HM-2040 Build

[Kamal]

I used 3M 77 spray adhesive.  It said OK for vinyl.  Other sprays were not compatible.  I learned that a heavy coat will allow time to work and ability to peel off and reapply.  Go heavier with the coat, so it gets a full layer of glue.  When you are pulling the vinyl through the gauge holes to the back, pull tight.  Extra material around the circumference of the gauge hole may cause a bubble in the vinyl when you push the gauge in.  Consider a practice run with extra dash material to make sure the holes in the fiberglass dash, plus the material you are using, makes a proper fit with the gauge, switch, or steering column you are inserting into the hole.  If I did it again, I'd make sure the gauge was not snug in the hole. 

The turn signal indicator is a single lamp, and without a diode feeding it, the left and right turn signals will power each other on.  A diode is basically a one way valve for electricity.  This allow you to run both separate turn signal circuits to a single lamp without cross energizing the circuits. 

Lower hose will need a short pipe, and maybe a piece of another hose that is a tight 90 degree angle 1.75 to 1.5.  I think the lower radiator and lower water pump are 1.75.  Uppers are 1.5.  So if you got 2 of the lower hose, and a 1.5 short pipe, you could make that work.  Or go to the auto parts store and look around at stuff.  I got each hose shipped to me in a cardboard box for about $10 each.  Amazom Prine   

I do not have the top bracket that attaches to the birdcage and has the hole in it that the radiator bracket goes into.  Its like 4" x 8" with a 30 degree or so bend and maybe 4 holes. 

[Kamal]

Got my Summit fan shroud today.  Fit perfectly on the radiator core, so I prepped and painted it with the black wrinkle.  Just barely fit into the oven for curing!  Nice to be single I guess. 

[Greg K]

Regarding the header bolts...I used ARP 3/8 with 5/16 12 point heads. Installed before wiring and locking tub and upper frame in place, see posts 163 & 164 here as to what I had to do. https://forum.hurricane-motorsports.com/forum/index.php?topic=2591.msg26495#msg26495

[Kamal]

So I had only one bolt on each header that wouldn't make it into its hole, which was easy to fix by running a drill through at an angle.  The bigger problem was getting a wrench or socket around the bolt head.  On the first header I tried to create some relief of the tubes with minimal success, and decided to ditch the bolts and bypass the whole problem by running cap (Allen head) bolts which should not have a clearance issue.

[Kamal]

And now on to the next unfortunate discovery, the space between the foot boxes is much too narrow for the headers.  Maybe it's a 351 issue? Higher deck height = wider engine at the exhaust ports?

Anyhow, an additional inch or so is needed to fit.  With my cockpit tub biased to the driver side by about 1/4" relative to the frame, the driver side header has about 3/16" clearance.  I think that the tub needs further bias to the driver side for the body and tub to be aligned to each other and to the front wheels, which will add clearance for the driver header. 

For the passenger side, the options would be to rebuild the passenger header to bring in the rear tube, but I believe this would cause problems getting a socket on the plug.  So the only other option is trimming the already finished foot box. 

So I did the unthinkable, and took a large wedge out of the corner of the foot box with my angle grinder and cutoff wheel. So sad.   So now the footbox follows the same angle from the firewall all the way to the front corner.  About 3" of the front of the footbox is gone. 

Will fiberglass the piece that I removed to close it back up, replace the heat shielding, and make a new matching piece of trim for the corner, and move forward.

[Redstang69]

Now you're making me want to do a test fit with my cockpit tub now that my engine/trans/headers are all bolted up. This seems very surprising since I was under the impression Hurricane had "dumby" blocks for the different engines and that's what they would build the headers to amongst other things.
Good luck, glassing is quite the task. Satisfying results but messy getting there.

[FFR428]

I know there are 2 types of foot boxes. Big block and small block. Sorry to see but hopefully you can get around it.

[FFR428]

Here is mine for a big block FE engine. I can measure if you need it. If you look at pg 1 on my build thread it shows right and left side pics with the headers being built. I am using a under car exhaust so they are a little different than the sidepipe style.

[Kamal]

I appreciate it, the tub is already cut, and should be back together pretty quick.


I'm curious to search out other Windsor build and visualize their clearance. 

[Redstang69]

You might check out Bruce N's build. I'm pretty positive his was a windsor base. Look at post 121 on page 9. He had to "tweak" his drivers side header because it was hitting his footbox.

[Kamal]

I took a look at his post, it appears that he had clearance issues at the front of the foot box. My clearance issue is on the side of the foot box. It's the pipe that runs from the rear cylinder hitting the side of the foot box. Well not hitting but not even enough space to get the header anywhere close to the ports.  I wish I had his problem!

[Kamal]

Merry Christmas.  Santa and his elves came and fixed my footbox for me.  All I have to do is put in a few rivets, and problem solved!

Progress since the last update:

- Completed the footbox mod to allow for clearance for the header.  This required cutting of the finished footbox, creating all new trim pieces from aluminum including the top piece, using the wrinkle paint/oven baked finish, and black aluminum rivets.  Will fiberglass the inside of the footbox repair for extra rigidity. 

- Mounted and fit the fan/shroud combo onto the radiator

- Pressure tested the radiator

- Pressure tested the gas tank - all sealed!

Enjoy the pics!

[Redstang69]

Glad you got the gas tank sealed.
How did you attach the shroud to the radiator? Looks like I can see rivets into the channels? Is there still clearance for the rectangular tube mounts hurricane supplied that go in the channels?

[Kamal]

Gas tank is such a relief!

The shroud is about 1/2" shorter than the radiator.  So at the bottom it will sit on the radiator mounting bolts and will be pinched tight with either fender washers or some sort of clip I have yet to dream up,  and the top will be through bolted with the radiator bolts.  So it will be easily removable. 

I highly recommend this shroud assuming your radiator is the same size as mine, and you don't plan to do the Taurus fan/shroud. I searched through a ton of shrouds online and this was about the only one that basically fit the core.

[Kamal]

First of all, a big shout out to Jeff K, who came over to checkout progress, and noticed that I had the headers on the wrong sides!  For whatever reason, I assumed that the longer tube end of the header went to the rear port, to easily clear the footbox.  We switched them around, and I'm relieved to say that there still would not have been enough clearance to get them in without trimming the footbox on the passenger side.  After trimming 3" off the front of the footbox, there's about 2" of space between the header and the corner.  I actually like the extra space, as it gives ample clearance to deal with the header bolts, spark plugs, and starter wiring.

I completed mounting of the shroud and radiator.  I found some heavy duty picture hanger clips that I was able to trim into a perfect clip for the shroud bottom.

Discovered that my valve cover baffles don't clear the mounting bolt/nut for the roller rocker, so I removed and reshaped the baffle to provide more clearance. 

Mounted the Blaster 2 coil in a generic Amazon mount at the front of the motor.  The hole had to be elongated a little, as the aluminum heads have 7/16" bolt holes in the front, and the mount was drilled for 3/8". 

Next I will be placing the inner fenders (removed the radiator to do this), mounting the coolant overflow bottle to it, as well as the master cylinder reservoirs.  My battery and battery box should be arriving soon, and that should just about round out all of the "under hood" work.