CSX2129 Recreation

[SoTxButler]

Ceslaw. With your interest in Ken Miles, you should probably talk to Ron Butler, he was Ken Miles' crew chief. He joined Shelby in late '63 or early '64. He is a great guy and his shop is in Ventura, CA. If you need info to reach him, let me know. I bet he can tell you some good stories about Ken and about what that shop scene was like. From the things he has told me, it was a rather crude operation compared to today's race teams. Sounds like a great project for you and your son.

[ceslaw]

Originally Posted by SoTxButler

Ceslaw. With your interest in Ken Miles, you should probably talk to Ron Butler, he was Ken Miles' crew chief. He joined Shelby in late '63 or early '64. He is a great guy and his shop is in Ventura, CA. If you need info to reach him, let me know. I bet he can tell you some good stories about Ken and about what that shop scene was like. From the things he has told me, it was a rather crude operation compared to today's race teams. Sounds like a great project for you and your son.

Russ

Thanks for the tip. It would be fantastic to sit down with Ron Butler and get a real inside view if what it was like at the time. I suspect he could provide a wealth of info. If I have occasion to head to the left coast I may well contact you.

Chuck

[ceslaw]

Finishing the Valve Covers

The wire separators are available from several sources including CJ Pony Parts, part number HW900. While we were at it a set of original style valve cover bolts were also ordered, part number F481.

Put the labels on the breather caps, pop them in place, and the covers are done.

So how did we do? Here is the link to a picture of CSX2129:

CSX2129

[mickmate]

They turned out super! How many hours do you have into them?

[ceslaw]

Originally Posted by mickmate

They turned out super! How many hours do you have into them?

Ryan and I together probably have about ten hours time. I am sure the next set would be half that, and the third probably half of that.

[ceslaw]

Fuel Pressure Gauge, March 22, 2012

We picked up an original style Steward Warner 2 5/8” fuel pressure gauge on E Bay. We would like to have it refurbished and calibrated and don’t know who to send it to. A quick internet check revealed some possibilities:

API Instruments, Bloomington, MN

Bob’s Gauges, Howell, MI

Emeis Electrical, Davenport, IA

Nisonger Instruments, NY (Smith’s is their speciality)

Williamson’s, Chester AR

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

[Cobra Pack]

Api is really good. They converted my Sun tach from a 6 cylinder to an 8 cylinder and it works great.

Also, if you have interest in a powermaster powergen, please let me know. I have a new one in the box that I am not using. Yes, they bolt right to a ford generator bracket.

Mike

[dallas_]

Nice work!

Not trying to hijack your thread, but aren't you building a GT40 too?

[1985 CCX]

Great job on those Valve Covers!

[Mando]

I love this thread! Thanks.

Regards.

[ceslaw]

Originally Posted by dallas_

Nice work!

Not trying to hijack your thread, but aren't you building a GT40 too?

Chuck and Ryan's RCR Build - GT40s.com


GT40 Drive - YouTube

[ceslaw]

Plans, Drivetrain

Waiting for the Cobra to arrive is good time to plan the drivetrain.

The engine will be based on a new Boss block, stroked to 347 C.I. (3.250 stroke, 4.125 bore) with Air Flow Research (AFR) 185cc heads. A mild cam with 112 degree lobe separation will be used to keep the car street friendly and compatible with Webers. Induction will be Weber 48 IDAs. The engine will hopefully be an aesthetic clone but with significant updating.

The displacement of 347 C.I. followed a bit of research. There are reports of the Boss block having reliability issues when stroked to 3.400 due to the short length of the cylinder sleeves. If stroked to 3.400 with a bore of 4.125 the displacement would be 363 C.I. Many have done that with success, but we prefer to take a more conservative approach and avoid any possible issues.

Once could reach a 347 C.I. displacement in two different ways: bore of 4.030 and stroke of 3.400, or bore of 4.125 and stroke of 3.250. We chose the latter since the shorter stroke avoids the potential problems associated with the short skirts.

Mahle pistons and a Scat Crank are planned. Rods will be 5.40

Engine details, like the valve covers, original style distributor (with Petronix internals), proper plug wires, proper appearing coil, etc. will be fabricated or acquired. The MSD electronic ignition will be buried where it will not be seen.

The transmission will be at TKO 600. An offset shifter attachment should make it fit like a top loader. The first four gears will match a top loader, but that 0.82 fifth gear will be better suited for highway cruising.

The clutch will likely be McLeod, based on prior good experience with the brand. Although an internal clutch slave is recommended, an external slave will be explored. The latter is much easier to repair or replace if there is a problem. We are leaning towards a Quicktime rather than Lakewood bell housing.

Horsepower should be north of 400, which is more than needed for a street car, but preserving the option of taking it to the track where it may prove useful. With a mild cam and tune we will forfeit some power to assure a good streetable Cobra.

[xb-60]

ceslaw - the engine specs look interesting. What effective rev range are you expecting?
Cheers,
Glen

[ceslaw]

Generator, April 11, 2012

CSX2196 had a generator, not an alternator. Powermaster makes an alternator that looks like a generator and is an exact physical replacement for the original Ford generator. Part number 82101. It is a single wire 75 amp alternator which will be adequate for our Cobra. The one downside is that it has a small alternator pulley and fan rather than the large diameter pulley used on the original generator. We considered those details a small sacrifice in exchange for the benefits of an alternator.

Of course one also needs the mounting bracket. Original brackets come up for sale on E Bay from time to time often for less than $50. We picked up a couple for a decent price. Look for Ford part number C20E-10088-H embossed on the bracket.

The brackets arrived unrestored with a good coat of rust and greasy grime. There are different techniques for preparing parts for paint. Since we don’t have a bead blaster, we do it the old fashioned way with chemicals and elbow grease. Rural King was the place to pick up the Evapo Rust Remover and Simple Green. The brackets were soaked in each for about a week. They did an excellent job removing the rust and grime. After rubbing down the bracket with a 3M Scothbrite pad, mineral spirits were used to remove any residual chemicals in preparation for paint. Some of the rough edges were smoothed with a grinder and file.

A yellow top ignition coil was mounted on the original bracket on CSX2129, so a hole was drilled before painting to secure the coil bracket.

Duplicolor engine paint is readily available and holds up well. A coat of Low Gloss black resulted in a sheen that closely matched the generator housing. After applying the paint we baked the bracket in the oven for thirty minutes at 200 degrees.

Now if we only had an engine . . . and a Cobra put it in.

[ceslaw]

Originally Posted by xb-60

ceslaw - the engine specs look interesting. What effective rev range are you expecting?
Cheers,
Glen

Glen:

Sorry for the late response. Redline will be 6500. Our builder tells me we could go higher, but by the time we get close to 6500 RPM the roar from the engine will be screaming 'shift'.

Chuck

[ceslaw]

Boss Block Delivered, April 17, 2012

We ordered the Boss Block, part number M-6010-B302BB, from FordRacingParts123.com after some on line price shopping. It arrived today. This is not really of much significance warranting a post, except for three things.

First, the price was a couple of hundreds less than what Summit or Jegs would have charged.

Second, there was no charge for shipping.

But here is the amazing part. Livonia, Michigan, from where the block came, is 600 miles away. The engine has a shipping weight of over 200 pounds. We figured a week would be a reasonable delivery time if everything went well.

The order was called in on Monday before noon. On Tuesday at 1:00 a Con-way semi-tractor trailer pulled up in my office parking lot. Engine block delivered. Twenty five hours from order to delivery. Pretty amazing.

So kudos to FordRacingParts123.com.

[LMH]

Looking good! Could you switch out the pulley for the larger generator unit?
Or use a deep-groove pulley that's larger diameter than the alt. pulley?
Larry

[ceslaw]

Larry

Good thought. But changing to a generator pulley would significantly reduce the speed of rotation and affect power output. Perhaps a round plate on the outside of the existing pulley to create the illusion of a larger pulley? For now I think we will leave it as is and see how it looks installed.

[xb-60]

Your alternator is rated at 75 amps, so if it's going to be turning slower, and you maybe loose a third of that output, it is still easily enough. BUT...the characteristics of an alternator are different to a generator, and I think they are non-linear, so input from an expert would be valuable.
Anybody?
Cheers,
Glen

[LMH]

I think Chuck's correct that a gen pulley might slow the alt down too much, maybe to a point of discharge but a Deep Groove pulley is different. It's intent is to keep the belt in place during high RPM while still turning the alt fast enough. I'm just not sure if it would be the right size to make it look more like a gen pulley. They are usually around 3.5" to 4".
Larry