Jim's Build Thread

[33fromSD]

Your build looks fantastic. I was looking at your tranny mount and noticed that you flipped the mount. I mounted mine with the u pointed down as that was the only way to get my pinion angle correct. I would just move the rear jack stands to the differential and check the angle again. The car does not really settle that much when on the ground as it does not weigh very much. I used the Tremec tool app on my smart phone to check the angle as its very simple. I will enclose a picture that I used to get it close. A lot of folks have had problems with this part of the build. Ray

Thanks Ray..... I'll dig into this.

[33fromSD]

Took a break from the FFR 33 Hot Rod this weekend to work on my 55 F100. I sprayed rust proofing on the inside of the rear fenders and since my motor mounts came in Friday I decided to get the 302 / AOD tranny installed. Went pretty well.

May have to call TCI for some softer coil springs, that little SBF barely cause the front suspension to budge.

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[33fromSD]

Your build looks fantastic. I was looking at your tranny mount and noticed that you flipped the mount. I mounted mine with the u pointed down as that was the only way to get my pinion angle correct. I would just move the rear jack stands to the differential and check the angle again. The car does not really settle that much when on the ground as it does not weigh very much. I used the Tremec tool app on my smart phone to check the angle as its very simple. I will enclose a picture that I used to get it close. A lot of folks have had problems with this part of the build. Ray

Question on this Ray.....I know the 33 HR is set up with the tranny tail up and the yoke on the diff down but I just helped my neighbor change leaf springs in his late 80's F150 this afternoon and I notice that his tranny tail was down and his yoke on the diff was up (opposite the 33 HR), and I think my classic mustangs are the same.

This got me thinking...in general, it doesn't matter if the tranny tail is up or down as long as its opposite to the yoke on the diff (and equally opposite in degrees) right? The goal is to get the yoke centerlines parallel to within .05" correct?

[33fromSD]

Black distributor cap arrived and installed...in my opinion at least, it looks much better than the baby blue one

Old set up:
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New set up:
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[33fromSD]

Installed the dip stick last night...which I know, everyone is thinking how hard is that but this has been the b***hiest thing I've done on this project yet. I had to bend it around the headers cause there sure ain't no way it was going through them. The original dipstick was basically a gradual curve.... fun, fun but in the end it's done.

Also installed the trunk sides

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[FF33rod]

looking good. FWIW, I put the trunk sides on after the body was on. They make body placement extremely difficult as they tuck inside the rear pan. Also, until I install the body for the "last" time, I've used sheet metal screws not rivets so they are easily removed.

Also, I had a brain fart for some reason, and filled in those triangular access holes early on. Don't! They're helpful when figuring out where the hinges should attach to the trunk lid.

Steve

[33fromSD]

looking good. FWIW, I put the trunk sides on after the body was on. They make body placement extremely difficult as they tuck inside the rear pan. Also, until I install the body for the "last" time, I've used sheet metal screws not rivets so they are easily removed.

Also, I had a brain fart for some reason, and filled in those triangular access holes early on. Don't! They're helpful when figuring out where the hinges should attach to the trunk lid.

Steve

Thanks Steve.....good tips, easy enough to drill out the rivets and remove them now. I'll do that one of these nights

Although I'm slightly confused on the trunk sides. when the kit arrived in late September, I removed the sheet metal screws and I couldn't remove the trunk sides with the body still on no matter how I twisted them, pulled them , lifted them, etc. Once the body was off they removed easily so I was under the impression on the Gen 2 kit that the trunk sides go on before the body is installed.

[33fromSD]

FFR Bonneville rims w/ Micky Thompson tires just arrived, now I can get this thing off the jack stands

Front = 245/40R18
Rear = 305/35R20

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[33fromSD]

Off the jack stands!!

I've done nothing with ride height yet.

Next up in cooling system, wiring, add fluids and startup.

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[33fromSD]

33 HR signature grill installed...looks mean.....I know, I know....everyone's is the same, but honestly I could look at everyone's grill all day long, love the shape / look, it's one of the reasons I bought this kit. Love the 32 grill as well. Also started plumbing the cooling.

Not a big fan of how the lower hose hangs so low (excuse the pun) so I made a bracket to bring it closer to the frame. The pic of bracket is just after I painted it this morning, it will dry satin the same color as the frame. I'll install it tonight and send a pic of the difference.

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[FF33rod]

Great progress!
Giving the hose some support is a good idea but don't get too hung up on how low it appears at the moment. As long as it's above the lowest point on the grill, the "chin" will be underneath it once installed.

Steve

[33fromSD]

Great progress!
Giving the hose some support is a good idea but don't get too hung up on how low it appears at the moment. As long as it's above the lowest point on the grill, the "chin" will be underneath it once installed.

Steve

Yup...agree....more of an OCD thing for me than anything else

[33fromSD]

bracket installed on lower hose

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[33fromSD]

Upper radiator hose plumbed although I think I'm going to take the rubber ends / hose to an auto parts store and find a close matching rubber hose. Not liking this set up too much

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[33fromSD]

I have no luck with the search feature on this forum so apologize it the info exists

For a 302 in the 33 HR does anyone have a rubber coolant hose option for the top radiator hose? I really don't like one that comes with the kit?

If not like I note above I'll just take the hole assembly to the parts store and try to match one.

Not as concerned about the lower hose because I don't see it but I may look for a sub for that one too.

[FF33rod]

I used Replicaparts hoses top and bottom (and radiator shroud), much better than the corrugated stuff FFR provides. However, the top hose requires a 90 degree water neck as opposed to the one you installed

Steve

[rapidray]

It actually does matter as under acceleration the pinion gear wants to climb the ring gear according to everything I have ever read (makes sense) I believe Sethmark also took me to school on that one. They used to recommend a 4 degree offset but I understand with the new u-joint lubricants it can be smaller. Under full droop (wheels off the ground) my driveshaft clears the rear cross member only by an 1/8" or so. Numerous people have had this problem here. I have the 3 link rear suspension in mine and I actually had to lengthen my upper adjustment arm 2" to get it right. We discuss this issue in post 100 of my build if you are curious. After reading through your build pages I also noticed that you flipped your front shocks with the adjustment on the bottom, I was told by FFR that at their build school they now install them the other way (adjustment up) to ease adjustment. Ray

[33fromSD]

It actually does matter as under acceleration the pinion gear wants to climb the ring gear according to everything I have ever read (makes sense) I believe Sethmark also took me to school on that one. They used to recommend a 4 degree offset but I understand with the new u-joint lubricants it can be smaller. Under full droop (wheels off the ground) my driveshaft clears the rear cross member only by an 1/8" or so. Numerous people have had this problem here. I have the 3 link rear suspension in mine and I actually had to lengthen my upper adjustment arm 2" to get it right. We discuss this issue in post 100 of my build if you are curious. After reading through your build pages I also noticed that you flipped your front shocks with the adjustment on the bottom, I was told by FFR that at their build school they now install them the other way (adjustment up) to ease adjustment. Ray

Thanks Ray..... yeah, I thought I flipped my front shocks around on purpose for a reason when I first installed them but forgot why, so I flipped them back around per suggestions from others but now that you mentioned it, the reason I did it was after reading someone's comment (can't recall who) they noted build school informed them either way is fine but for easier adjustment, flipping them around with the adjustment up top is easiest. i think I'm going to flip them again..... getting pretty good at it.

[33fromSD]

When it comes to positioning the grill, is it just a matter of you'll know the right position when you do the fit of the hood, or is there a general "starting" spot to position the grill that will get it to close proximity of where it needs to be when the hood is fitting and then it's just minor tweaking?

I'm finding myself wasting time messing around with measuring radiator hoses and I stopped cause I think I'm going to use the ones that came with the kit for the initial start up / go-kart stage but then worry about the actual hoses (type / lengths) I want after the grill is positioned with the hood on so I know it's where it needs to be.

Is that what others did? Not much adjustment in the grill I'm seeing, but enough I guess where it may matter when final hose lengths / positioning needs to be figured out.

[FF33rod]

With the AC condenser and fan shroud all added to that front assembly there was very little adjustment that I could do. The prime concern was keeping the top of the shocks from hitting it. I wouldn't worry about the position from the hose length perspective, the hoses are plenty long enough. I'm not that familiar with gen 2 but make sure that the chin, side panels and hood are all long enough for the position you put it in...

Steve

[33fromSD]

With the AC condenser and fan shroud all added to that front assembly there was very little adjustment that I could do. The prime concern was keeping the top of the shocks from hitting it. I wouldn't worry about the position from the hose length perspective, the hoses are plenty long enough. I'm not that familiar with gen 2 but make sure that the chin, side panels and hood are all long enough for the position you put it in...

Steve

Thanks for the insight Steve

[33fromSD]

Haven't spent a lot of time on the 33 due to other stuff going on. I did get the coolant over flow tank mounted on the firewall and the battery mounted in the trunk and ran the cable to the motor only to find out the cable was about 12" too short and I didn't like the way the battery was mounted in the trunk (nothing wrong with it in theory, just not for me) so I stopped and jumped online to do some searching / shopping.

Found a nice battery box, longer cable and also figured out my coolant hoses for both the upper and lower sections. Should all be here later this week.

Then it's all about going nuts on the wiring and finishing that up, since after that all that is left is fluids, bleeding the brake and clutch system and see if she runs / drives.

Moving along.

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[TxMike64]

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What battery is that? P/N?

I've had good luck with Super Start.

[33fromSD]

What battery is that? P/N?

I've had good luck with Super Start.

Yup, Super Start is good, I have them in a few of my classics...this one is from O'Reilly's.....part number is 51REXT ...

[33fromSD]

I guess I mis-led folks in my previous post (sorry).....I meant to say I found a "battery tray" not a battery box. Got the new tray yesterday and got it installed last night.

Again, nothing wrong with how FFR did it, my concern was that unless I tightened the snot out of the j-bolts (which is bad for the battery) the battery had a tendency to slide a bit on the aluminum panel. I'm not a fan of batteries walking so this new tray allows the battery bracket to only be snugged up but even then, the battery doesn't walk in the tray since it has tabs in the corner of the tray the same dimension as the 51R style batteries.

I may make a cover for it later on but for now it's good.

Other things done:
* Changed out the new battery cable.... now it's long enough
* Started wiring the engine:
+ Water Temp & Oil Sender wiring done
+ Starter is wired
+ Alternator is wired

Just need to wire up the coil, fuel pump, and the electric fan/temp sensor and the engine bay wiring is done, then I'll move on to the inside to rough in the gauge cluster

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[33fromSD]

Getting to that point where I'm making decisions without having stuff done which could be bad but in this case probably not......I replaced the shifter handle with a stubbier version....I felt like the 6" shift handle I originally went with was a little tall.

Of course not having the interior in to be able to see if this was a good move or not will be one of those "time will tell" moves. This new shifter reminds me a lot of the height I have in my 15 Challenger so I'm thinking it will be fine since I love that one.

Worst case once the interior is done I swap it back

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[FF33rod]

Easy swap if you dont like it. Unique design though, cool.
Mine is similar to your original but 8" long i believe, works well for me.
Makes the TKO600 easy to shift

Steve

[33fromSD]

Not much done on the 33 yesterday, I spent most of my Saturday in the shop tearing apart engine crates and other other crates I got from all the parts for the 55 & 33 that were delivered....then tore apart the 55's old box/bed which was a feat in itself with 65 years of rust, & road dirt. next loaded everything up in the trailer and ran to the dump...turns out I had 920 lbs of junk between scrap wood and old metal. Now I have a little more working room in the shop at least.

Came home, ran a few errands with the family and then worked on the 33 a little. I got the fuel line connected from pump to carb..little more time consuming than I thought, I had to take into account the line flexing if the engine moves.

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[sethmark]

You’re making great progress. With regard to your steering, go ahead and bite the bullet for power steering now. I drove the car a couple of thousand miles without it and while it’s certainly not unpleasant, it’s heavier than you really want it to be. I’ve played with alignment a lot and it’s still too heavy. Installing power steering currently.

[33fromSD]

You’re making great progress. With regard to your steering, go ahead and bite the bullet for power steering now. I drove the car a couple of thousand miles without it and while it’s certainly not unpleasant, it’s heavier than you really want it to be. I’ve played with alignment a lot and it’s still too heavy. Installing power steering currently.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that (a lot lately)...I may look into it.

Thanks for the heads up

[33fromSD]

Busy day....whole engine bay wired (coil, tach, electric choke, electric fan / temp switch, fuel pump and horns. I actually moved the horns close to the fire wall on the bottom frame rail (took a photo looking straight up the side to be sure they wouldn't interfere with the side panel.

Inside the car I wired the clutch & brake safety switches, the fuel sender, ignition switch, headlight switch and removed all of sensor wiring for the analog gauges since I'm going with the electronic gauges and they have their own wire harnesses,

Finally, I replaced the upper & lower flexible metal radiator hoses with rubber hoses (looks more finished with the rubber hoses in my opinion).

All I have left is to wire up the gauges, test the electrical & fill fluids. Getting close to go-kart step.

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[FF33rod]

Very productive day!

[33fromSD]

Yes, Very.... I'm trying to get the Go-Karting done before old man winter rears it's ugly head here. We've had a couple 5" snow falls already but luckily it all melted. Soon that will not be the case as the temps drop so I'd like to get it tested very soon with dry roads so over winter I can just concentrate on the body work.

[FF33rod]

Good strategy. We're already into our fall/winter season which means copious amounts of rain with temps 45-50F. We will only get snow occasionally for a day or two and that's usually in Jan and Feb...
The drive to "first start" is exciting! you can actually see the progress easily. Things slow right down with the body work...
Cheers

[TxMike64]

The rubber hoses look MUCH better!

[33fromSD]

Didn't want the gauge cluster or headlight & ignition switch just hanging loose when I get around to firing this thing up (hopefully this weekend) so I mocked up a panel to house everything while I finish up temporarily wiring the remaining items. I won't do any final cutting / solder of the main harness until I know where the gauge cluster is going to go yet.

I'd like the cluster to go right behind the steering wheel in the dash panel but as others had pointed out they had to shift it to the center of the dash due to the pedal box. I won't know if there is anything I can do about that until I get the body on and see what I'm working with.

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[33fromSD]

Very cool...... all the wiring is done (well, roughly connected to verify everything before I put the body on).

I just ran through a systems check, I have working DRLs, headlights (lo & hi) signal lights (front & rear), tail lights & brake lights in back, license plate lights work, hazards work, and horns works (wow.....very loud too).

Fuel pump works, coil is getting 12v, electric choke works, and I have 12V to the starter. The gauge cluster is picking up proper voltage, fuel level and GPS info (dir & elevation).

I'm going to spend most of tomorrow catching up on my 55 F100 build but I'm hoping Sunday I can get the fluids added (I did put oil in the crank case today before checking the electric in case the thing accidental turned over), mount the accelerator pedal, bleed the brakes and hydraulic clutch, and try to start / take this beast for a little ride around our block.

[33fromSD]

Its A-L-I-V-E!! First video is the 20 minute break in running at 2K+ (varying RPMs for 20 minutes), next video is car at normal idle (sorry about the fan noise, the electric fan was running alot), and then some pics of it outside after I took it around the block once or twice.....okay.....I mean 6 times.

Drives & runs great although I need to adjust the brakes some and the clutch (didn't like going into reverse).

Shared Album for videos = https://photos.app.goo.gl/FdVrKwH1rihTKZjG9 (hopefully this works)

Pretty pleased.......kit arrived 9/25 and 58 days later I'm go karting....now for the body which yes, I know will take longer.

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[j33ptj]

That idle sound is just beeeee uuuuuu teeeee fullllll!!!!

[RoadRacer]

Very nice - add a second spring to your throttle return though!