Hello all,
Happy New Year to you,
I hope everybody enjoyed some down time to spend with friends and or family or just out in the garage, whatever makes you happy.
Myself, I had a nice blend and yes it did involve some time in the wired woodshed, progress, progress
SO first I wanted to report that I did pick up a nice fresh hood skin molding, sans scoop, for my project.
I was trying to work out having a relative pick it up for me when they were in the area but I was just not going to work out so my wife and I turned it into a nice day trip to Nappanee, Ontario.
We picked up the hood from a nice fellow named Marty Broeders who was one of the original guys involved with Johnex cobras along with the chassis supplier ( CSC) and John Leliever.
Marty was the guy who did all the molds and bodies, and still has the molds in his yard and shop.
He is involved in making other stuff these days, drag car and boat stuff but recently did a coupe body for someone and has a roadster chassis on a jig in the shop. I also had a look at his own in very nice in progress coupe project on the hoist.
A really great and interesting guy, I wish we had met sooner and I hope our paths cross again someday.
I tried the hood skin on my body when I got home, I had him just leave it rough around the edges. It will need a bit of work to get a better body gap but so will the boot lid. I like it, and think it is more in line with what I had in mind for this car.
So in other breaking news
I got down to really working on the brake system, yes I had figured out the rotors and pedal stuff and had some thoughts about the other bits but I decided that while everything else was out of the way and the suspension and hubs were on the chassis I should try and deal with it.
I mocked up some stuff with the parts and pieces I already had and then made another order from Moss for the other stuff I needed.
I am trying to keep this simple and kind of period correct so weird British stuff was the order of the day.
First up the front calipers, I am running the MGB uprights and MGBV8 rotors; they fit without any modifications and look correct too.
The main difference is they are thicker than the regular MGB rotor so that might have a bit of an advantage as far as heating up and holding their shape.
So after a bit of searching and coming up empty (MGbV8 calipers are NLA) figure I have 2 options, first a modified stock MGB caliper and second, some other possibly Triumph? caliper and a custom mounting.
I am really trying to stick to readily available stock type parts and honesty MGB brake pads are easily available and in several flavors.
So currently I have decided to go with option one. The MGB caliper needs a bit of extra clearance to make the thicker rotor happier and a minor adjustment to bring it back to center on the rotor and both were accomplished with my little mill, easier said than done but I am very happy with the fit.
I am sure some among you are going to tell me this will not work, and you may be right
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I know the current trend is to but huge vented rotors and big willwood calipers but really this is just a road car not a race car so I am not really concerned about rotors overheating, brake pads gassing, fade etc.
Check the specs yourself, the 289 is about the same size and weight as an MGB and their brake disc / drum brake combo was adequate for them, not great, but adequate
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Yes the 289 has more power but that only applies to acceleration, kinetic energy is what factors in when we talk about braking and that is about the same.
So I am going to try this combo and see if it works, as it was explained to me years ago,
"the biggest limiting factor in most brake systems is the tires….. if you can lock up the wheels the problem is not with the brakes."
Now if a find I can’t reliably stop the car and/or lock the wheels I do have a problem
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At which time I will look at either different bigger calipers or possibly one of the MGB /Willwood rotor and brake kits but to be honest I really don’t like the look of them.
The rear end is a bit more straight forward, I think. The uprights and hubs are from a 95 Cougar ( T bird/ Lincoln) so I am sticking with off the shelf Ford parts back there. The rotors are solid, from a 2000ish Taurus and in the end I am using the Cougar calipers with a couple of spacers.
Nice and easy ( I hope) , The rotors more closely match the era of the car (solid) and the combo is more than adequate for this car, the 95 Cougar was a bit of a pig at about 3600 pounds!
My real concern is too much brake power in the rear but until I test it I won’t know for sure. If I need to I can possibly adjust the swept area or add an adjustable proportioning valve inline.
So with the 4 corners sorted for now, I need to run some lines, first I figured out where I needed to anchor the flex lines I had selected and then route the hard lines between the various parts.
I have tried to keep the distribution points somewhat accurate and then concerned myself with the lines not interfering with anything else, being adequately supported and looking neat!
I just love the look of those old style British fittings!
You probably noticed I also ran the clutch line while I was at it, same rules applied.
So that’s it for now, I will post again soon.
Stay warm my friends!
Hudson
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