Power brakes:
We decided to go with hydroboosted PB's - which uses power steering fluid pressure rather than a vacuum booster as is used in most cars - so no cutting/patching of the frame was needed. The hydroboost brake conversion pieces arrived in mid-January and the master cylinder (MC) "fitment" saga began!
First MC to arrive was much too long and would have significantly interfered with aluminum panels to be installed later, and the brake line attachment "ports" were on the wrong side ... toward the fender rather than toward the engine, making it difficult to attach brake lines. Would have made it necessary to "just cut a hole in the <future> panel and make a patch". Unacceptable.
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| 1st hydroboost master cylinder was too long and the outlets were on the wrong side |
So we worked with the supplier and got a somewhat shorter MC but which had the brake line "ports" on the engine side. All of which meant easier installation of brake lines - but a hole/bump-out in future aluminum panels would still be needed.
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| 2nd master cylinder was just a bit shorter, but had the outlets in the right place (on the side you can't see) |
More investigation and talking to people resulted in finding a much shorter MC with holes in the right places - so it looks like no hole in the front panel will be needed. I shared this latest MC "find" with local friends who retro-fitted the shorter MC into a finished car, and it fit great, no hole was needed .... so we're moving on!
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| 3rd (and final!) master is shorter so it fits much better and is already set up for remote fluid reservoirs |
Aluminum panels:
With the brake thing sorted out and finalized, we were able to complete test fitting of the engine bay aluminum panels - esp. the one in front of the driver side foot box, and send them out for powder coating. After a lot of discussion, we decided to go with a 'sparkle silver' powder coat to match the powder coated chassis. Much prettier than 'bare' aluminum or clear coated aluminum. Other panels - in the cockpit and trunk - will be not be seen (but will be covered with carpet and etc) so they'll just get a coat of an aluminum preservative/exterior treatment called "Sharkhide".
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| Powder coated firewall riveted and installed! |
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| Passenger side foot box - powder coated and installed |
The outer wall of both foot boxes will be installed just before installing the body - which will make it much easier to install the insulation and carpet into the foot boxes. (Thanks Jared for suggesting this. It's a great idea!)
We also got the battery box moved from the trunk to the front of the engine bay. It'll make for much short battery cables, and a bit more room in the trunk.
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| Front battery box - installed |
Brake and fuel lines:
Talk about frustrating! I've no prior experience in bending brake or fuel lines, never needed to do it before .... and trying to do it on the Cobra .... even with the right tools ... really kicked my butt!
But they had to be done before I could move on to more aluminum panel installation and the wiring and engine/transmission installation and so on.
So I finally bit the bullet and called in a friend from a local custom shop to give me a hand. Wayne Glasgow spent about 6 hours and did a GREAT job bending and installing the lines. I wish I had his skills and expertise!
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| Wayne Glasgow - the fuel and brake line master - at work! |
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| Fuel supply and return lines at the rear fuel filter |
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| Fuel lines (not yet painted) coming down the rear chassis member to the 4 inch tubes and then forward |
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| Fuel lines in the engine bay |
For the brake lines, we used a relatively new product called "cunifer" - which is a DOT approved alloy of copper/nickel/steel - and which is used in Europe on high end cars like Mercedes, Porsche, Volvo and etc. It is much easier to bend by hand and can be polished to a soft, golden color - which will look good against the silver chassis.
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| Cunifer brake lines at the master cylinder |
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| Brake lines going up the driver side rear chassis member to the rear brakes (blue thing is a residual valve to help balance the brakes front-to-rear) |
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| Brake lines at the passenger side rear wheel |
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| Brake lines at the driver side front corner |
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| Front brake line cross over from driver side to passenger side |
Engine:
While all this has been going on, I've been working on needed parts for the engine rebuild - which Wayne will also be doing for me. Another local good friend - John Towle - has been involved with the automotive performance industry for many years, and was kind enough to help me get some great parts and great prices ...
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| Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads and water pump |
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| "Petey approved" MSD distributor and ignition |
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| Newly introduced MSD electronic fuel injection - which will "look like a traditional carborator but give modern reliability & performance!" |
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| COMP Cams cam and timing gear and Stage 8 exhaust fasteners |
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| ARP bolts and COMP Cam lifters |
Great aftermarket parts and a skilled engine builder should make the targeted 350-ish horsepower a piece of cake!
Other stuff ....
Decided to do a hydraulic clutch instead of the "stock" clutch operated cable. Should make clutch operation much smoother and much more reliable - since there'll be no cable that can break! A clutch master cylinder (originally was to be one of the "stock" non-power brake master cylinders has been install in the pedal box has been installed in the driver side foot box.
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| Installed pedal box and clutch master cylinder |
That's it for now.
I really ought to be able to speed up the build now that the brake and fuel lines are behind me.
The kit will be one year old on 23 September and Carol's birthday is 3 August, and she'd really like to take a ride to the local In-n-Out in the Cobra for a burger on her b-day!
Which should be do-able is I get my act together!
Stay tuned!
