ShelbaToast '65

Lessons Learned

2011-01-07T15:17:00.001-05:00

Lessons Learned:

Do NOT use the driver footbox panels that come on the kit, they are 5.0 panels.
If you remove the gauge pod, wire a 520 ohm resistor between the leads on the charge light or the alternator will not charge the battery.
Order a set of studs for the oil pan it will make removal POSSIBLE.
The stock cobra gauges are too small to use inside the FFR gauge rings.
Tires make a bigger difference than suspension.
Have a shop vent/vacuum the freon out of the AC system to before disabling the car.
Wire in a rear cutoff switch if you plan on racing and have a trunk battery.
Buy pre-flared brake lines because they are REALLY hard to flare properly.

Things I'm glad I did:

The footbox mod - the extra room is really critical.
Tune - gotta keep that old engine running well.
New transmission - Smart Parts Auto can get you a good deal on a transmission that will make a huge difference for smooth driving.
Interior light - a 10 minute wiring job that I use ALL the time.
Diet one circuit at a time - and make sure it still works in between each.
During donor teardown, label every connector!

New Blog

2010-09-24T20:43:00.000-04:00

New Blog is located here! http://world-of-arc.blogspot.com/

Blog Change

2010-09-24T17:17:00.002-04:00

This will be the last blog post as ShelbaToast '65. The car is done and has been on the road for a couple years now. Since I no longer have regular updates to post on here I'm 'closing out ShelbaToast'.

I've often found myself wanting to write a blog-post about something only to end up saying "nah it doesn't have to do with the car". I'll still blog about the car when things happen or I do mods, but it will be mixed in with other stuff. Games I'm playing, trips I'm taking, crazy stuff at work, etc.

I'm not sure yet if the URL will change, but keep an eye out!

Door Inserts

2010-09-15T17:20:00.003-04:00

I got some leather door inserts for my birthday - woo! They have pockets to store some 'stuff'. I have my little booklet that has my fuel economy and fluid quantities and stuff that I can keep handy in there. I definitely like them, a nice little mod to the finished product.

Mountain Biking

2010-08-22T11:57:00.002-04:00

Today I took my first bike ride in about a year.
Today I took my first spill in about a year.

Overall the ride was very bland - paved roads, not a lot of turns, not a lot of hills. But there was a section of the 'trail' that was closed - they are building a highway over it. They had it blocked off really well, but unless they fence off the whole project, people are going to find a way across. I mean, they blocked the whole trail for like 8 months (projected). So naturally I joined the ranks of the awesome - who judging by the number of tread-marks are few and far between in the area - and went around.

Crossing the construction area was pretty tricky, first off we've had a lot of rain, so there was a lot of 'quicksand' and mud. Where it wasn't mud, the water drainage had caused deep ruts. I made it across pretty eventlessly, but had to go around a bit. On the way back I decided to go straight over the hardest part. I crested a hill and looked down and it seemed pretty easy except for a vertical drop off at the end. Decided it was too long of a fall to crawl it, and went down at an angle. But then the front wheels started to slide, the back wheel stuck in, and it was abandon ship. Ok, so the tires themselves didn't start to slide - I have 2.5" nobblies - they aren't sliding anywhere. But the dirt gave way and basically avalanched.

Anyhow, one duck and roll later and I got a few little abrasions and a little bit muddier. I made it across and there was another biker there asking me about how far the trail went. We chatted for awhile and then I scooted off back home to wash the bike and eventually myself.

So as I mentioned, it was a pretty boring ride except for the construction zone in the middle, but was totally worth it. It was nice to get muddy and slosh around again.

All we know

2010-08-16T11:48:00.001-04:00

Some say it was born as the love-child of a Cheetah and a Kodiak bear, and that it often consumes small children for breakfast...

All we know, is it's called Shelbatoast.

Fire 'stinguisher

2010-08-04T19:34:00.005-04:00

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about cars burning to the ground. Mostly it seems to be exotic super-cars, Lamborghini, Ferrari and the like which run crazy high pressure fuel systems. But just the same it got me thinking, you know I did most of the wiring on this thing myself and you just never know what might happen. So instead of having to possibly suffer the humiliating fate of the car burning to the ground while I helplessly stand by and watch, I picked up a small vehicle fire extinguisher and mounted it under the dash.

While I was on the website ordering the fire extinguisher I also picked up a few other goodies - passenger mirror, another rear-view mirror, and 2 cobra posters. A nice addition to the garage :-D

Starting to think

2010-07-19T11:46:00.001-04:00

With this wet summer I should have built something with AWD and rain tires! Just gotta look forward to the fall mountain trips. Also, I'm thinking more and more that a hard top is a good idea.

Hrrm...weather

2010-07-13T15:14:00.002-04:00

So I finally finished these mods I've been waiting impatiently for and my god, look at the weather. Rain forecast for the next 10 days. Thumbs down for that!

Leno talks about the benefits of a manual transmission

2010-07-08T20:19:00.004-04:00

Some people really don't like Leno, and I don't like him as a comedian talk show host, but I think he's great in his online series 'Jay Leno's Garage'. He really 'gets' cars and appreciates all the same things that most of us car guys do. Watch this episode of 'garage' and listen to how he talks about why he prefers manual transmissions to paddle shifters or automatic transmissions.
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/audi-r8-v8-vs-audi-r8-v10/1191694/

Tires Mounted

2010-07-08T18:23:00.010-04:00

I got the tires mounted on the wheels today, but on the way home it started raining raining so I couldn't go for a drive after mounting the wheels. Here are a few pictures.

You can see the fake carbon fiber rock guard I have put on the fender wells.

Update: tires & gears

2010-07-02T09:10:00.003-04:00

First up: congratulation to Brandon and Allison who got married this past weekend at Raffaldini. Quite nice =)

Update on the tires: I ordered the Nitto NT01s and they are due in Saturday.

Update on the gears: FastLane finally got them in off backorder and I'm scheduled to have them installed Tuesday. At the same time they will replace the bearings, rebuild the traction-loc and do all the other wearable maintenance back there.

Updates soon on the major performance boosts!

Oh yeah and I almost forgot, another cobra builder that I have been following for about 2 years now has 'finished' his car and graduated from ffcars.com. Congrats to Scotty!

The next Gen

2010-05-10T21:01:00.002-04:00

First off - I have turned off the comment moderation on the blog - I had to turn it on because I was getting some comment spam that was a major pain to sift through and delete. You'll still have to be moderated before your post will show up if the post is older than half a month.

2nd off - I let Brandon drive the cobra to Los Tres today for his birthday. It's really weird to ride in the passenger seat =) Thanks for not crashing it into anything B-zone! Actually, a good job adjusting to it, I know it's a bit odd to drive at first.

Lastly off - On the way home today I drove passed a young guy on a bike in my neighborhood, who turned around and followed me home to ask me some questions about the car. His name was Nathan and he seemed like a pretty cool kid. We chatted for probably an hour about cars in general. It was nice to get a fresh perspective from a younger generation of car enthusiasts. He seemed to appreciate all types of cars right off the bat which is really cool! It took me so long to have a broad appreciation of cars. I was always swayed by public opinion at the time - either 'muscle cars are stupid because they can't turn worth crap on a track' or 'ricer imports are stupid'. I feel like it took me a long time to gain that wide lens perspective on cars - from enjoying a powerful muscle car, to a sup'd up civic, to a perfectly balanced car like the WRX or RX-8. I took him for a quick spin around the block which he seemed to really enjoy.

I really enjoy Shelbatoast if for no other reason than the excellent conversations it gets me into. On the way home, a guy in a 'murdered out' Charger rolled down his window beside me just to hear the engine sing.

PS. I can't wait for the final gear and new tires =)

Brakes, rotors and under-lining.

2010-04-27T18:16:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally broke down and ordered some new brake stuff for the rear wheels. They've had the same old random pads and rotors on since it was a mustang so I figured it was time for some fresh kicks. I went pretty simple, standard rotors (w/ powdercoated hubs woot) and akebono street performance ceramic pads. I have these on the front and really like them. They make no noise, no dust, and have a decent stopping force. I really need better tires before I need to be concerned about better brakes. They seem pretty resistant to heat too, which makes sense being ceramic.
Brandon came over after work one day and we got to work on it. We popped the eBrake off the caliper for the first one. We did NOT make that mistake again. All the extra thickness of the pads and rotors made it almost impossible to compress the spring back in far enough. Worse than that though, was the surprise piston. On some models, the rear pistons can't be forced back in with a clamp - the method I am used to. But rather, they have to have a special tool to rotate the piston clockwise. Not having a special tool we made do with a blade changing tool for the grinder. It took several busted knuckled and manly grunts before we decided to internet it up and found the rotation requirement.

While we worked on the brakes on one side, I sprayed the rubber undercarriage stuff in the wheel wells. It looks a lot better than the bare aluminum panel and hopefully will be an added layer of protection.

2010-04-14T18:47:00.002-04:00

The next Cobra upgrade will most likely be a final gear ratio change, but for now I'm looking into what tires to replace the current tires with when the time comes.

The tires are have are Kumho ecsta SPTs. They are 'ultra high summer performance' tires. They have excellent ratings as well. They come with a share of problems though. First off they have a treadwear of 320. This is pretty high for a performance tire, and in a car that weighs 2100 lbs they are just too hard. I've had them on for a few months now of pretty aggressive driving and I can still read the brand imprinted in the center tread. They handle well up to the limit, but as soon as they start sliding they lose all grip. Which means that it handles great until it doesn't and then you are screwed.

So looking at replacement rear tires. I will leave the ecstas on the front until I start to lose traction there - right now oversteer is by far my biggest problem. So I'm looking for something that has better adhesion while sliding. So far I've REALLY considered the following 2 tires: Nitto NT01 and Nitto NT05. The NT01 has a treadlife of 100 and is really a track tire. The NT05 is 200 and has lower dry handling.

What do you guys think?

One other thing. UTQG - this is a retarded rating for performance cars. The "Traction" rating only rates stopping distance on a wet track. Does not take into account dry braking, acceleration, handling or lateral grip. What good does that do for a summer tire?

Transmission

2010-03-11T22:47:00.002-05:00

The new transmission is in and done! I know I haven't updated in awhile so you might not even have been aware this was in the works. The short of the story is, I found a company - Smart Parts Auto - that sells rebuilt transmissions.

The price was good $745 plus shipping. Fastlane did a nice quick job on the install and were flexible with working with me using Smart Parts to ship directly to them. The install price was very fair, even though they broke my window post. I had to drive back with the windows off, but Tom came out and re-welded it shortly after.

With Tom's Imperial in working order, the truck is once again back in my possession. Just in time for the crappy rainy week.

440 fired up

2010-01-25T11:33:00.001-05:00

We got Tom's car running Friday night. Still needs a few little things - like brake bleeding.
Click here for video

Car Party success

2010-01-24T10:30:00.006-05:00

The car party was very successful. Although we did have a few relatively minor injuries - Carl's new skin removal technique, Tom's grinder to the fingernail, and my repeated head bashings into jack stands. Overall it was great. In the end the flow of beer prevailed over the flow of blood and we got a lot done.

Here are the new bullitt wheels with the 281 caps and black lugs. Although my final ride height isn't set yet, the 275s on the rear seem to be a great fit. Much thanks to everyone who took the time to help me figure out the best tire width with the longer axle. Now that you can see through more wheel, I think I need to paint the rotors black where they are currently the lush rust color.

Carl and I did the rear suspension change over. Koni coil overs and all FFR control arms. It's akin to wrestling with a dead elephant - it doesn't move, but it certainly doesn't cooperate. Using the jack in clever ways and just brute forcing it seems to be the best way to get things to 'line up'. Factory Five did forget to send me the hardware with my shocks so a quick stop to the hardware store to pick up some bolts and spacers was in order. I ended up ditching the quad shocks entirely, but if I think they are necessary I can space them out and still use them. I also had to move the axle straps. Once I got the shocks mounted I realized I drove the bolt in back to front so I couldn't bolt the axle straps on without removing the whole bolt and the shock would fall out. So instead of turning the bolt around, I just found another spot - from the spring perch bolt hole to an axle bracket. It gives the axle a little bit more motion without binding so overall an improvement.

Here is all the crap that I pulled out: upper arms, lower arms, springs, shocks, and spring perches. If anybody needs any of this stuff let me know!

The side pipes were starting to get rusty and I has sprayed some polish on them from the rotary buffer last time I polished the car and it sort of cooked on. So Tom and Brandon pulled the pipes off and sanded them down. I don't think I prepped them good enough the first time I painted them, so hopefully this will last longer.

You might remember I had a problem with the fitment of the passenger window in my soft top. The easiest solution I think is to cut the 2 metal rods off that go into the door and reweld them a few millimeters forward. This would place the window back a bit. So I cut them off and handed it off to Tom to weld back on. It's a bit tricky because they have to be PERFECTLY angled so we actually place them in the door, position the window and do a few quick tack welds to hold them in place then pull the window out and do a complete weld. Everything was going great until we ran out of weld wire. We'll get that wrapped up today.

I also changed out the set screws in my steering column for much much shorter ones. Hopefully I can avoid pulling out any more wires! I also zip tied the wires up off the steering column which I should have done earlier anyway.

We lowered the car, played around with the ride height for awhile and replaced the belt. I think that's about it. I think very successful! Here is a before and after - sorry they are nowhere near the same angle.

Car party!

2010-01-20T17:29:00.004-05:00

I'm doing all kinds of work to the Roadster on Saturday - feel free to come by and help, or just drop by to hang out!

* Replace all 4 control arms
* Replace mustang strut/spring with Koni coil-overs
* Install new wheels
* Adjust ride height/alignment
* Steering column work
* Sand and repaint the side-pipes
* Replace belt

Planning on dropping off the wheels and tires at Merchant Friday to have them mounted and balanced. I don't really want them actually HAVING the car.

440 First fire attempt

2010-01-19T23:09:00.002-05:00

Although we didn't have total success, we didn't have total failure either. You can hear it trying to fire, but we're thinking the timing isn't quite right - hence the backfire from the intake. But we have fuel and spark, and presumably air - so it's close.

First Try

Sneak Peek

2010-01-18T14:52:00.001-05:00

Here is a sneak peek at one of the wheels in the box.

Mega Delivery

2010-01-18T14:40:00.002-05:00

I worked from home today so I could be here when the mega-delivery arrived. This includes the last piece of hardware for the rear suspension upgrade, all 4 new wheels, 2 new tires for the extra wide rear wheels, a set of black lugs, and '281' hubs.

The UPS driver was worried because I got 4 wheels and there were only 2 tires on the truck. But I assured her that's all I ordered and it was all good. These 275mm tires look incredibly huge and I can't wait to get them installed.

I went ahead and replaced the stock hubs with the '281's since they are so hard to do once the wheel is mounted. You have to access them from behind the wheel.

So the plan is to take the 4 wheels, 2 new rear tires, and 2 wheel/tires from the current car to Merchant and have them mount the tire on the wheel. Then I will mount them to the car here. Should be pretty good. Stay tuned for before/after pics.

Mysterious dash light outage - solved!

2010-01-13T17:23:00.003-05:00

On the way home from work today I bought a new tap and handle. I had the steering column fixed in about 30 seconds. Wow, it's amazing how much better it feels now that the wheel is tightly connected to the rack.

On my way to work this morning, my dash lights went out. I figured I must have knocked some wires loose while I was working on the steering column. So after I fixed the steering column, I popped the dash bolts off and started looking for the wiring problem. Everything was looking fine, so I followed the power wire from the lights back to the fuse box and to the switch. No disconnections...

So I started thinking about the LEDs I'm using to light the dash. They are 12v LEDs and they are ON or OFF. Nothing in between. There is a chance that I'm not putting out quite 12v. Too bad my volt gauge is in the truck. hmmm back to the fuse box.

I guess there is a CHANCE that I blew a fuse rather than my wiring being weak and sucky. Haha, I should have more faith in myself. I blew a fuse - that probably is the result of me jostling around down there, but I threw a smaller fuse in real quick just to test and sure enough it works. A quick trip to the store to buy another supply of fuses and I'm good to go!

Also, I did a ton of wheel calculations and decided I need to go with 9" wheels in the back running 275mm tires. 10.5" wheels running 315s will not fit in the well. The 9" wheels only stick out .78 inches further than my current wheels. I need to order those soon. Since I don't have to wait for my suspension to be on to do 9" wheels I can get those ordered any time.

Wobbly steering and air tight cabin

2010-01-12T22:14:00.003-05:00

So I have some good news and some bad news to report - don't worry nothing too bad. I'll start with the good news.

Since I've been without my truck for most of December, I have come to discover the need to windproof the cobra. I sprayed some great stuff expanding foam between the footbox and the body. This stops wind from coming in from under the hood. There is still wind coming from the cracks between the door and the body though. So I ordered some weatherstripping from a forum vendor. I gotta tell you, it's a world of difference. I actually had to cut the heat off today!

The next bit of good news is that I now have 2 of the 3 suspension components necessary to do my suspension upgrade. Also, I've started researching what size wheels will fit.

The 3rd piece of good news is that I found out why my steering wheel has the wobbly play in it before engaging the rack. There were 2 little cone washers that were supposed to go in between the upper rack and the lower rack. These press outward like springs and take up the slack.

Now for the bad news. I don't have those washers - I guess they got lost in all my backordered steering parts. So I decided to drill and tap the lower column so I could use a set screw. I went to the store and bought some set screws for my 1/4 20 tap. Then the trouble started.

* Drilling a hole in the lower steering column is tough because it's in the footbox and flops around when not connected to the upper column. Also, my headlamp died right in the middle of this operation. So after laying my lamp on the floor, I zip tied the steering column to a frame brace on the car to keep it from moving and lifting up as I drill. I Successfully drilled the hole in the steering column.

* My tap handle is being borrowed at the moment so I fumbled around with pliers and other stupid wrong pieces of hardware until I decided to put the tap in the drill chuck. Finally started making some progress when...SNAP. Yep I broke the tap off. Great, now I can't even put my steering wheel back in to go get another one. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even get the broken shard out.

* That is when I decided to use Carl's air hammer to try to break it out. After charging up the tank I took the air hammer to it and it was awesome. My new favorite tool! It was like BZZZT and that little chunk of metal went flying. So I can put the shafts back together now and drive tomorrow. I'll get a new tap and handle so I can finish the tap and tighten down the set screw.

Cobra plan for 2010

2009-12-28T14:36:00.002-05:00

The cobra has had a pretty good December so far and things are looking good for 2010. This month, I found a grease fitting that I had missed during assembly that was the source of my suspension squeaking. I actually missed the fitting on both sides, but the passenger side came pre-greased while the driver side didn't. A little bit embarrassing, but hey, everybody makes mistakes. Also, I finally got around to shortening the passenger side tie rod so I could get my alignment in check.

I got some of the parts I need to do my rear suspension upgrade for Christmas (thanks mom and dad!) and the rest of the parts are on order. Right now with the stock setup, I have a good 8-12 inches of sway in the back. It's unbelievable really, and makes accelerating through turns downright dangerous. With the new parts there should be a lot less play, and a lot more control over the stiffness of the ride with a set of koni coil-overs.

After the coil-overs I'll focus on a new set of wheels and getting the biggest freakin' tire I can fit on the back in there. I'm thinking about taking it to Fastlane and having them order the wheels - that way if they don't work I don't have to worry about returns. I don't want any rubbing on the body.

After the rear suspension and wheels I will focus on sourcing a new transmission. Right now I am on the watch for a good used T-45, but I might end up looking for a new transmission instead. I like the T-45 because of the gearing 1-4 are pretty close together with a very overdriven 5th gear. I don't want 6 speeds because with a car with this much power, the time taken up shifting could be spent in the power band in a 5 speed. In the rx-8 the 6 speed was essential because of it's lack of power, but we don't have that lack in this case.

There are several new 4.6L builders on the forum so it's an exciting time to be a part of that scene as well.

I've also spent a lot of time working with Tom reassembling his 440 for his 1968 Imperial. His other vehicles have met untimely demises so we've been rushed to get it on the road as soon as possible. Meanwhile he has my truck, therefore I would like to get the Imperial on the road before any bad weather strikes. A cobra with crappy rear suspension, rear wheel drive, summer tires and power to spare does not fare well with winter weather. So far nothing worse than rain though.

Tuned!

2009-11-25T12:34:00.004-05:00

I got some new stuff to report: first big news - I finally got 'Toast tuned. I'm putting down 275 rwhp and 280 tq.

I started working on my alignment a bit too. I need to take the passenger side tie rod off and shorten it, but in the meantime I compensated on the driver side. This means my steering wheel isn't centered and I can not turn as far to the left as I can to the right. But at least the wheels are straight.

Dyno Run

Rain

2009-10-05T13:13:00.004-04:00

The rain today has come as unexpected and I had, in fact, counted on it NOT raining. I had left the windows down in my truck and those spungy cloth seats are SOAKED. To make things even better - I restained the deck last night and the rain is now running the stain all over my yard - SWEET...

Oil Change

2009-10-05T13:13:00.001-04:00

17 quarts of oil to change all 3 cars, plus 20 oz for the lawnmower :-)

Shelbatop!

2009-08-24T09:47:00.000-04:00

I drove in to Greensboro for a family lunch this Sunday. I got to see a lot of people I don't often see, including Trevor & Alisa and their lil' chitlin Morgan. Robert & Nancy were in from Colorado. All the usual fam was their too- mom, dad, grandma, justin, jamie, mac & sherry.

We were playing some yard games out in the front when I got a visit from my old childhood buddy Joey Cheek and his mom. It's always nice to see somebody that you only see occasionally so this weekend was very good for me in that regard. I've seen Joey several times since he 'went famous', but I haven't seen his brother Michael in forever - I wonder what he's up to.

We put the top back on Shelbatoast for the drive home. This was the first long, high speed drive with the top on, and it help up great. No problems at all. I do need to find a way to put the top on without scratching the crap out of the car though!

but in the end...

2009-08-15T06:10:00.002-04:00

But what I really need to upgrade first is the transmission. Not so much upgrade, as repair. A master rebuild kit runs about $250 for the T-45 transmission and should be fairly basic to work on - especially for someone who knows the transmission. I'll probably see if I can get fastlane to rebuild it. While they have it there, I'll most likely have them dyno-tune it as well.

After the transmission and tune, next up would be the suspension upgrades and then the engine upgrades.

or an engine upgrade?

2009-08-14T10:11:00.002-04:00

So I've ditched the idea of putting a blower on this thing. I am skeptical about how the old engine would handle it and I don't really want to rebuild it. Instead, the plan is to go with the old N/A regulars - cams intake & tune. I figure I could easily see an extra 35 horse with that, which would put me at or above 300 at the wheels. Could always delete the cats too and pick up a few more.

Still holding off on the idea of switching to 3.73s in the differential. I like the highway cruise at 2K rpm too much.

coil over rear suspension

2009-08-12T11:52:00.002-04:00

I have been considering adjustments to the rear suspension set up. Here is the plan as it is now: going to stay with the 4 link setup, but switch to coil-overs for the shock/spring and switch to tubular links. This would allow me to get rid of the crappy ghetto mustang spring setup and the loose control arms.

Ultimately what this would do is improve handling particularly through corners. What I don't like about it is that it'll be stiffer and wont grip quite as hard on acceleration. Overall it's a much nicer setup that is way less ghetto and old. Total cost is $750 plus tax & shipping.

Soft top pt. 2

2009-08-10T10:45:00.002-04:00

So part 2 started on Saturday morning. I was installing the lift-the-dot snaps when Brandon and Allison came out to pick up some stuff they left over Friday night. The snaps are a pain to install: you have to punch a hole through the fabric for the stud, then you have to cut 4 little slots around the hole. Then you feed the grommet spikes through the 4 slots and slide them into the grommet backing on the other side of the fabric. Then you bend the spikes over to grip the fabric. They work really well once installed, but my fingertips are worn off from the process. Brandon and I broke one of the studs installing it in the body, so I'm going with 11 snaps instead of 13. No big deal. All the snaps are in place - thank goodness.

During soft top part 1 we noticed that the rear brace was too short. It's final position should be just behind the roll-bars, but we couldn't get it to fit there properly without it smashing up against the roll-bars. So Brandon and I came up with the idea to build what we entitled an 'extend-o-bracket'. We worked together to come up with a design that would keep it from lowering the brace further than we wanted. I'll take some pics of the 'extend-o-bracket' later and post 'em up.

Later on Saturday, Diana helped me to glue the windshield brackets to the fabric top. It wasn't pretty - or easy. We stretched the top tight and put a piece of tape on the corner where it laid over the windshield. Then we rolled it back and put some glue on one side of the bracket. We tried to position it as best as we could, using guestimation way more than I was comfortable with. We did a test fit and made some adjustments, then we glued that sucker together with contact cement. That stuff is really messy and I'm not too good at it so the glue is pretty much everywhere. Once it all dries completely, I'll spray paint all the over-glue black and it should be pretty unnoticeable...relatively unnoticeable...passable.

Anyhow we got everything glued in place and it's clamped down right now. It takes 7 days to fully cure. Luckily for me - rain in the forecast for the next 7 days so ugh.

Oh I almost forgot, the door windows mount in by 2 posts that slot into 2 holes in the door. I measured very carefully and did a visual verification that the door posts line up. Unfortunately, it's such a tight fit that the slightest variation causes it not to fall in place. I used the grinder on the posts and got the passenger side to fall in. It's still not very pretty though, there is a gap between the window and the canvas on the backside, and it's too close to the window. I might have to summon on Joshes welding skills once again to place the posts in a slightly different position on the window. The door posts aren't really movable.

Once the glue is dry I'm supposed to drive a few hundred miles before I place the braces back in.

Soft Top

2009-08-05T20:45:00.003-04:00

After watching Shelbatoast get poured on in the parking lot for about an hour during work yesterday, I realized the time to install the soft-top is definitely past due. Luring a few willing friends with steaks and beer, Josh and Tom came out to help with the process. This was a good thing since I was pretty nervous about drilling into the finished fiberglass.

We had to make an emergency run to Ace hardware to get a special tool. Even in the Cobra we only got there with 5 minutes to spare. But we found what we needed and came back to get started. After setting the windshield at a 53 degree angle and cranking it down, we got started drilling some of the holes and installing the ferrules. After that we pulled out the hardware and assembled it on the body. We draped the soft top over just to get a feel for how much clearance there will be. Honestly, there is a lot more room inside than I expected. And although this little paragraph doesn't make it sound like there was a lot - quite a bit of work was involved in all this. Plus, the engine was hot from driving to Ace hardware :-)

Left to do is install a couple of snaps on the body, drill 2 post holes per door, install the snap grommets on the soft top, stretch & fit the top, contact cement it to the boughs and install the bough snaps. I'll probably have folks come over and help with this too because if the contact cement portion goes anything like the dashboard cement, I'll need all the help I can get!

Graduation from FFR

2009-06-24T09:28:00.002-04:00

Here is my graduation post for the Factory Five Racing Forum. It's a pretty long read and there are follow up posted further down.
http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1974377#post1974377

Paint Pics

2009-06-16T17:54:00.004-04:00

I took this picture after the final paint had been completed. The ghost stripes are very subdued with the heavy reflection of the sky in the paint.

The stripes are a little more apparent in this picture. Also, you can see the wind wings attached to the sides of the windscreen, and the brake vent covers at the bottom.

In this pic you can see all the 'new bits', the rock guards on the back fender well, the wind wings, and the brake vents.

I have new tires on the way, a new license plate, and plans to get the soft top mounted. Stay tuned for more pics!

Finished paint

2009-06-04T11:20:00.000-04:00

Well, last night Josh and Brandamonium came over last night and we corrected the ride height, and mounted the rollbars. I also did some touchup on the rollbars and cleaned up the engine bay. We sprayed the quickjacks with a silver paint since they were starting to rust.

It's really almost done now - only things left for 'completion' are mounting the windscreen, wind wings, rock guard, brake vent screens, lubricating the suspension and mounting the soft top.

It looks great - Josh did a super job w/ the paint, I'll post up some pics the next day the sun comes out.

Late night painting the roadster.

2009-05-22T08:57:00.003-04:00

It's been a tough week - being crunch time at work and crunch time on the cobra. Earlier this week Josh and I built a make-shift paint booth for proper ventilation. A sweet 2x4 frame with painters plastic stapled to the wood. It's so big that it takes 2 people to close the garage door. One person to bend back the main 2x4 so the door will clear and one person to close it.

Also earlier this week we sanded back the clear coat and removed all the 'trim' from the cobra. Removing the rollbars was especially fun...Last night we taped it and cleaned it up and Josh painted it. We laid on the stripes - Josh painted them - then we pulled the tape and sprayed the clear.

I took a few pics of the process last night with my camera but didn't get home until well after 1am so I took one with my phone so I could post it up today. Consider it a teaser pic - you can see the ghost stripes if you look very closely between the picture's grain. Hopefully next week we'll cut & polish it and reassemble everything. At that point it will be 'done' and anything else I do to it will be enhancements to a final product.

Mountain Trip

2009-05-01T18:01:00.004-04:00

Diana and I took a trip to the mountains with Brandon and Allison last weekend. Brandon and I went up a few hours before the girls so we could drive the mountains. We (read: I) had a few car problems I had to work out, and the weather stopped us once so we got there later than we would have liked. We did get in one really good ride even though it started raining on the way back.

Following Brandon on the dirt road wasn't the best. When we first got to it, it was dry and extremely dusty. Then my side pipe fell most of the way off and was dragging the ground occasionally. I didn't realize it had fallen most of the way off so I was just driving REALLY slow thinking that the dinging sound was rocks being kicked up. After we fixed that problem, we made pretty good time up the mountains, but I still breathed in a LOT of dust and dirt.

The scenery was AWESOME and we had a great time. We'll be heading up there again soon. I would have enjoyed some cruising along the blue ridge pkwy.

Side Pipes

2009-04-20T22:27:00.003-04:00

I know it's been awhile since a post on here, but things are slowing down a bit with the car being almost done. I did have some exciting stuff happen today that I should write about.

A few weeks ago I took the cobra in to Merchant tire to get it aligned. They said the pipes hung down too low to get it on their machine. They were gonna try to get some ramps or something and call me back. Well, last night Brandon and I pulled the side pipes off and painted them with some semi-gloss barbeque paint. Since I had the pipes off today, I took off a little bit early from work so I could run out to Merchant and have it aligned between rain showers.

They still had to run out to home depot to get some planks of wood to keep from scraping on the bottom. But I got a little discount for going in there all the time. It's all about who you know, not what you know. Such a true statement. The car feels good with the new alignment. I'm pretty excited about it. I actually had it pretty close by eyeball. Everything was withing acceptable spec except for the toe which was off by 5/8".

Well, this afternoon Josh came out and brought over a spare J-pipe for the flange. I cut the flange off with a cutting wheel and Josh welded it on to extend my pipes a little out from the body. We mounted everything up and installed the heat shields. I think it really looks much better.

$5 Rides

2009-04-06T10:10:00.002-04:00

Had a pretty busy, but great weekend. Went to a smallish car show Saturday morning to meet up with my buddy, Trey. He has a 91 porshe 911 that I've been wanting to check out. While I was showing him the Cobra lots of folks came over and took pictures and asked questions. I wasn't trying to be part of the car show, but hey whatever! It was kinda nice.

After that I limed, fertilized, and seeded the lawn with Diana. I had a gig that evening at Ruckus. It wwent pretty great and we had a good time. I didn't get home until 3:30 though so it was pretty exhausting. Sunday morning I got up and headed to Greensboro in the cobra. Most of mom's side of the family was there to check out the car. A bunch of folks went for rides including Uncle Mac, grandma, mom and dad.

Because the car doesn't have polish on it yet, it's very static electric and pollen just sticks to it!

Drove back to Raleigh, made dinner and went to sleep.

Louvers done

2009-04-02T19:37:00.001-04:00

I was really getting annoyed not having the side louvers in since without them you can see inside the engine bay and can view all the siliconed up seams and whatnot. So after work today, I got those installed and got the rear splashguards done. I also sealed up a few places that road debris was making it into the cabin from.

Windshield wipers - successful test!

2009-04-01T21:47:00.002-04:00

So, according to weather.com there was a 0% chance of rain until 10pm. Diana and I hit up a movie at the colony theater (20 miles away in raleigh). As you have probably ALREADY guessed. It started raining when we left. Successful test of the windshield wipers. Believe it or not we really didn't get too wet. At highway speed the windscreen blocked most of the rain. BUT - the rain that went in the hood scoop got sucked up into the heater motor and blew in the vents. So we had to turn the heater off...DOH. I'll have to fab up some kind of shield around the heater air intake. Also, I really need to install the rear splashguards because rocks are getting in my trunk somehow! And I really want to install the side louvers because it looks like crap being able to see in to the footbox.

Roadworthy? Maybe... Street legal? Yes!

2009-03-31T23:34:00.001-04:00

This morning I got up with State Farm and they were happy to give me exactly the policy I needed. After that, I went and got the plates.

I had left my car on after testing out the windshield wipers so I had to take my battery in and get it charged. BUT THEN FINALLY, I got home and slapped the plate on the roadster and took it for a drive. It was awesome! AWESOME. Everything I had hoped for. It handles excellently, and even more importantly very predictably. Of course it's fast. I drove around close to home a bit and eventually took it out to band practice in north raleigh. I was a little afraid to drive it that far, but I had no problems. Got home and took my wife out for a late dinner.

Too bad it's supposed to run for the next several days! I still have a lot left to do, but things are winding down now :-) Oh I almost forgot, on the way home from dinner, a cop caught up to me on the road. I got over to let him pass (since he was going faster than me) but he slowed down and matched my speed just behind me. He got beside me at a light and backed up so he could read my plate (I guess). I was a little nervous that maybe my speedometer was uncalibrated or something, but I guess he was just running my plate. He did a U-turn at the next block so I guess everything is legit :-)

Insurance

2009-03-31T09:54:00.002-04:00

Just got off the phone with State Farm, they are writing me up a quote now. I could have plates by the end of the day!!!

It is a registered car!

2009-03-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

Ol' Shelbatoast is just about ready to hit the streets a'runnin. Inspection today went great and then Brandon rushed me over to the license plate office to register. I tried to get it insured on the way, but Geico gave me the middle finger. I'm trying State Farm next. I hope I don't have to go with one of those antique car companies because they only let you drive a few thousand miles a year.

Anyhow, hopefully I'll have state farm tomorrow and it'll be on the road.

Radiator is done - Inspection ready?

2009-03-27T18:55:00.002-04:00

The radiator is officially mounted! I added a 4" plate of steel across the top of the radiator which gave it enough height to mount up properly. It's still kinda ugly because I mangled up the side pieces a bit, and the radiator fins are not in the best shape, so I'll probably pick up a screen of some kind and angle it with the radiator. I don't like the flat screens.

Josh played around with the wiper cable a bit, but to truly fix it - I'm going to have to call on his welding skills again. We'll probably cut a few more inches off so the weld isn't going to interfere with any of the wiper gears. I think he's going to head out Sunday to take care of that.

Also, I finally got around to making a mount for the fuse box in the front. It's not the best, but it'll do for now.

Completed Interior

2009-03-24T22:40:00.002-04:00

Well, the interior is completely done except for the clock gauge on backorder. The heater ducts are run and the vents are in place and stuff. I ran some liner along the door to hide the carpet edge.

Last of the body modification work

2009-03-24T08:37:00.000-04:00

Last night Josh came out and we got a lot of the fiberglass cutting stuff done - (I hate cutting the body - makes me nervous) We (Josh) got the hood latches done, the wipers about done, and the defrost vent done. I say vent (singular) because I don't have room for 2 ducts. The stupid heater box is right where the passenger side vent should be. I think I'm just going to close off the Passenger defrost duct and only use 3 hoses. I didn't want to have 2 vents and be asymmetrical. I feel like it's ok to have ONE and be asym. Still waiting on my clock gauge to come in and then I can FINALLY close up the dash (very excite!)

Last of the carpet installed.

2009-03-22T21:25:00.004-04:00

Today I finished the lights. Brandon and Chris L came over and while Chris worked on his STI, Brandon helped me finish up the interior on the cobra. We got the last of the carpet in and remounted the seatbelts.

Here is a picture of the current state. Really getting close to done now!

Lots of little things

2009-03-21T20:22:00.002-04:00

2 days ago I mounted the doors and latches and did the under door aluminum. I also accidentally ripped up a piece of carpet on the driver side - crap!

Last night Diana helped me install the roll bars. It was actually really horrible - it pulled the body back and stretched everything out and made awful sounds...required a LOT of rubber mallet beating - but we got them in. I spent about 45 minutes struggling before Diana got there to help. With one person to beat on it and another person to guide it - we were able to get it done in about 20 minutes.

Today we installed the rear view mirror, the windshield (not the final install), the brake lights and turn signals. I spent the time to do the rest of the wiring behind the dash. The only thing left now is to pop in the new gauge and run the heater ducts and the dash will be done. (finally) We mounted the side view mirror, but I cut the rubber grommet to small and I need to replace it with some new rubber.

I started to install the headlights but the wires are too short and I didn't feel like extending them tonight. The real roadblock I hit, is that the radiator is about 3" above the radiator mount...I haven't figured out why or what exactly is going on.

I'll post some pics tomorrow.

2009-03-19T21:21:00.002-04:00

Here is a pic of about where I am now. It's been rainy ever since Josh painted the car so I haven't got any decent shots till now. The only thing I've done since then is install the hoodpins. I'm a little weirded out about how to do the hood latches so I'm skipping them for now. I'll come back to them when I run out of time. Gotta say, it's looking pretty good.

Here's a shot of the hood pins finished.

Body Mounting

2009-03-16T22:48:00.003-04:00

Brandon came out today and we got a good bit of work done. Did a few odds and ends and then started the body mounting process. We got the main bolts done and got the trunk mounted (hinges, and latch system). We got the new Le Mans gas cap installed and new filler neck done. Next up is the doors and hood. I haven't mounted the dash yet because I still need to get back there for some random stuff. Wire up the alarm, wire up the clock, run the heater ducts

Gauge lights - finally

2009-03-15T19:08:00.002-04:00

I finally got around to looking at the wiring diagrams for the fader knob for the gauge illumination. I had one small hitch when I realized the wire was cut from the fusebox. I wasn't sure if it was cut from the knob, or from the lights, so I just guessed that it was from the lights and I was correct. So I wired up my little harness and it worked out pretty well! It doesn't 'fade' as much as I would like, but I'm thinking that's because the fader doesn't start at a high enough resistance. If I put a few resistors in line it should be fine. I just need to guess at what resistance I need.

Also, I got all the bulb seal pressed on and I'm ready to mount the body. I need a second person to do that so I'm gonna have to wait! But it's ready for the final mounting!

Black is ON!

2009-03-11T23:57:00.004-04:00

The base coat black and 1 coat of clear have been applied! Josh did a great job - it's fun to watch him paint. Except for the clearly visible cloud that is created as seen in 'exhibit A' on the left here.

Here is the finished paint. It's a bit grainy since I didn't turn all the lights on and it's fairly dark in there. I'll take some pics as soon as the body is mounted out in the sun.

Driveway work

2009-03-09T22:47:00.002-04:00

Working out in the driveway today since the weather was so nice. I already broke one of the bulbs in my gauge light setup. I might have to figure out something amazing to pull this one off...

Got a visit from Joshes cobra today. You can see it parked in the driveway behind my body.

Interior

2009-03-06T19:12:00.001-05:00

The interior is pretty much done. Here is a shot with all the switches in place and the steering wheel attached. I still have it zip tied up because I haven't illuminated the gauges yet. I have bought the lights though! I just have to figure out how I'm going to wire and mount them.

Then I'll mount the dash with a couple of nice interior screws, ground everything with a bolt, and call it done. Except for the heater ducts...and the mirrors...and the rest of the list...

2009-03-04T13:00:00.002-05:00

Last night most everything behind the dash was hooked up. Only things not hooked up are gauge illumination and Check Engine Light. I think I'm going to hook the CEL up so that it comes on when the lights are on instead of when there is a diagnostic code thrown. I've already left the lights on a couple of times... Hopefully this will help.

Here is a shot of me holding the 'near complete' dash up.

B-Quiet!

2009-03-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

Saturday was the official B-Quiet day for ol' Rosemary. (lol) B-Quiet is a sound dampening/vibration reducing material that you lay in between the aluminum and the carpet. Tom came over with his roller and heat gun to help get the process 'rolling'. Brandon and Justin pitched in and soon there was a well oiled process in place. Eventually we stopped working and partied down a little bit, but not before Justin cut several more panels to shape.

When I got home from work today, I put all those panels and then Brandon showed up to help wrap up the B-Quiet. We finished it quick enough that we had time to start the carpet installation.

You can see in this pic that we got carpet on the back wall, back corners, transmission tunnel and floors before we ran out of adhesive. We still have under the doors and the foot-boxes to do. Since you can't really finish up under the doors until the body is installed, were skipping that part for now. But we did get the e-brake boot , and the shifter boot installed.

Primer complete, Gauges complete!

2009-02-28T19:14:00.007-05:00

Wow, a lot has happened in 2 days on ol' Shelbatoast (aka: Rosemary). Last night we finished up the body work and shot the primer. Sounds easy, but there is a LOT of worked packed into that one little sentence. I think we were in the garage for about 7 straight hours. So nice to see it all in one uniform color.

Over the past week, mom painted the new gauge faces and dad mounted them up to the dash. Another extremely packed sentence!! So I started to install the gauges and wrap the dash in leather tonight. Here they are with tape of the gauge faces in prep for the spray adhesive.

Here they are just after I sprayed the glue on the dash metal and the leather.

Here is a shot of the final product. I think they look really good - very happy with the end result!

Here is a close up of the five 2" gauges.

While I was reinstalling the ampere gauge, I broke the glass. So for now I took a rosemary bottle cap (yes, out of the spice cabinet) and cut it to fit over the gauge. Here is a shot of the cap over the gauge. It's pretty funny and works for now...

Primer

2009-02-26T08:33:00.002-05:00

A lot more filling & sanding last night - then we cleaned up and shot primer on the underside of the hood, trunk, and doors. HazMat squad to the rescue!

Panel fitting

2009-02-23T22:48:00.003-05:00

Though it's a lot of work, it doesn't really yield a lot of interesting pictures - 'hey look they added some more gook and sanded it back down.' But rest assured, I am not slumping on the job! Josh came out today and armed with grinders and sandpaper, we fitted all the panels and laid in a little more 'schmutz' in key areas to get the doors level.

Next things to do are:
Flatten out the trunk panel a little - the edges are still sharp. The driver side pipe is a little crooked and if I went with it as is, would have to cut a much larger side pipe hole in the body. I'm going to try to redo the rear mount to minimize the pressure pulling back on the pipe. Hopefully this will eliminate the need to cut too much fiberglass from that hole. After that, we pull the body, clean it and prime it. We're hoping for good weather on Thursday. We'll spend time Wed. getting cleaned up and ready for spraying thursday. Things look good!

Here is a picture of the mammoth engine peeking out of the engine bay. You have to look under a lot of the wiring to see the engine heads spanning the entire bay. When you do realize you are looking at engine...you kinda go "oh...OOOHHHHH."

Ghetto gauges - before

2009-02-19T13:18:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post a couple of pics of the crappy ghetto gauges.

Gauge kit finally arrived

2009-02-17T21:16:00.002-05:00

Today the body was mounted back on the chassis for the first time since it was first delivered. Josh started trimming the panels for the final fit. The wheels don't look quite as bad as I thought they would. Maybe I wont have to rush to get the vintage replica wheels.

Meanwhile, my gauge conversion kit finally got in from Factory Five. I got 4 words for you about that. I am not impressed. The gauge faces are not big enough to fill in the gauge hole. I'll show you some close ups later - but I'm going to have to either come up with a new, larger gauge face - or I'm going to have to come up with some kind of border to put around the current gauge face to extend it outward. It's a lot of work for something that looks kinda crappy. Right now though, I just want to get it on the road!!

More bodywork!!

2009-02-16T23:15:00.002-05:00

Brandon and Josh came over and plowed out another level of bodywork. We're really getting down to it now. Josh is doing some final low level sanding, after which the body can be mounted and the doors, trunk, and hood fitted. While Josh was pounding out the bodywork, I did a few odds and ends like riveting aluminum panels in place over various openings to seal out water, and test fitting the wind shield. Pretty good stuff.

Hopefully tomorrow the gauge kit will be in and I can finish the dash while knocks out the remaining sanding, and then we'll mount the bod. I'm so exited!

Trunk Carpet

2009-02-15T20:20:00.003-05:00

Not a whole lot of action going on here lately, mostly just little things that don't look like much. As mentioned previously the wiring is done. I think I'm going to add some fog lights later in front of the radiator, but that will be a project for next winter. Right now I just want to get it registered and on the road. To do that I need to get it primed as soon as possible and get the gauges in as soon as possible. Hopefully this week will prove to make a good divet into the final touches!

Diana helped me lay out, measure, cut, and glue the carpet into the trunk. It really helps hide the battery box and looks a lot better than the aluminum panels with scratches, rivets, and silicon all over it.

Only 1 CEL!

2009-02-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

I did some basic testing with the engine running and found the alternator to be doing NOTHING. After about 10 minutes of idling, I had dropped from 11.3v to 10.3v. I called up Josh, who is pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. I'm glad I did because I was ready to buy a new alternator.

Turns out the alternator has a line that runs through the gauge pod. There is something in the pod that gives it some resistance - a light or something - and without this resistance the alt DOES NOT CHARGE. I plugged the gauge pod in and it charged up fine. Since I'm still waiting on my gauge conversion kit from FFR, I just had the pod sitting out - hell it seemed to run fine without it.

Also, I wired the ACC up directly with the ignition ON and it fixed the problem with the windshield wipers not working. So my 'on' switch - 'push button' start combo is all wired up and working now. I'm gonna change out some plugs to some heavier gauge stuff, but it'll be done soon.

Oh here is a piece of good news - After having wired everything crucial up and driven it around the neighborhood several times, I only have 1 engine code - smog pump circuit! That is exactly what I was hoping for (I removed the smog circuit and haven't flashed it out yet) So things are back and track and going well once again - though this one had me a little worried

Body progress

2009-02-10T17:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Josh and Brandon came over and really hammered out some bodywork. It's almost ready for some primer! I did some rewiring in the meantime, but I need to use heavier gauge wire and re-rewire.

Also, my battery is dead so I either have a bad alternator or a drain somewhere. Josh is going to head out today and see if we can find the source. It will probably be a light day in the garage. Do a little electrical work and call it a day. Thursday and Friday I'll probably wire up my 12v port and a small interior light.

2009-02-05T22:41:00.002-05:00

The other day, I didn't really have time to do any work on the car so I decided to turn my engine cart into a roll-a-shelf thingie. I'm tired of having tools disappear so now I can just put all the tools I need.

So I FINALLY got around to ripping open the transmission wiring harness and pulling out the O2 sensors. I re-wrapped them and only had to extend one of them. So they are finally done - finally! I also adjusted the ride height.

Wiring is almost done.

2009-02-02T21:56:00.002-05:00

I am done with routing and dieting all the wiring harnesses. Here is a box full of everything I cut out from the mustang. The only things left to do are:
* Horn button
* Hi/Low beam switch
* Cruise Control
Also, I want to do some form of anti-theft metrics. The ignition wires are exposed below the dash making it a pretty highly hot-wirable car. I guess most people aren't concerned because it is mostly a weekend car. But I'll be leaving it unattended for long periods of time at work etc. I'll come up with something...I have a few ideas and Josh has some separate ones.

Here is the dash all mocked up. The only things not attached are the gauges and the cruise control. Also, I'm planning on bolting some kind of a 'glove box' in between the transmission tunnel and the dash.

2009-02-01T00:51:00.006-05:00

Last week, The new shift assembly came in so I dropped it in and bolted the FFR shifter up. I took Brandon for a quick spin around the block. Then drove downtown to meet up with Josh and pick up his new air compressor.

We came back to my place and did some body work, grinding off the fiberglass filler and doing some odd jobs on the car. Josh spread putty on the back half of the car, but sanding out the filler took a bit longer than expected so we didn't get the whole thing done. A few more aluminum pieces are in place now, like the transmission tunnel and the door sills.

Diana and I drafted out the control layout for the dash and I'm hoping to get those hooked up tomorrow.

First Drive! Go kart style!

2009-01-26T21:38:00.003-05:00

Got home today, and started the prep for first drive! I screwed in the seats, bolted in the 5 pt harnesses, reattached the old shifter, and secured a few loose wires. Josh and I then bled the brakes. After tightening a few loose brake line nuts, it was off to the races! This is the actual first drive - just pulling out of the driveway.

After a quick trip with Josh in the copilot seat, we made a quick adjustment and then it was Diana's turn to ride. Here is the in car video.

Pre-body fittings

2009-01-25T23:26:00.004-05:00

Test fitting the rollbars. It's a very tight squeeze, and I have no idea how the final installation is going to be with the body on. But I think it will do in the end.

Here is a pic of the exhaust installed. I'll probably have to take it off again at some point, but I wanted it on for the test drive.

Josh has really knocked out the dash wiring. Everything is going great in this department, left to do are the high/low beam switch, horn, and cruise ctrl.

Final Electrical Routing & Side Pipes

2009-01-24T07:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday after work I began routing what was left of the front wiring harness. I shortened a couple of grounds that were several feet too long. Apparently I didn't splice them tight enough, because one of them separated under the electric tape and the car wouldn't start. This was the first start attempt in several days so it took me forever to track down! The starter was turning, but no fuel pump.

While I was hunting for it, Diana got home and changed into garage clothes. Diana and I fixed the broken ground and tried to crank again. This time, believe it or not, I had fuel pump but no starter! Turns out I originally had 3 grounds at the same location and only rehooked the broken one and one other.

After the electrical problems were resolved, we decided to mount the side pipes. I'm sure they'll have to come off at some point in order to mount the body, but at least this way the hangers will be in place and the next time should go much faster. We cranked it up with the side pipes on and it sounds _good_. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was like 12:30. I had to be at work by 7 am! Ugh.

5.0L vs 4.6L

2009-01-23T12:37:00.002-05:00

Found this picture while surfing the forums today. A lot of people have the misconception that the 5.0 is larger than the 4.6L because the displacement is greater. Clearly depicted here with the engines side by side - the 4.6L is CONSIDERABLY larger. Now you know why it barely fits in my car!

2009-01-22T19:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Josh & I continued ripping through the wiring harnesses. Everything is just about laid out. All that is left to do on that is to lay out the headlights, cleanup the fuse box area, cut a new hole in the aluminum for the front - dash harness connection, and build a bracket for the fuse box. Also attached the hood brackets.

I didn't want to spend much time in the garage today so I just went in and since the trunk silicone is pretty dry, I mounted the fuel evaporative charcoal canister and cut the hole in the front aluminum for the harness connection. I'll just wait until the wiring is all done to upload pics of it. It's hard to make much out until it's complete. And even then, it's a LOT of stuff going on.

Snow!

2009-01-20T21:17:00.008-05:00

Man, it was a cold one today! Quite a bit of snow on the ground. BUT, with ChannelAdvisor's mail server down, VPN down, and the build being broken, I couldn't work at all. SO, I spent all day in the garage!

I routed the rear wiring harness in it's final location and wrapped it up real good. I trimmed up a few more extraneous circuits and then employed the help of Diana for the final trunk mounting.

On the left you can see the Fuel Inertia Cutoff switch and the AntiTheft module. You can also see the battery sunk below the trunk deck.

Starting the exterior lighting and more bodywork

2009-01-20T21:05:00.005-05:00

Since the first bit of body work is finished, Josh came over to lay fiberglass in the seams. Talk about stinkin'. Diana and I ended up having to sleep in the guest room because our room is directly above the garage and it smelled so bad! *upload smell*

We also got some more of the wiring done. I found the problem with the OBD port - a blown fuse. Must have connected a hot and ground when I cut some wires. It does happen! Josh found the turn signal issue. There was a relay I cut out thinking it was an airbag relay, which turned out to be the turn signal relay. We're not quite done wiring everything up, but we've tested everything and it's ready to be hooked up.

Check it out!! A working turn signal!

Lopping out wires

2009-01-18T19:39:00.003-05:00

I'm about done 'dieting' the wiring harness at this point. The car still cranks so that is one in my favor. However a few things don't work.

1. The turn signal relay is not clicking.
2. The OBD port is dead.
3. The driver side tail lights don't work.

It's a mess and a pain in the butt. On the upside, mom and dad came over today and helped prep and sand down the body. I think it's looking pretty good and just about ready for some primer! I got a few 'ridges' that need to get knocked down, but other than that, it's pretty much ready to go.

First Fire!

2009-01-14T23:00:00.003-05:00

Josh came out tonight and we did some final preliminary wiring - I realize that doesn't really make sense. Sorry I missed band practice, but I couldn't miss this opportunity! We ran all the grounds and ran the ignition. After a short session of troubleshooting we came to the conclusion that there wasn't any gas left. So we went to the gas station and got 2 gallons of gas. Put that in, had one more short troubleshooting session, and turned the key.

Wiring! OMGatos!

2009-01-13T22:40:00.002-05:00

Wellp, when I got home I installed the E-brake and cables and once Diana got home, we went ahead and started to lay out all the wiring. The idea is to lay all the wiring out temporarily and hook it all up, then crank it up!! Once the engine turns over for the first time I'll start cutting out circuits until it's down to just what I need. And if it is still cranking at that point, I'll unhook everything and route the wires for good. Well...wish me luck!

The nightmare is over.

2009-01-11T19:08:00.006-05:00

I woke up this morning determined to solve the 'wrong footbox' problem. I went out there and with a series of drilling and chisel/hammer techniques I got the panel off. After that I decided to do some body work before attempting to attach the 4.6 panels. It was tricky and awkward, but I managed to get the new footbox on without removing the engine!

I took the angle grinder to the seams on the fiberglass body - jesus what a mess. The body work is going to be a real job! Here is a picture of the seams ground out.

Also done today was to cut out the battery box square in the trunk floor. I'm going to put a hinge on it so you can still get to the battery. I'll post a picture of that after it's done. The only other thing to report, is that the fuel lines are fully connected. Here is a picture of the fuel lines with the heater lines hooked up behind it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

2009-01-10T17:59:00.002-05:00

NOOOOOOOO NO NO NO NO! I have made a mistake...and discovered the reason my engine is touching the driver foot-box. There is a SEPARATE (unmentioned) panel for the 4.6L foot-box wall tucked away in a box. I looked at it, and I don't see ANY way to swap these panels without removing the engine. REMOVING THE ENGINE!!! Everything is plumbed up and spaced out and ready to go. Clutch, accelerator, cruise, heater, radiator, power steering, will all have to be redone.

I do however, have one hope. I am hoping to jack the engine a small amount and move it left a bit...hopefully giving me enough room to get the rivet tool down in there. Oh the humanity! I hope I don't have to lift it out...it was not fun to get in - though it might be easier with the right panels in place. heh heh heh.

On the upside - I finally changed the oil in my truck. Stink-gook is what it was. Diana also changed her oil so both our regular cars are in good working order...except for my truck's weirdness issues.

Catch up

2009-01-05T17:30:00.004-05:00

I've gotten a little ahead of myself on the blog here, being so excited about having the engine in. I need to go back and document a few other things that have happened. And in no particular order they are:

1. Here is the view of the car from the front as it stands right now. The radiator is not completely installed yet.

b) With a bit of riveting help from Diana's brother, Milton, I have completed the battery box mod. This sinks the battery below the trunk so you have more space inside the trunk. It's pretty tightly squeezed between the gas tank and the differential plate, but there is just enough room for movement. (Unlike the driver's footbox - lol, sigh)

D. Thanks to the most excellent welding skills of Mr. Josh Minorics, the EGR was successfully routed to the old smog pump bung and the other 2 open bungs were welded shut for good. In this pic you can see at the bottom where the smog pipe is welded to the larger EGR pipe. Most excellent :-)

The Mystery Oil Sensor

2009-01-05T13:11:00.001-05:00

When we put the new, shorter oil pan on the bottom of the engine, we discovered that an oil sensor that was plugged into the old oil pan had no place to go on the new pan.

After some researched I finally broke down and just asked the guys on the forum what the heck was going on. Turns out it's just an oil level sensor that the computer doesn't need. It powers a low oil level warning light.

So I have 2 choices, remove the pan weld in a new bung for the sensor, or do without an oil level warning light. Heh, if you helped me put the oil pan on, and tried to tighten any of the kickout bolts then you know which of these I'm choosing.

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204950

2009-01-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

Installing all the mass air stuff was pretty easy and straight forward. The instructions generally even matched up with what I had to do.

The radiator on the other hand, is a totally different story. Nothing is lining up. Nothing fits. I'm going to have a lot of work to get the cooling system finished. But once it is, all I have to do is add fluids and do some wiring to get to a first crank.

On the road again

2009-01-03T14:23:00.007-05:00

But not literally unfortunately. Just moving along real well now. With the engine in I'm freed up to do a LOT more stuff. Yesterday, I did these:
1. Mounted the seats
2. Adjusted and 'set' the steering wheel
3. Finished bolting on the oil pan
4. Installed the driveshaft
5. Installed the clutch cable
6. Installed the accelerator cable

Everything went great until I got to the accelerator. When I was mounting the accelerator bracket to the engine, I broke the bolt off. I had to rig something up to fix this mistake, but only after cutting the broken bolt and nut off the accelerator cable (very carefully!) Here is a picture of the ugly bracket.

While I was bolting my bracket up, I dropped it and it fell. It fell bad. It fell under the intake manifold so I could barely even see it. I couldn't reach it with pliers and couldn't grab it with a hook. So I got a magnet off the fridge and tried to lower it down with a zip tie. It was too big, so I smashed it with a hammer and tied some thread around it. I tried fishing it out, but it kept swinging to the side and hitting some magnetic object. I eventually stuck the magnet to a socket extension and was able to fish it out that way.

Here is the driveshaft - looking down from above.

Thought you might enjoy this picture showing you just how much room there is between the driver footbox and the engine. None! It's pushing it in about a half inch - and that's after I ground away some of the engine material.

The beast has a heart ... but not a pulse.

2009-01-01T23:21:00.005-05:00

The engine is in!

It was a slow process, and the engine really BARELY fits. I had to grind away some of the aluminum off the engine and it's pushing against the drivers foot-box a little :-) But we finally got it in there and bolted up - then got the new oil pan bolted up. That was also quite horrible. The bolts were terrible to get to. You could not fit your hand up there - only a finger or two, and you couldn't see the bolts to tell what you were trying to do. Horrible. Also, Josh brought over his buck for the fiberglass body so I can get started on the body now.

It was a long process, but it's in! Stay tuned, a lot should get done in the next few weeks!

Been a bit slow BUT...

2008-12-29T17:08:00.003-05:00

Things have been a bit slow working on the car in the last few weeks, but the engine is just about ready to get dropped in, and once it is, it's a downhill run to get it ready to drive. I don't see many more roadblocks, at least for awhile.

Meanwhile for Christmas I got all kinds of goodies - like 1200 watt work lights, ratcheting wrenches, various breathing apparatuses (apparati if you will), a shop vac and more!

Engine Prep Continues

2008-12-22T20:07:00.002-05:00

Today I got the broken stud out of the engine block. Also, I bought a tap and new studs so once the engine is off the cradle, I can retap the bad threads and everything will be good as new.

I test fit the EGR plug in it's new location and there IS room for it, although it will be tight. Also, I came up with a great way of blocking off the open ports - by using the old fitting, and welding a piece of scrap metal to the top of it. Oh yeah, things are going pretty good again :-D

Engine prep starts

2008-12-21T15:34:00.005-05:00

I wrapped up a bunch of loose ends on the chassis and then got to work preparing for the engine install. First I removed the smog related stuff and removed the belt and cleaned it up a bit. It's certainly not a show-queen, but it's a lot better :-P Then I put the dead-pulley in place where the A/C compressor was and re-routed the belt. After that I bolted the transmission mount up to the frame.

Before

After

So left to do before installing the engine and transmission are these:
1) Fix a broken exhaust manifold stud and a stripped stud. I want someone who has done this before to help - I'm nervous because the aluminum block is softer than the stud.
2) Re-route the EGR using the smog pump stuff. (requires some ingenuity and welding). I need someone who can weld to hook me up on this one.
3) Block off all open EGR, smog, and vacuum openings. I hear that the EGR port is really hard to block off because the threads are odd shaped. Hopefully the smog port wont be too bad. I might just order an EGR blockoff kit just for the EGR plug. What to use to block off the vacuum lines? I heard irrigation plugs will work.
4) Swap out the oil pan. I can't do this one until the engine is up on the hoist. That should be fun...

Brakes done!!! Whew.

2008-12-20T19:55:00.003-05:00

This morning I headed over to NAPA to pick up my brake line stuff...again :-P So at long last the brakes are complete. Also, the fuel lines are connected to the fuel tank and run up to the engine bay. I ran the vapor line from the back toward the front and have mocked up where the battery cable will go. I haven't decided for sure where to mount the battery - mainly because I don't understand the instructions :-D

In preparation for the engine installation, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and install the heater box. Here's a pic of he box installed. So now I really do have to figure out what I'm going to do with the EGR and Smog stuff.

Brakes are about 95% done

2008-12-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

So I went back to NAPA and the guy that ordered the stuff realized he ordered the wrong thing and went back to the catalog to remedy the dismal situation. Only then did he realize, and soon thereafter portray to me, the actual depth of dismality of said situation. NAPA does not even have the fitting that I need in their catalog. Which means instead of 2 fittings, I now have redo the plan for that section and I now need 4 fittings and 2 new lines. The good news about this is - NAPA can't really screw this one up.

It will be Saturday before the parts are here, but I think that is ok because I have everything I need to run the fuel lines and battery line. I will knock those out in the next day or so then spend most of vacation working on engine preparations.

Still aiming for a Jan. 1 engine drop-in.

Brakes are about 80% done

2008-12-18T00:00:00.002-05:00

So I ended up deciding to go with pre-flared lines and fittings. I ordered some stuff through NAPA for next day pickup and this evening I finished about 80% of the brake lines with Tom. All I have left now is to run the long line from the ABS unit to the rear and I have to go back to NAPA to get 2 fittings (they gave me the wrong thing!) Other than that the brakes are finished. Hopefully I can run the fuel lines tomorrow and then get the battery relocation finished during the holiday and can drop the engine in on new years day!

Egad brakes suck...

2008-12-13T11:30:00.002-05:00

I've basically been treading water for a few days on the brake lines. The (main) trouble is that the tool I bought to flare the brake lines doesn't work. I'm not sure if it is because the lines are too hard or if the tool just sucks, but it is not properly flaring. So I've pretty much narrowed it down to 2 options after trying a few things:

1. Get a more expensive flare tool.
Upside: All the lines would be perfect fits.
Downside: More chance of a leak from a bad flare, chance this tool will suck too.

2. Buy pre-flared lines of the 'right' size and adapters for the ends.
Upside: No flares to do! No chance of a misshapen flare. No wasted money on bad/once used tools.
Downside: Adapters means more chances of a leak, lines wont be perfect fits, have to find all the right sized adapters.

Well, I mounted the Anti-Lock Brake System Controller last night. This was a little challenging because the older style models are huge, and the manual doesn't have anything in it about where to mount it. I think the typical donor car does not use ABS. But given I'm building this car to withstand weather, I think I want ABS for the rain. Although an on/off switch would be awesome. Here is a pic of the mounted unit, as you can see I had to make some stuff up for it because they don't have a prefabbed mounting position on the frame.

Cockpit Aluminum

2008-12-11T01:02:00.003-05:00

I spent 8 hours in the garage today riveting panels. Lucky for me it warmed up a lot today! Diana came out and helped for awhile which was really helpful for the passenger footbox. Here's a few pics:

Steerin'

2008-12-06T19:47:00.003-05:00

With the pedals in and the hydrobooster loosely fitted, I decided to go ahead and start on the steering system even without my back-ordered part. I got the donor steering rack in and bolted up - only to realize that it seemed really loose. I poured through the bags of donor parts and found the steering rack bag which had some rubber bushings I forgot to put in. SO, I had to unbolt it and remove it and slap those bushings in. It wasn't too bad though, so after I put the rack in the 2nd time, I attached the tie rods and gave the car a 'rough alignment'.

Then I deciphered some more instructions and despite the manual giving me the wrong part numbers - and wrong box location - I managed to get the upper steering column mostly fitted. I had to grind a bracket down a bit so it would lay flush, but it wasn't too tough. Once that back-ordered part comes in the steering will be finished.

A nudge forward

2008-12-05T10:57:00.002-05:00

Last night, Josh and Brandon came out to help work on the car. Josh worked on fitting the hydrobooster while Brandon and I mounted the fuel filter. Brandon took a drill-face picture of me, and that is the only picture that I have from last night to post right now. I'll take some pics after the hydroboost is done and the pedals are finished.

I got gas

2008-12-03T22:42:00.002-05:00

Chronicles of a gas tank. Diana scrubbed the tank yesterday in preparation for painting, and when I got home I sprayed the first coat. Meanwhile, Tom headed over and we torqued the suspension to the proper specs and finished a few lingering suspension issues. After that, I sprayed a final coat on the tank and we hoisted it up onto the frame.

Rear Suspension/Axle

2008-12-02T01:52:00.006-05:00

This will be quick and short because it's about 2 am and I have just finished working on the car... My goal for the day was to complete assembly of the rear end. I got home about 6 and worked straight through until after 1. But I got it done! Here is a pic of the assembly. It's kinda hard to tell what is what in this pic, but you can get an idea.

There was a lot of drilling...a LOT of drilling. I broke 2 bits including my new 9/16 metal drilling bit. It made me sad because I had just bought it the other week, but then it made me feel kinda awesome for breaking a drill bit so huge :-D.

The evening had a few frustrating moments and several puzzles solved. I didn't get a chance to eat dinner, and I nicked the back of my hand with Carl's grinder - (that is a nick you won't do twice!) But once Everything was done, I put the wheels on and got to hop up and down to test out the suspension. It's official, the car is now a rolling chassis!! It probably wont roll very straight or well, since the steering hasn't been done yet, but it will roll!