Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

Well she is finally back together up front. We made final tweaks to the upper side panels, installed the transverse spring and then installed the panels.




We rewired the fans and hooked up the new cooling system components and filled the radiator.

We put 4 quarts if the good green stuff back in the crankcase and fired the car for the first time since the tuning session.


It fired on the first shot. We let it set and idle for 15 minutes. Even without the fans running it only got up to 180 degees so apparently the system is working.

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After she was good and warmed up we reved it a few times to double check our top radiator hose issues and no collaspe so I think the new expansion tank is working. She sounds pretty healthy. I am ready to for a drive. Just a few adjustments tomorrow with the seat and the next video post should be of it making a lap around the block!

 

Man that thing REVs right quick.

 

a bit late for your fitting, and time-wise, but here's how the AARs dealt with breathers.
A fitting in the middle of each valve cover, to a tube that went forward and looped to the other fitting. Breathers above this middle section allowed the tubing to drain any extra oil back to the covers.
Wouldn't work for your front distributor, but wanted to share another racing engine vent system.

 

You know Randall those slicks should be "rotated" before they develop flat spots! lol Larry GOD I LOVE THIS BUILD!!!

 

I am getting ready to rotate them! Lol

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Well we got pretty close today. We started chasing an oil leak after breakfast. We were pretty sure it was the back corner of the valve cover. After Dad made a couple of attempts at resealing it. I went over with it obviously still leaking and burning off the headers somewhere.

I took a piece of clean white posterboard and held down below the valve cover and spacer. I reved it a couple of times and the back of it along with my hand is covered in oil. Not the valve cover...it is coming up from below somewhere.

After it cooled down we got it back in the air and started looking for the leak. There is oil all over the place. The oil lines fittings are covered and dripping so I am guessing either they are not tight or damaged etc.

We took the entire remote system off. We cleaned it, inspected it, and re***embled it making sure everything was tight. Then before putting it all back up and out of sight I decided to run the car with it hanging and watch.

We fired the car and no leak. Then Dad revved it a bit and here comes the oil again but not from the filter system. We shut it off and I start looking up where it was coming from. Believe it or not there is another stupid *** oil dipstick hole!

How many dipsticks does this thing need! LMAO! We handled it the same way by driving a tiny freeze plug in it.

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After getting the oil leak squared away we lost fuel pressure. It didn't take long to figure out the fuel gauge is not working!

After getting some more gas in the tank we started to bleed the brakes. We had a few leaks, as usual when pressurizing a new system for the first time. We took care of the and finished. We have a really good pedal.

Finally we had to bleed the clutch. However we could not get the mastercylinder to pump. We had to pull it all out. We bench tested it and it worked. So we put it back in. We adjusted the clutch pedal a bit to make sure it was plunging deep enough. After a few attempts we got fluid moving.

I fired the car and tested the clutch while it was still on stands...it worked. But by that time it was pitch black out and pouring down rain. So until tomorrow...

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So is there a big barbecue happening for the first drive cause I got nothing goin tomorrow lol


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Yah, what Jackson said.

 

Well you know you boys are welcome anytime and I am sure we can scare up something, at least some bologna and cheese! LOL! However don't be surprised if lunch is delayed while we dissasemble half the stupid car to fix some small issue we forgot 6 months ago...LMAO! That is of course par for the course you know!

 

Outside of all the other stuff we have been chasing this weekend we also managed to knock out another of my big procrastination projects. The rear ****pit sheetmetal and fire wall etc.


This all started Friday morning when we ran out of welding gas. The sheetmetal store is right across the street from where I purchase gas so snaged a few drop off pieces of 12 gauge steel. That is one of them cut and tacked in place above making the corner with arrow 1 pointing at it.

This tight little corner area on both sides serves to protect the ****pit from the driveshaft should something stupid happen. The areas are also reinforced with a roll cage tubing hoop in there. Not that it would matter, even it it sheered off the trans at the yolk it is not long enough to reach the ground...LOL!

Arrow two is pointing to the inside area of the ****pit wheel arches. In fact that entire side was installed this week. That is what left of a steel trailer fender that was left over several years ago when we put bobbed fenders on the Model "A" sedan. They worked perfectly for both applications. Now with both side areas of the tubs filled in all we have to do is simply fill in the flat area across the rear to seal the ****pit from the rear of the car and more importantly the fuel cell etc.

It is crazy tight in there. I mean the seats literally have to be forced in place. They are so tight I don't think we would have to bolt them in...LOL!

 

Well it has been a while in the making but the little Cobra finally took its first drive this afternoon.



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Dad was doing the camera work which is always scary. LOL. I did not put the drivers side door on and so I told him when I back out of the shop shoot the p***enger side.

He sort of took that to heart so anytime the drivers side was about to come into view he pointed the camera somewhere else. Which means from the first drive I got 7 minutes of audio and about 30 seconds of video...LMAO. Oh well at least she ran.

I shifted a couple of time and checked the brakes on the way around the block. It really drove nice. Steering is very light and precise. I was pleasantly surprised with how good I could see out and around the car. I rolled back out on to Elm street on the way back to the house. I simple could not resist...I ran it up to about 2500 rpm and decided to rap it a bit. It went very straight and I started to grab second but remembered the top is not tied down nor is the battery etc. etc. I basically shifted to second and let out of it at the same time.



We basically coasted back down the drive to the shop door. Overall a pretty satisfying day.



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Nightmare on Elm street.
Man, that sounds good Randall.........for a Ford!

 

Way to go!!!

 

Not bad my friend now I want a ride lol


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Awesome!!!


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CONGRATULATIONS. This has been such an entertaining thread. We are proud of you!!

 

One thing if you get caught by the cops, at least where I live, you would be in deep, deep **** with no insurance, plates. Be a shame to see it the back of a flat deck to the impound lot. Just sayin.

 

Thanks FANTASTIC

 

The Cobra has a 1964 AC ***le, it is licensed and WAY over insured. It runs an original year of manufacture plate from 1964 which is bolted to trunk lid (MIA today). It was actually licensed and insured when it went to the 2018 Meltdown Drags as a roller...lol

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Good to know. Looking forward to some video at the dragstrip!

 

Brake lights????!!!!! lol I know I am blind in one eye and can't see out of the other but it would sure be a shame to get *** packed on the rare occasion anyone could get close enough because they did not see the brake lights. Otherwise totally awesome! Did I ever mention GOD I LOVE THIS BUILD!!! Larry

 

So just before the first drive Sunday we have one last issue to resolve. The reverse lockout selenoid on the Tremec. It is supposed to be attached to the brakelight switch. So the only time the car can go into reverse is when the brakes are applied. I started to splice it in. I even cut the wire from the switch to the brake lights (thanks for noticing @One Bad 51 Merc) LOL.

Anyway, I got to thinking laying under the car that is a lot of activations you know...EVERYtime you hit the brakes. I started to think of another way. I have an extra toggle on the switch panel. I thought about wiring it through there and when I need reverse, just flip the toggle. But then in the heat of a p*** (burnout and back up etc.) what if I forgot to flip the toggle off...?

Then it hit me. The perfect self-resetting system. The Line Lock. A little ****on on the steering wheel. Just push it, find reverse and release it. Perfect.

 

Welcome to 2020. I went to bed early on New Years Eve and spent the entire day in bed yesterday binge watching Netflix. It felt good to do absolutely nothing. I had made a resolution last year to at least drive the Cobra before 2020. Although we didn't make it by much, at least we accomplished it. So I decided to go back and browse through this thread yesterday.

Even though we began talking about the build and even ordering parts as early as October 2017, the body didn't arrive until mid to late January. We officially kicked off the build on January 27th 2018 by fabricating brackets to bolt the body together and starting the ch***is layout. With that being said we took that drive just under two years into the build. We still have a quite a bit of fine tuning and minor interior and exterior projects but for the most part we have accomplished it in two years.

When I look at that number it feels staggering...TWO YEARS! But of course you have to take in account we have been weekend warriors at best. We certainly have not worked every weekend and probably more than half of the ones we worked were just a one day affair. Even if we had worked every Saturday and Sunday since we started that is only a tick over 6 months. That makes be feel better. However knowing our worth ethic I would safely estimate we have about 4 months of work in the car. I am not saying we are lazy or anything, when we are out there we typically knock things out pretty quick. However family, work, car shows etc. etc. have certainly taken their toll on our calendar.

At this point I am very happy with the car. Although I continue to curse at it nearly every time I touch it...it is a true love hate relationship...probably always will be! LOL But overall she is turning out pretty much exactly how I pictured her as far back as October 2017. I really enjoyed the first drive a week ago. The video you saw of the car backing out of the shop was actually take two. The first take Dad, who has a sketchy video shoot history, just had the camera rolling as I got in and fired it up. As I am letting it warm up just a bit, I am just sitting there thinking about all that has gone into this moment. A first drive is a very reflective time. I mean there is always the dialog running somewhere in your head about whether or not everything is ready. Are all the bolts tight? Is everything hooked up? Did I drive the knock off spinners on hard enough. Of course those are the obvious questions. Most of those I answered the night before when we basically nut and bolted the entire car. Putting a wrench or socket on every nut we could see or touch.

But moreover, on a build like this the questions run deeper. Probably because we started with absolutely nothing but a pile of steel and sixteen pieces of fibergl***. Every weld, every cut, every repair, every bend, every hole, rivet, nylock, screw, bolt, nut, washer, rod, bar, tubing, conduit, circuit, wire, fuse, fitting, hose, heims, line, clamp, soldier, shrink, and every piece of tape...we put in place! There feels like quite a lot of person liability there but it's not like we are going to drive this thing 150 mph or anything...OH WAIT...that is exactly what we are going to do! LMAO!

So during take one, I finally relax the dialog in my head and decide it is time. Just go for it. I pop the steering wheel on and can not find the pin that holds it in place. I get out of the car and it not anywhere to be found etc. I turn the car and camera off and we tear the garage apart for 20 minutes looking the stupid thing that has up until right then always been stuck in the steering wheel base where it belongs. FOR TWO YEARS that stupid thing has had a careful eye on it and always been in place. We finally found it on a box of electrical stuff we had cleaned out of the ****pit the day before.

Take two!

 

Here are some still shots from the first drive.

Zoomed in shot of it coming down the road. Just good to see it there.


Just about back to the driveway.


It drove very good. I was very happy, it didn't pull or push. It went very straight, turned and stopped on a dime.


I am very happy with the engine compartment look. Still missing a few small sections of sheet metal in the front corners and we had to rotate my starter switch cover a bit so my Cobra emblem was crooked. We just popped it off for now. I really like the transverse spring gig especially how it runs through the side pieces and actually attaches. I think it will make even a few of the Cobra guys scratch their heads and ponder a bit...LOL

We are getting pretty close to getting some color and a few graphics on this crazy thing!

 

Well **** all that in 2 years is quite an accomplishment. Be proud of what you and your dad have finished. This is still my "winning the lotto" car.

 

That is one Hellava accomplishment! I am very happy for you and the car is so over the Top!