Gbranham's MkIV 427/IRS/TKX Build Thread...Spark Plug Shenanigans

[gbranham]

I let my kiddo drive the car around the block today. I sure looks awesome cruising down the block. The deep rumble of the 427, even in 1st gear, sound awesome!

Greg

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[BornWestUSA]

I'm happy (and extremely relieved) to report that I've dodged a huge bullet with my head bolt faux pas. I received my new FMS head bolts (they're actually ARP bolts, direct from FMS), and they are indeed about 3/4" longer than what I was using. I've swapped out all the bolts on the driver's side head, torqued and reassembled. Fired right up, and I let it come up to temp. No leaks from the rear corner of the head. Whew! I did notice that when I was removing the old head bolts one at a time, replacing with new bolts as I went, in proper torque sequence, the upper rearmost head bolt under the valve cover was probably only torqued to 30 ft-lbs. Not sure why what was; maybe I simply missed torquing that bolt fully when I built the engine, but I can't imagine I did. Maybe because it was only engaging a few threads, and due to replacing the bolt right below it with a proper length bolt, torqued to 100 ft-lbs, the top one was no longer tight. Either way, all's well so far, and I'm going to move on to dropping the body on this weekend temporarily, to temporarily install the front splash guards and to rough-align the sidepipes with the body cutouts. I'll then remove the body and fab up some additional support hangers above the exhaust ball joint, as demonstrated here several times on the forum. After that, I'll get it off to alignment, then drop the body on for hopefully the last time until I get it to that dude in Bloomington, Indiana, hopefully later this year when he's got time for me.

That leak was a blessing in disguise. I would've otherwise not realized I had the wrong head bolts until later, with a painted body and truly blown head gaskets.

Whew!

Greg

Did the bolts come with any instructions? I thought they were torque to yield, or "angle" torque, not just "100 ft lbs"

Tks!!

[PMD24]

Thanks for sharing. Very special indeed.

[gbranham]

Did the bolts come with any instructions? I thought they were torque to yield, or "angle" torque, not just "100 ft lbs"

Tks!!

No instructions. I use ARP fasteners, which are not torque-to-yield. ARP, as with most of their fasteners of this size, come with assembly grease to ensure proper torque and to prevent galling.

Greg

[gbranham]

My kiddo took ME for a ride at Golden Hour tonight. Pretty special feeling. After that, he drove me into town in the GT350 to Casey's to get energy drinks for the morning. I kind of love that my 20 year old has known how to drive a manual transmission since he was 14. Life is good.

Greg

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[danmas]

Great picture and so fun to see those skills pass generations….

[Higgybulin]

Styling! Its a dying art for the younger generations. My daughter wanted a jeep when she was young, I said it had to be a manual. She said best decision ever because no one asks to borrow her vehicle!! She is 33 now and still has the jeep. Looks like ya brought him up right!
Higgy

[Blitzboy54]

When I was a kid I would say only 20% of us knew how to drive a stick. Incidentally my parents had a 5 speed mini van. Must have been the only one in the country.

One of my daughters friends asked her in high school how she drives her car without a backup camera.

Life comes at you fast.

[Mike.Bray]

One of my daughters friends asked her in high school how she drives her car without a backup camera.

I can actually relate. I recently acquired a 68 Camaro and definitely miss my backup camera! Going to have to fix that

[gbranham]

We have 85 summer associates at our firm, most of them 2L law students. One of them listed in their bio under "things people don't know about me"..."I know how to drive stick". So funny.

[gbranham]

I've been taking successively longer drives as I get confident with the car. Just took a 15 mile drive. Just wow! First off, the Toyo R888r tires are ridiculous. Its cloudy and cool today, probably 60 degrees, and they stick like velcro. Second, holy cow...this engine makes silly torque. I probably gave it 3/4 throttle or better in 2nd and 3rd, and before I knew it, I was doing 100mph. It pulls like a freight train. What a joy to drive! Loving my SBF 427 selection, and the Edelbrock ProFlo4 EFI makes it drive like a modern car. Just perfect! Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Greg

[TrackDay17]

I've been taking successively longer drives as I get confident with the car. Just took a 15 mile drive. Just wow! First off, the Toyo R888r tires are ridiculous. Its cloudy and cool today, probably 60 degrees, and they stick like velcro. Second, holy cow...this engine makes silly torque. I probably gave it 3/4 throttle or better in 2nd and 3rd, and before I knew it, I was doing 100mph. It pulls like a freight train. What a joy to drive! Loving my SBF 427 selection, and the Edelbrock ProFlo4 EFI makes it drive like a modern car. Just perfect! Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Greg

Maybe one day this week it will quit raining so you can enjoy it ! I'm getting sick of this weather !

[gbranham]

Maybe one day this week it will quit raining so you can enjoy it ! I'm getting sick of this weather !

Me, too! But, KC gets 25% of its annual rainfall in May/June, so...

Greg

[TrackDay17]

Me, too! But, KC gets 25% of its annual rainfall in May/June, so...

Greg

I know, it just seems like it has been every day the last couple of weeks and cool !
Trying to get some house stuff done and few outside projects taken care of before I go headlong into this build.
We'll be complaining about the heat soon enough for sure !

[gbranham]

I found my Graduation Post from my MkIII...I remember it like it was yesterday! Nearly 20 years ago!

Greg

F5R1005060RD Graduates!! | Factory Five Racing Forum

[Jeff Kleiner]

I found my Graduation Post from my MkIII...I remember it like it was yesterday! Nearly 20 years ago!

Greg

F5R1005060RD Graduates!! | Factory Five Racing Forum

Daja vu all over again! I remember...and also remember so many of the names of folks who commented

Jeff

[gbranham]

Daja vu all over again! I remember...and also remember so many of the names of folks who commented

Jeff

Yep, the names are what really took me down memory lane!

[gbranham]

I'm legal! I went to the Highway Patrol inspection station this AM, armed with my FFR-provided paperwork, and my newly-fabricated manual wiper, with built-in intermittent wipe and rain sensing (that would be me, lol). Inspection was this...she looked at the chassis number stamped on the frame, made sure it matched the MSO, then filled out her inspection form. That's it, literally. No verification of headlights, brake lights, turn signals, etc. Easy peasie.

I then headed to the DMV to register the car. That's where I get a bit salty. I bought the kit in April 2023, and they charged me back property tax and penalties to that date. I argued I didn't have anything to register until I got it roadworthy and inspected recently, but that fell on deaf ears. I'll have to call the county appraiser to sort it out. I couldn't have registered it when I bought if I wanted to, because it has to be inspected first, and there wouldn't have been anything to inspect, save a pile of boxes. LOL. Anyway, I'm glad I'm legal and done, but I'm $4700 lighter in the wallet for it. Now just waiting my turn for the Kleiner treatment. No rush, Jeff...seriously. If you have more urgent things that come up and you need to push me into early next year or next spring even, no worries. I'll just keep driving.

I was one month shy of two years from kit delivery to legal. I told myself I was going to slow-roll this project, because I did my first in 4 months. I anticipated a 3-4 year project this time. I guess when you get some good momentum, it just snowballs.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and a great Father's Day. I'm sure many of you will be out in the shop, wrenching with kids this weekend. Seems like a solid Father's Day gift to me!

Greg

[Mike.Bray]

Woot woot! Legal is a good feeling.

Ouch on the $4700 though. Serious ouch. I don't feel so bad about the $103 I had to pay now.

[danmas]

I’m so happy for you. And I really appreciate how you engage with the community. I have never felt small when talking to you and in fact your encouragement, advice and enthusiasm are so important to us newbies. Congratulations. I really couldn’t be happier for you.

Dan

[Blitzboy54]

Great step man. I’m right behind you.

[TXeverydayDad]

That’s great to hear Greg! Congrats on this huge milestone! It’s been great following along.

I wish you many happy, fun and safe miles!

[gbranham]

I’m so happy for you. And I really appreciate how you engage with the community. I have never felt small when talking to you and in fact your encouragement, advice and enthusiasm are so important to us newbies. Congratulations. I really couldn’t be happier for you.

Dan

Thanks, Dan. That means a lot. We were all newbies once, and we're all in this together. Im excited to see your "first start" post!

[gbranham]

Great step man. I’m right behind you.

You got this, brother!

[JMD]

That's great! I'm so happy for you. I haven't checked build threads in a long time, so it's great to see you hitting this milestone. I just posted my first update since last year...my car is ready for the road! You beat me to it though. Congrats.

I'll have to plan a trip to come visit sometime this summer. Would also love to meet up with kirby.

(I also just bought a set of Quick Jacks at their Memorial Day sale. Now that the project is pretty much done...but whatever. Great minds think alike.)

[gbranham]

That's great! I'm so happy for you. I haven't checked build threads in a long time, so it's great to see you hitting this milestone. I just posted my first update since last year...my car is ready for the road! You beat me to it though. Congrats.

I'll have to plan a trip to come visit sometime this summer. Would also love to meet up with kirby.

(I also just bought a set of Quick Jacks at their Memorial Day sale. Now that the project is pretty much done...but whatever. Great minds think alike.)

Would love to meet up!

Greg

[gbranham]

That’s great to hear Greg! Congrats on this huge milestone! It’s been great following along.

I wish you many happy, fun and safe miles!

Thanks, buddy! I appreciate it. Looking forward to your updates.

Greg

[TrackDay17]

I hope you ge the tax issue solved, seems like common sense you can't register it until you're done, of course common sense and the DMV don't go together.
It took us 4 trips to the DMV to get my mother in laws car registered in my wife's name and a license plate.
one person told us one thing we needed and the next trip we of course needed something else !
Maybe Johnson county will be better when I get mine built but I kind of doubt it, guess I better prepare for that little surprise.

[gbranham]

I took a couple of 20 mile drives this afternoon. This car is awesome. Endless torque, and so drivable. There is nearly no limit to the torque as I put my foot in it. What a joy to drive! I could drive this car for hours and not get tired. Amazing.

[Higgybulin]

Congrats man!! Just in time for summer driving season!!
Higgy

[gbranham]

What a great Father's Day! I had a few driving sessions today, and ended the weekend with a great one this evening. I got a few nice pics, but left my driver's door open. Oops. But, for a raw finished car, I think it looks pretty solid. I continue to be amazed at the drivability of this car; the 427 is awesome. Endless torque, yet, not intimidating in the least. I absolutely LOVE this car. If there was ever a better 'driver's car', I don't know what it could be. And my 2017 GT350 is pretty awesome, but this blows it away.

I hope all the dads out there had a great Father's Day!!! Have a great week, everyone!

Greg

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[GoDadGo]

Congratulations & Be Careful!

[gbranham]

And just to close the loop on the property tax debacle, I just heard back from my county appraiser's office, after I emailed them Friday. They acknowledge that I shouldn't have been charged property tax and fines for the 2 years I was building the car, so they're sending me a refund. I'm shocked. But, I'm glad it turned out this way.

Greg

[Mike.Bray]

And just to close the loop on the property tax debacle, I just heard back from my county appraiser's office, after I emailed them Friday. They acknowledge that I shouldn't have been charged property tax and fines for the 2 years I was building the car, so they're sending me a refund. I'm shocked. But, I'm glad it turned out this way.

Greg

Very good!!

[Blitzboy54]

And just to close the loop on the property tax debacle, I just heard back from my county appraiser's office, after I emailed them Friday. They acknowledge that I shouldn't have been charged property tax and fines for the 2 years I was building the car, so they're sending me a refund. I'm shocked. But, I'm glad it turned out this way.

Greg

That's great to hear.

When we moved back to NY from OR the lady at the DMV wanted to charge us sales tax on our 2 cars because OR doesn't have any. I explained we were legal residence of OR when we bought them. She couldn't get her head around it. She just kept acting like we had bought them out of state and registered them here. The difference was $600 ish vs $4500. I finally got her supervisor to help us. The funny thing was she still didn't get it. She kept asking why we didn't have to pay sales tax on our cars. It was really something.

These things are so fun to drive. Really happy for you Greg.

[gbranham]

Thanks, Jesse. I think our DMV folks out here in the sticks just have a hard time dealing with a kit car. I suspect I'd have a different experience the next time I build. All good...it's a good problem to have, I suppose...

Greg

[BUDFIVE]

Greg, very cool. DMV folks in Texas don’t do many assembled vehicles either, and the rules change over time. I met with the County a few months in advance and it ended up being a good thing. Anyway, Happy Driving.

[gbranham]

Logged some great miles this weekend. I'm at 350 miles now! Gonna need a TKX fluid swap soon!

Greg

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[danmas]

Fabulous! Remind me your color choices? And Kleiner is doing your glow up if I recall?

[gbranham]

Yes sir! Kleiner is my man. I'm going for Patriot Blue, no stripes. It's the color of my Ram.

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