Fmans Dart 427 build #9818 - 14" Leather steering wheel

[JB in NOVA]

Fman, for what it's worth, I just bled my hydraulic clutch today and here is how it looks at both extremes of pedal travel:

(at rest)

(fully depressed)

My pedal basically hits the floor at full travel, and I don't see any piston exposure or O-ring exposure. I adjusted the MC set screw (bolt?) a bit to ensure full engagement of the clutch well before it hits the floor. I'm average height and don't want to have to work that hard to shift gears!

Obviously, I'm just a newbie, so take my comments accordingly.

[Railroad]

I think the advise is for the slave cyl.
Good luck,

[Sdonnel]

That’s correct. My mistake. It was for the external slave cylinder. I did install a simple pedal
Stop once I knew the clutch was disengaged. A little piece of kind to know it won’t happen again.

Scott

[nucjd19]

Fman do you know where to get that awesome air filter. I am looking for that exact one. Thanks!!!

I was able to pick up my engine today along with my tk0600 and QT bellhousing. The engine has a few bolt on items remaining to be completed which I will take care of myself. Unfortunately after I got home and was looking over the engine I noticed the oil pan is 8" deep which I think is not going to work and hang down below the frame rail. I am a little bummed about this because I requested a 7.5" deep oil pan. Not a huge deal but a little bit of a buzz kill of the hype of the new engine.... Oh well, things happen and we will have to switch it out. If anyone has a link for a good 7.5" pan please send it my way, I found a Moroso 20534 that I think will get the job done.



I was also able to get my tko600 tailshaft cut off and started coming up with a game plan for mating up the TKO an QT BH. My engine builder already spec'd everything for me and installed my clutch, he said just bolt it together and should be good to go. The clutch fork is the only thing I have to do some more research on, I believe it needs to be at 90 degress with BH attached to the engine and TOB touching clutch? Maybe someone could confirm this is how I should do it? It seems pretty straight forward but definitely want to make sure I do this correctly.

Here is the Dart 427 with the Edelbrock Pro Flo 4




Here is the Canton oil pan at 8" deep, I ran a level on it and it definitely looks too low to me...... bumma! my engine builder wants me to install everything and see where everything lands. He said he would install another pan later on if needed.




Tko tailshaft cut down, I ended up using a sawzall to cut it




Looks like another trip to Ace, these bolts that were sent with my transmission mounts are not even close to being long enough. Not quite sure what they were thinking on this one? EDIT: these short two bolts are for the underside of the mount, the two longer bolts that attach to the transmission do not come with the mounts.

[Fman]

nucjd19, I picked up that air cleaner from Ansen valve covers, they can custom make you any graphic you desire. I did the air cleaner as a set with my valve covers, great guys to work with and there prices are very reasonable.

https://www.ansenvalvecovers.com/

[Fman]

That’s correct. My mistake. It was for the external slave cylinder. I did install a simple pedal
Stop once I knew the clutch was disengaged. A little piece of kind to know it won’t happen again.

Scott

Do you know how far the clutch fork should extend for full clutch engagement or does it just bottom out?

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely take a look at this once I bleed out the clutch.

[nucjd19]

Thank you for the link Fman. I know now where to get my air filter and valve covers. Much appreciated!

[John Ibele]

Great looking work so far, Travis, and man are you making fast progress! I haven't decided how to do my vents yet, but yours look clean and straightforward ... a good example to bookmark and copy. Thanks and good luck as you get ready to turn the key

[Fman]

I was able to take a few more steps up the mountain... I got my FFR headers, Gas'n pipes, driveline installed, fluids filled in IRS center diff, tko600, shifter and my engine ground strap attached to the frame. I was also able to fine tune in my Forte throttle linkage, the adjustable bracket in the footbox was touching the top of the footbox panel at full throttle. This made me a little nervous so I ended up shaving off (1/16-1/8) top of the bracket to clear the top of the footbox, all good now.

I also had a fail bleeding out my Forte hydraulic clutch, at full extension the slave cylinder center piston came out, pivoted and got jammed with the clutch fork compressed. It was a little of a debacle but my dad and I were able to get everything apart, luckily I don't think I did any damage to the slave cylinder or the piston. This was my fault, I cut the linkage shaft too short. I contacted Forte and he told me to add 1/2" in length with a new bolt to get it dialed in correctly. Live and learn, part of the process....

Installing the driveline was a complete headache, what I thought would be a half hour job turned into three hours. A couple tips, the transmission needs to be resting against the cross member in order to achieve the straightest line of site to slide in the driveshaft. It was still a struggle to get the driveshaft to slide in and a relief when it went in, I read one thread about someone actually taking there engine back out to get it in. I also removed the center donut, I really cant see how you could get it in with the donut on but Tremec does say it is possible to do it. Upon my research most seem to just take it out.

Here is a pic of the donut before and after removed. Be very careful removing it, I used two needle nose pliers on each side and avoided pinching the outer part of the seal. With a few good tugs it came out.



Donut removed, a good idea to inspect the inner seal to make sure it is not folded over or damaged.



Driveshaft installed, I ended up using three spacers from Forte to get the angle almost straight. I still need to run the Tremec app on it to confirm it is within specs, more on this to come. I ended up doing 50 ft/lbs on the six bolts on the center diff adaptor plate and 80 ft/lbs on the four bolts holding the driveshaft. I also used blue loctite on all of them.



Forte spacers



I used 75w-85 (3/4 qt top off) for the rear IRS and AC Delco synchromesh for the TKO600 (almost 3 qts). One surprise is when I found out Ford is now filling the center diff before shipping, it was about 3/4 qt down before coming out the fill plug. I called FFR and they confirmed for me to top it off and no need to add the friction modifier as Ford is now doing this.



Also got my FFR gearshfter mounted to the Tremec 600, it looks like a nice shifter. Probably will end up replacing the shift ball with something different.



Shizzzel!!! my Gas'n Pipes arrived.... as many have mentioned these are a work of art. Totally worth the five month wait, the craftsmanship is incredible. I also installed my FFR stainless headers, my engine builder recommended a Felpro 1415 gasket anti-seize on each bolt and 1" long 6 pt header bolts. He mentioned I would need to re-check a couple times after a few heat cycles.

[toadster]

dang that's lookin legit Travis!!! nice job!

[JohnK]

The pipes look fantastic Travis!

[JB in NOVA]

Nice work! I can almost hear your engine starting now.

[Fman]

I was able to get a few hours in this week on the build, got my starter installed, plug wires done, -AN 6/10 PS lines finished and my clutch bled out and working. My first start punch list is starting to get smaller, just a couple more small items on the engine to take care of then I will dive into completing my wiring and getting the EFI all hooked up.

I picked up this plug wire divider which has a nice clean look to it, really does a nice job of organizing the wires and keeping them away from the headers.
https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/produc...rmanceignition



-6AN and -10AN steel braded PS lines are all finished and PS pump filled and primed, so far no leaks in the system. The high pressure line is AN -6 PTFE line. The -10AN is the larger hose coming from the reservoir into the PS pump.



PS pump cooler hooked up and ready to go



Alslo had a great weekend down in San Clemente, my wife and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. We hit up a Cars and Coffee on Saturday and got to see a rare Koenigsegg Regera, only a 2.5 million dollar car! Makes me feel a little better about splurging for the 427 If you ever get a chance to visit a C&C down in So. Cal make sure and do it, they had over 600 cars there ranging from a VW to Lambo.

[bobm488]

Looks good, you will love the Gas'n Pipes. I was at the Cars and Coffee last weekend as well; I was amazed how many nice cars were there.

[Fman]

Just about finished with my first start punch list, I was able to get my radiator re-installed with Boig cool pipes and mount the overflow reservoir. I also got my coil mounted and battery installed with my ground wires all completed. My only tasks remaining are to fill the radiator, 4awg battery positive wiring and wire my Pro Flo 4 EFI.

Boig cool pipes, excellent quality and the fit was perfect. I ended up using T bolt clamps over the worm drive clamps. The T bolt clamps came recommended by a few different people and they did not disappoint. They are stainless, good quality and really put a secure clamp on the hose.



I was pleasantly surprised the boig pipes cleared my power steering cooler. Kind of dumb luck on this one, but I will take it.



Here is the Vibrant Performance T bolt clamp with the boig cool pipes and FFR radiator. If you want to use this setup you will need two different clamps, the 2789 and 2790. I used 4 packs of the 2789 and one pack of the 2790. The 2790 is a larger clamp that is needed for the lower water pump port. All the other fittings will take the 2789 clamps.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpe-2789
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpe-2790




I mounted my coil at back of the engine, I think this will be a good spot to tie into my CDI box and is away from direct engine heat.



Group 51 battery installed along with my 4awg ground wires.

[edwardb]

The Boig tubes look great. Have them on my Coupe build and very happy with them. Good choice on the T-clamps. Those things work great. One suggestion. After a few heat cycles, go back and snug them up one more time. I've usually found that necessary. Shouldn't have to touch them again after that.

[JB in NOVA]

Very nice! Looking great.

[Fman]

The Boig tubes look great. Have them on my Coupe build and very happy with them. Good choice on the T-clamps. Those things work great. One suggestion. After a few heat cycles, go back and snug them up one more time. I've usually found that necessary. Shouldn't have to touch them again after that.

Thank you, I will definitely put that on my check list!

[Fman]

There have been some high's and low's over the last week for me on the build. I was able to get my engine fired up, running great and then 5 minutes later my thermostat water neck started dumping anti freeze. I installed the neck so all on me, the frustrating part of this entire process is I have replaced the gasket now three times and I still have a small leak. After researching why this was happening there is a trick to using RTV to hold the t-stat in place so it does not move around while installing the neck on the manifold. I did this on my third try and still have a slight leak, after researching what water neck was sent to me it was a $12 China model that is going to be replaced by a Ford OEM model arriving this week. This has been a little bit frustrating but I am hopeful this week I will get it sealed up and leak free. I was able to move the car forward out the garage and back in which is a good sign the drivetrain is moving in the right direction.

In meantime I was able to test my fuel system with air to confirm no leaks before I started. I also had my BIL visiting last weekend who helped me align the front and rear IRS, got my rear trunk panels put together and got my steering wheel centered. Once I get the water neck sealed up I am ready for a go-kart test ride. I will definitely post up a video once all is stabilized and leak free!

Here is the Fragola fuel line test kit, one suggestion to anyone using -AN fittings is to use lube on all the threaded connections. This will make a huge difference for you and will avoid stripping out the fittings.



I Plugged off the return line and fuel line to PF4 rail, the nice thing about testing entire system is you also test the fuel pressure regulator and fuel filter for leaks.




I ran pressure up to 62 lbs of air, it held for 15 mins and this confirmed I was leak free.



String alignment, my BIL races cars and does this on the track often. He said I am well within specs to drive the car with no issues... cant thank him enough for the help!

[Fman]

Here is where I installed my CDI box



I also installed a 150AMP AN fuse in my Alternator wire. I am not sure why RF does not do this because the Alternator wire is not fused at all, it would be a bad day if that wire back fed and melted down.



The Pro Flo 4 EFI requires a relay if you are using a fuel pump over 10 amps. I ended up wiring in this weatherproof 30 AMP relay for the fuel pump.



Rear trunk is all put together



If you live in Commifornia you will need a PCV valve to pass SBC100 inspection so I ended up installing one

[JB in NOVA]

Fman, your build is looking amazing! Very clean and professional-like. Off-topic question: what is your hydraulic lift system? I think I'm ready to upgrade from jack stands.

[Fman]

Fman, your build is looking amazing! Very clean and professional-like. Off-topic question: what is your hydraulic lift system? I think I'm ready to upgrade from jack stands.

This leaky water neck is going to put me in the crazy house... fingers crossed I can get it figured out this week!

JB, highly recommend a lift if you like working on cars.... game changer for sure on all counts. Your back and knees will also appreciate it! Here is the lift I purchased, it was about $600 to install it and another $300 for electrician to wire it for me. I went with this lift because it is wider at 115" which is nice to be able to get the doors open easier. The lift is made by VSG who also owns Rotary and Direct lifts. One suggestion would be to make sure you get ALI certified lift, there are some on the market today who don't have this certification.

I have had my Tundra up on the lift with no issues and it weighs around 5600 lbs.

http://shopequipmentlift.com/two-post-lifts/apex-pl10/

[TMartinLVNV]

This leaky water neck is going to put me in the crazy house... fingers crossed I can get it figured out this week!

JB, highly recommend a lift if you like working on cars.... game changer for sure on all counts. Your back and knees will also appreciate it! Here is the lift I purchased, it was about $600 to install it and another $300 for electrician to wire it for me. I went with this lift because it is wider at 115" which is nice to be able to get the doors open easier. The lift is made by VSG who also owns Rotary and Direct lifts. One suggestion would be to make sure you get ALI certified lift, there are some on the market today who don't have this certification.

I have had my Tundra up on the lift with no issues and it weighs around 5600 lbs.

http://shopequipmentlift.com/two-post-lifts/apex-pl10/

Fman, you are really close. I had the same problem with my water neck. Except mine was leaking while driving. It is amazing what a mess that can cause underneath of your car and down the right frame tube. I had mine on and off about 3 times as well. I think that you are on the right track with your components now. I was using the Mr Gasket chrome water neck. The parts that I ended up using that was finally leak free:

Ford Performance water neck with Felpro gasket
Thermostat held in place with RTV (3 little dabs is all you need) and let sit overnight. You are correct that this keeps it in place when mounting it up.

Good luck. I also lost a LOT of time on this. Don't forget to snug the two bolts up after a few heat cycles.

[Fman]

Fman, you are really close. I had the same problem with my water neck. Except mine was leaking while driving. It is amazing what a mess that can cause underneath of your car and down the right frame tube. I had mine on and off about 3 times as well. I think that you are on the right track with your components now. I was using the Mr Gasket chrome water neck. The parts that I ended up using that was finally leak free:

Ford Performance water neck with Felpro gasket
Thermostat held in place with RTV (3 little dabs is all you need) and let sit overnight. You are correct that this keeps it in place when mounting it up.

Good luck. I also lost a LOT of time on this. Don't forget to snug the two bolts up after a few heat cycles.

What you purchased is exactly what I will be using, even my BIL who helped me the second try said I have a bad water neck. Thanks for the tip about rechecking the bolts, I will definitely do that!

[460.465USMC]

Wow! It's really coming together nicely! Congrats! Looking forward to the video.

[Fman]

Finally some success, fourth time is a charm... my leaking water neck is now sealed up! Amazing what a good part can do, the Ford Racing water neck fit perfect and no leaks!!!

I was also waffling on upgrading my overflow tank and cooling fan, figured now is much easier to do it then waiting after the body is on. The FFR tank is less than 1 qt (.91) I picked up a 2 qt Canton, I like the extra holding capacity. I also did some research on the FFR cooling fan, it is rated at 2170 CFM, the minimum rating for a V8 is 2500 CFM so I decided not to chance anything and picked up a Flex-a-lite lowboy 3000 CFM puller. Both were a very easy install and now I feel confident I have maximum cooling capability.

Here is the Flex-a-lite fan, rated at 3000 CFM. It is also a little quieter than the FFR and draws the same amount of amps.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/flx-238




Canton 2 qt overflow tank, it also has a nice site gauge on the side of it which lets you know where the current level is
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-80-201



Final picture of Engine after wiring is cleaned up



And here is a video of my first non-leak start up, I also was happy to see my temperatures are stabilizing. I was also able to go-kart around the neighborhood.... I am still alive, nothing caught on fire and I made it home. Transmission shifted good, clutch felt good, so far everything is moving in the right direction!

I still need to adjust my IAC down, it is high at 48% right now, that will be my next task on the EFI.

[JohnK]

That's awesome. Congratulations!

[TMartinLVNV]

Not leaving drips of anything on your driveway is priceless. Congratulations! It is sounding great!

[CDXXVII]

Just an FYI. My local BAR referee required a closed PCV system. This meant a PCV valve plumbed as yours is to a vacuum port and a breather on the other valve cover plumbed to the air filter. One thing my inspector pointed out ahead of time is that your hoses need to be rated for the PCV system. On my hoses the PCV side is identified with ridges along the hose. On the air cleaner side my hose I'm pretty sure it's printed right on it. The best thing I did is contact the BAR referee ahead of time and took a few minutes to discuss my build and his requirements. Did the same thing with CHP and Brake/Lamp/Safety inspection.

If you live in Commifornia you will need a PCV valve to pass SBC100 inspection so I ended up installing one

[/QUOTE]

[Fman]

Just an FYI. My local BAR referee required a closed PCV system. This meant a PCV valve plumbed as yours is to a vacuum port and a breather on the other valve cover plumbed to the air filter. One thing my inspector pointed out ahead of time is that your hoses need to be rated for the PCV system. On my hoses the PCV side is identified with ridges along the hose. On the air cleaner side my hose I'm pretty sure it's printed right on it. The best thing I did is contact the BAR referee ahead of time and took a few minutes to discuss my build and his requirements. Did the same thing with CHP and Brake/Lamp/Safety inspection.

If you live in Commifornia you will need a PCV valve to pass SBC100 inspection so I ended up installing one

[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that info I appreciate it, my plan was to use another air cleaner for the other loop to pass inspection. I don't want to drill another hole in this one, it already has MAT sensor in the back of it for the EFI.

[JB in NOVA]

Oh wow, that sounds really good. Congrats! That mechanical throttle looks sharp!

[jiriza84641]

I was able to take a few more steps up the mountain... I got my FFR headers, Gas'n pipes, driveline installed, fluids filled in IRS center diff, tko600, shifter and my engine ground strap attached to the frame. I was also able to fine tune in my Forte throttle linkage, the adjustable bracket in the footbox was touching the top of the footbox panel at full throttle. This made me a little nervous so I ended up shaving off (1/16-1/8) top of the bracket to clear the top of the footbox, all good now.

I also had a fail bleeding out my Forte hydraulic clutch, at full extension the slave cylinder center piston came out, pivoted and got jammed with the clutch fork compressed. It was a little of a debacle but my dad and I were able to get everything apart, luckily I don't think I did any damage to the slave cylinder or the piston. This was my fault, I cut the linkage shaft too short. I contacted Forte and he told me to add 1/2" in length with a new bolt to get it dialed in correctly. Live and learn, part of the process....

Installing the driveline was a complete headache, what I thought would be a half hour job turned into three hours. A couple tips, the transmission needs to be resting against the cross member in order to achieve the straightest line of site to slide in the driveshaft. It was still a struggle to get the driveshaft to slide in and a relief when it went in, I read one thread about someone actually taking there engine back out to get it in. I also removed the center donut, I really cant see how you could get it in with the donut on but Tremec does say it is possible to do it. Upon my research most seem to just take it out.

Here is a pic of the donut before and after removed. Be very careful removing it, I used two needle nose pliers on each side and avoided pinching the outer part of the seal. With a few good tugs it came out.



Donut removed, a good idea to inspect the inner seal to make sure it is not folded over or damaged.



Driveshaft installed, I ended up using three spacers from Forte to get the angle almost straight. I still need to run the Tremec app on it to confirm it is within specs, more on this to come. I ended up doing 50 ft/lbs on the six bolts on the center diff adaptor plate and 80 ft/lbs on the four bolts holding the driveshaft. I also used blue loctite on all of them.



Forte spacers



I used 75w-85 (3/4 qt top off) for the rear IRS and AC Delco synchromesh for the TKO600 (almost 3 qts). One surprise is when I found out Ford is now filling the center diff before shipping, it was about 3/4 qt down before coming out the fill plug. I called FFR and they confirmed for me to top it off and no need to add the friction modifier as Ford is now doing this.



Also got my FFR gearshfter mounted to the Tremec 600, it looks like a nice shifter. Probably will end up replacing the shift ball with something different.



Shizzzel!!! my Gas'n Pipes arrived.... as many have mentioned these are a work of art. Totally worth the five month wait, the craftsmanship is incredible. I also installed my FFR stainless headers, my engine builder recommended a Felpro 1415 gasket anti-seize on each bolt and 1" long 6 pt header bolts. He mentioned I would need to re-check a couple times after a few heat cycles.

Interesting to see that Ford send the differential with some friction modifier and fluid, I added about a quart of it and friction modifier, hope the addition of the 4oz of added modifier doesn't affect the differential.

[Fman]

Interesting to see that Ford send the differential with some friction modifier and fluid, I added about a quart of it and friction modifier, hope the addition of the 4oz of added modifier doesn't affect the differential.

I just did what FFR told me to do, I am no expert in rear diff's but IMO either way having it or not the differential would still be fine. It already has synthetic gear lube in it to begin with. I doubt adding more modifier would cause any problems.

[Vspeeds]

looking good!

[cv2065]

Looking great! Where'd you get that air cleaner?

[Fman]

looking good!

Thanks Eddie, appreciate all your help along with many others on this forum! Nice to have it fired up and running, I drop it off for body fitment first week of Dec to Ken.

[Fman]

Looking great! Where'd you get that air cleaner?

Thank you, I definitely used your build thread quite often!

I picked up the air cleaner from Ansen valve covers, they will do any custom logo for you and were excellent to work with. Jury is still out on my air cleaner with that air filter if it is going to clear the body. I might have to change the filter to a lower profile, will find out soon.
https://www.ansenvalvecovers.com/

[v1-vr]

Nice work Travis
Looks top notch uhc

[Fman]

Nice work Travis
Looks top notch uhc

Thanks Dave, let me know when you need a second set of hands... I owe you one! Hope your build is going well...

[460.465USMC]

Congrats, Travis! That is awesome. Been following your build since the beginning, and it's really coming together nice. Way to go!

Chris