ERA 2136 Build Log - Page 16

289fia_cobra · #1 (**permalink**) 05-14-2011, 06:01 PM

Went over to Tims and had coffee at his house; I was getting busy taking photos so I had to park my coffee somewhere. Thankfully, Tim's ERA was outfitted with this nifty beverage holder so...

Note that it is large enough for even a Big Gulp!!!

*13* · #2 (**permalink**) 05-15-2011, 07:06 AM

How is it at speed? Any spillage?

289fia_cobra · #3 (**permalink**) 05-15-2011, 07:54 AM

He hasn't put the engine in but once we get that taken care of, some tests will be conducted...cause' ClubCobra People want to know! ;-)

*13* · #4 (**permalink**) 05-15-2011, 09:54 AM

Find a big hill or something! We need to know!!!

csx wnab · #5 (**permalink**) 05-16-2011, 06:36 PM

tim,
just wanted to thank you again for the invite to see YOUR NEW COBRA. had a nice time and your cobra is beautiful. very, very happy for you. hope i didn't piss off the neighbors or you when i left. pissed off the wife for sure though. she doesn't do burnouts very well. and i thought that burnout was pretty lame. anyway, again. concrats.

Dangerous Doug · #6 (**permalink**) 05-16-2011, 09:41 PM

CSXWNAB: I loved your personalized plate. Made me LOL.

I went further down the street to shake up the neighbors---but I just opened the secondaries in second---loud, but intentionally no burn-out.

DD

Dangerous Doug · #7 (**permalink**) 05-16-2011, 09:43 PM

CSXWNAB: I loved your personalized plate. Made me LOL.

I went further down the street to shake up the neighbors---but I just opened the secondaries in second---loud, but intentionally no burn-out.

DD

tkb289 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-18-2011, 09:30 PM

Last weekend, we had a gathering of family and friends to help celebrate the arrival of 2136. A nice mix of cars & people … and everyone, including the neighbors, enjoyed the occasional safe but 'spirited' departure!

Here a couple of photos (thanks Herman) ...

I like Herman's idea for a cup holder …

*13* · #9 (**permalink**) 05-18-2011, 10:14 PM

Stop posting pictures & get that engine in the car! We want sound bites by the end of the weekend!

289fia_cobra · #10 (**permalink**) 05-18-2011, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *13*

Stop posting pictures & get that engine in the car! We want sound bites by the end of the weekend!

Tough crowd!
Don't worry that is planned in a couple of weeks.

tkb289 · #11 (**permalink**) 06-05-2011, 10:21 PM

Well the motor is not in just yet, had everything all setup to install the motor and transmission today but ran into a problem.

Just before the guys came over to lend a hand, I gave everything a once over, even got out the flashlight to take a look at the pilot bearing. Something did not look quite right, and upon further inspection found that the bearing race was damaged and some of the needle bearings were not being properly retained.

Bottom line, the pilot bearing needs to be replaced then we should be good to go. Glad to have discovered this before it all went together. Not a show stopper, just a slight delay. I'll keep you guys posted.

289fia_cobra · #12 (**permalink**) 06-12-2011, 11:09 PM

Since Tim is busy with guests at his house, I guess I'll fill in here:

Started this morning at around 10:00AM to install tranny and engine today.
First and foremost was the pilot bearing. A few taps with soft mallet and a tall socket that was the same diameter as the bearing, and it was seated within minutes (this item is what delayed the install last week.)

Next, came the pressure plate installation, followed by the QuickTime bell housing. Spent time finding the torque specs. Amazingly, throughout this day, we found torque specs listed in the ERA, for "general" bolt sizes and grades, to be rather low when compared to my Ford Mustang Chilton's manual. But we decided this is Tim's build so we went with whatever is specified in the ERA build manual so we went with the torque specs there and used Lock-tite as needed.

With a final once-over, it was time to set it up on the hoist and initially, we did try it from the front, which I was pretty sure wasn't going to go and sure enough, we ended up about 6" shy. Plan B: come in from the side.

This worked out after we pushed the car out and then back into the garage to give us more room for the hoist on the drivers side of the car, however, we found the front tire to interfere with the hoist a little bit so we decided it was best to remove it. Tim got his first taste of whacking the spinner with his new lead hammer! Nothing really dramatic if you've ever seen this before, but frankly, I have NEVER seen this done so I found this entertaining. Sure beat removing 5 bolts!!!

With about 4 of us manning the cherry picker and engine, we slowly but surely got the engine into position. I was underneath ensuring the QuickTime would clear the tunnel entrance and engine mount studs were in position. Within minutes, the engine was finally settled into position.

We took a break for pizza and beer and then tackled the transmission. This took a bit of effort as it seemed that initially, it would not mate into the bell housing very easily but we used a bolt to draw the TKO to the bellhousing and I got within 1/8" gap underneath. Tim's son did the same for the upper bolt opposite from my corner and very quickly, the tranny sort of popped into place and mated onto the bell housing.

Once we were all satisfied everything was level (engine was a bit clocked but we took care of that quickly), Tim's son (Mike) torqued everything down underneath the car.

I know Tim's got some pics to post but by 5:00PM, I was bushed but happy everything got installed.

tkb289 · #13 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 12:56 AM

As Herman said … the Motor & Transmission are in

First and foremost, had a lot of talented help from Herman (289fia_cobra), my son Mike, and fellow car enthusiast Larry amongst others. That really made the difference … thanks guys !!!

Once the pilot bearing was installed, it was pretty straight forward to put together the clutch assembly and reinstall the bell housing & starter.

With the water pump pulley off, but the crank pulley on, the motor was lowered pretty much straight down from over the driver's side fender into the engine bay. We had (4) guys up top guiding the motor and moving the cherry picker, with one guy underneath providing direction (thanks Herman). The front of the motor was being tipped up just a bit and once the bell housing cleared the firewall, we were able to then slide the cherry picker towards the rear of the car, lowered the motor some more and this brought the motor mounts right into alignment.

I had cut the heads off (2) bolts and ground a slot into the end, to be used as temporary guide pins on the bell housing (put in the upper bolt holes, after the motor was installed). The transmission was muscled into the car and then pretty well slid into place, as everything had been carefully aligned. It took a little nudging to get the last little bit to go together, but everything seemed to fit well, we did not have to force anything.

It was very cool to use a lead hammer for the first time … had to double check to make sure I was going the correct direction … next I'll learn how to safety wire

This was a big step today and while there is a lot of plumbing & electrical work, manifolds & exhaust system to install … the car is going together very nicely.

Here are some photos from today's activities:

fasterthebetter · #14 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 01:54 AM

Great work.

xb-60 · #15 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 02:48 AM

Great job, Tim and gang. Full credit to Herman for giving instructions from underneath. It's a real psychological hurdle to install a motor and trans. It's not a particularly difficult job, but there's a lot riding on no slip-ups!! Great job.
Cheers!
Glen

Jim Holden · #16 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 05:42 AM

Tim:

Lots of fun!

Don't forget to move the shifter forward!

Jim

wolf k · #17 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 06:25 AM

Congratulations Tim, you and your crew look like they did a very thorough job.
Heads up, I had to remove the steering sector shaft to fit the drivers side header.

tkb289 · #18 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Holden

Tim:

Lots of fun!

Don't forget to move the shifter forward!

Jim

Jim,

Thanks ... need to move the shifter and also use the ERA supplied bolts to attach it. One neat detail, the shifter looks like the one out of a 60's Ford ... but with the 5 speed pattern ... nice!

tkb289 · #19 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xb-60

Great job, Tim and gang. Full credit to Herman for giving instructions from underneath. It's a real psychological hurdle to install a motor and trans. It's not a particularly difficult job, but there's a lot riding on no slip-ups!! Great job.
Cheers!
Glen

Glen,

Right you are ... with lots of help it is straight forward and it's also due to how well the car is designed & built, the manual and all the right bits & pieces that ERA supplies.

*13* · #20 (**permalink**) 06-13-2011, 06:34 AM

Good fun! Lookin' good!