Loud Pipes and Fuel pump

Yes another lengthy wait since my last update, all i can say in my defence is that i never really set a time scale for this project... which is lucky! Also funds are a little tight at the moment so i haven't had as much spare at the end of each month as i wanted.



However the illusive Edelbrock fuel pump arrived (took easily 2 months from order) This is now in suite to replace the blanking plate that was fitted from the engine supplier. It is mounted to an thin adapter plate which is bolted directly to the block. There is a long metal rod that slides up into the depth of the engine which operates the pump via a cam shaft lobe.

As you can see from the picture that i will be removing the pump again as i will need to rotate the "line in" and "line out" feeds as so they don't/wont foul the inside of the wheel on full lock. I'm also replacing the "line out" with a 90° union to help re-rout the line from pump to carb.

 I have also picked up my side pipes and manifolds from AK, these are the latest 5" pipes that are absolutely mega. they look (IMO) seriously cool and ironically they can be fairly cool to touch after a hard drive..... seriously i went out for a blast about in the AK demo car with these pipes fitted and when we returned i could easily touch the pipe without burning myself. The headers and tail piece will still get stupid hot so i will have to watch that.

The exhausts are fitted via two brackets bolted to the underside of the chassis to support each sidepipe with a cotton bobbin (engine mount) between pipe and bracket.

The manifolds are slightly harder to fit as they are specific to each side of the engine, and take some fetteling to align the fixing bolts to the heads.

As with a fair few jobs on the AK kit, there are not many jobs that you can do once and be happy with. When fitting my manifolds the HT lead from one of the spark plugs is in contact with the manifold down pipe. This will cause problems, as the manifold will get fricken hot and basically melt the lead and in turn create all sorts of nasty running issues.

As you can see in the picture this is way to close for comfort. It also will not allow me to remove the leads when the manifold is fitted... so that would involve removing the sidepipe and manifold just to service the car and change the plugs.... need a solution!!!

After speaking with AK, Jon said its not uncommon for this to happen, just means i have to remove the manifold and heat up the pipe causing the obstruction (red heat) then flatten out a little. So this is something I'll have to do once my neighbour has got some more oxy gas. I will also be fitting a protective sleeve over the rubber boot, which "according to the manufacturers" can be touching the pipe and it will not transmit the heat to the lead or create firing issues? I'm only fitting them as a safety precaution as even after i have flattened the pipe a little it will still be close!

As you can see the headers of the pipes fit to the manifolds using a slip fit. There has been a thread on the Cobra forum lately about these slip joins leaking, this will obviously be IVA/MOT fails. But considering i still haven't had my engine running yet, its not an issue....yet!

I have also placed an order for some gauge senders and all the relevant adapters with pressure switch. So technical once these are fitted i can do a test fire of the engine!!! that is something to look forward to. I could test fire now without the oil pressure switch, and gauges however this is stupid risk with such an expensive engine. I need to be able to see whats going on as its running so that i can shut down if any problems occur, and potentially risk destroying my engine.

So come back in the next 6 months and I'll have fitted the new fuel union. LOL seriously i must warn you that i have been robbed of a wad of cash for a bloody holiday for 2 weeks in September, so this will slow progress down even more!! LOL

Messing with my body

Well with progress being made on the chassis, and with a few jobs left to do like prop shaft and clutch line, it was time to start paying some attention to the body. With the way things are going i think I'll be trial fitting the body along with exhausts before i test fire the engine. not a perfect situation, but it also means i can pressure test my brakes and clutch with the pedal box being in suite.

First job was the heater box. This is from a mk2 VW Polo. I am doing things differently to the AK build manual here as it will make things easier... i think. Current IVA regulation states that air drawn in through the heater must not come from within the engine bay. So this will involve fitting some ducting to the intake of the heater back through into the cockpit of the car. As you can see in the picture above the heater is mounted, i had to cut a hole in the bulkhead to allow the air through the matrix and into the car.

The AK build manual advises to fit the heater opposite to how i have done it. (picture above the heater motor on the other side flipped over 180) This is because the heater is made with a angled lip which allows easy mounting to the angle of the bulk head. I took advice on clearance to the bell housing and have removed this lip  with my dremel (see picture left) for a few reasons. Main one being that the heater hoses are now on the same side as they are on the engine, so it will make for easier routing of the heater hoses when i get to that. And also because its advised to have the intake ducting fitted to the motor side, as so that the air is drawn past the motor and will help keep it cool. I may also take an air intake from the heater hose side also, most people just blank this off, but it is the bigger intake so will aid airflow if i use it.

On the cockpit side of the car you can now see the heater matrix. This is where the air is blown through and as the air passes through the fins it is heated by the hot engine water in the matrix and hey presto hot air blowing onto the screen to de-mist... should i ever need it?? On this side is fitted a fiberglass box section to seal the unit and rout the air flow to the relevant place. I intend to just lock the temp control valve to open (Hot) as it will very rarely be used as the car will be a spring/summer drive only. However if i change my mind i can easily sort out a control gauge wire.. this will clutter up the dashboard more so not interested at the moment.

I have also trial fitted the pedal box, checking for a good fit with no clearance issues. All seems to be ok, but i will need to get longer bolts for the clutch master cylinder, as the bulk head is fairly thick.

And on the engine side of the body the brake servo and clutch master cylinder are mounted neatly. All will need to be removed again to make hose connections and to peel off the protective film of the stainless steel engine bay cladding, but they fit as they should do and can now stay until a trial fit of the body which i hope to be fairly soon!!!

Its getting HOT in here!!!

Well i haven't really got a massive amount of stuff to do on the chassis, until the pick up of my exhausts etc... and i am still awaiting delivery of my fuel pump from Roadcraft (ordered 6 weeks ago) they advertise the item on line as being in stock (and still are doing) yet they apparently have non and are waiting for them to be delivered from the USA. Starting to get a little miffed now!!!

Anyway i received my radiator and cooling hoses so i set about doing a quick trial fit and checking for any potential issues. All seems to be fairly straight forward allowing me to mark up the position for the header tank and fix into place on the chassis cross member using a couple of good old rivnuts.

The initial fit looks ok, however the little overflow hose from the header to the top of the radiator has a massive internal diameter and IMO will never be able to compress the amount it needs to in order to create a seal. So i think this i will have to change this. Also the bottom hose to the water pump is very close to the front brake pipe T piece, this will touch with the engine vibration, and road bumps, so some more playing there to allow a better fit.

I've spent most of today basically ticking off the snagging list. eg. my rear hubs were ABS hubs and because ABS is for homosexuals and i have removed the ABS toothed ring and sensor it has left a hole in the side of the hub where the sensor would have gone. So I've made up a couple of alloy sheet plugs that screw nicely into place and with a little instant gasket to seal them they should now stop any water ingress into the hub and mixing with my bearings.

Other little jobs i have done is wire lock the bolts for the inner pivot rear wishbone carrier, this is one of those jobs that i wish i had have done when it was first put on and torqued up. i had to take off the protective plate from under the diff and fiddle about trying to get the lock wire through the holes and twisted up... fiddly but glad I've done it.
 I've also checked the camber again of my rear wheels and lock tight the drive shaft nuts to final drive studs. I'm still uneasy about how many shim's i have had to use to achieve the required tolerance however job done. This is another job that took time because it basically involved stripping the rear shocks/springs and getting everything level, removing wheels and just bloody tedious really.

Coming next will hopefully be the prop shaft, which i will need to get shortened and balanced. and also i still need to order and fit my clucth line and unions.

I'm still Alive!!!!!

Well its been some time since i last updated my blog.... a very long time. I would love to say that I've been busy working on the Cobra and that progress is coming along nicely, but I'd be lying apart from the odd weekend tinker progress has been little to none.

However i attended the National Kit car show at Stoneleigh over the May bank holiday and I'm determine to use this better weather we are having and make some progress on the Cobra.

So after a little messing about and sorting i have mounted the fuel filter. I  was initially going to mount an electronic fuel pump at this point, however my plans have now changed and I'm reverting back to a mechanical fuel pump off the engine block. Mostly this is to save space and reliability, electric fuel pumps can be noisy and on my chassis will take up space that is not available.

As you will see on the image beside that i had to drill two 10mm holes in the chassis along the inside leg, to allow me to insert two rivnuts for the mounting of the filter bracket. Not as easy as it should have been, as the gearbox was in the way, however they are in and secure so job done.

The bracket was butchered from an old fuel pump bracket, and with some cutting to the top to allow clearance for the assembily bolts on the filter. All looks good.
I have decided to run 10mm (3/8") internal diameter fuel line from tank to carb, so i have re ordered some fuel unions along with my new Edelbrock performance mechanical fuel pump.

Unfortunately i have received an e-mail saying the pump is not in stock and will be some weeks before i recive it..... balls up to my weekend in the garage.

I have removed the blanking plate of the engine block, and apart from an initial test run i was surprised at how much crud was behind the plate, so a bit of cleaning up and now ready and waiting for my fuel pump to be delivered. 

I have also took the plunge and ordered my exhausts and manifold headers from AK. These will be ready in July when i attend an open day that AK are holding so two birds one stone and all that jazz. They have taken one hell of a punch to the old budget, but these will be the newer 5" pipes as opposed to the older 4"...... Bigger is better!!! Fact!!!!

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