1963 - 289 Rocker Covers

[Dan Case]

Originally Posted by Karl Bebout

Is that a tach drive off the generator? WTF? There were electronic Tachs back then, weren't there? Sun with a sending unit box?
Also, is that a 5th breather cap beside the generator, by the dip stick?

Yes, early Cobras used Lucas® race prepared tachometer drive generator supplied by AC Cars with the chassis. The original assemblies had one of a couple of different large diameter one piece cast aluminum fan and sheave for high rpm use. I believe AC Cars and or Ken Rudd had used the same type racing generator system on ACEs and RS2.6s before Cobras. Very few early cars still have their original generator with large diameter cast aluminum fan/sheave. There was a gear box that was assembled between the generator and cable.

At some point after CSX2061 and by CSX2080 chassis started receiving a Ford electrically operated tachometer. The hole the instrument panel cut for a Smiths tachometer was too large for the Ford instrument so special stepped steel adpater rings painted gloss black were used to make the smaller outer diameter Ford instrument "fit".

Early XHP-260 powered Cobra unrestored with intact racing Lucas generator.




AC Cars supplied the Lucas generators, a custom fabricated mounting bracket, and an adjustable slip arm to v-belt tension adjustment. Those early charging systems are associated with early cars originally fitted with either a XHP-260 or HP260 engine. The introduction of HP289 engines at the beginning of March 1963 brought in the Ford charging system Ford used in Fairlanes with HP289 engines.

1962 (XHP-260 and HP260) engines and 1963 HP289 engines did not have any accessory ports in rocker arm covers as Ford built them. Crankcase ventilation and oil fill was through an oil fill tube in the timing cover. Ford (and Cobra) wise the oil fill location in street engines was moved to a rocker arm cover and the oil fill tube in the timing cover was eliminated for the 1964 model year. The hole Ford made in the front wall of the lifter valley to create a path between timing cover oil fill / breather was soon dropped from production. If one uses a 1962-63 oil fill/ventilation through the timing system on a 1964 or later model year engine block a hole must be drilled in the front wall of the lifter valley UNLESS you find a service block that Ford drilled the passage and then pressed a core plug into it. If a core plug is present it can be knocked out to allow use of the timing cover fill/ventilation system.

For race engines Shelby American added one or more ventilation features. Every engine and car was a similar but different subject as drivers and subteams of mechanics had different preferences. Said another way each set of modified rocker arm covers were usually just a little different than any other set. Items like oil pans and rocker arm covers were modified by different people at different times under different sets of preferences as required. It was not like ordering production or assembly line parts from a catalog. Mechanics made what they wanted as they needed it. For restoring original race cars it would be a historical mistake to have every car from every period use the exact same rocker arm covers today.

Even the way original Shelby American race shop modified steel rocker arm covers were finished varied: some where painted silver, some were painted dull black, some where painted high gloss black, and later ones usually bright cadmium plated. Some engines used either standard Ford painted (CSX2155 for example) or Ford chrome plated dress up (CSX2345 for example) oil fill covers on both sides. At least some of the Dragonsnakes used 1964 version cast aluminum COBRA POWERED BY FORD oil fill side rocker arm covers on both sides of their engines.

See an expanded version of this post under the Originality Forum.