I just hope you don't get yelled at for using a GM color for the red stripes
It is funny you bring that up. When I was writing out the colors I immediately thought - somebody is going to comment about this. Three out of four Ford colors aint bad!
That's looks incredible! Congrats...that's a huge milestone!
BTW, I was in your neck of the woods for work last week...spent Tue/Wed in downtown Milwaukee. Was born in Madison and lived in Waukesha, spending my summers on Pewaukee lake. Would love to get back to that area in retirement. More usable warm weather months than Kansas!
Greg
Did you know Waukesha Foundry? I've done business with them forever, they make a special lubricated stainless steel that won't gall.
Great choices on colors! What was the lead time to get your car in for paint? I’m a ways out but I would really like to get mine to paint during this next winter.
So the lead time in my particular situation is a bit unique. I originally reached out to the painter almost a two years ago with an initial thought that we were going to aim for last winter. That didn't materialize (e.g., i wasn't ready) so I re-contacted him again a few months ago and since I was already on the waiting list I was able to get in with not too much lead time.
I guess the take-away is that you can't really call early enough (especially given that I've heard some painters are a year or two out). I'd recommend reaching out as soon as possible and just working with the painter to get something setup. Better to get on a list now and just say you won't be ready for XX months than wait too long and have a finished car you can't move. At least in my opinion.
That's looks incredible! Congrats...that's a huge milestone!
BTW, I was in your neck of the woods for work last week...spent Tue/Wed in downtown Milwaukee. Was born in Madison and lived in Waukesha, spending my summers on Pewaukee lake. Would love to get back to that area in retirement. More usable warm weather months than Kansas!
Greg
I'm actually out in the lake country area myself and have downed many a cold beverage on Pewaukee Lake. Great area.
So close! The car is back in the garage and the final projects are finally getting checked-off to place the car in “driver” condition. The goal is to get to at least one car show before the summer ends.
PAINT
First off, it was great to finally be able to see the finished paint in person. I was really happy with the finished color combination and layout. Seeing the car in paint just really makes everything seem so much more finished.
It is worth noting that there were a few “tweaks” required post-paint that I didn’t memorialize here. I re-hung the doors (I wasn’t terribly happy with the door fitment when the car arrived), re-hung the door latches so the doors operated more smoothly, and re-hung the side-pipes so they better aligned with the openings in the body. Otherwise, everything looked pretty good.
REAR WHEEL WELLS
After addressing the above-listed tweaks, the first major item on the list post-paint was to complete the front and rear wheel wells. For each, I purchased the supplemental vinyl wheel well liners form VRaptor Speedworks to supplement the elephant ears provided by the kit and help protect the body from debris.
To fit the rear elephant ears, I decided to go with a set of 10-24 bolts, washers, and corresponding riv-nuts set into the trunk sheet metal. I also anchored a stud to the body using HSRF for the body-side. The main goal here was to allow the panels to be removed should I ever need to access to the rear-most aspects of the car in the future (specifically the gas vent / filter assembly and gas filler tube).
Overall, both elephant ears (driver and passenger) fit really well out of the box with only a small amount of trimming needed on the driver-side panel to make sure everything nice and snug along the entire perimeter. I’m not sure if others had this issue, but I did encounter some interference with the gas tank flange on the driver side. To remedy this, I simply pulled out the ole’ pliers and bent the flange back as needed. Simple but effective.
With the elephant ears in place, it was then time to fit the vinyl. Again, more 10-24 bolts and riv-nuts were the answer. Generally speaking, getting the rear vinyl in place was pretty straight forward aside from wrestling everything into position. For positioning, I used the pre-drilled holes provided by VRaptor in both the front and rear. I found that I did not need any reinforcement at the top of the vinyl so long as I made sure the vinyl was properly positioned within the wheel well (E.g., held nice and tight against the body along its entire length).
To note, I found that a riv-nut installed into the rear wall of the cockpit (e.g., corresponding to the bolts to the left of the above photo) worked very well. The riv-nuts themselves are shallow enough that they do not protrude beyond the carpet on the inside of the cockpit so they are all but invisible once installed (e.g., the height of the riv-nut is about equal to the thickness of the pile of the carpet). So long as you make sure the bolt isn’t too long, they make for a clean and simple install without requiring any special fasteners or additional brackets.
Last edited by BrewCityCobra; 07-15-2025 at 11:03 PM.
I flipping love the driver side stripes and the balance with the blue and white. That is very cool- I imagine it will feel so great driving that around. Very well done!
So I have been falling a bit behind on updating my thread, hopefully can make some progress getting things current here over the next few months.
FRONT WHEEL WELLS
After preparing and installing the vinyl inserts for the rear wheel wells, the next job on the docket was to do the same for the front. I had told myself that even though the car was technically drivable, I wanted to wait until at least the wheel well liners were installed before taking it for a spin to try to minimize rock-throw damage and the like.
ELEPHANT EARS
First up for the front wheels was figuring out what to do with the elephant ears provided by FFR. I regularly give FFR accolades for how well the aluminum panels fit throughout the car with really no trimming or bending required. And stand by that. But the elephant ears – at least the front ones – were a bit of a different story.
I tried putting the panels in my break and bending them, playing with the mounting locations, etc. but just couldn’t seem to bring the gaps down enough for the provided weather stripping to make a seal all the way around with the body. So I decided the best path forward was to fabricate a pair of new ones.
To secure the elephant ears in place (on the outside), I originally tried going with a bonding stud secured to the body using HSRF but I couldn’t get a good connection and it kept breaking off (In retrospect I think I just wasn’t preparing the surface properly). So instead I decided to just drill a hole and run a stud the body itself. Rock solid and good to go.
While the underside shot makes it look like the washers/bolt would be an eye sore, you really can’t see it at all unless the car is up on a lift (or you are under the car) so while not aesthetically the best path forward, it worked without too much issue.
INSERTS
For mounting the inserts, I again found the VRaptor Speedworks units to fit extremely well and did not require any trimming. After playing with the inserts a bit, I ultimately decided that mounting solutions for the front and rear was all that was needed to keep everything securely in place. I did play around with the idea of incorporating a “top mount” into the build but, like the rears, ultimately found that if you made a point to really install everything nice and tight (e.g., pressed nice and firm against the body), engagement with the body and frame was enough to really hold everything in place.
For the rear mounting points I simply used some riv-nuts installed in the elephant ears near the bottom edge (using washers to help spread out the load). I did end up using a spacer positioned between the insert and the elephant ear on the outermost bolt to help keep the alignment proper since the angle of the elephant ear and the angle of the insert don’t necessarily match exactly. The idea was to make sure the bulb seal was firmly pressed against the flange of the wheel opening to create a seal.
As for the front, I fabricated a small mounting block using sheet metal and four riv-nuts and bolted it to the insert itself along the front edge.
The insert then provided a pair of threaded mounting points for bolts passing through a small “L” bracket I prepared to secure the front edge in place.
Really pleased with the inserts overall (front and rear). Not only do they fit great, they provide a real “finished” look in each wheel well and – functionally – should help keep the body from getting too beat up from rock throws and the like.
Would certainly recommend.
Thanks for posting the detail about the ears and the wheel well liners... those look great and I need to order a set. They really make for a finished look.
Thanks for posting the detail about the ears and the wheel well liners... those look great and I need to order a set. They really make for a finished look.
It really is day and night. I've always felt that there are times the front ends of these cars can look a bit "hollow" when you look in the wheel well area since the front of the body is really only held up by those few small frame elements. These wheel well liners really help make it look more solid, filled out, and finished. Obviously the fact they are also protecting the underside of your body is a huge plus as well.
Moving to the interior, the next major task was to finish the transmission cover and swap out the shifter for a new semi-custom setup.
TRANSMISSION COVER
For the cover, I decided to go wrap everything in leather from the same hide I used for the dash. All pretty standard fare. For the metal work, I continued to use the “two-layer patch” concept, using some 6-32 flat-head bolts and my countersink drill bit to keep everything flush. Once everything was in place the entire assembly was bodyworked with body filler to make it as flat as possible. As for the leather wrapping, I tried to reproduce the look and feel of the dashboard as best as possible – so more 1/8” padding and 3M spray glue. Finally, I choose to go with Velcro for attachment, relying on hook and loop strips from McMaster.
While preparing the transmission cover, I also decided to address the shifter. Like many, I’ve never been a big fan of the FFR shift knob – not because of the construction (it’s good and heavy and feels well built) or position (I actually really like where it positions the ball) but because the shape and angle of the shift stick itself makes for a weird aesthetic and potentially pinches in 1st-3rd-5th gear.
When looking for a replacement I initially considered the traditional Cobra shifters that are generally available but ultimately decided against because the fitment just didn’t quite align with what I was looking for. Finding no other shift sticks that were commercially available that fit my needs (e.g., is a bolt-in replacement and will place the shift ball in approximately the same location as the FFR shifter), I decided the best path forward was to either make my own or customize an existing design.
Enter the Hurst Competition Plus Round Shift Stick – 5389015. Out of the box, the shift stick sits too upright if bolted directly to the TKX but I really liked the look and general shape. After a bit of experimentation I found that it was possible to fabricate an adapter plate positioning the base of the shifter behind and at an angle to the TKX mounting points causing the the ball to be positioned in effectively the same position as the original FFR knob but producing a much better overall shape/look. Perfect! The adapter plate itself is formed from 3/16” steel so plenty rigid to the point where there is no play between the shifter and transmission.
The shift ball is from TREMEC, a polished aluminum piece with 5-speed pattern on the top (not shown in the photos).
For now I have the original rubber boot installed but am in the process of having a custom leather boot prepared. I’ll update the photos once that comes in.
Looks great, but I think you need a few more bolts in your filler piece.
Greg
Built an early MkIII years ago, sold years ago. Back after 18 years to build a MkIV Build Thread Here Partners: Levy Racing, Summit Racing, LMR, Breeze, Forte's Parts, Speedhut, ReplicaParts
MkIV Complete Kit Ordered 4/18/23, Delivered 7/11/23, First start 3/15/25. Legal 6/13/25. Boss 427W, Edelbrock Pro Flo 4, TKX (.68 5th), IRS, Wilwood Brakes, 18" Halibrands, Toyo R888R Tires, Custom Speedhut Gauges
Looks great, but I think you need a few more bolts in your filler piece.
Greg
Hah! I certainly went a little overboard. For whatever reason I couldn't kick the fear that I would space the bolts too far apart and the piece wouldn't stay flush.
But I'll tell you what - that thing isn't going anywhere!
Hah! I certainly went a little overboard. For whatever reason I couldn't kick the fear that I would space the bolts too far apart and the piece wouldn't stay flush.
But I'll tell you what - that thing isn't going anywhere!
I did the same 2-step filler piece, and simply glued it in place. Your elbow doesn't rest anywhere near it, so it's not going anywhere.
Built an early MkIII years ago, sold years ago. Back after 18 years to build a MkIV Build Thread Here Partners: Levy Racing, Summit Racing, LMR, Breeze, Forte's Parts, Speedhut, ReplicaParts
MkIV Complete Kit Ordered 4/18/23, Delivered 7/11/23, First start 3/15/25. Legal 6/13/25. Boss 427W, Edelbrock Pro Flo 4, TKX (.68 5th), IRS, Wilwood Brakes, 18" Halibrands, Toyo R888R Tires, Custom Speedhut Gauges
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Originally Posted by Mike.Bray
It looks great! Amazing! Very, very nice.
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