Step 2: Master Cylinder & Hydrobooster

Step 2 in the teardown phase is removing the master cylinder and brake hydrobooster. I think the manual is pretty lacking on this step. After a frustrating time trying to get the brake lines disconnected, I decided to wait for a day. In the meantime I did a little research - and it seems like everyone is cutting the brake lines instead of unscrewing them. Sounds like a GREAT plan to me - they are inaccessible to unbolt.

Tom came over after work today to help me tackle this step and after doing a few other cleanup things like draining the power steering fluid and diagramming the brake lines, we were ready to go. So we cut the lines and drained the fluid and got to work. While Tom removed the hydraulic lines, I worked on unbolting the Hydrobooster from behind the brake pedal. This was a horrible place to work because there is just no room - either to fit your body in or maneuver tools.


After about 20 minutes of snaking around under the steering wheel (and regaining feeling in my arms) the bolts were out and we were able to angle the assembly enough to disconnect the other lines and made 2 final brake line cuts to remove the whole thing. It was a major pain in the but, but was EXTREMELY satisfying to have a successful finish. After several days of frustration, this was a good positive milestone.

...and now we're doing the cha-cha.

One step forward, one step back. Turns out you can not legally, or safely discharge the a/c without special equipment. There's just no way to do it. So when I got home from work today, I reattached the radiator and hood. It went very quickly, took me about an hour. Refilling the radiator was a pain in the butt though. The air in the system was very stubborn. It took several cycles of heating the engine up and cooling it back down to get all the coolant back in that we took out. I will drive it in to Merchant tire & auto tomorrow to have it evacuated.

The 'and now we're doing the cha-cha quote is from 'Real Genius' (Val Kilmer's best movie to date)

Teardown - Step 1?

We started teardown of the donor mustang Cobra tonight. Woohoo! First thing I did was remove the hood and take off the front stabilizer bar to ease access and let more light shine down. Then it was on to STEP 1!

Step 1 is to drain the coolant system and remove the radiator. There is really no good way to do this because coolant remains in the engine and in the hoses and IS going to spill all over you at some point. I think we did a pretty good job keeping the poisonous toxin spillage to a minimum. To give you an idea of how much DOESN'T come out initially - take these metrics. The initial coolant that poured out fit in a two liter bottle. After that, we still collected enough coolant to fill probably another 3 liters.



Here I am fishing for the radiator plug, which inconveniently broke when I tried to unplug it. Luckily the inside of the plug was hex and I had a hex tool that fit in there and could unscrew it.


The second part of step one is to remove the condenser and heater core hoses. When I got into the Chilton's manual on how to do that, it turns out you have to have a dealer purge the A/C system. I really need to ask you - why is THIS not step 1? What in the world were they thinking putting this AFTER making your car undrivable? Sigh - I guess I'll have to try to figure out how to purge the A/C system myself - even though it is pretty clear you should not do that. Thanks for that one guys! I suppose I'll read the fine print before getting started on any other jobs.


Despite the setbacks and potentially huge (and hazardous) problem of having an unpurged A/C system to deal with. It felt good to finally take the plunge. There's no turning back now! I finally got to update the parts requisition spreadsheet. Plus Diana made a great partner - I think this will be a fun project :-D



Here is the engine bay with the following items removed.

Battery

Hood

Sway Bar

Radiator reservoir,shroud,fan,etc.

One last bath

Last night I drove the mustang up to a self service car wash with Tom and soaked the engine down with degreaser. I'm taking the truck in to get new tires put on it this afternoon and then I'll be parking the mustang for the last time in the garage.

**Edit** CRAP! I need all 4 ball joints replaced - and this model can't single out the ball joint for the upper 2 - you have to replace the whole control arm. Major Loot. Where does this rank - before or after ordering the cobra?

Wheels for sale!

18" Enkei's for sale! If any of you guys want them, I'll drop a few bucks off the price.

Mustang Convertible Boot for sale!

New Shoes for the Ranger

Since we brought home the Ranger last week, it had not left the driveway until last night. Why? Because Chris hated the wheels that much. Since we can't very well take apart the Mustang until he has another vehicle to drive, we changed the wheels last night. This should have been a simple job, but the lugs were on so tight we broke the socket adapter on the breaker bar when while trying to get them off.


Since I couldn't loosen the lugs even by jumping up and down on the breaker bar, Chris loosened and removed the tires, and I jacked up the truck. That's effin' teamwork.


Final product: truck that Chris is not embarrassed to drive.


In a week or two the real work begins!

Wheels

Disclaimer: I apologize if I offend anyone who likes to see rusty buckets through shiny wheels.

So I really hate the wheels on the truck. I got 4 reasons why - as follows:

1) I don't like chrome wheels - too shiny! There are obviously a lot of people who don't agree with me, there is a huge chrome wheel aftermarket.

b) Look at the brake drums through the wheel!! How can anyone think that looks good? Rusty buckets! That sounds like a mechanic name :-)

III) There is way too much space between the tire and the wheel well. They could have at least put a higher profile on those 18"s.

D) The truck already has a lot of vibration, having no sidewall flex to absorb some of that is not helping.

I'm looking at a set like these, or a set of these to replace them. Both are $200.

Besides...what the HECK is that!?

The powerhouse

Here is the engine that will power the Shelby Cobra.

Ford 32v 4.6L Modular V8
Displacement: 4.6L (280 ci)
HorsePower: 305 hp
Torque: 300 ft/lbs
The engine block is aluminum cast by Teksid in Italy. The crankshaft is forged by Gertach in Germany. The engine is hand assembled by a 2 person team in Romeo Michigan.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Here is a shot of the RX-8 I bought brand new. Only 42 miles on it!



After I got crushed by the Cadillac Deville, it looked more like this:



This was the opportunity to purchase my donor car. Not as pretty, but a bit beefier below the bonnet :-)



Here's the new ride while the cobra is built.

The Plan

So to reach the goal of building a car, it has been broken down into several steps which are as follows.

1. Buy a donor car.

Back in April '08 I had the good fortune to have totaled my Mazda RX-8. It was a sexy car for sure, but I took the opportunity (and money from the insurance co.) to purchase the donor car for my project - A 1996 Ford Mustang Cobra. A 4.6L small block V8 producing 300+ HP.

2. Get a garage.

Seems obvious, but having a place to work on the car is pretty crucial. At the end of July '08, we finally found a home - with a 2 car garage - in Cary, NC.

3. Acquire a daily driver for the build duration.

Yep, can't drive it while it's being built! On September 13 '08 Diana and I drove to Smithfield to pick up a Pickup. '98 Ford Ranger.

4. Break down the mustang.

This should start in the next few weeks as I prove that the truck is roadworthy. I intend to clean all the parts and do a thorough job scouring for parts I can sell off the mustang. Plus, the more thorough I am, the longer before I need to have the cash to order the cobra kit.

5. Order the kit/build a car.

As soon as I have the loot, this is going down.

Why build a cobra?

From factory five's website: When Projects become Projectiles

Click here to see a performance chart on the cobra. The roadster tested in this chart is an older Mk2 model with a 325 hp small-block Ford engine (302 cu in with alum heads and other common engine performance parts). His car uses an 8.8” Ford rear-end with 3.55 gears. Dave’s car was tested on the dyno and produced 298 hp at the rear wheels. The car runs a 3-link rear suspension with 3.55 rear gears and stock Mustang brakes (he has since upgraded his brakes after these test numbers were made). Dave has spent $32,109 (the average customer spends between $18K and 25K) on all parts, paint etc. to build his car. The car was tested on street tires (B.F. Goodrich G-Force T/A’s) by Car & Driver magazine in July 2004 issue.

In the real world of stoplights and 65 mph speed limits, 0-60mph is perhaps one of the most important performance criteria. In a contest of rear traction and horsepower to weight ratio, the Mk3 roadster beats almost the entire exotic supercar field. You will simply own any stoplight. It’ll take the $650,000 Enzo Ferrari to best your FFR… by a mere three tenths of a second! You now have a bit more than $200,000 per tenths of a second to make your car faster.

This part of the story is rarely told and one of the most significant measurements of a cars handling and performance. FFR cars have routinely run in the 1.00 to 1.05 range on street tires. Dave’s car was wearing fairly good street tires and managed a clean 1.00G, putting it in second place at the skid pad! Read back through the last 25 years of Car & Driver and you won’t find but a handful of cars that can do this on street tires.

What does this mean? It means that Dave’s car, and perhaps the one you build will turn as fast as it falls thru the air! It means that on a track or a twisty section of road you will hold a line that others in lesser cars like a Porsche 911 (0.91G) will not be able to hold. These numbers are borne out in the real world by the staggering number of autocross wins FFR customers have racked up over the years.

The Goal

This is what I am trying to build. My paint scheme will be different, but this gives you a pretty good idea of what a 1965 Shelby Cobra looks like.

If you are wondering where this car came from, it has a pretty interesting and unique history, check out this link for info!

Definition of a tribulation

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

trib·u·la·tion /ˌtrɪbyəˈleɪʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[trib-yuh-ley-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

1.	grievous trouble; severe trial or suffering.

2.	an instance of this; an affliction, trouble, etc.

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[Origin: 1175–1225; ME <>trībulātiōn-<> (s. of trībulātiō) distress, trouble, equiv. to trībulāt(us) (ptp. of trībulāre to press, squeeze, deriv. of trībulum threshing sledge, equiv. to trī-, var. s. of terere to rub, crush + -bulum n. suffix of instrument) + -iōn- -ion]

—Synonyms 1. affliction, hardship, distress, adversity.