Build Thread Bird_dog0347's Frankenstang, sure is nice of us to build a car around the fuel filler door
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I just cant wait to have it done in the form of a damage/rust free shell coated in direct metal epoxy and all the panels on and lined out. Then we can really build this thing and get to the fun stuff.
Pretty much, and it will all look like factory welds on everything too. Kevin was telling me that the epoxy will lay down smoother on the inside once it cures and he will make it look nice and smooth. I had to tell him to calm down, no one will ever see it once the sound deadener is back on there and then carpet on top of that.
You don't know Kevin very well do you?
Stuff you'll never see has to be near perfect.
You get what you pay for and with him it's gonna be a little more.
Oh trust me, I know very well... But someone has to be the voice of reason here and 20 year old me would be very ashamed that it's me.
He he he! He doesnt even know about the metal crash bar yet that goes behind the bumper I had blasted and now slicked out in epoxy. The old one was dented from a hit and we cant have that.
What if I had a sentimental attachment to that dent? (I didn't, lol) Are you going to cut and buff that before doing the Ceramic coat too?
I had originally bought a new stock steel hood from LMR as I hated the old huge 3" cowl hood I had on there, but after getting the 97 Cobra we were pretty certain that the engine won't fit under the stock hood. Since The car is going to be a mix of different Cobra parts anyway (04 IRS, 97 4.6 32v) I wanted to give a nod to that and picked up a Cervini's Terminator hood for it as I also wanted the cooling vents to help with heat extraction. It arrived at Kevin's yesterday and now he can keep setting the gaps on the fenders (the driver's side was damn close even without the hood).
The last week or so has been more about getting the 97 Cobra drive train out so the new owner of the roller can come get it and it will be out of the way. Not too many surprises, but there were a few during disassembly... First off I was told when I bought the Cobra that it had a Walbro 455 LPH pump and 60# injectors, but when Kevin was driving it on the Dragon it's like there was a hard rev limiter at 4k rpm. Kevin decided to drop the tank even though we don't need it and I already have a better system on the way to him, and he found the only fuel upgrade appears to be a 255 lph in tank pump. Hard to tell on the injectors, they don't appear to be marked so we will have to have them tested to know what we have. Obviously the car was seriously under-fueled for it being supercharged but that will be solved so no worries there.
Also, when Kevin pulled the after cooler he found this.
Then later when he pulled the heat exchanger he found this.
Not to mention some of the crap wiring work and spaghetti mess, as well as the subwoofer box in the trunk that was so big it had to be put in from the back seat, but they had to cut part of that frame to put it in THEN put a crap weld on the frame to reinstall the seat.
All good now though, the engine and trans are officially out and ready to get cleaned up a bit while they wait to go in the notch. I'm going to just order some new headers and X/H pipe as well as they are not in good enough condition to be put on this car. These are usable and could be cleaned up, but I'll just sell them cheap to someone who wants to put in the work. Next up Kevin will put the roller back together so the new owner can pick it up.
Also, when Kevin pulled the after cooler he found this.
Then later when he pulled the heat exchanger he found this.
Not to mention some of the crap wiring work and spaghetti mess, as well as the subwoofer box in the trunk that was so big it had to be put in from the back seat, but they had to cut part of that frame to put it in THEN put a crap weld on the frame to reinstall the seat.
All good now though, the engine and trans are officially out and ready to get cleaned up a bit while they wait to go in the notch. I'm going to just order some new headers and X/H pipe as well as they are not in good enough condition to be put on this car. These are usable and could be cleaned up, but I'll just sell them cheap to someone who wants to put in the work. Next up Kevin will put the roller back together so the new owner can pick it up.
ummm no... it says LPH on both what was advertised as well as what was found.255gph fuel pump you say
The good news is that I emailed Vortech about the blower history today and this is what they said.
"S/N 29521 V-1 CCW was first sold in 6/2003, and then in for a minor repair (new seals and bearings) and also a gear case & hardware 1/2019.
Thanks,
Vortech"
So we know that overall the engine is in pretty good shape, the blower is in excellent shape, as well as the transmission/clutch. We will address the fuel issues shortly, and clean up the engine with new gaskets and paint before it goes back in to get a new tune. I also asked Vortech what are my upgrade options should the budget allow it to make more power, but that is where they asked me to call as there are too many variables to discuss over email.
Hey-my phone spells what it wants to spell-who am I to question it?
Glad to hear your drivetrain is healthy and ready to go Nictator….
Don't play innocent here... you're the devil on the shoulder talking me into all this. I was gonna leave the old drive train as is and maybe do a stroker but NOOOOOO... Kevin had to tell me multiple times the car needed a terminator swap.
I never said I was GOING to do it, I just wanted to ask the question so I knew if I needed to send them money or you money, there's only so much money. Plus I can always handle that upgrade on my own later, I have turned 17 wrenches before in my life, might as well be 18.
I’m just giving you a hard time man. But keep this in mind. Its not about turning wrenches. Its more working around show quality paint which I hate doing myself. Nothing wrong with getting a turn key car back that you only have to keep clean and drive.
Parts pile waiting to go into storage until it's ready to start fitting stuff up... the engine will get cleaned up, new gaskets top to bottom, and painted nicely but no need to do that right now. The notch is getting sandblasted, so hopefully the next update will be the pics of the coupe after sandblast and epoxy coating, and the bottom side will get raptor liner on it.
I don't have a WTF emote (WTF?I had originally bought a new stock steel hood from LMR as I hated the old huge 3" cowl hood I had on there, but after getting the 97 Cobra we were pretty certain that the engine won't fit under the stock hood. Since The car is going to be a mix of different Cobra parts anyway (04 IRS, 97 4.6 32v) I wanted to give a nod to that and picked up a Cervini's Terminator hood for it as I also wanted the cooling vents to help with heat extraction. It arrived at Kevin's yesterday and now he can keep setting the gaps on the fenders (the driver's side was damn close even without the hood).
) Anyway, in those images, sometimes it looks like the vents pop up into the airstream like a Stormin' Normin' hood and in others, it looks like they're sunk down. LoL I had to scroll back and forth a couple of times. It's messing with my eyes.
This is the only image that truly tells the tale:
Head scratching happened, is all I'm saying
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