M22 Cobra Build - Tailpipe mock-up/ rear sheet metal

[M22_COBRA]

Lots to update. First the cable clutch, I have the Forte effort reducer but its not really great for a coyote as it hangs egregiously lower than the frame rail. Like if I was landing at night on a carrier, it could be the tail hook. Without it the cable hits the oil pan and you can not install the cable without it. So I drew up a few mock up parts to keep the length but offset the cable so its not crashing into the ground. Ran the mockup parts on my 3d printer and 3 revisions later I think I'm really close. It keeps the cable up and the arm off the ground, above the rail (slightly), only catch is it will put the arm in a less than ideal load angle. The part will be laser sintered stainless 316L, or I could CNC it from A1011. The hand calc says the section is good, FEA says the stress is well within limits of the add on part.... jut not sure on the clutch arm. It will likely wear something a bit sooner but how much is anyone's guess. Chime in if I'm potentially missing something.
PXL_20260101_200448998.jpg PXL_20260101_200508321.jpg PXL_20260103_193526545.jpg PXL_20260103_193546298.jpg

I ordered my FFR PS and everything but the KRC pump arrived....boo. Next steps will be to take out the old rack, ad get the new one in and start eyeing line routing. Have to pause till the pump gets here.
Also got a blasting cabinet and an Eastwood PC kit. Everything but the oven arrived. It says Early Feb... boo.

Which leads me to my last item, I got the dash wrapped in the FFR "material" and finished mocking up all my plates, gauge pods, ect. Now all that's left is to PC the panels (eyeroll) and order the sintered metal coin pod. I left the top flap up to check some fitment but have since glued it back down and it's nice and secured
Lots of hurry up and wait.
PXL_20260104_211446187.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Going to jot down my thoughts from the weekend trying to install the FFR PS kit and the Breeze adjustment slugs.
1. The Breeze PS rack adjustment slugs are beautiful and PERFECT. The fit is REALLY good on a mass production rack. Bravo!
2. The power steering rack without the isolators and the Breeze parts doesn't want to fit. You will have to take the edge off the slotted side with a grinder, diamond lollypop, or file.
Here's why: The FFR rack in their kit has a casting for the drive on the drivers side, The passenger side is a tube that is swaged / crimped to the casting. The mass production nature likely has a tolerance where the clocking of the two pieces varies, with worst case the two bosses are not co-planar to "X" amount. Not a big deal when the isolators are in place, but with fixed hard mount Breeze adjustment slugs you can see that the non planar condition makes it "not fit" in some cases.

Also got me thinking with no isolation does this increase the failure rate of the welded PS boss where FFR added a steering brace?

3. Rack went in after a little grinding, took some off for added clearance to the boots on the LCA tabs. It was extra fat, maybe 3/16"...not going to cause an issue.
4. The rack on first measure is dead nutz equal to the 2x3 on both sides. That was lucky (maybe I'm missing something). I may have to trim some off the DS inner rod as I am out of adjustment but the wheel is "straight" at droop. BUT I'LL WAIT until I get it on the ground and closer to ride height and go karting. Also wait on locking down the wheel and shaft clocking for the same reason.

All in all pretty good weekend, I'll get the pump mounted and the lines run next and get photos.

[M22_COBRA]

UPDATE: After reading more and finding threads that I didn't see the first time. I see the Mk4 doesn't really need to Breeze bushings, FFR adjusted the issue causing it. Damn $$$

[M22_COBRA]

Got the KRC PS installed. Plan is bleed the system with a drill next, just waiting on the KRC fluid to get here. I'm not ready to start the engine but I do want to find out if I have issues with this kit right now. Remove the belt, add fluid, Allen socket to the pulley, turn it over, refill, repeat, sweep left / right... repeat if necessary, top off fluid, done. Very similar to priming a dry sump oil pump on a cup motor. Not sure if it will spin backward right after you prime like a oil pump would but that's bad. I'm just going to hang on to the puller for a good 30 seconds till any back pressure subsides because spinning a pump backward is always bad in my exp.
PXL_20260115_005718299.jpg PXL_20260115_005731944.jpg PXL_20260115_025045115.jpg PXL_20260115_025030116.jpg

Line routing was no drama, I plan on doing some line clipping soon (after the prime and check for leaks). I ran the hardlines a bit different from the directions. I put both 90 deg sides at the rack and made use of the AN 90 deg in the FFR kit at the resi return. It lays flatter at the cylinder head to the reservoir and the turn out of the rack is cleaner vs 1 straight and 1 90deg. Its an extra leak point but its right on top of the pump so low risk for a nicer system. Maybe I'll change to to a permanent 90? That's how the part should have been done in the first place from FFR but I get they are trying to commonize parts and max profit by making them the same.

Now the Wilwood master cylinders. There are many posts out there explaining why you should not use the Wilwood MC's (wont get into it here / go read). I had one go bad right out of the box and FFR replaced it no questions asked / no apology or "were making changes" either. A while back when I finished the system I took a wait and see approach but every time I got out to the car I pump up the pedal / hold it / put cycles on it. Still no change. But call me crazy out of no where I had a very realistic dream in a very specific part of my town and the pedal went to the floor. Needless to say it felt like something was trying to tell me to make the change. So Tilton 75's are on order. I also got these American made banjos on order that have a inverted flare to match my existing lines & 3/8-24 banjo bolt to integrate to the Tilton (Wilwood uses 1/8-27 NPT with and inverted flare adapter). PM me if you want the vendor b/c they aren't a supporting vendor. Fingers crossed this all works out and I don't have to redo brake lines.
Screenshot 2026-01-16 073753.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Oh almost forgot! I got the clutch arm adapter dialed in. I'll be sending this out to get laser sintered out of 316L stainless. Cable goes dead straight and Im above the rail. Stay tuned.
PXL_20260114_234013138.jpg PXL_20260114_234035154.jpg

[Mike.Bray]

I used the 76 series Tilton master cylinders which use banjo fittings for the inlet and outlet.

20220603_140543 (Medium) Rotated.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Yeah I saw that, beautiful work. I looked at the 76 but it was a bridge too far on the return side with the banjo. Only assumption I made was the 75 has the same surface area for the crush washer on the back as its setup for AN. If not, more tear up on the way and I'll spend more $$$ on the fittings for the return. I wonder if there is a 3/8-24 to barb? Then I could run the 76. We will see.

[Mike.Bray]

Yeah I saw that, beautiful work. I looked at the 76 but it was a bridge too far on the return side with the banjo. Only assumption I made was the 75 has the same surface area for the crush washer on the back as its setup for AN. If not, more tear up on the way and I'll spend more $$$ on the fittings for the return. I wonder if there is a 3/8-24 to barb? Then I could run the 76. We will see.

You should get banjo fittings to adapt to just about anything. If I was doing this again I would use -4 AN hose for the supply from the firewall to the master cylinders. Easier to work with.

[M22_COBRA]

Important milestone ( for me) today! I filled the tkx and popped the shifter on where I've been waiting forever to evaluate the final position. This was the last part I designed for the race team. It's Chase Elliott's road course shifter he used in the 2020 championship run. It places the shifter in the perfect position while using the STS. It's one of the special touches I wanted for myself and I'm super happy it all worked out. I got my hands on one after the cup guys changed to sequential shifters.
PXL_20260131_215410259.jpg PXL_20260124_182536711.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20260119_011618964.jpg PXL_20260119_011547443.jpg PXL_20260119_011538370.jpg

Starting to work on other fab stuff like the pass thru rear panel and moving up the rear panels. I'll wait to figure them down till after go kart. Also got the lower cooling tube in, took some tweaking but it's in there and secured with a p clip to the chassis. No photos but I'll get around to it.
I also got the blue sea power outlet routed in the back. Seemed to be a very popular add on so I figured why not.
I'm waiting for it to get above freezing and trees quit exploding before I go filling the power steering with fluid. If I spill it have a leak I don't want to deal with it while it's this cold in the garage.

[M22_COBRA]

Not gonna lie, I really like how the diy powder coat came out. Having alot of fun with it too.
Can't wait to get my gauges back from SpeedHut. Gauges panels are flat, engine and hinges stuff will be STONE from prismatic.
Screenshot_20260215-223158.png PXL_20260215_222435980.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Got all my RP stainless parts dropped in and couldn't be happier with how the clutch arm turned out. The cable pulls nice and straight, and the effort really isn't much more than my 2014 Tacoma. Its a great work around for me where I want to run a coyote and a cable while staying above the rail.
PXL_20260216_234102921.jpg PXL_20260216_234034783.jpg Screenshot_20260216-180337.png

Also I got to powder coat the top half of my challenge coin holder in the dash, all I can say is it looks like it belongs and fills the extra gauge pod in a very cool way. The part clamshells to the removable panel and the cross bolt holes pin the outer and inner halves together.
PXL_20260217_130236422~2.jpg

Lastly, The CAI off the coyote just kind of hangs there and has the tendency to just wobble around since it has no support. In my case with the Bullitt intake its is a a slightly different angle. All this makes the filter at max compression on the straightener tube slightly touch the drivers F panel. I can tell that driving around its gonna rub, touch, and potentially make a tapping noise. So I decided to make a bracket that would help contain it. Drew this up and after a mockup in PETG I swapped to ASA and printed it out. I'll use heat stake threaded inserts and run the fasteners thru the F panel. Originally I had the support underneath but after some trials and testing it actually fits better and is more secure with the top compression support style better. The shape of the filter and the matching angle on the bracket wont allow it to fall, its easier to swap filters, and it kind of makes the top of the filter it pull air thru the F panel cutout vs the engine bay.
PXL_20260224_213813437.MP~2.jpg PXL_20260219_161604341.jpg PXL_20260224_211843472.MP.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Had an hour last night and it wasn't freezing so I decided to fill the KRC integrated power steering reservoir and check for leaks and bleed the system. Good news no leaks. but I have some questions that need investigation.

1. What belt tension should this be set to? I got it just beyond hand ability to slip the belt / pulley due to how the fasteners hide behind the 5 spoke pulley. It "feels" right based on previous experience, but this ain't no R07 so I don't really have any thing to go from with confidence.

2. With the KRC integrated reservoir what distance off the cap top / depth is everyone running cold?

[gbranham]

I was always told to set serpentine belt tension to the point you can still twist the belt 90 degrees on its longest run with some effort, but not herculean effort.

Or as some guys here on the forum would say...tighten it until it breaks, then back it off a smidge.

Greg

[M22_COBRA]

I was always told to set serpentine belt tension to the point you can still twist the belt 90 degrees on its longest run with some effort, but not herculean effort.

Or as some guys here on the forum would say...tighten it until it breaks, then back it off a smidge.

Greg

Thanks brother, appreciate it. I think we are on the same page.
Any idea for cold fluid level?

[M22_COBRA]

Cooling reservoir and lines are all in and gone thru nut and bolt check, ready for coolant. Really happy how the PC turned out, ended up doing the CAI tube while I was adding the CAI f-panel support. Going back to add LED's & wiring in the foot boxes Then the engine compartment LED mood lighting side quest.

I have what I think is a original 68 "possibly" GT350 air cleaner. It was given to my grandad from FORD as a pre production sample to weld and fabricate the studs on the lower. It was one of the first projects that got the family business serious traction with FORD and Ford Service. At the end of the project they told Grandad to just keep it. It sat in his garage till he passed in 2013 at the age of 97 after BEATING leukemia at 93. I later found out that at one time this also was put on my uncle Jack's Roadrunner at some point to go racing. So its got some history.
I think its a GT350 because the top is like the GT500KR with the casting marks and the double wing nut but the lower is for a single 4 barrel. I'm going to work some magic with this to make the compartment have a little pop. I have already printed the mounts in ASA and used knurled heat staked inserts to bolt it to the lower. Stay tuned.

VIDEO -> https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVkPJ...54YjZoejJsNw==

PXL_20260307_003444392.PORTRAIT.jpg

PXL_20260225_214256750.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

Got my custom dash faces back with a ring swap from Speed hut. They did a really great job. I wanted some really small logos incorporated / logos for the two biggest races I have been apart of winning. The rings were swapped to the revolution black rings at no charge. Super happy how it came out, cant wait to get the column signal installed and the wheel to get the full effect. These are the mini milestones that help you push forward as I was getting bogged down in the slog of mundane stuff. Nice to see a glimpse of the finished product.

PXL_20260323_001352688.PORTRAIT~2.jpg PXL_20260323_001408204.PORTRAIT~2.jpg
PXL_20260310_211521984.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL~2.jpg PXL_20260310_211526356.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL~2.jpg PXL_20260311_141516554.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL.jpg

[CW_MI]

Very cool on the gauges, they turned out really nice.
I actually called Speedhut yesterday about making some changes to my gauges, I want to change the dial color and font.

[M22_COBRA]

Got the dash fully assembled and the column turn signal integrated 100%. Again, really happy with the finished product. Everything works 100% as far as I can tell.
Moving on to temporarily mount the rear sheet metal in the back so I can put the body on. The real goal is to get the body on and place the seats in the proper position. I have the breeze mounts and once i get that done first start is not far behind.

Screenshot 2026-03-30 090208.jpg Screenshot 2026-03-30 090227.jpg Screenshot 2026-03-30 090248.jpg

[M22_COBRA]

A lot has happened since I made an entry, making this for myself for record keeping.
Got my Tilton's installed with stainless flex lines and banjos. I need to bleed it the old fashioned way, the pressure bleeder method is not releasing something in the master. I can hear it squishing, but the pedal is still pretty firm after initial travel.
I also settled in on my cable clutch position, where I added the firewall bearing and kept my fork extension. I made a post on this in the main discussion for others to find. Basically the firewall adjuster will be good for future adjustment and let me set the phase of the cable in a more favorable spot. The marginally earlier engagement point that the fork without the extension provided, was not worth the increased effort so I went back to the extension. The cable packages nicer also, stayed with the E302 ford cable which is the longer variant.


Broke out the tail pipes and mocked them up. Obviously waiting on installing the body till I lock down the isolators under the car. I can not confirm or deny that I made engine noises once these were on a time or two lol. I will likely safety wire them up for first start.... Which is next!
Just have to fill the car with oil, coolant, and fuel.... check for leaks...nut and bolt check one last time on fittings... and fire it off! Exciting times.
PXL_20260405_232158835.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20260405_222315050.jpg

I did get the rear sheet metal all placed with temp rivets. Those things have more than paid for themselves on the build, I highly recommend them. I will remove rear panels for first start for ease of access to the pressure regulator and leak check. I just need to have capability to put the body on after first start.
Screenshot_20260409-120121.png

Still fooling with the under hood lighting and some floor board components that I wanted, but that post is for another day.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Looking really nice, and I especially like the modular dash!

Regarding you front sidepipe hangers:



You might find that they are more effective if you go all the way out to the header to sidepipe flange...and put a jamb nut on that turnbuckle too Here's how I do them (this is a J-pipe but same/same).



Carry on!

Jeff