The Cruft Of My Brain

I’m slowly approaching dropping the engine in. Feels like I’ve been saying that for a couple of months now…and I have. Things keep coming up. Bad weather, still have some things to do, things around the house to do. Life. Work has been excruciatingly busy lately. Although that’s a good thing for the business it’s been hell on my energy level. Still, progress has been made. I ordered a couple of parts from Breeze including a clutch quadrant, rear main seal and gas filter bracket. Actually, Ang ordered it all. She said Mark was very easy to deal with and I was happy to see the parts arrived quickly. Ang also took the flywheel for refinishing. She went to a local shop, Rt. 144 Automotive, and they treated her very nicely. Final price was even less than what they quoted her! Also, Greg from the club dropped by last Saturday to drop off his engine hoist. Having this for a couple of weeks without having to return it immediately will help a lot.

Seriously now, I’m going to drop the engine in soon. Hopefully the 12th. I have a couple of things to take care of like the trans tunnel horseshoe aluminum and installing the clutch quadrant. I think at that point there’s nothing holding me back.

Finally got back to work on the car!  Last Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day.  A little chilly in the morning but it warmed nicely as the day rolled on.  I mainly worked on getting the pedal box in place and bolted down.  The last little bolt took quite a bit of cajoling but eventually it fit.  With that done I attached the Master Cylinder and hooked up the brake lines.  Woohoo, I had pressure although there isn’t any break fluid in there yet.  I also did a couple of other little things like attaching the motor mounts and the engine hangers.  Test fit the water pump and it looks fine.  I’m short one bolt but I think I might be able to get away without it.  If not I’ll probably just pick up a generic one in order to supply some clamping force on the top of the pump.

I test fit the headers and they are tight up in there.  I’m going to have to look at some others and make sure they look right.  Good news is that they look like they will easily clear the motor mounts.  Others have had problems with the headers barely tapping the passenger side mount.  Then again, when it’s sitting in the frame that might change.

I’ve also been working on getting the rag joint to fit in the one piece column I got from Tri-States.  Something’s hanging it up and I can’t tell if it’s the rag joint or the inside of the shaft.  Worked on that a little but then set it aside.

I was looking over the donor parts pile I have and something funny occurred to me.  About half the parts are throw aways.  I won’t toss them until the kit’s done but it’s kind of cool to know there aren’t a whole lot of donor parts left to go in the car.

I’ve made goals for myself with this car and it seems like I keep missing them.  Life happens and I find myself a month or two since I last touched it.  I’m getting to the point where I’m comfortable with the fact that I’m only making occasional progress with it.  There are other things in life that I wouldn’t want to be missing out on.  Still…with the weather warming up…I’m having visions of cruising along with the wind in my hair, my arm up on the door getting toasty from the sun, a permanent grin plastered across my face…

On a side note, I want to thank everyone who’s taken a moment to leave a comment in the guest book.  It’s really nice to see that people read this and get something out of it.  Makes maintaining this web page a lot more enjoyable.

Yes, the project is still alive!  Haven’t really done much recently though.  I ordered and received a new clutch and flex plate from Five Star Ford.  Max was great to work with and the prices were excellent.  I actually have a list of things that I need to accomplish before I can drop the engine in.  It’s a long list but it’s mostly quick things.  The only exception to that is running the fuel lines.  Hopefully I can dive back into this and get past that next big moment!  With the new baby on the way I’m starting to doubt that it’ll be legal for the summer.  Oh well…it’ll get done at some point…

John Wilkins came by a week or two ago to help with some things. We bent the pedals so that there was more room for my big feet and welded the brake line brackets in place. Much thanks to him as it made those tasks quite a bit easier.

This weekend I got the brake lines installed. I used the NAPA lines as they are listed in the FAQ on ffcobra.com. It went pretty smoothly for the most part. I had issues with two things. The front right brake line makes a circuitous path across the front x-member. It was a little challenging to get the line bent so that I could maximize the slack on either end. That brings me to my second problem. The brake lines as they attach to the distribution block extend pretty low. I’m somewhat concerned that it will interfere with the j-pipe when it goes in. I’m asking for comments on ffcobra.com.

I also started assembling the pedal box and I ran into an issue with that. I have a plunger type switch that I think belongs in the pedal box. I think it’s the brake light switch but I can’t figure out how it mounts.

Worked the AC pedals a little but I have to ask about that as well. I’m not certain how to grind out the slot for the brake and clutch arms.

At this point I want to get the pedal box and brakes wrapped up. Then I’ll run the fuel lines and button up some of the driver footbox. Just a couple of things after that and I might be able to drop the engine in!

Finally making some progress again. Last month we had the first (and maybe last) annual Fall Rallye for the Cobra club. The weather was cold and drizzly on occasion. Not a great day. To make matters worse, the folks in Smithsburg decided to have a parade and then Dubya happened to be at Camp David. I’m going to have to have a talk with him about coordinating schedules in the future!

The only other thing I did last month was to finish up the engine. Ok, it’s not completely finished, but I’m setting it aside for now. I painted it all black except for the valve covers and the timing cover, which are silver. Looks pretty good! Still a ton of stuff left to do like the upper manifold, distributor, headers and water pump. That can wait.

Today I spent time on the kit. I finished up the passenger foot box and also worked on the driver foot box a little. Managed to cut up my hands pretty good. I even left blood on the aluminum. Don’t think I’ll wipe that off! I also tightened up the steering column and adjusted the toe-in. I think I have it the way they suggest in the manual but now it’s obvious that there’s too much toe-out. I’ll just try to measure it and get it as close to 0deg toe-in as I can. Like I’ve said before, the kit goes together pretty easy, it’s the donor stuff that’s a bitch.

I think I’m going to shoot for driving it to Spring Fling. It won’t be painted but it should be legal. Won’t be the first time I’ve said that though. We’ll see.

It’s a roller! All four wheels are on and I rolled it out into the driveway tonight. You can see pics in the Gallery. I know I still have a long way to go but it’s definitely a satisfying feeling. I wasn’t feeling that way Saturday.

Prior to last Saturday I had been taking care of a couple of little things. I got the upper steering shaft that Travis gave me to dislodge from the lower. I ended up getting a long steel rod and sliding it down into the lower. I couple of solid “taps” and the upper came out. After that I fitted up the entire steering assembly and messed around with the positioning a bit. Still a little left to do on that. I also discovered that there is a lot of toe-in right now so I’m going to have to eyeball adjust that at some point.

Don suggested that he come out and take a look at my brakes. Maybe a more experienced eye could discover something. Don drove up on Saturday and we went over a bunch of stuff. My drum springs were not the right type (Pep Boys) and I had chucked one set of them already. We got one side hooked up with the old springs and the drum just slid right on. I also wanted him to look at the front rotors so I pulled the wheels off. When I did I noticed some play in the rotors. Turns out I got the wrong inner bearings and seals (Trak Auto) but the correct outer bearings. He also noticed I didn’t have nearly enough grease in the bearings/hubs. We went over a couple of other things and he helped me pull the timing cover off of the engine. Good news is that the timing chain didn’t have too much play.

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t feeling so confident in my skills by the end of the day. I was and am grateful that Don checked it out. My life is more important than my pride. Just illustrates how there are a lot of little things that I just don’t know about. Kind of frustrating. As I said before, I think the kit itself is pretty clear and understandable. It’s all of the little things about the donor that are biting me. I think it’s time I swallow my pride and get comfortable with asking for help more often. Might keep me or Angie alive.

Anyway, I went to Antietam Auto just up the road. These guys are just a bit more pricey but they seem to have a clue. Got some new inner bearings and seals, new spring kit, a new thermostat and a new one piece oil pan gasket. When I got home everything fit. Simple as that. The new springs made all the difference on the drums. The front rotors are solid now. I think that locked up my decision on where I’ll be shopping from now on. No more of the “You want fries with that?” mentality at those other shops. Popped the four wheels on and rolled it into the driveway. It’s heavier than I expected but I can still move it around.

Only 1 year, 8 months and 3 days after picking up my kit. Another week or two and I’ll be done!….it feels good…

Spent Sunday putting the front rotors and rear drums together. The fronts went relatively easy. Let me tell you, bearing grease smells like crap. I don’t mean it smells bad, it smells like crap! After I figured out that the rotors had their own races I managed to pop things together pretty quickly. I also got the tie-rod lock nuts loose! Finally! Good news is I don’t have to buy a new steering rack. Bad news is I can’t buy a new steering rack. Looks like I’ll be slogging through the donor rack for a while. Some extra upper arm strength never hurt anyone.

The drums didn’t go together quite so easily. I replaced the shoes and the springs. The left side drum slid on with a little bit of encouragement. The right side however, won’t go on. I must have something lined up wrong or the drum itself is too crapped up on the inside. Either way, it ain’t going on. Been asking the club guys for suggestions. I think Bob Lennon has the best suggestion so far. Check the adjuster and make certain it’s actually in the slots on the shoes. I think it is but that will have to wait until I get home.

I also started putting together the steering shaft. The lower is in and I’ve trying to remove the upper that Travis gave me, from the lower that was still attached. It doesn’t want to slide out but a little time and PB Blaster should fix that. Might be able to sit in it and grab the steering wheel soon.

For the prospective builders out there…the toughest part of this whole thing has been anything related to the donor. The kit goes together pretty easily. There are parts of the instructions that are a little vague but with some noodling can be figured out. The donor parts are different. Maybe it’s just because my donor was dirty beyond belief. I’m just hoping it runs well at this point.

Important tip: When hitting something with a hammer it’s a good idea to make sure the bracket is solid or else put something behind it. I didn’t do that and I wound up cracking the timing cover. So, $60 later I have a new (used and very dirty) timing cover. Also, another $15 for the gaskets since I’m pulling it off now. Argh! I have to look at the bright side of this. It will give me a chance to paint the timing cover itself. I think I’ll do it a silver just to set it off. Woot!

John Wilkins is the man. He’s letting me borrow a wheel and tire so I don’t have to mess with the tire situation right now. There’s $250 I can defer to a later date! He also loaned me a very good Ford shop manual and some thread cleaner/chasers. Since I’ll be removing the timing cover I’ll take the opportunity to chase out the threads that are buried in the block.

I now have all of the parts I need to put the wheels on. No more excuses for not having a roller. I still need to get the front brake pads but that can wait for a bit. Maybe, just maybe, it will be a roller this weekend. That would be a very nice thing.

Painted the block yesterday. I should have pics up soon. I think it looks ok, not show quality but better than greasy. Still need to paint the manifold. I’ve decided to paint it black rather than getting it blasted. It’ll be cheaper and easier and I won’t have to mess with the seal of the lower to the block. I just need to find out what paint everyone uses.

I was planning on sticking with the donor steering rack for now but I still can’t get the tie rods loose. The jamnut just won’t let go. I’m going to keep wailing on it but if I can’t get it off by the weekend I think I’ll starting planning on swapping it for the Autozone 1980 manual version. Just trying to conserve as much money as I can at this point.

I keep waffling on tires for the same reason. I’ve got one unusable tire where the sidewall has a split. I wouldn’t really want to drive too long on the others either. Still, I think I might just get one tire now so I can at least put the whole thing on wheels. Then decide on either three more tires or all new wheels and tires later. I’ll be making that decision soon.

Well July was fun but I did almost nothing with the Cobra. Last month we celebrated Jacob’s and my birthdays. It was Jacob’s first and my 30th. Woot! Don’t feel a day over 39!

Finally got to work on the engine again over the weekend. I basically put the valve covers and the oil pan back on after cleaning them up. TIP: Don’t flip the engine upside down unless you have a couple of buckets underneath it. I found out the hard way that there is quite a bit of coolant left in it! After buttoning things back up I stood back and it didn’t look too bad. It still needs a little more scrubbing and a coat of paint but it’s almost there. I can actually see the light at the end of the engine cleaning tunnel.

Picked up some rotors and bearings from stinky Trak Auto. I normally hate shopping there but this time I managed to get the rotors on sale. I’m very happy about that! I’m going to find someone to help me pack the bearings and then on the car they go. I’m so close to having a roller it’s making me itchy. And only a year and a half after picking up the kit!

The last couple of weeks have been hot, hot, hot. It was 90+ degrees for more than 20 days in July. It finally broke today. It was absolutely beautiful outside. About 82 degrees and breazy. Nice clear sky, couple of wisps of clouds here and there, very blue. It’s days like this that make me dream about having a place on the beach. Mostly I thought about how nice it would be to be driving the Cobra. Bittersweet. I really have to get this thing on the road…