlights. I'm really excited about these. I have spent a lot of time over the past two years looking at headlights. I bought these about nine months ago and I have been dying to hook them up. They are not exactly "period correct" but I am convinced that Carroll Shelby would have put these on the Cobra if they were available in 1965. How could he resist?
They are made by Lumen and are black projector headlights with switchback halo.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1561953919
This is the DRL function
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...5&d=1561953947
And here they are in their full glory
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...6&d=1561954002
Thats a lot of lumens coming at you!!! I didn't get a good photo of it but the DRLs blink yellow with the turn signal or hazards. Everything seems to be functioning properly except my turn signals blow the fuse after about three blinks.
Remote Mount Brake Bias Adjuster
A buddy of mine is an ex-race car driver. He convinced me to install a remote mount brake bias adjuster. Its a pretty simple device, and now is the time to do it. I purchased the Wilwood product from Summit. I have wildwood brakes so I figured I would use their device.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...0&d=1564924309
I routed it behind the firewall and secured it with hose clamps.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...2&d=1564925609
And the knob below the dash... (orange arrow)
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...3&d=1564925792
I lubed the balance bar with anti-sieze. Turning the knob clockwise easily rotates the balance bar but when I turned counter clockwise the adjuster just backed off of the balance bar. I thought about putting in a set screw but that seemed a little too invasive so I put some red loctite where the nut screws into the balance bar. I hope this works...
U-Pol Raptor Truck Bedliner on the underside of the body
I cut 3/8" off the dash rolled lip and 1/4" off of the rear cockpit lip. That maneuver has been endorsed by Kleiner and J Miller. I'm planning to haul this thing to Miller for paint and body work some day... I also prepped the underside with 80 grit and cleaned with my Duplicolor degreaser/wax remover. It took the better part of a day to prep it for the Bedliner
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...8&d=1569197935
I really like this stuff. I'm planning to spray it on the undercarriage and splash guards as well. Then I think I'll spray the bed of my truck with it.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...9&d=1569197963
