Red Rocks Garage Mk IV Roadster
A build blog
The drop down ‘blog’ menu has blog posts listed by date. The blog posts are intended to capture the significant steps forward (or sometimes backward) in the building of the Factory Five Mk IV roadster.
1/3/2025: Finally setting up the Fuel Link!
I purchased another Fuel Link from Classic Instruments and this time the terminal block was in the correct orientation.
The setup was relatively straightforward. The Fuel Link ‘translates’ signal from the fuel level sender to the input required by the fuel level gauge. The Fuel Link isn’t specific to Classic Instruments and can be used for a variety of fuel level senders. The sender that I have is for a 1987 or later Ford with the OHMS range of 16 – 158 for empty and full, respectively. Read more….
10/6/24: Attaching the Classic Instruments Fuel Link.
I can’t believe where the time has gone! I obviously haven’t been working on the Cobra very much and now I have to re-learn WordPress and Divi in order to make this blog post. Well, after considerable head-scratching I decided to put the Classic Instruments Fuel Link on the support strut for the fire wall. But then, two steps forward, one step back. Read more….
6/18/24: Some wiring and a new throttle linkage.
Over the last week or so I’ve been getting reacquainted with my project, particularly the tangle of wires I’d tucked behind the dashboard for the move. I’d labeled many of the wires and had several diagrams to work from but it was still a sort of puzzle. Read more…
6/8/24: In my new shop!
After nearly 14 months since I put my shop in storage it is in it’s new home! Read more…
2/22/24: waiting, waiting.
In February 2023, we decided to move from Salt Lake City to Rochester, MN, for few years. My Cobra project in Salt Lake City and shop were put in storage pending the construction of my new shop outside of Moab, UT. We’re hoping that the shop will be done this Spring and I will be resuming my build. Read more…
11/24/22: the Gas-N headers have arrived.
The order took about four months but the wait was worth it. The headers came with the port for the oxygen sensor and they are uncoated stainless steel. I plan to us the F5 exhausts but will likely need to modify them at some point as they are reported to be quite loud. Read more…
11/5/22: the engine is in!
It has been quite a while since my last blog entry. There have been quite long periods of me being distracted by other projects, but I have still made a lot of progress.
The engine installation took about two hours and the fit was quite tight. We used a two-ton engine hoist from Harbor Freight and it worked well. Read more…
7/25/20: some electrical work and the radiator is in.
The electrical work is an ongoing set of tasks. I go to it and move away like the tide rolling in and out. It’s the most perplexing part of the build and that for which I’ve learned the most. Read more…
6/29/20: work on the footbox cooling system.
There is an old cartoon that I remember that goes like this:
A man has just reached the summit of a peak and sitting on that summit is a man dressed like a guru— white robe, long white hair and beard. The man climbing the peak says to the guru, ‘Tell me the meaning of eternity’. Read more….
12/16/19: more instrument panel work.
I spent most of the summer away from Salt Lake doing various fun things but I have been doing some work on the Cobra this Fall. Primarily, I’ve been getting back on the electrical system. The first part of my return to working on the Cobra was trying to figure out where I left off, particularly since the electrical work is not as intuitive for me as is the rest of the project. Read more….
4/12/19: instrument panel work.
I’ve been mostly working on the electrical system and, in particular, the instrument panel. Much of my Cobra time has been spent thinking about the electrical system, learning about connectors and trying out different techniques.
I decided to make a ‘competition’-style instrument panel and purchased some Classic Instruments gauges. Read more….
9/11/18: getting to Al work, plus some wiring.
Progress over the summer was relatively slow: I spent a lot of time out of doors as it seemed too nice outside to spend a lot of time in the shop. But, now that it’s getting colder during the day, I’m back to working on the roadster more diligently. Read more….
5/21/18: footbox vent details.
Although I haven’t posted for a while, I’ve been quite busy working on a fresh air vent system. I’ll post more details in a separate construction folder over the next few days. Basically, the idea is to bring air from the nose of the roadster into the foot box area. Read more….