Intake installed

I got the intake manifold installed and torqued down, all the lifters installed, pushrods, and the valves lashed.  Lindy and Cody helped me get the intake torque sequence right so if it leaks I can blame it on them. :)

Next steps are harmonic balancer, water pump, carburetor, alternator, valve covers...  the list goes on and on.

Found out the stock oil pump pickup doesn't fit the road race oil pan I bought so I had to go and buy a new pickup.  Luckily Summit let me return the original pickup.

Also got the oil pan and timing cover finally installed.  The "complete" bolt set I bought from ARP does not include enough bolts for the oil pan.  I could probably call ARP and get the 4 I'm missing, but the original bolts will be just fine.

I had to plug the original dip stick tube hole since it wouldn't work with this new baffled pan.  A 3/8" expansion plug just barely fits in there and should keep oil from escaping through the hole.

I also decided to use a different style of oil filter adapter.  The one that came with the engine is a truck style mount, and while it would have worked I don't like how it holds the filter horizontally instead of vertically.  The one is the car version that hold the filter vertically.

Oil Pump Installed

I used red locktite on the threads and just loosely attached the pickup.  Once I get the oil pan I'll verify pan to pickup spacing and tighten it up as well.

Cylinder heads installed and torqued

The orientation of the harmonic balancer spacer is backwards...

Bottom end and timing set installed.

I removed the fuel pump eccentric since I'll be using an electric pump.  Two washers lock in the pin and keep it retained.

Piston assembly and installation.

Cam installation followed by crankshaft installation.
3.98" stroke crank and comp cams 280H-10.

Measuring bearing clearances for mains, and rods, and cam.  Clearance for piston to cylinder.  File fitting rings.  It time consuming but everything is within spec.

Engine Painted and ready for blue printing before assembly.

Back from the machine shop

So I got all my parts back from Aims... well most parts.  I brought them everything I had with plans of having them build up the short block.  After talking numerous times with them about options and feeling uneasy after every conversation, I decided to have them do the least amount of work possible.

So they hot tanked the block and cleaned basically everything but the heads (still not sure why they disassembled the heads and didn't hot tank them).  I told them what it was for and that I was looking for them to build up short block.  I asked about options and they ultimate gave me pricing for some really expensive pistons and a rebuilt crank and set of rods.

I did some research and found a complete Scat rotating assembly for 100 bucks more and they were concerned the 3.98" stroke would mean the block would have to be clearanced.  Meanwhile any bit of searching will tell you people are putting 4.25" stroke cranks in these things.

I told them I would end up purchasing the rotating assembly and they decided that they would bore it for me even though I had not received the pistons yet.  I asked if they wanted to wait until I had the rotating assembly and they said it wasn't necessary.

I went to pick it up and they had thrown out my old pistons and pins, and I had to ask to get the old crank back.

I measured one side of the engine and everything seems to have been bored accurately.  They installed freeze plugs and oil galley plugs and didn't charge me (hopefully they did a good job cleaning the oil galleys).  They also installed the cam bearings which seem to be good.

As for the heads that they disassembled I took them to another machine shop and they found that they were both cracked.  Surprised Aims didn't mention that especially when they disassembled them.  On to painting the block and tracking down some new heads...

Off to the machine shop

The engine is at the machine shop as of yesterday.  Although they couldn't supply estimates yet they gave me ball park figures...  $800 for complete head rebuilds.  They said generally there is some trouble with the FE heads.  If the engine needs a complete rebuild it could be around $3500.  I should hear in about a week and a half what the damage will be.

Build School

I got a chance to go to the Factory Five Build School that is offered at Mott College in Howell, MI.  About 15 of us built the car from the way it is received from Factory Five to running and driving automobile.  It was a really good class and I definitely took away some great tips for when the time comes.
Obviously, there are details that were skipped or fast forwarded, but all of the tasks you'll have to perform are basically done at least once during the class.
Thanks to my wife for gifting me the plane tickets and the class, and thanks to Todd and Jim for the education!

Found an Engine!

I finally found a possible engine.  Here's the Craigslist add (Phone number masked to protect the identity of the innocent).
Ford 390 engine $600. engine is rebuild able is all std crank and bore this engine is a good for a hot rod smog exempt in NV Block casting # C6ME-A eng. date code 7F1 (6/1/1967) Ross 775-424-xxxx

I went to take a look and the thing was mostly in pieces.
 
I did my best to measure the bore with a pair of calipers to verify it hadn't been bored already and I offered him 450. He was good with that and we loaded it up in the truck.  I'm finishing the tare down and things look OK.  Missing valley pan tray, oil filter adapter, and some miscellaneous hardware so far.  Next stop is AIMS Machine for machine work and a build plan.

Manufacturers Trip

The week of June 27, 2011 I made it out to ERA and Factory Five Racing manufacturing facilities.  Staying in Burlington, Ma. allows for a 2hr. drive to ERA head quarters and an hour and fifteen minute drive to FFR.
 ERA
 My first stop was ERA.  Once I got there Peter was able to get a break from phone calls long enough to show me around the facility which consists of two large shop spaces.  One area was a fabrication area, the other was a final assembly area.  There were cars at various stages of completion.  A close look at an unfinished frame showed some great welding.
  After that Peter offered to show me their other building.  Just up the road and around the corner they have another building dedicated to the GT40.  Love the looks of that car, and I'm sure it would be awesome, but its definitely out of my price range.  Still seeing the shop was great.
FFR
  The next day was a trip to Factory Five Racing.  Once I arrived I met up with a couple other folks who had also planned a tour of the facility.  One guy was local to Mass. and the other was from Florida and had just recently received his roadster from FFR.  The facility consists of one large warehouse area broken into different areas for the various tasks.  After hanging out in the showroom for a bit Rick took us on the tour visiting beginning with the customer support/ office area.  It looked like 5-6 folks had desks in there.  Then we moved to a stocking area where parts are picked and packaged depending on the customers order.  From there we moved to an area where R&D fabrication occurs.  Inside they were working on the 818 model chassis.  After that we moved on to the production metal fabrication area.  This area consisted of welders working on chassis and other parts based a production schedule posted on a white board.  I was impressed by their quality control procedures and the sophistication of their welding machines.  Beyond that area was a place for all the fiberglass work.  The CNC machine was setup for cutting roadster trunk lids and there was an array of doors curing all around.  The final area was the aluminum and final assembly area.  Pre-bent aluminum hung on the wall and chassis were lined up awaiting aluminum assembly.  From there it was back to the showroom where we were presently surprised with an opportunity to meet Dave Smith himself.  He was on his way to a meeting with folks from Horsepower T.V., but he took the time to talk with us for a bit on his way out.  Once he left Rick fired up a car in the showroom for one of the guys just to let us hear it.  Then he hung out to answer all our questions and let us sit in any of the cars we wanted to.
  All in all it was a great trip to both places and I feel very good about the decision I've made to go with Factory Five.  I'm ~6 years away still, but I'll be ready when the money is saved.

Visit Time

The wifey happens to have a conference opportunity in the Boston area.  I'm going along and while she is at the conference I'm planning on visiting the Factory Five facilities, and possibly the ERA facilities as well.  I scheduled my visit at FFR with Sally.  Review to follow...

The Beginning and Selection

This all really got started for me around 2003-2004. My wife and I were planning for our wedding and we merged finances.  That is when we decided to open the replica savings account. We've been saving ever since, and slowly but surely we're getting closer.

To begin my quest I started researching online for replica manufacturers. Of the many options available I initially liked the Unique Motorcars replica, then I found the ERA site and it's wealth of information and thought that would be a great option. Finally I found my self looking into the Factory Five Roadster.

Factory Five really does seem to be the best bang for the buck in my opinion. The fact that there are companies making many aftermarket parts and an entire forum devoted to Factory Five really made it the right option for me.

I just got the Factory Five MKIV manual for Christmas, and this is where the adventure really begins...