Hurricane HMS2002 build thread

[RedBarchetta]

Dayum, Dean, you set the bar so high for everyone else.

This is a great thread and a wonderful build...thanks for educating us all and I look forward to more progress pics to completion.

-Dean

[damdfw]

Dean,
I am just a novice at this stuff. That being said, I would probably re-arrange the gauges a little specifically if I were racing. The gauges directly in front of the driver being the most important, I would want Water Temp, Oil Pressure, and Tachometer. The fuel level gauge being the least important would be the furthest away.


Just my dos centavos. Your car is phenomenal.

[Clois Harlan]

Okay budd! Since you have came back to the open cockpit side of this sport I think it is about time for you to change your avitar!

[jdean]

Yeah Dean change your avatar.....I'm so tired of lusting after that GT 40 every time I see the pic!!

[dlampe]

Avatar is officially changed!

I was going to do the sway bars next but sometimes you have to go with the flow. These are some really cool pictures. Remember we are trying to replicate the CSX cars. The body tub was redesigned to have the right angles on the foot boxes as well as a white gel coat was used.



You can see the DEI heat shield we installed as well. It hasn't been trimmed to final fit yet but you get the idea.

[dlampe]

The tub was bonded to the frame but before it was, the underside was coated with a Rhino Liner type material for a little insulation and protection from the elements. The rest of the chassis goes on next. Then there will be an aluminum panel attached to the firewall.

[Bill Bess]

Very nice Dean ! It's clean and very well thought out.

Question, are you going to install a heat protector / road guard to protect the master cylinders from road damage ?

I also like the sway bar going over the top of the frame, good way to do it during the build process. I used the Mazda front sway bar, works fine, and I kind of like the look of it , no problems with ground clearance for street use so far, but over the top would be better.

Bill

[dlampe]

They are working on the shielding but nothing is final yet. The sway bar housing is done. This set up will make changing bars easy. The Mazda bar is the street option that they offer. It is a perfect fit for this car. This set up is a performance upgrade. I will post all the math behind the bar selections when we get the assemble painted and installed.

[MFE III]

I just love seeing all the tweaks and improvements in the HMS cars! Dean, thanks for all the input for your car that will be incorporated into the HMS 2xxx series cars. I also appreciate how the new ownership is thinking about us legacy HMS owners and designing many of the improvements so they can be retrofitted to HMS 1xxx series cars. Steve, Jason and company . . .keep up the good work and thanks!
Matt

[dlampe]

Here is another possible upgrade for the previous Hurricane buyers. I know the fuel tanks have been an issue for some of you in the past. Not anymore!



They wanted to paint it black but I thought a quick polish with some WD-40 and a scotch-brite pad would be much better. As a general rule, I never paint aluminum, I think it looks better in the raw!

[Bill Bess]

The alum. gas tank is the best thing yet for a retrofit. The plastic tank has always been problematic for me, looking forward to that fix.
Bill...Ya go ahead and polish the thing.

[gsharapa]

Nice looking gas tank as it almost looks like the Fuel Safe fuel cell I had in my 1966 GT350R Mustang track car as per the following..



Wonder if one of these would fit....

[jshel1]

Dean and Gary,

The colonel always said good, clean livin' and patience will net you many rewards. Appropriate for this build thread, and your trips coming home to Hurricane.

Mike, Steve, Jason, and big John have to be proud of their efforts and how these baby's are turning out. I second Matt's opinion. This build thread is creating alot of buzz around this neck of the woods..

John

[dlampe]

John, the guys from Hurricane will be there Friday morning. I think this will be their first cobra event so take it easy on them.

I forgot to post the picture of the dash in the car. You can see the new dash supports and my brake bias adjuster. I need a little help deciding where to mount the master disconnect switch. Any thoughts?

[dlampe]

Gary, you would have to give them a call to double check the dimensions on the new tank to see if that cell would fit.
Another little project was the e-brake assembly. It is pretty straight forward but since it is the first one with the new calipers on an upgraded brake system on an IRS it took a little thinking but it went pretty smooth. The Kirkham was the only cobra I have ever had where the e-brake actually worked!

[Trueoo7]

Did the originals have disconnect switches? Where did they mount them?

[dlampe]

I am not sure if the originals had disconnect switches or not. I like knowing that I can shut the car down quickly if I need to. I had my Kirkham on the track one day and the throttle stuck wide open. I can tell you that the kill switch and the MSD rev limiter saved the car that day. The new Backdraft cars have it under the dash on the tunnel. It is easy to reach and not a blemish on the vintage dash. Right now thats where it is.

[gsharapa]

Dean,

I've seen some cut off switches on the far right side of the dash, some under as you mention and some in the middle of the panel behind the seats. Got an email from Steve this afternoon and he said they'd be in San Marcos around 4 or 5pm Friday.

[dlampe]

I'm going to talk to Jason in the morning. I think I might put it just behind the shifter. The wiper assembly is in and mounted as well as the aluminum fire wall panel.





I am going to install a complete fake Lucas wiring harness on the firewall as we get closer to finishing it up.

[gsharapa]

WOW....look at the dual horns!