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

[460.465USMC]

Awesome! Looks like a lot of fun.

[Blitzboy54]

Sweet!

[Fman]

After 800 miles I have noticed my side pipes were starting to get a "yellowish" hue to them, started to look at some cleaning options to get them back to there bright stainless look. Edwardb recommended the Compound 302 which I am planning on ordering. In meantime I wanted to see if there was any other options with what I had in my shop to get them cleaned up. I came up with a 1-2 combo that worked well.

Side note: I took 9818 to a cruise night last week, interesting enough I was looking at my side pipes when I got home from the event and noticed both sides at the bend coming off the body had melted material on them.... looks like somebody melted there pants on them!!! Crazy, I hope they did not burn there leg... this was also not fun at all to take off, took some serious elbow grease and a razor blade. I might start putting out a couple small cones next to the pipes when a car show to help warn people.

I started with a couple coats of Bar Keepers Friend followed up with Mothers alum and mag polish. This took off the yellow hue and brought the pipes back to life. Not sure how long they will stay this way but for time being I am pleased with the results.




Was considering adding AC to my shop this year but ended up going a different route. I picked up a Portacool Cyclone 140, all I can say is WOW! this thing is amazing... drops the temp 20 degrees, uses only 4.2 amps of power and is completely mobile with a 40 gallon holding tank. I can comfortably work in my shop during 100+ degree weather now.

[nucjd19]

[/QUOTE]Was considering adding AC to my shop this year but ended up going a different route. I picked up a Portacool Cyclone 140, all I can say is WOW! this thing is amazing... drops the temp 20 degrees, uses only 4.2 amps of power and is completely mobile with a 40 gallon holding tank. I can comfortably work in my shop during 100+ degree weather now.

[/QUOTE]

In my neck of the woods we call those little awesome machines "Swamp coolers".

[Fman]

"In my neck of the woods we call those little awesome machines "Swamp coolers".

Awesome is right! I can't believe how well this cooler works, wish I had bought one years ago... I like how the newer swamp coolers don't seem to have that musty smell coming from them the air seems dry and clean. It will be put to good use this summer, already hit 110 here and looks like more 100+ is coming again next week.

[Fman]

Picked up a GOPRO have been having some fun with some edits while driving. This is only 1080p, still learning the camera and video editor. Fun evening with my wife cruising around Loomis basin and Auburn hills.

Definitely can say I do not think driving this car will ever got old.... nothing but smiles per gallon

[Vspeeds]

What a great drive with your wife…and your smiles; priceless

[dlud]

Excellent!

[460.465USMC]

Very cool, Travis! Thanks for sharing your video. I had a lot of fun "riding along". (I've yet to ride in, sit in, or even see in-person a finished F5 Roadster, so really enjoyed seeing yours in action).

It looks like your roadster is tracking very well. I noticed it seemed like you barely touched the steering wheel along the straight stretches . Nice!

P.S. I think you shared some of your hot weather up here in PNW. We're shattering temp. records left and right, including all time highest ever recorded temperatures, consecutive days above 100, etc. Phew!

[Blitzboy54]

Is it weird that every time I see your user name I sing it in my head to the original Batman theme song?


Yeah, me neither

[nucjd19]

Picked up a GOPRO have been having some fun with some edits while driving. This is only 1080p, still learning the camera and video editor. Fun evening with my wife cruising around Loomis basin and Auburn hills.

Definitely can say I do not think driving this car will ever got old.... nothing but smiles per gallon

Fman!!!!! Dude!!!!! This wraps up my whole desire and dream with my build. A beautiful evening cruise with my wife with some great weather and maybe a couple of hold onto your hat moments ....3:30 minutes on your video..... Also I am going to have to mount up a go pro as well. Thank you for sharing. BY THE WAY, your weather is amazing!!!

[Fman]

Hey thanks everyone, I am definitely a GOPRO novice and have some antiquated editing software I am using but good enough to make a short video. I got an older Hero 7 for fathers day so now I can tinker some more with some videos.

Chris, sorry to hear about the heat, ironically my wife's company is up in Redmond WA and she is there right now roasting. Looks like you have some cooling coming. I will be up there for the 4th of July next weekend so I am also hopeful it cools off! My alignment seems spot on and the car drives really well and tracks dead straight even under hard acceleration. I am glad I did the IRS, I think it is worth it. You should see where Brien lives up there (BB767), he recently moved from our area to WA, he took me for a ride in his 2017 build with a BP 427, I am sure he would give you a ride.

Nucjd19, you are going to really enjoy driving your Cobra and even better with your wife in it with you. We have had some awesome date nights in it already... After 900 miles now I finally just about got all of it with the pedal mashed, these cars are visceral and I realize I need to respect it. It is definitely fun to open her up every now and then on the straights! Our weather is pretty hot right now, we are 90-100+ every day so later evening drives or early morning is about all we can do right now. I am looking forward to some cooler fall weather coming down the road.

For anyone looking for a good GoPRO roll bar mount this one is a good price and super solid. Recommended by Mark, very happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Fman]

Battling footbox heat has been my challenge over the hotter months driving the car. Finally I have reached a point where I feel like the footbox heat is tolerable and acceptable, still warm but not hot anymore. I added DEI Titanium wrap to my FFR stainless headers and fortunately was able to wrap them on the car which saved a lot of labor not having to remove the headers. I also added some HP 2000 degree Sticky Heat Shield on outside of the footbox on both driver and passenger sides. These two additions along with the 4" bilge blowers and 2" foam in the door jambs have definitely made a significant difference in engine compartment, footbox and cockpit temps.

If you have any interest in any of these products here are some links:

HP Sticky shield, this was enough to do both footbox areas:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hsp-180021

HP Sticky shield seam tape, you need one extra roll to fully cover up all seams:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/HSP-340110

DEI Titanium header wrap, this is plenty to do both sides with extra left over:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Extra stainless tie straps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Passenger side:




Drivers side:

[Fman]

After 5 months, three backflips, two cartwheels, jumping through three hoops and killing the DMV with kindness I received my plates yesterday and 9818 is officially registered in the great state of Commifornia. I guess this would be the official graduation although my car has 1000 miles on it already but nice to have this out of the way. Not the most glamorous title as a 2020 special build vehicle but smog exempt with a valid registration. Almost seems odd seeing it with a real license plate, just glad to not have to visit the DMV anymore!

[460.465USMC]

Congrats, Travis! I bet this was a great feeling. I can only imagine the hoops you had to jump through, and backward limbos performed to hit this license plate milestone in CA. Well done!

[Fman]

Have been meaning to get my trunk lid some type of support rod, while at a car show I noticed this was on Mark's car (aka DutchF5). So I ordered one up from ********** and surprisingly it arrived in three days! Looks like ********** is back up and running which is awesome because Taylor has some nice products. Install on the trunk rod was pretty straight forward once I had a few pictures of Marks install. I did add a support bar and backing plate to support the lower bracket on the fiberglass a little better. Probably not necessary but I figured it would not hurt adding it to the mix. It is nice to not have to use a piece of PCV pipe now to keep the trunk lid open

Here is a link to ********** rod, $29.
https://www.**********accessories.co...rod-trunk.aspx




Upper mount has two sheetmetal screws into fiberglass.

\

Lower mount has two bolts/nut combos that go under the weather stripping with 1/8" backer plate and 1/8" support rod.

[Fman]

To wrap up my build thread I put together a 1k mile walk through build review of my car, total cost to build and some final thoughts. Low budget garage video

[egchewy79]

nice video. BTW, Mark's last name is Reynolds, not Breeze. A bit confusing, I know. It's been fun watching your build.

[JohnK]

beautiful build! Thanks for sharing that video. It's great to see the end result. I hope you have many happy, fun miles in that gorgeous car. Hopefully we get a chance to meet up in person some time. I have family up in Rocklin and Loomis. if you ever go into Loomis Basin Brewing, say hi to my cousin Linda and her husband Kenny.

[Fman]

nice video. BTW, Mark's last name is Reynolds, not Breeze. A bit confusing, I know. It's been fun watching your build.

Haha thanks for clarifying, Breeze, Reynolds hopefully people got the idea he has a lot of good products!

[Fman]

beautiful build! Thanks for sharing that video. It's great to see the end result. I hope you have many happy, fun miles in that gorgeous car. Hopefully we get a chance to meet up in person some time. I have family up in Rocklin and Loomis. if you ever go into Loomis Basin Brewing, say hi to my cousin Linda and her husband Kenny.

Thanks John... for sure, please let me know when your in my area... would be great to meet up!

[460.465USMC]

Travis, thanks for investing your time to create this video. It was great to see your car, including the underside, and to hear you describe many of the highlights/mods you incorporated. And, it was just plain fun (and motivating!) to see the finished product. You've already helped me quite a bit, and I have a long way to go. So, expect to get more questions!

Enjoy your beautiful machine. Wishing you many great, safe miles of driving ahead.

[JB in NOVA]

Holy smokes! Great video, and a beautiful car. This will be a great resource for a lot of guys in the future. Thanks for posting it.

[Blitzboy54]

Fantastic Video!!!

Man, I watched it a couple times and forgot to say thank you for making it. Really well done.

[460.465USMC]

Clutch stop, simple but functional. Also totally adjustable the rubber stopper can go completely flat against 1/8" alum reinforcement plate if needed (by removing the nut). Can also be adjusted outward approx 1-1/4"

Hi Travis. I warned you I'd have more questions.

Now that you've driven >1K miles how is this clutch pedal stop working for you? Does the forward wall of the FB flex when the pedal comes in contact? I'm at that point in my build and looking at options. Thanks in advance.

[Fman]

Hi Travis. I warned you I'd have more questions.

Now that you've driven >1K miles how is this clutch pedal stop working for you? Does the forward wall of the FB flex when the pedal comes in contact? I'm at that point in my build and looking at options. Thanks in advance.

Chris please ask away... to answer to your question... when I originally came up with that idea I was using a larger bore MC with a longer stroke. Problem was I had very hard pedal pressure with that larger 1 1/8" MC. When I reduced it down in size to reduce pedal pressure I lost throw and needed more clutch engagement with the pedal and had to ditch that stop. I am not using the stop, clutch arm is just contacting the back of the footbox against the carpeting/coolmat. So far it has been fine not an issue at all. I keep an eye on it but I am not anticipating any problems. You could always add another small square piece of aluminum where the clutch is going to contact the footbox if you wanted some extra protection from pedal arm contacting it.

Hope this helps...

[toadster]

Ha! I just put the pedal stop on my checklist tonight! Ill have to check it when I get the clutch primed ��������

[460.465USMC]

Ah. I remember your advice about the proper MC size (I ordered hydraulic clutch kit from Forte - the MC size matches what you said). My clutch pedal contacts the 3/4" tube, preventing the pedal from coming in full contact with the FB forward wall. It's only about 1/2" short of touching the wall. Maybe it's okay as is? If I install a stop, it will stop the clutch pedal travel just slightly more - perhaps 3/4" total instead of 1/2". Am I wasting my time installing some sore of pedal stop?

[Railroad]

Ah. I remember your advice about the proper MC size (I ordered hydraulic clutch kit from Forte - the MC size matches what you said). My clutch pedal contacts the 3/4" tube, preventing the pedal from coming in full contact with the FB forward wall. It's only about 1/2" short of touching the wall. Maybe it's okay as is? If I install a stop, it will stop the clutch pedal travel just slightly more - perhaps 3/4" total instead of 1/2". Am I wasting my time installing some sore of pedal stop?

NO!

[Fman]

Ah. I remember your advice about the proper MC size (I ordered hydraulic clutch kit from Forte - the MC size matches what you said). My clutch pedal contacts the 3/4" tube, preventing the pedal from coming in full contact with the FB forward wall. It's only about 1/2" short of touching the wall. Maybe it's okay as is? If I install a stop, it will stop the clutch pedal travel just slightly more - perhaps 3/4" total instead of 1/2". Am I wasting my time installing some sore of pedal stop?

I do not think you are waisting your time but you really won't get a good feel for the entire throw until you have clutch/slave working together with transmission in the car. You can definitely adjust the clutch pedal forward and backwards to accommodate more or less throw. I would install the pedal stop and if needed it is easy to remove and block off the hole. Mine was right on the edge with the stop installed and I did not want to pull my clutch arm back any further. I might just re-install the round washer with a carriage/flat bolt head to give it some more backing, on my winter project list.

[Fman]

I had a chance to get 9818 out on the track for a beginner day so I decided to give it a go. Turned out to be one amazing day and I learned so much about my car and had a blast driving out on the track. I have attached a video on my YT channel I pulled together of my 4th session, also talks about future build reviews and a co-worker at work who was a car enthusiast who passed away this year. We are trying to raise money for his family.

Hope everyone is doing well, enjoying your builds or driving your car!

[Gordon Levy]

I hope you had fun. Now that you have experienced a track day let me know if you want to optimize the setup and making the car work.

[Blitzboy54]

First of all I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Very awesome move to help look out and spread the word. I donated. I hope it helps.

2nd, that track video is absolutely sick. I can’t wait to get my car on the road. Very motivating video.


Thanks for posting.

[egchewy79]

Track day looks like fun. What was your top speed? I was trying to see your speedo but looks like you spent most of the time in 3rd and 4th gear.
Very sorry to hear about your loss as well.

[Fman]

First of all I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Very awesome move to help look out and spread the word. I donated. I hope it helps.

2nd, that track video is absolutely sick. I can’t wait to get my car on the road. Very motivating video.


Thanks for posting.

Thank you! Your contribution is much appreciated, it all adds up and everything helps them out. Looking forward to seeing your car on the road!

[Fman]

Track day looks like fun. What was your top speed? I was trying to see your speedo but looks like you spent most of the time in 3rd and 4th gear.
Very sorry to hear about your loss as well.

112 was about top speed, it had plenty more but I was a little hesitant about how much track I had left in front of me and crashing my car was not part of my plan! Absolutely a blast to drive out there, I can see how it could become addicting. So fun to be able to open it up WOT and feel the car come to life!

[460.465USMC]

I'm sorry to hear about your co-worker's untimely passing, Travis. I've been away from my build for a month due to a death in my family. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm just starting to follow builds again on F5 Forum.

It was fun to watch your track day. Really looked like your car drove solid.

I like your idea of reviewing other F5 builds, so subscribed to your YT channel. Looking forward to your next review! Thanks for investing your time.

[Fman]

I'm sorry to hear about your co-worker's untimely passing, Travis. I've been away from my build for a month due to a death in my family. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm just starting to follow builds again on F5 Forum.

It was fun to watch your track day. Really looked like your car drove solid.

I like your idea of reviewing other F5 builds, so subscribed to your YT channel. Looking forward to your next review! Thanks for investing your time.

Chris I am really sorry for your loss, hope everything is getting better. My MIL passed away earlier this year, tough on my entire family. Kyle's passing was devastating to everyone, his wife stayed home with there kids and has no job. We are trying to do everything possible to help them out financially. Hopefully the build reviews will help generate some more go fund me donations and also give guys some ideas for there builds or modifications for there cars. It is also fun to talk about difference cars hopefully I get a couple done this fall.

Track day was a great day and more importantly helped me really learn my car. I had no intentions of racing anyone out there, just learning how to drive my car and building up some confidence with it. Being by myself on the track was really what I was hoping for. I was definitely the slowest car on the track that day a great experience and highly recommend everyone doing it at least once.

Hope you have had a nice summer, I am definitely looking forward to some cooler fall weather coming. I also look forward to seeing you get back on your build!

[JB in NOVA]

Travis, I said a prayer for your coworker and his family--he's lucky to have had a friend like you. Your video was great -- the car looks and sounds terrific! Tracking is definitely on my wish list, but it'll probably have to wait until next year (busy at work and winter's coming). Thanks for posting the video!

[jamminj]

sorry about your co worker
Looks like your having a blast
my son and i go out to thunder hill often for autocross
when i get my Daytona done we will be out there all the time