Pat's MK4 Build Thread - Dash and Behind the Dash Wiring

Ralph, my understanding is the dowty washers are used both with and without an o-ring. The Breeze power steering hoses included washers but those fittings didn't have the o-ring groove so I assembled those without the o-ring.. On my BP347, the fitting on the pump did have a groove and there was an o-ring there. It appears they didn't apply any lube to it prior to tightening and it just pinched out of the groove. You could actually see and feel it sticking out. Sounds like you don't have the same washer type so hopefully yours is good.

Pat

Front Suspension Help Needed

Getting ready for first start so wheels were mounted and the car was placed on the shop floor for the first time. I then noticed that the PS front wheel is extremely toed in. First thought was that I assembled the upper UCA incorrectly but checking that against numerous posts here, all appears to be ok. Checked zerk to zerk for both sides and they are identical, 8.5 rear, 9.75 front. Trimmed rear sleeves are on the rear for both sides. Steering arms point out as they should.

When I did the FFR power steering I centered the rack doing a slight adjustment with the Breeze bushing. My recall is that I used the end of rod (for centering) without the rod ends mounted. I then adjusted the rod ends to the 53 1/16" shown in the manual, with equal threads at both rod ends.

I've just read the detailed post by Karlos and now wonder if I centered the rack incorrectly. His post indicates the boots have to be removed to access the inner joint for measuring the centering. I didn't do that. Wish FFR had provided some installation info.

Scratching my head here. What have I got wrong?

Thanks,

Pat

Photo showing the PS front toed in.
Attachment 225459

Drivers side
Attachment 225460

Passenger Side
Attachment 225461

Nothing is wrong; it's just not aligned yet. If you have the steering wheel visually centered and the PS side appears toed in you'll need to lengthen the tie rod on that side. In reality if the PS side is toed in so is the DS...they split the difference but if you make them alike the steering wheel will be off center. Toe gets adjusted and the wheel centered during final alignment.

EDIT: By the way, to make the tie rod linger or shorter you need to loosen the clamp on the boot so that it isn't captured to the inner tie rod. Take the locking nut loose at the outer tie rod end and then turn the inner tie rod to make it longer or shorter as needed.

Jeff

Jeff, thank you. I was going down a rabbit hole on what it was going to take to pull this apart, so I appreciate the good news.

Also, I owe you a call to talk about your paint cue. Will reach out tomorrow.


Pat

First Start Final Prep

Finalizing things for first start
> Put the car on the tires for the first time and moved it in front of the overhead door. I can't move it outside for first start since it's like Siberia out there. But, I'll put a tow strap on it and hook it to my side by side in case of a disaster that requires me to get it out of the building. Don't want to burn down my new shop!
> Put 5 gallons of gas in the tank and hooked the pump up to a jump pack. Flushed a few cups of fuel into a glass jar. One small speck of something but otherwise pretty clean.
> Temporarily connected supply to return and cycled the pump again. Set the pressure regulator to 60 psi and checked all connections. No leaks.
Attachment 225464

> Double checked EFI, dash, and sensor wiring. Verified all potentially live wire ends temporarily taped off.
> Connected battery and fired up the EFI. Using handheld screen, completed setup for the initial run.
> Checked coolant level and power steering fluid.

What are you using for break-in oil? Remember to run till warm like Sniper manual says so as not to foul plugs, unless issues. I had to burp oil filter to get oil pressure gauge to work and air bubble removed from pump. I did that with starter running but coil disconnected. Enjoy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Waterman

What are you using for break-in oil? Remember to run till warm like Sniper manual says so as not to foul plugs, unless issues. I had to burp oil filter to get oil pressure gauge to work and air bubble removed from pump. I did that with starter running but coil disconnected. Enjoy.

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Running BP break-in oil. Yep, will run to full temp. BP repeats that over and over in their startup docs, so I'm taking it seriously. I'll shut it down only if I have to for a leak or other issue. Oil pressure established a couple of days ago using starter and mechanical gauge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PMD24

Front Suspension Help Needed

Getting ready for first start so wheels were mounted and the car was placed on the shop floor for the first time. I then noticed that the PS front wheel is extremely toed in. First thought was that I assembled the upper UCA incorrectly but checking that against numerous posts here, all appears to be ok. Checked zerk to zerk for both sides and they are identical, 8.5 rear, 9.75 front. Trimmed rear sleeves are on the rear for both sides. Steering arms point out as they should.

When I did the FFR power steering I centered the rack doing a slight adjustment with the Breeze bushing. My recall is that I used the end of rod (for centering) without the rod ends mounted. I then adjusted the rod ends to the 53 1/16" shown in the manual, with equal threads at both rod ends.

I've just read the detailed post by Karlos and now wonder if I centered the rack incorrectly. His post indicates the boots have to be removed to access the inner joint for measuring the centering. I didn't do that. Wish FFR had provided some installation info.

Scratching my head here. What have I got wrong?

Thanks,

Pat

Photo showing the PS front toed in.
Attachment 225459

Drivers side
Attachment 225460

Passenger Side
Attachment 225461

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This might help.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...etup-Procedure

First Start Attempts and First Start

First start finally happened on Thursday. I've watched several first starts here and can't recall seeing one that didn't start, so the pressure was on! Despite obsessing over all of the details, especially wiring, and then lying awake at 3am Wednesday night going over it and over in my head, it didn't go as smoothly as hoped. It's really too bad too. Attempts one and two were just dumb; simple things that I missed while focusing on wiring, fuel, coolant, etc. First try was just like when I cranked it for the first oil pressure check. Cranked fine but no fire. Turns out it was EXACTLY like the oil pressure check. I never plugged the fuel pump connector back in.

Ok, now for an "official" first start. Second attempt, it cranked for a few seconds and fired up but didn't want to stay running. Another forehead slap... cover still on the throttle body (see video 1). BP doesn't want you to start it and shut it down cold because the EFI will then oversupply fuel and foul the plugs, but I'm sure the plugs didn't like the AFR with that cover on either. Shut it down and removed the cover.
https://youtu.be/8WLHUhEfDKU?si=_qRA890uth7wzaGm

A few seconds later I cranked again. Success! Sure would have been nice to notice those two little things. I would have had a real first attempt first start. For some reason this video won't embed so for now please use the link. Will try the embed process again tomorrow.
https://youtube.com/watch/uS7ZjLS-LL...ev0nqnQD9QJjss

Left it running at around 2K rpm per BP startup process. Dash gauges for volts, oil pressure, rpm, and water temp all working ok, Water temp and rpm aligned with EFI handheld screen. Water temp came up as expected but didn't seem to begin leveling off around 185. When it approached 200 I shut things down. First thought was coolant but I was really diligent about venting at the radiator and manifold while filling the system. Decided to start by checking coolant once cool enough to remove the cap. While waiting I made a call to Jeff Kleiner to chat about paint. We talked for a few minutes about the first start. Jeff confirmed that my coolant fill process sounded ok, but when I mentioned that I wasn't sure if the fan came on, he said there would be no missing it, and if I wasn't sure, then it didn't come on.

Coolant level checked out ok. That pointed to the EFI not calling for the fan to come on, I then recalled reading in the Holley startup info that the fan 1 output needed to be turned on in the software, and on/off temperatures set. Sure enough, fan1 output showed off (which it should because the engine temp was around 130 right then), but the temperature settings were both on 260. Sure glad I watched that water temp closely. Why in the world would Holley have the default at 260? How about 200! Or even 100 for a default! Anyway, I set the temps at 185/195, restarted the car and the temperature leveled off in the 185 range. First start complete. Yessss.

BIG milestone complete. Will get into some of the initial tuning when I have more time. Also, I can now clean up all of my temporary wiring.

Way to go Pat!

Hey Pat, don't worry most of these "first start" videos are probably made after multiple attempts:rolleyes:

Congratulations Pat :)

Craig C

Congrats Pat. Big milestone. Nice work!

Been posting, along with others, in another thread on torque values, since Blueprint documentation wants several things re-torqued after a few heat cycles, yet they don't tell you in their engine documentation what they used for the original.

Here's the info direct from Blueprint tech support specific to the 347. I assume they would apply to others in that series as well.

Since these engines are used by many here, I thought I'd share it.

Intake manifold: 18 ft lbs

Throttle body: 10 ft lbs

Headers: 24 ft lbs (20 with Remflex)

Water pump: 15 ft lbs

Valve covers: 10 ft lbs

Cylinder heads: 70 ft lbs

Water neck/thermostat housing: 18 ft lbs

Harmonic balancer: 90 ft lbs

Timing cover: 15 ft lbs

Spark plugs: 25 ft lbs

congrats. always great to see the grin on faces once you realize it starts up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PMD24

Been posting, along with others, in another thread on torque values, since Blueprint documentation wants several things re-torqued after a few heat cycles, yet they don't tell you in their engine documentation what they used for the original.

Here's the info direct from Blueprint tech support specific to the 347. I assume they would apply to others in that series as well.

Since these engines are used by many here, I thought I'd share it.

Intake manifold: 18 ft lbs

Throttle body: 10 ft lbs

Headers: 24 ft lbs (20 with Remflex)

Water pump: 15 ft lbs

Valve covers: 10 ft lbs

Cylinder heads: 70 ft lbs

Water neck/thermostat housing: 18 ft lbs

Harmonic balancer: 90 ft lbs

Timing cover: 15 ft lbs

Spark plugs: 25 ft lbs

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PMD,
I’m curious-when you say Blueprint “wants several things retorqued after a few heat cycles”, was that everything you listed torque values for? I haven’t retorqued cylinder heads (ARP) in a long time. Especially on the SBF (347) since I used thread sealant on the threads on bolts that pass through water jackets.

BUDFIVE, The Blueprint docs are in my shop so I don't have access to them tonight. I can get that info for you and provide an update here. Probably won't be until Friday. My recall is heads, headers, and manifold now, and front after 500 miles. Will follow up.

Pat

Update: The link below will go BP's Engine Installation Guide. On page 2 in the table at the bottom, they call out retorquing manifold bolts after heat cycling, along with intake, front accessories, and water pump. On page 6 under Post Initial Startup, they call out manifold, headers, throttle body, water pump and valve covers while warm. Then front accessory bolts, distributor and starter once cool. I didn't come across the 500 mile stuff I read but when I do, I'll add it here.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/21...f?v=1679586470

I see so many first start videos, that have long cranking times, prior to the engine firing up.
For you fuel injected guys, please cycle the key on and wait, a couple of times, before engaging the starter.
I hope you carb guys know how to start a cold engine.
I made my mistakes in other procedures, LOL

Awesome Job Pat. Congrats, I'm sure that's a hell of a great feeling. Couple months and I'm hoping I'll be there too.

Final Heater Install

Been busy with wiring since first start on 2/14, taking apart the temporary wiring and beginning the process of final permanent wiring, and removal of unused wires and connectors. Making good progress but it's consuming more hours than anticipated. First start confirmed that my heater tube alterations detailed back in post 198 were leak free, so I decided to get the heater re-assembled and prep the wiring for tie-in behind the dash. I covered the ugly copper tubes with some cloth wire loom for cosmetics and then mounted the fan assembly to the heater core box. The metal insert that I added to the core box (post 222) made a HUGE difference in how secure the mounting screws are. I used longer 3/4 #8 screws in the top three holes but stayed with the original short screws in the bottom. This is important because the bottom header of the heater core is very close to the inside wall of the box so longer screws could potentially contact the core header.

Loom covering the heater core tubes. This is F6 loom. Personally don't care for the look of this material but it fit the tubes and fittings better than the ribbed plastic or Holley EFI loom.
Attachment 225976

Heater Fan Mounted
Attachment 225977

Loomed heater wiring. This is Holley EFI Loom. My personal favorite from an appearance perspective. I'm using this in other areas of the engine compartment as well.
Attachment 225978

Holley S2 EFI Harness Clean-Up - Firewall Ext Hole

After first start a couple of weeks ago I disconnected all of the temporary dash and EFI interconnections and started working through a cleanup, running wires in their final routes, removing unused wires, changing locations where wires exit the bundle, adding loom, etc. Initial focus was on the EFI harness. It took way more time than anticipated; being certain on wires being removed, deciding where to position the primary connector, where to locate the fuel pump relay and fuse, wire/loom bundling, and where to route the battery feeds.

Back when I had the loom off the rear harness, I had added the wire from the Holley fuel pump relay through the rear harness, to the fuel pump, and routed it through the firewall extension hole. I knew that later on I'd have to deal with getting that wire into the grommet in the extension hole cover, and "later on" was now here. I had a left-over FFR firewall grommet (drilled only one of the two 1 1/4" firewall holes the manual called for), so I used that for the hole through the firewall extension. Screwed the firewall extension hole cover to a piece of wood and drilled the 1 1/4" grommet hole. Added a slot in the hole cover and slit the grommet to get the fuel pump wire into the hole. Applied a thin layer of silicone to the mating surface on the back of the hole cover and allowed it to dry overnight. I'll fasten it with sheet metal screws instead of rivets, in case I want to use that wire slot in the future.

Attachment 226251

Attachment 226252

Attachment 226253

You sure that rubber grommet is big enough for that single blue wire? :)

Greg

Holley S2 EFI Harness Clean-Up

The Holley EFI 16 pin main harness connector will be mounted on top of the PS footbox. The fuel pump relay and fuse were mounted off the 3/4 tube, forward of the wiper motor, leaving enough room to reach in and access the windshield mount. The fuse and relay are accessible there and it's also a good location for routing the EFI power wires to the battery. O2 sensor wiring was straightforward with no need to deal with extra length. Removed several wires and a couple of connectors coming out of the 16-pin main EFI harness, sealed the wire ends with adhesive heat shrink, and loomed using Holley EFI loom. Fed the remaining wires that tie to the RF harness, along with the fuel pump and relay trigger wires, through the firewall extension for tie-ins behind the dash. The relay trigger wires will be spliced into the inertia switch leads, once a location for the switch is decided. For now, they are jumpered. The inertia switch has been removed from the DS location and the RF harness ground leads that previously went to the inertia switch are now also jumpered. That results in the unused RF fuel pump relay being powered when the key is on, so I will probably remove the jumper and just seal the wire ends. Not sure at this point if I'll be using that relay for something else. Maybe the seat heaters

Wires removed from the 16-pin harness. Also removed the 6-pin I/O connector, and the other unused 3-pin connector. I've left the unused CAN2 connector (black sheath with 4 wires) for now, but will probably remove that as well.
Attachment 226326

EFI Fuel Pump Relay and Fuse
Attachment 226327

EFI Wiring Cleaned Up
Attachment 226328

EFI Power Wiring to Battery. Alternator wire as well.
Attachment 226329

Attachment 226330

Wiper Wiring

Wired the wiper motor as detailed in the supplemental instructions and tested it using a jump pack. Everything seemed to work as it should. Also, I chose to supply the 12V power to the switch (white wire) rather than at the motor since the motor connections were pretty busy in that small connection block. A couple of things to be aware of. First, the female spade connectors supplied with the kit are nearly impossible to get on. Even after opening them up a bit with a jeweler's screwdriver I was concerned about damaging the plastic connection housing. Second, the supplied switch is much nicer quality than the other FFR switches, but the threads aren't deep enough for the standard vinyl dash. Plan on using a die grinder or dremel to thin the dash around the switch hole in order to engage the bezel nut. Or, plan on buying a different switch.

Wiring wrapped in loom and fed through the firewall extension along with EFI and heater wires.

Attachment 226360

Attachment 226361

Attachment 226362

Wiring Update and Glovebox Changes

Almost all car time over the past three weeks has been spent on wiring, transitioning from all of the temporary runs and connections for first start, to proper connections, final routing, removing unused wire, shortening others, changing bundling and exits, re-looming, etc. A relay was added for the neutral safety switch, tied-in and tested the new wiring for a reverse light and trunk light, and moved the inertia switch to the passenger side and tied it into the trigger wire of the Holley EFI fuel pump relay. The dash was removed after first start to complete this work and once I had most of the new routing and connections for the dash and engine in place, the dash was re-installed to do another start before continuing with the remaining wiring. Car started as it should.

While the dash was in place I got a few measurements on distance from the dash face to the top and bottom of the heater. Armed with this, the dash was removed once again to shorten the glovebox to clear the heater. Top and bottom sides of the box were marked for the new depths needed and a diagonal line on each end connected to the top and bottom lines created a cut line around the entire perimeter of the box.
Attachment 227352

Attachment 227351

The box was cut with an 18 TPI jig saw blade running at a very slow speed. Once cut, an orbital sander was used to get the cut lines straight and on the same plane.
Attachment 227353

The plan was to position the shortened box butted against the dash opening lip and plastic weld it in place. But the box has a slight taper from front to rear so after the cut, when placed against the dash opening, the top and bottom sides line up fine but the ends fall just inside the radius of the dash opening. I considered heating those areas and attempting to expand them but was concerned with the thinness of the material resulting in waviness. Ultimately decided to weld it in place as is and use the plastic weld to close in the small void.

Tip of plastic welding iron and plastic weld rod
Attachment 227354

Photo uploads have stopped working mid post. Will try to post what's here and continue in another post.

Glovebox continued...

Tack welds on seam made with tip of iron.
Attachment 227355

Welding started on bottom seam. Not pretty but very effective. Note that these welds can be sanded, retouched with weld, and sanded very smooth for paint or other finishes. Plastic compatible body fillers can also be used to make the weld seam completely unnoticeable.
Attachment 227356

Final product. The slight mismatch at the ends would likely not be noticed unless pointed out.
Attachment 227357

Lots of work but it will look nice and will be functional for paperwork. Looking back I wish I had added one, since my passenger side of dash looks empty. At the time it looked too difficult to add a thin glove box with the heater behind. Next winter project maybe....and use as place to hold/store the sniper 2 display....

Dash and Behind the Dash Wiring

Almost all of my car time since early March has been dedicated to wiring, some in the engine bay but primarily the dash and behind the dash. For first start I wired everything, including the dash temporarily. For the last several weeks I've been doing cleanup, removing wires, connectors, and loom, shortening wires, changing routing and harness exit points, adding circuits, etc. I've had the dash in and out a few times, doing periodic restarts after completing groups of circuits, just to be sure final wiring was correct and functional. It's really challenging to get things to look decent behind the dash. So much going on there. But, I'm calling it complete except for a few things like the seat heaters, heater control, and courtesy lights.

Next up is testing the taillights so I can permanently install the trunk sheetmetal.

The wiring schematics have been marked up to reflect all changes made. My sister is an electrical designer, so she's going to bang out a new schematic for me.

A few photos are posted below. In a follow-up post I'll provide some notes on the changes made. May be helpful to others in the future.

Removed wiring, loom, and connectors. Almost all of this is from behind the dash.
Attachment 228240

Dash and harnesses
Attachment 228241

Attachment 228242

Engine side
Attachment 228243

I'm always in awe of those of you who make the wiring look so nice. Really shows attention to detail.

Looks great Pat. Mine was not so clean. One mistake I made was not sending the seat heater hot thru a relay so heaters go dead with ignition. For the summer I am pulling the fuse so I do not accidentally turn them on and drain the battery.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Waterman

Looks great Pat. Mine was not so clean. One mistake I made was not sending the seat heater hot thru a relay so heaters go dead with ignition. For the summer I am pulling the fuse so I do not accidentally turn them on and drain the battery.

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Yeah, I control my fuel pump through the EFI's relay, so that freed up the fuel pump circuit which will be used for the seat heaters and a couple of other small loads.

Looks great! One thing to consider...where the large loom rests on the steering shaft. Find a way to either elevate it, or insulate it from the rotation of the shaft. I was worried it would wear through over time. I solved it with a piece of 2" PVC sliced in half lengthwise (a 6 or 8 inch length), then attached with an insulated clamp to the steering shaft mount. It sits over the steering shaft, and the loom now rests on the PVC. I primed and painted the PVC black to fit in the with rest of the frame. Zero cost solution that looks good, and works well.

Greg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gbranham

Looks great! One thing to consider...where the large loom rests on the steering shaft. Find a way to either elevate it, or insulate it from the rotation of the shaft. I was worried it would wear through over time. I solved it with a piece of 2" PVC sliced in half lengthwise (a 6 or 8 inch length), then attached with an insulated clamp to the steering shaft mount. It sits over the steering shaft, and the loom now rests on the PVC. I primed and painted the PVC black to fit in the with rest of the frame. Zero cost solution that looks good, and works well.

Greg

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Thanks Greg. The loom is held above the shaft with a tubing clamp fastened to the sheet metal above it. Lots of clearance, but appreciate you flagging a possible issue.

Pat