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Factory Five Roadster Build Part 16 - Project Snake Charmer Gets PrimeredOur Cobra Replica's Almost Ready For Paint From the February, 2009 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Mark Houlahan Photography by Courtesy Of KR Performance & Restorations
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The KR Performance & Restorations... The KR Performance & Restorations crew is getting close to squirting some fabulous Ford colors on our Roadster. Bob Roeder and Aaron Kester even displayed their handiwork to date at their Mustang club's local show. We bet the Roadster was quite the attention getter, even without its topcoat. In the last installment of our project series (Oct. '07), we barely got a taste of the talent that the crew at KR Performance & Restorations had to offer on our Factory Five Cobra (FFR) replica project. With just a week or two to get some work on film before our deadline, Bob Roeder and Aaron Kester had time to perform only a few basic body prep steps and start on our hidden trunk-hinge upgrade installation. This month, the KR Performance & Restorations staff had plenty of time to get some serious work done on our project. The FFR body has improved over the years, and the Mk III piece shipped with our Roadster kit needed minimal work to get it looking good. Besides the work needed to get the body straight and ready for paint, we had the KR guys add a few popular upgrades that will take the FFR body to the next level, giving it the look of a real aluminum body instead of a fiberglass one. These extra steps are optional, of course, but as we all know, it's the extra steps that separate the good car builds from the great ones. At this rate, our Cobra replica will be getting color in the next installment and should be on the road by the end of the year (it's September 2007 as we write this). There's hope we'll have the completed project at the '08 Silver Springs Mustang & Ford Roundup in Ocala, Florida, just weeks away from when you get this magazine in your mailbox. We hope you'll come see our project in person.  When we wrapped up our last...  When we wrapped up our last installment, we had just finished installing a pair of hidden hinges to replace the chrome pot-metal exposed hinges. Before moving on to the rest of the project, the guys at KR wanted to get the trunk lid mounted and fit to the body. Using measurements taken during the hinge install, the location for the nut plate is marked.  After trimming the fiberglass...  After trimming the fiberglass in the area of the nut plate mounting point for a better fit, the guys used 3M's Panel Bonding Adhesive (PN 08115) to bond the nut plate to the inside of the trunk panel.  Once fully cured, the trunk...  Once fully cured, the trunk lid can be installed and adjusted using the built-in adjustment slots found in the hinge itself.  With the mounted trunk lid,...  With the mounted trunk lid, and using the hidden hinge kit from Breeze Automotive, the rear of our Roadster project is really shaping up and has a more accurate, smooth profile.  Before the doors can be fully...  Before the doors can be fully trimmed and adjusted, the door hinges are centered in their horizontal and vertical adjustments. This will give us the most adjustment room in any direction.  After measuring for the 3/16-inch...  After measuring for the 3/16-inch door gap, we used painter's tape to mark the material edge. Be sure to remove the material from the oversize panels, not the main body openings.  A uniform gap on all body...  A uniform gap on all body openings is the sign of a well-assembled car. The nice thing about a vinyl ester/fiberglass body part is that you can easily trim the part to get the body gap you're looking for. We wanted a 3/16-inch gap. As you can see by the placement of this 3/16-inch drill bit, we have some work to do (the doors, hood, and trunk are cut and shipped oversized just for this step).  Once the initial trimming...  Once the initial trimming was accomplished, Roeder and Kester mounted the door latches and strikers so that the fully latched door could be adjusted further and the final body opening size sanded to our measurement.  The striker is spaced out...  The striker is spaced out with washers for now, and later we'll cut stainless or chrome spacers to the proper length.  The final door fit now looks...  The final door fit now looks great, and our 3/16-inch drill-bit measuring tool shows an exact body opening.  This is the type of uniform...  This is the type of uniform body opening that gets noticed at a show.  In our last installment, we...  In our last installment, we briefly mentioned the Roadster's body seams. While Roeder and Kester quickly ground down the rough, exposed parting line from the body, the seam underneath that rough parting line has to be inspected for bare gelcoat and pinholes. These areas need to be ground out and filled with 3M High Strength Repair Filler (PN 46014). This is a vinyl-ester formula with similar properties to the FFR body, making it a perfect match for filling deep voids and pinholes.  After Roeder grinds out the...  After Roeder grinds out the gelcoat from the seam using a die grinder with a cutting bit, the 3M HSRF is mixed according to instructions and applied to the body seams to fill the ground areas and pinholes. After the product has had time to set up, he knocked it down with a 36-grit disc on an 8-inch random orbit sander. Be sure to use only the 3M product for filling the body seams, as it dries very hard, making it difficult to use for body shaping.  After the 3M HSRF had been...  After the 3M HSRF had been cut down with the 36-grit paper, Roeder and Kester moved on to test-fitting the hood. We found the scoop just the slightest bit off, requiring trimming of opposing corners to rotate the hood to make the scoop centered (notice the centering string down the car). It probably wouldn't even be noticeable with a single-color paint job, but with over-body stripes, you don't want a crooked hoodscoop.  Another area of the body to...  Another area of the body to take care of is the wheel openings. As with much of the body's fresh-from-the-mold look, the wheel openings have rough fiberglass that needs to be trimmed.  A careful application of painter's...  A careful application of painter's tape gives the guys a line to cut to (just like trimming the doors). Later, the wheel-lip areas will be rounded and smoothed.  Evercoat Rage Gold (PN 112)...  Evercoat Rage Gold (PN 112) is a premium body filler that is easy to apply and sand, with properties that prevent heat buildup during aggressive sanding. Many people swear by Rage Gold, and KR Performance & Restorations uses it on all of its projects.  The cream-colored areas are...  The cream-colored areas are where Rage Gold has been applied over the sanded body seams. The Rage Gold is used for body shaping, as it is much easier to sand off and shape than the 3M HSRF. Roeder and Kester worked the Rage Gold to shape with 36-grit paper first on a multitude of sanding boards (long board, flex board, paint stick, and so on) for the various body curves and then followed up with 80-grit paper. Eighty-grit is as far as they'll need to go since the whole body will soon get a coat of Spies Hecker Spray Polyester (PN 3508).  Another body mod we requested...  Another body mod we requested was the buildup of the taillight pad. As built, the body's mounting pad is just a touch smaller than the replacement taillight housings shipped in the kit (standard Austin Healey 3000 parts), causing the housings to stick out from the body edge.  Before building up the taillight...  Before building up the taillight pads on the body, Roeder used his die grinder and cutting bit to make a clearance slot for the ground tab on the taillight itself. This will also allow the wiring connector to pass through the opening more easily.  After applying Rage Gold to...  After applying Rage Gold to the rear of the quarter-panel, the taillight pad was built up and shaped as shown here. The final shape will blend the pad into the quarter a bit more, and the sharp edge of the pad will be rounded.  A popular modification is...  A popular modification is to round the edge around the cockpit opening. On an original aluminum-bodied Cobra, the skin was wrapped around the frame at the cockpit, giving the opening a rolled-edge look. This appearance can be easily added to the FFR's body with an application of Rage Gold. A great trick is to use a section of 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe cut in half to apply the Rage Gold to the body edge.  Roeder mixed the Rage Gold...  Roeder mixed the Rage Gold product a little "hotter" than the instructions call for so it would set up more quickly. As the filler hardened, he used a spreader to blend the filler into the body. Once the filler sets, the PVC pipe is removed and the edge sanded. This step was then repeated around the cockpit opening 6 inches at a time.  Although it was time-consuming...  Although it was time-consuming to do, the rounded cockpit edge really makes for a period finishing touch to the cockpit opening. The corners are the toughest, where Roeder sometimes worked an inch at a time. Some people even roll the edges of the grille opening, trunk and hood openings, and wheel lips. That's a lot of work, but it's what separates the cars on the show field.  After the major body modifications...  After the major body modifications are completed, Roeder and Kester prep the car for several layers of Spies Hecker Spray Polyester. The Spies Hecker product is a sprayable filler used for filling scratches and voids in the body, reducing block sanding time and steps. The spray polyester will be applied with the body on the frame. Later, the body will be removed for undercoating, final blocking, and paint application.  The spray polyester can be...  The spray polyester can be applied to steel, aluminum, fiberglass, or even old paint and will flash dry in about 10 minutes. The recommended coating is 20 mils (about five coats) but can go as high as 40 mils and will air dry in two hours. Be sure to keep an eye out for our next installment when our project will be painted and ready to come back to us for final assembly.
 | Project Snake Charmer is finished and on the road Check out the diary for more! |  | We'd like to introduce you to Mustang & Fords' new project, Project Snake Charmer |  | We Go Back to School-and Like It! The Factory Five Racing Cobra Roadster Kit Car Buildup Series Continues At The Build School. |  | Our Factory Five Roadster Suspension Finds Its Way to Our Frame |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets its motivation from a Smeding Performance 427 |  | We install and prepare the aluminum panels for Project Snake Charmer |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets a Drivetrain Specialtists rear end for Project Snake Charmer |  | Our project becomes a roller with brakes, wheels, and tires |  | Project Snake Charmer receives an EFI based fuel system to feed the snake |  | Our Factory Five Racing Roadster recieves a Smeding Performance 427 Windsor and a Tremec Transmission |  | Our Factory Five Roadster gets a new dash, pedals, and cooling system |  | Installing the Factory Five Racing wiring harness on our Project Snake Charmer Cobra Roadster Replica |  | We finish up the wiring and then turn towards starting the body on our Factory Five Roadster Project Car |  | Installing hydroboost brakes on our Project Snake Charmer Factory Five Roadster before painting |  | Project Snake Charmer Factory Five Roadster heads off for paint |  | Our Factory Five Roadster Begins the Paint Process |  | Our Cobra Replica's Almost Ready For Paint |
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