Jesse builds a pickup #329 - Front cowl and hood

[Blitzboy54]

Life comes at you fast

Hello! I am excited to kick off my build thread. A little background, I have built a couple of MK4's. I sold my first and my second build is road legal now. I am plan to drive it for another month until the weather makes me stop and will then take it for paint this winter.





The gentlemen I sold my first car to had an interest in building a 35 pickup. We have stayed in touch and an opportunity presented itself. I am building this truck for him. I am really excited to do this because it gives me an avenue to keep creating something new that I would not be able to do otherwise.

Truth be told I came very close to pulling the trigger on a 35 pickup before building another MK4 so I have a lot of ideas ready to go.

A few details about the build

LS3 6.2 (520hp)- planning for a complete blacked out engine, accessories and components.
TKX - 5 speed
Hood, no sides
BIG custom wheels - 18x12's on all 4 corners
Digital dash - This is plan A, but will need to mock some things up before fully committing.
Digital display - Carplay/Andriod Auto compatible, possibly a backup camera ect.
Custom exhaust - This will evolve as it comes together. Will likely gocart with the under tail exhaust and customize later.
Powder coated frame
Wilwoods front and rear
Custom center console - I am very excited to design something from scratch.
I like the idea of modern switches, latches and buttons. Lots of things left to decide like wipers, seats, harness vs 3 point belts.


I cleaned out the garage and prepped for the new arrival.




A familiar site, but never gets old.







We unloaded in about a half an hour. The backorder list isn't too bad but bigger than my last build for sure. Most of it is no big deal but one or 2 items that stand out are brakes, rear end and spindles.

[Blitzboy54]

We all live in a yellow submarine

So just like living on a sub things will be tight as I work my way through the inventory. The plan is to consolidate early then spread out after my car is out of the garage. In the mean time it will be a little tight but I have done more with less.

First think that jumps off the page to me is the quality of the fiberglass. The parting lines are less aggressive, the body seems thicker and it seems to generally fit better. Some of that could be my imagination but the side panels have thick aluminum molded in. Everything feels very substantial.









Lastly I couldn't call it a night without a quick test drive

[gbranham]

Pretty cool, Jesse. Does it seem familiar to the MkIV, or is it totally foreign? I would think there's a lot of similarities.

Greg

[Blitzboy54]

Pretty cool, Jesse. Does it seem familiar to the MkIV, or is it totally foreign? I would think there's a lot of similarities.

Greg

Different size and shape but it’s fundamentally the same thing I think.

None zero chance that statement doesn’t come back to bite me at some point.

[TXeverydayDad]

Super exciting Jesse! Looking forward to following along in your adventure!

[Jeff Kleiner]

Cool! I thought about doing pickup before my Mk5 deal came around. Look forward to following along

Jeff

[PNWTim]

Should be fun Jesse. I'm looking forward to following along.

[PMD24]

Looking forward to following.

Pat

[Blitzboy54]

Question, I did not receive any wheel hubs or associated hardware. The spindles are on back order but the inventory simply refers to them as "FRNT spindles'. Does anyone remember if box 21 had all the front wheel HW in it or was it simply the spindles?ut

I have a very small list of items that were missing and only one damaged part. The powder coat is chipping off the upper control arm pretty good. Sent a note to FFR about getting it swapped out.





As an aside now that inventory is done I have a relatively short list of back order items but a lot of them are strategic in being an issue sooner than later. One of the weirder ones is box 10. The truck aluminum. Isn't that stuff produced in house? Odd thing to be on back order.

I am sure most of it will show up sooner than later.

I am off the clock for the week. My wife and I are headed to TX. Our youngest daughter is graduating from AF boot camp! Can't wait to see her. Will dive into the build when we get back.

[UpstateCobraGuy]

Awesome! What great news! Looking forward to visiting

[Namrups]

Awesome! What great news! Looking forward to visiting

What he said!!!

Scott

[Guardm16]

Question, I did not receive any wheel hubs or associated hardware. The spindles are on back order but the inventory simply refers to them as "FRNT spindles'. Does anyone remember if box 21 had all the front wheel HW in it or was it simply the spindles?ut

I have a very small list of items that were missing and only one damaged part. The powder coat is chipping off the upper control arm pretty good. Sent a note to FFR about getting it swapped out.





As an aside now that inventory is done I have a relatively short list of back order items but a lot of them are strategic in being an issue sooner than later. One of the weirder ones is box 10. The truck aluminum. Isn't that stuff produced in house? Odd thing to be on back order.

I am sure most of it will show up sooner than later.

I am off the clock for the week. My wife and I are headed to TX. Our youngest daughter is graduating from AF boot camp! Can't wait to see her. Will dive into the build when we get back.

Great trigger finger discipline. LOL Congratulations.

[Blitzboy54]

I got back after it this morning. I pulled the cab, incidentally this is so much easier than a roadster. You have to peal it a bit off the frame but it's quite easy with 2 people. Once clear I marked the aluminum for drilling. Easy peasy.








I started building up the front lower control arms per the manual. First thing of interest is the pivots. They require grease fittings but as far as I can tell they are not threaded. I thought at first they were threaded and maybe they got plugged up with powder coat but that is not the case.



If anyone is interested the thread is 7mm x 1.0. I tapped the hole accordingly.






Back order Jail


From there I figured I would continue building up the front suspension. First issue is I am missing the linkage adjuster. No biggie I will move on and install it when it arrives. They I realized I am missing the pivot sleeves for both the upper and lower control arms. I am also missing the spindles and brakes so no front suspension for now.



That moves me to the rear, I don't have the rear end in my possession yet (hoping this week) so that is out. I moved down the list and that takes me to the firewall, SWEET accept I only have half of it since the rest comes with the truck aluminum and guess what?

So, steering rack/column? Before I start putting that together I wanted to check with the board. Is there any reason I can't move forward with that?

[Higgybulin]

I havent done a truck yet, but every MK that I have done usually gets the rack first because I am waiting on Canadian completion kit parts(don't ask!) I say carry on!!!
Higgy

[Blitzboy54]

I havent done a truck yet, but every MK that I have done usually gets the rack first because I am waiting on Canadian completion kit parts(don't ask!) I say carry on!!!
Higgy

If you’re not moving forward you’re moving by backwards….. Aye aye


Full speed ahead.

[Blitzboy54]

I started with the steering rack and steering column. The rack is straight forward. Couple issues, I don't have the lower half of the firewall and I am missing some steering rack linkages. The D to D in particular. I will probably try to mount some of the power steering module.



Moving on to the column I have the unpainted tilt version. Mocking it up I found something interesting. First is the mounting tabs near the front of the column is 48mm wide (this marries up to the column brackets), however the lower tabs are 58mm apart. This was strange. Instead of prying the tabs of the column out wide I am using a longer bolt and a spacer. If anyone has any experience with this I would like to hear about it. It's a little odd, perhaps it needs to bend out to clear the steering shaft? Will find out when I get the firewall.







I think the spacer is a better solution. I have the knobs installed and it operates very smoothly. I pulled it back out and will paint it satin black. Will likely powder coat the knobs the same.



Mocked up the upper firewall. It's very thick aluminum, the cutting process leaves heavy burs so be prepared to clean that up. Used a stone wheel and drill.

[FFinisher]

You will want to remove the spacer on the steering Column and pull the column to the Frame tab, You will need clearance for the brake pedal.

Are you ure you don't have the lower Firewall? It is normally packed with the "packaged aluminum" not with the large top piece

[Blitzboy54]

You will want to remove the spacer on the steering Column and pull the column to the Frame tab, You will need clearance for the brake pedal.

Are you ure you don't have the lower Firewall? It is normally packed with the "packaged aluminum" not with the large top piece

Thank you for the comment. I’ll ditch the spacer. Unfortunately the packaged aluminum is on the back order list. Thanks for confirming. I only have like 20 items but every one of them seems to create a road block. I sent a note to FFR for an update. This whole project might be on hold until I get some of these parts.

In the meantime I am painting the steering column. I should have the rear end this week so I can get that hung.

[Blitzboy54]

Thank you for the comment. I’ll ditch the spacer. Unfortunately the packaged aluminum is on the back order list. Thanks for confirming. I only have like 20 items but every one of them seems to create a road block. I sent a note to FFR for an update. This whole project might be on hold until I get some of these parts.

In the meantime I am painting the steering column. I should have the rear end this week so I can get that hung.

As I was. I am missing th rod ends for the lower control arms. I’m actually completely dead in the water.


Bummer

[Blitzboy54]

Back at it

Received a few packages from the Factory Five fairy!. Most of the random linkage parts, fuel lines and the rear brakes. This frees me up to get started on the front suspension, rear end, pedal box and sort of mock up the steering shaft. I am still missing the truck aluminum, spindles and fuel tank pan. Those will be the next obstacles but I'll bet I will see that stuff sooner than later.

just like the pivots the upper control arms require tapping to install the grease fittings. There is no call out for this in the manual which I find odd but just know it needs to be done on both the lower and upper control arms.



I torqued down everything accept the forward upper control arm per the instructions. The grill attaches to it later. I am a big fan of visual cue's so like I did on my Roadster whenever I torgue something for for good I use torque seal. Creates a hardened bead that allows you to know down the road if everything is still tight without having to put a wrench on it but also serves as a way for me to tell if it's been done or not as the build progresses.



The lower control arms are assembled dependent if you use the upper or lower set of mounting holes. If you choose the lower set of holes for a higher ride height you also have to put the steering rack lower. This requires some frame trimming. This rig is going to be a low rider so no mod required. You do have to pay attention to the orientation of the pivots on the lower control arm however. Per the manual I have them oriented for the lower stance

[Blitzboy54]

Part 2

Installed the steering rack again on the upper set of holes.



Moving back I took the opportunity with the down time waiting for parts to paint the steering rack. I will leave the knobs un coated for now. I want to see how the interior shakes out before committing to a color.





I have the rear shocks build and hung. I am now ready to install the rear end. It will be here this week. Also as an aside the worm has officially turned on the weather. I have made arrangements to store my car offsite for the winter. This will free up both of my bays. Looking forward to having the extra space to work.

[Guardm16]

Looking good, you may want to consider the Upper mounting position on the rear shocks, not the hole on the chassis, but the black threaded sleeve on the shock itself can be moved to a higher position on the shock. This was the only way I could get a level stance. Before that, my truck looked like a dog taking a dump. Sorry for that visual. LOL

You can see the shock on the far left of this picture, the adjusting sleeve is in the higher position. There is a snap ring that can be moved up to secure the sleeve
4.jpg

[Blitzboy54]

Looking good, you may want to consider the Upper mounting position on the rear shocks, not the hole on the chassis, but the black threaded sleeve on the shock itself can be moved to a higher position on the shock. This was the only way I could get a level stance. Before that, my truck looked like a dog taking a dump. Sorry for that visual. LOL

You can see the shock on the far left of this picture, the adjusting sleeve is in the higher position. There is a snap ring that can be moved up to secure the sleeve
4.jpg

Thank you.

That is great advice, I will look into it. Question, was it obvious right away the back was too low or was it something that snuck up on you. Did you take any pictures when it was out of level? Low and level is 100% the goal on this build.

[mkassab]

Steve, in your pic I noticed you have your ebrake cable running through your lower control arm..... Aren't you concerned with the constant movement of the control arm causing it to cut/chaff through the ebrake cable? I do see you have a protectant sleeve on the cable.... but I still think it will wear through. Just a thought.

Mark

[Guardm16]

Steve, in your pic I noticed you have your ebrake cable running through your lower control arm..... Aren't you concerned with the constant movement of the control arm causing it to cut/chaff through the ebrake cable? I do see you have a protectant sleeve on the cable.... but I still think it will wear through. Just a thought.

Mark

Yes, I do. Below was not an option for fear of snagging road debris, over the top created a very sharp curve and it rubbed on the top of the arm. So this was a compromise. One thing on the Wilwood e-brake that I am not happy with: the return spring coil is within 3/4 inch of the wheel well. It contacts the fiberglass arch all the time. It is rubbing a hole in the paint and fiberglass behind the wheel. I could raise the truck in the back end more to get some additional clearance, but that changes the stance to more of a raked look, not my favorite.

[Guardm16]

Thank you.

That is great advice, I will look into it. Question, was it obvious right away the back was too low or was it something that snuck up on you. Did you take any pictures when it was out of level? Low and level is 100% the goal on this build.

I used the lower mounting point for the suspension in front, creating a slightly taller front end (we have huge speed bumps in our neighborhood) Right now it sits at 6.5 inches in front and she is level.
Line up.jpg
Although it is at 6.5 inches, it looks very low because it is a long body compared to the 33 Hot Rod. But to answer your question. I found it the day I took it off the jack stands for the first time. I tried to run the spring adjuster all the way up until I ran out of threads. But still didn't like the stance. So, I found that the sleeve could be raised. This was an easy fix, I'm still not happy with it, I am adding length to the shock to get the level ride, but I am now at about 95% total length on the shock. So there is not much in the way of full extension. I am in the process of calculating a set of QA1 shocks to get a level ride and still have travel in both directions.

On a side note: the assembly manual shows different (taller) lower control arms.
Control Arms.png
I have always wondered if I got the correct length of rear shocks. The manual says the rear should be 2.5 inches longer than the front, mine are about 1/2 inch longer.
shocks diagram.PNG

[Blitzboy54]

Steering shaft and pedal box

Working around my missing parts I started mocking up the steering shaft. Going with the power steering it requires you to trim 2.5" piece off of one of the shorter shafts



One thing that I have seen mentioned in other threads but something I also do is red loctite the screws that hold the pins in place on the couplers. As delivered they are not particularly tight and most of these cars vibrate quite a bit. Would be a real ugly failure mode if it was missed so I simply back all the screws out and glue them in. Cheap insurance





Moving on to the pedal box prep I checked the spacing of the spherical bearing in the bias adjuster. Spec is .20 -.25 total.



Installed without any drama.

[Blitzboy54]

Rear end prep

The big news is I was able to get my Cobra put away for the winter. I am storing it at a friends house until I take it for paint. Man what a difference! It's down right palatial in here now.






Started prepping the Moser 8.8 rear end purchased from Factory Five. I discovered something a little absurd. There are 2 issues as I see it first is whatever masking tape they use to cover up the vent hole is practically welded on. I've never seen anything like it. It's beautifully powder coated so I don't want to scrape too hard. I have been soaking it in goo gone for hours lol.



The bigger thing I find weird is it comes dry. This is not a problem, but what I find kind of ridiculous is they not only put the gasket on they used sealant and then torqued. There is no fill port, why on earth would you fully seal it then put a big pink tag that says it's empty. It's a little thing but you have to split the cover off then scrape everyting on your brand new rear end clean. Just really odd, seems like send along the gasket or loosely set it?



I got it cleaned up, vacuumed out the housing and ordered a new gasket. I am soaking the tape overnight

[danmas]

The rear end thing is wild. Why ship it dry? If it is dry, why assemble with seal? Crazy. Fun watching your new build…

[mkassab]

Blitz.... I don't understand your find on the diff with no fill??? See below my 8.8 diff I bought with my kit.... it clearly has a fill plug on the front right side just above the mid level. Your diff doesn't have this???

If it doesn't (which I'd be very surprised), I'd put a new cover that has both a fill and drain plug.

Mark

[Guardm16]

I was thinking the same thing

[Blitzboy54]

I just dug up Paul's build and he literally mentions the plug. I guess this makes me feel better? I searched all over this because it seemed so dumb, read the instructions but they were generally vague on the subject other than what to put in it. I searched it pretty thoroughly but couldn't find anything. There is a good chance I'm stupid. There is a small chance something is got missed on my diff. I'll dig into it tonight and get to the bottom of it.

[PNWTim]

My Moser 12 bolt for my Camaro definitely came with a fill plug. Different rear end but Moser has been doing this for a long time, I can't imagine they would seal up a rear end with no way to fill it. But who knows? Stranger things have happened.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Blitz.... I don't understand your find on the diff with no fill??? See below my 8.8 diff I bought with my kit.... it clearly has a fill plug on the front right side just above the mid level. Your diff doesn't have this???

If it doesn't (which I'd be very surprised), I'd put a new cover that has both a fill and drain plug.

Mark

Yep, every 8.8 I’ve seen has the fill plug there.

Jeff

[JohnnyDeere]

Life comes at you fast

Hello! I am excited to kick off my build thread. A little background, I have built a couple of MK4's. I sold my first and my second build is road legal now. I am plan to drive it for another month until the weather makes me stop and will then take it for paint this winter.





The gentlemen I sold my first car to had an interest in building a 35 pickup. We have stayed in touch and an opportunity presented itself. I am building this truck for him. I am really excited to do this because it gives me an avenue to keep creating something new that I would not be able to do otherwise.

Truth be told I came very close to pulling the trigger on a 35 pickup before building another MK4 so I have a lot of ideas ready to go.

A few details about the build

LS3 6.2 (520hp)- planning for a complete blacked out engine, accessories and components.
TKX - 5 speed
Hood, no sides
BIG custom wheels - 18x12's on all 4 corners
Digital dash - This is plan A, but will need to mock some things up before fully committing.
Digital display - Carplay/Andriod Auto compatible, possibly a backup camera ect.
Custom exhaust - This will evolve as it comes together. Will likely gocart with the under tail exhaust and customize later.
Powder coated frame
Wilwoods front and rear
Custom center console - I am very excited to design something from scratch.
I like the idea of modern switches, latches and buttons. Lots of things left to decide like wipers, seats, harness vs 3 point belts.


I cleaned out the garage and prepped for the new arrival.




A familiar site, but never gets old.







We unloaded in about a half an hour. The backorder list isn't too bad but bigger than my last build for sure. Most of it is no big deal but one or 2 items that stand out are brakes, rear end and spindles.

Ha! I am almost positive you got your truck dropped off after my car was delivered. I am up in Maine and is was delivered in OCT, that empty pallet was mine and I saw your truck sitting right where it is in the truck. Cool!

[Blitzboy54]

Ha! I am almost positive you got your truck dropped off after my car was delivered. I am up in Maine and is was delivered in OCT, that empty pallet was mine and I saw your truck sitting right where it is in the truck. Cool!

You definitely did. He said he was coming from Maine. Every build I've done had a delivery buddy.

Welcome aboard

[Blitzboy54]

Well, mystery solved. It does have a drain. I have 2 reasons for missing this

1. My first build had a rebuilt 8.8 rear end and as you can see no such drain exists so I must have just started assuming I guess.





2. I am at times a bit of an idiot.


To quote a phrase borrowed by Abraham Lincoln "Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt"



Onward and upward

[Blitzboy54]

Moving on with the rear end now filled and re sealed (doh). One interesting tidbit is the kit comes with the drive shaft adapter (same as the IRS pumpkin).



The rear end I got from Moser has the fox body pinion. I dug into some other builds and see that previously they shipped them with the S197 pinion. I am curious if this will have an impact on driveshaft length.



A little trick for installing suspension parts that maybe don't quite fit because the tabs are too tight. My friend Scott gave me this to use, it's simple and genius and works like a charm. Maybe this is common knowledge but I had no idea until now and it has made my life a lot easier.



Moving forward I got everything assembled and prepped on this kick a** cart my buddy built.



The rear shocks come with .32 spacers for both the truck frame and the lower control arms. Problem is they recently redesigned the lower control arms. They are now a lot narrower than they used to be.





There is now a .200 difference, instead of contacting FFR and waiting for new spacers seemed easier just to grind .100 off of the four lower ones.

[Blitzboy54]

Hanging the rear end is pretty straight forward, other than the lower control arms being a different width. I was hoping to get it completely hung but it turns out I am missing a rod end. It was in the box list as missing but not the POL. I sent them an email and will wait for it to show up.

As an aside being my 3rd build I am having a hard time not getting frustrated with the back order system. A few days ago there was an article about how the warehouse is undergoing a re org and parts are delayed. They did this already. My first build was in Covid jail, nothing to be done. 2nd one was pretty smooth. 3rd I am struggling because I am missing so many key parts. Also you are "delivering" kits in 6 weeks but not really if it takes another 4-6 weeks to get me the parts. I am desperately trying to keep a good attitude but if you can't get me parts I think you have an obligation to give me an ETA. Emails are going 3 to 4 days without replies. I am going to call today..... end rant





Now that I am kind of stuck again (I think I might start goofing around with the doors, but I am missing hinges), I was thinking about lighting and found the holes in the corner bracing. I saw another builder put LED's in there. I just happen to have some on hand and sure enough they fit nice. I am going to route the wires through the frame. It think this will make real functional dome lights. I modified a washer since the rubber mount was meant for a thicker hole. Ground a little away to clear the welds. I will powder coat the washer when I do a batch of brackets and such.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Emails are going 3 to 4 days without replies. I am going to call today..... end rant

Not making excuses, just an FYI---two weeks ago two of the tech support guys were at SEMA and then last week two of the tech support team were at the Build School.

Jeff