ATX MKIV #9644 Coyote Build Thread (Index #137) - Trickle Charger Port Added

[460.465USMC]

Hi Darryl. Bummer the tape didn't work out.

For whatever it's worth, I don't think you'll have any issue with the foil shining through. Before I started carpet I was quite concerned about this given all of the comments I read here on the forum. I also used Thermo Tec, but didn't black out beneath the seams. I had no issues with foil peaking through. I've been following along on your build for quite some time, and given your careful build approach, as long as you test fit each piece (no doubt you will), I think you'll find it's not an issue. At least, it hasn't been for me after 1.5 builds. Just some food for thought.

[dbo_texas]

I made that suggestion, I'm sorry I created a headache for you. It worked well on my build, so I guess it was likely down to different product combination.


Nige.

haha...hey don't worry about it you weren't the only one that suggested it and I have a feeling it's just some chemical adhesive issue between the tape I bought and the insulation. Maybe the stuff I used wasn't completely clean or or has some grease on it or something. Who knows. I plan to wipe down the seams with some Simple Green before hitting it with spray paint. I always appreciate suggestions and feedback. Just need to wait for it to get a bit warmer here in Texas.

[dbo_texas]

This weekend I achieved what I consider a big milestone. With the help of my brother and a neighbor, we fit the body onto the chassis for the first time, trimmed the body in a few areas, and trimmed the aluminum where it was touching. Here are some details - if anybody notices something off, please let me know!

First, to prep for getting the body on, I did the following:

• removed roll bars
• removed side pipes
• removed all bulb seals from aluminum
• installed 5/8 bumpers on the outriggers to support the body (for front quick-jack mount alignment)
• trimmed body cowl at the front and rear of the cockpit opening - I started with about 1/4" and ended up removing a bit more from the dash side so I could get the striker plate spacing correct

Here are the bumpers I installed from Amazon. They are 5/8" tall x .932" diameter. To mount I simply drilled a 1/8" hole into the 3/4" frame tube and installed with a thread-cutting screw (fount one with head small enough to fit into the rubber foot opening).


For trimming the body cowl, I used an angle grinder with a 60 grit flapper wheel. I used masking tape to mark my cut lines, and took off about 1/4" on both the front and rear cockpit opening cowl return flange as a starting point. Here's a video showing how I did it - pretty straight forward and the angle grinder takes the material off quickly (very easy to do this!).


Next up we went ahead and mounted the body onto the frame. I have the lower radiator aluminum installed with the oil cooler mounts, so we had to tilt the body fairly high in the rear to get it on. But with 3 people it was actually pretty easy to get the body on, first getting the front lip over the radiator aluminum then tilting down the rear, while flaring out the sides to get around the doors hinges. At the rear, we just had to flex the body a bit to get it over the trunk aluminum.

After getting the body on, we installed the rear quick-jacks bolts to support the body, then adjusted the front so the spacing from shock mounts to fender flare so it was even on both sides. With the body in this position, it looked like the front quickjack mounts both needed to shift to the PS by about 1/2 in. Next, I inspected all the aluminum and anywhere it touched the body, we marked it (used a sharpie up against the body - this puts a marker line about 1/4" offset from the body. The main areas I needed to trim were:

• dash body cowl flange --> was touching dash and preventing door striker plate from being 1/8" behind door opening on body
• one small corner on PS rear cockpit wall where it turns downward
• both rear trunk side walls but only at the rear radius area (top edges were fine)
• Breeze cockpit cubby wall all the way across the top edge
• trunk lower step flange all the way across

Here's a pic of the rear trunk aluminum where it was touching the body. We trimmed this to have clearance.




We removed the body, and trimmed the aluminum where we marked it. Some sheet metal shears made quick work of this:



Next up, I tried to adjust the outriggers. I first tried using a wooden block and a dead blow hammer to move them, but it didn't seem to move even a little bit. What worked for me was to remove one of the bolts on the Breeze lower radiator support bracket (this allows the two outriggers to move freely relative to each other). Then, with the front end on the ground, we just muscled the outrigger with our hands using body leverage. It wasn't easy but it did move about 1/4" or so. Not the full 1/2" I was going for, but it's what I could get.


After this, I took off another 1/8" off the body cowl where it was touching the dash. Then we put the body back on, installed the rear quickjack bolts, and adjusted the front-to-back position until the body was about 1/8" forward of the door striker tabs on both sides. I ended up with a little bit more (about 13mm on the DS, 8mm on the PS). I'm not sure if this is too much, so if anyone knows, please let me know!


More on the next post with the final mounted body pics/spacing.

[dbo_texas]

Overall the body seems to fit fairly well after these adjustments. I might trim a little more aluminum here and there, especially along the trunk lower deck rear edge, but otherwise it seems to fit well. We did verify the front quick jack bolts & spacers are aligned with the holes when the body is sitting on the 5/8" rubber spacers. The body isn't sitting on the front quick jack tubes at all which I believe is how it should be. I gotta say it was a good feeling to see the body back on after almost 4 years hanging from the ceiling. The main motivation here is to get the body positioned so I can next mount the Breeze seat mounts with my Intatrim Stoneleigh high-back seats. This is critical that the body is on to make sure the seats don't hit the rear cowl.

Here are some pics:

[TXeverydayDad]

Looking good! The rest looks good. How is the front tire protrusion visually? Are they the same side to side?

[dbo_texas]

Looking good! The rest looks good. How is the front tire protrusion visually? Are they the same side to side?

That last picture shows front tire protrusion. Overall I think they look pretty close to the same on both sides. I need to double check and measure fender flare to shock mount on both sides to verify the left-to-right position in the front but it looks fairly close. It does seem like the rear tires don't protrude out as far as the front. I like how the front looks compared to the rear. Wondering if there are any spaces that can be used in the rear to push the tires out about 1/2" - 1"? I think it just makes it look more aggressive when they are flush with the fender. I have the stock FFR 18x11 rear wheels w/ Mickey Thompson 295/35R18, paired with the 2018 IRS backend.

[TXeverydayDad]

Of course. For some reason I thought the last picture was the rear tires…my bad. That looks good!

I think Blitzboy54 used spacers for a more aggressive look. They would be easy to add later so maybe hold off until the car is complete? I have 315 on the rears and with the wheel well lip, I’d hit if they were wider/had a spacer. My rear suspension settled quite a bit after my first drives on Houston’s bumpy roads so I’m glad there was no risk of the tires hitting the body.

[dbo_texas]

Of course. For some reason I thought the last picture was the rear tires…my bad. That looks good!

I think Blitzboy54 used spacers for a more aggressive look. They would be easy to add later so maybe hold off until the car is complete? I have 315 on the rears and with the wheel well lip, I’d hit if they were wider/had a spacer. My rear suspension settled quite a bit after my first drives on Houston’s bumpy roads so I’m glad there was no risk of the tires hitting the body.

Definitely a good idea to wait. I'll get it settled before considering adding anything since as you mentioned, it should be easy to add them later if needed.

[Its Bruce]

I used 25mm hubcentric spacers then adjusted my control arms to put the wheels exactly where I wanted. I'll note two things:

1. I have the earlier T-Bird 8.8 diff.
2. Be careful with spacers that are less than 1" thick. You don't want to limit the thread engagement of the lug nuts. I wouldn't recommend the use of a true spacer without quality lugs (e.g. ARP).

[Jeff Kleiner]

Hey Darryl,
One question on your wheel positioning and spacers; has the car been aligned yet? If not what you see now isn't the true picture. Front caster and camber and rear camber will all come into play.

Jeff

[dbo_texas]

Hey Darryl,
One question on your wheel positioning and spacers; has the car been aligned yet? If not what you see now isn't the true picture. Front caster and camber and rear camber will all come into play.

Jeff

Hi Jeff - not yet...just the rough alignment from your suggestion on other posts (for power steering). No professional alignment yet. I won't change anything until I get the real alignment done and see how everything settles with the body in the final position. I might even wait to tackle something like this (if needed) after paint, since it is mostly cosmetic/preference.

[dbo_texas]

With the body in place, this weekend I moved forward with getting the seats mounted to the Breeze mounts and positioned in the vehicle. I haven't riveted the Breeze base plate to the floor of the cockpit yet - I wanted to confirm if I need to peel up the Thermo-Tec heat/sound barrier where the plate goes. I had read many mixed opinions on whether or not this was necessary. Seems like a good idea since the mats are compressible and could flatten out over time, allowing the rivets which mount the Breeze plate to have gaps under the heads. This would weaken the shear strength for sure. So I'm planning to do this, but I haven't yet.

As for mounting the seats to the Breeze brackets, it's fairly straight forward. The spacing of the rivnut on the upper Breeze bracket doesn't work for the Stoneleigh seats (they are positioned to align with the FFR low-back seat frame). So I ended up drilling new holes and just securing the seats with 5/16-18 nuts instead. I used a method that was shared by ItsBruce here on the forum. He had sent me pictures a while back showing how he did this mounts with this same seat.

First I started off by cutting 4x strips of 1/8" x 1-1/2" x 9" steel. I used this as a bearing surface under the seat cushion to spread the load. I also cut some 1.5" x 1.5" squares to use a spacers to lift the seat off the upper Breeze bracket.


I laid the 9" strips into the seat below the cushion, then drilled the 3/8" thru-holes. I'm using the 5/16 hex head bolts that Breeze provides with his kit.


Next I put the square spaces on the bottom of the seats. On the front I just used one spacer, but in the rear two holes I used some washers in addition to the 1/8" spacer. The reason is because the Stoneleigh seats are already leaned back quite a bit, and the Breeze mount adds even more lean. This actually pushes the fairly far forward because of the angle and how it hits the rear cockpit wall. By lifting the rear a little bit, it reduces the seat angle and allows you get a little closer to the rear wall.


After mounting the upper bracket to the seat, I mounted it to the lower bracket with the 5/16-18 studs pointing up. This is another reason to put the spacers between the seat bottom and upper bracket. The seat is so wide that is is right on top of the rear stud and you wouldn't be able to get the nut installed without disassembly the seat. By using the additional spacers, I was able to get the nut on/off with ease.


I then played around with the position of the seat. I sat in it, then adjusted, then sat in it again, repeat, etc. I found a position I thought was the best I was going to get. To be 100% honest, I'm still a little worried whether or not this seat is going to work for me. I'm 6'1" and it just feels like it pushes me so far forward that both my legs are bent pretty heavily with my right knee almost touching the bottom of the dash. I don't see how driving is going to be comfortable. I haven't riveted this down - I plan to temporarily bolt it just to do some go kart test drives after I install the harness so I can get a better feel for if this is going to work long-term. I think this seat would honestly work a little better for someone who is shorter than 6 foot.


I did mark the seat baseplate position with a sharpie. If I end up keeping it here, I can cut out the sound mat and rivet it to the floor permanently, then lay carpet down around it. For now, I'll just install a few screws for go-karting (and leave it on top of the sound/heat mat for now).


I repeated the same process for the passenger seat. I'll call this done for the time being. Next up I plan to mount the DS harness, then do some go karting to test mechanical systems, seat position, etc. I'll need a free weekend for that.

[Rian_Colorado]

Have you ever had the standard seats in it? I'm thinking about going with the intratrim seats as well as I think I would gain 1-2" just from how thick the padding in the standard seats is. Curious if you've tried that?

[dbo_texas]

Have you ever had the standard seats in it? I'm thinking about going with the intratrim seats as well as I think I would gain 1-2" just from how thick the padding in the standard seats is. Curious if you've tried that?

I had the FFR low backs originally & sold them when I bought the Intatrim seats. If I recall, the FFR seats definitely are thicker in the base and backrest, but the big difference seems to be the lean-back angle. The FFR seats aren't super leaned back so you can get them fairly close to the rear wall. The Intatrims have a fairly large tilt backrest angle and when it hits the cockpit wall it really pushes the seat bottom forward...the Breeze mounts tilt it even more, pushing it even farther towards the front (see pic below).


So I'm a little torn. I might try without the Breeze mount just for a comparison, or add more spacers under the rear to tilt the seat forward some. I'm going to go kart a bit and see if I can find a comfortable position...but just sitting in my garage I have to say it's a bit tough. My right knee literally just barely clears the lower dash.

[dbo_texas]

I found a local upholsterer in the Austin area that does really great work at very reasonable prices. I reached out to him and discussed what I wanted, gave him the spare hide I had from my seat order, and within 4 days I had a finished transmission tunnel with diamond stitching matching my seats. It turned out exactly how I was hoping, silver thread and all. I also had him make an e-brake boot using the FFR black leather boot as a pattern. That also turned out great. Together, with the door cards I got previously from Herb (also same leather), the interior is really coming together nicely. I have several more ideas I might use the leftover leather for - like wrapping the passenger grab handle, making leather straps for a bluetooth speaker I plan to mount in the cubby, and possibly lining the inside of the glove box too....TBD.

For mounting, I wanted to test out the 3M dual-lock instead of using the screws with finishing washers. Like my dash, I didn't really want to see any visible fasteners. I added a couple of strips to the 3/4 frame, then smaller squares to the trans tunnel. After mounting, it feels super secure so I think I'll stick with this.


The upholsterer left some leather/foam overhang where the cupholders mount. You have to push them through the opening and it stretches the leather, making a nice secure mount for the billet cup holders.


And here are some finished pics after installing onto the car. Last pic has the door card and mockup of the grab handle w/ leather wrap (TBD).








And here's the full interior with Herb's door cards (w/ carbon fiber insert matching the dash).

[TXeverydayDad]

I found a local upholsterer in the Austin area that does really great work at very reasonable prices. I reached out to him and discussed what I wanted, gave him the spare hide I had from my seat order, and within 4 days I had a finished transmission tunnel with diamond stitching matching my seats. It turned out exactly how I was hoping, silver thread and all. I also had him make an e-brake boot using the FFR black leather boot as a pattern. That also turned out great. Together, with the door cards I got previously from Herb (also same leather), the interior is really coming together nicely. I have several more ideas I might use the leftover leather for - like wrapping the passenger grab handle, making leather straps for a bluetooth speaker I plan to mount in the cubby, and possibly lining the inside of the glove box too....TBD.

For mounting, I wanted to test out the 3M dual-lock instead of using the screws with finishing washers. Like my dash, I didn't really want to see any visible fasteners. I added a couple of strips to the 3/4 frame, then smaller squares to the trans tunnel. After mounting, it feels super secure so I think I'll stick with this.


The upholsterer left some leather/foam overhang where the cupholders mount. You have to push them through the opening and it stretches the leather, making a nice secure mount for the billet cup holders.


And here are some finished pics after installing onto the car. Last pic has the door card and mockup of the grab handle w/ leather wrap (TBD).








And here's the full interior with Herb's door cards (w/ carbon fiber insert matching the dash).

This looks AWESOME! Well done!

[PNWTim]

Looks really nice, great attention to detail.

[Mike.Bray]

That's some nice upholstery work, looks really nice.

Wrap a little ThermoTec around those aluminum cup holders so they don't turn into cup heaters.

20241011_115852 (Medium) Rotated.jpg

[dbo_texas]

I'm at the point where I'm close to being ready to rough mount the doors, hood & trunk. Before I spend a ton of time researching these on the forum I wanted to seek advice on a couple of questions, especially for those who've done it recently. My kit is from is an MKIV from 2018 if that matters. I don't plan to attempt to gap these panels and make them perfect - per the advice of many of the bodywork folks on here I understand its best to leave that to the body shop I ultimately use. I'm really just looking to get these items mounted and functional so that I can ultimately get inspected & registered in TX. I plan to drive in gelcoat for about a month before going for bodywork/paint.

Questions:

1. For the hood/trunk/doors - do you have to trim the edges at all to make them fit? Or do they pretty much mount up OK as-received from FFR?
2. I've seen plenty of discussion on the doors and having to pull the body out near the rear fender and secure with a screw into the 2x2 frame from below, so that the door is somewhat flush. Is this something I should do now (even if it's just temporary)? Or leave it alone (and let the doors just sit wonky)?
3. Are there any universally known "tips" to mounting each of these items I should take into account? If so, please share details (or links to relevant threads if you have it handy).

[Jeff Kleiner]

I'm at the point where I'm close to being ready to rough mount the doors, hood & trunk. Before I spend a ton of time researching these on the forum I wanted to seek advice on a couple of questions, especially for those who've done it recently. My kit is from is an MKIV from 2018 if that matters. I don't plan to attempt to gap these panels and make them perfect - per the advice of many of the bodywork folks on here I understand its best to leave that to the body shop I ultimately use. I'm really just looking to get these items mounted and functional so that I can ultimately get inspected & registered in TX. I plan to drive in gelcoat for about a month before going for bodywork/paint.

Questions:

1. For the hood/trunk/doors - do you have to trim the edges at all to make them fit? Or do they pretty much mount up OK as-received from FFR?
2. I've seen plenty of discussion on the doors and having to pull the body out near the rear fender and secure with a screw into the 2x2 frame from below, so that the door is somewhat flush. Is this something I should do now (even if it's just temporary)? Or leave it alone (and let the doors just sit wonky)?
3. Are there any universally known "tips" to mounting each of these items I should take into account? If so, please share details (or links to relevant threads if you have it handy).

Here are some vague answers:

They are ordinarily big...but not always (told you these are vague answers ). Doors are frequently too long horizontally, never vertically. If you have to trim them do so from the front edge first and put a little back bevel on them so they don't pinch when swinging. Hood is also usually large. Being that it is a trapezoid it seems intuitive to just move it rearward until the front and sides fit reasonably well and then trim the rear edge----DO NOT DO THIS! You'll end up with the hood rib colliding with the body flange. Any trimming must be done on the front and sides first, then the rear. Trunk is usually long on the lower edge. It also needs a bevel along the front edge so that it doesn't pinch. Your choice whether you want to try to move the rockers to best match the doors at this time. Number 1 rule though is to only do the absolute minimum amount of trimming...just make them so that they open close and latch!

Jeff

[OB6]

Darryl - I followed Jeff's advice above (from other threads) and ended up not needing to trim anything, at least to get things good enough for the pro to do the rest. There are areas where there almost zero gap exists, but it's easier for said pro to remove material than it is to add. I'm sure there are differences from body to body, so your mileage may vary. If I was planning to drive in gelcoat for a while, I might have aimed for more precision, better gaps etc.

[dbo_texas]

Perfect this is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks fellas.

[dbo_texas]

No matter what I do I can't seem to get rid of my power steering leaks. Both of my 10AN lines going to the oil cooler seem to be weeping at the threads. I've tried tightening them repeatedly but to no avail. I built the hoses myself, so I'm not sure if I there's an issue at the hose end fitting, or if the leak is coming from the threaded joint at the oil cooler.

I'm also having leaks at my "T" joint where the oil cooler return meets up with the hydroboost return, right before the connection to the KRC pump reservoir. Same issue...I'm not sure if its happening at the hose end fitting or the threads.

Troubleshooting tips welcome! I'm about to rip it all out and say to hell with it. I've rebuilt the hoses 2 or 3 times now.

Any advice to resolve this? Here are some options I've thought about, but not sure which might be easiest:

• How would one go about pressure testing an AN hose?
• Thought about replacing my custom hoses with off-the-shelf hoses (pre-made). I really want the red/blue AN fittings but haven't found a good source. There are some on Temu & Ebay, but that seems like it would be asking for even more trouble. Any recommendations for a legit shop that sells stock -10AN hoses pre-made? These are both low pressure lines (returns).
• When I go to paint/bodywork, there's a shop here near Austin I plan to use that also does mechanical work. So I could throw money at it and have them fix it.
• I thought about buying some of the AN conical compression washer to see if that helps (something like this).
• I also thought about just completely disconnecting the oil cooler hoses (leave them there for show, non-functional) and running just the power steering and hydroboost returns to the "T" at the reservoir. I don't know if that would fix my leak at the "T" though...it would just eliminate the leaks at the oil cooler.

[dbo_texas]

This one's been bothering me for a while so I decided to tackle it tonight. I have the Wilwood clutch and brake pedals shifted all the way to the left-most position. I played around with both orientations of the stock Coyote DBW gas pedal but no matter how I position it, my shoe (size 12) always catches the gas pedal when I depress the brake pedal. I don't have narrow driving shoes. I've seen a lot of different mods to address this problem, but most of them involve chopping up the Coyote pedal or making a custom mount for it. I remembered that I had a Breeze gas pedal conversion kit for the Russ Thompson style pedal (part #7094). I've had it so long I had almost forgotten about it. Anyway I dug it out my pile of parts and found that it was actually crazy easy to mount. All I did was remove the Coyote pedal (single screw from the rear), then positioned the Breeze pedal where I wanted and drilled 3 holes for mounting. I used the Breeze screws + nyloc nuts to mount it. I did have to dremel out a little bit of material on the backside to get the lower left nut installed, but the two on the right didn't require any additional tweaks. All in it took maybe 15 minutes. It significantly increases the clearance around the right side of my shoe when pressing the brake pedal. As a bonus, it's a pretty decent match to the Wilwood pedals and doesn't stick out like the Coyote pedal did. Pretty pleased with this setup.

[Doc76]

I found a local upholsterer in the Austin area that does really great work at very reasonable prices. I reached out to him and discussed what I wanted, gave him the spare hide I had from my seat order, and within 4 days I had a finished transmission tunnel with diamond stitching matching my seats. It turned out exactly how I was hoping, silver thread and all. I also had him make an e-brake boot using the FFR black leather boot as a pattern. That also turned out great. Together, with the door cards I got previously from Herb (also same leather), the interior is really coming together nicely. I have several more ideas I might use the leftover leather for - like wrapping the passenger grab handle, making leather straps for a bluetooth speaker I plan to mount in the cubby, and possibly lining the inside of the glove box too....TBD.

For mounting, I wanted to test out the 3M dual-lock instead of using the screws with finishing washers. Like my dash, I didn't really want to see any visible fasteners. I added a couple of strips to the 3/4 frame, then smaller squares to the trans tunnel. After mounting, it feels super secure so I think I'll stick with this.


The upholsterer left some leather/foam overhang where the cupholders mount. You have to push them through the opening and it stretches the leather, making a nice secure mount for the billet cup holders.


And here are some finished pics after installing onto the car. Last pic has the door card and mockup of the grab handle w/ leather wrap (TBD).








And here's the full interior with Herb's door cards (w/ carbon fiber insert matching the dash).

Out of curiosity have you considered spinning the mount 180degrees so the slope is reversed towards the front of the car to see the impact on angles?
Not sure if that would leave the seat too upright but given the high degree they are leaned back, would allow to move it back further and sit it upright more.
I have the same seats and mounts in transit and considered that with the Intatrim increased angle so plan to just try that while test fitting to see.

[dbo_texas]

That would have made a lot if sense! But no I didn’t think about trying that. As is stands, sitting on the Breeze bracket and using about 1.25” spacers under the back of the seat bottom seems to be about right for me. If I go any higher on the spacers the seat back becomes uncomfortably vertical and the wings of the seat dig into my shoulders. I also played with no Breeze bracket at all and different space combinations…it was definitively less comfortable for me. So I think I’ve dialed it in as good as it’s going to get. I’ll see over time just how good/bad this feels on longer cruises. Gotta get it in the road first

[Ejzajac]

This one's been bothering me for a while so I decided to tackle it tonight. I have the Wilwood clutch and brake pedals shifted all the way to the left-most position. I played around with both orientations of the stock Coyote DBW gas pedal but no matter how I position it, my shoe (size 12) always catches the gas pedal when I depress the brake pedal. I don't have narrow driving shoes. I've seen a lot of different mods to address this problem, but most of them involve chopping up the Coyote pedal or making a custom mount for it. I remembered that I had a Breeze gas pedal conversion kit for the Russ Thompson style pedal (part #7094). I've had it so long I had almost forgotten about it. Anyway I dug it out my pile of parts and found that it was actually crazy easy to mount. All I did was remove the Coyote pedal (single screw from the rear), then positioned the Breeze pedal where I wanted and drilled 3 holes for mounting. I used the Breeze screws + nyloc nuts to mount it. I did have to dremel out a little bit of material on the backside to get the lower left nut installed, but the two on the right didn't require any additional tweaks. All in it took maybe 15 minutes. It significantly increases the clearance around the right side of my shoe when pressing the brake pedal. As a bonus, it's a pretty decent match to the Wilwood pedals and doesn't stick out like the Coyote pedal did. Pretty pleased with this setup.

Looks like a great final match with the Wilwood brake/clutch pedals. It is not entirely clear from the picture, how much did you shorten/cut the plastic Coyote DBW gas pedal to achieve the final match-up? Upholstery and seats look incredible!

[Doc76]

Love the leather color by the way!

[dbo_texas]

I have the stock FFR Simpson 5-point harness. When I got my Intatrim seats, I had them add an opening for the sub-belt and shoulder straps. At some point I want to swap these out for a rotating quick release style, likely in a gray color which I think will go really well with my color scheme and seats. But for now this will do. This was one of the last items I wanted to tackle before go-karting, so I think that's next up for me as soon as I get some decent weather and free time.

The actual harness install was uneventful. I would say the only slightly tricky issue was the inside bolt on each seat for the lap belt. You have to drill a 1/2" hole through the transmission tunnel and attach the nut from the inside of the tunnel. You can get to it with your hand from under the car. I was able to hold the nut with a wrench from under the car, and simultaneously use a socket with multiple extensions to tighten the bolt from the cockpit side. I'm sure I looked ridiculous but you gotta do what you gotta do. Here are some pics:

Here are the straps mounted behind the cockpit wall. I did adjust the shoulder straps and moved the slider plate so it was about 20 inches from the end of the strap. You have to undo the straps from the slider partially anyways to fish it through the cockpit wall opening. So after doing a trial fit with no adjustment, I found the straps were just way too long so I shortened them up.


This is the inside lap strap bolt that requires you to drill through the trans tunnel.


And the outside lap strap bolt - plenty of room here:


Here's how I attached the sub-belt. I drilled through the steel portion of the seat pan.


All together:


And test fit:


Here are both installed with the seats:

[Railroad]

Probably not an issue, but the seat belt bolt next to the trans tunnel, may require the seat to be removed to be removed.
With the bolt entering from inside the tunnel, it can be removed without interference from the seat.
IMO

[dbo_texas]

Probably not an issue, but the seat belt bolt next to the trans tunnel, may require the seat to be removed to be removed.
With the bolt entering from inside the tunnel, it can be removed without interference from the seat.
IMO

That’s a good call. I debated which direction to install the bolt from and in the end just followed the FFR instructions. But when I put them in for the final time I plan to do do as you suggest.

[dbo_texas]

With all the prep work done and seats and harnesses now secured, I went ahead and hoisted the body back onto the ceiling above my working area. My wife parks her SUV on the right side of the garage and it's Spring time here in TX and we tend to get a lot of hail, so needed to make space for her car. At this point I'm ready to go kart, just need a free weekend and some decent weather. When I had the car on the ground I did remount the side pipes and double checked the torque on the rear axle nuts (98 ft-lb + 1/4 turn).

I'll tackle the carpeting after go karting. I'm still struggling / frustrated with the power steering leaks. Seems like I have leaks in at least 3 locations. i think for go karting it will be fine - I'll just live with the leaks. But obviously will need to get these fixed. I bought a 10AN cap and a 10AN to 1/8 NPT fitting so I can hook it up to an air gauge and pressure test each hose assembly. If that shows no leaks on the hoses, then it means the leaks are at the joint between fittings. So my approach there would be to buy some of the aluminum -10AN conical sealing washers, and try that. If all of this fails, I'm going to buy pre-made hoses from a vendor - so any suggestions on a shop that could make those would be appreciated.



Here's how I have the ropes and hoist set up. I had posted some pics of how I set this up way back in Post #19. Funny how I thought I'd only have the body up in the air for 6mo - 1 year....here I am 4 years later


Here's the body hoisted:

[cv2065]

These guys make some nice crimped PTFE hoses.

https://www.anplumbing.com/tradition...-steering.html

[dbo_texas]

I had previously not added the heat/sound barrier mats to the side walls of the trunk. I wasn't sure how the carpeting would work in that area as my trunk carpeting kit from FFR (circa 2018) didn't include carpeting for the side walls. I ended up buying some spare carpeting rolls from FFR, so I went ahead and added the Thermo-Tec mats to the trunk sides. I also re-mounted the roll bars just because. I plan to install all carpeting right after I complete my go karting, hopefully in the next week or so. I wanted to take one last stab at the power steering leaks before I go kart. The leaks are fairly major, but it'll make it through a test drive (it isn't spraying...just dripping slowly when pressurized). After go kart I'll consider replacing those power steering hoses with pre-made versions. I'm just having a hard time finding a place that will do stainless PTFE with the red & blue -10AN fittings which I really like the look of.

[M22_COBRA]

Call Brown and Miller Racing Solutions BMRS, they are the best and have every AN fitting you could want. They have a pretty extensive catalog but I'm not posting the link as they aren't a supporting vendor.

Car looks awesome btw, those seats are the chefs kiss.

[PMD24]

Hey Darryl,

Passing along a few thoughts on your leaks. I had a bunch of leaks on hoses that I made up for fuel lines and never figured out why they were a problem. As you know, it's not exactly rocket science to cut the hose and install a fitting, so all the leaks were making me crazy.

In my case I was unable to verify that the hose and fittings were the same make. The fittings had no brand markings and Blueprint couldn't tell me what brand they were because they buy from more than one supplier. I concluded that they were not matched brands, or were some off brand from overseas, and discarded all. I ended up buying Fragola and had one leak out of several hoses and that one leak was fixed with slight tightening. Sharing this in case you aren't using matching brands of hose and fittings, or using hose and fittings that aren't Earls, Fragola, or similar quality brands.

Also when testing the hoses, I shifted from just pressurizing and watching for the gauge to decay, to submerging the pressurized hose in water. It really helps to see where the leak is to assess the cause.

Final thought is on the connections to the pump and rack. Some of those connections use the dowty washer with an o-ring and some don't. In my case one fitting had the groove for the o-ring and one didn't. If you have the groove and need the o-ring, be sure to lube it before tightening so it doesn't bind during tightening and deform.

Just some thoughts that may help. Hope you get it sorted out. I understand your frustration after dealing with it on my fuel lines.

Pat

[dbo_texas]

Hey Darryl,

Passing along a few thoughts on your leaks. I had a bunch of leaks on hoses that I made up for fuel lines and never figured out why they were a problem. As you know, it's not exactly rocket science to cut the hose and install a fitting, so all the leaks were making me crazy.

In my case I was unable to verify that the hose and fittings were the same make. The fittings had no brand markings and Blueprint couldn't tell me what brand they were because they buy from more than one supplier. I concluded that they were not matched brands, or were some off brand from overseas, and discarded all. I ended up buying Fragola and had one leak out of several hoses and that one leak was fixed with slight tightening. Sharing this in case you aren't using matching brands of hose and fittings, or using hose and fittings that aren't Earls, Fragola, or similar quality brands.

Also when testing the hoses, I shifted from just pressurizing and watching for the gauge to decay, to submerging the pressurized hose in water. It really helps to see where the leak is to assess the cause.

Final thought is on the connections to the pump and rack. Some of those connections use the dowty washer with an o-ring and some don't. In my case one fitting had the groove for the o-ring and one didn't. If you have the groove and need the o-ring, be sure to lube it before tightening so it doesn't bind during tightening and deform.

Just some thoughts that may help. Hope you get it sorted out. I understand your frustration after dealing with it on my fuel lines.

Pat

Thanks I appreciate the input here. I definitely have mix and matched hoses and fittings - all are high quality stuff but not all the same brand. None of my leaks are at the rack - they are at the connection to the oil cooler and to T-fitting I have going into the pump reservoir. So I don't think it's the o-ring thing you mentioned. I was watching some YouTube videos where they recommend pressure testing the hose under water. I need to buy a few components to make a schrader valve 10AN cap so I can do this. It sucks because I spent hundreds of dollars on the materials (hoses + fittings). I'm not even mad about the $$ it's the time I've put into it at this point. I just need it to work. I'm just about to the point where I throw in the towel and buy pre-made hoses. Talk about expensive...just looking online I think it will be +$130 per hose which is crazy.

[edwardb]

Maybe this is talked about elsewhere in your build thread. If it is, sorry. All of my PS builds have hoses, connectors, and PS rack adapters from Mark at Breeze. I'm not sure the brand but as I recall not one of the usual ones. Very nice quality and I've never had anything leak (sound of knocking on wood...). They're stainless and go together easier than some others in my experience. Not cheap to start replacing things. But cheaper than having them made.

[dbo_texas]

Well I went ahead and built a pressure tester kit to see if I could confirm exactly where the leaks were. I used a -10AN male to 1/8 NPT female adapter with a schrader air valve installed on one end of the oil cooler hose, and a -10AN male thread plug on the other end of the hose. Pressurized with a bicycle pump to about 100psi and let it sit --> pressure slowly dropped over 5 minutes, so dunked it in water and can clearly see bubbles coming from the nut on the 90° elbow fitting. The bubbles are coming from the little pin (or ball?) which retains the nut on the fitting, but I suspect the leak is at the sealing surface on the hose fitting. The male thread & 37° sealing surface on the oil cooler looks completely fine, but the surface inside the fitting looks a little bit blemished so I'm wondering if I over-tightened and damaged that aluminum flared surface inside the fitting. Here's a video showing how I pressure tested in case anyone finds this useful. Interesting, the driver's side hose had a clear leak, but I couldn't find any leak on the passenger side hose (despite having a leak at the oil cooler connection.


I'm going to try these -10AN conical washers meant for repairing bad sealing surfaces and see if this fixes the problem. If not, I'm just going to likely pay a shop to fix this for me. I'm ready to go kart and this is the only think holding me up at the moment.

[Mike(Ontario)]

Hi. Did you use the 'Firewall Forward Kit' in this situation? I have the Mk4 + Coyote + Glove Box, but I did not use the Firewall Forward Kit, so I am trying to figure out how to piece this all together and still have some glove box. Thank you.