This week I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours to actually work on the car. I roughed in the brake lines. They are a combination of 7 hard metal lines and about 5 flexible braided ones. All sorts of connectors are used to join them and connect them to the calipers. Since I am not finished, I do not have any pictures. Sorry. I still need 2 missing parts to complete the job.
Most of the time is still being devoted to engine and transmission research. I did find and order a cool looking DVD. Three hours worth of "Basic Engine Building". Sounds like just what I need.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Sorry - just researching now
I am working the phones a bit right now on the car. I am trying to get closure on the engine. I am starting to seriously consider nuking the budget and buying a brand new crate engine. But I am still considering other strategies: buying a used car and cannibalizing, buying remanufactured parts, buying an unfinished kit and building myself, etc.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tires acquired
I did get the tires I was pursuing last post. Nice guy I bought them from. This week, I was able to get two of them mounted on my front rims. I took them to NTB. They were very cheap, just $26 for mounting the pair. The only problem was that I misunderstood the guy when he asked me something about the lettering, and they ended up with the raised letter sides facing in. No problem really...some people like it better that way. I may later go back and get a white marker and color in the lettering on the side that is now facing out. I also found a small nail in one as I was messing around with putting it on the front spindle. Here are a couple of pictures...
Right now, the two wheels are sitting in my parts room. I still need to mount the cosmetic fiberglass wheel inserts and spinners that will make them look like Halibrands, the famous wheels that were on the original Cobras. And for the rear wheels, I am still undecided whether or not to mount the other two tires I bought last week, or to wait and see if I can't find a couple of bigger ones that most people put on the rear. There is no great rush.
On the rest of the build, I am kind of stalling. I need to make a final decision about getting the engine and transmission. The next step is to run the fuel lines, and for that you need to decide some engine issues, especially related to the fuel pump. There are so many different strategies on the engine, ranging from brand new $10,000 crate engines, to high mileage used ones needing some TLC that are almost free. It is really worth its own post, once I get my thinking organized.
Right now, the two wheels are sitting in my parts room. I still need to mount the cosmetic fiberglass wheel inserts and spinners that will make them look like Halibrands, the famous wheels that were on the original Cobras. And for the rear wheels, I am still undecided whether or not to mount the other two tires I bought last week, or to wait and see if I can't find a couple of bigger ones that most people put on the rear. There is no great rush.
On the rest of the build, I am kind of stalling. I need to make a final decision about getting the engine and transmission. The next step is to run the fuel lines, and for that you need to decide some engine issues, especially related to the fuel pump. There are so many different strategies on the engine, ranging from brand new $10,000 crate engines, to high mileage used ones needing some TLC that are almost free. It is really worth its own post, once I get my thinking organized.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
No work being done, just research
I am not working on the car right now. I've been in Quincy a lot, and just doing some research on future steps.
In particular, I tried to buy some used tires from a guy who was advertising on craigslist. The tires are perfect, at least for the front. They are 235/60R15, which is what most people use, and increasingly difficult to find as most manufacturers don't make many of this particular size. At least one guy uses them on all 4 wheels. These in particular are Coopers and even say "Cobra" on the sidewall. He wants $75 for the set. New, each tire would be more than that. They have about 50 percent of the tread left. At a minimum, I could just use them for the time being while I am doing the build. Anyway, I am waiting to hear back from the guy. Hope I get them.
In particular, I tried to buy some used tires from a guy who was advertising on craigslist. The tires are perfect, at least for the front. They are 235/60R15, which is what most people use, and increasingly difficult to find as most manufacturers don't make many of this particular size. At least one guy uses them on all 4 wheels. These in particular are Coopers and even say "Cobra" on the sidewall. He wants $75 for the set. New, each tire would be more than that. They have about 50 percent of the tread left. At a minimum, I could just use them for the time being while I am doing the build. Anyway, I am waiting to hear back from the guy. Hope I get them.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I HATE grease !!!
I mean I REALLY HATE grease. Today, I decided to install the front rotors and wheel hubs. Here are the parts being used...
The first thing, you do is to install the wheel bearings after packing them with grease. I also had put off actually filling the tie rods and ball joints with grease, so that got added to the list too. I bought some new grease at AutoZone today, because the last stuff I got was not premium stuff, and I had spilled most of it anyway trying to get it loaded into the gun. Well, today I spilled the rest of that as I was taking out the old cannister to replace it with the new. For a while I tried wearing gloves, but that stuff just manages to get everywhere. Mostly on my clothes. (Tomorrow I am going to buy some new shorts that I can wear in public). Eventually, I got the bearings greased, and I think I got enough into the suspension parts previously installed.
Here is a finished picture...
And my reward for a job well done, a Jolly Rancher bombpop from the treat wagon that drove through the neighborhood.
Fortified with frozen goodness, I decided to press on and install the front brakes. It was pretty easy, but kind of surprisingly loose fitting. The brake pads are installed in the calipers and just "float" there. They cannot come off, as the bolts that hold them to the caliper mounting brackets which I installed first are in the way. I checked it online a couple of places and am assured that it is right.
Here is the passenger side (PS) brake on the rotor...
And the driver side (DS)...
Finally, a decent picture showing the DS hub, rotor, and brake...
This finishes Chapter 6. Next up, theoretically, is to run the brake and fuel lines. To do this, however, requires me to make a decision about my engine. The fuel system is different if I choose to use fuel injection (EFI) versus a carburetor--the fuel pump has to be located differently, and there needs to be a special return line from the engine for EFI. Instead, I may work on my wheels, and buy some tires to make what I have a "rolling chasis". We shall see.
The first thing, you do is to install the wheel bearings after packing them with grease. I also had put off actually filling the tie rods and ball joints with grease, so that got added to the list too. I bought some new grease at AutoZone today, because the last stuff I got was not premium stuff, and I had spilled most of it anyway trying to get it loaded into the gun. Well, today I spilled the rest of that as I was taking out the old cannister to replace it with the new. For a while I tried wearing gloves, but that stuff just manages to get everywhere. Mostly on my clothes. (Tomorrow I am going to buy some new shorts that I can wear in public). Eventually, I got the bearings greased, and I think I got enough into the suspension parts previously installed.
Here is a finished picture...
And my reward for a job well done, a Jolly Rancher bombpop from the treat wagon that drove through the neighborhood.
Fortified with frozen goodness, I decided to press on and install the front brakes. It was pretty easy, but kind of surprisingly loose fitting. The brake pads are installed in the calipers and just "float" there. They cannot come off, as the bolts that hold them to the caliper mounting brackets which I installed first are in the way. I checked it online a couple of places and am assured that it is right.
Here is the passenger side (PS) brake on the rotor...
And the driver side (DS)...
Finally, a decent picture showing the DS hub, rotor, and brake...
This finishes Chapter 6. Next up, theoretically, is to run the brake and fuel lines. To do this, however, requires me to make a decision about my engine. The fuel system is different if I choose to use fuel injection (EFI) versus a carburetor--the fuel pump has to be located differently, and there needs to be a special return line from the engine for EFI. Instead, I may work on my wheels, and buy some tires to make what I have a "rolling chasis". We shall see.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Steering rack done
I finished the steering rack today. This turned out to be harder than it should have been. First off, I ordered my kit with Hurricane's power steering option. This is not very popular, but I wanted this car to be easy for anyone to drive. Hurricane, however, drilled the mounting holes in my frame that were 16 inches apart, the right distance for the standard steering rack, but mine needed to be 15 1/2 inches instead. So I had to spend a lot of time using my die grinder to elongate the holes to accomodate my rack. After that, I had to open up the cutaway in the frame for access to the bolt that gets tightened to keep the rack in place. That was a problem because my power rack has a bigger housing to allow for the power steering fluid, piston, etc. I ended up having to cram a file into that hole to be able to tighten it, and even then it broke, just as I was getting it tightened as much as I needed.
The next step was to connect the steering rack to the spindles. This is done with tie rods. As with most builders, I found that my rack was too long, so I had to use my angle grinder and cutoff wheel to lop off about an inch off of each end. Here is one picture showing the tie rods before shortening
Another picture after shortening...
And one with it completely installed...
Next up will be the front rotors and brakes.
The next step was to connect the steering rack to the spindles. This is done with tie rods. As with most builders, I found that my rack was too long, so I had to use my angle grinder and cutoff wheel to lop off about an inch off of each end. Here is one picture showing the tie rods before shortening
Another picture after shortening...
And one with it completely installed...
Next up will be the front rotors and brakes.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Working again
This past weekend, I participated in my first car cruise. It was not Cobras, it was a Model A car club near Champaign, IL. Unfortunately, the weather was awful; so much rain that we could not take the Model A out and many of the roads were closed due to flooding. It was still great fun, as there were 2 owners whose cars were more suited to the bad weather, and 2 others who drove different classic cars from the 40s, one a Ford, the other a DeSoto. I even saw a Cobra driving by us on the way home near Champaign, a beautiful burgundy car with white stripes. Sadly though, the pictures I took with my cell phone cannot easily be moved to my computer thanks to Verizon Wireless' decision to disable the ability of Motorola phones to use the USB port when the phones are part of their network. Bad Verizon!
I came back from my weekend with Sue to find that the socket I was waiting for has come in and I was very anxious to get back to my build. I put the ball joints in my freezer for an hour to get them to shrink up enough to go into the receptacles. Needless to say, that is a tight fit. I ended up not really having to use my torch to heat up the receptacles. And the socket worked great to get them tightened all the way. Here are a couple of pictures showing the upper and lower control arms with the ball joints installed.
Next, I started to install the front spindles where the brakes and wheels will be installed and where the steering system will be connected.
I still need to completely tighten these nuts, as it is pretty difficult to tighten without moving the spindle out of position. Then the final step of this chapter will be to install the front shocks that my mom put together a couple of weeks ago. Then it will be on to the steering system.
I came back from my weekend with Sue to find that the socket I was waiting for has come in and I was very anxious to get back to my build. I put the ball joints in my freezer for an hour to get them to shrink up enough to go into the receptacles. Needless to say, that is a tight fit. I ended up not really having to use my torch to heat up the receptacles. And the socket worked great to get them tightened all the way. Here are a couple of pictures showing the upper and lower control arms with the ball joints installed.
Next, I started to install the front spindles where the brakes and wheels will be installed and where the steering system will be connected.
I still need to completely tighten these nuts, as it is pretty difficult to tighten without moving the spindle out of position. Then the final step of this chapter will be to install the front shocks that my mom put together a couple of weeks ago. Then it will be on to the steering system.
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