Prinesh's Factory Five MK4 Build: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Steering Assembly

Today I mostly finished the steering assembly.

Its completely manual so the steering wheel turns a jointed steering shaft connected to a the steering rack.

The rack pushes and pulls on the wheel spindles with the tie rods.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Today I spent most of the day fiddling with the parts for the pedal box. The instructions in the book were wrong and had photos of older models. Even the instructions online made no sense. So I just made it up and tried to stick to the photos, I think it turned out okay.

A photo of the master cylinders for the brakes and the clutch cable.

From the drivers side looking into the foot box.

The accelerator cable (left) and the clutch cable coming through the foot box panel.

The pedals.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Our Progress on the Front Suspension

We mounted the upper and lower control arms. The shock absorber attaches to the lower arm and the frame. In between the two arms is a spindle, this allows the wheels to turn left and right.

On the spindle is a hub, this is where the wheel gets bolted on and what allows the wheel to spin.

After that we assembled the calipers and brake disk stuff.

We then mounted those on the hub.

After that we started on the front aluminum panels, this was supposed to be the first step but we hadn't gotten our rivet gun yet.

I would mark the panels with sharpie and then my dad would drill holes in the panels and in the frame. Then you place the rivets in the holes and use the gun. This squeezes a pin through a collar and fills up the hole.

After that we mounted the firewall.

We also put some silicone on the joins to seal it and prevent rattling.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Starting the Front Steering and Suspension

We started assembling the front suspension, it is comprised of an upper and lower control arm as well as a shock absorber. After this we can mount he steering rods and brake disks.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Unpacking Our New Car

After delivering the car to our home we were left with the work of 'unpackaging' the body shell and frame.

To do this we had to remove the bolts securing the body shell and move it out of the way.

Then we removed all the aluminum panels to leave just the steel frame.

Also we got our car lift working so we could park our car under where we keep the body for the kit car.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

The Car Has Been Delivered Safely!

After the 3 and a half hour drive back from Factory Five we were left with the challenge of unloading the heavy body/frame and all the boxes.

With the help of Evan, Joel, Jake, and my dad (special thanks to all of them) we unloaded all the boxes and eased the car down the truck ramp with the help of our engine lift onto our ESCO jack stands.

Also with the purchase of the AW 32 hydraulic fluid our car lift is practically complete!

A Visit to the Factory Five Factory

Today me and my dad woke up at 5 in the morning and drove 3 hours to Wareham, Massachusetts to visit the Factory Five HQ and pick up out kit car.

Here are some images from inside:

My dad and the Factory Five President

A wall of body shells for kits

The president next to his laser cutter machine

Laser cut steel parts

Welding jigs for the various kit car frames

A chassis assembly (packaging room)

Our kit being loaded into out 16" truck

Waking Up At 5 During The Summer Sucks (The Adventure Begins)

We woke up at 5 in the morning and packed our drinks for the long trip ahead!

Friday, July 19, 2013

The Truck Has Been Rented

In an effort to save time and money my dad rented a 16 ft Budget truck for us to drive all the way to Wareham, Massachusetts and back with the kit car. Today we have been prepping for the long and hot drive tomorrow starting at 5 in the morning!