Progress on #782

[mickmate]

That's a bugger Dan, it's almost time to leave the ratchet in rightey tightey hang in there. I have a box of old expansion tanks that are useless other than a date coded bracket, go new is my advice.

[lippy]

Dan - ERA has nice expansion tanks, but they're pricey (I think $550). I ordered mine from then and painted with Eastwood two-part epoxy primer, and now I'm finishing it with gloss black enamel. Hopefully it doesn't leak.

[cscobra]

I have ERA's tank. No leaks so far (750 miles). Looks good, too.

[mickmate]

You've got options.............
Search Results : Acton Custom Enterprises, Custom Metal for Cobras

[DanEC]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to check with the local radiator shop first on the expansion tank. It's only a pinhole right in the solder joint so I'm hoping it's an easy fix. But, if he says its an iffy thing then I'll get a new one. I took a chance buying it used but the forum member said he pressure tested it and thought it was good. You never know for sure.

Nick - have you had some of your tanks installed on an ERA with an FE? I know ERA has specific heigth dimensions in their manuals for use in swapping the tank around for a Cobra. Mine is right on their dimension and appears to have about 3/8 in clearance at best.

Dan

[kevins2]

Hi Dan,

I have the ERA tank and have test fit it. The issue with an FE is that it will rest against the distributor cap, unless you have the narrow diameter cap. I didn't want that so am using a standard cap on an MSD distributor. Doug at ERA indicated the tanks are pretty tough and can be "tweaked" with a pry bar enough to move it away from the distributor cap. Tweaking it a bit would make it look every so slightly crooked. Although I'm probably the only one who would every notice it, my preference was to use a spacer to move the entire tank out a bit. I took the easy way out since I don't have the proper tools for metal fabrication and ERA made a 3/8" spacer for me.

Let me know if photos would help - not sure what path you're taking with this.

Regards,

Kevin

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Hi Dan,

I have the ERA tank and have test fit it. The issue with an FE is that it will rest against the distributor cap, unless you have the narrow diameter cap. I didn't want that so am using a standard cap on an MSD distributor. Doug at ERA indicated the tanks are pretty tough and can be "tweaked" with a pry bar enough to move it away from the distributor cap. Tweaking it a bit would make it look every so slightly crooked. Although I'm probably the only one who would every notice it, my preference was to use a spacer to move the entire tank out a bit. I took the easy way out since I don't have the proper tools for metal fabrication and ERA made a 3/8" spacer for me.

Let me know if photos would help - not sure what path you're taking with this.

Regards,

Kevin

Hi Kevin

I suspect you are discussing an MSD distrib & cap? I'm using a stock Ford dual point and I have enough room on mine. The tank was off of an older ERA car I believe, but I don't think it's an ERA tank.

thanks

Dan

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Hi Kevin

I suspect you are discussing an MSD distrib & cap? I'm using a stock Ford dual point and I have enough room on mine. The tank was off of an older ERA car I believe, but I don't think it's an ERA tank.

thanks

Dan

Hi Dan,

That's correct, I'm using MSD. You have a different set-up so my configuration probably isn't helpful.

Regards,

Kevin

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Hi Dan,

That's correct, I'm using MSD. You have a different set-up so my configuration probably isn't helpful.

Regards,

Kevin

The old points distributors are pretty compact (maybe shorter too) than the modern MSD distributors.

I took the tank down to the radiator shop that re-cored my 67 GTX radiator and he thought it looked to be pretty solid. When I asked if he thought it was practical to repair it, he said - "Sure, it's just copper and solder". He was going to vat it overnight and work on it today so we will see.

[mickmate]

It's brass, steel and solder ;-)

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by mickmate

It's brass, steel and solder ;-)

Right - it was painted - he didn't pick up on the mount.

He had some difficulty with it as it held pressure fine when they tested it but after a little scaping at the solder joint where the paint had lifted they found a minute crack in it and resoldered that area. That jives with the story of the member whom I bought it from - he said he pressure tested it and it held pressure fine. Now I have a mess of half-way removed paint to clean up so I can re-prime and paint it. I think I'm going to chuck it in my cabinet and glass bead it off.

If I have trouble with it again it will be time to spring for a new one.

I disassembled the leaking girling brake can yesterday and put it back together with Permatex no. 2. I have a drawer full of different sealants, gasket makers, specialty adhesives, etc, but of course none of them say anything about compatibility with brake fluid. Couldn't bring myself to use Seal All as it looks like model cement to me but i know some have used it for this. Filled it up with brake fluid last night to let it sit overnight and see if it is holding tight.

[mickmate]

Hey Dan it is common for them to get vibrated, cracked and leak around either end of the tube elbow. Original Cobra tanks used gussets on the steel angle bracket to help with that. If you check my cooling system page you'll see one picture showing the gussets and another with them in place. The gussets make it a little harder to get to the tube but the increased longevity is worth it.

[lippy]

Dan,
You may not want to blast it. I recently had to remove some epoxy paint from my expansion tank that it turns out wasn't actually epoxy so it didn't adhere well. I used this Klean-Strip 18-oz. Stripper-ESR72 at The Home Depot and the paint came right off. This stuff doesn't smell, but it is really strong so you obviously need to be careful. I then repainted the tank with Eastwood epoxy primer Amazon.com: Eastwood 2K Aero-Spray Epoxy Primer Black: Automotive and a final coat of standard Rustoleum gloss black enamel. It turned out pretty good.

[DanEC]

Lippy - that looks really nice. I've already bead blasted it and got it back down to bare copper (and steel). Some of the stuff that was on it was pretty tough. I have some Duplicolor Engine Primer and Gloss Black Engine paint that I think I'm going to use. I used Eastwood gloss black radiator paint on it earlier but there isn't any reason for using it on an expansion tank.

Thanks

[cscobra]

1). DanEC--you might want to consider having the stripped tank checked again before you paint it.

2). Kevins2--at some point, check to make sure you have hood clearance with that 3/8" spacer in place. It is really tight in there. It should fit, but better to make sure ahead of time instead of at the end.

[King- cobra]

I just put a 1/2 spacer on my expansion tank on ERA 706 with no problems and it make it much easier.

[lippy]

Originally Posted by King- cobra

I just put a 1/2 spacer on my expansion tank on ERA 706 with no problems and it make it much easier.

Did you make the spacer?

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by cscobra

1). DanEC--you might want to consider having the stripped tank checked again before you paint it.

2). Kevins2--at some point, check to make sure you have hood clearance with that 3/8" spacer in place. It is really tight in there. It should fit, but better to make sure ahead of time instead of at the end.

Thanks Cscobra, I just got the engine in over the weekend so will bolt that on and check it out tomorrow evening. Appreciate the tip.

Regards,

Kevin

[King- cobra]

I took one of the flanges that come on the tank and used a extra flange as a spacer.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Thanks Cscobra, I just got the engine in over the weekend so will bolt that on and check it out tomorrow evening. Appreciate the tip.

Regards,

Kevin

Kevin,

I was just getting ready to send you a PM to see if you got it in. We need pictures now.

Dan