New Build - Brakes and wheels question

[CoyoteCobra]

Hi

I just recently received the body and frame. I didn't order the brakes from A&C as I want to run something bigger than 11" in the front. I am leaning towards a Wilwood kit with 12" rotors but there are a few different ones and they mention the hubs change the geometry slightly.

The wheels I am looking at are gray Bullitts in 17x9 and 17x10 with tire size of 245/45/17 and 315/35/17.

With all of that said, I'm interested to see what others have run for a wheel, tire, and brake configuration that works without rubbing on the body or suspension.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

[H-Rod]

Hello there!

I`m running the 11" brakes on my car.
I did swap out the GM metric single piston calipers on the front for the Wilwood single piston caliper. (don`t have the part# right this minute)
Kept the 11" rotors on the front.
For the rears, I kept the explorer 11" set up.
I`m also running manual brakes. (Corvette master cylinder from A&C)
I`ve had no braking issues at all. Matter of fact, I have yet to lock them up on the street. (My car is not a track car.)

As for the wheels, I`m running the 17" knockoffs from Bob Lacey at Vintage Wheel. (same tire size`s as yours. 245 & 315)
He was a little cheaper than going with Team III and his communication was better than Team III`s also.
Bob is familiar with A&C Cobra`s so he knew the proper backspacing and offsets for our car. I also purchased the lug covers and spinners. (He includes the lug nuts already)

With the above set up, there`s no clearance or rub issues at all.

I did notice your installing a second gen Coyote motor? I asked Joe T. about installing one of those in our cars and he says they don`t fit unless you do MAJOR frame modifications. That engine is too wide for our frames.
He said he had built one for a customer (per their request) but said it was an absolute pain in the you know what.

I took delivery of my kit in October 2015 and pulled it out of the garage under it`s own power in September of 2017.
I`d consider my build one of the more "recent" A&C builds here.

Any other questions, post `em up. Give us a day or 2 (or 3) and somebody will get back to you.

Mike

[CoyoteCobra]

Thank you for sharing some details on your build.

Before getting the Coyote I spoke to Joe and he mentioned that the Coyote build was rare.

The Coyote is quite wide. Today I sat the engine/trans assembly down on blocks in between the frame rails to see how things are going to work out. I roughly positioned it where it should go and it looks like it is going to be really close. This was just a quick mock up, but the front timing cover is going to be the tightest spot and has about 0.5" on each side. I'm hopeful that I will be able to get away without making major modifications to the frame.

I'm sure I will run into plenty of snags and appreciate the advice and tips shared by others.

[H-Rod]

When the time comes for you to really mount/install the engine in the frame PLEASE post up some pics.
I would like to see that.

[saltshaker]

I started with 11” rotors and Pinto front disc, Explorer reardisc and a Corvette MC....never liked the setup! It did not stop quick enough. I replaced it with Wilwood 12”rotors and 4piston calipers and used a Wilwood 7/8 MC....stops great, a Big difference and worth every penny.
Jon

[CoyoteCobra]

I will be sure to post pictures and explain my build as it progresses. My A&C build is probably a bit different since I'm using a Coyote. If there are lessons I learn during the build and parts that work to make the coyote fit, it would certainly make sense to share for others to consider during theirs.

Recently I assembled the Wilwood DynaLite front brakes, and I used Summit disk brakes for the rear. I finished bending and running most of my brake lines, and plan on sitting the body on the frame with the engine in place soon. By the measurements I made so far, the clearance with the foot boxes, headers, frame, and hood are going to make for some tight spaces.

I also need to order wheels and tires soon for the body placement. I'm still researching what sort of back spacing and offset others have run without significant rub.

[CoyoteCobra]

Originally Posted by saltshaker

I use 17x10.5" w 4.5bs and 315/35/17 tires on my A&C front rims are 17 x 9 with 4.5" bs

I found this in another thread and is exactly what I was looking for.

Are you still running that wheel/tire combo and happy with it? Any tire rub, or steering feel issues with the scrub radius?

Thanks

[CoyoteCobra]

H-Rod,

Thanks for the advice with Vintage Wheel. I recently ordered a set of wheels from him and the transaction went very smoothly. He was very familiar with the A&C and knew the exact wheels to get. I wish our A&Cs didn't require such ridiculous backspacing on the rear. It seems buying custom wheels was the only way and, in my opinion, a complete waste of money compared to how some other kits just use a slightly wider track at the WMS and can use widely produced wheels at a fraction of the cost.

Anyway, I have not had any time to work on the Cobra for the last couple of months, but it does currently have the body resting on the frame, engine and transmission are mounted, and I started putting the headers on. Making the cuts in the body is so nerve wracking.

I'll try to get some photos up at some point. The Coyote looks awesome in the engine bay and really fills it. I had to cut some small holes in the foot boxes to clear the valve covers. I plan on either re-glassing the holes with indents for the covers to clear, or I might use metal. Steering is going to be interesting with how wide this engine is, too.

Hopefully next month I'll be able to get back to it.

[H-Rod]

Congrats on the milestone!

You say you think the backspacing for wheels on our cars are outrageous, I think I`ve read over on the Factory Five forums that their wheel backspacing is like 6 1/2".

I still wanna see Coyote engine bay pics.

[CoyoteCobra]

I recently put the wheels with tires on the car and let it support its own weight off of the jack stands. It's nice to see it come along.


Here are a few pictures of the coyote and a test fit of resting the body on the frame. These pictures are before I mounted the engine. I need to get some better pictures to illustrate the challenges with the foot boxes vs. valve covers and headers, and my alternator relocation.

The passenger side header clearance isn't too bad but the drivers is a pain. In order to get the driver header on I have to either remove the studs from the head, or take out the trans mount and drop the trans a bit to rotate the engine. It is a really tough squeeze.


I'm going to try to get some pictures of this but the alternator was another challenge. There is less than 5" on either side between the block and the radius arms/brackets. The stock alt location on the coyote hangs way out and wouldn't fit by a mile (or 6 inches). There are Coyote swap kits available from a few different vendors that relocate the factory alternator where it is pointing towards the rear of the car and almost as high as the water pump. I didn't want to go this route because I really don't like how it looks, and the prices I saw for these items were just outrageous for some simple brackets.

I ended up getting a compact GM unit modified for a single wire 80a output and mounted it on the pass side of the engine. I used one of the timing cover bolts for the lower alt mount. One of the problems I ran into with this is that the bolt hole in the timing cover is about 10MM, but it uses a M8 bolt to go through the cover and into the block. I should have taken some pictures of this before I put it together but the concern I had was that the approx 110mm long bolt, without supporting the shoulder through the timing cover, would put a great deal of leverage against the bolt and threads of the block. I used a 10x8mm bushing to sleeve the timing cover down to 8mm. It also protrudes from the cover and into the alternator's 10mm bolt hole. So the bushing is snugly supporting the shoulder of the bolt while also acting as a dowel to help locate alt. The upper mount was straight forward and made a simple strut/brace that uses one of the bolts previously used for a tensioner. I'm pretty happy with how this came out and like the look of having the alt tucked neatly away vs. the reverse mount.



Engine and trans assembly sitting on a pallet. I hate the look of the raw plastic so I painted the manifold, valve covers, and coil covers. The TR3650 is painted Ford Blue.



Test fit with the body resting on the frame.







The manifold is slightly visible in the scoop.

[H-Rod]

Pictures aren`t showing up for me.

[CoyoteCobra]

I just re-posted the pictures and then when I click on the thumbnails it displays a web page error. The thumbnails work, but to see the larger picture I think you need to look at my album.

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by H-Rod

Pictures aren`t showing up for me.

They weren't for me yesterday, but now they are?

[CoyoteCobra]

Yeah I'm not sure what happened with the pictures. I can see them when I look at the threat right now but I had to remove the links to the photo album as it was creating some strange errors.

The next phase of the project is getting the hinges mounted to the doors and putting the cowl brace and windshield in.

[H-Rod]

O.K.
I see them now.

Holy cow is that thing shoehorned in there!

[PNJSNAK]

Good luck with the hoop and doors
Take your time
Everyone with the kit say this is the hardest
I found I had to grind down the fiberglass in the floor where the hoop bolts down in order for it to square up
Some guys said they even cut the hoop to make things fit.
Jim

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by CoyoteCobra

Yeah I'm not sure what happened with the pictures. I can see them when I look at the threat right now but I had to remove the links to the photo album as it was creating some strange errors.

The next phase of the project is getting the hinges mounted to the doors and putting the cowl brace and windshield in.

That's good. Now keep the pics coming.

[rcobrakit67]

The doors were definatly the hardest part for me. Make sure you don't take for granted anything is symmetric on the fiberglass. When I drilled the holes for the door hinges I marked the drill bit for depth on one door. The other door was not as deep and when I put the bolts in one bottomed out and cracked the door gel coat. I'm still kicking myself for that one.

[ofpd0160]

Saltshaker, are you utilizing the pedal assembly from A & C?

[saltshaker]

Yes, easy to work with. Also was able to weld a bracket to support the steering column....I made my own steering column with a VE turn signal.
Jon