HM-2018 Build Thread

[Bob Worley]

ERA mod for FE type engine mount.

http://www.erareplicas.com/427man/engine/mountmod/index.htm

Ah, thanks - so its just an "FE" mount problem? 

[Russ Crouch]

Bob,
Not sure if it is only a problem for FEs, but it is a fix for an FE. I had a 69 Z-28 in H.S. that would pull the LH motor mount apart. GM's fix was to install a cable around the engine mount. It kept the air cleaner from putting a dent from the under side of the hood.  ;-)

[mandmGuys]

Russ, got a small thing for you to think about after looking at your pictures. I am working through a couple of refinement issues on my brakes and will post details later.  However consider this: you have your brake light switch tee in the up position (similar to mine) this will allow a small of air to possibly be trapped in the tee and switch with out a way to bleed it out. Switch tee should be repositioned at a downward angle to prevent this. Straight down option may not be the best either as any debris in the system can then settle there and cause switch malfunction. Just my two cents on a change that I am going to make, thought it would be easy for you to address now if you wanted.

Happy building
Mark 

[Russ Crouch]

Mark,
Thank you for the excelent advice from experience. That does make sense.  I think I will turn switch back toward the foot box and just below horizontal.

[Russ Crouch]

Diane and I haven't posted a build progress report for a couple of weeks, so we're taking a break to get it done. Since last report we bonded the cockpit tub, made and installed an aluminum plate to cover the opening for the transmission shifter in the drive shaft hump, insulated inside of the foot boxes,  mounted the upper frame, mounted the gas pedal assembly, installed the bearing in in the driver's side foot box and loosely assembled the steering shafts and knuckles between the footbox and rack and pinion, made a bracket for and installed the throttle linkage and throttle body, and mounted the FE overflow tank. This evening we will install the inner fender panels. Tomorrow we plan to mount the radiator and figure out a solution for plumbing the radiator hoses. I also need to start doing some research on the placement of the heater core inlet so that I don't mount the fuel pressure regulator over that location on the firewall. Any guidance on that subject will be greatly appreciated. Jason called last week to ask what color of ceramic coating we wanted and sent the exhaust collector gaskets out. We hope to see the exhaust system soon.

[Russ Crouch]

A couple more pics.

[s_reynolds]

Russ, looking good! I'm really enjoying these new Gen II builds. What brand of tires are you using on your car?

Sam

[Russ Crouch]

Sam,
The tires are the Cooper Cobra with the letters turned in.  My plan is to apply the TredWear tire graghics that look like Goodyear Billboards. That is if the first set of tires last long enough to get it done.
Did you have to cut the hole for the cold air duct piping at the  back end of the inner fender? I'm also looking for pictures of the four inner fender brackets installed on an FE car.  I think I'm going to wait on installing the inner fenders until after we get the headers wrapped and installed. It will be tight enought without them.
Yes this build a lot of fun.

[Russ Rittimann]

Looking good Russ.  You mentioned you made the aluminum plate to cover the shifter on the transmission tunnel.  Something to keep in mind, if you ever need to remove the transmission (transmission failure, clutch replacement) you need to be able to remove the transmission from the bottom.  You have to be able to slide the transmission back enough to disengage the front shaft from the clutch plate.  The shaft on the TKO-600s for the shifter sticks up a good bit and won't let you slide the transmission back unless the hole in the transmission tunnel if big enough.  Looks like your aluminum plate is just big enough to cover the round part on the transmission so the hole is probably the minimum size.  The other option is to loosen the motor mounts and tilt the engine/transmission enough which is not that easy.

Just something to consider to make things easier later.  One of the guys here local has a Gen 1 and had to remove the transmission for clutch repair.  He had a heck of a time getting his transmission out and had to tilt the motor/transmission as it was the only way.

I opened up the hole in the transmission tunnel to hopefully have enough room to slide the transmission back if needed.  Here's a pix of what I'm talking about before I opened up the hole.  I guess I didn't take a pix of it afterwards but I only removed fiberglass towards the rear and made a plate big enough to cover.

[s_reynolds]

Russ, yes I had to cut a hole for the cold air duct. Don't remember how I did it now.

Sam

[Russ Crouch]

Russ,
I appreciate the recomendation on making sure the opening in the transmission hump is large enough to allow removal of the transmission. According to the Tremec site the TKO600 input shaft for a Ford application is 7.21".  I currently have 2.25" from the back of the shifter stub to the back of the opening in the hump. I think that increasing the size of the opening behind the shift stub to 8" to allow the input shaft to clear the throwout bearing/fork in the Quicktime bellhousing and the rubber boot at the bottom of the shift stub to clear the opening in the hump.  Thanks again for the tip.
Russ C.

[Russ Crouch]

Sam,
I cut the hole in the inner for the cold air duct and the valve in the foot box with one of these. I reduced the speed on my drill press to 300 RPM for the inner fender. Used the variable to cut through the aluminum and foot box fiberglass.

[s_reynolds]

Russ, wish I had one of those when I did mine. I think I used my hand jig saw with a metal cutting blade and then smoothed the edges with a file and sand paper. Not elegant, but it worked ok.

Sam

[Russ Crouch]

I have looked at this for two evenings now and I cannot figure out where the inner fender brackets go. The assembly manual has a picture of the brackets, but does not have one showing where they are mounted.
From assembly guide page 104:
5. Attach the fender both fender support brackets to the fender using 1/4" bolts and washers.
6. Push the fender in so that the bracket touches the frame rail. The brackets will cause the fender to flare in at the bottom towards the frame rail. Mark and drill two 11/64" holes. for each bracket.
7. Attach the fender support brackets to the frame using #10 hex head metal screws.

However, when I push the fender inward, it would touch the header if it were in place the inner fender would touch the header.
Please provide guidance and/or a picture of the location of the installed brackets with the inner fender mounted.
Attached are pics of my driver side inner fender taped in place.
Your help is appreciated.

[mandmGuys]

Russ, FWIW I had to re brake my inner fender aprons so they would clear the headers, at this point  (about 450 road miles) I have not installed any brackets on the bottom edge of the inner panels. They are pretty well locked in after the outer splash panels are installed.
All that to say; that is an item that can wait till closer to completion.

Mark