First Pics of ERA #795

[kevins2]

Due to work and other commitments, I haven't been able to get out to the garage much to work on the car. However, I did reach another milestone and have the beginnings of an engine. A local Cobra owner - he's active on this site, so I'll let him chime in if he choses to - had a '68 side oiler short block for sale and also told me about an engine builder in the area. I researched the engine builder and he has been building FEs all his life and, although not active on any forums (he doesn't even have a website), he has racked up a number of very positive comments about his work and abilities with FEs. He's been referred to as the "go-to guy" in the area for the racing crowd. Anyway, I picked up the shortblock yesterday and will be taking it to this engine builder to have it magnafluxed for cracks and possibly pressure tested. The motor came out of a Chris Craft and seems to be in very good shape (closed cooling system). There is only a bit of surface rust in one of the cylinders but not an issue.







[img]http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1229&pictureid=9811[img]

[ERA Chas]

Leery about boat engines but certainly have it sonic-wall tested too. You don't state the bore size but it may have been bored to where it's too thin and have no rebuilds left in it. Or no thrust side face left.

[kevins2]

Chas,

The motor had not been opened up since new until this week, so still standard bore. The engine builder will check it out thoroughly before committing to a build, so I'm taking it one step at a time.

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

Regards,

Kevin

[ERA Chas]

Just remember most boat motors run cold all their lives so bore wear from rings very possible.
Best luck...

[Tutosnake]

Kevin, red Cobras rule! I hope your block comes out clean... are you going for period correct look? Double carbs? Can't wait to see it...

Hector

[kevins2]

Hi Chas,

Since it's never been bored, I'm assuming there will be room to play with. The engine builder is a machinist and will be able to tell me exactly what I have. Thanks for all the tips.

Hector, my car has aspects of the S/C and street car (double round taillights, street dash layout, for example). So, I didn't pattern my car off of any one original. I'm going with a single carb.

Regards,

Kevin

[427 Street]

Kevin...you might want to change the "no engine yet" in your profile I hope it all works out well.

[patrickt]

Assuming it passes the tests, a minimal "clean up" of the bore, and then stroke it out, and you will have a wonderful engine for that car.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by 427 Street

Kevin...you might want to change the "no engine yet" in your profile I hope it all works out well.

I would come back at you about the profile change because I just brought the block home last night! But, I probably wouldn't have thought to update it, so good catch. Thanks for the well wishes - I'm looking forward to it.

Originally Posted by patrickt

Assuming it passes the tests, a minimal "clean up" of the bore, and then stroke it out, and you will have a wonderful engine for that car.

Patrick, if the original crank and rods are in good condition and can be made "good as new", it would be cool to use them. Will discuss that in detail with the engine builder at the appropriate time.

Regards,

Kevin

[FWB]

kevins motor is rather nice, i disassembled her for the first time since ford put it together. it's a 1967 cast date side oiler, std bore , no ridge. as far as running cold most of its life....i doubt it. no sludge on the inside at all, very clean. heads had fresh plugs in it and new wires, it was a running motor. normal rotation......
nice green coolant flowed out of her when i pulled the heads off.
so he's got a good cast crank, 428 rods....really good starting point.


now to get rid of about 2 tons of marine cast iron i pulled off of it

the side oiler part was unusual normally they are just hydraulic blocks, but the oil galley is there and has the relief valve.
once its built and painted, you'll never know it came from a boat.

[kevins2]

Making a bit of progress on the car...

Flaming River battery switch behind passenger seat.



Heated seat wiring harness - relay and fuse blocks mounted on chassis rail behind dash. Wires to seats fished through side panel and out a grommet. Will wait until the carpet goes in to solder the seat connectors on so I can make a smaller hole in the carpet. I'm about 90% done with the wiring. After reading Dan's thread, I have my fingers crossed that it will all work!




Insulated tunnel and front tunnel cover.




Undercoating is done. Came out real nice. I didn't want to chance any overspray, so covered the entire car. Second photo is rear wheel well. I coated the side of the fuel tank as well, so all visible areas will be black.




Installed front and rear sway bars. Labeled the installed sway bar because I have some friends following my build who wouldn't find it otherwise




Mounted rear wheels and made first attempt at safety wiring. After seeing scratches on a couple cars apparently from the safety wire, I used microtubing where it touches the wheels and spinners. Safety wire is .031" and the tubing has an inside diameter of .032", so it fits like a glove. Overkill perhaps, but so what...

[bwcobra15]

Kevin, what shade of red is that? Beautiful.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by bwcobra15

Kevin, what shade of red is that? Beautiful.

Thank you. It is a standard GM color used for many years on everything from Corvettes to trucks. Jewel Red. Available in both a 2 and 3 stage formula. At the advice of the painter, I kept it simple and went with the 2 stage formula - supposedly easier to fix if needed.

Regards,

Kevin

[patrickt]

That's pretty good progress. Keep the pics coming.

[DanEC]

Kevin - it's coming along well. You may pass me up as I haven't touched mine in about 6 weeks. What did you use for undercoating - Looks good.

It's interesting that your foot boxes are beige resin - mine arrived with red resin.

I wouldn't worry too much about the electrical. I'm actually slightly more capabler at electrical than I say - but I just don't like to troubleshoot it because it forces me to think harder than I want to. I would rather groan and gripe and ask for help than sit down with a wiring diagram and multi-meter and figure it out myself from scratch. Just don't get in a big hurry to secure all the wiring bundles up under the dash until you have checked everything out, because if there is a glitch you will be pulling it all back down to verity conductior to conductor match at the big plug connections.

Looks great!

Dan

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Kevin - it's coming along well. You may pass me up as I haven't touched mine in about 6 weeks. What did you use for undercoating - Looks good.

It's interesting that your foot boxes are beige resin - mine arrived with red resin.

I wouldn't worry too much about the electrical. I'm actually slightly more capabler at electrical than I say - but I just don't like to troubleshoot it because it forces me to think harder than I want to. I would rather groan and gripe and ask for help than sit down with a wiring diagram and multi-meter and figure it out myself from scratch. Just don't get in a big hurry to secure all the wiring bundles up under the dash until you have checked everything out, because if there is a glitch you will be pulling it all back down to verity conductior to conductor match at the big plug connections.

Looks great!

Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks, it is coming along slower than I'd like, but making some progress. The undercoating is 3M Professional Grade rubberized undercoating. There is an old thread on this forum where a member put this on his car 5 or 6 years ago. I pm'd him and he responded that it held up well and still looks good, so I decided to use the same product. I roughed up the aluminum panels with 60 grit and wiped everything down with rubbing alcohol as part of the surface prep. Probably not necessary, but I definitely gave it something to bite into. Good advice on the electrical. I actually tested the heated seats using a battery and they work. Don't know about the rest of the electronics but I'll deal with that as it comes.

Ordering the front tires today and will get them mounted as soon as I can. It will be good to see it sitting on its own feet for the first time - I'll post pics when I get there. Have a week-long business trip coming up next week, so that will stop me for a bit. I'll be seeing Peter, Doug and whoever else from ERA Saturday after next at the Carlisle Import and kit car nationals.

Regards,

Kevin

[REAL 1]

Nice work. Beautiful and meticulous progress.

[lippy]

Kevin, curious why you decided to undercoat. Peter at ERA mentioned they use CoreMat in the wells so there is no need for the undercoat. I finished my front wheel wells and I like the look of the aluminum but I can see how it could get pretty bashed up over time. The painter sprayed the underside of my fiberglass in the wheel wells black, so it looks good now.

[DanEC]

I think its more of a personal preference thing than a functional requirement. I undercoated mine because I wanted to seal the underside of the fiberglass to help prevent anything kicked up or otherwise from attacking the underside of the fiberglass and coming through under the paint - I liked it blacked out - and I don't like to hear small stones pinging off of the wheel well panels as I drive. Battery acid, AC unit oil, and brake fluid can all attack fiberglass from the underside and bubble paint. Owners of older Corvette know about this problem. Undercoating isn't probably the best sealer against it but it will stop some stuff and slow the rest of it down. Painting the underside will do the same thing somewhat - depending on the type paint.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by lippy

Kevin, curious why you decided to undercoat. Peter at ERA mentioned they use CoreMat in the wells so there is no need for the undercoat. I finished my front wheel wells and I like the look of the aluminum but I can see how it could get pretty bashed up over time. The painter sprayed the underside of my fiberglass in the wheel wells black, so it looks good now.

Hi Lippy,

I'm traveling so didn't see this until just now and already responded to your other thread. I won't repeat what I said in your thread but will add that I rode in a Cobra on a road that was a bit gravely and it was pretty noisy (the car was not undercoated). We were going slow - 20 miles per hour or so because of the gravel - but to me it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I think the biggest thing to key in on is what the aluminum will look like over time. Maybe some of the guys that didn't undercoat can comment on that. I'm pleased with the outcome but will tell you that spraying undercoating wasn't my favorite part of the build!

Regards,

Kevin