Ownership Log – ERA#2124

[Fullchat289]

Old Man Winter has made himself known here in the NE and the salt has now been cast on the roads, so time to put the Cobra in the basement and free up a spot in the garage for the STi. I’ve got a plan to attend SAAC 37 at Watkins Glen this year in June, so I’ve been pulling together my task list of things to compete prior to that time. Autocossing the Cobra will be tabled until further notice and the STi will be filling that role as well as a PDX or two in 2012. Looking forward to that. So to kick off the Winter tasks, here a shot of 2124 in the basement awaiting some love.

ERA 2124 awaiting Winter love:





Tasklist for the Winter months as of the moment:



I’ll update as I proceed with the items on the task list.

Cheers!

[John McMahon]

I absolutely love, love, love, love love, love, what you have done with the FIA. This is, without a doubt one of my fave Cobras!!!!!!

[ERA Chas]

Allen,
Here's a suggestion for the pipes that has worked well for me.
Cut and flange your existing pipes, bolt together, and un-bolt the back half for competition or fun.
Just buy a header flange kit, weld to each pipe half and join with aluminum crush gaskets-which are easily re-usable.
Cut the pipes roughly 12" or 14" from the front wheel opening to provide a small 'collector' length-helps low-end torque. If you want to make work, make a pair out 'turn-outs' (with flanges) like mine to deflect exhaust outwards. Then bolt 'em up.
Simple, effective and quick to change at the track.

[Fullchat289]

Yeah, so what I’ve learned over the past few weeks is that my engine, while producing good power, reliability, and fuel consumption, is not optimal in it’s state of tune. I placed an innocent call to weber guru Jim Inglese regarding sending my IDF’s up to him for some fettling, and came to understand from some symptom and engine spec analysis that my carbs were too small and the lobe spacing on my cam was too tight. Nice. Well, I’ve never liked the “bling” of the chrome IDF’s and have always had a lust for the larger 48 IDA’s, so the IDF’s are now in a “sale pending” status, a new cam has been spec’d and this is what my present engine bay looks like:



I plan on placing an order with Jim over the next week or so, so stay tuned for some new eye candy. First up though is ordering the new cam and going through the swap-out procedure. This will be my first one, so I’m reading up on it as much as I can, and am generally looking forward to the learning experience. Between the intake, cam, and changing out the oil pan gasket, a lot of my engine will be taken apart over the next coming weeks. Should be awesome!

-Allen.

[*13*]

Looks familiar Bring along any knowledgeable hands that you can gather. Leaks always enjoy a good laugh at our expense I've removed & replaced a few oilpans in my time. They always seem to come back off in order to fix a pesky drip..Drip..DRip..DRIp...DRIP!

[RodKnock]

Mod'ing your car......it's a very slippery slope isn't it?

[Fullchat289]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Chas, this is absolute hooliganism..infact it's so overflowing with hooliganism, I give you 10 cobra owner points plus 5 internets for such irresponsible social disruption..

- Allen.

[Snakebit]

Get rid of those Felpro Printoseal intake gaskets, or you'll be swaping out the intake manifold down the road. Use Victor Reinz plain gaskets with Permatex Hylomar sealer on the intake gaskets. I had to use an SCE 1/8 thick gasket with the Weber manifold trimed to fit the intake ports.

[Fullchat289]

Shakebit:

Yeah, that's some of T&L Engines work right there. I havent been aware of a problem with the FelPro gaskets. I thought they were reasonably reputable. The thing I was a bit disturbed by was the copeous and sloppy use of gasket sealer on the head side of the gasket. Some of the spooge oozed out and broke of into the coolant flow, later finding it's way into some crevices of my thermostat. Couldn't figure out why all the sudden after 9K miles I couldn't get the thing to hold temperature. Didn't take me long to figure it out after removing the t-stat neck. I appreciate your suggestions, however.

- Allen.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by Fullchat289

Chas, this is absolute hooliganism..infact it's so overflowing with hooliganism, I give you 10 cobra owner points plus 5 internets for such irresponsible social disruption..

- Allen.

Why thank you Allen... Works like a charm-in all respects.
Snakebit's advice is good except Victors aren't made any more. Ask Barry or Brent if FelPro has a steel core gasket for yer little motor-the ones for FE work super. I got 'em.

[Fullchat289]

You are welcome, and thank you..I will follow up with those fellers on the gaskets.

- Allen.

[xb-60]

Hi Allen,
So, you're talking with Jim Inglese? I'm assuming that he has a recommendation for cam to suit the 48 IDA, and that, with your engine size, takes out most of the variables for jetting?
Have lots of fun with it!
Cheers,
Glen

[Fullchat289]

After returning from some business travel last week, the weekend afforded a bit of time to make a little more progress removing things to prepare for the cam swap. I was able to get as far as removing the alternator, coolant hoses, Harrison tank, fuel filter, side pipes, and radiator before having to call it quits.. I have the fuel pump, water pump, harmonic balancer, timing cover, and valve covers/spacers to remove before getting to the point where I will place the order for the new cam. Since removing the timing cover disturbs some of the oil pan seal up front, I’m kind of glad I didn’t replace the pan seal last fall. BTW, in removing the entire cooling system, I’m pretty sure no less than about 1tbsp of coolant actually hit the floor. I found some geeky satisfaction in that..

One diversion has been this damn box I’ve had to build for the IDF setup that I’m sending down to Florida.. I’ve basically had to build it from scratch with a thick gage box I had left over from my last job relocation..it’s actually a thing of beauty, though..glue, corner gussets, strategic material placement, sweat equity….I’m pretty sure it could take first prize when dropped off the roof of the elementary school during the next egg drop contest. Weighed it last night and it’s coming in at 48lbs ready to go. Better look out, kids.

But back to the car…here are a few pics of the car in its current state. I’m thinking that the hole in the c/m should allow me to remove the cam w/o too much trouble. It might take a bit of racking of the engine about the engine mounts once I’ve loosened the trans mount... We shall see..







- Allen.

[Fullchat289]

Since I last updated this thread, I’ve torn the engine down to the point where I’ve removed the cam and oil pan. Over the last week, I’ve received the new cam from CompCams, installed it, and have started putting things back together. As of this morning, the timing cover/water pump were back on and I plan on installing the oilpan tomorrow morning. Here are a few pics from last week prior to installing the cam. This has been a blast so far..





BTW, the hole in the front cross member was big enough to allow the cam to come right out of the engine – didn’t have to loosen a single engine/trans mount.

In a week or two, I’ll let the cat out of the bag regarding what induction I’m installing. The man in CT that has taken my order is a bit “backed up” at the moment…(hint/wink)

- Allen.

[xb-60]

Allen - this is a really interesting thread. The 'quest for continual improvement' is admirable, and is of course in line with what happened with the development of the original competition 289 Cobras.
Deviating slightly from your cam and induction changes, have you fitted the fuel pressure gauge yet?
Cheers,
Glen

[ceslaw]

Would those new comp cams have, per chance, a lobe separation of around 112 degrees?

[Fullchat289]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Allen - this is a really interesting thread. The 'quest for continual improvement' is admirable, and is of course in line with what happened with the development of the original competition 289 Cobras.
Deviating slightly from your cam and induction changes, have you fitted the fuel pressure gauge yet?
Cheers,
Glen

Glen:

I appreciate your comments...thank you very much. It's been a very fun Winter so far with all the dis-assembling, cleaning, assembling, torquing, learning, etc...I almost like this part as much as driving...lol

Yes, I made a very good ebay score on the fuel pressure gauge. I was able to find a 2-5/8" 1-10PSI Stewart Warner piece and stole it for $41!! It was minus the little fixing bracket and a light harness, but no big woop. I recently received a JEGs shipment with a few fittings, braided line, and a bulkhead fitting. I'll update this post with some pics of the gauge, b/c it's really a neat piece. I'll be tearing into the dash here in the next week or so. I also plan on doing the wiring back there for the relay harness/switching for my Cibie driving lights.

- Allen.

[Fullchat289]

Originally Posted by ceslaw

Would those new comp cams have, per chance, a lobe separation of around 112 degrees?

Why yes indeed it does..

COMPETITION CAMS PART NUMBER: 35-518-8
ENGINE: FW XE274HR-12
GRIND #: FW XE274HR-12
INT EXH
VALVE ADJUSTMENT HYD HYD
GROSS VALVE LIFT: .555 .565
DURATION AT
.006 TAPPET LIFT 274 282
VALVE TIMING OPEN CLOSE
AT .006 INT 29 65
EXH 77 25

THESE SPECS ARE FOR CAM INSTALLED
@ 108.0 INT C/L
INT EXH

DUR @.050: 224 232
LOBE LIFT: .3480 .3540
LOBE SEPARATION: 112.0
RECOMMENDED CC VALVE SPRINGS: 987-16

[ceslaw]

Originally Posted by Fullchat289

Yes, I made a very good ebay score on the fuel pressure gauge. I was able to find a 2-5/8" 1-10PSI Stewart Warner piece and stole it for $41!! It was minus the little fixing bracket and a light harness, but no big woop. I recently received a JEGs shipment with a few fittings, braided line, and a bulkhead fitting. I'll update this post with some pics of the gauge, b/c it's really a neat piece. I'll be tearing into the dash here in the next week or so. I also plan on doing the wiring back there for the relay harness/switching for my Cibie driving lights.

- Allen.

What a steal! I am looking for the same item.

Chuck

[ceslaw]

Question: regarding that fuel pressure gauge, do you plan to add an interface of some sort so that there won't be a fuel line under the dash above your right knee? If yes, curious as to what you will be using.