Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

How was the Fallout James?

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It was a blast!
Got a new best out of the old bucket of bolts, Nathan and Chris both got new personal best olso.
It was a perfect weekend to wright the last chapter in the Shaker book.
Car ran a best of a 11.33 @ 117.4 .

 

What does that mean "LAST" chapter in the Shaker Book. You mean this year?
OR are you going to go all dragster on us from here on out?

 

Last chapter in the Salt Shaker.
I have pushed pass it's safety standards.
Time to move on.

 

Moving up to a more pickled and saltier small block

 

More of the same today. The bolt that came with the damper was the wrong size so had to order one from ARP.



But at least we got the pulleys and the alternator on to check belt alignment etc...it didn't. We have the wrong alternator bracket set up. So trading that out with the CJPony folks who sent the original. But on the bright side the water pump pully fit perfect and that is about all i have to report...lol



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Randall I hate ford accessory drives I'm fighting one on a 64 Fairlane right now myself and worst part is no one knows what part fits with what fortunately I have a lathe and I can make the stuff I have fit even though none of it is from the same bracket set up should have put a sbc in it there are only two options short or long water pump lol.


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Ford was notorious for changing things mid model year, so pulleys from a Nov built car might not work on a April built one. Last one I did before my current one I changed it over from a part serpentine, part V belt to all V belt. Had a heck of a time finding a water pump pulley, ended up using one off a 200 I6 and shimming the backside to align it with the crank and alternator.
My current engine I just left the serpentine system on. That way I didn't have to hunt alternator, PS and AC brackets, already had all of them. Ain't as pretty as a V belt system, but should give less trouble since it's all factory stuff.

 

...and then A/C VS non-A/C, std VS HP, and split across those different cover depths.

My dad told me how when I was a kid, my mom's 69 Fairlane wagon (302, A/C) was at the local shop and the guy mentioned that the WP pulley was "the good one".
After he did the work, the fan belt squealed a bit on cold starts no matter how it was adjusted.

My brother had a 68 that had suspension parts that always crossed over to a 67, even though they were different generations (67 5th gen, 68 6th gen) and shouldn't fit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fairlane_(Americas)

 

So we took the engine as far as possible this week but came up short on the Dampner Bolt, an Oil Pan Gasket and the correct Alternator mount. All have been addressed and things are on the way etc. etc. etc.

With that said we turned our attention back to the roll cage. I was really happy with my original cage layout but I spoke with my local NHRA tech fellow and he confirmed the way I had the tubing bent it would have to be addressed. One, I could do taco shaped gusset or two have it all re-bent with a mandrill style bender. I chose the second option and headed over to a local high performance shop that had just such a machine. However after several attempts and re-arranging the layout etc. it was clear that was not going to work. They simply could not make a tight enough bend. They told me over the phone they could do a six inch 90 and sounded good on paper. But in reality that is a bend you put a basketball in. I think that made a 13" circle if you kept going etc.

It simply put the mounting point on the halo for the front down legs too far back into the car. It just looked stupid. There were several other issues with the looser turns etc. and suffice to say it was not at all going to work to my satisfaction. The fabricator there even suggested the gusset idea so I guess it is unanimous.


I made some detailed patterns for each bend in question with poster board, then cut them out with the plasma cutter. Dad thought maybe we could dress them up a bit with hole pattern. We decided on a three hole set with a larger one in the middle etc. We started by marking each gusset and then drilled all three of the holes the same size.
Afterwards we finished drilling out the center one.


Then we carefully put them in place and tacked them. After confirming we were straight and happy we welded both sides to the bend. After words we made a quick swipe with the sanding disk on the grinder just to knock off any sharp edges but leave enough of the weld bead visible so a tech person could be sure we didn't super glue them in place...LOL!




The cool thing is of course all the welding etc. tightened things up a bit. First off to get the rear roll bar back in place in it holes and on the mounting stands we had to coax it together with a ratchet strap but then is slid right back in place. Front to back run was also sprung down a bit (about an inch or so). So to get the ''A" pillar down bars in we had to lift a bit on the front cross section. We put the legs in place, released the tension and it all clamped it self together. It is crazy tight. You couldn't knock those "un-welded" legs out with a sledge hammer! All that remains is to weld them anyway...LOL and ad the upper cross piece to the cage. But we need it in place, the roof down and my fat but in the seat to make sure we don't do something stupid with it.

 

Well James you have anything ready to race next Sunday at MOKAN? Hot Rod Reunion you know....LOL

 

Or you can just come down and spectate with me and see what Jackson breaks!
Just kidding there Jackson...so is the HEMI going to make a pass or are we all spectating?!!!

 

NHRA really frowns on grinding welds on roll bars/cages. The inspectors also prefer to certify them before they get painted so they can see how well the welds penetrated by the heat marks on the tubing.

 

Randall the hemi is down for the count this year but I will be there trying to find a good machinist that wants to work on a hemi is hard to find around here


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Wow...looks like we are all spectating. I may just stay home on work on the car then....

 

Well Randall, lets see.....I have the car running quicker than aloud without a roll bar.
Nathans birthday is Saturday, he has been hinting that a trip to Mo-Kan would be the icing on his cake.
We just may have to load up and head southwest.
This will have to be its last time on the track.
The job to install a roll bar is not in my scope anytime in the near future, besides I have a dragster itching to see some track time and some Jackson schoolin.

 

Let me know for sure if you make the trip otherwise I am going to spectate from garage...lol

 

Well after some debate and soul searching,I have made the decision to pull the plug on the Shaker.
We are going to Chris's house to develop the 35mm black and white film we shot at The Fall-Out.
So it will be a day of bench racing and some good eats out of the smoker.

 

LIVING RIGHT...thought I would share a cool/funny story with you. There was a huge Farm Show in town this weekend and one of my biggest customers had a building at the show. Last week we helped them set up including hanging big banners and 4x8 signage all over the place. They also have several 24' banner trailers. We actually built them for them several years ago. Basically they are a 24' long trailer with a tongue in front and wheels all the way at the back with a 3' tall by 23' long banner strapped between them (advertising you know)...

So yesterday the show is over and I am helping tear everything down and picking up the trailers (which by the way have no license, no lights, not even reflective tape on the rear. On the way over, I had to stop for gas and was following a truck and trailer that had large/long lengths of pipe hanging off about 4' or so. On one of the pipes they had placed a magnetic flashing red LED light instead of a flag. I was just about to the gas station and at the same time thinking that was a pretty cool idea when the trailer hit a pot hole and the light popped off and sat right in the middle of the road. I turned into the gas station (keeping an eye on the light flashing in the road). As I started to fill up I slipped away and picked the light up before anyone hit it. I tossed it in the front seat.

Then I slid on over to the fairgrounds to start moving the banner trailers. Now as you can imagine, they are a hand full being so long and having the wheels all the way at the rear. You have to really watch when you swing around a corner. So I am pulling out with the first one and basically waiting till both lanes are cleared enough to roll wide and deep and swing it back into my lane. As I am sitting at the first stop light I recognize a city police SUV is now right behind trailer. When the light turns green I leave and he follows me quite a ways before finally flipping the lights on. I am not really surprised. He walks up and says what are you pulling here. I said it is just a temporary sign trailer (which should be obvious from the company banner hanging on it). He said I get that but there is no plate or lights or anything on this thing?

I sort of laughed to myself and then looked to my right and said, "Oh man I am sorry! I forgot to put the light on it." I held up my latest acquisition and turned it to flash. He said okay well lets get it on there please. I said no problem. I walked back, popped it on the rear and rolled off. NOW IF THAT IS NOT LIVING RIGHT...I don't know what is!

 

Care package arrived today. Had to give my fancy Holman & Moody valve covers a lift...to clear the Jesel stuff inside: 1.375" ....that ought to do it.

 

Well I received notification this morning from Godaddy saying my DragSnake domains were auto renewing today. That means it has been exactly one year since we had idea to build the Cobra. In fact I actually thought about it yesterday as Dad and I sat with the coupe at an annual car show we never miss. Last year at the same show I made contact with the Cobra body builder and placed the order. About 3 months later it arrived and we started the build.

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Honestly this build has been simply amazing. One year? You and your dad have done an incredible job and taught us all the meaning of perseverance.

 

Well round two on the Altenator bracket was a bust. I have been talking directly to March Accessories this morning and after giving them some measurements and sending photos etc. they believe they have a good part number to order. Simply too many combinations for this application....tell me something I don't already know. LOL!

 

Mean while...back at the ranch. I have been shopping for radiators for a while. After quite a bit of research, references and talking to their tech guys, I have decided on Fluidyne.



This is a direct fit for the Cobra as far as size and also for usage of the expansion tank. It is 18" tall and 23.7" wide which means it will slide right between the frame rails up front. The upper hose inlet is already angled so as the unit leans back in place it will be level. This is a 5 row unit with 5/8" tubes.

 

I bet you miss building Chevy's don't you?
If you get the wrong part it is because you made a mistake when ordering it

 

I've never done the Ford powered thing. This thread is not an encouragement to start

Very excited to see it come together once you get pulleys that line up.

 

This is what the boys at March Performance came up with after using a slide ruler and holding their mouths just right etc. LMAO..... We shall see. This is for and only for a situation involving: 1970 to 1978 water pump with driver's side inlet, standard rotation, 351 style pump with 1.5" spacer at the "male" style dampner! So yes that actually says everything it implies.
1. It only works with the 1970-78 351 style pump (No other production run, style or years).
2. It only works with a pump that has a driver's side inlet (not a passenger side).
3. It only works with a standard rotation pump (not the reverse rotation units).
4. It only works with a "male" style dampner not the "female" style.
5. It only works with a 1.5" spacer between the dampner and pulley
6. It only works if the alternator is the only accessory to be driven
7. It only works with a "V" belt.
8. AND...It only works if all 7 of the above are true. Scratch one of them off and you have to start again. LOL!

 

That's a whole lot of "only's". LOL

 

I won't call it a "rube goldberg" because I've got a couple similar situations but if you happen to take this out on some long interstate trip (kinda doubt it), and have problems with any one of your above points, you're gonna have fun at the Autozone.
Poor counter kid will look like bambi in the headlights.

 

Here is "Rube's" Ford wire schematic I downloaded last night. Should help. Of course this is just for the tail lights...LMAO



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