Hurricane Motorsports
Public Area => Build Pictures => Topic started by: Redstang69 on February 05, 2022, 08:42:59 PM
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I feel that I've made it to a point where I can start my build thread.
After researching and debating for months I finally made my order with Alec on July 23rd. I'll give a quick background leading up to the Hurricane decision in case others find themselves in the same shoes as me.
I originally got lured in by the attractive price of the Factory Five base kit. I thought I could probably save some money and do a budget build using donor parts. After reading a lot of build threads and watching some YouTube I quickly realized most donor parts I would want to just replace/upgrade with new parts. I then found a couple of partially completed kits for sale on marketplace and actually had a deal made but the owner backed out. Just as I was about to pull the trigger on a FFR base kit I searched marketplace again and found a Shell Valley kit. I researched the Shell Valley kits and this led me down the rabbit hole of going back and looking at many of the kit manufacturers and that's how I landed here with a Hurricane.
After reading on here and other forums I learned about how the Hurricane kits had some features that would make them look more accurate to the originals (pedals on the bottom of the footbox, visible roll bar behind the seat, correct body, etc.). I also felt the fiberglass tub had advantages over the riveted on panels and trying to seal them. Finally after plugging in the numbers, the Hurricane kit optioned how I wanted it was cheaper than the FFR base kit with parts that I would end up upgrading, plus I got 3 link and the Ford 9".
Roughly two weeks ago Todd with Stewart called me to set up my delivery. After there being a truck malfunction which set things back a week, the car was scheduling to be picked up Feb. 2nd. Another truck breakdown delayed pickup a day, but Eric (Stewart driver) was headed east with my kit, right on the tails of the winter mess of snow and ice. Eric called and we planned for an afternoon delivery on the 4th, however due to the horrible weather Eric would get within 15 min. of my house before having to park for the night due to maxing out the amount of hours he could legally drive. Good things come to those who wait and at 8AM sharp Eric came rolling down the road and we unloading everything in about a half hour without issue.
Besides finding the build manual and looking at the boxes piled around that's as far as I got on it today. It still doesn't quite seem real, I've looked at so many build threads seeing pictures of everyone's cars and I can't believe there's actually one sitting in my garage now.
This is long enough for now, enjoy the couple pics.
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Thought I would add the build plan and options:
427 Roadster S/C
Chromed drivers roll bar and quick jacks
Silver coated side pipes
Wind wings
Visors
Heater/Defroster
Wilwood GM Metric Front brakes
351W that might get built to a 427
T5
Frame powder coated grey
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Congrats...just had to be patient. Call me anytime and look forward to your build.
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Congrats!! That was a pretty good order time frame. Good to see! Years ago I had a FFR as you can guess LOL. I looked around and decided HM was going to be my choice some time ago! Enjoy the build. Glenn.
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I haven't posted in a few days, however I've been making some headway. The first few days I played with trying to get the cockpit tub and body properly aligned to cut the windshield holes and drill the mounts.
It was a slow process, most because I was worrying too much
After talking with Greg and Alec, it sounds like I have it as good as it can be. Thanks for the help guys.
My worry was that you can see the frame just behind the front of the rear wheel wells, but the hurricane coyote car is the same way. Also you can see the bottom of the drivers foot box, but that's normal as well and will be covered by the side pipes.
I had time by myself in the garage last night so I did my inventory. Surprisingly it went really well and there are only a few items backordered but I won't need them for a while. Felt good to organize things to go with the steps in the book. Greg's suggestion to me to bag the bolts needed for each step was a good one.
Tonight I got the third member installed. I'd like to point out how impressive it is that Alec took the time to pull the axle housing and have it powder coated to match the frame. Maybe that's standard but I assumed they come to him black and since I got my frame grey, he had my axle housing done.
Not sure what color I'll paint the third member.
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Couple more pictures. Sorry it's broken up, I think I need to change a setting on my phone to take lower res pictures. The size limit on here really hinders me from putting more than one or two pics in a post.
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One more. I just looked at Bruce's thread and it looks like his flat bar might be slightly in front of the door jam like mine.
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One more. I just looked at Bruce's thread and it looks like his flat bar might be slightly in front of the door jam like mine.
After setting the body on and positioning trunk and hood, the flat bar was almost dead even with the lip on the door jam. I Think that was the hardest part for me was realizing that the body position on the frame dictates all other alignment. Have fun!
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Are you posting from phone or from a computer?
I re-size all pics I take with phone ony computer to about 25% to reduce file size. Your pic file size is the issue in uploading pics to the forum.
Couple more pictures. Sorry it's broken up, I think I need to change a setting on my phone to take lower res pictures. The size limit on here really hinders me from putting more than one or two pics in a post.
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Was able to finish sorting things into smaller and tall specific boxes tonight.
Attempted to put the axle seals in. Anyone else run into the axle housing being just a bit small for the seals. I mic'd things and have about .040 interference. Seal being .040 bigger than the hole it should go in.
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Been into different odds and ends. Finally sucked it up and cut holes in the body for the windshield. Not a great feeling to cut holes in the body when there's really nothing to square things off of. I ended up notching the cockpit tub slots on the passenger side so I could get the body solid forward on that side. Measuring from a dash brace back to the rear of the door jam the passenger side was nearly an inch further to the rear than the drivers side was, after notching I'm within a quarter inch now.
Windshield fit really well after Greg reassured me to cut the slots big enough so the windshield mounting arms don't contact the body at all. The windshield slid down nicely so it sealed all the way across the body.
Marked all my mounting holes and got them drilled except for the uppers on the frame. Packed it all away and ready to pull the body off now.
Finally was somewhat warm today so I painted the third member. Also opened up the backing plates and painted those.
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I ran into some issues with the axle seals. They seemed pretty tight, so I mic'd things and I came up with a bore of 2.473". The seal OD spec is 2.504, so that's a good bit of interference. I talked to John's industries and theirs mic's at 2.499", which seems more correct.
Hopefully the next new build someone will check theirs and see how it is. Alec said he thought the last couple he did were pretty tight going in also but he didn't have an inside mic to check it.
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Will check mine over the weekend and post results.
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OD on the axle seal is 3.150" on mine. ID on housing is 3.130" My rear is the std 9" with what I guess are the larger seals? But 0.020" difference between the 2. Hopefully someone else will chime in too. Not much help sorry!
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I think you measured the bearing pocket. Bearing O.D. is 3.15" The O.D. of seal is 2.506"
OD on the axle seal is 3.150" on mine. ID on housing is 3.130" My rear is the std 9" with what I guess are the larger seals? But 0.020" difference between the 2. Hopefully someone else will chime in too. Not much help sorry!
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I agree it sounds like you measured at the bearing, my bearing was 3.148 and housing bore was 3.145, the bearing went in beautifully.
Now the T bolts and mounting plate are a different story. I tried a hot glue gun to glue the spacers on, it didn't work so great so I'd advise against that to anyone in the future.
The problem I ran into after that was that I barely had a thread coming through the mounting plate to get the nuts started. Was a huge pain. I finally did get all 4 but one stripped pretty quickly so I'll either be ordering the wildwood kit or probably just getting grade 8 fine thread 3/8" hex head bolts that are actually long enough.
Anyone know why regular hex head bolts wouldn't work?
This hole able thing has been extremely frustrating. I finally walked away from it today and put the heim joints on the rear suspension bars and assembled the rear shocks, that actually went smoothly and my daughter could help.
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T-bolts do not need a wrench to tighten, hex will need you to put a wrench to the back side which tried, but decided to go with the Wilwood t-bolt kit after all.
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After reading through some of the other build threads I realized I didn't have the backing plates on the preferred sides, I had them oriented so the caliper was to the rear instead of to the front. I swapped those around, re-glued the spacers to the bearings and had both axles in and torqued in about an hour. I ended up using 3/8"-24 x 1-1/2" grade 8 hex bolts instead of the T bolts. I was very happy with the end result, nylon part of the lock nut was fully on the bolt and a few threads extra exposed.
I'd highly recommend going with then length bolt or the Wilwood T bolt kit that others have had luck with. The Wilwood T bolt kit I looked up said they were 1-7/16" long. I forgot to measure the length of the supplied T bolts, but I think they are just slightly shorter then the Wilwood bolts.
Also, a caution that the manual is very confusing about the backing plate orientation. A picture has text saying the slotted e-brake hole points toward the front of the vehicle, but step 2 says the hole should point toward the rear of the vehicle. A couple pages later a picture of an assembled rear end shows the calipers toward the rear like I originally had them. Mistakes happen and designs/parts change, I just want to give future builders the heads up.
So the rear end is finally fully assembled, minus fluids.
I'll probably end up pulling the calipers back off and painting red to match my planned on stripes.
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I oriented my calipers to the front, which if I recall, is the opposite of what the manual shows. This is so the E-brake cable would make a long U bend instead of a tight S bend.
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Got a little done this weekend. Body is fully ready for removal, hooks and ropes in the ceiling, brace cut and installed. My try to round up help tomorrow night.
Assembled my lower control arms, ball joints went in great. Started to assemble the uppers and the ball joints would not go. They're in the freezer now but talking to Greg I may not have the right ones. I got all Moog K772 ball joints. Anyone else know what they got and worked. Greg thought he had something different for the uppers.
Also reamed holes for rear suspension components and mounted them loosely. Need to call Alec tomorrow and get 5/8" x 1/2" spacers needed for the 3rd link arm.
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The ball joints I received were Parts Master K772, which are a house brand of Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper auto parts stores and also made by Federal Mogul but not made by Moog.. I also bought Moog ball joints as an upgrade, Moog would not work or fit at all into upper. The Parts Master dropped right in. The Parts Master had a nice taper to the threaded area and got right to them. Seems the radius on the Moog just wouldn't fit for me, and don't think any freezing or heating would have made a difference. If you look at some ball joints in comparison to the moog, the parts master and others have a step instead to the threads and not a radius similar to what pictured here.
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I tried a frozen one for kicks and still had no luck. Like Greg said the taper on the Moog just doesn't seem to be long enough to let the threads get together to start threading. Alec has some parts master ones on order. I might take an upper with me to O'Reilly's tomorrow and try one of theirs.
My cardone bushings showed up today :)
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Was a pretty nice weekend in Ohio, close to 70, so I was able to get a little done.
First off, I got a similar ball joint from O'Reilly's a few days ago and tried it in the upper housing. You can see in the picture the difference in design. It would thread almost halfway in and then get really tight. I might try to wire wheel the housing some but Alec has parts master ones on order, so I might wait for those too.
The ball joint issue also prompted me to move forward with assembling the front suspension. Got it probably 60% complete. Just need to put spindles on, hubs/brakes, and steering rack. A heads on the front, after talking with Greg K. my upper shock mount measures 1-7/8" wide, so it took 6 washers to fill up the space, Greg's measures 1-5/8". I'm going to check with Alec as to why and if I should be assembling differently.
I had to do trim some of the 1/2" x 1/2" spacers to get them to fit. One on the front mount of the LCA only needed maybe .005" shaved off. One on each rear LCA mount needed more, approx 1/8" .
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Managed to get the rear end hung last night with the help of a buddy. The cart I have it on is nice for maneuverability and good working height but it made getting the rear end in place pretty tough.
For those building a newer one, the axle bracket for the trailing arm only has two holes now. Trailing arms go in the top hole and the 5/16" bushings are no longer needed. The thing slipped right in the mounts easily though.
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Been working a little off and on in the evenings this week since the weather has been great. Got my front frame section off, still trying to figure out where I'll store that. Got the rear end all torqued except for the third link. Waiting on the correct spacers from Alec as well as the upper ball joints for the front.
Prepped the front spindles and painted them and then tonight I put the bearings and seal in the hubs and mounted the caliper brackets to the spindles. Everything went together really well.
After I put the caliper bracket on I noticed I could've got away with painting a little more. I'll touch them up.
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I forgot to mention that I installed the steering rack also. I went ahead and got the cardone bushings and they went right in. On my frame one nut is pre-welded into the frame. The other has to be installed and there is a notch cut out in the frame. The notch however is not big enough to get the open end of a wrench onto the nut and when using the box end, once the bolt is tight there isn't enough space to get the wrench off the bolt. Slightly frustrating but I simply added a washer and that gave me enough space to get the wrench out.
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I haven't been too productive over the last week or so, flu bug went through the house and then a couple pretty cold days again. I did get the brake lines ran across the axle. Couple things to note:
Comparing my chassis with Greg's, my brake line adapter mount at the rear of the frame is a lot further to the rear, so I was able to route a little differently than Greg.
Mounted the clutch pedal and m/c last night. You'll have to trim the top of the pedal frame so it'll slide in properly. Also, stud coming out of the m/c is pretty long and pushes the clutch pedal pretty far to the rear, so I trimmed roughly a half inch off.
The clutch m/c is a very tight fit getting the rubber boot through the predrilled hole.
Also, the hardware that comes with the pedals is a little odd. The brake pedal frame comes predrilled and tapped to bolt the frame to the footbox, but no hardware. The clutch pedal frame is only drilled and comes with two bolts which I assumed are to bolt the frame to something (footbox in our case), but did not come with nuts, odd since this frame is not tapped. Maybe I'm not using the hardware correctly, but if I am, then for future builders you'll need qty. 4 5/16-18 x 1" bolts for the brake pedal frame and qty. 2 5/16-24 nuts to go with the supplied bolts for the clutch pedal frame.
Started bending the long rear brake line, but stopped once I got up to the m/c's. I'm thinking too much on how to "efficiently" route them.
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Nice progress!
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Finally bit the bullet and really started going at the brake lines last night. I had been thinking on it a lot trying to think ahead about if I would ever need to replace a m/c then I didn't want my line routing to hinder the job.
This is where I finished up last night. Still need to cut the lines to the finished length and re-flare.
If anyone sees any major issues with this yell at me, I can still change things easily. I talked with Greg some and he mentioned I might want to give a little more space between the clutch line and where the cockpit tub would be.
Excuse the mess
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Got the brake lines finished up. Started on the fuel system next. I've been going round and round trying to decide what exactly I'll do, mainly because I haven't decided on if I'm going Sniper or traditional carb.
Anyway, I worked on the fuel sender this evening. Figured I would share this for others.
First picture is roughly how it's assembled out of the box. I say roughly because in the picture I've already trimmed and shortened the arms, you can see the extra in the pic.
I ended up having to take the main arm loose and rotate it due to how the sending unit must orient in the tank so the float doesn't hit the side wall or baffles.
The 1-1/2" hole is also very tight and I had to grind a little on the arm so the unit would sit even in the hole and the bolt holes would line up.
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This is how things are oriented after rotating the arm.
The mounting bolt is like a carriage bolt where it has the 4 flats, so you've only got 4 choices for rotation.
If your tank mounting holes get drilled differently then this is all irrelevant. The holes are spaced so it'll only mount one way.
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Not sure if you have an angled bottom tank or not, but check that your unit can rotate the full amount. On my first car, I turned the arm about 30degrees so it would clear the baffling, but ended up not getting a good measure for how much fuel was really in the tank. The float bottomed out on the bottom of the tapered part, not the flat part. Ended up having to modify the float to get it to measure accurately.
Also be aware, the cork seal they supply is a known leak point. There's just enough pressure from the fuel head when you fill up that it leaks around the gasket. Found that MotoSeal is the only sealant that will not breakdown with exposure to gasoline. FYI
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Paul, thanks for the info, I'll check it again and be sure to add some additional gasket sealer.
I didn't get a lot done this weekend but it was successful. I got the E Brake stuff checked off the list. It was a fairly simple task. I didn't do the mod. Couple things to note, for me the 5/16" bolts supplied to mount the handle were too short. Second, with the proper clevis installed it just slightly rubs on the frame. I'll prob. Shave down the clevis slightly so there's no rubbing.
Other than that it was a straight forward install.
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One more pic.
Also, I trimmed a tiny piece of my trunk tub because it was hitting on my filler neck. That let the trunk tub come down a little and I'm pretty sure it's now hitting say the very back corners so I'm going to shim my tank down the thickness of a 1/4" or 5/16" nut depending on which size bolt I use.
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Kind of a big day for me. I finally picked up the motor. Now don't get too excited, it's not a big dollar, shop built motor. It's from an 85 E-250 van. Don't worry, a little clean up and paint and hopefully it'll look good.
This was one area that I figured I could shave some cost on the build. Still undecided on how deep I'll go on a rebuild, full gasket kit at a minimum and prob an Edelbrock intake. Still has the factory 4 barrel carb stamped " made by Holley for Ford motor raft".
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Ben did you get my reply to your message? I sent two reply's but when I go to sent messages it does not show them :(
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Bruce, yes I got them, thanks for the replies and help.
Haven't done a whole lot exciting on my build so far. Got templates cut for my firewall panels, cut my heat shield as well.
Engine is all torn down and at a shop getting ran through the cleaner tank. Waiting to see if they say it needs bored or not. They'll put new cam bearings in while they have it.
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Decided to throw my upper frame, or whatever it's called, back on and for up all my steering stuff. It went decent, the manual is pretty much useless for this part. In reference to the bearing mounting plate that goes on the foot box, I opted to put the bearing on the inside. If you decide to put it on the outside you'll have to enlarge the hole in the bracket. The downfall to putting it on the inside is that you have to trim a corner off the bearing retainer plates so it'll clear the foot box. Mounting is not final, I'm waiting to get my footbox aluminum done.
Does anyone have a closeup picture of their steering at the dash like mine below? I'm trying to determine if the turn signal mounts here and will cover the part of the bushing/mount showing in my picture.
I think I'll need to trim the dash lip to clear the bolts for the bushing mount.
Cylinders were pretty worn so the shop is boring it now.
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Steering wheel area in question
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I had to do a lot of trimming to the rings, and the fiberglass to get it to fit. And yes, you are correct that gap is where the turn signal switch goes.
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Perfect pictures, thanks Bob. Looks like your bearing retainer holes are rotated slightly compared to mine. Your upper bolt/nut is very close to the throttle tube. I have more clearance there but it puts my other bolt into the side of the footbox wall.
Guess I need to pull my turn signal mechanism out tonight and test fit it up.
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Perfect pictures, thanks Bob. Looks like your bearing retainer holes are rotated slightly compared to mine. Your upper bolt/nut is very close to the throttle tube. I have more clearance there but it puts my other bolt into the side of the footbox wall.
Guess I need to pull my turn signal mechanism out tonight and test fit it up.
Yeah, maybe Hurricane modified the throttle box after my kit to accommodate that bolt close to the tube. I also shorted the tube after that pic to get the throttle pedal more inboard: my brake/cutch are really close together.
On the turn signal, its held in place by a really cheesy pressure fit, just tightening the small strew to press against the steering boss. eventually they loosen up allowing the signal switch to swing around, and have to be retightened. I removed the screw, drilled it out so a #10 fine screw slides through, then tapped the brass steering boss for #10 fine thread. used a stainless steel bolt that threads all the way into the boss, there is no way that thing is going to rotate on the boss now. you can kind of see the Allen head SS bolt in my pic.
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Here is one my posts about another modification that helps the turn signal switch fit better. You can see that crummy saddle thats supposed to hold it in place. Thanks to Paul Proefrock:
https://forum.hurricane-motorsports.com/forum/index.php?topic=2352.msg25030#msg25030
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Thanks so much Bob, I'll have to get a piece aluminum.
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Hey Ben. I just responded to your message but for some reason nothing shows up on sent messages (still). So just let me know if you didn't get it.
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Bruce, yep I got it. Thanks for all the info, I'll have to get some stuff.
Alec hooked me up and delivered my headers, pipes, carpet, heater and glove box kit the other day. Got some stuff to start looking at.
Engine is bored and waiting to get the new soft plugs and cam bearings in.
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Progress has been a little slow for me still. Seems like more time thinking about things and waiting on parts than actually working.
I got the tabs/wings glasses in on the bottom of the footbox. Still need to add a little short strand fiber to smooth it up.
I decided to take the plunge and drill my dash. I'm planning no exposed fasteners, so what I did was got 1/4"-20 x 1" "elevator studs", a 1" Forstner bit and drilled the dash from the front about halfway through. This let the stud recess into the dash so it's flush with the fiberglass face. I used 8 total and it seems to hold the dash really well. To finish the studs off and hold them in the dash I used Starbright 8200 marine adhesive sealant. It looks the same as 3M brand 5200, but Walmart had it in stock.
I went with the elevator studs because Lowe's happened to have them when I was there.
I intend to also make the dash removable so I still need to trim the top lip off and I'll probably have to notch the upper holes in the 1" flat bar so the studs can slide down out.
Got my block back last week but I'm having trouble getting the pistons in the rebuild kit I was planning to use. Hopefully I'll get some aluminum soon to finish my footbox/firewall.
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One to show recess depth and one of the tabs.
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Still slow moving for me, but today was kind of exciting. I picked up a cheap set of wheels and tires for temporary use until I'm ready to bite the built and order Halibrands, and today I set the chassis on the ground. First time it rolled.
Other than that I've messed with a lot of little things. Got the oil pan, pulleys, and brackets cleaned/blasted and ready for paint. Put my heat shield on the footboxes. Cleaned up some of the cutouts in the trunk tub and did my cutout for the wiring to come in.
Last week I dropped the crank into the block, got the pistons off the rods and got the valves ground. Hopefully Monday I'll put the new pistons on the rods and grind the valve seats, then I can put more of the engine together. My cam from summit got pushed to Oct. 5th as of now so that's going to slow things down.
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Entry for electrical at the trunk tub. I decided to cut a square opening and use a simple square electrical cover to cover it. I figured it would be a more universal thickness for grommets.
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Got the valves seats cut tonight and all the new pistons on the rods.
Just need to shave the heads a little more. Hopefully drop the pistons in this week.
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Got some time later last night and dropped the pistons in. Went together very smooth. I checked all the ring gaps the other night and loaded the rings onto the pistons.
After a lot of reading and back and forth I decided to do my aluminum like Aaron did, scuff up and shark Hyde. I had initially planned to powder coat, then thought about paint. After realizing how close the headers are to the footbox I was skeptical that paint or powder will hold up to the heat. The shark Hyde will give me the look I want and the protection I was looking for.
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Didn't realize it'd been this long since I posted. Not a lot to report on. I did finally get my footbox aluminum bent. The color it is in the pictures is not what it'll be finished. It'll be raw aluminum with shark Hyde. I did a test piece the other night and it worked out good, just takes a bit to sand the paint off the aluminum.
Finally got back to the shop and got my heads shaved a little.
I set them on and masked things off and put some primer on tonight. I used the Eastwood 2 part primer with internal activator. Went on very nice. The finish will be the Eastwood old Ford blue.
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What are the details of your engine build?
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It's nothing crazy or elaborate due to budget.
351W 85 model. .030 over. Have an Edelbrock performer intake for it and a simple summit 4400 cam I'm waiting on. So pretty much stock. One day when the budget permits I'll try to get a set of AFR heads.
I've done all the work except for cleaning the block and boring it, that's where I hope to save some money.
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Got a nice evening this past week and put the blue on. That Eastwood paint is really nice. Went on great and covered beautifully and didn't run. The engine turned out really nice I think with a nice shine. I threw a couple parts on just to see what it would start to look like.
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I also decided to finish my fuel tank. I was originally going to get it powder coated but decided to do all the aluminum with the shark Hyde coating. I probably could've spent more time on the finish but I'm sick of this aluminum lol. The finish did turn out nice tho. Hopefully the before and after pictures (2 of each) will show a difference.
My process was 320 grit sandpaper and then the reddish scotch Brite pad.
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Last after picture
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After a long wait for a cam from summit, I ended up going an alternate route. I ran across a company, Delta Camshaft and they did a custom grind for me. I had the cam in just under two weeks. Thankfully summit cancelled the cam order and refunded me for the lifters I had already received. After getting enlightened that a 351W has stepped cam bearing sizes, I installed the cam.
I was then able to start attending the heads. I again ran into a snag. I went with a better valve spring for the extra cam lift and summit recommended the wrong retainers and keepers. I talked to Comp and got the right stuff and again summit took the incorrect parts back. I checked my to make sure I had the recommended spring measurements so there wouldn't be coil bind and the retainer had the appropriate distance from the valve seal and all is good. I'm pretty close to having it all buttoned up.
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I've ran across a snag. I decided to do a test run with dropping the engine in the frame and to get a measurement for my expansion tank.
I got regular old motor mounts for 69 mustang with 351 figuring they would be correct. Turned out the mounts are probably 1.5" narrower than the tubes on the frame.
What mounts are you guys using on small block Fords? An I stuck using the expensive prothane mounts?
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That’s very strange. I think the manual has certain fitments of motor mounts to use. I originally wanted to use rubber mounts, but it was suggested to go poly mounts to reduce engine movement, which makes an issue for the sidepipes.
I used these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NSHQSI?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Yes a shocker on the price but this is a $50k car 🤷🏽♂️
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Thanks for confirming that Kamal. Found that same set on eBay for $100, brand new. Maybe I got a little lucky on this one. I thought about making some adapters but the prothane look like they set the engine up a little higher than the ones I currently have, which i need since I have the rear sump pan. Might end up switching that.
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Happy Thanksgiving all!!
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Ended up having a really productive holiday break. Engine went in perfectly (with the correct mounts), and I finished up the firewall aluminum (thought I'd never get to say that).
Hush mat will go in next.
I have to figure out some way to tidy up the plug wires. Might end up having to put 90° ends up at the distributor.
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For anyone that may do the hush mat, the product worked really well from an install perspective. Cut very easy, was easy to form around all the bends in the tub and sticks very well.
I bought the box with 20 sheets and only used 8 to get this done. This is all I planned to do but since I still have some I'll probably add to this.
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Your progress is looking great! The firewall aluminum came out nicely, good clean work!
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Thank you sir. My progress is pretty slow.
Got my oil dipstick tube made up, hard fuel line from pump to carb made, and plug wires mocked up. Need to start putting the ends on them now. Also got my slave cylinder bracket template made, hopefully make the bracket this weekend.
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I think that the 90 degree ends will be good on the distributor, and some sort of wire loom around the front and bottom of the valve cover. Although I wasn't pleased with the cheap Taylor ones I bought, they actually look OK mounted, and the routing of the wiring is pleasing. I just posted final details of my shroud mounting.
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Had some help last night so I test fit my cockpit tub. I've got space, not much tho.
I also filled my gas tank with water and thankfully had no leaks. I'm going to call it good as well. Now to just get it dried out.
Happy New Year to all.
I did end up having to trim some for my shift to fit and still need to trim more.
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Suggestion on your trans shifter hole - cut it in the shape of a rectangle, large enough to the rear to allow the transmission to slide back about 4". Then use an aluminum plate with a round hole to cover the void. You can rivet or screw it to the tunnel
If you ever have to pull the transmission, you need to be able to slide it back far enough to clear the bellhousing. You need to be able to pull the transmission back far enough that the input shaft disengages from the clutch splines, allowing it to then tip on an angle. If you just have the round hole, it won't move back far enough, you'll then have to pull the engine to get the transmission out.
Paul
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Looks like you're missing a bolt... ;)
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Paul, thanks for catching that, I will open up accordingly. I guess as long as the hole is opened up enough, one could probably unbolt the shifter and gain clearance.
I can't fit a bolt in that lower hole since I put my bearing inboard. I got a black plug to plug the hole off.
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Hilarious, I’m missing the same bolt, but it’s because the fiberglass is so thick and the bolt is too close to the corner. I also put my gearing inboard. Instead of a plug, I was going to chop a bolt short and caulk it in there 🤣
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Haha Greg actually noticed my lack of valve cover bolts and was busting my balls a little haha. I threw them on quick and temporary.
I'm pretty sure I got that black plug at Lowe's. I'll see if I can find the part number if you'd want to get one too.
Not much new for me. Finalized my dip stick tube and painted it. Squared up my rear end so I can get accurate driveshaft measurements.
Forgot that I put the speedo cable in the trans, put the last couple bolts in the block plate at the "dust cover" and looked at what what I'll do to getting the block and starter.
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I’ve been dragging my feet on the issue of the speedo cable. Did it come with the kit or did you have to buy one? I don’t have one, and I haven’t started to figure out which one it is. I have the TKX transmission and some sort of reverser piece that did come with the kit.
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The speedo cable I got with the transmission from MDL, so probably would be best to check with them.
I got the 90 adaptor piece from Hurricane as well. I assume it's for up at the speedometer itself, but I haven't investigated yet to know for sure.
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I finally remembered to get some measurements on the throttle pedal shaft. Shaft is 3/8" and hole in the bracket it goes in is 1/2". Surprisingly Lowe's had a couple brass bushings made by Hillman in stock so I grabbed them today and assembled them with the throttle pedal shaft. Had to add a couple washers to keep the pedal arm away from the steering shaft bearing and also had to grind more radius on the front of the pedal arm because it was rubbing the tub. All good now.
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Can't believe it's been this long since I updated. Progress has not been real worthy of pictures. Have been making some parts. I made the slave cylinder bracket. Also made my own driveshaft, wasn't too bad really. Yesterday I squared the rear end up and locked it down. Lot of time sourcing parts and waiting on my buddy who does the welding.
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I never posted after I finished my plug wires. After the third set I'm finally pleased with the results. Accel 8MM spiral cores. They didn't have the distributor end done so I could cut to length and put the end on. Came with a crimper too.
The crazy line sticking up is my fuel line from pump to carb, it'll get cut once I get a carb. That was something else I bent and installed over the past few weeks.
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Wires look great. I think we are using the same loom system. Not quite as nice as some out there, but a reasonable price for a first set.
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Can't believe it's been this long since I updated. Progress has not been real worthy of pictures. Have been making some parts. I made the slave cylinder bracket. Also made my own driveshaft, wasn't too bad really. Yesterday I squared the rear end up and locked it down. Lot of time sourcing parts and waiting on my buddy who does the welding.
My clutch has been working great! You should be happy with yours as well. Way to go on the drive shaft. Did you have any concerns about balancing? Your build is looking great.
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Thanks Jim. I do have a little bit of concern about the balancing. I have a few local shops I can take it to and get balanced and I may still do that. It's something I figure I will know pretty quickly if it needs done and can pull it out and have balanced. I did order the driveshaft loop like Greg used and will install that.
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Today is my 1 year anniversary. I'm pretty happy with the progress. I never had any goals for hitting milestones at certain times. It's been fun so far. More struggles than I thought I would encounter but that's just how it goes, some were self inflicted.
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I decided to go with a one wire alternator from TuffStuff. I originally was going to go the original Ford route with voltage regulator but it didn't seem worth it in the end.
Struggled a little bit with brackets but I think what I have should work. If not I'll grab the one from CVF racing.
Forgot to mention that I did have to re-clock the alternator to get the stud in the right spot. I spun it 180° and is perfect. TuffStuff made it easy by making the end of the shaft accept an Allen key to hold the shaft while you loosen the large nut holding the pulley on.
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Congrats on the progress! It’s a great feeling.
If I make make a suggestion, I don’t think there’s any way in heaven that a newly built driveshaft will be balanced. I would just have it done and avoid the hassle later. Would love to hear from anyone who has experience though.
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Kamal, I don't necessarily disagree. Not that it makes a ton of difference but I should've clarified that the driveshaft was not fully custom. I started with a used Ford driveshaft. Cut the weld off the cap toward the rear end, pulled the cap, cut the tube to length and rewelded the cap back on. Scribed a line before everything was pulled apart, lined everything back up, double checked the caps were square to a true surface and put back together. The front factory cap was never touched, so I always had that as a good baseline. If these driveshafts were of typical passenger vehicle length then I wouldn't hesitate to balance it.
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70°F here today. Cut the hole in the trunk tub for the sending unit. I originally didn't plan to do this. When I was test fitting I noticed the connection stud just barely hit the bottom of the tub so I decided to just go ahead and cut an access hole like others.
Also, bled my clutch last night. It bled pretty quick and easy. Getting the full inch of travel out of the slave and clutch seems to be fully releasing.
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Checking little things off my list in prep for final cockpit tub installation.
Got the driveshaft loop installed over the weekend. Used the same one as Greg. Pretty easy assembly. Had to make a small notch to clear the emergency brake cable bracket and drill the mounting holes a little wider. Time consuming part was bolting it fully together multiple times to get correct measurements and test fits.
I also felt like my water pump pulley needed about 1/8" or so of spacers so I made a couple of those tonight and got it lined up good.
Also the custom flange I made for my expansion tank project got machined for the thermostat. Did a little test fitting. I need to trim the neck down approx 1" to get the cap low enough to clear the hood.
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Which loop did you use? Do you have a link?
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PCE Loop https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sdm-pce430-1001
Buy more and get free shipping...do you need help in spending more??? 8)
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Ha. No. I live 50 minutes from Summit. We are in a toxic relationship 😏
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I'm 20 minutes from Summit. Capital One VISA loves that. bastards.
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Made some good progress, I got all my brakes bled. I still need to play with the pedal adjustments some. The front master cylinder travels more than the rear, not sure if it's an adjustment issue or how it's supposed to be. I've got the 7/8" master for the rear brakes and a 3/4" for the fronts. Pedal feels really nice though. I did not join the "no leak" club, I had to go through and tighten most of my fittings, I just simply didn't have them tight enough, especially the -3 fittings.
Another nice milestone in my book though, feels good. I think I'm ready to put the cockpit tub on permanently now.
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Today I put the weatherstripping on and set the cockpit tub on, hopefully for the last time.
Now cue the next issue. Put my steering shafts together and the u joint between the collapsible shaft and double d shaft has only about 1/16" at best of clearance between it and the header pipe. The set screw will definitely hit. I'm probably going to chamfer the u joint and put a dent in the pipe.
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Need you guys' opinion. I put the 3/4" x 3/8" weather strip in the green areas. The red areas did not get weather strip because there wasn't quite enough. Did I do this wrong? Should it have only been installed around the foot boxes? I think Kamal said he put all his on but then took most of it back off.
I realize this lifted the tub 3/8", so I plan to get a couple thick washers to take up the gap at the seat bolt mounting holes.
Will I be ok as is?
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Ben,
Progress looks great. Let me chime in on a couple things.
Greg mentioned to me that after studying builds for sometime, he determined that no weatherstripping is the way the builds have evolved. I originally had it all over the frame, thinking it would provide some isolation for vibration, and ended up removing it all. Hopefully a more experienced member will chime in, but I think that weather stripping is out, and just using some sealant is the way to go. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
In regards to the steering shaft, I originally had cut my shafts so that the U-Joint was adjacent to the firewall bracket. Because of the header clearance issues, I purchased another shaft (cheap!) and moved the u joint further forward to clear the header.
Also, I'm noticing quite an angle at your trans to driveshaft joint. Makes me wonder if the back of your trans is sitting up too high. IN my setup, there is almost no angle at either joint; the engine/trans slopes downward a little to the rear, and the rear axle a little upward. We have different trannies, so I can't comment on the mount you may be using.
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Also, I'm noticing quite an angle at your trans to driveshaft joint. Makes me wonder if the back of your trans is sitting up too high. IN my setup, there is almost no angle at either joint; the engine/trans slopes downward a little to the rear, and the rear axle a little upward. We have different trannies, so I can't comment on the mount you may be using.
It also has to do with where your frame to ground or ride height is set to and tire height.
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I think you and Greg have talked me into the no weather stripping route, ugh this manual.
Not sure if I'll go a sealant route or something much thinner and able to crush down.
As far as my driveshaft goes, the trans has a 2° slope down surprisingly and I set the pinion angle 2° down also. It might be because I'm running a T5 and as Greg pointed out, I don't have the ride height set yet.
I'm going to order a longer steering shaft, seems like what the rest of you guys have done to remedy the situation.
I appreciate the feedback and help from everyone. It's really helping my build come together nicely.
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........ to be. I've got the 7/8" master for the rear brakes and a 3/4" for the fronts. Pedal feels really nice though. .........
My brakes are set up with the 7/8" master for the front and 3/4" for the back. Attaching adjustment notes from Wilwood.
Jim
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Thanks for the replies and help Jim. I'm going to do some more bleeding in them and maybe call Wildwood and ask them what is "normal" operation.
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I've been having to work some long hours but I did manage to redo the weather strip with a much thinner piece. Set the cockpit tub on and it did seem to fit better. Got it as far back as the upper frame would allow and locked it down. Riveted around the foot boxes and two bolts on the back wall like others have done.
Had some time today and locked the trunk tub down as well. Mounted my gas tank vent, E-Brake handle, and shifter hole aluminum trim. Then cut my new steering shaft to length and fit it up. Needed to be 1-3/4" longer than the original. Still need to put a coat of sharkhide on it before locking them down for good.
I'm shocked how solid the tubs are after locking them down.
I didn't really grab any pictures.
One thing that has been tricky is trying to line things up. It seems like things move a good bit as they get tightened down, so it throws alignments off.
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Just reading through this bit but wanted to point out commit you made on pinion angles that you had 2 degrees down on the the trans and 2 down on pinion. Please re-check pinion in your case should be 2 degrees up for best driveline life.
Mark HM2006
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Mark, thanks for reading through the build and looking at the details. I think we're on the same page just referencing what we're saying from different perspectives. I said it the way I did based on the picture and looking at everything from the front of the vehicle perspective if that makes sense.
Those are not my angle in that picture, that's just a random one I grabbed for illustration only.
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Spent the last two weekends getting the radiator, shroud and fan put together. It all went together pretty straight forward without much issue. I did slot the mounting holes in the radiator to shift the radiator toward the driver's side to center it up better.
Kamal, thanks for figuring out the lower radiator hose, I did the same as you. Could probably be a done a little cleaner with a longer piece of solid pipe and a 90 on the end, but the two rubber hoses work fine.
Also decided to tackle my inner fenders since they need to go in before the radiator. I was dreading it but they actually weren't bad at all. Had to trim a little at the very front to clear some weld on the 1x1 at the top and very little of the arch over the suspension mount. Thankfully Greg told me to check the front body mounts and sure enough the mounting ears don't have enough space to let the inner fender slide in. I was able to spread the ears slightly and all of good.
I'll get inner fender pics after I sharkhide them.
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The pictures don't seem like they show a lot of progress, but in person it feels like a lot. Got the inner fenders coated with shark hide and fully installed and was then able to permanently install the radiator. It all went together really well and looks great IMO.
What slowed me down was getting the ground cable hooked up and ground strap hooked to the frame as well as the power wire and wire from starter to starter solenoid. I wanted that done before the inner panels went in and I'm glad I did.
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Also decided to tackle the heater install tonight. It also was pretty straight forward, evening tho cutting into the firewall was not a good feeling.
Here's a close up for Paul, showing what I was meaning by needing to cut the top lip on the firewall. I held it off the dash support rod about 1/2" , but I still would've had to cut the lip if it were right against the support rod. Hopefully it'll be ok.
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Ben can you post a few pics of your steering shaft mount? Would be great to see top and bottom. Thx. Car is looking good!
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I have these right now, can get more at home later.
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Yes that would be great many thanks!! No hurry.... anytime you can is good.
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Ben
You'll be ok, the body doesn't sit on the tub edge, it's held up higher a little by the rubber molding
Imagine taking the heater out with the body on :o :'( it can be done but not easy
Paul
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Great, I didn't figure it stuck up enough to worry about, glad you could confirm.
I couldn't imagine pulling it with the body on. All my test fitting was done by going in and out from above so with that being restricted and having to go out the bottom send nearly impossible haha . If mine goes bad I highly doubt it'll ever come out, probably just abandon in place.
I might tackle mounting my brake/clutch reservoirs next before the wiring, doesn't look like it'll be too difficult.
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Anyone know if the original Cobras used the Wittek tower clamps on the radiator and heater hoses like was used on mustangs and cougars, etc?
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The pictures don't seem like they show a lot of progress, but in person it feels like a lot. Got the inner fenders coated with shark hide and fully installed and was then able to permanently install the radiator. It all went together really well and looks great IMO.
What slowed me down was getting the ground cable hooked up and ground strap hooked to the frame as well as the power wire and wire from starter to starter solenoid. I wanted that done before the inner panels went in and I'm glad I did.
Can you give me some info on the aluminum panels around the front wheels? I still have not received them and they look like something I could fab if I had diminsions.
Thanks.
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Larry, see if this makes sense
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That is excellent. Thanks
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I've been making some progress, but it's not much you'd see in pictures. Got my stainless bolts in so I finished up the brake reservoirs. Finally got correct clamps and finished up the heater hoses. I went ahead and put a manual stuffoff inline with it. I've also been spending a lot of time on the wiring. Lot of time trying different routes and stuff so things will look clean, not rub on anything and kind of lay in place naturally. The dash wiring still has a little ways to go but I wanted to post in case Larry wanted some reference since he's close to wiring too.
I've got the engine part fully wired and the front light branch ran. Probably need to start on the dash now. Might be looking at a first start in a month or so.
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Also, main power and ground is all hooked up.
Couple more pics
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All these build pictures are making me jealous, now that my build is almost done, I need to figure out something else fun to work on
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Had enough time to tackle most of the dash today. Turned out really good I think.
Curious to know you guys' thoughts on this, I used the hurricane supplied auto meter gauges. When I was reading over the install paperwork I noticed that auto meter paperwork shows an original CSX dash layout but it differs from the hurricane manual layout. The hole locations are the same between the two but which gauge is in which holes differs between the two.
I forgot to mention, I did have to shave down the U mounting bracket for the small gauges. After folding the vinyl back it spaced the U bracket back to the point the there were only a few threads for the nuts. I shaved approx 1/8" off.
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Wiring moving along with the dash.
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Just a heads up - Make sure you can reach-unconnect-connect ALL bulbs, connectors, fittings from the Bottom side of the dash
With the body removed, it is very easy to access the wiring and equally easy to hook something up that you won't be able to reach once the body is on.
You can guess why I am aware of this
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I will check that and try to arrange everything that way. It's looks a little messy because I'm leaving enough slack in the gauge "bundle" and ignition "bundle" to be able to pull the dash back and then unplug them.
I had intent and hopes of being able to make the dash removable with the body on, but when I went to trim the top lip off I noticed that the studs I used are as long as the lip is deep so there really wasn't any benefit to trimming the lip off. I'm doubting the dash will be removable.
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Looking for a little help on the turn signal install.
I feel like it should probably slide on the collar further than it is. Bob W sent me a pic of his and it looks to be on a little further than what I'm getting.
The lever is only in that position for the picture
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That looks about right, but a tip - don't rely on the make-believe clamp/set screw to hold everything in place. It will fail the first time you use the switch.
- The hole in the body of the switch needs to be a tight fit on the hub extension. I found if you cut a piece of .040" thick aluminum, the depth of the socket wide and long enough to completely wrap the hub, it will help tighten up the fitting.
- Replace the fake clamp concept with a regular set screw. Push the switch all the way on and locate the arm where you want it then spot thru the setscrew hole and make an indent in the hub for the screw to tighten into.
- Search this forum for the modification to add "cancellation" to the switch. It's a modified 3/4" collar that will turn your signals off when the steering wheel goes back to center
This is a link to a page on my site that outlines all this: https://65shlb.com/steering-column-install-mods/ (https://65shlb.com/steering-column-install-mods/)
Paul
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Paul, thanks for the feedback and link to your site, I always forget about it.
Reading about adding the cancelling collar helps make it all make sense now. I was envisioning the switch assembly sliding further on the mount (piece with the bronze bushing), but if that were the case then the cancelling mechanism wouldn't work.
In the second picture you can vaguely see where it looks like Hurricane welded a collar onto my bushing mount. The powder coat is all sanded off. Looks like I'll need to paint that since so much of it is showing.
I might end up having to order another steering shaft. Since that's how the turn signal switch mounts, the steering shaft stops much further up/sooner than what I had originally planned, so I'm short where the spline shaft mates with the u-joint. I might get enough out of collapsible part of the shaft, but it might put the u-joint into an interference with the headers again.
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Looks correct to me. I don’t know how much detail I put in my build thread, but I had to re-do the steering shaft and buy a new solid D tube. It was extremely cheap and came pretty quickly. Great feeling getting the steering wheel on. Starts to look so cool.
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Decided to drill more holes last night and route my oil pressure line and the brake light switch wires, neutral switch wires and speedometer cable. Got that done and wiring hooked up so I temporary hooked up a battery and put power to stuff. So far so good. Cooling fan checked out, heater on all speeds, high beam relay and indicator and starter solenoid.
Might dive into this turn signal switch stuff this afternoon.
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I've been inching closer to a fist start. Got my wiring completed minus the horns and obviously the lights. Here's a pic of where I mounted the turn signal control box (bottom left corner of the pic), it's just on the 2x2 of the upper frame. Also the high beam relay is there also on the 1x1. I chose these locations mainly because it allowed the wiring to lay/route kind of naturally with the lengths that it came with since the wiring had connectors premade onto them. I'm sure it looks like a mess to you guys in the pic but in person it's pretty tidy IMO. Everything is bundle with it's associated components and everything also has enough slack so the dash will pull away some. As Paul advised, all the connectors are in the one area to the left of the steering shaft and will be accessible, minus the ignition switch connector, it may be more challenging.
I also ordered some 161 bulb LED replacements to try out. The bright white ones are the LEDs, the greenish ones are incandescents with a green boot from auto meter and the dimmer tach is a clear incandescent. Not sure what I'll go with yet.
After having an issue with a brand new starter from Rock Auto, I got another one (reduction style) from O'Reillys and test cranked the engine a couple times and all sounds good. Primed the oil pump and engine, set it at TDC and set the distributor. Now I'm waiting on my new FST carb to show up this week.
Also hung the side pipes today. Pretty straight forward. Fitment was a little tricky, I needed to bend the driver's side mounting tab down some to allow the pipe to fit up decent. Will probably need to bend it a little more.
Finished the turn signal switch. It looks like Hurricane did the mod that you guys recommend. After tightening the provided screw once, it stripped the threads. I got a 1/4" x 1/2" set screw and tapped the hole and drilled a countersink spot in the steering shaft mount and it's really solid.
For those wiring that switch, the yellow/red wire from the switch goes with the green wire from the Haywire harness.
However, since the hub doesn't go down as far as I thought I think I'll have to buy another longer shaft to lengthen things so the u joint and set screw will clear the headers :-\
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I need to order an air cleaner. Looking at this one but it says it's a 12" oval https://www.usrpc.com/product/r2215bk/
My hood opening is 10" oval. Anyone have a reference for if the air cleaner sticks up into thae hood opening and if so how far?
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If you scour the web and ebay, you'll find a ton of stuff, some good quality and some cheap. I think you need to decide what look you want, as the functionality will all be similar at our power levels.
I first bought the large oval Cobra air cleaner, but there was no way it was going to fit with the Windsor, without hacking the back of the hood. Not just trim the back lip of the hood, but cut into the bonded support area. It also sat right on my distributor, which is the larger MSD version.
So I found a drop/offset air cleaner bottom for a 14", and I am able to fit the 14x3 and it sits under the hood, not into the scoop area. Pics to come on my build thread.
Finally, I am worried about some possible RFI issues with the Holley Sniper in my initial running of the car, and my 14" steel air cleaner getting right near the distributor is a possible red flag if I indeed do have the issues.
I do know that there is a 13" that provides good clearance to the distributor, and I believe between the offset and the drop versions, it would also fit under the hood. This is all considering the 351W engine, which is taller than the 289/302.
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Good info and thanks for sharing Kamal. I have the recessed base on my mustang, but it's got a 4160 style Holley. I put a 4150 style FST on the Cobra and have a 351 also. I'll pull the air cleaner off the mustang and see how it fits up on the Cobra as a reference.
Carb is on, linkage is fine and fuel line is done. Getting the linkage right was tricky for the amount of travel I needed.
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During bodywork stage I prefitted the air cleaner that I wanted to use, modified the hole to work with it. It also runs into the webbing on the back of the hood that would have to be notched if I run the taller filter, with the standard filter it works. I am running a 351 Cleveland with a quick fuel carb on a 1 inch spacer due to the distributor is the tall style and without the spacer there is no way it would work. Luckily for me the spacer was in the plans to use from the engine builder and I have approximately 3/8 of inch of clearance between the top of the cap and the bottom of the air cleaner.
Michael-
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I'm an extremely pumped to say that tonight I successfully hit the "first start" milestone tonight. The fuel rail I got had a plugged port for a fuel pressure gauge that ended up being loose and I had to tighten each of my T bolt coolant clamps a little more.
I was hoping to do a go kart also but my clutch must need a little more preload because it's not releasing quite enough. Just little things to work through.
Oil pressure was 60-65 PSI, water temp came up and the fan kicked on, oil temp came up to about 210°F. Had to tweak the idle mixture screws some and the timing. Next time I'll throw a timing light on and vacuum gauge to fine tune those things.
Great feeling to hear it run after striping a junk yard engine completely down and rebuilding it on my own.
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Congratulations, on your milestone. I was so nervous when pushing the start button for the first time that people would have thought I drank a few too many POTS of coffee. Once it finally roared to life I was elated with joy that something I had assembled and built breathed life.
Michael
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Congrats Ben...after hundreds of texts back and forth, glad you have gotten to this milestone, but save the revving for the Walmart parking lot, that's what women find attractive! HAHA :o
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Thanks guys!!
For reference, I put about 2.5 gallons of gas in the tank, did not prime any of the fuel lines, but I did fill the carb bowls through the vents. The engine cranked 3-4 revolutions and fired right off and kept running until I shut it off. Surprisingly it primed up the fuel lines on it's own and ran off the bowls long enough to get things primed up.
Yes I ran it for 20-23min. at 2000 rpm to get the cam and lifters to properly break in. I used a Lucas break in oil. Have put 3.5 gallons of coolant in prior to first start and probably need another half gallon or so to top it back off.
My daughter filmed the actual first start so I'll leave you guys with one that was after the 20min. break in run.
https://youtube.com/shorts/NniSppr-4pc?feature=share
Also, I went with the 10" air cleaner. Fit well and simple clean look.
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Great milestone, congratulations. Curious to see how things go when you start driving it around, I know on my build there are some kinks to work out for sure.
Looks like you snuck in a very nice original coolant overflow tank, and didn't write about it. I want one of those! Do tell...
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Thanks Kamal, there's a little about the tank back on page 6 reply #87.
Essentially I bought an original tank off a 66 Galaxy with a 390. Used a small block thermostat housing to get the dimensions for a small block pattern and drew it up in CAD. Sent the drawing to a fab shop and they cut me out a flange to fit the small block pattern and slip into the 90 tube on the tank. I then had to heat the tube to melt the old solder, pull the big block flange off the tube and pull the tube out of the tank. I cut 1" off the vertical part of the tube, then soldered it back into the bottom of the tank and also soldered the new steel flange to the tank tube. I also was able to keep the original mounting bracket, but had to cut material out of it and invert it also. Final thing was to get a barb fitting and weld into the flange for the water pump bypass. I think I have $120 in it with having to buy the proper solder to be able to do the steel to brass. You can buy them already done for around $400 I think.
I say I did this, but really all I did was draw the flange in CAD, my good friend did all the soldering/tig work to put everything together so I owe it all to him.
I'm pretty proud of how this piece turned out and worked out to give it an ever so slight big block look.
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I cave, I'm a little lost on the seat brackets. The way I have the driver's seat mounted right now works but I don't feel it's right. Currently I put the seat belt between the seat frame and the slider, on the rear bolts. I added two washers to the front mounting bolts to keep the slider level. I then put two washers between the sliders and the tub at all four bolts and bolted this down through the tub and to the holes in the frame. Seems like when I get the carpet the sliders are going to snag on the carpet. One of the others on here pointed that out as well.
Then I have two regular tubes. Not sure if these are used to mount the passenger seat (since it shouldn't have sliders, however I received two sets of sliders) or if these are supposed to be used on the driver's seat to raise the sliders so they won't catch on the carpet.
If the tubes are used on the driver's seat then does the passenger seat frame bolt directly to the cockpit tub?
I thought this would be really simple, I must be making it harder than it is.
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Regarding the driver seat sliders, I put my seat belts below the sliders, and I used a 3/4" or so spacer to lift the sliders off the floor. I found that because the fiberglass of the floor isn't flat, the mechanism was binding and worked very poorly, was impossible to move the seat. After raising the sliders up on the spacers, it now works poorly. Which is an improvement over very poorly/not working. ;D
For the passenger seat, each box section tube has sets of holes. before you install the tube to to the seat bottom, you install the 4 bolts that will be long enough to go through the floor, through the 4 large holes first, so that the head of the bolts will be inside the tube. Then you take that assembly, and mate it to the bottom of the seat, and put the supplied bolts up through the bottom of the tube, and thread into the seat bottom. Call me if you want to go through it over facetime or something. I'm available mostly any time.
I plan to ditch the seat sliders for something more....less poorly functioning. I guess I need to measure the distance between the holes on the seat bottoms, unless someone has that handy.
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FWIW, I did something similar to Kamal only with the spacers to get the rails up off the tub floor and clear of the carpet as well. If memory serves me right, I made 1" spacers for the rear of the sliders and then made two longer spacers (can't remember how much longer. Just what felt right to me.) for the mounting holes for the front of the sliders. For me it felt more comfortable if the seat was tilted higher in the front.
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Dropped the body back on Saturday so I could do some measuring for the rear wheel backspacing. Had to open up the passenger side side pipe opening to the front about 3/8-1/2". Notched for the side pipes mounts as well so the body would sit down as it should.
Made a simple jig from some scrap aluminum to test the backspace. Going to end up with 4.25" backspace on the rear.
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Way to GO! Exciting times. Engine bay looks great!
Jim
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Thanks Jim, I am pleased with how the engine compartment came out.
I forgot that I "customized" the glove box to fit with the heater box the other night too. I ended up utilizing the two screws for the heater box as a mount and two dash mounting bolts for mounts as well. I need to add one more from the bottom of the box to the 2x2 frame member for some bottom support.
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Progress has been pretty slow for me. I did get the park lights and trail lights mounted. I had to do a little trimming but not much. For future reference the trail light requires M5 nuts which were not supplied with my lights.
I fabricated a small shield/ reflector and mounted it to one of the trail lights. Once I get them wired up I'll take some pics to see if it helps any.
I also mounted the LeMans cap and put the filter neck pieces together. Was a little nervous to drill the cap but it worked out fine and drilled easy.
Does anyone make a gasket to go between the LeMans base and the body or do you guys just put some silicon.
As thick as the body and tubs are in places I can't believe how thin it was at the tail lights.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/374776819577?chn=ps
^^^^ for starters. All types of gas cap gaskets out there.
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We offer the gasket with period-correct screws and locknuts
https://prdcrrct.com/product/shelby-cobra-fuel-filler-gasket/
(https://prdcrrct.com/wp-content/uploads/FuelCap-.jpg)
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Paul, those hex head bolts work with the hurricane supplied cap? I see the description says they're thin aircraft ones. I've got hex head ones in now but the flip top won't screw onto the base all the way, it bottoms out on the hex heads. Looks like I need 1/4 turn more for it to be tight.
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Ben
Ours are .125 head height - what height are the ones you used?
If you used #10 screws, the height heights vary between .125" and .218" - .093" difference. If you used 1/4" screws, the height varies between .156" and .328"
I'd say put a micrometer on the head height to determine the next step.
Another issue is the placing of the screws in relation to the hinge, regardless of the size. The need to be placed in positions that will allow the hinge to clear the head when it rotates. If you've already drilled the base, you may have committed yourself to using countersunk screws. It will take a little deeper analysis to find the correct solution.
This is a picture of them on my car, with the same cap supplied by Hurricane.
Paul
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Thanks for the info Paul. My bolts were .156" head. I already had my holes drilled and bolts ordered when you posted that you offered that. The .125" head bolts prob would have worked but it still looked really iffy.
I ended up going the countersink route.
Finally got it out over the weekend too get a little sun and wash the dust off. I have a somewhat large front yard (compared to those who live in subdivisions), but do not live on a quiet neighborhood street so I just went back and forth in the yard multiple times trying the clutch and brakes and a few gears. Everything seemed to work well. Reverse is fast it seems like, clutch let's out soon but it's nice and light, steering is harder than I thought it'd be. Started mounting the headlights. Talking with Greg it sounds like I have a different trim ring than him and some others. The bolts supplied with the wipac bucket aren't long enough to go through the fiberglass and catch the clip so something different will need done there.
I also paid my Ohio fee to get the number you need to apply for registration so I can start that process and I ordered my wheels today 17x11 x 4.25" backspace on the rear and 17 x 8 x 4" backspace on the front. I wanted my rears to be out a little more than the coyote build is.
Put the passenger seat in also. The sliders are pretty much worthless as Kamal already pointed out. Not sure if it's due to the seat belt mounting or what.
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What's everyone been doing? Been pretty quiet on here.
Finished my headlight wiring tonight. That makes all lights and turn signals complete minus the license plate light. Time to start firing panels I suppose.
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I've been working at the panel fitment. It's a pretty slow and tedious process, for me at least. I started with the trunk lid so I could get the license plate light mounted and wired in preparation for inspection. Edges needed trimmed as expected. I ended up having to slot the holes in the triangle plate of the hinge to try to get the lid further forward. Fit is still fair at best. It seems like the curve of the trunk is different than the curve of the body so it's going to take a decent amount of body work to get everything blended.
I moved on to the doors. Passenger door fits really nice, it took some trimming but nothing extensive. The driver's door is a different story. It took a lot more trimming and massaging to get a decent fit. I had to slot the holes in the hinge where it mounts to the upper frame to allow the door to move toward the center of the car more.
I started on the license plate light and latch and it turned into a slight mess. I drilled the holes based on the license plate light and not the plate bracket. The plate bracket doesn't fit in the lid indent very well so I'm not sure exactly how I'll resolve that. Went to drill the trunk latch handle and noticed it isn't centered with the lid/license plate.
Not a lot picture worthy really.
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You need to get rid of some of that mold putty you got there and that yellow tape reminding you that it's yours... :o 8)
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I had a chance to get the hood fitted over the weekend. It was a little challenging due to working by myself and the size and his home location. I started by going all the way around the bottom side and smoothing up the edge. The edge had some high spots from the mold or whatever. I'm still getting a slight bit of drag at the front when opening that I'll trim and get worked out.
A couple tips that worked for me. If you raise the hood all the way up it seems balanced just right so that side to side movement/adjustment is nearly effortless. With the hood about halfway up provided probably the best access to the front lip for trimming. I used a drum sanding bit for a die grinder. Worked well for the right space there is.
Also, I'll need to trim the radiator cover slots because the triangle part is the hinge is impacting it pretty bad on both sides.
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One more of the hood.
I'll still need to go over each panel to get the gaps all correct and even.
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Been chipping away at things. Got the hood latches mounted, didn't have the large cams or the firewall brackets so I had to order the cams and make brackets.
Also had to make the door striker brackets. Thankfully Greg traced one of his before installing and sent me a template. Had about 5 hours wrapped up in cutting those all out. They're installed and the doors close and latch really well.
Also, got the wheels and tires, what a change in the lol of the car. Got them through Richard at North race cars, he was very helpful and thorough with helping me get and check measurements. I picked a little less offset than the coyote hurricane and they fit well.
Got the rear view and side mirrors installed as well as my wiper.
For Ohio you must have bumpers so I scrounged up some old ones and put on, rear is off a 37 Ford and actually fits nearly perfect and looks right for the car somewhat.
Finally, I ran into some carb issues last week. Car barely would start and wouldn't idle. I finally noticed the fuel level way too high in the primary bowl. Took the carb bowls off and apart and found a bunch of sandy looking stuff in them. Not sure what it is or where it came from but after taking the online filter apart it doesn't match what the filter stopped.
I went for my inspection today but they couldn't pass it since it wouldn't run well enough to do a couple driving tests that I wasn't aware were needed. I've gotta sort that out somehow and go back in two weeks for try number two. I'm honestly pretty burnt out from it at this point.
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Couple pics from the carb.
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Man I hate to say it but that looks like someone vandalized it.
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sat for an extended period of time with some ethanol fuel in the bowls
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https://www.jegs.com/p/Driven-Racing-Oil/Driven-Carb-Defender-Fuel-Additive/2848856/10002/-1
Take a look at some of those products. They may help. End result take that puppy apart and throw a rebuild kit at it. It's a mess. Ethanol sucks.
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I've been doing little things on the car. I still can't explain the carb thing. It only has gas in it for about a month and a half. I know ethanol is bad stuff but I run the same stuff in the mustang I have and it'll sit all winter and I've never had anything problems like that.
I did take the car up the road and back and all I can say is what a blast. The thing just feels like a monster waiting to go crazy.
It ran strong and shifted really smooth.
I noticed my speedometer wasn't working. I dug into that and found the was no gear on the end of the cable in the trans. I got a gear but it still didn't work. I finally realized the 90 adapter that hurricane provides was not inverting the cable rotation direction. You can take the adapter apart and flip the shaft and then it will invert the rotation. Speedometer works now.
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Successfully passed inspection yesterday, got my VIN, title and plates. I'm fully road legal now.
For anyone who's wonders about inspection at the Ohio Cambridge location, you definitely have to have bumpers and wipers. I used a hand wiper, the guy questioned it but called someone and they "Ok'd" it.
He checked all lights and horn. Also asked about various parts like seat belts and wiring harness but since it came from hurricane I didn't need to provide any documentation on it. I also had to set the parking brake and attempt to move the car and he just listened for the engine to lug down.
I heard him mention windshield washers and backup lights.
Let the driving begin now.
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Now get out there and drive. Good job!
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Congratulations! Let us know how it drives that first time. Mine was a shocker lol. For my car, between the softer rear springs, the new heims by FK as suggested by Aaron, faster steering rack, and softer front springs that have yet to go in, I think that it’s going to finally be a nice smooth ride and responsive steering.
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Thanks guys, weather finally broke and got decent here. Did a short 20 mile drive last night. Felt great. About 70°, just before sunset, was really nice. Loving the power the car has. It was really obvious how bad my rough alignment was so today I worked on that a little. Got the camber close with a cheapo harbor freight angle gauge and set up the strings and got toe much better. Both were way off. Got a cheap caster camber gauge that might be here tomorrow so I'll try to get the caster right and then check the other settings again
Biggest complaint right now is the ridiculous amount of noise from the rear suspension.Probably going to bite the bullet and get the FK heims.
I'm indifferent on the ride softness right now. It is a little stiff but I'm a way I kind of like the race car feel that it gives. So far I bet this thing would be an absolute blast to drive on a track.
When I get in an antique I'm used to my 69 mustang which probably needs all new steering and front suspension components, so this thing feels much better than that haha.
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Had a beautiful week this week, got about 80 miles on now.
Getting more comfortable with it. I spent a good bit of time trying to get the alignment close over the weekend. It's better but still have too much caster and negative camber on the driver's side. I need to pull the LCA off to gain more adjustment and I just haven't felt like doing that again. The better alignment definitely helped and some of the suspension noise went away.
Everyone loves a Cobra idling video
https://youtube.com/shorts/FedvU7U2Sb4?si=53nRs8bnNAUXMRnX
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Can't believe it's been this long since I posted. Haven't done a lot, winter here and motivation has been low. I put the trunk prop rod on but I may switch out to struts. I really don't like how much flex and pressure it puts on the body where it attached to the body.
Also did my side louvers. I've got a tiny bit of trimming left to do to the openings.
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I glassed 3 of the elevator studs that are perforated on each side. Then you can see the picture for how I did the whole l angle brackets. Top brackets I riveted on and the bottom one I JB Welded on.
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One more pic
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Hey guys, I haven't done much on the car, just a little driving here and there between rains.
I need to mount my wind wings. Anyone have any advice or precautions for drilling the windshield arms and not damage the chrome plating?
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Redstang69,
I used a layer or two of tape, used a mechanical center punch then drilled slowly through the windshield arm. I also tapped the hole for the I believe a 10/24 screw and used a nyloc nut to lock it all down. Didn’t notice if you had visors but if and when you put them on, suggestion, I used stainless square nuts and put a bevel on them so they would slide in the top channel of the windshield, trimmed the screws as not to protrude too far into the channel when tightened, then a small vacuum hose to fill in the channel. Doing it that way saves one the stress of drilling or chasing the existing holes in the frame for the visors going to far and possibly cracking the glass…as well as using too long of screws.
Michael
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Thanks for the suggestion Michael. I got the wings installed last night. All went well. That was definitely the most nervous drilling I've done on the car.
I used the supplied brackets for the visors and they seemed to work out. I don't remember why I didn't slide a bracket in the top like you and others have done.
I wanted to mount the wind wings using the windshield arm mounting bolts, but the angle they are drilled at doesn't match the angle of the hole in the wind wing bracket so that didn't work.
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Not much new or exciting to report here. Just putting a few miles on here and there. I did a sort highway trip last Friday and was really surprised how smooth and good the car felt on the highway and at speed. I was skeptical because of how stiff it felt on the back windy roads.
Realizing how much heat I was getting up through between the side of the body and cockpit tub, like below the door and along that channel toward the front, I started looking at putting the aluminum panels in.
I've decided that from the door latch forward, the body already has a 90° lip, so I'm going to tuck the aluminum under that lip and the lip can act as a door sill.
But from the latch up, that lip is cut off. I'm really struggling to figure out how to cleanly lay the aluminum in there, navigate around the latch, be able to finish it and it be functional in sealing the cockpit from the rear wheel well. Anyone have good pictures of this area before they carpeted it?
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Ben,
I used fiberglass to replicate the tube of the original style door frame above the strike and aluminum molding below the strike. The strike is mounted on a formed channel, again, like the original was. The way Hurricane did it was just unacceptable.
For the door sill, I used MD Products A813 molding
Paul
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Paul, I've been thinking I need to do the same as you above the latch, to achieve the look I want at least. It is quite the mess in that area with trying to finish it.
I trimmed my aluminum pieces and fit them in. Doing this bright to light that the cockpit tub favors the passenger side and the body favors the driver's side. The passenger aluminum came out nice (first pic). The driver's side came out fare. Much wide gap. I need to run a couple screws in above the latch on the driver's side and it'll pull in a little but not much.
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Ben
Positioning the cockpit tub and the trunk tub has a HUGE bearing on where the body sits. And the pieces that Hurricane supplied are not correct. They've been wrong since the Lees Summit days. You would have had to do major surgery on the pieces to make them right and you probably were totally unaware of this.
Hope the new owners are able to redo these parts to make them correct. For you to correct it now, you would have to totally remove all the pieces and start over. Easier to 'make it work'
Paul
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Finally got around to making the glove box door. The one supplied by hurricane was a little undersized and the small curve didn't quite match the dash curve so I made a new door. Took a lot of in and out test fitting and light sanding to get it molded and fitting properly but it turned out good.
What screws have you guys used to fasten the hinge? I used a different hinge so I could screw into the "meat" of the door instead of up into the thin edge of the door. But the screws to mount the hinge to the dash stuck up too high so I had to drill holes in the hinge for the screws to relive into.
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Second pic
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Also, I got a stick of the aluminum that Paul recommended and started working on the sill. The stuff bends really nicely and easily. Will probably put some reinforcement under the fiberglass lip to give the sill aluminum something more solid to bolt to.
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Continuation Cobra sill that I saw at the GT40 event.
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Superformance sill
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Superformance sill
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That looks awesome!
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Do you have a link to this? I think I'd like to do this.
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Here is what Paul recommended to me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000N8EO3I?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
I'm not sure what Superformance uses. I don't believe it had the lip like the above product does.
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I finally decided to start tackling the body work. Not a lot to show with pictures but I've racked up a good bit of hours on it already. I started with hitting the whole car with a DeWalt RA to rough things up.
Then I started honing in the fitment of the panels. Messed with the trunk a lot because it wasn't fitting well at all. Turned out, the bottom edge was hitting on the weather strip too early and causing the lid to not settle down where it needed to.
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Door needed filled at the top rear corner and front inner corner.
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Filled
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Filled
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Got the body seam in front of the door worked out to. Had to build it up some to get it to meet with the door. Don't have a before picture.
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Using rage gold for filler. Working pretty well and sands pretty well as others have reported. Using a DeWalt adjustable speed RA with adapters to hook up to the shop vac and a 3M sanding block that hooks to the shop vac. Both are working very well to mitigate a lot of dust. Also using dura blocks a good bit for the blocking, they do not hook to the shop vac so there's a decent amount of dust from using those. It's a very slow process for me at least.
Also, been using a mix of wet black guide coat and dry white guide coat. The black works nice on the filler. The white works decent on the black gel coat. Anyone who's done this before have any comments on what they've used for guide coat?
Comparing with Greg my panels were glued together horribly so it's leading to some extra work I think.
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I finally got all the way around with the body work and started getting some primer on. I primed the back side of the panels and plan to mount them back up and shoot the entire body.
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I ended up redrilling the seat mounting holes to move the seats inboard 7/16". This fixed the issue of the seats hitting the body behind the door opening.
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Finally got the body primed with high build.
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My car has been with the painter all summer. Was hoping I'd have it back to put a few miles on this year but that's not going to happen now.
He's sanding the last coat of build primer and will put a sealer coat on them color. Hopefully it'll be wrapped up soon.