Finished IFS / Started Pedal Box – 6 Hours

It was good to get back into the garage today after being sick for a week and seeing an end to the constant cold weather we have had this year in Texas. The warmer weather (needed to be 50 degrees or higher) meant that I was able to start using POR15 (Paint over Rust; this is a great product, sets rock hard and looks like powder coat) on many of the brackets that needed protecting before installation.

Initially started assembling the Wilwood pedal box, which on paper seemed a simple assembly exercise (should have learnt by now!). First issue, the stud which connects the support bracket to the pedal box (required so the clutch quadrant shaft has clearance) needed JB Welding into place as there is no other conceivable way to tighten this, god forbid they make it an interference fit with the pedal box.

Picture shows assemble to date including brake light switch and clutch pedal stop.

Working carefully around the stud, I soon find the extended quadrant shaft (supplied in the Factory Five Kit) has the retaining clip groove slightly out of position. Easily fixed as I have a manual lathe, and so was able to quickly widen the groove. Strike three for this morning was when I found the 2” aluminum spacer to be slightly oversize, again easily fixed by turning down the overall length. At this point I decided to put the pedal box to one side to let the JB Weld cure for 12 hours.

As I had been able to paint the spindle brackets I decided to finish installation of the IFS (Independent Front Suspension) as the spindle, hub, caliper and disks had already been assembled previously. Passenger side was a breeze, spindle bracket bolts torque to 100 ft/lb’s and the upper and lower castellated nuts torque to 70 ft/lb’s with cotter pins inserted. Only thing of note was that the upper spacer was not required as the cotter pin hole lined up perfectly with the castle nut.

Driver’s side was a different story, initially when trying to tighten the lowers ball joint nut, the nut and ball joint stem would rotate as the nut appeared to seat. After thinking about this for some time I realized the spacer ID hole was too small causing the spacer and nut to bind on the stem just before the start of the taper, after opening up the bore of the spacer by 0.03” everything came together just fine.

Steering rod ends need to be painted and the once the driver’s side front foot box is powder coated the steering rack can be fully installed, aligned and centered.

Test Fit Rear Axle – 4 Hours

For those who are not aware of the variety of rear suspension options on the Factory Five roadster, these are as follows: 3 link, 4 link, 5 link (all use a solid axle) and independent rear suspension (IRS), on the Mk3.1 you have to decide on the type of suspension when ordering your kit, after a number of months considering all options I personally decided on the 3 link setup.

Basically until the introduction of a comprehensive non-donor IRS solution, the 3-link represents an excellent suspension alternative, and remains a good choice for a lower cost build.

As I am not using a donor for this build another decision concerned the axle, Ford have basically stopped manufacturing new 79-93 Fox axles with a 59.25” hub to hub spacing (this provides the best flexibility for wheel and brake choice) . The options were to salvage and re-build an axle from a scrap yard, purchase an already re-conditioned rear end or purchase a custom axle. After some consideration, I decided on the later (although the most expensive option).

The Moser Engineering 8.8 rear axle has the following technical specifications:
• The axle housing is stock 79-93 Fox Mustang width: 59.25” hub to hub.
• The axle has the 3-Link mount welded to the axle for increased strength.
• The axle housing is all new parts. The axle tubes are 3.00” OD x ¼” wall thickness DOM tubes that are pressed and welded to the center housing this makes them resist deflection 50% more than the stock 2.75” axle tubes.
• The axle housing is assembled with a 3.31 OEM gear set and a 31-tooth OEM Traction-lok differential.
• The axles are 31-spline Moser axles rated for 7,000 ft lbs., a 40% increase over the 28-spline OEM axles.
• Fox Mustang style Pinion flange
• OEM rear axle cover
• Housing and axles only weight is 120 lbs. This is 10lbs more than stock 87-93 housing and axles.

For me the major decision factor was that the banana bracket is already welded to the Moser axel.
Installation is straight forward, the only word of warning is to remember that the DS (Drivers Side) spindle needs to pass above the ¾” frame, and as such I would strongly recommend not installing the DS disk brakes prior to axle installation.

As you can see the Moser axle is not painted, next job will be a couple of coats of POR15 black gloss, before final assembly.

Breeze Engine Compartment Battery Kit – 3 Hours

Although this modification can be installed anytime, I decided that installing earlier rather than later would provide more room to drill, tap, rivet, and install this option, and after going through the exercise I would strongly recommend anyone who intends to install this modification to do so before installing the F panels, and certainly the engine. Ideally this should be one of the first tasks undertaken.

It just makes sense to have the battery in the engine compartment although the down side is that this kit is for a smaller Exide type 51 (approximately 28lb’s) the additional benefits of this kit are:
- Frees-up trunk space
- Eliminates the need for remote battery terminals (easy under-hood access)
- Allows use of a shorter positive battery cable (closer to your starter solenoid)
- Improves handling performance by lowering the center of gravity of the car by placing the battery only 3/4” above the bottom of the 4” tubes, and by reducing the polar moment of inertia (resistance to turning) because the mass is closer to the center of the car (location is between the axles).

It took longer than anticipated to install this kit mainly because of the super human strength required to install 5 x 3 1/16” stainless steel rivets (that or I am getting weaker in my old age). This is a great and well thought out package from Breeze with clear and concise instructions; you do need to make sure you have a ¼” x 20 tap and #7 drill.