Progress Thread The next "big" project for my Cobra

LILCBRA · Jan 11, 2023

Adding a pic of the seat partially mounted. I need to jack the car to reach the inboard mounting locations.

LILCBRA · Feb 14, 2023

Update: both seats are now installed. The passenger seat has a different bolt pattern for the manual seat track than the driver side had with the power track. I tried to take plenty of pics to illustrate everything....

Here is the piece that doubled as the riser and as the locating jig for the mounting holes. As you can see, it worked well.

And the back side of the original seat. Notice the broken bolt on the left side. The right side also broke when I tried to remove that rail.

Here you can see the newer track's hole locations are spaced differently. They're also too narrow to try to reuse them.

Here, the new seat's tracks have been removed and revealed multiple hole locations on the back side of the seat. The driver seat was completely different and I had to relocate all of the mounting holes. But as you can see, a pair of them lined up well with the II's seat tracks, I just had to drill them out in order to use the spacer pieces so the tracks would clear the framework.

After getting them mounted, I used my jig to double check the track's mounting stud locations and bolted it into the car.

Now, it's time for a serious bath and a test drive to confirm my wiring project is up to snuff.

2Blue2 · Feb 14, 2023

Something Happened!
Yes!!
Looks to fit nice by sill.

LILCBRA · Feb 15, 2023

It does seem to be a little tight against the tunnel. I had a booklet of some kind stuffed between the original seat and the tunnel before I started and didn't remove it until I had the new seat in. It gave plenty of resistance when I pulled it from between the 2, but nothing ripped. I'd suspect that one might have to put in a little more effort if they wanted to adjust the seat, but I think it'll move. I also think that we're going to try a test drive this weekend - my girlfriend wanted me to get it washed so I could take her for a drive last night.

I think I've found one of those mystical unicorns.....

LILCBRA · Feb 18, 2023

LILCBRA said:
It does seem to be a little tight against the tunnel. I had a booklet of some kind stuffed between the original seat and the tunnel before I started and didn't remove it until I had the new seat in. It gave plenty of resistance when I pulled it from between the 2, but nothing ripped. I'd suspect that one might have to put in a little more effort if they wanted to adjust the seat, but I think it'll move. I also think that we're going to try a test drive this weekend - my girlfriend wanted me to get it washed so I could take her for a drive last night.

I think I've found one of those mystical unicorns.....

And this is going to be a no-go now - went out to start the car and it won't start. It cranked 2 separate times I turned the key, then it wouldn't on the third try. I could smell some kind of hot electical component when I got back out to double check the battery connection, and the cables were a little warm. I checked the battery and it read 12.2v, then went ahead and tried jumping the solenoid with the key off to make sure there was no other kind of electrical load affecting anything, and the solenoid just clicked once. Looks like I'll be hunting for a new starter now.... anyone have any suggestions? In case you don't remember, I still run the II flywheel and bell housing. I'd kinda like to try a mini-starter of some sort this time around.....

2Blue2 · Feb 18, 2023

I’m thinking All the parts books are wrong at all the parts stores, the 10 tooth starter will damage your flywheel or flex plate.
A Mustang II with 302 and 141 tooth bell housing needs this 9 tooth drive.
Would be swapped onto a Ford 10 tooth starter of that era.

LILCBRA · Feb 20, 2023

You've brought up an aspect that I don't think has been explored in a long time - at least I don't remember it being mentioned anywhere. I did some more searching and found a couple threads that might be relevant.

In this thread, Gael mentioned that he counted his drive teeth and found that his had 9 teeth.

Will a PMGR starter work on a manual flywheel?

I have the flywheel that came with the 302 V8, and the Rad4.. would the PMGR starter work with that? My starter has 9 teeth, the PMGR has 10. I'm having a bad feeling now that it won't work, does anyone know of a smaller sized starter that works for the manual flywheel? Thanks for any...

stangnet.com

Then, a couple months later, he posted this thread and said that both his starter and a new mini starter that he went with had 10 teeth.

Those with manual V8 flywheel, there is a mini-starter

I lucked out upon one when I was searching for a mini starter, instead of using mine. I bought mine from Don's Hotrod Shop in Tucson, AZ. A local performance parts shop. I counted the teeth on my old starter, and this starter, and they both had 10 teeth, and the distance apart seemed similar...

stangnet.com

Another couple of threads mentioned a couple of different things. First, there was this thread talking about the different cone depths.

V8 starters, revisited

Okay guys, what is the latest verdict on V8 Mustang II starters? IS there a II specific starter, or not? My brother has had constant issues with eating starters and ring gears for a while now on the Pro-Street 74. He's tried multiple starters, two bellhousings, two flywheels, and endless...

stangnet.com

Then, there's this thread which states in post #6 that the automatic flexplate has 141 teeth whereas the manual's flywheel has 148 teeth.

https://stangnet.com/mustang-forums...rters-work-with-our-smaller-flywheels.502778/

Then, there's this one that mentions the gear pitch which makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

Starter Madness

HI fellow stangnet MustangII owners, We need to start a thread on what plagues the C4 automatic V-8 starting system of our Mustang II's. I have purchased 3 bellhousing, 3 flywheels and 5 staters without any change in the terrible grinding at startup. Can any of you come up with solutions or...

stangnet.com

Then, finally, we have Matt's suggestion for using a late model Fox or SN95 starter when using a larger oil pan.

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

Now, it seems that most of the problems people have with starters concerns using them with the automatic's flexplate. In one of those linked threads someone made mention of having a manual and being able to get a starter that would work at any time. And, in my experience, I think that's most likely true. I don't remember having any of the problems that I see mentioned all over - but then again, I've not had an automatic transmission since the mid 90s. SO - what I think I might try is Matt's suggestion and go with a Fox starter. I know they're a little smaller than the stocker and shouldn't be some outrageous price compared to an aftermarket high torque mini. Looking at this guy here:

Amazon product ASIN B001O07M88
Looks like I'll be going through all of my steps again that I documented here.

Enzio · Feb 27, 2023

Didn't you do a write up on changing the starter out a long time ago? When I had mine out a couple of years ago I just took it apart and replaced the brushes and cleaned up the comuntator. It's been working fine.

LILCBRA · Feb 27, 2023

I did! And I mentioned and linked it in my last sentence.

Adieu · Feb 28, 2023

ElSuperPinto ran the PMGR starter for a '93 Mustang 5.0 for years with no issues. If you install one and it makes grinding noises, the shim from Dorman fixes it, makes it start smooth as silk.

LILCBRA · Mar 3, 2023

Ordered the starter for the car as well as a new controller for the AF guage last night. The starter is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, but I'll most likely be busy elsewhere. We're running about an hour and a half north of Atlanta to go look at this for my girlfriend's son.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

I've started a thread in the SN95 section for this project:

Not my normal area of the forums....

So I did a thing this morning that I may regret.... :shrug: Here's the listing: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/8689147314490045 Seller's Description Car runs good. Bad transmission doesn’t drive at all. Needs transmission. Has clean title. Bring a trailer. Looking to...

stangnet.com

Supposed to go look at it and most likely bring it home tomorrow. It'll be his first car and from what I can gather from my girlfriend and his best friend is that he's kinda into cars, but he's a little apprehensive about talking with that kind of stuff with me. So I'm hoping that I can get him to open up and maybe even start working on things with me. We're planning on going to 2 car shows on the next 2 Sundays and I'm hoping he'll go to the second one with us. He has some kind of band event or something this weekend.

The bigger story with him (and his sisters to a somewhat lesser/different degree...) is that he's never really had a proper father figure in his life and according to my girlfriend it's something he's always been looking for. His father basically left without maintaining contact after his 3rd or 4th birthday. Then she started dating this guy that lasted about 5 or 6 years. She said that he asked him (after he had proposed to her) if he could start calling him "dad" - that guy's response was "no." Can't say I blame him for being somewhat apprehensive and not real sure how to react when I ask him to do things or whatever, but I'm hoping that this can be a way to open him up a little. If he's not into it at all, then my girlfriend can replace her Sequoia with this for the fuel costs, or it can be his sister's first car, or I'll drive it to save on my Ram and the cost of fuel. In any event, I'm sure we'll get some good use out of it.

Adieu · Mar 3, 2023

LILCBRA said:
Ordered the starter for the car as well as a new controller for the AF guage last night. The starter is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, but I'll most likely be busy elsewhere. We're running about an hour and a half north of Atlanta to go look at this for my girlfriend's son.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

I've started a thread in the SN95 section for this project:

Not my normal area of the forums....

So I did a thing this morning that I may regret.... :shrug: Here's the listing: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/8689147314490045 Seller's Description Car runs good. Bad transmission doesn’t drive at all. Needs transmission. Has clean title. Bring a trailer. Looking to...

stangnet.com

Supposed to go look at it and most likely bring it home tomorrow. It'll be his first car and from what I can gather from my girlfriend and his best friend is that he's kinda into cars, but he's a little apprehensive about talking with that kind of stuff with me. So I'm hoping that I can get him to open up and maybe even start working on things with me. We're planning on going to 2 car shows on the next 2 Sundays and I'm hoping he'll go to the second one with us. He has some kind of band event or something this weekend.

The bigger story with him (and his sisters to a somewhat lesser/different degree...) is that he's never really had a proper father figure in his life and according to my girlfriend it's something he's always been looking for. His father basically left without maintaining contact after his 3rd or 4th birthday. Then she started dating this guy that lasted about 5 or 6 years. She said that he asked him (after he had proposed to her) if he could start calling him "dad" - that guy's response was "no." Can't say I blame him for being somewhat apprehensive and not real sure how to react when I ask him to do things or whatever, but I'm hoping that this can be a way to open him up a little. If he's not into it at all, then my girlfriend can replace her Sequoia with this for the fuel costs, or it can be his sister's first car, or I'll drive it to save on my Ram and the cost of fuel. In any event, I'm sure we'll get some good use out of it.

There you go, get a young kid involved in Mustangs, then he'll be too broke to buy drugs!

LILCBRA · Mar 3, 2023

He's a good kid. Spends most of his time in front of his computer. But he does have a couple buddies that he goes to the gym with - kid is bigger and stronger than I am now. But he stays out of trouble, that's the main thing.

LILCBRA · Mar 6, 2023

Soooooo...... I FINALLY got it back on the road last night. Had my girlfriend with me and she took a couple videos with her new phone. I'll have to see if I can get them transferred from her FB page for your viewing pleasure.

Before all of that, though, we went to the Caffeine and Octane show at the Town Center mall in Kennesaw where I ran into MORE inspiration to finally get it back on the road....

I was geeking out too much to take a good picture. In fact, I didn't even take these, my girlfriend did - that's yours truly looking in the passenger side T top. I spoke with the owner for a little while and asked him if he comes to this show often as I didn't see it last month, he said he does. He also said what we all say, that he's almost always the only one at any show. So I asked him if he wanted to meet up for the next one and I'd bring mine. We exchanged numbers and I'll try to get a hold of him next month to see about getting *2* IIs at the next one! Side note - the green F series next to him is his son's.

Anyway, later on, after confirming that I indeed had the wiring bug worked out, we jumped in the Cobra and went back to her house to see if her son would be interested in it. He went for a ride with me and took some pics and/or video while I drove. I asked him on a couple occasions if he wanted me to get on it and he didn't, he said he didn't feel safe. In his defense, I don't think he's ever ridden in anything older than 2000, but I assured him we wouldn't do anything that would harm anything - i.e. I wasn't going to do anything in traffic or anywhere populated, and I told him that you just have to be aware of your surroundings and that I definitely wouldn't do anything where I didn't think I could maintain control. So I didn't do anything with him in the car except hit the brakes kinda hard for a red light that was hard to see because of the setting sun. When I got him back home and my girlfriend was getting back in he told her to not let me do anything unsafe....

I'll see about getting at least one video up. One was when we were on our way back to my house after taking him out and she wanted me to find a more hospitable section of road with little to no traffic.

LILCBRA · Mar 6, 2023

Here's the one I just mentioned. It didn't take as long as I suspected since she sent that one to me through messenger....

2Blue2 · Mar 6, 2023

Yeah, I watched it twice!
Probably watching it again, and again tomorrow...

LILCBRA · Mar 7, 2023

2Blue2 said:
Yeah, I watched it twice!
Probably watching it again, and again tomorrow...

I've gone viral in Hawaii! Is that like rock bands only being popular in Japan?

LILCBRA · Mar 7, 2023

Can't seem to get the videos from her FB page, but here are a couple of the "before" pics she took while I was working on it.

And another after a wash.

LILCBRA · Mar 8, 2023

A tiny bit of progress last night - I reinstalled the chin spoiler. The mounting holes on one side are pretty crappy now. I should probably pull it back off and reinforce them, but it's solid as it is now....

2Blue2 · Mar 8, 2023

OH yeah spoiler helping a lot, looking good now!

Progress Thread The next "big" project for my Cobra

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

will be trying this sex one when I can find it

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

will be trying this sex one when I can find it

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Dang it. I was hoping mine would get 3 more inches

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Easy there, this ain't a dating site.

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Easy there, this ain't a dating site.

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

will be trying this sex one when I can find it

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

will be trying this sex one when I can find it

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