EdwardB’s 35 Hot Rod Truck Build - Well Traveled

[edwardb]

All I can ad is after building 3-33's and a 35 if you run fully enclosed sides your vehicle will overheat in weather above 80 degrees. Especially using the A/C. Most hot rod guys here in FL take their sides off in warm weather to avoid overheat problems. Michigan is much cooler than FL so maybe not the same. Not sure how many days above 80 you get up there. Best of luck.

Thanks for your message. I've spent quite a bit of time in Florida. Your winter temps aren't much lower than our summer temps. Well, OK, that's a slight exaggeration. But not too much... But message received from you and others. Will plan to vent the engine covers. I did actually find some I liked. Pictures at the top of this page: http://www.streetdreamsbyross.com/vents.php. They are custom made and can be in the length I want. Will probably order when I'm a little further along and decide where to place them and the space available.

[FFinisher]

Phil has not had any overheat problems with his Coyote driving in the summer with the A/c On. He has about 2000 miles on it from last summer.

Phil's is the black full fendered pickup I built.

[edwardb]

Have the four fenders and two running boards mocked up and in position. Which officially means I have all the fiberglass body parts accounted for and out of the basement. Still some more tweaking to get the fit exactly how I want. Then will start anchoring down with 1/4" bolts, washers, and some nutserts where appropriate. But happy so far with how it’s turning out. I really dig the hood, engine sides, and full fender/running board look. But I know the much more stripped down fenderless rat rod look is very popular too. Probably more so. I posted these same pictures on the Factory Five Builder Facebook group site. With the caption "Why would anybody not do the full fender and running board treatment?" With a smiley of course. Received some interesting responses. But that’s what’s cool about these. Make it they way you want. No wrong ways to do it.

Before showing the pictures, will comment about the directions in the manual. Not optimal IMO. The installation sequence in the manual is running boards -> rear fenders -> front fenders. A dimension is given for placing the rear of the running boards 13” from the back of the cab. Then install the rear fenders. Then install the front fenders. The location of the running boards are going to dictate exactly where the front fenders are located. Well, basically the only really critical alignment on this assembly of three parts on each side is where the front fenders wrap around the front cowl. Unfortunately, the 13” dimension puts the front fenders too far back and the alignment to the cowl is poor. At least in my case. So highly recommend to mockup all three parts on each side to find the optimal location for everything before drilling holes and locking everything down. In my case, that 13” dimension turns about to be about 1-1/4” too long.

Here are pictures of where I’m at right now. As you can see, it’s up on the lift so the front and rear suspensions are fully drooped. This gives access behind the tires to drill and install the fasteners. I used enough blocks on each tire to get the parts in their proper positions. Also adjusted the running board mounts (they’re adjustable on the frame underneath) to match the height of everything. The tires look well centered in the openings. The 1” spacers along with the offset on the wheels looks like they’re going to align to the edge of the openings just right as well.













One other decision point I have is where to mount the headlights. The manual shows mounting them on the cowl if not installing fenders. Then on the fenders if installing those. But I’ve seen some builds, including my Traxxas mini-me, where they mount them on the cowl even with fenders. One of the reasons cited is that the fenders aren’t 100% rigid, so you get some vibration. Not a good look for you as the driver or for approaching traffic. Comments from other builders?

That’s it for now. I’m away from the build for a few weeks right now. So won’t be any more updates for a bit. But I’ll still be checking and posting here and elsewhere when I can.

[cgundermann]

Not building one, but personally I like the look of the fender mount lights. What about a laminate reinforcement on the inside of the fender to disperse the load and create a more rigid mounting platform?

Par for course, - the truck is looking simply fantastic Paul. Interested to hear your thoughts on the LS compared to your previous Coyotes! Can't wait to see her finished...

Chris

[wareaglescott]

Looks great Paul!
Does the Coyote ever shout any nasty words across the garage at that LS? I'm keeping mine separated for now! haha

[progmgr1]

I'm mounting the headlights on the cowl of my Gen 1 Hot Rod. Will be using a small aluminum insert with the fiberglass cut out around it so I can remove the glass parts without disturbing headlight alignment or wiring. I've seen others build up the front end this way, but unfortunately didn't save any photo links.
Keith HR #894

[GoDadGo]

Sir Paul,

This Is Going To Be The Most Elegant Factory-5 Hot Rod Truck Ever!
I still wish I had your patience and eye for the micro details.
We all love watching you put your spin on these vehicles.

Steve

[Pat Landymore]

Hi Paul:

What I did is weld some 1/4” x 2” flatbar to the inner supports for the radiator so they sat nice and flush to the inside of the fibreglass radiator shell …then drilled through the entire works to mount the headlights.

Yes…they sit a bit high compared to an original ‘35 pickup. The plus side is I can run with or without front fenders and there are zero changes to the headlights. And they don't flop around like a hound dogs ears no matter how I drive it. 👍🏼

That’s my 2 cents (Canadian no less… Ha 😁 ) for what they’re worth.

Cheers

[edwardb]

Back on the build this past week. Most of the time was on the front fenders. finalizing the engine side covers, and running boards. Spent way more time than probably should have getting the fenders to fit the way I wanted. But happy with how they turned out. Once they were located at the right height and symmetrical side-to-side and front-to-back, I established the mounting locations. I used more attachments than shown in the manual. Felt like it closed the gap better and maybe slightly more rigid. I used 1/4" nutserts in all but two locations. One at the very bottom front because it’s slightly visible plus very easy access. The other for the metal tab on the radiator mounts. This is a very important point and one I don't see mentioned in the manual. The fenders are big and relatively heavy. Most of the mounting points end up being into the engine cover and cowl surround. Which aren't particularly strong or stiff. But with one through bolt into the tab on the radiator mount, the fenders I think are rigid enough. Makes a huge difference. This is what I’m talking about:



I know not everyone mounts fenders and I don’t think that tab has any other purpose. I remember a build thread where the builder was questioning the purpose of those tabs and was going to cut them off. Hopefully he’s not planning fenders! I still have to decide where I'm going to mount the headlights. I'd prefer them on the fenders and I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do.

This is how it looks now. I know looks nearly identical to the last pictures I posted. But this is a very big difference. The fenders are not being held up by blocks on the tires. A lot of work between those last pictures and these. I should have taken a picture directly from the side. Doesn't look like it in these pictures, but the tires center in the opening just right. I dropped it down to ride height and the overall fit to the openings on both sides is just right.





Next up rear fenders. I think they will be a bit simpler. Then doors and I’ll be nearing the end of the body work. At least I hope so.

An open topic from a previous post was my high pressure tap for the A/C. Through bad planning on my part, I had it pointed right at the engine side cover without enough room to attach anything to it. Looked at several options. But decided the easiest and simplest was to replace the existing tap with an in-line tap. Of course, pointed in a more logical direction. Completed that today. Was pretty easy. Drew a vacuum on the system when done and confirmed no leaks. I'll wait until near the end of the build to charge the system. I know it’s not for everyone, but glad I made the decision to buy my own A/C hose crimper, gauge set, and vacuum pump during my last build. Easy to make a change like this without taking to a shop or whatever. Also useful of course when it comes time to charge the system. Only thing I can't do is evacuate the system once it's charged. There I would need to take it to a shop. Illegal (and just plain a bad idea) to release a charged system to the atmosphere.



Another open item is my seats. As mentioned previously, placed an order back in December for custom seats from Wise Guy Seats in Elkhart, Indiana. They promised 12-14 weeks. Which means around the end of this month. Reached out to them to see if this date still looks good and they confirmed it does. They’re sort of local for me (about 3-1/2 hours away) so planning to drive over and pick them up myself. Looking forward to getting those and making some progress on the interior.

Couple of other miscellaneous items. I want to have a fire extinguisher in the truck. For safety plus required in some shows I attend. I’ve been reading about a new type of extinguisher from a company called Element. Has been featured on some of the automotive shows on TV too. Looked interesting, so I’m giving it a try. I chose the Element EL 40050 which is a 50 second discharge. And since I’m hawking new stuff, also ran across some car and airplane builds using portable part/tool holders made from what appears to be silicone. Called Grypmats. Decided to give them a try. Come in a whole bunch of different sizes and shapes. I bought a two piece set, small and medium. I’m impressed. Have been using them all week. Flexible and stay where you put them. I probably wouldn’t put them on a painted surface. But some do.



Totally unrelated but received the replacement windshield for my Coupe a couple days ago. Unable to secure an adequate shipping box (apparently they've had several break during shipment) so Dave and crew wrapped it up and put it in a Stewart truck that was going through this area. Thanks guys! Was fun to see the big rig parked in front of our house again. But the delivery wasn't nearly as exciting as previous ones. The same guys that helped me install my Coupe windshield during the build are going to come over and help remove the broken one and install the new one. Within the next couple of weeks. Should be in plenty of time for driving season. We’re getting teased with the occasional warm days already. Need some good rains to get the salt off the roads. Can’t wait to get back out there. Lots of events coming up this season.

[wareaglescott]

Glad to see you are back at it. Nice work on the fenders!

[GoDadGo]

Glad to see you are back at it. Nice work on the fenders!

Amen To That!

Regarding the Nice Work, you always do that no matter what.

[edwardb]

Productive few days. Installed the headlights and have them wired up. Decided to go with fender mount. Takes some care to get the locations for the holes with the curves of the fender. But checked and double checked and OK with how they turned out. The manual shows some trimming of the shell that’s required in order for the light fixture to fit. Works OK. Just take care to level the light in the shell before finalizing where to trim. I’d suggest making the trims a little oversize so you can rotate the fixture a little as needed. The manual says to solder the wires out of the shell to the chassis harness. Maybe, but not very serviceable. I used weatherpacks. Also bonded a base stud to the underside of the fender between the headlight mounting bolt and the chassis. Allows me to tie the harness with connectors up out of the way with a padded clamp. Once all wired up, confirmed all working properly. Don’t have them aimed yet of course. They’ll have to come back off for body and paint. But sure seem bright. The DRL’s are also bright. And cool how they change to amber with either turn signal or hazards.





Next mounted the rear fenders and finalized the attachment of the running boards to both the front and rear fenders. Certainly easier than the front fenders. Their locations are determined by the running board and the slots cut into the fenders that match the details on the bed sides. Once again, used nutserts except for the bottom front where there’s an added brace to the chassis. Since the top nutserts are through the SS bed liner, the attachment is very solid. And the front of the fenders are attached to the running boards, so also very solid. My only observation is the rear outside corners do have some “wiggle.” Hard to say whether it’s excessive or not. There are several ways some bracing could be added. Not sure if it’s necessary. Others have any experience or thoughts about this?

With all four fenders mounted in their permanent locations, lowered to check tire clearances and alignment. I had previously set the ride height based on recommendations in the manual. Turned out to be quite a bit too low for the front and slightly too low for the back. Adjusted both accordingly and have things where I want to start. I can see from the gallery pictures on FF’s website they have theirs tighter than this. Looks cool, but my tires would probably rub if that low. Plus, I know things will settle a bit. I’m actually not unhappy to raise the ride height slightly. The overall chassis wasn’t that low. But the bottom of the front grill certainly was. Will see how it goes.

These are pictures of the front and back. The front is centered well. The back is slightly narrower at the rear. But just a little and nothing I can do about it. I mentioned in a previous post how I had to move the running boards and front fenders forward just slightly to get a decent fit on the radiator cowl. I suspect this is the result. Everything is give and take. Every build I've done has had some asymmetry to deal with and needing to spread things around sometimes. This build is no exception. Although maybe a bit better than what I've done before. Still need to put away the micrometer use a tape measure and eyes. I noted another build thread that also commented about have to move things forward a bit for the same reason. Note also I have blocks under the wheels. Otherwise the lift arms don’t release. I have the lift points extended in order for the arms to clear the running boards. No big deal to screw them back down. But for now will still be working on the lift. So was easiest just to throw some blocks under there.





Discussed in a previous post about vents in the engine side covers. Leaning towards in installing them and found these that I like. They would be something like where the tape is placed. They're from a place here in Michigan. I’ll leave out the details for now since I haven’t decided for sure. What do you think?





Snowing right now. But supposed to be 60’s next week and long-term forecast shows a general warming. Finally. Still haven’t fixed the windshield on the Coupe. Hopefully in the next couple weeks.

[Jeff33Ford]

Boy that really is shaping up to a really sweet ride for sure. Nice work for sure.

[Sbda4]

Your truck is looking great! I did find that there were several ways to make the fenders more rigid (reference Greg’s 35 Hot Rod Truck posts #12 and #13). In addition to bolting the front fenders to the SS radiator support (as you did), I also tapped into the grill shell on the front edge and made an angle bracket off chassis near the motor mount. These all helped to improve fender rigidity. On the rear fender I added a steel tube down from the frame at the rear of the back fenders to give a solid mounting point instead of just the bed side panel. When I ran the engine I still had some fender shake, so added reinforcement bars using weld mount studs on the inside of the fenders. After doing all the items I describe in my posts, I am very happy with the fender rigidity. But, as you might guess, I tend to overbuild things to ensure I’m happy with the results.

[wareaglescott]

I think those vents will look great!

[VIRGIN MIKE]

Re ride height: tie rod angle (to rack) increases with ride height, increasing lateral force against rack. Too much lateral force on rack will displace bushing at end passenger side of rack resulting in wheel lash (slop between wheels) - from my experience.
End of rack covered by bellows, hiding this issue. At proper height, tie rods will be about parallel with ground and (and rack)

[edwardb]

Re ride height: tie rod angle (to rack) increases with ride height, increasing lateral force against rack. Too much lateral force on rack will displace bushing at end passenger side of rack resulting in wheel lash (slop between wheels) - from my experience.
End of rack covered by bellows, hiding this issue. At proper height, tie rods will be about parallel with ground and (and rack)

Thanks. At my current ride height (adjusted slightly as I described a couple posts ago) my tie rods are almost exactly parallel to the ground. Good thing I guess. Between the wheels and tires I chose plus the fenders, I didn't have a lot of choices for ride height. It just worked out.

[Pat Landymore]

I’ve been meaning to chime in about rear fender supports.

Here’s a photo of mine. I cheated…just plopped a pop rivet through from the outside as that idea didn’t bother me; seeing as my build is about 1/2 Factory Five and half PatRod. Ha!

In retrospect it would have been quite easy to fibreglass/glue/silicone a little piece of metal inside the fender to make the attachment point invisible….


54E517E5-8354-4763-A835-CBF556879929.jpeg

[edwardb]

Good week even with a little bit limited build time. Mostly spent finalizing the door fit. Other than minor adjustment of the gaps, both sides are done. Nearly every truck build cites some challenges with the door fit. I was not an exception. But wasn’t too bad and satisfied with how they turned out. Once I had the edges trimmed to where they fit in the openings, and the hinges mounted, was able to get both sides to fit almost perfectly except at the bottom rear corners. The door stood proud about 3/8" on both sides. I found that if I moved the lower body out, I could get much of that out. So played with various thickness of spacers under the body mount locations inside the bottom edge of the doors. I was able to get the difference down to under 1/8” on the driver side and less on the passenger side. Wedging in any more spacers didn’t help too much because moving the bottom also moved the center where the latch is. Plus, I was pretty much at the max of what the body was willing to move. Bottom line is I’m easily in the range where a little body filler will even things out. Looking back at the build, recall I fitted and bonded the inner frames into the door shells before getting to this point. The kit comes with templates and is very detailed about how the frames are assembled into the doors. Not a lot of wiggle room. Should I have waited until now to do that step and maybe had a slightly better outcome? I don’t know. I’ve seen builds with way bigger issues than what I ended up with. Whatever, it’s done and all will be good.

To complete the door fitting, installed the latches, outside door handles, and latch strikers along with the frame mounts that hold them. I also stuck some extra D-tube weather stripping around the door opening to make sure the alignment took that into account. I had 4-5 issues along the way that I’m not going to detail. None that difficult, but a reminder that these aren’t Lego models or Ikea furniture. Occasionally takes some creativity and finesse. The doors now open and close nicely and latch the way they’re supposed to. I also installed the exterior mirrors. I placed them where shown on the plans and in pictures. But with only the nuts against the fiberglass on the inside were a little wiggly. I bonded a 1 x 3” piece of 16 gauge steel sheet on the inside of the doors for the nuts to tighten against. Huge difference. Speaking of the mirrors, they’re marked on the bottom LH and RH. But in order to be oriented the way they’re shown (and be able to see out of them…) they have to be mounted on the opposite sides.

These pictures aren’t very enlightening. But what it looks like now.







With that done, addressed what I considered the too floppy rear fenders. Based on ideas posted here and another build thread, added braces behind the wheels. I bonded perforated base studs to the fenders (https://www.mcmaster.com/97590A586/) and 3” pieces of aluminum angle on the inside edges of the body sides to make the attachments more robust. For the brace itself I used 3/4 x 3/16” steel bar from my local big box store. Probably overkill, but with a 90-degree bend at one end, wanted the added beef at the bend. Once the braces were done and installed, a huge improvement.





In my last update I mentioned I had selected and ordered engine cover side vents. They arrived already and the next step will be to cut the openings and install. That will be in my next update including more details about the vents themselves.

[WIS89]

Paul-

Great work as always! I wanted to weigh in on the vents you have chosen; I think they will look great! A very elegant and refined choice.

I also have been meaning to tell you how much I like your wire wheels! I think they look very classy and reflect back to the original trucks of that era. Another nice choice.

Thanks as always for all the detail, and for allowing us to follow along. I am looking forward to seeing all the finishing touches. Keep up the great work!

Regards,

Steve

[edwardb]

Today I finished installing the engine cover vents. Required cutting holes in the covers, obviously, and didn’t want to fill the engine compartment with fiberglass dust. Plus much easier working on them off the build. So removed the fenders and then the covers. Took the opportunity to clean up some panel gaps and add some bumpers around the radiator grill. Significantly improved the fit of the cowl piece. Once I had the location and holes laid out, cut the openings with my Milwaukee 2522-20 cut-off tool. Normally I use an air saw to cut/trim fiberglass. But was able to get much straighter lines with the cut-off tool that only needed a little filing and sanding to clean up. Important since the cuts are visible. The vents come with bridge pieces that are bonded to the inside of the covers, then 10-24 bolts hold the vents. I used 3M HSRF for bonding. Same as multiple instances previously. Roughed up the base of the bridge pieces and the spots on the cover with 40 grit sandpaper. Also drilled some holes in the bridge pieces to add additional strength to the bond. Not expecting them to go anywhere. With that, everything back together. I’m happy with the look and should give good ventilation.

I’ll go light on this because the vents didn't come from a forum vendor. Although I’m not aware any forum vendors sell anything similar. They’re from http://www.streetdreamsbyross.com/. A fellow Michigander. I came across his website and these parts by searching. Quickly answered some questions several weeks ago. Then when I ordered, had them in less than a week. Happy with the quality, although I did have to clean up a couple of the welds where the bridge pieces attach for the best fit. He has finish options. But I ordered them unfinished. Probably will have them powder coated the same bright silver metallic as my frame. Or maybe paint the body color. Not sure. Here are some pictures.









Taking a brief break here. Going to finally replace the windshield in the coupe. Have some help coming over. Then will get it out of winter hibernation and back on the street. Some events are starting next month. Weather permitting.

[Geoff H]

Turned out great. Fits right in with the look of the grill and wire wheels. Nicely done!

[Namrups]

Great pick. It all fits together!

[WIS89]

Paul-

The vents look great. Although you didn't ask for opinions regarding their finish, I would like to affirm the silver option you mentioned. I think they will blend in nicely with the other shiny bits on the truck, while also allowing some contrast that I think is needed on the side of the engine cover. While body-color works, and I have seen it used before, I think a contrast works well and draws the eye to it. I think that long stretch of the body could use some contrast.

I know whatever you do will look great. However, I wanted to throw my thoughts into the mix for consideration. They are worth a whole lot less than $.02, so value it accordingly!

Thanks as always for allowing us to come along for the ride!

Regards,

Steve

[cgundermann]

The vents look great, classy! Wish you luck with changing the windshield with your Daytona...

Chris

[Jeff Kleiner]

...Probably will have them powder coated the same bright silver metallic as my frame. Or maybe paint the body color. Not sure...

I like them and think you should paint them the same red as the rest of the body.

See what I did there

Jeff

[wareaglescott]

What will the finish on the front grill be? Possibly consider matching the side vents to that.

[edwardb]

I like them and think you should paint them the same red as the rest of the body.

See what I did there

Jeff

Yeah, I see what you did. Not sure I want the vents red though.

What will the finish on the front grill be? Possibly consider matching the side vents to that.

I'm not going crazy with it. Thought about taking to a polishing place (have one I've used before) but now that it's mounted, no way I'm taking it back apart again. It's integral to a bunch of stuff including A/C and clearances are all very tight. My thought now is I will polish in place as best I can. Won't be a mirror finish by any means but should have a little bit of shine. For the vents, leaning toward the same powder coat as the chassis which would match reasonably well.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Yeah, I see what you did. Not sure I want the vents red though.

Man, I tried to lay a trap but you sure dodged it well! Kudos

Jeff

[Windsor]

What will the finish on the front grill be? Possibly consider matching the side vents to that.

If we were taking a vote, this would be my choice as well.

[Canyonblue]

Looks great Paul.

Another awesome build.

[edwardb]

This won’t be too much of an update because it’s been a busy week or two with other stuff. Most of the progress has been on some of the small details that take time but aren’t too interesting or photogenic. But did get some things done. Was able to get the final gaps on the doors. I’m very happy with how the doors turned out in general. Just the minor body work required on the rear bottom corners on both sides mentioned previously. They open and close perfectly. With that, the only body work left is final fitting on the hood and installing the hood catch and remote release. Just waiting for a warm day that aligns with my work schedule so I can do that final body work outside. With that done, I will be officially out of the body fitment business on this build. A pretty huge milestone and happy it's behind me.

With the doors fitted, I thought I would tackle the final fit up of the power windows. The main thing missing was how to deal with the inside bottom seal. This has been talked about in other build threads and even in a standalone thread. The outer window seal is one piece around the perimeter of a seal the manual calls cat head weatherstrip. Well, because that’s kind of what the profile looks like. The inner window seal is a different material called felted weatherstrip along the top and sides. But then another piece of the cat head weatherstrip along the bottom. All of this works OK, and the window slides up and down as it should. The problem is that it leaves a 1/4" or so gap between the seal and glass along the inside bottom. I know of at least one build where Factory Five provided new door skins with apparently less of a gap in the cutout. I was too far along, including already installing the inner steel frame, to consider that. For some months I’ve been looking for an alternative seal material that would close the gap. Without any luck. So decided to just go ahead and install the kit provided cat head weatherstrip and live with the gap. I know others have done that. It’s mainly cosmetic because the important sealing is on the outside obviously. Well turned out bad because the material I had left over was about one inch short between the two doors. The kit came with 17 feet, which is close but enough to do everything. Somewhere I must have wasted a little. So dug around in some on-hand boxes and found some trim I already had. Something like this: https://www.mcmaster.com/24175K51/. Cut that to fit and it looked OK but of course with a gap. After a couple days, still didn’t feel like the right solution so back to McMaster. Found a larger version of the famous cat head weatherstrip. https://www.mcmaster.com/12335A51/. Don’t know why I didn’t see that before. Even though yet another $50 purchase (minimum order is 10 feet) I decided to go for it. Arrived today and works well. The gap is closed. No matter the material, the installation requires a joint in the corners. Hard to make them look very nice. But not terrible. I’ll play with them a little more during final assembly after paint and maybe improve a little. But bottom line, this open issue that’s been bugging me for some time is now closed.





While I was working on the doors, decided to locate and install mounting for the check straps. The manual says to use 3/16-inch rivets. Maybe OK. But these door are heavy (over 50 lbs each) so don’t feel too good about only rivets and especially in the fiberglass. I made up and bonded 3/4" by 4" plates with nutserts on the inside edges of the doors so will be held with 10-32 screws. Have similar parts for the inside attachment too. But can’t locate and install those yet. With the truck on the lift, the doors don’t open all the way.

Another thing I decided to do, borrowed from another build (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...-Hot-Rod-Truck, lots of great ideas) was to make panels for inside the cab in front of the doors. Nothing too exotic. But covers up the open chassis and body area and just looks cleaner. Also covers up the wiper motor I have installed in that location on the passenger side. I had some aluminum on hand plus enough leftover carpet that I’ll use during final assembly. Looks like this right now.





I’m in the 14th week of 12-14 weeks leadtime for my seats. So hoping to hear any day now that they’re done and ready for pickup. Getting close to where I need them to finalize the balance of details for the interior. Then I'll be ready to get serious about finding someone to paint this thing.

Off topic, but have mentioned a couple times in this build thread about replacing the broken windshield in the Coupe. Last week that was finally accomplished. Topped off by getting the Coupe out for the first time of the season and attending a cars and coffee last Saturday. Have I mentioned before how much I like that thing? Started immediately and ran and drove perfectly after its winter hibernation. I said a few words about the windshield repair in my Coupe build thread here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post488197. Posted this picture in another thread, but couldn't help posting again. Followed this new Ford GT out of the cars and coffee. Fast company! Also note the clean and unbroken new windshield.

[wareaglescott]

Awesome work figuring out the window gap and nice touch with the footwell side panels.
I bet you and the Ford GT drew quite a lot of attention!

[edwardb]

Another sort of trivial update. But progress, nonetheless. My big accomplishment since the last update is I did the final fitting on the hood and it’s back on the truck. That’s it for body work. Officially as much as I’m going to do. For me anyway a big milestone. I’m reasonably satisfied with how the hood fits. I trimmed almost nothing off the front and back and the gaps are still a little wide. Nothing I can do about that. The LH rear sits just slightly high (you can push it just a little when closed) but nothing I can do about that either. Hopefully it settles a bit over time. My big takeaway from finishing the hood is it’s basically impossible to bolt and adjust the hinges with the engine side covers on. You really have to be able to reach under there and adjust and tighten with the hood closed. Unlike the Roadster where you can snake extensions up to the hood hinges from underneath, not possible with this. So had to remove the engine side covers (again…) and mostly remove the front fenders (again…). Getting good at that. Hopefully only once more for body and paint.

With the hood fitted and done, next up was the hood latch and prop rod. I like the latch the kit provided. A nice bear claw type latch on the firewall and a pin on a plate on the underside of the hood. Then a cable and remote release inside the cab. All good. But getting the locations for the parts on the firewall and the hood is fiddly. That’s the nicest word I can post here. There are adjustments in the parts. But still need to be very close to work properly. I ended up making templates out of .040 aluminum for each part then carefully measuring to determine where to drill. Worked OK but harder and took much longer than it probably should have. Anyway, done and working fine. I put the prop rod connection in the location shown in the picture. Had to cut several inches off the prop rod because it was longer than the hood when stored using the included clip. But still holds the hood up plenty high enough.





Next up started on the interior detailing and finishing. Filled the several gaps that were in the floor panels. Mostly in the front around the firewall and the seat belt attachment tabs. Used Marine Tex epoxy putty that I’ve used on previous builds. Works well. Ran a bead of silicone caulk around the fiberglass transmission tunnel cover where it contacts the floor. It’s still removable if ever needed. The caulking won’t stop that. But seals up any air filtration. I added some pieces of 2-1/4” x 2-1/4” x 21" foam weather strip (the kind used for A/C installations) between the body and the frame on the outer sides of the footboxes. This is the one area that's relatively open from the engine compartment. That plus the kick panel covers shown in the last update should keep things sealed up adequately. Finally, and this is super trivial, I put dabs of silicone in the flats of the steering column where it comes through the bearing on the firewall. I chased some hot air infiltration on previous builds and was surprised how much came through there. Probably because it blows right on the driver’s legs. It's an easy fix, and doesn’t get in the way if you ever need to take it apart.

With that, installed more insulation. I had previously put two layers of Dynamat Dynaliner on the inside of the firewall and part of the footbox fronts. Put two layers on the remaining open sections. Then put a layer of Second Skin Damplifier Pro on the rear wall and the driveshaft cover. Really like this material and would have used it on the firewall. But it’s so aggressively sticky that it’s very difficult to get placed properly into certain locations like the footboxes.

That’s all the insulation I’m going to place until I get my seats and design and fabricate the center console. Too many unknowns yet. Right now, not planning anything additional on the balance of the floor since it's already doubled with form insulation between. I may insulate the transmission tunnel cover and the door sills. But we'll see. My seats are supposed to be done “any day now” so trying to wait patiently for that. But I did decide to go ahead and place my first pieces of carpet. Starting with the rear wall and the footbox fronts. In the past, I’ve recommended and used DAP Outdoor Carpet Adhesive for installing carpet. It allows repositioning and once rolled into place, is very strong. Only downsides are it had to be ordered online, kind of expensive, and very strong solvent smell. Tried to order more for this build and I couldn’t find it available anywhere. Don’t know if it’s been discontinued or what. But definitely not going to happen. The alternative, at least for something similar, is a latex product. Those are much easier to find, e.g. common item in most big box stores, plus don’t have the strong solvent odor. But every review I've read said they were much less tacky and take a long time to set up. But out of desperation found the best reviews for easily obtained material were for Roberts 6700. Available at my local Home Depot. So paid $10 for a quart to test with. Good news. Works great! Put on one surface with a notched knife, just like the DAP product. Then push the carpet into place and roll down. If anything, it’s even more aggressively tacky than the DAP. But still can lift and move as needed. I did the back wall and it turned out fine. I had done a test piece on a block of wood several days ago, and it sufficiently cured overnight. So give this experiment a passing grade and will use it on the balance.





That’s it for now. Really need my seats to get this thing wrapped up! I’ve started making inquiries for body and paint. Realizing now I should have started some time ago because everyone’s really backed up. But no panic. Have the Coupe to drive. Speaking of that, attended our club’s first cars and coffee last Saturday. Second event out and loving it. Especially the heater since it was in the 30’s and my wife was along. Hope to attend another event this coming Saturday. But looks like this outside right now.



It is spring, right? Gotta love Michigan weather. No comments from you spoiled warm weather guys. Supposed to clear out and be in the 60’s and 70’s by this weekend. Hope so.

[Windsor]

Looking forward to the long-term report on the carpet glue.

It is spring, right? Gotta love Michigan weather. No comments from you spoiled warm weather guys. Supposed to clear out and be in the 60’s and 70’s by this weekend. Hope so.

All that white stuff on the ground and trees, looks like Charlie Sheen sneezed.

[edwardb]

Looking forward to the long-term report on the carpet glue.

Not sure what you're expecting. My test piece is over a week old and attempting to pull it off just pulls the backing off the carpet. The stuff is made for outdoor use. I'm confident it's more than up to the task of holding down the carpet inside the cab for the long term. I'm not planning any further testing or reports. I've used the DAP product mentioned for several previous builds. Some going back multiple years. All are holding up fine. For the record, many use spray adhesive, which in my experience is somewhat less permanent than carpet glue. Nothing wrong with spray if that's what you want to use. Also sticks fine for this purpose. I just find the overspray messy and don't want to deal with it. Plus it tends to instantly grab (like contact cement) and I really like being able to reposition the pieces during installation. Especially the large pieces. Allows you get the tightest joints. But everyone has their own preferences. In this case, several good solutions.

Pretty normal snow picture for Michigan BTW. In fact, lighter amount of snow than often the case. The main point is it's April. Not historically late. But not happy to see since I'm anxious to get out driving more. Drug references notwithstanding.

[Windsor]

Not sure what you're expecting.

Compared to your previous favorite product (DAP Outdoor Carpet Adhesive); it's cheaper, easier to find, available in smaller containers, and less obnoxious on the off-gassing.

There's gotta be a catch, nothing comes free, right?

I'm not trying to commit you to an update a year out, I’ll just keep up on your threads to see if any long-term issues come up.

[460.465USMC]

Really appreciate you sharing your experience with the Roberts 6700 product. I'm not at the carpet gluing stage yet, but will get there eventually (at least in theory ). Thank you.

P.S. Snowed here on the first day of Spring, and then again on Easter. Not going to complain though after last year's dry, warm Spring that lead to a scary summer fire season.

[chuck35truck]

This won’t be too much of an update because it’s been a busy week or two with other stuff. Most of the progress has been on some of the small details that take time but aren’t too interesting or photogenic. But did get some things done. Was able to get the final gaps on the doors. I’m very happy with how the doors turned out in general. Just the minor body work required on the rear bottom corners on both sides mentioned previously. They open and close perfectly. With that, the only body work left is final fitting on the hood and installing the hood catch and remote release. Just waiting for a warm day that aligns with my work schedule so I can do that final body work outside. With that done, I will be officially out of the body fitment business on this build. A pretty huge milestone and happy it's behind me.

With the doors fitted, I thought I would tackle the final fit up of the power windows. The main thing missing was how to deal with the inside bottom seal. This has been talked about in other build threads and even in a standalone thread. The outer window seal is one piece around the perimeter of a seal the manual calls cat head weatherstrip. Well, because that’s kind of what the profile looks like. The inner window seal is a different material called felted weatherstrip along the top and sides. But then another piece of the cat head weatherstrip along the bottom. All of this works OK, and the window slides up and down as it should. The problem is that it leaves a 1/4" or so gap between the seal and glass along the inside bottom. I know of at least one build where Factory Five provided new door skins with apparently less of a gap in the cutout. I was too far along, including already installing the inner steel frame, to consider that. For some months I’ve been looking for an alternative seal material that would close the gap. Without any luck. So decided to just go ahead and install the kit provided cat head weatherstrip and live with the gap. I know others have done that. It’s mainly cosmetic because the important sealing is on the outside obviously. Well turned out bad because the material I had left over was about one inch short between the two doors. The kit came with 17 feet, which is close but enough to do everything. Somewhere I must have wasted a little. So dug around in some on-hand boxes and found some trim I already had. Something like this: https://www.mcmaster.com/24175K51/. Cut that to fit and it looked OK but of course with a gap. After a couple days, still didn’t feel like the right solution so back to McMaster. Found a larger version of the famous cat head weatherstrip. https://www.mcmaster.com/12335A51/. Don’t know why I didn’t see that before. Even though yet another $50 purchase (minimum order is 10 feet) I decided to go for it. Arrived today and works well. The gap is closed. No matter the material, the installation requires a joint in the corners. Hard to make them look very nice. But not terrible. I’ll play with them a little more during final assembly after paint and maybe improve a little. But bottom line, this open issue that’s been bugging me for some time is now closed.





While I was working on the doors, decided to locate and install mounting for the check straps. The manual says to use 3/16-inch rivets. Maybe OK. But these door are heavy (over 50 lbs each) so don’t feel too good about only rivets and especially in the fiberglass. I made up and bonded 3/4" by 4" plates with nutserts on the inside edges of the doors so will be held with 10-32 screws. Have similar parts for the inside attachment too. But can’t locate and install those yet. With the truck on the lift, the doors don’t open all the way.

Another thing I decided to do, borrowed from another build (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...-Hot-Rod-Truck, lots of great ideas) was to make panels for inside the cab in front of the doors. Nothing too exotic. But covers up the open chassis and body area and just looks cleaner. Also covers up the wiper motor I have installed in that location on the passenger side. I had some aluminum on hand plus enough leftover carpet that I’ll use during final assembly. Looks like this right now.





I’m in the 14th week of 12-14 weeks leadtime for my seats. So hoping to hear any day now that they’re done and ready for pickup. Getting close to where I need them to finalize the balance of details for the interior. Then I'll be ready to get serious about finding someone to paint this thing.

Off topic, but have mentioned a couple times in this build thread about replacing the broken windshield in the Coupe. Last week that was finally accomplished. Topped off by getting the Coupe out for the first time of the season and attending a cars and coffee last Saturday. Have I mentioned before how much I like that thing? Started immediately and ran and drove perfectly after its winter hibernation. I said a few words about the windshield repair in my Coupe build thread here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post488197. Posted this picture in another thread, but couldn't help posting again. Followed this new Ford GT out of the cars and coffee. Fast company! Also note the clean and unbroken new windshield.

I love your metal work. I am almost finished with my 35. I wish I knew all that I have learned on this forum earlier to make my build better. I used that cat head strip between the dash board and the truck body. It worked great. I have some left over and will use your idea to fill in the gap on my felt strip. I left the gap at the top so it is not as noticeable as at the bottom.

[FFinisher]

I think your windows are in upside down