Star Mobile 1 Build

First make sure that the front harness that runs to the fan is plugged in to the main harness.

I have a different EFI, but I would guess yours has a similar setting, in the handheld pull up the gauges. You should be able to monitor the coolant temp. So once you start your engine you can watch the temp climb toward whatever temp you have set it to engage and if it doesn't then you can shut off the engine and check the problem. The good news is that even if it doesn't engage, it will take a while before the engine will over heat if you are just idling so you have a pretty long safety window. You can also run power directly to the fan if you just want to confirm that the fan works.

Let it run and check that fan comes on before you take off, no big deal!

Guys, I appreciate ALL of the feedback! Thanks again. :D

I had put off actually mounting the exhaust hangers at the back of the vehicle, but today I went ahead and did that...

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While I was mounting the hangers I noticed that the tube that I used for my differential vent had actually collapse on itself, so I just cut it to minimum length required to grab the barbs on both fittings and just left it at that...

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I had been looking at some heat shields for starters, but hadn't really seen anything I felt confident would fit without some modification. So I just took some of the leftover exhaust wrap I had laying around and cut a piece to fit. I used the stainless exhaust ties to attach around the starter...

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I worked on reducing the amount of zip ties I have holding lines and hoses onto the chassis today (specifically in the rear end area). Went with something a little more permanent but still need some larger insulated clips to hold the fuel line and return...

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I was also able to set the TV Pressure for the automatic transmission as well. With this completed, I feel I am well on my way to be able to go kart (maybe) next weekend. I have to go through the checklist, check for tightness and torque on everything and top off fluids, but I'm going to try for next weekend!

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Thought I would be able to go cart this weekend, but after adding a few items to FF's Checklist I'm almost certain it will need to be the following weekend...If you see anything that might need to be added, let me know.

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Nice attention to detail, fantastic job !!!!

Last night I worked on getting the ride height set (for now). Dan at FFR confirmed that they suggest 4.5" at the front of the chassis box and 5.0" at the rear of the chassis box (where the tubing starts trailing up and in behind the rear wheel). My initial measurements were 6.625" on all corners. I have the Silver, Dual Adjustable Koni's, so all of the shocks are mounted with the springs and spring hats to the sky (top of the car). First, I lifted the vehicle to full droop, then to lower the car a bit, I backed the retaining ring off some (clockwise) then followed by doing the same to the lower spring seat. I worked the fronts sets together, turning each (2) full turns at a time (which seemed to be the equivalent of ~.250"). Every (2) turns I would slowly lower the car back down allowing full weight on the suspension, I would then bounce each corner a bit and then roll the vehicle forward and back about two feet, then re-measure the height. One note here, in my case the lift made fairly easy work of this, as you turn the the lower spring seats, at some point you may have some gap in the spring and the seat (at full droop or without any weight on the vehicle), so you should definitely make sure you have the springs zip tied at the top and then SLOWLY allow the weight of the vehicle to come back on the springs as when the springs re-seat they tend to POP back in place, so use extreme caution and take this step slowly. Once I reached 5.250" on the fronts (I believe the heights that FFR suggest are subjective based on tire size, etc.) .750" higher than that suggest by FFR, I moved back to the rear of the vehicle. You wouldn't think that 1.375" would make that much difference in the look of the vehicle...strike that, as I know that MANY of you are EXTREMELY familiar with setting up ride heights on vehicles, so let me just say that I would have never thought 1.375" would make that much of a difference in the look of the vehicle. I want a slight rake look from front to back, but in all honesty, I will probably raise the front up a .250" as I am extremely concerned about our roads, I can't imagine going down to 4.500". Anyway, I applied the same practice to the rear of the vehicle, taking it down to 6.125". Re-measured the fronts and tightened all retaining rings. Will attempt a self alignment this weekend with the guidance of Dan Ruth's Dangerous Curves.

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Can you provide your bolt to bolt measurements as well as the diameter of your tires? Your Koni's are way different than what I received and I really like yours better, did you get those from FFR or did you buy replacements? If you bought replacements or not, can you provide the model numbers as the ones I have seem to be maxed out and I can't even get close to the numbers you have for a ride height. I really could use the extra height for mine, the roads here suck so the more adjustment, the better. Much appreciated!
These are what mine look like and they are about 15.5" from bolt to bolt on the back when on the lift. Attachment 96353

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AJT '33

Can you provide your bolt to bolt measurements as well as the diameter of your tires? Your Koni's are way different than what I received and I really like yours better, did you get those from FFR or did you buy replacements? If you bought replacements or not, can you provide the model numbers as the ones I have seem to be maxed out and I can't even get close to the numbers you have for a ride height. I really could use the extra height for mine, the roads here suck so the more adjustment, the better. Much appreciated!
These are what mine look like and they are about 15.5" from bolt to bolt on the back when on the lift. Attachment 96353

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These are the upgrades offered through FFR (KONI - 4-Link, Double Adjustable Front & Rear Solid Axle Shocks & Springs), I will get you bolt to bolt dimensions tonight. I am running 245/35-18 in the front with an OD of 24.75" and 285/35-20 in the rear with an OD of 27.85".

HTH

I used the Dan Ruth alignment method and it worked extremely well for me. Car has tracked nice and straight for the go-kart phase and it wasn't really that hard to do. I will have it professionally done when I get ready for it to actually get on the road, but so far it has worked well.

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Originally Posted by rychi1

I used the Dan Ruth alignment method and it worked extremely well for me. Car has tracked nice and straight for the go-kart phase and it wasn't really that hard to do. I will have it professionally done when I get ready for it to actually get on the road, but so far it has worked well.

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Thanks rychi1, that was my intent as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOP33

These are the upgrades offered through FFR (KONI - 4-Link, Double Adjustable Front & Rear Solid Axle Shocks & Springs), I will get you bolt to bolt dimensions tonight. I am running 245/35-18 in the front with an OD of 24.75" and 285/35-20 in the rear with an OD of 27.85".

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I Have the 2015 IRS rear end so i'll have to ask to see if this will work with that, the fronts should though. It will be interesting to see if possible. TY!!

The bolt to bolt dimension (as the car sits under weight) is Front 13-5/8" and Rear 15-5/8".

I went ahead and adjusted the Extension and Compression settings for the DA Koni's yesterday. I had come across another forum that suggested that (4) Clicks and (7) swipes were good starting points for most cars. Looking back, logically what I am about to tell you should have hit me earlier on, but it didn't (shame on me), so for whatever application or shock you are using just try to apply a little logic to your install as I missed this on mine. The Dual Action Koni's are the upgraded shocks offered by FFR. There is a "swipe" setting at the top for Extension and "turn" setting at the bottom for Compression. When you are installing your shocks (again whatever brand you may be running), please pay close attention to the location of these adjustments and plan for them accordingly. Meaning, face them in the direction that gives you the most room and easiest access (also note that I am not talking about the shocks themselves or the spring location to the top or bottom, but specifically the direction that any adjustment knobs, screws, etc. may face). On DA Koni's, the swipe setting is essentially (4) very small holes that are on a pin situated 90 degrees from each other. They appear at the top of the shock and can only be seen through a 90 degree slot or window on the side of the cap...

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So one swipe is equal to placing a 3/32" allen head wrench or screwdriver in one hole and swiping it a complete 90 degrees the other direction...simple enough! However, with direction that I placed mine, my access was extremely limited and after fabricating a custom allen head wrench small enough to access where I needed to, it only took me 3 hours to adjust the setting on the top of the four shocks. The lower turn settings were not nearly as difficult to access, but were still somewhat of a pain due to the orientation I picked. Now for most builders, this would probably be something that you would pay attention to and would orient the shock accordingly whether the manual suggested you do it or not. However, I am not an experienced builder and I first will take my shots for being an idiot and not thinking about this logically as I was installing the shocks (shame on me), but it seems like something that could have easily been noted in the FFR 33' Manual...(ie. if you are installing an adjustable set of shocks be sure to orientate the access points in an area to allow access). So I am off my soapbox on this, as it was not the end of the world and all is well. If I ever have to change the shocks out I will definitely rotate them to allow for better access...whew, I feel much better now!

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In this picture (if I had installed them the way I should have) you would be looking at the access windows to the top of the shocks, but since I turned them to toward the fan, you only see the back of the cap.

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So I have been working on getting my alignment done this week. As I had mentioned previously, I was going to try Dan Ruth's String Method to try and get things close enough for Carting. You can get the full details by searching for "33 Alignment" on Google or "Dangerous Curves" on the other forum (I suggest not searching for Dangerous Curves on Google...:p). Anyway, I am not going to go into great detail on the alignment, but just wanted to cover a few interesting points and possible thorns that I came across. I want to thank Dan Ruth for his assistance through this as I must of had to email him (4) times during this process to get it completed.

I'll first note that I had previously set my Ride Height to 5.250" in the Front and 6.125" even though FFR and Dan both advised 4.500" in the Front and 5.000" in the Rear. My thoughts on this is that I didn't won't to trash my front end (specifically the grill) on some of the terrible roads we have around here. I moved forward with my first attempt at the alignment and everything went fine until I tried to get my Camber set to the -.5 to -.75 advised. I was at +.5 to begin and was running out of adjustment on the Rear Lower Link. What I found out from Dan is that with my Ride Height not set to specs my Camber would not match. So I went ahead and re-set my Ride Height to the spec'd 4-1/2" in the Front and went to 5-1/8" on the Rear. Once I did this, I followed the procedure exactly and got the alignment spec'd in. I want to clarify that just because I changed my Ride Height to the spec'd dimensions doesn't mean you have to have your Ride Height at these dimensions, just in order to be consistent throughout this particular process and match the specified Camber, Caster and Toe the height needed to be set to match. Let me add that I will eventually get an actual alignment done on the vehicle, but this was to just get me carting. Just a couple notes here, I used way too much grease in between my spin tiles, so start with a little then add if you need to. Also, maybe with the modifications that FFR announced to the Next Generation 33' this week, they will add some flat spots to the Tie Rod Adjustment Bar. I would advise putting a couple flat spots on it at the back of the threads or possibly adding a second nut prior to installing as I did not and to use Vice Grips to adjust and the knurling that was left did not look pretty. I have attached some pics of the tools and process along the way...

Tools Required (2 x 4's can be used in lieu of the aluminum tubes I used, also I had already greased and set-up my tiles)...
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Spin Plates...
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Setting the string at the Rear Tire...
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After adjustment of the string in the Front...
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Line strung...
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Everything squared...
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Do to the alignment, I need to pull my Steering Wheel once again. I posted some pics of this process the last time I did this because I found it so difficult, this time I took a few more pics. I had applied some anti-seize when I re-installed it the last time, but that didn't help much and at Dan Ruth's suggestion I even tried heating it a little to no avail. So I broke out the puller again and it worked like a charm again, just don't like the idea of using the Steering Wheel spokes to pull by...

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I'd like to get some feedback on if there is suppose to be a ground for the horn? I have had it on twice and neither time has it worked. I believe I read in a past thread about having to add a ground, can someone comment on this if they know? I have just been placing the plastic tube along with the spring into the white plastic tube in the steering column and then attaching the clip on the yellow wire to the cap, but it has yet to work...

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While I can't go out to the garage and check, since the garage is still empty, I took this as a challenge to look at the wiring diagram to see if I could figure this out. In the separate wiring harness installation instructions, there are fairly complete schematics. What is a little confusing is that the harness is applicable to a couple of FFR models and so there are options used and not used depending on the model. The installation instructions themselves seem to be targeted at the roadster. In any case, from what I could tell, for the hot rod the wheel horn button provides a ground to the horn relay. That relay then provides 12V to the horn itself. So, yes the steering column horn button is switching ground to the horn wire in the column harness. You can double check to see if you have ground on one side of the horn contacts using a multimeter. I couldn't see a ground being supplied to the column in the harness itself so you probably have to make sure it's grounded through the mounting.

Thanks for the hint on creating a flat section on the tie rod adjustment bar (or adding an extra nut). Would you mind highlighting on a photo where that should be? much appreciated.

Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOP33

I'd like to get some feedback on if there is suppose to be a ground for the horn? I have had it on twice and neither time has it worked. I believe I read in a past thread about having to add a ground, can someone comment on this if they know? I have just been placing the plastic tube along with the spring into the white plastic tube in the steering column and then attaching the clip on the yellow wire to the cap, but it has yet to work...

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best picture I have of my horns and wiring.. here's the post: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post312001

It's all double-heatshrunk now, but I think I took two new ground wires from that fan ground.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/atta...4&d=1517780040

There should be a wire on a spring that goes into the white tube, when that wire is grounded the horn should work. I have left mine dangling in midair, have not put the cap on yet, so I ended up putting some tape over the end of the wire because every time I brushed up against it it would ground, horn would blow and when you dont expect it you end up jumping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOP33

I'd like to get some feedback on if there is suppose to be a ground for the horn? I have had it on twice and neither time has it worked. I believe I read in a past thread about having to add a ground, can someone comment on this if they know? I have just been placing the plastic tube along with the spring into the white plastic tube in the steering column and then attaching the clip on the yellow wire to the cap, but it has yet to work...

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Yes, you need to add a ground wire from the back of the horn button assy to the part the button assy fits into.
I don't remember if I had to drill and tap the holes or if they were there.
Looks like you don't have a hole on the back side of you horn button assy.

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Originally Posted by JimLev

Yes, you need to add a ground wire from the back of the horn button assy to the part the button assy fits into.
I don't remember if I had to drill and tap the holes or if they were there.
Looks like you don't have a hole on the back side of you horn button assy.

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Thank you JL, that is exactly what I needed to confirm!

After much patience, work (nearly a year and a half to be exact) and support from this GREAT forum...Today was Go Cart Day! After going through my checklist (I'll need to add something to it after today, but more on that in a moment) we fired Star Mobile 1 up and went for just a short ride up the road...And I know the drill, If there isn't video, it didn't happen...

https://youtu.be/YSjUE7P1jXU

https://youtu.be/RU-xZCB5Rvc

https://youtu.be/W9ATMUna0kc

For the sake of transparency, just a few things I want to share since we are such a close family here...So what you don't see in the videos is that after I pull into the shop, my upper radiator hose blows off and water and antifreeze go everywhere (no one hurt, but I will need to add check radiator hose clamps for tightness to the checklist :mad:). Also, if you look closely in the video where I am pulling into the drive you will notice that the E-Brake is engaged...yep! Stopped in the middle of the jaunt down the road just to check everything and set the E-Brake (cause ya know I did build this thing and I still don't trust myself...for this exact reason) and sure enough left it set and if you listen closely to the end of the video you can hear the rear brakes whining...:rolleyes:. If you reaaaallly look close in the same video in the seat next to the E-Brake you will see ALL of the pebbles that were being thrown into the vehicle (you can also hear them in the video as well). This is making me re-think fenders for this car and sooooo hate that idea. Although I only made it into second gear once (I think), I believe the trans is shifting a little late, so I'll need to adjust the Throttle Valve Cable. Might add that the smoke you see is off the exhaust wrap (I think). So after the water and antifreeze mishap, the rocks in the car and the fact that my rear brakes are now locked up (sure it has something to do with riding half a mile with the e-brake set)...I am still calling this a successful Go Carting! I want to thank ALL of you for your help along the way as I would not have bought the kit without knowing I had this support and would not have made it this far without ya'll! Next step cleaning up some loose ends and checking out pricing on Fenders...:mad:. Here are some additional pics of the day for ya'll to enjoy!

Pre-Check...
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Backing out (I can't see nothin')...
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My Rock Collection...
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Don't step in the puddle...
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And a couple of Temp Pics...
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Looks and sounds good JOP.
After I filled my engine with antifreeze I used my pressure tester to pump it up to check for leaks.
The clamps were as tight as I could get them however the hose on the t-stat still blew off.
It now has 2 clamps on it.

My floors are HOT too, going to add shields above them and wrap them.

Congratulations!! sounds great and looks good, love the wheels

You have your pipes wrapped,a layer of heat shield, and then the FFR Heat shield, and your floor boards are still 150 degrees. Any thoughts on why the passenger side is 150 and the drivers side 97?

I ask because I am trying to figure out what I am going to do on mine.

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Originally Posted by rychi1

You have your pipes wrapped,a layer of heat shield, and then the FFR Heat shield, and your floor boards are still 150 degrees. Any thoughts on why the passenger side is 150 and the drivers side 97?

I ask because I am trying to figure out what I am going to do on mine.

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That's pretty observant of you rychi1 and no I don't have any idea why they may be different other than that there was several minutes that went by between the PS and DS pics (approximately 3-5 minutes) so that might account somewhat for the difference. I was pretty shocked at the temps too as I also have Lizard Skin on the bottom of the aluminum. I haven't though much about what and if I need to do something additionally. I was having to give a little more throttle than I had anticipated to move the car, now in retrospect I now know that the last leg of the ride was with my e-brake fully engage, so (just thinking out loud here no logic applied) that could account for a little hotter temp and I was going at a pretty slow clip??? Really want to get it back out one more time and instead of focusing on whether the car is going to blow up or break into a million pieces, focus my efforts on things like temperature, etc.. I like the shield idea but honestly I have VERY little room between the muffler and the aluminum floor pan.

Any tire experts out there? I am really trying to figure out how it is that I ended up with soooo many pebbles in my car? I have spoken several other builders that don't have fenders and not one has said that was an issue when asked. Is a new, non-driven tire softer and more "sticky" so as to pick up rocks and toss them opposed to a well driven tire? The road I was on is asphalt and receives lighter traffic flow if you will, but when I drive down it in my daily driver nothing gets picked up and I don't hear anything even hitting the wheel wells (believe me I tested it this morning). Am I grasping at straws here, do I just need to shut up and order the fender kit? Would like some feedback on this.

Thanks all

Burnouts.... that'll make the tires sticky.... just do fewer burnouts and donuts....

;)

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Originally Posted by JOP33

Any tire experts out there? I am really trying to figure out how it is that I ended up with soooo many pebbles in my car? I have spoken several other builders that don't have fenders and not one has said that was an issue when asked. Is a new, non-driven tire softer and more "sticky" so as to pick up rocks and toss them opposed to a well driven tire? The road I was on is asphalt and receives lighter traffic flow if you will, but when I drive down it in my daily driver nothing gets picked up and I don't hear anything even hitting the wheel wells (believe me I tested it this morning). Am I grasping at straws here, do I just need to shut up and order the fender kit? Would like some feedback on this.

Thanks all

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When I go carted my roadster, I was showered in pebbles. Older asphalts roads throughout my neighborhood. Now with the body on, I hear the pinging against the undercoat and aluminum. Definitely made me rethink any future fenderless 33 builds I had in mind.

-Steve

While not a fan of fenders by any stretch, consider each pebble as a potential chip or scratch in your paint.

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My first thought while watching the video was to ask if you lived on a gravel road... I bet once you get a windshield and doors on the car you will get much less garbage in your car while driving it.


I am going to have the same issue but I can't really go with fenders at all. With having 18" wheels in the rear I will not be able to use fenders. I am thinking that I will put one of the clear wraps on part of the body.

Congrats on the go cart ride. The pebbles won't be as bad in the car when the body is on, I had the same problem.

Tim and Bill, thanks for the input. I just can't imagine that having the body on will make that much of a difference and I am not as much concerned that the rocks were coming into the car as I am that if I am about to spend a significant amount on my paint what the rocks will end up doing to the paint. And don't get me wrong, I am not expecting that the car would stay pristine, but at the rate those rocks were coming up, the paint may not last a weekend!

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Originally Posted by JOP33

Tim and Bill, thanks for the input. I just can't imagine that having the body on will make that much of a difference and I am not as much concerned that the rocks were coming into the car as I am that if I am about to spend a significant amount on my paint what the rocks will end up doing to the paint. And don't get me wrong, I am not expecting that the car would stay pristine, but at the rate those rocks were coming up, the paint may not last a weekend!

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Think of it this way... Just keep go-carting your car for a month or two. Eventually you will have picked up all the gravel on your road. :-)

I understand your concern, but I really haven't had a problem with paint chipping (well other than the one on my hood :mad: )

Thanks again guys (and Tim, point well taken)!

Going back and looking at the videos again... The roads are "chip seal" which are horrible for loose gravel, especially as they get older. That surface coupled with new sticky tires is probably why you've picked up so much gravel. On regular pavement you shouldn't have as much of a problem - sucks tho because that's your neighborhood!

Texas roads and chip paint go to gather. If you drive the FM roads you well get chip paint. The best way out is the full finders. I have cycle finder and they look like this after my trip to GoodGuys in Fort Worth. Attachment 96989 To help correct this made and installed Stainless steel proctors on the rear finders Attachment 96990 I also added clear Laxan mud flap stile to the front finders Attachment 96991. These have been on for about 1000 miles with no more chip paint