That's cool, but EASY on that clutch for 500 miles...

Did you get smacked for that, unconfirmed sighting, after she was able to pry her white fingers from the bar ...

I'm afraid my wife would only ride with me once if I do that in the '66, when it's back on the road. Gonna have to learn how to behave myself...

"That's cool, but EASY on that clutch for 500 miles..."

We were already rolling in 1st about 25mph, and I goose'd it a little bit... tires musta been cold or something 'cause they lit right up. hmmmm

John D wrote:

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"That's cool, but EASY on that clutch for 500 miles..."

We were already rolling in 1st about 25mph, and I goose'd it a little bit... tires musta been cold or something 'cause they lit right up. hmmmm

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 Ah, ha, probably the oily feel of new rubber...

I put new tires on my son's Ninja last year and rode it around for a while to scuff them off. Felt like riding on ice for a dozen miles...

A few little tidbits got accomplished the last few days:
Rear View Mirror
Center Cap on the Wheel

I'm in a bit of a dilemma, as I've got my DMV inspection coming up, but I don't want to mount my mirror - there's NO WAY I can get it "centered" without the body & paintwork done, and I don't want to drill holes in the cowl that will need to be reworked/filled later.
Solution:
A piece of 1x1 aluminum angle was cut and trimmed down to fit the base of the mirror and the top of the windshield frame. A few holes drilled, some tapped, and a session on the rag-wheel with some polishing compound. The trimmed off pieces were filed down, and made into thread inserts that slid into the windshield frame


It might just stay on the windshield instead of the "correct" spot, centered on the dash cowling


Another item off the list was the center cap for the steering wheel. A dry-fit revealed that the "in-concentricity" of the wheel to the hub wouldn't allow the insert to fit in. Also, the air-tight seal of the o-ring was a pain. I marked the areas of interference and sanded them down a bit, and drilled a 3/32" hole from the o-ring groove into the hub area void. The center cap now presses into place with effort, but can be removed without fighting pressure or vacuum.

I also got the "wind wings" and sunvisors mounted.

Got back from the cabin, and got #9365 loaded up for its DMV inspection tomorrow afternoon.

Sheryl & I got it on the trailer, strapped down, and backed into the 40 Watt, and we're not filing for divorce! I guess all that time at the boat ramp has paid off!

Having taken LESS than a year from delivery to driving, I can image how others on the FFR forum feel, that have been putzing with their kits for many years. Maybe you have been an inspiration for others to get off their duff and put their cars together.

When do you take it for paint ?

I don't recall reading the final color either.

Nope on the collector plates - not possible as it's a 2018. Did go with personalized plates... THX ROH (You'll have to get a few beers in me to tell what's behind that...)

Having some mechanical aptitude, fabrication skills, and tools really helps when assembling one of these. A lot of the guys building them haven't done anything beyond swapping brake pads or an oil change on their daily's - and they're tackling building a car that will kill you in .001 second if you disrespect it. Others take the approach of building a damn Bentley with full toys, leather everything, and every single thing is PERFECT powdercoat, stainless, chrome, or it don't go. There are also a lot of builders that might have taken this project on at the wrong time in their lives... younger kids, tight budgets, etc... we've been there.

I'm of the camp that if it's safe, solid, and looks good... it's on the car. Only I'll know where the scratches, dings, or whackswithahammertomakeitfit are on the car. It's an open top roadster that will get driven... and occasionally to my limits. It'll get rained on, driven on dirt roads, and I'll break things, fix 'em, and do it again. 

My painter guy (Jeff Kleiner) is thinking I'll be slotted mid-late October. We're still bending towards a copper color. This is one he recently finished:

I'm not too crazy about the black stripes. I'm thinking a pearl cream color would look nice.

Copper and pearl cream gets my vote. 

Just got back from "The Alignment Guy" in Hopkins. He was recommended by Derek, and several other "cone manglers" that do a lot of AutoCross.
Jeff's an interesting character... not PC/WarmFuzzy, and says what's on his mind. He likes a challenge, and recently set up an FFR 818 for a local guy.
He's very methodical, and will chase an nth turn to get the numbers dead on - spent 3 hours on my car.

(It was nice to see that my strings, tape measure, and 60 year old bubble camber/caster setup wasn't too far off the mark. Completely safe & drive-able for the short time it took to get a professional alignment.)

Pay no mind to the "Lotus Elise" at the top of the page... he had to punch in a similar suspension layout to baseline the machine/software:

Just got back from a 96 mile run with #9365. Absolutely flawless.
The alignment Jeff did was perfect... the car is not twitchy, tracks where you put it, hands off the wheel and it just rolls along.

I did the I-494/I-694 loop, starting at the west center (I-394), and went clockwise. At the south end I veered off onto Cedar Ave, and did a cruise around the lakes. It's a 25mph interconnecting loop around all of them, with a bazillion stop signs, then cut back home via Lake St.
I figured this would give the car the best test of all situations... highway cruising, then seriously nasty stop-n-go.

#9365 was perfect. Again, the temp never got above 85C, oil pressure was about 20psi/thousand (normal for a Coyote?), and it just loves to cruise!

I think I nailed it on the selection of the gearbox final drive/OD ratio. I'm running the 3.15 rear (where most seem to run the 3.55). At 65mph in 5th, the Coyote is loafing along at 2100rpm. Don't even have to downshift for passing, just press a little harder, the torque comes in, and the speedo climbs... RAPIDLY!

According to the "tell-tale" on the speedo, my max mph was 96 on this run... How'd that happen?? Musta been when two C6 Corvette weenies wanted to play a little off a stoplight... hmmm. After dusting them off, I had to remind myself there's less than 100 miles on #9365, and take it easy John...

The clutch has bedded in perfect... it's just totally smooth and predictable (Thanks Mr. Forte), doesn't feel like a "juice" clutch - more like a light mechanical.
According to the witness marks on the rotors the brakes are settling in as well - getting better and better with every run - and nearing full contact patch.

Hat's off to FFR. With a little time, patience, tools, and sweat you CAN build yourself an awesome car! 

Happy to report #9365 has logged another 180 miles, and only had 1 (somewhat) minor hiccup. 

We're spending the 4th week at our lake cabin, and I couldn't resist driving the Roadster. (Mrs. Fixit has to head back to the cities on Tuesday for an appointment, so she drove the F-150 with all the supplies).

Drive Report:
Stopped at the 103-mile mark to top off on fuel. I wanted an easy number to calculate MPG. It clicked off at 5 gallons! 20.6 mpg!!

Decent highway stuff until Rogers, then parked stop-n-go with the weekend warriors, then 60 to 75 mph to the cabin. 
2500 rpm in 5th = 70 mph.
2150 rpm in 4th = 60 mph.
Engine temp varied between 80C and 90C depending upon speed.
Oil Pressure was all over the place between 60 & 80 psi depending upon rpm.

The car just likes to cruise at about 72 mph... nice mellow exhaust drone, not lugging, not spinning hard, just putzing along. Lotsa "thumbs-up" from truckers, bikers, and kids. This car is fun to drive... I'll give it a few hundred more "slow time" miles before really romping on it.

(didn't have Jeff put it on the scales... road trip to Mantorville when I don't need a float/pontoon conversion??)

Snake at the Lake...

Let's say you planted a seed. Lots of thinking.

That car is a blast and far more comfortable and well behaved than I would have thought.

Enganeer wrote:

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Let's say you planted a seed. Lots of thinking.

That car is a blast and far more comfortable and well behaved than I would have thought.

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 Uh, oh...time to clear the garage of all current occupants and order a kit ?

You'll have to be the first to convert the kit to LS power...

Have been pondering selling the 64 for awhile now. They elky is mid process for the camaro dash conversion setup up that it would not sell worth anything, so that will stay.

A mildly boosted LSx would be fun.

Rolled 500 miles on #9365 over the holiday...

Since I'm getting blasted over on FB for my "driving cap", I figure I'll get the abuse started over here... (It was a gift from Equador. Really didn't have a reason to wear it until I built the Roadster... I think it just works with this car.)

I don't know, the hat is kind of cute.
Reminds me of the helmets roller derby girls wear...

SOOOOO, at 500 miles, you now have a better "feel" for what the car is capable of ??

Reminds me of the helmets roller derby girls wear...

I don't have the boobs for it... Raquel does!

SOOOOO, at 500 miles, you now have a better "feel" for what the car is capable of ??

It's capable of a whole lot more than I'm comfortable giving it!

Just east of us Hwy 87 winds through the woods toward Longville, and it's a great stretch of 2-lane... no cross-streets (but a lot of driveways), several 90* 15mph corners, and a few 35 & 45 mph "twisties", then a 1/2-mile dragway.

I ran through the corners pretty conservatively eastbound (scoping out gravel, etc.), then on the straight got up to 60, 70, 80 several times and did really hard braking (not quite panic stop but on the verge of lockup). I wanted to get the brakes HOT, and verify my Front/Rear balance adjustment. I think my adjustment is spot-on. The rears juuusssttt start to lock a millisecond before the fronts and you're in a full slide. It doesn't want to swap ends, or pull either direction, just slide whatever direction you're pointed... relax the pressure a touch and it slows down like you snagged the #3 wire. Even after 5 or 6 of these crazy stops I couldn't feel any appreciable fade. I'm using the 2018 Mustang brakes, and they're sized for a car weighing TWICE as much. With no power assist they really feel good - great pedal feedback, and easy to modulate.

Cornering is like on rails. This thing just STICKS, but I'm really aware of how unforgiving it COULD be. Coming back westbound I got nowhere near potential on the twisties (no runoff and too many trees!), but cut some apexes and near tripled the DOT recommended speed on the signs. It's common knowledge that these things don't give a lot of warning, they'll snap out from under you, then being such a short wheelbase "overcorrecting" is the death sentence to a save-able goof. It's a totally different feel than a "traditional" car, as you're basically sitting on the rear axle... lots of nose in front of you. I'll wait until BIR or Dakota County to push the envelope. I need to practice my Heel n Toe!

Lets see... South Carolina the week before the 4th, Cabin week of the 4th, Prairie du Chein WI the following 8 days, a run to Austin MN to pick up a vehicle, and then all the chores around the house I couldn't do while gone. Now you know why y'all haven't seen too much of me.

I won't be doing the "Nats" this year. Too much to do, and it'll be too friggin' HOT to be enjoyable... Blackie is still under wraps/pickled over in the neighbor's garage, and the Roadster would be a sauna/heat stroke while stuck in traffic with this humidity.

The run to Austin was to pick up an '06 Grand Caravan. It's my in-laws #2 car. What it comes down to is my FIL really shouldn't be driving anymore, and he wrinkled up the passenger side of this one scuffing along the bumper of a pickup in a parking lot. Damage isn't really all that bad, purely cosmetic. It only has 106K on the clock, has the big (3.8L) V6, and is loaded. Sammy & Dome need a 2nd car in Illinois, so this will be it.
Got it home and gave it the once-over. Did an oil change (discovered the "ring" on the dipstick was snapped off), tried to add coolant to the overflow tank and discovered a hole in the tank, and put 2 cans of R134 in the AC. A new dipstick and puke tank arrived from Rock Auto yesterday, so that's on the list for jobs today.

Roadster Update:
I had to get under it to adjust the E-brake cables, so I decided to do its 1st oil change as well. It's nearing 1000 miles, and I wanted to get the original oil out with whatever new engine"crud" that may have washed loose.
Everything looks great! There was just a tiny bit of black stuff on the magnetic tip of the plug, and zero "sparklies" in the filter. I poured the oil through a screen and over a magnet, and again nothing.

While underneath for the oil change, that little monkey nagging about the start issue kicked in...

First... Removing the starter from a Roadster with a Coyote & FFR headers is a breeze! Basic tools to remove the electrical connections, and a 14mm on a 12" extension w/ a swivel and it's out in 10 minutes.

Backtrack... I'm guessing I inadvertently "fixed" my problem when I was poking around under the car. I tugged/pulled on the solenoid trigger wire, which "tightened" the post into it's bracket. The terminal was tight on the post, but the dang post wasn't tight in the bracket!

I'll guess again that the terminal post is a "D-shape", or maybe a "star" and its pressed into the bracket and staked in place. Mine wasn't tight, and my tugging on it bound it (by rotational friction) tight enough to maintain enough contact to work. Enter road vibrations & heat/expansion and it worked itself loose again.

Enter the MIG, two quicky zap/tacks, a minute with the Dremel, and I've got a post that'll never work loose again.

Sheryl & I spent a long weekend "up-Nort" at our lake cabin - that's why we didn't make N. St. Paul. It took a little persuasion but I convinced her that we should take the Roadster on this trip. (Open car, tiny trunk, etc.)

I'm happy to report that #9365 has logged another 400+ trouble-free miles, and is getting better and better with every mile under its wheels.

Saturday 7/27 was spent touring north-central MN. From our place in Backus, we hit Walker, Bemidji, Itasca State Park, Emmaville, Park Rapids, Nevis, Akeley, back to Walker for dinner then back home to Backus.

Two projects knocked out on #9365 today... footrests.

One of the things noticed on a longer drive with the Roadster was my left leg was getting sore... and it wasn't "clutch leg". The driver's footbox is pretty cramped, and there's really nowhere to rest your left foot. You don't want to put it under the pedals, and that's not even really comfortable. I realized I was holding my foot kinda "cocked & ready" over the clutch pedal. I needed some sort of dead-pedal/footrest.

I cobbled up one of the unused hood pin brackets, and fashioned a dead-pedal. It's bolted to the outside footbox wall with some nutserts and 1/4-20's.

Sheryl also noticed a need for something. Even at 5'10"+ she had another five inches of room to the back wall on the passenger side. Same thing... nowhere to comfortably rest your feet against, or "bolster" yourself. I had some leftover foam sheet from Glovebox #1. I glue-stacked it together, shaped it, and had her give it a try... Good but not great. The seats in the Roadster aren't straight forward, they parallel the trans tunnel. They're canted outward about an inch. I added another piece to the right side of the bolster and now it's perfect. Some leftover trunk carpet and it's done.

One little nasty thing about the gauge package FFR offers is the GPS speedo.

It's got all kinds of neato functions... that will recall at the touch of a button, including max MPH.

MPH recall: 

Don't know... I'll have to look into it.

This was after I made a left, got straight and hammered it to 6500 in 1st, 2nd, and 4000 in 3rd, and had to really stomp the binders to make a right into the store up north - total distance about 1/4 mile.
So the "legend" is true. 0 to 100 to 0 in 14.5 on 70's tires... I probably did a little better on modern tires and better suspension. (This thing FLIES!!)

Lost in the 60s wrote:

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Can you zero that out for when you get "visited" by the constable ?

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 It was a track day.... at Power Cruise I'm sure. Yeah, that's a closed track, so I'm sure it was then....

Wow... Been a long time since an update here.

As those of you that've been attending the cruise meetings over the summer have seen (and heard) I've been driving the Roadster... a lot.

It's got a little under 4500 miles on it, and haven't had any problems. A few rattles to chase down, and other minor things, but I guess the guy who built it did a reasonably good job.

I'm posting this from Bloomington Indiana. I'll be heading home tomorrow, after dropping the car off with Jeff Kleiner for body & paint. There are 3 guys in the country who are really good at and specialize in "doing" the FFR Roadsters.  "Da Bat" Miller on the Left beach, Whitby's on the Right beach, and in the middle is Jeff. He's doing cut n buff on one now, with final re-assembly in the next few weeks. Another is in pre-prime bodywork, and then there's #9365. It'll be awhile before he gets to it, but it's in his capable hands (and garage )

I think it was Mitch who suggested Absolute Trailers. I rented their smaller enclosed hauler for this job. It's primarily for sleds & bikes, but the Roadster fits with a few inches to spare, and it's easily within weight capacity. 

Towing one of these things is like pulling a brick through peanut butter. Best mileage I could muster was averaging 9.4 mpg, and the 3.5 twin turbo was earning it's keep. I'm very impressed with this "little" V6. Tons of torque and I don't think it ever saw north of 3700rpm, even when hammering on it during an onramp. The boost gauge was ticking off in the 10 to 12 psi range however ...

Anyway, headed for home tomorrow at 0-dark-thirty.

Just got back about 1/2 hour ago...

1200+ miles in 72 hours is a bytch. For those of you with stock in oil companies, your quarterly dividends will reflect my contributions to the product. Barely cracked 9 mpg hauling a box of air on the way home!

I'm/We're still bending towards a coppery/orange color, with off-white/cream stripes. I've got awhile to look around and submit a few choices to Jeff. Once I do that he'll shoot some samples on little plastic model car blanks and send 'em to me. This is the color family I'm thinking about, but with white instead of black stripes.

That copper/white would look good on your car. 

I REALLY like the copper. Maybe look at the pearlescent white of Cadillac/Escalade from a few years ago for the stripe. Might add a little bling to the copper.

Yeah, the empty box doesn't improve aerodynamics or fuel mileage...