First Legal Drive of FFR 7386 - FFCars.com : Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum

mirose · 08-11-2012, 10:20 PM

Got my title yesterday....Thank the good lord that NJ DMV is open on Saturday Am. Got my plates today (see first pic...me driving home with them) and then went for my first drive for "real"

I had one issue already...I went first to get gas and the fuel filler neck leaks where it enters the tank...I guess until I get this figured out I'll keep 3/4 tank or less...it only leaks when the level gets up to the filler neck level. I had to wait around for 20 min for the top gallon or so to leak out and evaporate...but once the level of gas was below the filler neck there was no issue at all. Needless to say its a bit of a bummer...but of the things that could have gone wrong today its probably one of the easier ones to fix (I have a post up specific to this issue and have gotten some good feedback already)

The second thing I noticed are two things related to the steering/allignment. 1) my steering wheel has about 1/8 inch of play in it before it engages the steering shaft. I remember long ago I had a lot of trouble putting the upper shaft into the lower shaft and I sanded it down a bit to help it slide in. I bet I oversanded it. I am not sure if there is an easy fix for this without getting a new upper shaft. Its a very minor concern, but I am a steering/allignment snob and I like it to be as crisp and tight as possible. so this is on my list of stuff to eventually take care of. And related to this 2) I have only a preliminary allignment with a fastrax. I find that for the most part the car tracks pretty true, but it has a slight mind of its own on certain roads. Again, its not a huge issue, but as an allignment snob I plan to do whatever I can to get the car to act like its on rails. This might simply be a professional alligment and also double checking the ride height etc as now the car is fully loaded etc. Please chime in if achieveing super-tight allignment/steering characteristics is unrealistic with this kit. I have no idea.

Other than that I took the car through its paces on side roads, big roads and even highways. It drove great and I was really happy. The picture you see below is me doing my first errand with the car....Buying earplugs at Riteaid. I guess its true that the car is really loud.

The last thing I noticed was that the amount of attention the car (and I) got was far beyond anything I expected. in the 30 minutes I took the car out I must have had 20 people roll down their windows to talk to me about the car and had countless others snap their necks trying to get a good look at the car while it whizzed by etc. At the gas station I had two people ask to get in the car and another wanted me to pop the hood to look at the engine. This is crazy.

My final question I guess is what do you all say when they say "is it a cobra?". So far I have said "yes, A factory Five Cobra" But I guess "yes" would be fine too. So far no one has said "is it real" But I am sure that is coming next.

Anyway, I have a bunch of neighbors asking for rides....

-M

cobradawg · 08-11-2012, 10:38 PM

nice job, work out the few little grimlins and you are good to go!

Cobradavid · 08-11-2012, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirose

The last thing I noticed was that the amount of attention the car (and I) got was far beyond anything I expected. in the 30 minutes I took the car out I must have had 20 people roll down their windows to talk to me about the car and had countless others snap their necks trying to get a good look at the car while it whizzed by etc. At the gas station I had two people ask to get in the car and another wanted me to pop the hood to look at the engine.

Get used to that! Your car looks good. Be proud of the attention it gets.

David

P.S. Congrats!

QSL · 08-12-2012, 12:03 AM

sweet day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mirose · 08-12-2012, 12:29 AM

thanks guys...Well one of the gremlins just got a little bigger...

I was taking a friend for a ride, and it was getting a bit dark so I flipped on the lights...they came on but I noticed the lights on the dials didn't come on...they were just working fine the other day...then I tried to use the Russ Thompson Turn signal flasher button...It didn't work...again, it worked fine the other day. Then I pulled over and got out of the car to look at all of the lights......the rear running lights weren't working...also were fine the other day...And finally the license plate light isn't working...also was working just two days ago. The brake lights, and turn signals work, so I can use the car during the day fine, but until I get this figured out, no night driving.

My assumption is that something came loose on one of my terminal blocks. I am in shock because I tightened everything a hundred times and then put "goop" on the screws to secure them. And I only have 50 miles on the car. Boo Hoo.

the biggest bummer is with an MKIV, you have to remove the body to get behind the dash, at least the way I have things you have to.

So I have two options

1) Suck it up and take a few days to get the body off and figure this out

2) wait until I get it painted this winter and when the body is off deal with it then.

I kinda want to do #1 so I have time to make sure whatever I do is a lasting fix, and it also gives me another chance to deal with any further issues when the body is off at paint.

I intentionally got the car titled and registered etc before paint for exactly this reason...I wanted to shake the car down for a few mos before buttoning it up (hopefully) for good after painting. I kinda knew I would have some things to do, and in a weird way I am psyched to have more stuff to do on the car...but the one thing I DIDN"T want to have to do is pull of the freaking body again. I hate that.

Well, it is what it is....the good news is the car runs great and I am very, very happy overall.

-M

QSL · 08-12-2012, 01:25 AM

I think i would fix it now too.

But what makes it so you have to remove the body to get the dash off?

JKleiner · 08-12-2012, 01:34 AM

Congratulations on the milestone Michael!

Regarding the lights; check the 15 amp fuse labled "RUN LTS/RADIO MEM". That is the feed for your dash lites and running lites (including the plate). If it's blown we need to find out why but it's a place to start. Don't know where you pulled power for the Russ signal---maybe from the always hot red "radio memory" wire? If so that is on the same fuse. If you have it wired so that the high beam flash is powered directly from this source and when activated is sending power directly to the headlights rather than through a relay that could very well explain a popped fuse as the high beams will draw over 15 amps.

You should be tight with no slop in the steering shaft. Did you install the Belleville washers? Some guys have taken up the small amount of slack in the double D shafts with a few thousands of feeler gauge stock.

On the "mind of it's own" issue, be sure that it is set for toe in (1/16"-3/32"). If it is toed out it will lack straight ahead stability and can be darty.

Get used to the attention, good luck and enjoy the rides!

Jeff

NiceGuyEddie · 08-12-2012, 01:43 AM

i love those Asbury Park and Seaside Heights areas!

there is that law in New Joisey where all gas is "full service"....so exactly how will you be able to stand it when that greasy guy has the metal nozzle dripping fuel on your paint?

i'd freak!

mirose · 08-12-2012, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QSL

I think i would fix it now too.

But what makes it so you have to remove the body to get the dash off?

I think I will fix it now too...after I have fun driving it around in the daytime for a few weeks. Which will also give me time to see if anything else goes sour before I embark on a few steps backwards.

as for the dash removal issue: The lip of the body in the MKIV rolls over the top of the dash and actually completely covers the screws that are holding the dash on at the top. I guess I don't have to remove the body completely, but maybe I can just get it loose enough to lift it enough to unscrew those screws...but I don't see that happening terribly easily...I'll still have to pull out the windshield, the front elephant ears and the front quickjacks and the hood so I can kind of pop it up a bit at the front. I might even have to remove the doors... I guess its worth trying that before pulling off the trunk, doors, rear quickjacks and getting a small team of people in to help me remove the body completely (and then having to reverse the whole process).

I had thought about doing something more easily removeable for the dash (some have even used strong velcro up top I think) but I wanted the dash to be sturdy...my thinking was less vibration would mean less chance for things like this to happen!!! You know what they say about how men plan and god laughs....

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKleiner

Congratulations on the milestone Michael!

Regarding the lights; check the 15 amp fuse labled "RUN LTS/RADIO MEM". That is the feed for your dash lites and running lites (including the plate). If it's blown we need to find out why but it's a place to start. Don't know where you pulled power for the Russ signal---maybe from the always hot red "radio memory" wire? If so that is on the same fuse. If you have it wired so that the high beam flash is powered directly from this source and when activated is sending power directly to the headlights rather than through a relay that could very well explain a popped fuse as the high beams will draw over 15 amps.

You should be tight with no slop in the steering shaft. Did you install the Belleville washers? Some guys have taken up the small amount of slack in the double D shafts with a few thousands of feeler gauge stock.

On the "mind of it's own" issue, be sure that it is set for toe in (1/16"-3/32"). If it is toed out it will lack straight ahead stability and can be darty.

Get used to the attention, good luck and enjoy the rides!

Jeff

Well, Jeff, as usual you prove yourself to be incredibly smart and informed about how these cars work. In fact, I checked that fuse and sure enough its blown...I put in a new one and it blew instantaneously just by toggling the switch on...not even to the high beams. Here is the schematic of how I wired the RT turn signal...It looks to me like its from the headlight switch feed #2 if I am reading the schematic right. Also, as you see from the schematic, there is a relay on the circuit.

As for the Steering shaft...I installed one of the two washers as it was tight as hell pushing in the first one...I didn't want to make it any tighter with a second one. I had nightmares of having to pull the steering wheel shaft out in the future....I wonder if the "slop" is between the upper and lower steering shafts OR if its where the steering wheel attaches to the tip of the steering shaft....

I'll double check the toe...I actually realized that I raised my ride height for inspection and that probably changed the allignment a bit...I have to drop it back down 1/2 inch all around. I'll see what that does.

As usual, thanks a ton for your help!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiceGuyEddie

i love those Asbury Park and Seaside Heights areas!

there is that law in New Joisey where all gas is "full service"....so exactly how will you be able to stand it when that greasy guy has the metal nozzle dripping fuel on your paint?

i'd freak!

Well, right now I am in gelcoat, so I don't care...but after paint I am going to just tell the guy that he can stand there and pretend to be in charge, but I am actually filling the car up. I have a feeling when they see the finished car with an awesome metalmorphous paint job they won't argue with me.

thanks for all the feedback.

-Michael

QSL · 08-12-2012, 02:57 AM

thanks for clarifying the dash bolts. I was just wondering because we jumped the gun and had the body painted before finalizing the dash fitment.

Good luck. Its an awesome point your at and if you just have little issues like this on the way, i would say its a success. I am sure its just something stupid too. Perhaps you may even remember it was something you meant to finish off?

LOL.

mirose · 08-12-2012, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QSL

Good luck. Its an awesome point your at and if you just have little issues like this on the way, i would say its a success. I am sure its just something stupid too. Perhaps you may even remember it was something you meant to finish off?

LOL.

Well, my plan all along was to get to this point (legal to drive) and then shake down the car for the rest of the summer before sending it off for paint. so to that end, my plan worked! My fear was having to remove a beautifully painted body just to get at some stupid screw that came loose on the light switch. Well, if I had done paint first, my fear would have come true...Now I just have to remove the unpainted body...which is just as much of a pain, but at least I don't have to baby the thing...I can muscle it off a bit.

As far as "may even remember it was something you meant to finish". No, thats not it. I actually kept a running checklist of things I started, and meant to finish..and I didn't put the body on until I had done EVERYTHING on the list. However, about three months ago (before the body was on and I could see behind the dash) I had a spade connector fall off of one of the connections on the heater switch (nothing wrong with the crimp, it just got disconected either by vibration or maybe a stray yank on the wire). Regardless of how it happened, It was a bit of a wake-up call that these connections have to be taken seriously. so I spent almost a day going over every single wire and connection and screw and tightened everything and then put goop on the terminal blocks to hopefully prevent the screws from loosening up over time....well, despite all that look at where I am after just 50 miles on the car.

so anyway, I have some ideas where to look. at some point I do think I will have to just remove the body and have a look.

-Michael

dallas_ · 08-12-2012, 04:38 AM

Michael,
Congrats on getting it on the road. That's a big step for sure.

Interesting about not being able to remove the dash on the Mk 4. I wonder if there is a way to modify it so it can be removed. I think it would make it significantly harder to fix these types of things if you can't get behind the dash.

mirose · 08-12-2012, 11:11 AM

I am going to start a thread to see what other's have done to make dash removal easier on the MKIV. My friend Jon (who had the car fire and is building his second roadster now) found someone who makes these modular inserts of the dash componenets that somehow snap in and out making removal of the dash not needed, because you just snap out the part of the dash that is having issues and can fix it right there. So that is one solution...but too late on that one for me.

I'll see what other's have done.

smada001 · 08-13-2012, 02:40 PM

Looks like you're having a lot of fun. A shakedown is a great idea. One thing, it could just be from the angle of the pic, but make sure that side pipe isn't superclose to the body or it'll be bad for the paint. From the picture angle it looks like the side pipe is right on the body.

skjsming · 08-14-2012, 12:06 AM

Michael - Congrats and i am sure you will track down the loose ends. But you definitely sound like you are enjoying the ride

mirose · 08-14-2012, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smada001

Looks like you're having a lot of fun. A shakedown is a great idea. One thing, it could just be from the angle of the pic, but make sure that side pipe isn't superclose to the body or it'll be bad for the paint. From the picture angle it looks like the side pipe is right on the body.

Yes, I can't wait to get home from work every day and take the car out. I am getting to know it better and better every day. I love the sound of the engine and I don't think I have pushed the pedal much past 1/2 way and Its already more HP then I will ever need. This thing freaking MOVES.

As for the side pipe, its actually no where close to the body. I'd say 2 inches away. The angle of the picture must be doing that. Also, I have the pipe covers on there...so they are standing about 1 inch above the pipe and may be giving the illusion that the pipe is near the body...but that is the cool pipe cover anyway...and even that is at least an inch away from the body.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skjsming

Michael - Congrats and i am sure you will track down the loose ends. But you definitely sound like you are enjoying the ride

Well the good news is I figured out my electrical problem today..and I didn't have to remove the body!!! woo hoo!

My License plate is shorting out my license plate lights!!!!

I did Jeff Kleiner's Mod for the license plate light on the MKIV and either I did something wrong when I reassembled it with the modification or, more likely I shoved the plate so far up there that its contacting enough metal that its creating a short. I haven't had time to pinpoint which is the exact cause yet, but to prove this was the point of the short I unplugged the license plate light and put a new fuse in and now everything works perfectly (except the license plate light which I still have to pull apart and figure out what is the problem).

For a while I couldn't think of anything I had done new to the car since I got the plates on Saturday, and then it hit me...I had modified the license plate light so I could fit the plate on the back of the car! (for those who aren't aware, the MKIV doesn't have enough room between the license plate holder and the trunk latch to fit a standard plate...seems crazy, but its true)

Well thanks for all the attention to the matter! I am just glad I can cross this gremlin off the list!