As I begin this build log it’s 11.40 on the 3rd of December 2009 and my first Grandchild is about to enter the world at any second. Coincidentally, it’s also twenty years, almost to the day, that Matthew and I placed an order for our first Kit Car - the stunning Noble Mk4, Ferrari P4 Replica. And so began our association with the world of home-build cars. That first car won ‘Best of Show’ at almost every show we visited and it’s build was featured in five consecutive monthly issues of Which Kit? Magazine. The final instalment had a fantastic cover picture by Ian Stent and was the biggest selling Kit Car Magazine ever. Doors began to open and we started making and selling parts for Kit Cars. As luck would have it, the P4 project came up for sale at around the time I was thinking of quitting the entertainment industry so I took the plunge and became a full-time Kit Car manufacturer. By the third car we had re-designed both the body moulds and the chassis and suspension. There soon followed the V12 Ferrari-engined, open-top CanAm and the launch of Car Builder Solutions as a separate entity. We went on to manufacture over fifty Foreman Mk4’s in either Kit form or as drive-away turnkeys. Sales of the Foreman were a steady flow but were destined never to be a torrent. Car Builder Solutions, however, grew rapidly and in 2008 we sold the MK4 project lock, stock and two smoking exhausts to Dunlop Systems in Coventry. However, we kept enough parts to build one final car as a family heirloom. The bare chassis has been waiting patiently in a dark corner of our welding shop and has acquired a light coating of rust, but nothing that a blast and powder-coat won’t sort out. And the body panels have been stored safely under cover - until now, that is. We’ve finally found time and space to resurrect them and make a start on putting it all together. It’ll be a long term project for sure but I’ll update this log whenever anything significant has been achieved. So, buckle-up and enjoy the ride.
CHASSIS, ENGINE AND BODY CHOICES
This, final car was conceived a couple of years ago, towards the end of our production run. We knew it would be the last one we would build and the one that we would keep so it was planned to our own unique specification. Most production Foreman Mk4’s were built upon a raised version of the chassis, simply because it offered a tad more headroom for the taller driver (most are taller than us). However, for this car we decided to build a lower chassis that would allow the body to sit 40mm lower than standard. Matthew and I are both 5ft 8in - so headroom is not an issue. We also chose the Berlinetta body style - that is, full, fixed roof, full height doors and full length tail window - just like the first one we ever built. Although the P4 is such a timeless shape, we once toyed with the idea of modernising it - at least from the waist down. Squaring-off the huge swooping sills and closing- in the wheel arches were a couple of styling changes that we thought would compliment the original design. Within months of us conceiving the idea Italian design house, Pininfarina contributed to a one-off car they called the P4/5 - actually a re-bodied Enzo but pretty-much what we had in mind for the Foreman. We may still play with the ideas to a limited degree.
Here’s the chassis in one of our workshops with it’s light coating of surface rust and the centre section and nose plonked on. It’s complete except for the engine and transmission mounts.
Ahh, the engine. What to choose? Every Mk4 we manufactured was fitted with the owner’s choice of engine from Renault V6 to Rover V8, Chevy V8, Lamborghini V12, Ferrari V8 and Ferrari V12. We wanted a modern engine with good performance, reasonable economy and maximum reliability. Fuel injection was a must-have - as was availability of parts. Having been victims of the Small Block Chevy ‘Complete Engine’ scam where the so-called ‘complete engine’ still needs a starter, alternator, manifolds, carb, etc. etc. amounting to more than the cost of the original engine, we opted for a Ford 4.6L V8. Apparently Ford had massively over-produced engine/transmission packages for the ‘98 Mustang because the cars didn’t sell as well as had been predicted. So, they sold off the excess stock. Thus, for the grand sum of £6,000 we had a wooden crate containing a 1998 pre-assembled engine/manual transmission package with everything on it ready to drop right into a Mustang body shell. Just connect up and drive away. Yup, that’s a fuel injected 32 valve, quad cam engine with ECU, all wiring and harnesses, water pump, thermostat and all hoses to connect to the radiator, header tank and heater. Power steering pump, tank and hoses. Air-con compressor with hoses, Alternator, pulleys and belt. Coils, ignition leads and plugs. Exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters and exhaust pipes right back to just before the rear boxes. Oil filter and water-cooled oil cooler. All EGR plumbing and electrics (exhaust gas recirculation). Engine mounts. Inlet manifold and throttle cable. All engine senders and electronics. Flywheel and clutch. Five speed manual gearbox, lever, boot and mountings. All brand new, sealed and untouched since the crate was nailed closed at the factory.
The Mustang is, of course a front engined car which makes the gearbox supplied redundant but the starter, flywheel and possibly the clutch can be retained. Installation of any into a mid-engined car is never straightforward so there are several modifications to be done. It is important to mount the engine as far forward as possible in the Mk4, both for optimum weight distribution and simply to make room for the relatively long, Porsche Transaxle. As you can see on the previous photograph the Ford engine is quite ‘busy’ up front. Both coils are mounted in front of the rocker covers, the power steering fluid reservoir is there as are all the pipes and hoses for the EGR system and a coolant by-pass tube right in front of the alternator. Power steering isn’t required so the hoses and reservoir can go but we’ll keep the pump and pulley simply as an idler to save re-routing the belt. EGR won’t be required for UK emission requirements. The coils can be relocated at the rear of the rocker covers and the water bypass tube can be remodelled to direct the coolant in another direction. The result, as you can see here is a very flat-fronted engine.
As always, there are some jobs that must be completed before the next build stage can start and joining the engine to the transmission is probably the most important one. The transaxle we chose is a Getrag G96/00 - six speed, limited slip with cable change, originally fitted to 1998 to 2001 Porsche Carrera 2’s. This must be mounted to the Ford engine upside-down because, in the Porsche, it sits in front of the engine and in the Foreman, it’s behind - and we don’t want six reverse gears and one forward do we? And here it is in all it’s brand new glory.
On the P4, the distance between the front of the engine and the driveshaft output flanges on the grearbox must always be minimised to achieve both, straight driveshafts and clear access around the alternator and water pump for maintenance and servicing. It’s also important to keep the engine as low in the chassis as possible so careful measuring is critical at an early stage.
Proof of engine age is very important when you come to testing and registering your car in UK. Unfortunately this and many other Ford engines do not have an engine number stamped into the block - there are only paper stickers showing the engine type and date of manufacture. There is, however a casting mark on the block, hidden behind the starter motor. A written declaration of it's age from the engine supplier should, in combination with the other ID's, be sufficient.
If it seems like a long time between updates to this build log, you're right. We admitted this will be a long term project and running CBS has to take priority. So, although we haven't done much work, the spending continues.
The original Ford engine wiring harness contains so much superfluous stuff and the layout doesn't lend itself to mid-engine installation. The ignition switch and door locks are all linked to the main ECU as a security measure and much of the emissions equipment is not necessary in UK - or indeed, in many US states. True to the universal laws of supply and demand, Ron Francis Wireworks in California have developed an aftermarket engine harness package for the Ford 4.6L. They re-flashed our original ECU and supplied a piggy-back connector panel with integral relays and fuses. Included in the package is a wired plug for every engine sender, each with enough cable to form your own engine loom, whatever the layout. So, in theory, we'll be able to assemble a perfect, custom, engine harness with only the circuits we need - no more, no less.
TRANSMISSION MODIFICATIONS
So, here we go with the adapter plate. There will be lots of careful measuring and calculation required to ensure everything is square, concentric and manufactured to acceptable tolerances for reliable operation and long component life. I find it always helps to write everything down and make full-size sketches and drawings on a large sheet of graph paper. Here's my temporary 'drawing board' - just half a sheet of ply, cable-tied to the back of the chassis
A few simple and inexpensive tools will be sufficient for the design and drawing job.
A Digital Caliper can be accurate to within one thousandth of an inch or 0.01mm and can measure dimensions up to 150mm. And a selection of steel rules are cheap and accurate 'straight edges' and can give you instant measurements with an accuracy of less than half a millimetre - depending on your eyesight, of course.
There are several important factors to bear in mind when designing custom engine to gearbox adapters.
1. FLYWHEEL You can either keep the engine's original flywheel - which means that, in our
