ERA 2136 Build Log

[wolf k]

Tim, I had the same tight clearance issues with my headers, only the drivers side, used a floor jack to tweek them. Also cut off quite a bit of the collectors to get those pipes to hang up close to the bottom.

[wolf k]

Tim, sure has been quiet on your thread for awhile, how is it going?

[tkb289]

Wolf,

You are correct … things have been quiet … a bit too quiet.

I have made some good progress but it's been slow going. My goal has been to finish the rest of the install with as close to the ERA level of 'attention to detail' as I can get.

Fabricated some shims for the motor, they are out for powder coat. I am tweaking the throttle linkage set up to get it aligned per the instructions. Also added a special screen to the upper radiator hose, to keep any rust from the motor getting into the radiator. Once the motor has a few miles on it, I'll probably take the filter out. I have also made some changes to the slave cylinder setup, to improve the linkage geometry. It's installed, all I need to do is bleed the system and see how the setup works.

I will have some time over the up coming labor day weekend to make some more progress, so by early next week, I should have some photos and updates to share.

Thanks for checking in!

- Tim

[Mando]

Thanks tkb289/Glen, it seems to make sense!

Regards.

[289fia_cobra]

Tim:
So how did the "first start in your garage" go?

[tkb289]

First Start … Success !

This evening we rolled 2136 out of the garage onto the driveway and got her all set for the first start. Have been getting ready for this moment over the past few months with a lot of help from my friend and neighbor Larry. The motor shims went in and motor leveled with no problems, still need to check if the hood fits. Throttle linkage is setup, heat insulation around the brake lines that run near the manifold and temporary choke cable was setup. Coolant system flushed & filled, all electrical connections were verified and 2 1/2 gallons of gas into the tank.

Had my family and some car buddies there, one of which was Steve (aka PANAVIA). A few cranks of the starter got fuel to the carb … and the motor started right up! Steve was checking things over as the engine warmed up … no leaks, funny noises or smoke … he looked like a doctor giving a patient an exam … motor warmed up to 180 deg, oil pressure around 60 psi … and it sounded great … revs quickly and has a nice lope at idle. The motor had been fully assembled and run in on the dyno and several pulls made, so I knew the motor would be just right … Tom at FE Specialties built me one very nice 302. Did not have a muffler installed, just the head pipe with the tail pipe shoved on and the whole hodgepodge supported with a brick! It was a bit loud but sounds so good!

I was too busy setting things up that I forgot to get some good photos of the car … just one shot in the dark before we rolled the car back into the garage. I'll take some pictures soon to show where things stand now.

Have a few more loose ends to wrap up in the engine room, including checking the hood for clearance. The biggest item will be fitment of the exhaust system and mufflers, then getting the whole setup ceramic coated. After that is wrapping up the clutch slave cylinder, transmission tunnel and seats.



Right after the first start up … no muffler, just pipe !

[xb-60]

Big, big day, Tim! Congratulations. Slow and careful gets there in the end (with no bangs and no leaks!)
That's one nice looking street FIA you have there.
Cheers,
Glen

[Dangerous Doug]

Nice! How many neighbors came out to see what the hell was going on?

DD

[LightNFast]

........................

[marcalan]

congratulations on getting it running with good vital signs.

M-A

[tkb289]

Thanks guys ... setting up some help with the exhaust install, hope to get that going in the next week or two. Need to check hood clearance, it will be close, the 1/4" shims to raise the motor helped with the exhaust manifold clearances, but will make the clearance on the top side of the motor that much tighter.

[xb-60]

Tim - I read somewhere about some sort of top hat shaped adaptor that dropped the base of the air cleaner (so that you could use a deeper air cleaner for better flow and filtration). Would an adaptor like that be suitable for gaining you some clearance?
Cheers,
Glen

[tkb289]

Glen,

Great idea ... you are right about the dropped air cleaner bases ... just came across that myself in a current hood clearance thread ... is Club Cobra great or what.

Just ordered a K&N air cleaner base with 7/8" drop, that should be just about right. The only other thing I will need to do is shorten the wing nut stud.

As best as I can measure, there is about 1/4" to 3/8" clearance between the air cleaner and the hood. This is with the motor not running ... I am sure there will be some movement of the motor as it vibrates and torques over under load. Ideally I would think about 3/4" clearance would be better.

The other option would be to reduce the carb spacer from 1" to 3/4" or even 1/2"... but I would assume that will reduce the performance of the motor. This would be a last resort, the air cleaner is a simpler fix.

Should have the part by the end of the week, we'll see how it looks and most of all how it works.

[*13*]

Open exhaust had to have a few people calling the local authorities!!! Ha, Love it!

[Tom Howland]

Tim, Would you consider putting in a bung for an A/F reader into the exhaust system? I've been tuning today and it sure helps.

[tkb289]

Tom,

Good suggestion. The carb was dialed in on the dyno, so any adjustments on the car should be minor. My inclination is to leave the manifolds as is, and any dyno tuning could be done with a tail pipe sniffer. If I was racing or running EFI ... I would put them on for sure. Hope to see you at a meet soon, once my car is done!

- Tim

[ZwickFF]

Tim,

Decided to check your progress and congrats on getting her running. Bet you can't wait to get in on the street. Getting ready to start taking some things apart on mine to start changing thinks they way I want it. Once Istart I may be off the road for a while so I'm reluctant to start. Can't wait until we can get togther for a ride in the Cobras

[tkb289]

Glenn,

First off, welcome to Club Cobra!

Car is getting pretty close, a bit more fabrication & final assembly, then ready to go! Look forward to drives together, just like old times. Keep us posted if you start digging into your car, lots of good ideas and advice can be found here.

[tkb289]

Time for an update. Finally got the car over to a friend's place and onto a lift. To get a little more room to work, we cut up a 2x6 and screwed the pieces together into blocks. Used a floor jack to get the car off the ground then put the blocks on the lift pads … and up she goes. It will be so much easier working on a lift, than on the floor!

The plan is to set the muffler in place then determine how much to shorten the collector to get the head pipe to fit, then weld on the tabs for bolting the pipes together. The tricker part will be cutting and setting the location of the tail pipe and coming up with a rubber isolated tail pipe hanger.

There are a number of different options, hoping to find a way that does not involve drilling into the frame or if we need to, making the minimum number of holes. This will take a little while to get done, as our mutual work schedules make car time hard to arrange … but we will get it done. Can't wait to get the car on the road!

[xb-60]

Hi Tim. You're up late.
How do I say this?.....nice rear end there, buddy!
Cheers,
Glen