Ownership Log – ERA#2124

[FIA-ERA]

Kinda similar experience with a flywheel/ ring before. My buddy did the oven trick BUT he also put the flywheel in the freezer for a couple of days. Went together like butter! Great posts here! Thanks for all your experiences! Regards, Matt

[Fullchat289]

Thanks, Matt. Good to hear from you. Hope you are doing well.

- Allen.

[Fullchat289]

It’s always fun anticipating something either on the door step or in the mail box. Yesterday was one of those days. I’ve been looking at either making or purchasing a “correct” style shift lever for my car to replace the Hurst Indy lever installed in the car when built. I was perusing Mark Reid’s Kirkham thread over on ffcars.com and happened to notice he appeared to have a replica t-handle shift lever he wasn’t going to be using that would be a direct bolt-on for my TKO, so after a PM/Paypal exchange I had this (Thanks, Mark!):



This is what I had before….the Hurst Indy shift lever:


I plan to further adjust the T-handle lever’s height a bit. It’s a little long as supplied for my application.

So I mentioned in another thread that I was going to look into making a set of “competition” pipes over this Winter….and by “competition” I mean “open”, no baffles. I have no other reason for this than to bring more “hooligan” into the driving experience. My goal for the end of this week, was to have the transmission removal procedure complete so that I could road test. Since it was effort to put the pipes back on, I decided I would do my road test with the open headers to get a feel for the level of obnoxiousness of open pipes.

So to set the scene, buy the time I had the car down off the jack stands and the shift lever installed, it was after dark. I warned the family that I was about to make a lot of racket after poking my head in from the garage and then proceeded to push the car out into the driveway.. Easing down into the seat, I flipped over the battery cut-out switch, got the accelerator pumps squirting, and hit the starter. It had been a few weeks since starting the car, so it coughed and farted a bit, but it eventually caught and the un-baffled explosions coming from the 3” collectors proceeded to echo off the surrounding pines. The air was cool and the night was dark, so with a flip of the main beams, I headed out the drive and down the neighborhood road to the main road.. The engine was still getting used to the fact it was combusting fuel by the time I made a left onto the dark, cornfield lined stretch of asphalt. After that, I just couldn’t hold back the smile on my face. Up through the gears at a full song, the 347 was making such an obnoxious, socially irresponsible noise, yet it was frenetically exhilarating. …..and the deers? Loud pipes save lives.  That socially irresponsible part does give me pause though when considering the use of baffles in my “competition” pipes. I can always use ear plugs, but there’s going to have to be an experimentation period to get to a dB level of perceived acceptability – a subjective argument for sure.

So after pulling in the garage, I put the car to bed and headed in to the dining room where my wife and two little girls were eagerly awaiting a sample of their first efforts with a new Easy Bake Oven. My oldest, now nearly 6, is doing a fantastic job with her reading, so we made it into a little celebration. For her, it’s the dawning of an expanded world, and for me, a Cobra that’s back on its feet.

Cheers!




- Allen.

[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!!!!!!

[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]

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.

[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

[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.

[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]

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

[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]

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.

[paulmartin]

hi allen its paul.as you know i just fitted the 48 idas to an identical engine. i had greatb luck and and instant seal with the permatex hylomar on the gasket ports and the right stuff on the water ports.
it is imperative you have jim send your intake maifold out to cobra automotive to get portmatched to your heads. try to contact your head manufacturer for a cad drawing , cobra automotive prints this to scale to use as a porting template.i used a thicker SCE large port gasket ...perfect fit for my 205cc intakes.
You will also need to remove an inch by i inch piece from your bellhousing[if you have an aftermarket] to mount the throttle pivot....a noisy messy job with an angle grinder and cut off wheel.
make sure you use studs in the heads. You will also need to make yourself a cutoff open ended wrench in order to tighten the center nuts under the carbs.
before you lower the intake fully with the glue tacky , put a couple of wood blocks under it to hold it off as you need to start the nuts under the center
carbs , they are impossible to get on once the intake is fully pushed down.
Jim did a great job with all the linkage and carb prep.
Many people dont realize he goes through every carb and blueprints it to your spec.Its very important to fit his low pressure regulator and make sure you have a high volume low pressure pump.Webers worked best at 2.5 to 4ilbs , mine are at 3 ilbs and perfect.
after a bit of synching with the synchrometer i adjusted the timing to 34 degrees full advance.....its spot on .My car fired up first go.
my car dynoed at 504 before the webers and we just pulled 543hp on a 347 stroker with the webers....yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
everycar is different but i hope these tips find you well.
p.s. i also fitted the avon tires ....they have to be the best tire for a cobra but sadly very expensive..!
sending pics to your email.