Casey Family Build thread.... - Page 22 - FFCars.com : Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum

MRSQSL · 10-15-2012, 11:11 PM

Thanks Craig! Unless I can start a thread in off topic called "babbling", there won't be any additional posting from me once the car is done. I have nothing technical to add to any discussion. I suppose I'll post when we do something event related like Huntington Beach or maybe John Force show. I enjoy the updates and will be sad when it's over, but I clearly have issues staying on topic. At the rate we are going, I figure we won't be finished for another 6 years or so.

QSL · 10-16-2012, 01:57 AM

progress is VERY slow right now, but we will jam on it soon!!

frankeeski · 10-16-2012, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRSQSL

Thanks Craig! Unless I can start a thread in off topic called "babbling", there won't be any additional posting from me once the car is done. I have nothing technical to add to any discussion. I suppose I'll post when we do something event related like Huntington Beach or maybe John Force show. I enjoy the updates and will be sad when it's over, but I clearly have issues staying on topic. At the rate we are going, I figure we won't be finished for another 6 years or so.

This is why there is an off topic forum and Wayne's Pub. You need to think 4th dimensionally.

dallas_ · 10-16-2012, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRSQSL

At the rate we are going, I figure we won't be finished for another 6 years or so.

Just in time to start your coupe.

MRSQSL · 10-22-2012, 08:43 PM

Week 44:

Police, fire engine, ambulance, Batman. It was an exciting week around here.

Absolutely nothing interesting occurred Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday morning my doorbell rang and there was Batman!! Hey Jeff! He had come to fetch the passenger door. There had been a slight mishap with a screwdriver which he was fixing. It only took a few minutes for him to detach it and said he'd call soon. Poor Scoopy was left armless, but I didn't have time to hang out and pet the car as I had to get back to work.

Thursday morning Mike had to drive to Phoenix for a business trip. We rose at 4 am (I know, right?) and I drove him to meet the other boss and off they went. The day progressed normally and I intended to work on the check strap installation, but never quite got around to it. Went to bed at 10, but couldn't fall asleep until 11. Woke up at 1:15 to a bunch of sirens. Looked out the window and found three police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance right outside the house. Guess my neighbor had an issue with his fiance. I haven't been able to get many details, but it doesn't surprise me that the night Mike isn't home, there is all sorts of activity. He isn't allowed to leave ever again.

I retrieved Mike Friday evening, but we were both too tired to work on the car. Saturday morning we headed to the garage. I successfully installed the driver's side check strap. The only issue was a stupid rivet that didn't want to break off. I tried using the snips, but definitely don't have the hand strength and Mike had to jump in. My hero. I figured I was done with my final car project and I'd get to sit on the sofa the rest of the day. Wrong.

Mike changed a brake line which had been leaking previously. I tried to tell him the brakes didn't feel good anymore, but there was a miscommunication somehow and he didn't realize what I meant until we were getting ready to pack it in for the night.

Mike smashed the gas tank flange in a very loud hammer-y manner in order to get the rear splash guards installed. Basically, he got everything done so he could put the rear tires back on and take the car off of jacks. We thought we had kept the tires on their correct, respective sides the entire time they were off, but I suspect some little aliens or lerechauns came in and moved them. Poor Mike. He hefted them up and started smushing on the lug nuts when he noticed they were reversed. He switched them around so the center sections had threads going the proper directions and torqued them all down. With this accomplished, the plan was to go in, get cleaned up and fetch dinner. As always seems to happen, Mike decided he wanted to sit in it one last time for the evening and once again this is how he discovered a problem. The brakes were mushy. Instead of eating, we spent an hour or two trying to harden them up. The first step was the normal bleeding where he does whatever magic he does while I push on the pedal, release, etc. That made them a little better, but not by much. Step two was to get out the bleeding tool which he had recently purchased. I suspect when he takes the time to watch the DVD that came with it, things will go well. What happened instead was a lot of foul language which I refuse to repeat here and possibly some pieces and parts slamming around the garage. The only thing that tool seemed to do, was cause brake fluid to pour onto the wheels. Step three was to try bleeding by using the cap that you can put air in using a tire tool and the air compressor. Mike did his magic underneath while I held the air on. Better, still not great. We called it quits and figured we'd tackle it the next morning.

Batman!!!!!! Sunday morning Jeff called and said he'd be by shortly with the repaired door. It looked perfect and he installed it super quickly (clearly done this once or twice before). It's always great to see Jeff and now I'm sad because we have no excuse to see him anymore. AND I would've gotten donuts, but he didn't give us enough warning. Mmmmmm...donuts.

Mike hopped in the driver's seat and pushed on the brakes. I thought they felt fine (I had tried them previously - I wasn't sitting in his lap) and accused him of being a perfectionist (apologized later when it turned out he was right). We started with step three which was the air pressure method. Not much of a change. He finally decided to do it the right way. What? There's a right way and we haven't been doing it???? I think I may have shrieked that out loud. He and Alyssa took off the calipers and turned them whichever way the instructions indicated and I applied the air. I didn't get to see the air running through the lines, but apparently it was an impressive amount. Mike kept saying my name in astonishment, but it wasn't like I could drop the air hose and run over. We repeated the process on the other side and had the same air bubble results. Mike reapplied whatever he removed and sat in the car once more. Rock solid pedal. Better than it ever was before. Yay! This time, though, Aly helped him heft the wheels back onto the axles. Mike's back was acting up (not as much as mine since I haven't been able to turn my head fully to the right since Thursday morning). I'm afraid Aly might be in charge of tire removal and reapplication now. Poor kid.

Fortunately, Mike was able to drill through the floor for the fifth points on the seat harnesses without having to remove the seats. Yay!!!!!! That would've been my job, so let's go with super yay!!!!!!!! We now have all five points and I think the addition makes a huge improvement. It keeps the straps down low and comfy, although makes me feel a smidge claustrophobic.

Now for the bad news. I am taking 100% credit for causing this problem and I feel absolutely horrible and have apologized a thousand times. The wind wings are shattering around a couple of the screws. I don't have the strength of Hercules, so I'm really surprised I over tightened them, but I can't imagine what else could be the cause. I'm sorry!!!!!!!!

I had to take Steve to get new shoes last night, so I left Mike and Alyssa in the garage. I'm thinking shoe shopping is the solution to all of life's problems. When I returned home, Mike and Aly had made an incredible amount of progress. Let's see if I can list all their accomplishments.

seat heater install, wiring and testing
trimmed the dash and partially installed it with the Russ Thompson bezel
cleaned the car
hooked up the heater (except for the hot water line)
started wiring the windshield wipers
replaced the headlight switch
cut bulb seal and removed it from where the hood closes in the front

There may be more. I asked why they were able to do so much in a short period of time and I was told by Mike that I am a distraction. What? I was sitting on the sofa with a heating pad and crocheting a blanket right before I left. How was that distracting???? I'm like a little old lady. I even reek of BenGay today. Sigh.

Lots of progress this week. I'm sure Mike will post pictures soon as proof, but I'm not sure if you'll see much of a difference. As usual, he decided to walk around the car before walking out of the garage last night and noticed the hood doesn't seem to line up with the body as well now that the bulb seal has been removed. Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

CraigS · 10-22-2012, 10:06 PM

Good progress and I am glad you got the sub strap installed. When I use all the belts, I tighten the lap belt as tight as i can. Then i tighten the sub as tight as I can. This pulls the lap belt down so it is grabbing my hips rather than the organs in my belly. Then I tighten the shoulder belts just kind of snug. My 2 cents on that one!

QSL · 10-23-2012, 04:00 AM

this weeks pics! I just need a couple days off from work and we could be soooo close to done!

QSL · 10-23-2012, 04:01 AM

last batch!

h82crash · 10-23-2012, 04:13 AM

Whoa! I guess I haven't been paying attention. I didn't realize you went with the Kirkey Vintage seats. You're gonna love the way they keep you're butt planted. Now you need my headrests.

QSL · 10-23-2012, 04:17 AM

We changed to them a bit back. Mainly because the breeze bars were shorter. I love your rests!!! Problem is Julie's head hits the body lip she is so short. She has requested that I give her warning before gassing it. But I think it's a great opportunity for some fun! Lol

MRSQSL · 10-23-2012, 04:38 AM

If driving to the hospital with an unconscious wife is fun, then I guess you'll have the best driving season ever!

h82crash · 10-23-2012, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRSQSL

If driving to the hospital with an unconscious wife is fun, then I guess you'll have the best driving season ever!

BTW, I made the rest so it drops down in front of the body lip. Claudia's head is about the same place....might be 2 meanings there...

QSL · 10-29-2012, 05:21 PM

Wow, busy weekend. Got some motivation from Waynes party Saturday. Next party I am not driving the challenger... Its going to be the roadster!!

Finished a lot of the things I was dragging my feet on on. The reward was a nice trip through the neighborhood in the evening with all the lights working and the temps outside perfect!!!

Julie to follow with details!!

QSL · 10-29-2012, 05:23 PM

last pics for now. Only electrical that needs to be completed is the indicator lights. I am waiting on one more in the mail to finish that off. I will be able to install without removing the dash. (thank god)

kenny832 · 10-29-2012, 06:11 PM

wow, i'm so impressed with your build thread and the contributions from the whole fam is amazing. cant wait to get together when you're all done. Still pissed I miss the BBQ in laguna!

MRSQSL · 10-29-2012, 11:18 PM

Week 45:

I'm sad to say the end is near. Mike got a hair up his arse this weekend and worked like a maniac. I can only think of one or two things which need his attention. I'm happy and sad at the same time. For the record, I had a migraine last night and missed all the rides, but he promised to take me out tonight. Yay!

Saturday morning we drove out to Wayne's. He received his coupe kit recently and I was beyond excited to meet him and see the car. I have to say it made me want one even more than before. Looking at all that untouched aluminum made my drill finger itchy.

Thank you, Wayne for the delicious food and opportunity to meet you, your friend and reconnect with some of the other forum members. It was great and I'm looking forward to future events like first start (hint, hint).

After the party, we were supposed to go out to a nice dinner, but the switch in Mike had flipped and he was excessively motivated to work on the car. We grabbed a rice/chicken bowl and headed back to the house.

If you haven't tried welding in a fully upholstered vehicle, count your blessings. Fortunately Mike had purchased a welding blanket, but sparks are persistant little bastards and I was practically contortioned in an attempt to keep them off the center console, carpet and seats. Not the prettiest welding job I've seen, but the grab bar is now solid. Well, I say it is. Mike claims it moves a smidge if you push down. If you are the size of an elephant or as strong as The Incredible Hulk, you might have an issue. Since it's on my side and I'll be the one using it the most, I'm not at all concerned. I could probably stand on it and feel no movement.

Sunday, I was essentially useless. I handed Mike things, made him food and kept him company. The only project I recall doing is drilling and riveting a tiny little panel onto another small panel. I guess the wiper wiring ran through it. I had a little say in where the lights would go. I suggested in the black stripe, but that's only because he was dead set on drilling into that little roll of body. I thought it was an insanely gutsy move. We couldn't finish the installation, though, because 1) we haven't received the last light that was ordered - thank you Bill for the two you gave us and 2) because the wire isn't long enough and I (yes me) was going to solder on extra wire however we had nothing small enough. Hopefully Mike remembers to get some this week.

Mike then went on a rampage of work and made the switch panel, installed the heater vent supports, wired up the gauges and lights and whatever else is on the dash, etc. I guess I installed the ducting for the heater, but that took all of 5 seconds, so probably doesn't count for much. Aly helped in the afternoon. My cellphone had died, so I had to go to Verizon to get a new one. Mike was supposed to go with me, but he ended up working extra late and Steve agreed to keep me company. By the time I returned, my head was pounding, lights were incredibly bright and my stomach was roiling around. I hate migraines. They weren't so bad when you could pop an Excedrin Migraine tablet and sit still for about 20 minutes. Stupid recall. Wish that stuff would come back.

So, the dash is permanently mounted and everthing seems to be working and running. I know we need to do the license plate holder and mod in the back. The windshield wipers need to be installed. The exhaust hangers need to be added. The ebrake cables need installation. I'm not 100% positive the heater hoses are hooked to the engine and I believe the radiator is supposed to have some little fitting things and hoses running to something somewhere. That's all I'm aware of. Well, Mike is going to check the distributor gear tonight as we really, really don't want it to blow up and destroy the motor.

I called CHP this morning and made an appointment for Mike to take Scoopy in for inspection. That'll be November 14th. Since the temp operating permit expired, I made an appointment Friday to go back to the DMV (definitely Temecula as it's the best DMV I've EVER been in). I'll beg and plead and see if they'll renew it for a longer period of time than one day. We'll need to do more inspections, but I was under the impression CHP is the one that tells you which BAR you have to go to. Probably Chaffey college, but I don't think I can make an appointment ahead of time (prior to CHP). Plus, there is no guarantee it'll pass inspection (didn't steal anything, so can't imagine what could be the issue but I don't want to tempt fate so I'm currently knocking on all the wood I can find). I know Mike's biggest fear is that the car won't make it since it'll be the first long drive. I have full faith in Scoops, but my sleepless nights stem from the idea of having something impounded.

QSL · 10-30-2012, 09:32 PM

The missing indicator light came last night! Going to install tonight!

MRSQSL · 10-30-2012, 09:55 PM

So, I get home from the grocery store last night and there's my husband petting the car. He may not have literally been touching it, but it was dark and the way it looked in the little bit of light made it appear as such. He had the roadster down at the bottom of the driveway and hustled over to tell me he had been waiting for me. I unloaded a few bags of groceries from the trunk and dropped them on the counter in the kitchen along with my purse. He ordered the kids to finish unloading and stand guard in the open garage (so nobody could burgle).

I hopped in Scoopy and began the tedious buckling in process. For some reason (I think because it was pitch black), I couldn't hook the clasp on the belt. Mike was giddy with excitement, but had to pause long enough to help me loosen a strap until I was able to suck all my fat rolls in enough to safely fasten the metal.

Off we rumbled, smiles emerging. The bulk of the drive was uneventful. It was dark so we couldn't see much and there were a lot of cars out (people getting home from work). Mike didn't actually punch it until we got out onto a more major street. Even then, he said he wasn't pushing real hard. The car has power. The car has crazy power. He asked me if I thought it had more power than the Challenger. Ummmm is ice colder than boiling water?

Just before returning home (after Mike got a smidge lost which Aly told me happened to him the night before in about the same spot), he turned to me and said "let's do one more small lap" pointing to the street in front of our home. No argument from me. As we rounded the curve, I decided to try to move some of my hair in order to eat less of it as it whipped around. My full focus was on that task, not on watching the evil gleaming twinkle in Mike's eye. He smashed down on the pedal and my entire body (mostly in the head area) slammed back and became pinned. He shifted into second and wham. I heard the crack as my skull thudded into the rolled edge of the body. I didn't pass out, but my thoughts flickered back to this forum where I posted something about driving an unconscious wife to the hospital. I made Mike promise to either get me a head rest or tell me before he does that again. Thinking back, he was giggling like a school girl so I don't think his attempts at speech were actually in agreement.

We returned home and found that the passenger sidepipe sounds a little rattle-ish. I'm afraid we may have blown the baffle. Anyway, Mike had recorded the drive on the GoPro so he made us watch gleefully while my head shattered the space-time continuum. Sigh.

I made him promise that if I can get the temp operating permit for more than just a single day, he HAS to take me to the gas station or on the freeway or somewhere new during daylight hours. He isn't allowed to have the first real ride without me and I can't go with him to CHP. If he doesn't follow through, there will be one sad bruised-headed wife moping around the house this weekend.

h82crash · 10-31-2012, 12:51 AM

Ooh, sorry that happened so soon. Put some frozen peas on that bump.

MRSQSL · 10-31-2012, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h82crash

Ooh, sorry that happened so soon. Put some frozen peas on that bump.

I wouldn't be the least bit offended if you hijacked the thread and posted a picture of the headrest you've constructed for the wife you clearly love immensely (hint, hint Mike).

h82crash · 10-31-2012, 01:20 AM

Won't hijack, but thanks for the opportunity to spread my poison. Here's a link,
Got my headrests done!

Mike's gonna have to fab his own clamps because of your tube size, or use a different design.

QSL · 10-31-2012, 04:51 AM

about 14 seconds in.... LOL, Julie is such a wuss. Guess we will be looking at building her a coupe with a prius engine...

factory five roadster - YouTube

BlitzAttack · 10-31-2012, 04:55 AM

Haha thats funny, and the car sounds great!

QSL · 10-31-2012, 04:00 PM

I thought it was funny too

It was going into second that did it for her. What is wierd about this setup is... I was told it would be uncontrollable, waste of money, etc... Keep in mind i am only hitting the throttle half way, but the car is extremely stable and the tires dont even start to break loose. I give credit to the flat torque curve of the engine along with the FAT Khumo XS meats and LONG throw on the throttle linkage.

Big Blocker · 10-31-2012, 08:52 PM

" Julie to follow with details!! "

Only if you stop bashing her head against the body roll . . . or adding to the Migraine /whiplash scenarios.

Julie,
Glad to hear your OK and not the first casualty of the car. I don't know what we'd do without your daily blog of the build.

Doc

MRSQSL · 10-31-2012, 09:30 PM

Maybe I should crochet a head protection unit of some sort. I suppose it would be less work to duct tape a ball of yarn to the back of my head.

Thanks to those with sympathy.

Grrrrr...to those that laughed.

In case I forget to mention it in next week's update, I soldered last night. It was almost as much fun as welding except I could do it inside the house and didn't have to wear a giant mask. Hmmm...maybe it's better than welding.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!