King Cobra Build in Oregon

[79PaceKar]

So far the folks I have asked about this have said NO WAY! Seems this can be a very expensive swap. Going to a local body shop Monday who work on stuff like this. Hope to get a better answer. If all bad news, I will be finishing my yellow II then starting on the T-top car. Will be striping body and taking to have the body sand blasted, to include undercarriage area. Will have it sprayed with a sealant. Also looking for someone to do the front clip area. I will take the front clip off the parts car after talking with someone who know what they are doing.

Here are the rims I want to use. 16 inch. I think these were on 03 Mustangs. Have the center spinners. i cleaned these up as the clear coat was pealing off. Came out pretty good. No runs or finger prints.....

 

[IICrew]

I like the idea of 2 II's being saved.

It is just metal. The factory did it. A competent fabrication shop can do it. Find a shop who can do chop tops if you want the t tops on the yellow II. It is doable. Here is a link for a Trans Am having the Fisher roof installed.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzUmzW8jgnE

 

[IICrew]

Here is another T top swap on a Fox body.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ghJTHiMKc

 

[General karthief]

I think @95steedamustang recently did a T top graft on a fox. He may jump in here with some advice.
Should be a similar amount of work.

 

[95steedamustang]

I think @95steedamustang recently did a T top graft on a fox. He may jump in here with some advice.
Should be a similar amount of work.

Yes. I’ve done 12 T-top conversions and would be gald to offer any input if you run into an issue. Its really a measure 10 times and cut once kinda thing

 

[79PaceKar]

Wow! Thanks for all the inputs. Heading off to a body shop and a sand blasting place. Just wondering if it's better to save the T-top instead of cutting it up. Glad I have several months before making the final decision.

 

[79PaceKar]

Incase I have not posted my Mustang II Go Kart here it is....

 

[79PaceKar]

Well! Just got back from three body shops. First one said they no longer do work on anything over 20 years. Second was so booked they are not excepting work like I want for a year....Then one of the managers comes over. He is a Mustang II owner. Looked at the photos and said he would not let them cut the top of the T Top off. Said it was a waste of a good car. Said he would buy the car as it rather then have the top cut. The estimate before he came over was $3,500.....Just to cut and move the T-Top. Can't really blame him.

Went to the third shop. Seems they said cutting the top can be done, but for a lot more then $3,500.

Asked about getting the radiator support section done. That will be about $2,000. Then asked if they will spray an epoxie primer sealer over the entire body and paint the undercarriage a bright white. $3,500.

Would have entire body sand blasted then repairs and paint for about $4,000.

Need to have all work done in a short time as once the body is sand blasted it needs to be primed as soon as possible so rust will not set in. May need to do all this in steps.

So it seems for now the T-Top will not get cut up unless the body is so bad after the sand blasting.

Go Kart gets some work pretty soon. Cutting the hood to place one of the plastic V8 engine in so I can lift the hood at shows....

 

[79PaceKar]

Question??? Thinking I should be looking for small parts now before I really need them. Oil pan. I looked on ebay and find there are NEW oil pans listed. Looked at other places and I am finding new oil pans and oil pickups. Has anyone purchased or used one of these "new" oil pans and pickups? thanks

 

[LILCBRA]

I'd be careful of the places that list oil pans that are compatible with the II. I'm under the impression that most, if not all, are incorrect. A standard pan can be used, but there are other factors involved such as shimming the motor mounts.

 

[LILCBRA]

Foe reference, I posted this a couple years ago when I replaced my oil pan gasket. It shows the difference between a II pan and a standard front sump.

Here's a quick how-to on changing an oil pan gasket on a 302 without removing the engine. It's the same steps as changing a starter more or less, so it's basically 2 birds with 1 stone.

First, raise the car to an appropriate height and support it. Remove the (-) battery cable from the battery.

Pull the mounting bolts from the rack and pinion. You're not going to remove it, just manipulate it so it's out of your way. In my case, I lifted the right front tire from the pedestal it was on so that side would turn freely.

Remove the cable from the starter.

If your car still has the secondary cross member bolted in place, remove it. That gives you access to the bottom starter bolt as well as clearer access to the back oil pan bolts. Remove the starter by removing the 2 bolts holding it in.

Remove the sway bar bushings and brackets from the frame and let the sway bar hang.

Remove the oil pan bolts and remove the oil pan from the car. I had to wiggle it over the sway bar and out of the car.

This picture is to illustrate the difference between a II oil pan and another stock front sump pan. I also have a picture of the part number for the oil pan. I'm not sure if it's the complete part number or not, but what I have is still visible. The II pan is behind the standard.

Installation is the reverse of these steps. I purchased the newer one piece oil pan gasket which comes with threaded plastic retaining clips, they're extremely helpful for reinstalling everything.

 

[79PaceKar]

I have had several "Sure this one fits" oil pans, so I am a bit Leary about those. One I found was sold by CJ Pony. I may call and find out. Still want to look for an OEM pan.

 

[2Blue2]

Oil pan and pick up cleaned up. Was really gunky outside and worse inside.
Pick up D5ZE-6622-AA
Pan D5ZE-6675-AB

This pan is round across bottom back by trans where as 65 pan has square shoulders,

I like LiILCBRA’s picture so I posted mine too. more info is better info.

 

[2Blue2]

So it seems for now the T-Top will not get cut up unless the body is so bad after the sand blasting.

Yes!

 

[IICrew]

Can you weld? If so you can use a regular front sump pan. You will need to curve the pan near the starter. Regular pans drop about an inch or two before curving sharply for the bottom. II pans curve into the bottom from the mounting flange. There is no flat sides at the starter. Then give about an inch of clearance at the steering rack. I used what I think was a truck pan years ago when I had the rusty Cobra running. I used a bfh to smash the pan inward at the starter and upward at the rack. It still sat on the rack but fit okay-ish. You don't need to smash the side in if you can find a mini starter from what I have read. If you use a manual rack iirc they are smaller diameter and give more clearance at the pan.

Easiest way is check around or ask Phil Schmidt if he has one for a II. There is someone here running a milodon pan but I dont remember who or what they had to do to make it fit.

Speaking of the rusty Cobra I initially wanted to get it running then had to change plans and get the t top car going. 4Reason was the chassis is so weak on the Cobra. Without an engine if I jacked it up at the drivers frame rail the front end would noticeably sag. You could watch the gap between fender and door grow at the top and shrink at the bottom with each stroke of the jack. There is not a lot of rust. No real holes in the bottom but it is thin all over. The driver side floor board buckled upwards as the frame rail pushed into the floor. Even if it looks okay I would check that before committing to may resources into it.

 

[LILCBRA]

There is someone here running a milodon pan but I dont remember who or what they had to do to make it fit.

Matt has a writeup in the tech section:

Fitting a Milodon 8-qt oil pan

I've been asked before what it takes to fit the Milodon 8-qt oil pan into a II. The answer, surprisingly, isn't much. The first thing you need to do is ensure you're running a low-profile intake manifold and air cleaner, unless you want to cut the hood. Then you will need to replace the stock...

stangnet.com

 

[79PaceKar]

Picked up my tail light bezels. Had then powder coated black trim. Came out really nice. Will post photo. got to thinking about my t-top( now being refered to as the cobra) and was wondering if anyone has had their engine compartment powder coated? Thinking about having it done in white and painting the undercarriage white. Body will be Laser Red with white racing strips. Can be done. Also looked up to see if powder coating can be painted over. Internet says yes, just in case I do this and it looks..............Looking for an oil pan. Sent an email to Phil and someone on Facebook Marketplace who says he has lots of Mustang 2 parts.

 

[79PaceKar]

Found an oil pan and other parts from Phil this morning.

 

[2Blue2]

Score!

 

[79PaceKar]

Found this Johnny Lighting (Hot Wheels) at a local garage sale. Needed to waste some time before going to a movie with my wife. Saw FastX (fast and furious) I have the plastic model of this, yes still in the box. Kinda good looking but would never try to build one or buy one. I guess Kemp only built one or two of these. Have not seem much information regarding these.