[bcoleman]

Great job Paul! I have used your last to build threads as the foundation for my recently completed roadster.:smile2:

 

[phileas_fogg]

Congratulations Paul; very well deserved.


John

 

[edwardb]

Time to Call it a Wrap

After 15 pages, 442 posts, and >50K views (over 150K views between the two forums, crazy), I'm going to shut this build thread down. The Roadster is 100% completely assembled with everything working as it should (so far!). I need to aim the headlights and do a final check on the alignment, but other than that it’s ready to drive and enjoy. I’ll get started on the Michigan inspection, title and license process right away and it should be ready in plenty of time for spring. Right now, we’re tentatively planning to attend the 2017 Factory Five Open House, and we’re already registered for the London Cobra Show. Plus our local club has a full schedule of events planned. Looking forward to all of that!

Yesterday while moving cars around in the garage, seemed moving the new Roadster required a brief run around the block in my neighborhood. First time with the body on and (obviously) with everything complete. I took it real easy because it’s far from legal and I really don’t want to find out if I have any grouchy neighbors. But it’s very obvious this is going to be an awesome runner and driver. Can’t wait.

It’s been a blast sharing this build. It had enough detail and some new things (Mustang IRS, Gen2 Coyote, plus some others) that it really generated a lot of interest and tons of posts, messages, calls, texts, etc. All good and it was fun sharing and helping where I could. Thanks to everyone for your positive comments, encouragement, and suggestions along the way. I agreed with most of them.

I want to share this in conclusion. During the just completed Detroit Autorama, one guy came up to me and told me he appreciated my build as much or more than any of the other builds “over there” while waving in the general direction of the extremely high end builds including the Ridler finalists. He said it was because he knew I did this as an amateur in my own garage with my own sweat and blood as opposed to the professional builds being displayed. I’m sure that many of the other 700+ cars that were there were also labors of love, and I don’t deserve to be even talked about in the same breath as the Ridler builds. Check the winner here: 2017 Detroit Autorama 1933 Ford Roadster Wins Ridler. Rumor was it cost over $5 million to build. Absolutely stunning to see in person. But I appreciated the compliment and sentiment very much. Many of the questions I had during the show about how much one of these builds costs completely misses the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. My son bought this plasma cut steel sign for me from a vendor at the show. Very cool and it will find a place of prominence in my man cave. He didn’t know it, but it’s also a marketing phrase used by Factory Five. It captures the sentiment perfectly:


With that, I’m done with the build thread. It’s been quite a ride. The new Coupe is at the top of the list for another project, maybe to start next winter. This weekend, talked to a couple Ford guys and received just a couple of inside tips about the 2018 (Gen3?) Coyote. Could be an interesting combination. We’ll see. Thanks again everyone, and looking forward to meeting more of you in person.

 

[chrisarella]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Validation for one of the best builds I've watched on these forums.

 

[BULLITT428]

Congratulations!! I have watched all of your builds Paul and you have done an outstanding job on this one. Your Roadster Looks Awesome! You make us all proud!!

Ed.

 

[Zman]

Paul,

Congratulations on the completion.

Your build threads and personal responses to my questions have been indispensable to my build. You have made me a better builder. I can not thank you enough!

 

[cobraAZ]

Friday I received my second 50 pound shipment from Wilwood. The rear brakes. This is a milestone on two fronts. First, I now have the complete set of long awaited Anniversary Edition Wilwood brakes. Second, it’s the last item on my shortage and/or missing list for my kit. I am now officially 100% complete.

Just a couple words about this subject. I am a huge fan of Factory Five products (obviously) and have the highest respect for the company and their products. They’ve allowed me to do something I’ve always wanted to do, and have a final product that I’m proud to own and a blast to show and drive. But I think they have room for improvement in the order fulfillment and delivery process. I fully realize the Anniversary Edition has some unique parts plus it is (I think) the first customer deliveries of the new 2015 Mustang IRS setup. So some shortages and delays maybe could be expected. But I was honestly pretty surprised when I saw the length of the backorder list when I picked up my kit, then added some items that were missing or just plain not accounted for. Everyone at FF was super friendly and helpful during every phone call and/or email. But it’s been six months since I ordered my kit, and four plus months since I picked it up. IMO that's really not acceptable. Especially the extended delays and missed promises for the Wilwood brakes. And they require 100% payment up front before taking delivery on anything. Hmm... But now it’s finally complete. I’m confident this will soon be a distant memory, and forgotten entirely once the build is completed. Owning and driving one of these will do that to you. But especially for first-time customers, this all has to be pretty disappointing. I spent my career doing multiple business continuous improvement projects. I would suggest this is something FF may want to focus on. Premium freight alone has to be significant. OK, enough about that. And I don’t want to turn my build thread into a rant on this subject. For me it’s done. I know there are others still waiting for a number of parts. Hopefully you too will soon get to this point.

After completing the front brakes a couple weeks ago, the rear brakes went together very quickly. Again, the parts and instructions from Wilwood were top notch. Everything fit perfectly, and exactly like the instructions. I was interested (and maybe a little nervous) about the bracketry for the 2015 Mustang IRS knuckles, but it was fine. Not much to do except post some pictures.

The rears also use a separate rotor and hat assembly that is bolted together and optionally safety wired. I chose to do the safety wires like on the fronts. Getting a little better at it I guess. At least a little faster. Took me about an hour for each rotor and hat. The rotors are the same diameter as the fronts, but slightly thinner. The hats are different too. Different offset and don't require the adapter rings for the hub.


Shims are used to center the 4-piston caliper to the rotor, and also the height of the caliper on the mounting bracket. All was easy to set up just like described in the instructions. The rears use a separate parking brake caliper. So it’s quite an assembly when completed.




I routed the e-brake cables per the instructions, and looks OK to the rear mounting holes. I’m going to look for alternatives to going under the 4 inch tube to the handle. Still can’t get my head around that, even though I know many do it and it’s fine. The instructions don’t specifically say where to mount the chassis end of the flex hoses, but I could kind of see them in some of the pictures and ended up (I think) in the same locations. This should provide easy enough access to the brake lines.


I had to drag out one of the 18 inch rear wheels to check the clearance and also just see what it looked like on there. Clearance all good. They are huge though.



Earlier this week, I pretty much finished up all the cooling lines, vacuum, and PCV hoses on the front of the Coyote. Here you can see the crossover from the inlet to outlet of the heater connections. Ford Racing recommends if not using a heater (I’m not) to connect the two with a 5/16 inch restrictor in the line. I received the Gates quick connects mentioned in my last post and made up the hose. Wasn’t sure what to do for a restrictor. I ended up with a 3/4 inch long steel bushing from the hardware store that I drilled out to 5/16 inch and put in the hose held by the clamp pictured. I also completed the hose from the water neck to the top of the expansion tank. This is the one I mentioned in my last update that wasn’t available anywhere from Ford. Easy enough to make up, except that the water neck connection was 5/16 ID, and the tank 3/8 ID. So searched around and found an adapter and it’s done. I also made up the PCV hose to the bottom of the Spectre intake on the DS, and decided to re-do the PS with the same hose and placing the JLT Performance oil separator a little more neatly.


Here you can see the connections I made to the Spectre intake. The top one is for the CMCV system, and the lower one (just visible, sorry) is the DS PCV line. I used connectors from JLT Performance mentioned in some other Coyote build threads. They are aluminum, and fit into a rubber grommet in the intake. I used some Permatex Ultra Black RTV when installing them. Seems to work perfectly. The factory connectors clip right on.


All those hoses and such look pretty messy. No way to make things very pretty. That I can figure out anyway. Looks a little better with the cover in place.


Just a few more details to wrap up on the engine. Mainly power steering and then a final decision about battery location. Then it will be back out so I can finish installing all the aluminum panels. Right now doesn’t appear that I will have any space issues in the front of the engine. But it’s sure busy in there. Onward!

I have the same wilwood rear break setup but my e-brake spring seems to be too weak to fully disengage the e-brake. Did you experience this?

 

[cobraAZ]

Edward, I absolutely love the dash work you do on your Factory Fives. It looks like you use some scrap aluminum angle to secure the dash to the top tube. Is that right? How are you attaching the angle to the dash and then how do you secure it to the top tube? On the bottom of or top of (hung) the tube?

Thanks. I prefer not to put screws through the front, first because of appearance and second because they can get covered up with the body. Strictly a personal preference. I've seen several builds do something similar as this, so can't say it's 100% original. Came up with it during my first build and have repeated for the others. It's not exactly scrap aluminum. It's 1 inch right angle aluminum from HD or Lowes (don't remember...) cut into 1-1/2 inch lengths and trimmed to 3/4 inch wide on the dash hoop side. I attach them to the dash with flat head screws before the covering is applied. Just make sure to fill the holes dead flat or they could picture through to the dash. I place them where they're accessible from the bottom. I rivet 10-32 nut plates to the bottom of the 3/4 inch tube, and hold in place with 10-32 cap screws. I've not had to take a dash back out (yet!) but it would be easy enough to do if necessary.

What do you use for lower dash support? These lower mounts look thicker than .040 and seem to have curved edges to reduce flex. What distance do you have between dash and crossbar for these supports?

 

[edwardb]

I have the same wilwood rear break setup but my e-brake spring seems to be too weak to fully disengage the e-brake. Did you experience this?

No. Once the handle and cables were installed, and hooked up to the rear e-brakes, they have always worked perfectly. Immediately disengage when the handle is released. I found these particular e-brake calipers don't use much cable movement. Basically tightening the cable (versus being slack) and they lock up. One difference might be the way I have the cable routing. As I showed in the build thread, I didn't go under the frame tubing. I went through pulleys above the frame tubing. There is little to no drag on the cables. Maybe that makes a difference? I don't know. Just a guess. Others who installed them as FF shows may have a different experience than mine.

What do you use for lower dash support? These lower mounts look thicker than .040 and seem to have curved edges to reduce flex. What distance do you have between dash and crossbar for these supports?

The lower dash supports are three pieces of .040 aluminum that I made. Ends are 3-1/2 inches wide with LED downlights installed. The center brace is 9 inches wide and has a couple switches and aux outlets installed on it. I did put bends on the outside edges to make them stiffer. Left them about an inch long on each side, bent a right angle using my 30-inch HF brake, then trimmed off all but about 1/8-inch. Makes a big difference. They're attached to the top of the 2-inch dash tube and the underside of the dash on the bend. It's 5-3/4 inches from the face of the 2-inch tube to the outside of my dash. Pretty much the natural angle the dash takes when attached to the upper dash tube.

 

[cobraAZ]

Did you install the PCM above the PS footbox instead of through PS firewall only because you have a glove box?
I am planning no glove box but just a heater and am wondering if PCM can fit below heater through PS firewall.
I also may install wiper motor but not sure yet.
I am in AZ so I am concerned about heating of the PCM if left fully in the engine bay.

 

[edwardb]

Did you install the PCM above the PS footbox instead of through PS firewall only because you have a glove box?
I am planning no glove box but just a heater and am wondering if PCM can fit below heater through PS firewall.
I also may install wiper motor but not sure yet.
I am in AZ so I am concerned about heating of the PCM if left fully in the engine bay.

The location of the PCM in my build is dictated by the length of the PCM cables from the engine. It terminates at the front RH side of the engine. The 2015 and up PCM is smaller than the previous one, and I think would easily fit elsewhere. But not without a cable stretcher. Probably you realize it, but Factory Five shows the same location for the PCM in their revision to the Coyote instructions that now includes the 2015 version.

It might be possible to somehow reroute the main harness and all the branches on the engine and get it pulled more toward the back by disconnecting and moving things around. I've seen where some have done that on the previous version. Then maybe mount it on or near the firewall, footbox, etc. Might be possible with this one, but I didn't pursue it. Also it would likely be possible to modify the cable or make an extension of some sort. But there are two large connectors and several smaller ones, with a bunch of conductors. Not a small task and I personally didn't want to add any more complexity than there already was.

Bottom line, that PCM is made for the harsh underhood environment. Look where it's mounted in a Mustang. They're designed and tested for extreme low and high temps. The mounting plate I came up with (and very similar to what FF shows) acts as a heat shield between the PCM and the exhaust header area. Especially when mounted with an air gap as I did. Plus the PCM itself has heavy heat sinks. I don't think it's a problem mounted where I put it, even in your warmer climate.

 

[cobraAZ]

Excellent detail, very logical, I am proceeding with your wise recommendation. Thanks!

 

[dale]

Is it Casper Electronics that can make plug-n-play extensions for you in any length you desire?

 

[edwardb]

Is it Casper Electronics that can make plug-n-play extensions for you in any length you desire?

I personally don't have any experience with Casper's Electronics. But they are often cited as a source for O2 cable extensions. Looking at their website, looks like they have Ford O2 and MAF cable extensions. But nothing nearly so complex as what would be needed to extend the PCM cables, if that's what you're asking about.

 

[raceral]

Well, this has been one heck of adventure. JOB WELL DONE. Perfection. What more can be said.
And thank you for all you help on my heap.

 

[edwardb]

Well, this has been one heck of adventure. JOB WELL DONE. Perfection. What more can be said.
And thank you for all you help on my heap.

Thanks! :grin2: And you're welcome.

 

[edwardb]

Build Thread P.S.

I said I was done with the build thread. But I did have a final punch list after Autorama. So this really is the last progress report and maybe has a couple details those following the thread could use.

I’m a few weeks into the 8-10 week waiting period for my Michigan title and VIN tag. Haven’t heard anything, so hoping that’s good news. The weather is gradually getting warmer. With any luck this is going to get wrapped up by the time driving season starts. Needless to say, I’m anxious to get driving.

I put some protection film on the rear wheel flares right behind the doors. This is by far the area that takes the biggest beating from road debris. I bought of chunk of Xpel Ultimate on eBay and cut my own using patterns made for #7750. The Xpel is supposed to be self healing and depending on who you believe better than the usual 3M variety. Could be the same stuff or from the same factory. I’m not sure but it’s OK. Went on the flares fine using the normal wet soapy water process. I played around a little with putting some on the nose, but gave up. There are just too many curves combined with my complete inexperience. Even smaller pieces down low I couldn’t get to lay down satisfactorily. The jury is out whether having film on the front really is a good idea anyway. I’m going to drive without anything on the front, just like I have before. It only took a few hours over several days (as things were drying) to clean up two years of road rash on #7750. I’m OK with that. Goes with the car being a driver.

I ordered a new snapless tonneau cover from Phillip and Kay Deal. Supposed to be done in the next week or two, but no hurry. They are so nice to deal with. Confirmed the Car Cover World cover I had fit OK. Even though officially a single roll bar version it fits the twin rolls bar setup on this build good enough for the (hopefully!) few times I have to use it. The “front” marking on the cover was fading to the point of disappearing so every time I used it involved hunting for that mark. I traced a Factory Five logo onto the front using mostly permanent markers. Looks painted on and turned out pretty good (even if I do say so myself) and easy to find. Got the headlights aimed. Received word from Watson’s Streetworks that they had updated the LED headlight package to use Hella Vision Plus lenses instead of the Autopal ones I received. Also DOT approved BTW. Talked to them briefly and decided to go with the updated lenses since this was a good time to do so. They’re nice and seem a little clearer and better focused. I didn’t particularly like driving #7750 at night because it really was pretty hard to see. I think this is going to be a big improvement.

The biggest remaining task was front and rear wheel alignment. I roughed in the alignment while it was still a go-kart. But didn’t take the time to get it perfect, plus ride height was still pretty rough. Yesterday I wrapped up the alignment and I’m satisfied I have it dialed in to the specs. I was very happy to find one of the bays in my new garage is almost exactly level side-to-side and only a couple tenths of a degree downslope. Worked well. One thing I learned doing the rough alignment was that my Fastrax alignment tool didn’t like the new Factory Five 18-inch wheels. Both because of the size but also because of the cool round edge. I have the 91030 no lip adapters, but the 91000 gauge wouldn’t quite reach. I got through it for the rough alignment by just kind of taping it in place. But I need a better way for the final alignment. I ended up make a small extension to the top connection point and the no lip adapters worked exactly the way they’re supposed to. Visible in this pic:


This is my first IRS build, so first time with a rear wheel alignment. The new IRS setup is supposed to be much easier than the previous design. Loosen the jam nuts, dial it in, tighten, then go. Couldn’t be easier, right? Well, almost. It was easy to get to the adjustment points with the body off. Not quite so easy with it on. The more challenging part I found was the large camber adjustment nut on the UCA is almost impossible to turn with weight on the suspension. Reaching from under the car, once you wiggle to where you finally have a wrench on it, the leverage is such I could barely move it. Charles Atlas I am not. So I jacked it up each time to make an adjustment. Then dropped it back down, rolled it back and forth and bounced on it a couple times to settle the suspension, and checked the measurement. They were pretty close to start. Once to the spec, checked the toe. That one can be reached without jacking the car. There is some interaction between the two, so it takes a few times back and forth to get them both right. The PS came in very quickly. The DS took a lot longer. The instructions say -0.5 to -0.75 degrees camber and 1/8-inch toe in. Mine came in at exactly -0.75 degrees on both sides and the 1/8-inch toe in. Once it was done, I took the wheels off to lock in the jam nuts. I just didn’t trust I could get them sufficiently tight without full access. I used red Loctite on the two camber jam nuts per Factory Five’s recommendation. I didn’t put any on the toe arm nuts. I paint marked all the jam nuts so I can watch and confirm they aren’t moving.

One of the challenges of doing a home alignment is getting everything properly aligned with the chassis. It’s obviously important to have the required toe adjustment. But it also needs to be exactly lined up with the chassis. Some guys use strings for this, and that’s fine. For my last couple builds I’ve been using toe plates and a magnetic level with a laser pointer instead of strings. I think it works really well. Here is one of the Heidts toe plates with the level attached. Note this picture is missing the high tech double garbage bag “turn plates” I put under the tires. For the front toe in, the laser dot shows on the edge of the rear tires since the rear track is wider than the front. But projecting forward, there was nothing for the laser to hit. So I cut two pieces of 1/8-inch hardboard exactly square and exactly the same size. They slide behind the front tires and bank against the 4-inch frame tube and the ground. Then when adjusting the toe, not only am I looking for the 1/8-inch toe in, I’m measuring where the laser dot hits the hardboard and confirming they're the same on both sides. Hopefully that makes sense. Seemed to work really well and I’m satisfied my rear wheels are exactly tracking to the frame.

Toe plate and level on rear wheels:


Laser dot to confirm alignment to the frame. Adjusted so each side was exactly the same dimension from the end of the board along with the proper toe in.


Moving to the front alignment, that was all pretty normal. While a bit of a reach, the UCA adjustment sleeves can be reached with the car on the ground and the body on. Tie rod ends are easy. I was able to get to the +8 degrees caster (power steering setting) without altering the rear sleeve as some have had to do. -0.5 degrees camber and 1/16 inch toe in also landed right on the numbers. I used the laser dot method described before to make sure with the steering wheel exactly centered and the toe in set to 1/16 inch the dot projected to the same spot on the rear tires on each side. Assuming they were set correctly (which I think they were!) then the front should also be on track. With one final check, locked everything down and called alignment done. While I was under there, also added a steering rack travel limit spacer on each side since my tires were hitting the F-panels.

One final note regarding alignment. For those with a 4-post lift, assuming the car is level while on the lift, you have a big advantage for home alignments. You won't have all the fun crawling around and reaching. Certainly would make the process a lot easier.

There are only two items left on my punch list: (1) Continue to monitor ride height. I’m pretty Ok where it is now. We’ll see how much it settles. (2) I want to remove the fuel pressure gauge on the fuel regulator once I’m driving and confirm the fuel pressure is exactly where it should be. Since it’s not on the engine, maybe not the safety hazard that some consider it to be when mounted next to a carb and subject to engine vibration, heat, etc. But I’m going to take it off anyway. No need to take a chance, and can’t read it without a mirror anyway.

Ok, that’s really it. Thanks again everyone for following the build and your incredible comments and support throughout. Road trip in the next week or two to deliver #7750 to its new owner. Then hope it will be time to get some miles on the new build. Said it before, but will again. We are planning to be at the Factory Five Open House in June, and then already registered for London a couple weeks later. Hope to catch up with some of you at one or both events.

Now about that Gen 3 Coupe…

 

[dale]

It sure has been a pleasure following your build (occurs to me that this is a real understatement, considering what I - and many others - have taken away from it). Thanks for sharing, and for all of the help/advice along the way.

Cheers, Dale

 

[cobraAZ]

"remove the fuel pressure gauge on the fuel regulator "
-Are you saying that leaving this on permanently is a hazzard because it could leak or break?

 

[edwardb]

"remove the fuel pressure gauge on the fuel regulator "
-Are you saying that leaving this on permanently is a hazard because it could leak or break?

Short answer, yes. Longer answer, on carb'd engines it's somewhat common to install a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel log going into the carb. When I posted a picture of #7750 with one of those gauges installed, I received multiple recommendations to remove it after confirming the proper fuel pressure. Apparently there have been failures of those gauges leading to fuel leaks with obviously serious possible consequences. The firewall mounted gauge in this build doesn't get the vibration of an engine mounted gauge. Plus maybe a little less heat. But still I'm going to follow the same advice and remove it once I've confirmed the correct setting on the regulator. It serves no purpose riding around under the hood anyway. The regulator came with a plug for that fitting. Easy to remove and install the gauge any time needed.