ERA 2136 Build Log

[289FIA]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Alternator Question:

...
One thought would be to take the alternator to a shop, have it disassembled and the back portion rotated 120 degrees counter clockwise, so the two pieces of blue tape line up. This would put the connections further away from the valve cover.

Congrats on 289 for your 289!

Regarding the alternator, I had a similar problem. Replacement part number was 7078 (like yours) and the rebuilt unit had the posts in the same location as yours. Interestingly, the original unit (the one I needed) had the posts 120 degrees rotated (like the one you need).

Back to another parts store with both and this time the 7078 in the box was a match. From what they told me, it happens often that rebuilders put the front cover back on in various positions. Quick online search of a 7078 at AutoZone, Advanced and O’Reilly shows some confusion.

I’m sure it can be rotated, but if you bought locally, you may want to open a few boxes before you disassemble yours.

Cheers,
289FIA

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Tim! 289? That's a good luck sign if ever there was one...
So what's on the list for this weekend?
Cheers,
Glen

I have a pretty good list going and some free time coming up this weekend

This part of the assembly is really fun for me, I am enjoying the process, ERA did the hard part !

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by 289fia_cobra

Tim, you better play the lottery! Getting #289 for your 289 is a sign to get Lotto ticket.

Originally Posted by ZOERA-SC7XX

That was your lotto ticket. Enjoy.

Thanks guys ... it's a lotto ticket I'll gladly take !

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by 289FIA

Congrats on 289 for your 289!

Regarding the alternator, I had a similar problem. Replacement part number was 7078 (like yours) and the rebuilt unit had the posts in the same location as yours. Interestingly, the original unit (the one I needed) had the posts 120 degrees rotated (like the one you need).

Back to another parts store with both and this time the 7078 in the box was a match. From what they told me, it happens often that rebuilders put the front cover back on in various positions. Quick online search of a 7078 at AutoZone, Advanced and O’Reilly shows some confusion.

I’m sure it can be rotated, but if you bought locally, you may want to open a few boxes before you disassemble yours.

Cheers,
289FIA

Great suggestion, thanks!

My engine builder supplied the alternator, so it's out of the box and been run on the car.

In looking at it, I'll probably try the setup as it is, and put on some plastic caps to keep wayward tools and other metal bits out of harm's way. Rotating the housing is something easily done later on.

[tboneheller]

Why don't you remove the 3 bolts & re-clock the alternator? The only "tricky" part is sliding the springs & brushes back into the brush holder & retaining them with a tooth pick.(There is a hole in the back side of the case next to the rear bearing that the tooth pick should protrude through. See the hole in the picture in the above post?) After you re-clock & re-assemble the alternator, remove the tooth pick so the brushes will contact the armature. Five minute job.

[Quik289]

I took mine to a local alternator rebuilding shop. Re-clocking 120 degrees was so easy for them they didn't even charge me. Of course, I tried to do it myself first, but back would not turn after 3 bolts removed even though it was loose - didn't want to break something as I didn't have a playbook. Works great now.

[tkb289]

Thanks for the alternator suggestions. I have it mounted and kind of like the way the wires dress across the back of the alternator, so will leave it as is for now, will post a few photos later.

Working on selecting a muffler to use for the partial under car exhaust setup, once I have the muffler, then the rest of the pipe work can be figured out.

Transmission shifter has been turned around 180 degrees, trans oil (GM Synchromesh) added and drive shaft connected.

Also working on mounting the clutch slave cylinder & linkage, which leads me to a question:

Does anyone use a rubber boot to seal the bell housing opening at the clutch fork? I am under the impression that most do not and that a boot for the Quicktime setup is not available. Comment or suggestions?

[tboneheller]

I made a boot for mine out of duct tape.

[tkb289]

Duct tape boot is an idea ... I have not looked yet for a rubber boot, do they even exist?

[wolf k]

Mustang Clutch Release Levers & Components

Do any of these help you? I do not know if Quicktime opening is same as stock, but you could come up with some kind adapter.

[Dangerous Doug]

Any respectable auto parts store should have rubber boots in the electrical section.

I had to put a boot on mine to protect the connection from the dip stick---it never occurred to me to reclock my alternator... Good idea.

DD

[tkb289]

Thanks guys for the leads on clutch boots, I should have thought of this before I installed the motor and trans. It's still pretty easy to get to and while not critical, probably worth the effort to make some attempt to keep crud out of the bell housing.

[289fia_cobra]

Tim, you could fab up a metal housing. The original Ford T-5 has a simple metal housing. Lakewood sells a rubber boot for theirs. However, since I already had the T-5 housing, I simply drilled and tapped a 5/8-16 hole on the bell housing and the T-5 unit slipped right on w/o any issues. Bolted in place w/Loc-Tite and never though about it again. But with your Hydroboost, I'm not sure if you can fab up something. I guess a picture would help.

Here's a pic of mine; the cable would be coming in from the left:

[tkb289]

Herman,

Nice job! Looks like a good solution. Once I have the slave cylinder mounted and see what kind of room there is to work with, the boot will be next.

Thanks!

[tkb289]

Still working on the exhaust setup, heater plumbing, some wire routing and the like … after that the interior needs to be finished up.

So, making progress and having fun along the way.

[tkb289]

Time for an update.

Made some good progress lately, but there is lot's more to do. Not sure at this point when I will be ready to finally drive the car, depends on how much time I can get to work on it. This part is a lot of fun, have been getting help and advice from my sons & car buddies, and making lots of trips to the local parts store.


It took a while, but finally came up with a way to plumb in the heater that has the hoses laying on top of the motor and also has a place for the water temperate gauge sending unit. There are a lot of different ways to achieve the same goal, we will see how this setup performs.


The overall setup.




Used a brass 'T' for tapping into the intake manifold from the heater core. Next ran a short hose out the water pump to a plastic 'T', then one end went to the heater core, the other to the expansion tank by routing it under the alternator bracket and fan belt. The downside of this setup is if the belt breaks, I need to disconnect a coolant hose, which is messy, but thankfully that does not happen very often. On the upside it does make for a clean installation.







This is the ERA supplied heater valve, it should work well. Added some shrink tubing to the battery cable terminals. There are a few different ways to wire the starter solenoid. One is using the solenoid on the firewall, the other is to use the solenoid built into the starter (if it has one). The setup here uses one side of the firewall solenoid, for a junction point for the battery cables. The starter I have has an internal solenoid, so when wired in this configuration, it's always has voltage. The small red wire, supplies voltage to the internal starter solenoid at startup. This setup with both solenoids is redundant, as I could just run a wire from the ignition switch to the internal solenoid in the starter. We'll see how this works.






The saga of the seats …

For those that have been following along, know that my original plan was to use the ERA street seat for the passenger side and a Kirkey seat on the driver's side. The car came with the street seat and man is it comfortable! Problem is, it puts me up a bit too high in the saddle so to speak for my liking, so I bought a Krikey seat. The Krikey vintage bucket fit well into the car, is very well made and put me right on the floor, nice! Downside was, even when adding foam bits here and there, I was not able to get very comfortable. It was OK, but I kept thinking of how good the ERA seat feels. What to do … well I talked to Peter and we decided to see what Jack (ERA's master upholstery craftsman) could come up with. What I was after was the look and feel of the street seat, but be able to sit a bit lower in the car.

The seat on the left is the standard ERA seat, the one on the right is a custom seat. Topside looks the same, the bottom side tells the story. The standard seat has a rubber membrane that provides support to the seat cushion. The driver's seat has some very resilient foam in the seat cushion that will compress under weight, but pops back up when the weight comes off.

The net result is a very comfortable seat that gets me just that little bit lower in the seat. Jack did a great job.

[xb-60]

Hey Tim! Looking very tidy there on top. Unconventional route there with the hose through the fan belt, but it works and it's neat and tidy.
Can't tell the difference with the seats, so another excellent job from the Masters in CT. So how low do you sit in the car now?
Cheers!
Glen

[xb-60]

Tim - any chance of a picture of the interior when the seats are in, showing the relativity of the gearshift location and, say, the front of the seats?
You're a big guy, long arms etc, so how does the gearshift location work for comfort /ease of operation? ie is it far enough forward? Asking for future reference, adding to the database of info etc.
Cheers,
Glen

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by xb-60

... Can't tell the difference with the seats, so another excellent job from the Masters in CT. So how low do you sit in the car now? ...

Originally Posted by xb-60

Tim - any chance of a picture of the interior when the seats are in, showing the relativity of the gearshift location and, say, the front of the seats?
You're a big guy, long arms etc, so how does the gearshift location work for comfort /ease of operation? ie is it far enough forward? Asking for future reference, adding to the database of info etc.
Cheers,
Glen

Glen,

I made some measurements comparing both seats as best I could and have the following observations.

The seat with the all foam cushion looks great and it does let me sit lower in the car, but at this point, not by a significant amount. I did some back to back measurements and found I was sitting lower by 1/2", this may increase over time as the seat cushion ages.

Both seats are very comfortable, but they do 'feel' slightly different. My wife prefers the feel of the all foam cushion, I prefer the feel of the standard seat with the foam & rubber combination, seat cushion.

Bottom line, the design and feel of the standard seat is so good, I would just stick with that all things being equal. If someone really needs that little bit more, then the custom foam cushion is a very viable option.

I will be trying both seats in the car over a period of time, as they are easy to swap back and forth since they will be bolted directly to the floor. I'll have a better sense of the differences between the two seats as time goes on.

Once I get the clutch slave cylinder in the car and setup, I can button up the interior and get some interior photos. With the shift lever flipped around per ERA's instructions, the location seems ideal.

The real test comes when it's on the road, but from what I gather from other ERA owners with the TKO 600 the whole setup works well.

[4pipes]

Tim, with the completion of one last mod last week, my car is now finished.....6 years later. Can't wait till yours is done.