Time to add the power!!

Well its been very slow lately, not that I'd lost interest, but funds were tight and time was also not on my side. But after some money saved to order things like fuel pump, filter, fuel line, unions etc...i decided to take the plunge and drop the engine and gearbox in.

This was thanks to a loan of the engine hoist from
"Simon R" who luckily had invested in one when he got his GD build started. I did have some trouble aligning the gearbox to the block, as this involved removing the bell housing and fitting of the clutch arm and throw out bearing..... a simple task, or so i thought. Due to lack of experiance on this before i was just following instructions and clipping the thrower bearing into the end of the clutch arm and thus onto the pivot point on the bell housing. This did not allow the gearbox splined shaft to mate with the engine as the bearing was sat at an angle against the clutch springs.

So after some calls about and forum questions i eventually started browsing YouTube, then i saw a video informing me that the thrower bearing had to sit in the retaining clip on the arm, as opposed to behind it like i had done...problem solved and gearbox and engine became one.

So with the weather on my side for this time of year i rolled the chassis out, and lifted the rear end as high as i could on the axle stands, this aided the angle needed to get the gear selector in the correct position.

I wrapped a seriously heavy duty strap round the bulk of the block taking care it was not catching/scratching anything as it got tighter.

 Then with a single ratchet strap round the gearbox i was able to offer the block into position. With the gear selector now in the correct place, i could simply tighten the ratchet strap which lifted the gearbox and engine level, and then slowly drop down onto the mounts.

Everything went according to plan and now i have some much needed weight on the front end. this will now aid me in setting all the suspension tolerances and going back to basic to set all the torque settings for the everything fitted so far. so this will keep me busy over the winter, prior to an engine test fire.

This is a massive step forward to me, as it looks like its taking shape, and now when people look at it it looks like something big and shiny, rather than just a load of old jag bit bolted on some box section. I will be placing an order soon with AK for my exhaust manifolds, headers and side pipes so i wont expect much change from £2600 and with the VAT increase on the horizon i should do it before to annoy the tax man, but with the instrument gauges also need for a test run (best part of £500 also) i think I'll have to prioritise.... hmmm, watch this space!!

Stop.....Hammer time!!!!

Well I've been a little scared of this point to be fair. The brakes in my opinion are the single most important part of any car. Its all well being able to go fast and get to a top speed quickly, but it all counts for shit if you cant stop when Mr Honda pulls out from the golf club in front of you, without looking!!!

So after a couple of hours in the garage with the radio on, i have managed to strip down the handbrake calipers, rebuild them and tart them up a bit with some smooth hammerite. I had done a trial fit prior to paint finish, and i have replaced all the pads also. So i can leave them overnight to harden off and fit them tomorrow.

The next stage of the build is the brake lines, this has to be done properly, and cant be a half arsed gash job. So i have invested in a pipe flaring kit and some small pipe cutters. I haven't spent silly money, as it will be another one use tool as i shouldn't need to be replacing brake lines at any time in the near future of the car being finished.

So i went for it following the guide and have started on the front brake pipe connecting the two front calipers together. This involved drilling the chassis and fitting a "T"piece to split the line from the master cylinder to the two calipers. this was done using a riv nut, as i want to be able to get easy access to the lines in the future when at some point the lines will need replacing, and if they fail IVA i can rip them all off and start again.

So with the chassis drilled i have gone crazy with loads of waxoil in the box section, for two reasons 1. is to help prevent rust and water retention (but the chassis is sealed so would be very hard to get water vapor in) 2nd is that if by any chance my flares weep and fail IVA i will have to drill out the pop rivit heads on all the "P" clips to remove the brake pipe. This will then leave the body of the rivit rattling about in the box section of the chassis, so hopefully if i do need to do this the waxoil will give them something to stick to. (probably thinking to much into this, but i hate rattles and squeaks in cars, so I'm not taking the risk)

Now i have finished bending and flaring the brake pipe, as you can see on the picture right i have alot of securing to do using the little rubber P clips, these need to be rivited every 6" for IVA pass, I'll be doing it every 5" to be on the safe side, but i wont be doing any of them until just prior to the engine going in, as i don't want to start drilling holes in my chassis in the wrong place.

Now you can see i have fitted the handbrake calipers and rear brake lines, obviously lots of fine tuning to do with the handbrake when setup. Fingers crossed my brake flares don't weep!!!

Also have just offerd the fuel tank up and quickly secured, this is just to get some space back in the garage mostly, but will probs come off when i go round to check all the torque settings on the suspension setup.

Had my little helper also today, why don't AK make a chassis with ISOFIX ??? now that's an idea!!

Mini Me!!!

Well progress has been dire to be honest on the car. I firstly ordered brake flaring tools and a riv-nut gun so i could make a start on the brake lines etc.. however my better half has been cooking our first born since December and on Friday the 20th of August at 05:40 she gave birth to our son Edward William Johnson.

Weighing in at a superb 7lb 8oz and with all 5 fingers, 5 toes etc... he's absolutely perfect and will be in the garage with me in no time.

Unfortunately i can see the next few months being very slow with Cobra progression and then the winter is upon us so again the thermals will need to be dug out, but i will not give up and this is a FUN project, so deadlines and finish dates are not important, but the sooner the better.

So i can now add to my list of skills, as i have now changed my first nappy, and am learning in the joys of fatherhood....

i wounder if there is some amazing power tool that could help change a nappy??? i think an angle grinder might be a little harsh, and to secure one using pop rivets might have social knocking at the door.

Next update 2012!!!  hehe

Shim-shim-a-knee!!!!

Having some issues today setting the rear camber... i need to achieve a 0 - 1/4 degree negative camber by shimming out the drive shafts from the rear discs. i have achieved this on the one side, but have had to use 14 shims to do this, which i feel is along way off the original 3 shims used on the Jag and also not very safe.

Also to re-attach the drive shafts i can only get 3-4 threads of the nuts which is not correct in my opinion, as if these loosen or come off....its bye bye clean pants and hello truck/hedge/old man in a Honda etc...!!!!

There must be something that I'm missing, or i don't have my brain engaged today, because it just doesn't feel correct.

So I'll keep you posted on the outcome... Why does Jon at AK feel he doesn't need open on a Sunday. LOL i need his mobile number.

Keep On Rolling!!!

Well its been a while since and update, due to a number of issues. Firstly my laptop went tit's up, so i was waiting for the ipad launch before i replaced it. But after the launch i though they were gash, so bought a new PC. No sooner had i done this when a truck went of road next to my house, and took out the BT pole and everything with it, so no Internet for a while, and even after this had been repaired the broadband was dire so i got a new Hub also, which was balls. But after all that I'm back online and progressing with the build....slowly!!.

I have now got the diff in place along with all the rear drive shafts, wishbones etc... Nothing is set up yet regarding ride height, camber, castor etc... But I'm basically just knocking it up checking that I'm not going to have any issues further down the line (access to nipples, and shock adjustment) I intend to get all the angles and cambers set to the required amount, then once the block and box are dropped in and the chassis has some weight to it, check and set them again.

Now that the chassis is sat on 4 wheels its allot easier to move around, and has allowed me to roll out the garage and tidy up the mess i was accumulating around it.

I do have some concerns regarding setting of the camber angle. I have a gauge from AK which consists of a piece of paper and a plum line. This is very crude in my opinion, and is only as accurate as AK's printer, as if the center plum line is not parallel with the edge of the paper it was printed on it will always give a false reading. After some thought i posted on the CobraClub forum and have been advised of a gauge to make, that is allot more accurate and effective. I was also informed that the AK gauge could just be flipped round and the gauge should give the same reading + as it does -, and if not then use a average of the two readings.

I will when ready for IVA be getting all settings checked using more accurate equipment, as this will be allot better for the bumpsteer and tyre wear.

So the chassis is now rolling and getting towards the point when i need to be sorting out the brake lines and fuel lines. This again is another pain up the arse job, as i will need to borrow/rent/buy equipment for the flaring of the pipes and because i want to do this at my leasure it will probs mean buying. Time is something i have very little of, and even less in the next 8-10 weeks, as the arrival of Tommy Jn will take up whatever free time i do have.

I do have a few small fabricating jobs to do also before i get the chassis ready for the block. As you can see above, i have a hole in the diff for the speedo drive...I'm still not sure if I'm using this, or of the gearbox. I also need to get some plates made to cover the rear hub ABS sensors, this should be fairly easy to do, just keep my eyes peeled for some alloy in a skip, then get some bits cut to fit and sealed on.

Power time!!!

Well its way to early to start playing with engines, however due to the increasing dificulty finding a sound pre 93 block and solid Getrag gearbox i orded my power plant from BAE a while back. Unfortunatly this will mean it will be sat in my garage for a couple of months, however it arrived today and its bloody stunning...

So all tucked up in the corner of the garage, and awaiting me to pull my finger out and finish the rolling chassis so i can start to drop it in.



I'm like a kid at christmas.. hahaha

Now to call Ed at Ward to order my bits for the back end, then i'll make some propper progress.

Chassis build

Well I finally got a weekend in my garage...about fooking time!!! it was ment to be this weekend that my block and box was deliverd..however it wasn’t, due to issues with my gearbox. So I got my build manual and spanners and off I went. I had spent a full evening last week laminating all the pages of the build manual to help keep them clean and tidy.

I did have some issues getting some torque behind the lower and upper ball joint, this is because they are the later sealed type that just spin when tightened, but after some swearing and shouting got them tight to 50 lb torque setting

Although I have set the caster angle to 5.5 degrees I will be rechecking and setting once I have some weight on the chassis (engine gearbox)

Repeated the process for the offside, and managed to get the build wheels on. I am missing the top shock bolt, however this is easily sourced and fitted.

Now i have the front two build wheels on i will be able to lift the chassis at the rear, and wheel out the garage to get the engine and gearbox creat to the back..hopefully

Noisy Time!!!

Well i have had no free time to start getting stuck into the chassis, and with Edd from Ward still not having returned my rear hubs.. not a great deal i could do. So i concentrated more on getting ready for the engine delivery... but i couldnt as there has been issues with my block and delivery lead time has been put back again!.

Ian from BAE has sent me a video of my block running, which will be an awsome bit of kit when it gets here.



I had initial orderd a pre 1993, 2 bolt main, 350ci chevy, running alloy heads with carb, transfering the power through a Getrag box. Arround the date of the chassis delivery i recived a phone call from Ian at BAE, telling me that my engine was a 1968/69 early block but would require extra work on the end caps, so a slight delay. As an alternative he could offer me a 4 bolt block but would require more money.. after a quick think i decided to stick with the 2 bolt block as it was more than sufficient to run 350bhp... the 4 bolt is capable of alot more..so a little excessive for what i need....or so i thought.
  Called Ian begining of this week as Wed was delivery date, and more good and bad news. Bad new was that my gearbox was not selecting perfectly and another was being sourced which has delayed delivery yet again. But on a pluss side, i have been upgraded to the 4 bolt block free of charge, this now allows me massive tunning potential in the future (cams and carbs, could see me 450-475bhp) which might be nice, as i read alot of posts on the fourm of people who are looking for more power after they have compleated there build. I am only having this block built to 350bhp..as thats all i need (for now) so i should now be reciving both block and box on Sat 20th.

Engine spec.

Four bolt main Chevy block
Eagle balanced assembly,
Edlebrock alloy heads,
Edlebrock Torker II inlet manifold,
Edlebrock carburettor,
HEI performace electronic distributor,
Chrome 64 amp alternator,
Billet rose jointed tensioner,
High torque starter motor,
High flow water pump,
Edlebrock chrome rocker covers,
Edlebrock chrome air filter
Billet alloy pulleys

Chassis Time!!!

Well the long long wait has finaly paid off!!! I loaded the car up and went on my way down to AK for the chassis collection. Now with Audi wanting over £1800 to fit a tow bar to my A4 avant, and cost of trailler hire on-top, i decided to get the chassi deliverd by a fella who was recomended by Jon from AK. So after arranging details with him and a cost of £300 was agreed (fricken bargin) I still took a trip to AK to pick up some bits and exchange some parts (wishbones/drive shafts)

So with the kettle full, and the bacon ready, i called some mates and got them round to help with the lifting and shifting. Unfortunatly most of my mates are all alcoholics and with the delivery from Geroge being early doors i had to go and pick them all up, bar Simon who luckly for me wasnt drinking stupid amounts of beer the night prior.

So first off was the body, which was considrably lighter than i thought it would be... thank goodness. I only have limited space so the body was going to be stored by my veg patch in the front garden. This is not an ideal solution however its eather that, or left on the drive for the world and his wife to see.

So with the body sorted and under a tarp, onto the chassis. An amazing bit of kit... and bloody heavy. My garage is round the other side of the house and unfortunatly the 4x4 and trailer wouldnt get anywhere near, so it was good old muscle power, and carry it round to the garage along with all the extra bits i had orderd.

So now the serious build can start and hopefully progress on a weekly basis, so be sure to check here for updates and more of the build.

I like to cut things fine!!!

Well everyone thinks i'm insane attempting this build in a single garage, and they would be right. And i did initialy get some builders round to extend the back wall of my pokey garage to give me some extra room. But after one builder wanting over £1800, and one guy doing the whole "well i can do it, but it wont be easy... or cheep (and i dont rearly want to do it)." One bloke coming to have a look, then dissapiered of the face of the earth!!! hope he's ok. And one guy who said he could do it at a good price... but i lost his number.

Well with chassie collection on the 13th Feb, i though fook it, i'll have to manage with what i have....untill i get a knock on the door (lucky i was in) on the 20th Jan from John. He asked if i still wanted it doing to which i said yes, but he'll have to be quick as the chassie go's in, in a couple of weeks.... so he started Monday 25th and its now finished!!



Day 1. Blockwork start



Day 2. Blockwork finished


Day 3. Plywood roof ready for felt.


Day 4. Knock through and floor/Felt roof


Day 5. Clear away rubble and jobs a goodun.


Very pleased with his work, and have added much needed space to my build area (some where to store my block and box at least)