TXeverydayDad's #11001 Roadster Coyote build - End of the Road

[TXeverydayDad]

The time has finally come to start my own build thread! The intent is to use it as documentation for myself as well as provide an opportunity for family and friends to be a part of the build.

This roadster will be my first build and an opportunity for me to learn as I go, together with my family. The goal is to have a good time together as a family in building the roadster but also an opportunity for the kids (ages 10, 12, 14) to learn practical engineering skills, fabrication and basic tool handling etc. It’ll be a non-donor street cruiser and I have lots of plans and ideas from reading the forums over the past 8 years or so. Exactly which of those plans and ideas that materialize and actually make it on the build remains to be seen.

I’ve been planning for this build on and off for the past 10-15 years and in January I took the plunge and placed the order on Factory Five:

• Complete Roadster Mk4 kit
• IRS + 3.55 rear end
• Power steering kit
• Hydraulic clutch kit
• Vintage gauges
• Dual chrome roll bars
• 18” Halibrands
• Black Wilwood brakes
• Front and rear sway bars
• Carbon Fiber Dash
• Black leather seats
• And a few other options as well

It will be a Coyote build. The plan was going with a gen 3 but given the current circumstances, it’ll likely be a gen 4. A little more intimidating, but probably not too different in the end. It’ll be mated to a TKX, with a hydraulic TOB.

This will be the first time I’m doing anything like this so I’m grateful for any and all input, comments and suggestions, especially when I mount things upside down and inside out...

The completion date was March 23


Stewart Transport picked it up on April 3 and Mark with Stewart Transport showed up in TX on April 11. It was a perfect day!






#11001 is now in the garage and we’ll spend the next few days doing inventory, prepping the body buck and getting to know the roadster. It’ll be exciting to see how everything goes together and get a feel for all the parts.


So the journey begins! 😊

[JayOH]

Congratulations! Looking forward to following along.

[dbo_texas]

Congrats! Looking forward to following along. I'm working on a MK4 in Austin,TX currently. Somewhat similar build as you, just using a T56 instead of TKX but otherwise most of the same stuff (power steering, hydraulic clutch, 18s, CF dash, etc). Good luck on the build.

[Its Bruce]

I recently completed my build in Cypress. Feel free to PM with anything.

[GoDadGo]

Man I Miss The Build Process!

...With that said, Welcome Aboard!

[ydousurf]

I still remember the joy and permanent smile that one gets when they see that beautiful 18 wheeler pull up to your house with your dream inside. Like a child on Christmas Day and getting that “One special gift” from Santa. I still have that feeling forever burned in the ol’ brain pan. I guess it only gets topped when you eventually drive-it for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, count to infinity… times. Anyway, lots of knowledgeable and helpful family out here to help. Enjoy your build TXeverydayDad! We’ll all be following along!

Doug

[460.465USMC]

Welcome aboard, TX! Sounds like you've done a great deal of planning (and dreaming!) for your build. Congrats on the delivery. I hope it's a great family project for you all.

I'm also going with a Coyote on my Coupe build--love the Gen 3 in my Roadster--but a ways out from ordering the motor. I will be closely watching what is available (Gen 4?) once I'm ready to order. I'll stay tuned to see what you come up with.

[TXeverydayDad]

Thanks for the welcome! I really appreciate this community!

Seeing the 18-wheeler pull up really does make you smile.

Regarding the Coyote, it'll be interesting to see what happens, if the gen 3 comes back or if Ford just launches the gen 4 crate. I have no insight or connections at Ford so I'll just have to wait patiently.

/Sam

[TXeverydayDad]

We’ve spent the past few days going over inventory and finding storage spaces for all the boxes in the garage. The rollbars are the only backordered items, and there were a few minor items missing, so it’s all good. It was actually a fun experience to go through all the pieces and both see and handle them first hand.

A heads-up to first time roadster builders and something I wasn’t aware of or had seen in any other posts earlier. One corner on the fuel tank is bent up for tire clearance, and is not due to transport damage. Just an FYI that I haven’t seen mentioned before.


We also built a body buck with a shelf for holding the carpet pieces flat and store the trunk, doors and hood. The plan is to hoist it up in the garage and get it out of the way. The buck sits on the frame dolly so I can move it around easily, and the design is based on edwardb’s.






A few surprises – this was the first time handling the body and lifting it off the frame was an experience. The body is both firmer, yet more flexible than what I was expecting. The headers were smaller than I expected while the rims were both wider and lighter.

[Ashaw65]

The blog and pictures are very helpful. Thanks for posting.

[TXeverydayDad]

My pleasure Ashaw65. This forum and its very detailed build threads have been very helpful for my planning and now act as great references as I build my own, so just glad to pass it forward. I expect this build thread will also be helpful to myself as I progress and forget what I've done in earlier steps...

[gbranham]

Congrats! I have that exact same white folding table, and used it to lay out the dozens and dozens of nuts, bolts and screwbags, in numerical order. Helped a lot!

Greg

[TXeverydayDad]

We’ve spent the past 2 weekends drilling holes. I’m taking a page out of wareaglescott’s playbook, fitting and drilling all the panels as I remove them, in preparation for powder coating. The panels are generally well cut and fit well apart from a few ‘transport’ screws that were quite poorly placed, especially on the firewall.



I followed the manual for installation order, starting with F-panels, firewall and passenger footbox. Took a lot longer than expected. A combination of the kids and I getting used to the process, finding the optimum speed for proper drilling and aligning the holes for both access and aesthetics. Moved on to the driver’s footbox and then the rest of the cockpit which went a lot faster. Now only the 2 large trunk pieces remain to be completed. I can highly recommend boelube lubricant. Makes a significant difference when cutting through the steel.









I will be adding a drop trunk. I lifted the tank in place to get an idea of the dimensions and settled on 24”x14.5”x5”. Got a 2’x4’ aluminum sheet and will fabricate the box out of that. Planning to put my basic sheet metal brake to use and we’ll see how it turns out.



A question that I had and that has come up a few times is how many clecos you 'need' for the build. If you’re fitting all the panels and want all of them mounted at the same time, you’ll need more than 50. With 50, as I have, you just need to disassemble finished sections as you go.

[TXeverydayDad]

The past two weeks have been focused on completing the panel drilling and dry fitting the drop trunk. So far so good but it's a lot of panels...


My design for the drop trunk made installation a little more difficult than what it needed to be, but it goes in and fits.






We also had some family help to lift the body buck into its storage location, until it’s needed again. A little cumbersome but it’s tucked away and secured now.


Next is prepping/deburring the panels for powder coat and taking them in to be coated. Then we can finally start building the car, and not just removing stuff.

[TXeverydayDad]

Well, it’s been about a 2 month break in the building, dealing with a death in the family overseas and then some vacation, but now we’re back at it. The time away prompted a tweak to my drop trunk design to make assembly and access easier. All the panels are now completed and have been dropped off for powder coat along with a few extra pieces, making it 68 pieces in total. I was considering either satin black to match the frame or a darker grey and I ended up going with Black Wrinkle, which is a structured black that almost looks grey in the sunlight. Not that many panels will see any light, but that’s besides the point. We’ll see how it turns out.



While waiting for the panels to return, we started preparing the rear diff and control arms. My diff came coated from F5 and filled with fluid. F5 support said it’s only a small amount of transport fluid and that it needs to be filled, but it’s filled to just below the top fill screw. I’ll put a call into Ford Racing to see what they say. It’s a small cost to drain/re-fill, but I hate wasting perfectly good fluids, if it can be avoided.

The holes were drilled out as required and I’m very grateful for the tip to use a cordless drill set at #1 so when the bit catches, it doesn’t twist your arm off. It was quick work with some cutting fluid. We greased and installed the bushings/sleeves and then my son, brother and brother-in-law helped out in getting the center section installed. I had expected this install to be hard, but it was in and torqued in less than 5 minutes. Almost a little anti-climactic, but the center section is now officially the first part mounted to the car - progress! The breather tube has also been installed after the picture was taken.







After this, the metric studs from the rear hub were replaced with SAE studs. A smooth process with an impact gun, but I stripped the threads off one stud because I used the same nut for too many studs. Easy fix. There was no chance I would be able to torque the studs to 100ft-lbs, so that's on my list of items to complete later, but they are pulled tight enough at the moment.



Cutting off the spindle ‘ear’ was something I hadn’t been looking forward to. Chopping up a brand new cast aluminum piece just feels wrong. Anyway, I used an airsaw and then cleaned the cut with a bench sander. Turned out well. Then drilled out the holes with the same process as the center section.



It's fun to be back at building!

[TXeverydayDad]

Continuing the prep work in anticipation of the powder coating being done. Started with the Toe arms. Spent some time looking at the mix of strangely labeled bolts and nuts that came in box 2. Everything was accounted for during inventory, but the labels on the bags (hand-written from F5) in which they were placed made little sense and caused more confusion than help. But just disregard the labels and measure the bolts and all is fine. The toe arms and control arms went together quickly. Used a threaded rod with washers/nuts to spread the flanges to fit as well.





Then we tackled the front upper control arms. I had to shorten the rear to be able to reach the general measurements. I took off about 1/8” from both the screws and adjusting sleeve and now have a little more room for adjustments. It took a long time to saw through the hardened screws with a hacksaw and carbide blade, and especially disheartening as the first 3 screws are hollow, while the 4th, attached to the balljoint plate, is solid. Took as long as the other 3 combined, but it’s done now. Squared everything off with the bench sander and calling it done.





We then spent some time with the Wilwood brakes. Attached and safety wired the hats/rotors. This was my first time doing safety wire and it went surprisingly well. It could probably look better but they’ll function as intended.



The powder coated panels should be ready any day now. I got some black rivets from McMaster for the engine bay, which I hope will look good with the panels, as it might be too much of a contrast with the regular rivets. We'll see.

[TXeverydayDad]

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but exciting progress! The powder coated panels came back and look great. I really like the wrinkled look. It has a nice sparkle in the sun but looks almost matt in regular light. I added rivnuts to the F-panels, siliconed and riveted them in place with black rivets. Looks good.



The control arms installed quite easily. I had to spread the tabs with a spreader rod and add a little gentle persuasion with a rubber mallet but everything went together well.

I’d seen a question about the snap rings included with the front control arms and where they go, so I took a picture of it. I believe it goes below the ball joint on the front lower control arm. The UCA ball joints went in smoothly as well. No issues with the supplied parts.



The front spindles and springs went in without drama. However, no matter how much I prepared and read up on the orientation of the steering arms, I still managed to install them in the wrong direction. Of course I didn’t notice this until later when I went to install the steering rack, after I had torqued the axle nut. Amazon to the rescue and delivered the one-time use axle nuts 12 hours later. Living close to an Amazon distribution center sometimes has its privileges. I switched them around and now everything fits together. For those that have a mind that works like mine, the steering arms need to be pointed up and out.





I centered the steering rack, turned the tie rod ends to equal threads on both sides, and attached to the arms, everything at the lengths specified in the manual and the front seems to be relatively straight/parallel. This should be good until alignment later down the road. An interesting side note, when I first installed the tie rod ends I couldn’t reach the specified length, but when I switched them left to right, it magically screwed further in, with movement to spare, so I didn’t have to shorten the rods.



The rear CV axles, spindles, hubs and springs mounted up quite easily. The CV axles went in with a satisfying sound and feel and is seated with the correct gaps on both sides. The rear end is beefy! I like it! I also installed the front and rear swaybars. They took longer than expected but they are in.

[RogerRoger88]

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but exciting progress! The powder coated panels came back and look great. I really like the wrinkled look. It has a nice sparkle in the sun but looks almost matt in regular light. I added rivnuts to the F-panels, siliconed and riveted them in place with black rivets. Looks good.



The control arms installed quite easily. I had to spread the tabs with a spreader rod and add a little gentle persuasion with a rubber mallet but everything went together well.

I’d seen a question about the snap rings included with the front control arms and where they go, so I took a picture of it. I believe it goes below the ball joint on the front lower control arm. The UCA ball joints went in smoothly as well. No issues with the supplied parts.



The front spindles and springs went in without drama. However, no matter how much I prepared and read up on the orientation of the steering arms, I still managed to install them in the wrong direction. Of course I didn’t notice this until later when I went to install the steering rack, after I had torqued the axle nut. Amazon to the rescue and delivered the one-time use axle nuts 12 hours later. Living close to an Amazon distribution center sometimes has its privileges. I switched them around and now everything fits together. For those that have a mind that works like mine, the steering arms need to be pointed up and out.





I centered the steering rack, turned the tie rod ends to equal threads on both sides, and attached to the arms, everything at the lengths specified in the manual and the front seems to be relatively straight/parallel. This should be good until alignment later down the road. An interesting side note, when I first installed the tie rod ends I couldn’t reach the specified length, but when I switched them left to right, it magically screwed further in, with movement to spare, so I didn’t have to shorten the rods.



The rear CV axles, spindles, hubs and springs mounted up quite easily. The CV axles went in with a satisfying sound and feel and is seated with the correct gaps on both sides. The rear end is beefy! I like it! I also installed the front and rear swaybars. They took longer than expected but they are in.

Congrats on your build! Yet another build thread for me to follow and learn from.

One question. You put rivnuts on the vertical flange of the F-panels. What was the purpose of this? Not questioning, just trying to learn.

Thanks,
Jesse

[RogerRoger88]

Nevermind about the rivnuts. Found the answer on EdwardB's build thread (post #9).

[TXeverydayDad]

Yeah, that’s where I got my inspiration from, making the splash guards removable.

[TXeverydayDad]

It’s been quite a while since my previous update. We’ve been spending all available time progressing on the build instead of updating the build thread…but here goes. We mounted the brakes and the Wilwoods went on smoothly and look really good. No hick-ups during installation, which was great.





We then started assembling the pedal box and the handbrake handle while I’m mentally preparing to install the brake and fuel lines. The plan is to use the provided brake lines but I’m going with 3/8” NiCopp for the hard fuel lines. Don’t know why the task seems daunting but it does. The pedal box came pretty much assembled, I just added the brake and clutch switches, shortened the brake m/c rods and everything went together well. This is the first time I see a balance bar so played around with that a little and it seems good to go. I still have to install the upper clutch switch but will do that when I get the clutch m/c. I’ll be using a hydraulic release bearing and needed a 13/16” master cylinder. I’ve just added the part to my engine order with Mike Forte to be delivered as soon as the control packs and Moroso oil pickup is ready.



I was a little concerned about the brake and clutch pedals having some side to side play, but that seems to be within tolerances and not an issue.

We also installed the flexlines to the brakes. We fastened the brackets and got the adaptors set up quickly. We followed Wilwood’s instructions for installing the caliper inlet fitting, and they mention using PTFE tape. Turns out that’s not a good idea. After tightening the fitting to finger-tight we then tried to clock the fitting in the desired orientation, while turning the fitting between 1.5 to 3 turns. I got just past 2 turns, needing to go another ¼ turn for the right alignment and ended up rounding the fitting. Most here on the forum recommend liquid thread sealant instead. I tried that on the other calipers and that worked like a charm. I used vice grips to get the rounded fitting out and summit delivered a new fitting a few days later. All installed, clearance checked and all is good. But don’t use tape!

[TXeverydayDad]

Next up was installing the steering column/shaft. After some test fitting, we mounted the bearing on the inside of the footbox, with the set screws on the inside as well. It gave the best clearance and enabled us to disconnect the lower steering rods without removing the upper. It may or may not be needed but feels good to have the option to do it. At this point we just had to loosely mount the steering wheel and put the seat in, just to get a feel of what’s come. We took turns sitting behind the wheel making engine sounds… 😊 Good times!




I was pleasantly surprised that the foot box feels bigger than what I expected. At 6’2” with size 12 feet, I was a little concerned about space, but I think it’ll be good. Still deciding on whether to have a dead pedal or not. I like the idea of a dead pedal but it’s also nice to be able to stretch out my left leg once you’re cruising. Another idea is to put in a ‘heel’ rest to provide a solid pivot point in front of the pedals. Not sure if it’s a good idea and will experiment with this later on.

We used the provided firewall and fabricated a firewall support bracket to stiffen it up some. Since we purchased a brake to make the drop trunk, I figured we’d get as much out of it as possible. And it’s a really simple piece for the kids to learn on as well.



Then onto the fuel and brake lines. My first attempts at bending the lines turned out to be a lot more fun and satisfying than expected. I started with the 3/8 NiCopp fuel lines. I bought 3 x 60” sections and installed the two main feed/return runs along the 4” tube and up into the engine bay, then cut the 3^rd in half to extend towards the tank/filter. I’ll add braided lines for the remaining distances once I have the tank/hanger/filter/regulator in place. All coming along with my engine package hopefully in the not too distant future.

[TXeverydayDad]

With boosted confidence, I moved on to the brake lines and they went in easier than expected. A good sense of accomplishment when I managed to get some nice loops. I didn’t want to cut and flare so I just used the kit provided lines, with some creative loops/shapes. As for routing, I pulled the rear lines along the 4” tube to the front, up by the front control arm under the F-panel and then back to join the front brake line into the foot-box. I had originally thought about running the rear brake line up and inside the footbox but with the added coyote gas pedal bracket and the line probably about 2-3” too short for my planned run, I figured I’d just go the long way around. I purchased an identical 60” line at Advanced Auto and it turned out ok, and I’m happy with it. I saw a tip about starting with the rear lines since they'll be the least visible on the finished build, so that's what I did.

Rear left to right




Rear driver side


Rear to front, driver side




Up behind the F-panel on driver's side


Then back along the 3/4 tube together with the front brake lines into the footbox

[TXeverydayDad]

The front brake lines are routed as most others. Since I have the Breeze battery box, I routed the line in front of the X-brace. I’ve seen some posts about exhaust header hangers, which would be mounted where the front brake line runs along the ¾ tube. If I decide to put the hangers in, I’ll figure out a way to mount them then. Still need to rivet the clamps in place, but want to bleed the brakes and ensure no leaks/cracked lines etc first.

Passenger front


Across X-brace


Around and connect into the driver side T, then back to the footbox.




And connect to the master cylinders

[TXeverydayDad]

This weekend we mounted the reservoirs, with the intention of using a single reservoir for both m/c as described in the manual. I’ve since managed to get a hold of extra reservoirs and will probably add another so I have separate reservoirs for each m/c. With the balance bar brake set-up, it will not make any difference in redundancy/safety (as has been discussed in many different threads on the forum) but it actually comes down to aesthetics for me. I think having 3 reservoirs looks better than having only 2, especially at the spacing the provided bracket has. I’ll just need to make a new bracket and offset the brackets and it should look better.



I used the supplied plastic bulkhead fitting for going into the footbox. I tried drilling holes for the lines in the small cover plate for the clutch opening but couldn't get grommets on with enough material left to have a secure pass-through. Hopefully these plastic pieces will hold up.



The lines had not been tightened down when the picture was taken.



I then attempted to bleed the brakes with a power bleeder. Pro tip…tighten all your fittings before trying to bleed the system. Ask me how I know...After that, it didn't take long to get a solid pedal. Fluid quickly got to all corners, and I bled each corner a few times. Feels good. I then pushed as hard as I could on the pedal for 1 minute to check for any strange pedal movements or leaks and then repeated the test 24hours later. Pedal is good and I’m satisfied with the outcome. This milestone also made it possible to torque the rear axle nuts. I believe it was 98ft-lb + 45* turn. Ended up being a little more than 400ft-lbs, according to my torque wrench. I put witness marks on the axle/nuts so any movement should be easy to see.

It seems that the Moroso oil pick-up is now available for the Gen 4X Coyote, so I'm expecting my engine, control pack, transmission, clutch m/c and TOB to be shipped in the next week or two. Exciting progress! Still need to figure out a solution to the gen 3 Coyote headers that I have, but there's plenty more to do before that becomes an issue.

[TXeverydayDad]

It’s been a long time since the last post. Lots of things going on in the background and we’re making steady progress.

We managed to get a hold of some extra reservoirs from another member and decided to modify our brake set-up to have individual reservoirs for each master cylinder. Trying to keep the total distance from the firewall to the furthest reservoir to less than 12” meant a new bracket was needed. We staggered the clamps to get equal spacing and I’m happy with the end result. I added a third bulkhead fitting and re-routed the lines, trying to not make a mess with the brake fluid. Worked out pretty well and the brakes are now re-bled and ready to go. I’m still missing my clutch m/c, which will be delivered with my engine package, so I hope to get that delivered soon.





Next to tackle was the fuel tank. I’m waiting on the hanger and pump so can’t finish anything, but we test-mounted the tank. Straightened the bent seams and then massaged the ¾” vertical tubes with a dead blow hammer to get enough clearance for the tank to fit flush. The straps connect up and I’m happy with the fitment. The tank is now removed until the parts show up.

We finished up some other pending tasks as well. Added the drive shaft adapter to the IRS, test-mounted the radiator, attached the fan and Breeze shroud.



I’m starting to think about the chassis wiring and dashboard layout and desired functionality. We haven’t made any final decisions yet so I’m gleaning the forum for ideas. The main plan is a competition layout with some/all of the below:

• Vintage gauges and switches
• IE427 turn signal
• Seat heaters switches
• Wiper switch
• Undecided on key or start button (or both)
• Undecided on Master disconnect (under the dash – into engine bay)
• Potential extra toggle on clutch switch (as security measure)
• 12V and USB outlets under the dash
• Maybe a magnetic phone holder (magnet behind dash)?

Lots of questions and not many answers yet. I’m very much in the camp of keeping it simple, but having a few steps for extra safety could be good. I’ll let the process take a little time and we’ll see where we land.

[PNWTim]

Looks like you are doing good work. I wanted to comment on your last bullet regarding the magnetic phone holder. I have been musing on this as well but looking to integrate a charger. Thinking about installing in the transmission tunnel (totally unclear as to how) but it would be nice to eliminate cords and have holding/charging capability bundled into one. Maybe something like this depending on the thickness of upholstery:

https://www.amazon.com/LISEN-Magsafe...3IGK0NJQ9&th=1

Eliminate the actual holder and figure out a way to mount directly to sheet metal for a super low profile?

[TXeverydayDad]

Thanks! That’s an interesting idea. I’ve been considering a similar approach with magnetic cupholders as well. Will require some more thinking.

[TXeverydayDad]

I spent several hours with the carbon dash, trying to mount the glove box. It seems that the factory drilled holes for mounting the hinges are off by about ¼”.



On top of that, one hinge bracket was not bent well and was about ¼” longer/higher than the other. I made new holes in the plastic glove box bucket to match the holes in the carbon fiber dash and then re-worked the hinges to match. Once the hinges were in, the slots in the aluminum backing turned out to be too short and had to be elongated as well.





I painted the parts, glued it all together and installed the lock and hinges. Nothing difficult, but more work than expected to just assemble the glovebox. I’ve informed F5, so they are aware of the hole mis-alignments etc as I heard someone else have a similar problem, incase it’s a batch issue, and not just a one-off.

We then clamped the dash into place and mocked it up for the first time. This is just a quick layout by hand to get an idea of where the gauges and switches could intuitively go for us. With this basic layout, I’ll start measuring and aligning everything.



I’ve just received my i.e.427 turn signal unit as well as some Black Friday deals (wwk-2 universal wiper kit, UPR expansion tank and lizard skin). I’ll be changing out the stalk on the turn signal and then figure out what functions I want on the stalk vs on the dash. I’m finding this creative layout part of the process surprisingly hard. The fact that I have a blank dash, with unlimited options for switches/dials/controls and the ability to add any functionality I want is almost leading to decision fatigue. I’m trying to keep it simple, but then I have (or see on this forum) good ideas that could be added. I’ll just allow it to take some time.

[TXeverydayDad]

It’s been a while since the last update as we have enjoyed Christmas and New Years with family, while making steady progress on the build.

We changed out the turn signal stalk according to Frank’s video and it turned out great. Feels and looks much better than the standard VW plastic stalk and I’m happy with it. The stalk horn switch will be changed to the high-beams, through a relay, to get a flash-to-pass function, in order to keep the main controls as similar to a daily driver as possible.



I loosely mounted the steering wheel to continue trying out the dash layout. Minor changes here and there, and I think I’m happy with it now. Just need to measure and confirm placements and distances between switches etc, so they all fit behind the dash. The headlight switch is especially large, so I had to increase the distance between the headlight and wiper switches. Glad I caught it now before I started drilling the carbon fiber dash. We also installed a grab bar, a basic 12” chrome bar from Summit (Eddie Marine). It fits well. Now I just need to fabricate a bracket to hold it. Some good ideas on the forum, just need to decide what direction I want to go in and if I want to do some welding. It’s been 18 years since my last weld…





Next up was the radiator, which was easy to mount. We have the Breeze lower mount, but used the original upper mounts, with the addition of some rubber/vibration absorbent spacers (ie. simply a cut fuel hose). I’ve seen some concerns with tank leaks probably derived from the radiator being too tightly fastened to the frame. Hopefully the rubber isolators will take up some of the twisting momentum but that theory remains to be seen. As seen in the picture, I had originally mounted it with 2 bolts on each top mount in an effort to spread the load a bit more, but that probably counteracts the function of the rubber isolators, so I will only use 1 bolt for final assembly.





Wiring continues to be on my mind. I’ll be adding a reverse light, 3^rd brake lights, trunk light, seat heaters, wipers, separate ignition and fuel pump covered toggle switches and a start button. I’ll wire the start button in parallel with the regular key so it should work either way. It’ll add a few extra potential failure points, but the kids really wanted a start button, so that’s what we’ll do.

I then got a call from Mike Forte...exciting times ahead!

[TXeverydayDad]

Look what showed up! My Coyote 4x, TKX, Centerforce clutch, Quicktime bellhousing, Moroso oil pan, Tilton HRB and 13/16 master cylinder, Holley Sniper hanger and 340lph fuel pump all neatly packaged in a large crate! With the help of a friend, the kids and the engine lift, we unloaded the engine from the truck and unboxed everything.







It went faster than expected so we couldn’t just leave it on the stand on the floor. The motor mounts went on and we just dropped it in. It’s a tight fit for sure, but it went in pretty easy (without transmission, headers, alternator etc), even with the radiator mounted. I’ll remove the radiator for future engine installs to prevent any unnecessary accidents.



I took some measurements and photos, laid out the wire harness and got a rough estimate of where I wanted to mount the fusebox and computer. As well documented, there’s lots of space behind the motor.



We then pulled the engine out again and called it a night. I’ve since spent time just getting to know the motor, the wiring and parts that came with the control pack, figuring out a plan of attack for mounting everything together. This will also be the first time I assemble a motor/transmission, so thinking through and learning with each step as I go.

[TXeverydayDad]

A short update. I got the 13/16 master cylinder as part of my engine delivery, so decided it would be good to complete the pedal box before tackling the engine. The Coyote DBW accelerator is very big! I followed the instructions to shorten the pedal, turn the pedal face 180 degrees and remove/reshape the existing mounting points. I had to sand off more than I expected in order to get it to fit with the F5 mount. It a snug fit, but feels solid when mounted and matches the other pedals pretty good. The pictures are from early in the process and I had to take off significantly more than what is seen here, and it required some shaping to get it to clear the steering column.











Then I buttoned up the clutch, cut off 5/8” of the m/c rod, mounted it and coyote clutch switch. Seems to be good and I will make final adjustments when I get the transmission installed and the clutch bled.

[TXeverydayDad]

We started preparing the fuel tank for installation. The Coyote 4x requires fuel at 175l/hr at 65psi, so we went with a Holley 345l/hr pump and hanger from Forte. Probably overkill but recommended by Mike so I’m comfortable with that. The hanger/pump went in easily and fits well.





The bent tank edges were straightened, the carrying straps bolt loop widened to fit the bolts, the tank supports bent/straightened and the tank was mounted. I changed out the filler neck grommet to a Ford OEM grommet (F4ZZ-9072-DA) as recommended and installed the filler neck. I also did the mandatory Kleiner mod.





We installed the fuel filter and then moved on to fuel line connectors and installed the regulator. I made a new bracket for the regulator, attached it to the underside of the 4x4 tube and spaced it out with room for the wiring harness to run behind it. I decided to go with Dorman nylon lines (800-075), quick disconnect fittings (800-082) and compression fittings on the hardlines (800-035). It’s good enough for OEMs so it’ll be good enough for me.

[TXeverydayDad]

I measured out the lines, clamped them down using the flare tube holder in a vice, and pressed the fitting into the line with a caulking gun. I then gently shaped the lines as required, heating them using steam from a kettle. I’m happy with the outcome and it feels very solid. I’ll test the fuel system before dropping the engine in, to check for leaks and line integrity.





We finally made our own fuel tank breather, using an extra brake reservoir. Drilled the lid, and used an aquarium charcoal filter ($6 for a pack of 3) from a local pet store as the medium. It comes ready in a pouch, so just stuff it in and you’re good to go. The pouches we bought were a little too big so had to open and pour out some charcoal, but zip tied it back together and all is well. We’ll mount it once we get the trunk aluminum installed.

[TXeverydayDad]

We finally started dressing the engine, but ran into some issues with the KRC power steering. The kit delivered from F5 were missing some hardware and the Gen 4x is also slightly different from previous versions. One of the spacers also needed to be shortened to 5/8”. KRC were quick to support with new hardware to get it properly installed.





I also ran into an interesting issue when mounting the pulley – the pulley would wobble, moving about 0.025” side to side when spinning. Very strange for a machined piece of aluminum. Turns out that even with the centering ring, I still managed to get all the tolerances stacked up in one direction, which led to the wobble. With some wiggling, the pulley now rotates with a 0.008” difference from center, which should be acceptable. One hole is also elongated to handle 4 bolt patterns instead of 3. Don’t start with that hole, when mounting the pulley.

With the pulley in place, we got the alternator, pump/reservoir and belts installed. KRC confirmed that it’s ok if the reservoir ‘leans’ a little to the left (towards the line port), as long as the reservoir is fully topped up, ie the fluid level a finger tip below the cap.



Next we changed out the oil pan. The crate engine came filled with oil so we drained that in clean containers. It is perfectly clean oil so we’ll re-use that oil. I also have break-in oil so I’ll probably use that for the first few miles. The stock pan came off easily. The pick-up was attached with 2 screws, with an o-ring to seal, instead of the push-in seal mentioned in the manual. The cap bolt on the engine is the same size as the parts provided by Moroso so I just attached the new pick-up and confirmed that the pick-up is within the tolerance distance (1/8”- 3/16”) to the bottom of the pan. The OEM sealant held the original gasket in place after the pan was removed so I just mounted the Moroso pan with the existing gasket. I torqued the accessible bolts and tightened the others to a similar ‘feel’. The torque turned out to be pretty much as tight as I could pull with a small 10mm wrench. The question is whether to fill the engine with oil now or wait until it’s installed.

[TXeverydayDad]

This will be a bit of a summary post of the past several weeks/months of wiring work, thinking, planning and executing.

I’ve dropped the engine in twice to measure and try different routing options and have decided on a path forward. I don’t have everything figured out completely yet, like the O2 sensors, but will find good path for them when I have the headers in. I’m still waiting on a solution for the new header pattern for the Gen 4x Coyote.

My goal was to make the wiring as clean as possible while maintaining simplicity, both for install and troubleshooting. I also wanted to minimize the number of fire wall run-throughs. I started with installing a master disconnect switch (RF MS-1) and then ran the main Ford harness through the center of the firewall. The Ford fusebox is mounted engine side, next to the opening on the driver’s side, tapped into the 4x4 tube, with the harness running behind the fuel regulator on the opposite side to the Ford PCM. The PCM is mounted on the passenger side, just infront of the passenger footbox.



The battery power cable runs straight to the disconnect switch. I broke into the Ford harness, cut and sealed the CAN bus wires and pulled the orange fan wire and blue start wire all the way back to the master disconnect/Coyote ground wire and ran them all together with the starter power wire (from the switched side) going forward on the passenger side of the engine bay.



The blue start wire and starter power cable terminate just before the engine mount while the ground wire continues to the main battery negative terminal and common ground connection. The fan wire continues all the way to the fan directly on the passenger side. Exact routing to be decided. I added split loom and wrapped it in non-adhesive harness tape, which was surprisingly pleasant to work with.

Moving on to the RF harness, I completely removed the alternator wire from the RF harness, and ran it directly through a 100A fuse to the alternator from the switched side of the master disconnect. The 100A fuse might be too small for the alternator, but I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. Easy to swap out if it pops. I re-used the braided shield from the Coyote start wire for the alternator wire. I also pulled the switched +12V through the driver top footbox, at the same place as the clutch hydraulic line, to a future power block inside the firewall and will connect all the power for the RF harness there.

From the non-switched (HAAT) side of the master disconnect, I crimped short 4awg cables to the Coyote fusebox, through the provided 250A fuse, according to the Ford instructions.

[TXeverydayDad]

For the rear harness, I cut a hole in the firewall between the driver foot box and the fuse box. I’ve seen others go into the cockpit just below the 4x4 but I was concerned that it would affect leg/knee space so chose to go through the firewall instead. I’ll add a few more wires into the rear harness for a reverse light (from ign), trunk light (from batt) and 3^rd brake lights. My plan is to integrate the sending unit harness through the same firewall opening as the rear harness as well as it would align very well with the engine that way. Remains to be seen.

I routed the rear harness along the top driver side of the transmission tunnel, and up along the bottom of the trunk.



I’m planning on integrating the reverse lights and 3rd brake lights into the roll bars, so I split the harness into 3 legs; left, right and continuing straight towards the rear. I planned to re-route the license plate light wires together with the right leg but the existing wire junction in the RF harness from the tail-lights leg to the license plate was further down the harness. I didn’t want to redo the RF split so just pulled it as far ‘up’ as possible and routed it separately to the passenger rollbar. I’ll pull the wires through the trunk floor just behind the roll-bar leg.







I also shortened the fuel sender and fuel pump legs some, but kept them long enough to be able to leave them connected and still drop the tank all the way to the ground. The Holley pump didn’t have a connector so I used shrink-wrapped spade connectors. I then wrapped the entire rear harness in non-adhesive tape, added clamps as needed and consider the rear harness done.



A question: Has anyone had issues with the rear harness vibrating against the fuel tank?

[chipo100@gmail.com]

Looking good! following

[Blitzboy54]

A question: Has anyone had issues with the rear harness vibrating against the fuel tank?

No, mine lays on the tank and never had an issue. I secured things generally with zip ties but I have never heard of this being a problem.

[Nigel Allen]

Most of these cars do not do high enough mileage to result in rub-throughs on poorly secured wiring, but why find out? Secure the wiring to a smooth surface so that it can't move around or vibrate. If there is nothing close by to fasten the loom to, create a 'tie rail' or similar, to cable tie the loom to.

Cut a piece of 10mm aluminium tube to length.
Squash each end flat, and drill a hole in the flattened ends. Secure to chassis with fasteners in the recently drilled holes. A quick and easy way to fashion a tie rail.


HTH,

Nige.