First Pics of ERA #795

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lippy

The car looks incredible. Great job.

I have a portable bottle of Halotron and am trying to decide whether to mount it where you did, or toward the front of the tunnel, behind the vertical tubes. If it is on the tunnel, people may be less tempted to screw with it when parked.

Put it between the seats, on top of the tunnel, right under your elbow. It makes for a perfect arm rest with your palm on the shifter. <seriously>

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by lippy

The car looks incredible. Great job.

I have a portable bottle of Halotron and am trying to decide whether to mount it where you did, or toward the front of the tunnel, behind the vertical tubes. If it is on the tunnel, people may be less tempted to screw with it when parked.

Hi Lippy,

Thanks, much appreciated. I've seen extinguishers mounted under the dash but I have a heater so not an option for me.

Regards,

Kevin

[lippy]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Put it between the seats, on top of the tunnel, right under your elbow. It makes for a perfect arm rest with your palm on the shifter. <seriously>

Sounds like a good suggestion. Maybe I would aim the nozzle toward the passenger though

[kevins2]

Update on the car:

When I installed the engine, it was possible to move it forward and back a bit in the slotted chassis mounts to get the side pipes centered in the body opening. Had it looking good but after driving it a bit, the engine found its own sweet spot and the driver's side was a bit closer to the back of the body cut-out and ever so slightly singed the paint (you can see in the first photo where it singed the paint on the upper portion of the trailing edge of the opening). After consulting with ERA, the recommended procedure is to enlarge the opening. I enlarged it about 1/4 inch and managed to make a nice straight, clean edge with no damage to the paint. I then touched up the inside edge with primer and paint and it came out perfectly. The first photo shows the opening taped off where I wanted to enlarge it, the second shows it cut out up to the tape and the third shows the result.







The next milestone was the inspection, which was uneventful. The car passed and the paperwork has been submitted to the State so I'm now waiting to receive the VIN plate and tag.

I'm currently dealing with a couple of setbacks. One is an oil leak at the back of the intake manifold. This was discussed in another thread but essentially, I'm trying to stop the leak with ultra-gray RTV. Tried "Right Stuff" but that didn't stop the leak. I'll report more on this once I have time to work on it.

The second setback is a bad bearing in the rearend assembly where the half-shaft connects to the differential. There is supposed to be a bit of play at the hub, but the inner end of the shaft shouldn't have any play at all. In the short video below, you can see the problem. It is easiest to see by watching the play in the brake rotor.

Rear loose - YouTube

So, I've removed the gas tank and rear assembly and then removed the half-shaft, lower coil-over mounts and brake caliper to get to the inner bearing assembly. Either the bearing was defective or the nut that secures it was not torqued properly by the vendor that assembled it for ERA. The nut is still secured with the retaining ring, so it hasn't moved. Regardless, I've shipped this back to ERA and they will rebuild it for me.
Below is a photo of the offending bearing.



Although I'm not happy about this since I bought the car with the rear assembled and installed, there is a bright side. I've learned a lot about this part of the car so when it's all done I'll be pleased to have gained the knowledge and experience. And, as they always do, ERA is doing everything possible to help me through this so I appreciate that.

Kevin

[Murky781]

Car looks great Kevin! Lots of little gremlins to work out in the immediate future, but it's all worth it! Looking forward to seeing it someday at Carlisle maybe, and doing some cruising down your way. Keep playing with it and you'll have it ready by Spring. Good luck, Murray

[lippy]

What tool did you use to cut the opening? It looks good.

[kevins2]

Thanks Lippy,

I was very pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I used a rotary tool and bought a cutting attachment for this job. However, I then found that a medium grit drum sanding attachment worked better and the larger diameter of the drum sander was perfect for the corners. I used a half-round file a bit as well, but that was very minimal. I used a higher speed until getting close to the tape and then a slower speed for the finish. It was considerably easier than I expected. In fact, taking the sidepipe off and on was a bigger pain.

Kevin

[DanEC]

Very nice job Kevin. Taking those slip joint collectors apart are a pain. I'm using the recommended Walker sealer on mine but I don't think it makes it easier to take them apart.

Dan

[kevins2]

Hi Dan,

I also used Walker's acousti-seal. I don't think it made it any easier to take apart either and had to clean off the hardened sealer for reassembly. But, I'm sure it prevents exhaust leaks. The sidepipe did go on much easier the second time.

Kevin

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by Murky781

Car looks great Kevin! Lots of little gremlins to work out in the immediate future, but it's all worth it! Looking forward to seeing it someday at Carlisle maybe, and doing some cruising down your way. Keep playing with it and you'll have it ready by Spring. Good luck, Murray

Hi Murray,

Thanks, if I get the car sorted out by then, Carlisle is a good possibility. I was thinking about you during this project as I used your shop crane to lift and turn the rear assembly upside down to work on it...thanks again!

Kevin

[kevins2]

The bearing assembly came back from ERA Friday and I got the rearend back together and installed in the car. Since I had the gas tank out, I put foam rubber insulation on the top. Even though I haven't heard any noise like others have reported, the trunk floor was flexing a good bit. I used a double layer of 1 1/4" x 7/16" insulation. It compresses easily so not forcing anything and it took all the flex out of the trunk. The floor is now nice and solid. I still need to bleed the rear brakes and put the cockpit back together and I'll be in forward motion again.

Also, my tag, title, registration and VIN plate came in the mail, so its a "real" car now. Too bad we got 5" of snow today. It's going to be a long winter - guess I have plenty of time to finish up the little things.

Kevin

[DanEC]

Kevin - sounds like you are on the final leg of the adventure. Too bad about winter. I'm tired of it already.

Dan

[GBowman]

Winter is definitely here Kevin, snowing once again as I write this (also why I am home and not at work in Philly so I can't complain too much). Congrats on getting to the "nit-picky" phase. Once the weather warms it would be nice to get some of the cars from your area as well as here in SJ (there are a few around here but I dont see many SJ guys on the CC forum???) together for a run. Im not familiar with any events around here are you? Mr Mustang surely would know...

[kevins2]

Hi Gary,

Yes, I just need to get an alignment done and I'll be ready to venture out. As for events, I've heard of a monthly breakfast gathering in NJ and a covered bridge run but am not familiar with other events in the area. I'm sure the locals will chime in and get us involved.

[kevins2]

Well, since they salted the roads before I got the rearend assembly back in, not much to do on the car until I can get some miles on it. So, I've been knocking out a couple of small projects. The first was the fire extinguisher bracket. I mounted the extinguisher temporarily with the bracket that came with it, but it used rubber bungies to hold it in place, so not vehicle rated. Didn't find a bracket I liked but found some nice stainless steel quick-release clamps, so I modified the bracket to use the clamps and painted it black.






Another project was to put a clock in the car. I always like having a clock but didn't want to clutter up the dash so didn't order one with the car. Instead, I bought a 52mm Smiths clock to match the gauges and made my own enclosure - covered it with black vinyl to match the dash. I made a bracket that clips to the front edge of the tunnel and holds it firmly with no screws or holes drilled. So, if I ever sell the car and the new owner doesn't like the clock there, it can be easily removed without a trace.








Oh, and from an earlier post, ERAChas recommended upgrading the shoulder harnesses to 3". I happen to know that Santa is bringing me a set of Crow harnesses to replace the narrower straps. Thanks for the recommendation ERAChas - they will look a lot better and, although I hope never to need them, I'm sure they would be easier on the body in an accident.

[DanEC]

Kevin - nice job on the clock. Looks great. Ain't winter a bummer?

Dan

[ERA Chas]

...and order a set of pads for the upper straps. Your passengers will like you for it and it allows the harnesses to be made TIGHT. You don't want the torso to have slack in the belts-only arm movement. Keeps you in the sea better too.

Oh and if you switch to eyebolts in the bulkhead and floor, with clips on the belts, it's cake to snap them in and out for maintenance or work.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

...and order a set of pads for the upper straps. Your passengers will like you for it and it allows the harnesses to be made TIGHT. You don't want the torso to have slack in the belts-only arm movement. Keeps you in the sea better too.

Uhhh, looks like you just cut the ends out of a couple of tube socks, if you ask me....

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

...allows the harnesses to be made TIGHT. You don't want the torso to have slack in the belts-only arm movement. Keeps you in the sea better too.

Actually, driving around here with really tight shoulder harnesses is a bit of a dilemma. The most likely impact scenario, aside from me screwing up and crashing on my own, is a deer collision. Not being able to duck or move sideways would be a bad thing if a 300 lb. deer was coming through the windshield. My last daily driver was totaled in a deer collision, so I can only imagine how the Cobra would fare. Harnessed in tightly, a deer could literally take your head off. Ugly thoughts, but since it already happened to another of my cars, it is something I think about.

All these winding, hilly country roads will be awesome driving in the Cobra, but those damn deer do put a damper on the safety issue.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Kevin - nice job on the clock. Looks great. Ain't winter a bummer?

Dan

Hi Dan,

Yes it certainly is. In the past, I've not minded winter and enjoyed going skiing. This year I just want to play with my new toy, but can't

Regards,

Kevin