10-30-07

     Welcome to Frame Build-up Section VI !!  Section V ended with us finishing the floor boards, a project that lasted for what seamed forever.  Sheet metal work is very time consuming, and can not be rushed if you want the final product to look right.  My Dad was responsible for the majority of the interior and Firewall sheet metal work.  He has the patients to attack each section with the right combination of focus and diligence that allows for a great looking finished product.  I on the other hand, have much to learn about sheet metal and the slow nature of the beast.  I only bring this up to remind all those that want to rush the process, like myself, that patients is the key to quality sheet metal work.

     With the Floor-Boards finished, we are now set to remove the body from the frame and start on the frame's conditioning.  Before we separated the body form the frame, I put the frame on the lift and got under neath and drilled all the holes up through the roll-Bar mounting plates I could reach.  This will allow me to place the mating plate we made and drill the rest of the holes.  I need this to properly Aline the mounting plates so we can get going on the interior roll bar, though it might be a bit down the road from now.  I also wanted to check out the bottom of the Floor-Boards, to see how they turned out and if they would need to be plated.  To my dismay, they looked great, very smooth and nothing needing attention.  We only have to trim around the transmission tunnel, but we new that was necessary.  I suppose this is also one of those areas that was the product of quality and patient work on the Floor-Boards??

     With the car back on the ground, all we need to do is UN-screw two (2) 1/2" bolts that hold the back seats rear bracket to the rear cross-member and UN-screw the body bolts that hold the body to the frame, all along it's perimeter, and the body is ready to be removed.  We use the 2-post lift to raise the body off the frame, and then just roll the frame out from under the body.  Once that is done, we rolled the body cart under the body and lower it down and on to the cart.  Two (2) bolts through the body to the cart secure the body on the cart, and it's done!  The body and the frame are now seperated.....

     Once we got to this spot, I asked Dad to mount the new casters we got for the frame rotisserie.  We had to move the frame rack several times last time the frame was mounted to it, and without the casters it was a pain.  So, this time we will have the casters, and it wont be a big deal to move the frame and it's rack around.  We cut eight (8) sections of 3" wide 3/16" thick flat stock, and then drilled them to match the bolt pattern on the casters.  After that they were welded to the bottom of the rotary rack and the casters bolted to the new plates.  While the process did take awhile to complete, the convenience and utility of the new set-up was way nicer then what ever time and material it took to change the racks to rollers.

Heres the Body sitting on it's Body cart!

     While Dad was doing the caster thing, I started on the dis-assembly of the frame.  First thing to come off was the front end.  I removed all the brake lines and mounting hardware, which we placed in a zip lock bag and marked, then the calipers, rotors, shocks, A-arms and rack & pinion assembly.  Everything was bagged and boxed up to protect it and keep everything in one place.  Next up was the rear end.  I had to remove the calipers, rotors, and again all hardware was zip-locked and boxed.  The 4-link suspension was removed and all bolts and hardware bagged.  The links were already wrapped in protective foam, so I left it on and put every thing away where it wouldn't get damaged.  The rear end itself was removed, and I put it on the rear frame stand to support it and allow me to roller it around as necessary.  Next up, The engine/transmission.  To remove the Engine/Transmission I rolled the overhead lift over and hooked it up to the engine.  First, I removed the one header that was on the engine, and I had to re-install the right side engine lifting bracket.  After that the drive-shaft had to be removed and the engine mount bolts removed, then it just lifted right up and out of the frame.  I rolled the over head lift away from the frame and separated the transmission from the engine, just four (4) bolts in the bell-housing and it was separated.  I sat the Transmission on a small rolling cart, and blew it off with compressed air then rolled it in the office for storage.  Next came the Engine, I blew it off too and lowered it on a bigger rolling cart.  I blocked up the front of the engine so it sat level and like the Transmission, I rolled it in the office, for storage.

    With the Engine and Transmission out of the frame, next I removed the brake lines and associated hardware.  Again all the mounting clips and screws, flexible lines, parts and pieces were zip-locked and the long lines were zip-tied together and stored.  I also tagged the lines with where they went, so when we re-install them it won't be so confusing.  Hopefully it will help??  The fuel system, transmission cooler, oil cooler and filter hoses were all next removed, then the oil filter assembly and fuel filter assembly.  At this point, I lifted the frame up with the 2-post lift and got under it to remove the many rubber loom clamps and screws that held the Emergency brake system on and all three of the B&M Hy-Tec Coolers.  Last pieces to come off were the Master Cylinder/Booster assembly and the Coolers. 

Here is the frame with the body removed and most assemblies still on the frame.  The front end section was the first parts to be removed, besides the radiator.

     In about three (3) hours I had the frame stripped and everything labeled, packed and stored.  When it came time to bolt the rotary rack to the frame, the new casters were a welcome addition.  They made hook-up a snap and I could move the frame anywhere with out help, easily all by myself.  This is one modification that will constantly pay dividends!

The Engine is ready to come out, the headers have been removed, as well as all lines and hoses.

I took these pictures to help remind where all the brake lines and parts went.

Here sits the bare frame mounted to the rotary rack with it's new casters.  There a lot of work left to do before this thing gets it's first coat of primer.

     Now I have to finish welding out the frame, and condition it for paint.  I estimate it will take a good 40 hours to get it ready for paint, there is a lot of grinding and even more sanding to do.  Good part is this will be the last time we have to do this, and at the end of all this sanding and prep work will be a shiny silver metallic frame. 

11-01-07 - 11-05-07

     We left off with the frame mated to the rotary rack, which just got the new casters.  This is where we have to  back-up a little, before we can proceed.  If you look closely at the pictures where the frame is mounted to the rotary rack, you will see the problem.  We fashioned a quick, but sturdy way to mount the frame to the rack way back when we were still doing assembly.  This worked fine then, but will not allow us to properly finish the frame with the many steps involved in the painting process.  Unless we manage to find another way to fasten the frame to the rotary rack, when we will not be able to properly paint all of the frame, which would cause noticeable blemishes when we try to cut-in the paint after the rack is UN-bolted.  The answer?? We came up with a way of supporting the frame by using the front upper control arm mounts and the rear bumper bracket.  This allows secure fastening, but will not interfere with the painting process, allowing us to paint the entire frame at one time.  A much better approach, then before.

The Prep

This is the frame in the "Temporary" Paint Booth.  It has been sanded, and smoothed, cleaned  and is now ready for Primer.  We use the heat lamps to bring the metal up to temperature, It's starting to get cold here.

 This is another shot of our Spray Booth.  You can see how we suspended the rear end with the lift.  The two (2) hoses running down the middle of the floor are the fresh air hoses we will use to supply fresh cool air while we are spraying the frame.  I cover them with plastic before the start of a new spray job to protect and cover the hoses so after the job is finished the covers can be removed and the hoses will still look like new.

    Here is much of the same, we used three (3) heat lamps (1500W) and two of them had four (4) heat lamps on them for a total of another 600w of heat.  I like the small heat lamps because they put out so much light, and you can not have too much light when spray painting.

    The frame looks real nice sitting there.  It took a lot of work to get it in this condition.

     This is a great shot of the rear end.  We hung it off the over head lift, and supported it by two (2) bolts where the shocks would normally bolt up.  I used two (2) nylon straps to support the rear end, We also taped them up so they won't get ruined by the over spray.

      This shot shows just how we supported the front of the frame.  If you look under the heat lamp, you will see the two (2) rod coming from the front end and going to the rotary rack.

     Now, with the frame support issue to rest we can start work on the frame's structure.  First up...finish welding the frame.  The mounts we installed for the roll bar were only tack-welded in place, so I went ahead and finish all six (6) of the mounts by welding them top and bottom.  The same holds true for the several brake line mounts, and a few places where we used the square tubbing, so I welded them out.  Next, the rear-end and it's UN-finished 4-bar mounts needed to be welded fully.  That was it for the welding, and for the next two days I worked solely on finish grinding the frame.  I started with 50 grit to get rid of all the 36 grit scratch marks and the other imperfections, then graduated to 80 grit, followed by 120 and then 220 grit.  Two days and approximately 16 hours latter, the frame looked very smooth.  As a last attempt to prep the frame for primer, I used 400 grit paper and the DA sander on all surfaces, this really got everything smooth and in a bright metal finish, just what I wanted. 

     Now that the frame is ready for paint, we had to get the shop ready as well.  We hung 12' x 16' heavy tarps up under the trusses to form a three (3) sides area, with the garage door serving as the other or 4th side.  Since our trusses (bottom) are 12'-2" off finish surface, we hung the tarps so they were 16' long and 12' high.  The arrangement gave us a 16' x 16' box that would serve as out "Paint Booth".  Now, with the "Booth" ready, we rolled the frame inside and turned on the heater and several curing lamps to warm the metal surface.  You have to remember it's November and we live in the Mid-West area.  The arrangement worked very well, I needed the surface temperature to be at least 77°, and it was very easy to get that temperature, we actually painted at 81°. 

Bare Metal Primer

     This is Dad, getting his suit on and ready for the first round of the paint, the primer coat.  We used House of Kolors, Bare Metal Primer.  We applied some three (3) wet coats and after it dried, we sanded all the surfaces down with some 320 grit sanding paper.

     In this wider shot, you can see that the floor has been covered as has all the lamp stands and the bottom of the over head lift.  My fresh air hose is lying on the frame waiting for me to enter dawned in my protective suit and carrying the spray gun full of fresh primer.  You have to be very organized when operating in harsh environments such as this.  All the paint has been mixed and is ready for use just outside the booth.  I am always the one that leaves and refills the paint gun, I hand my Dad the air supply hose and my fresh air hose, so they will be readily available when I return so I can get hooked up quickly.  It gets very hot, very fast without the fresh air supply blowing in your hood.

    While I was too busy to take any pictures of the frame in it's primer-ed state, I did take some of the many loose pieces we later primer-ed then painted too match the frame.

     Since our frame was bare metal, we used House of Kolor's "Bare Metal Primer".  It's a two (2) part paint much like the base coat, that is specially formulated for projects such as ours, where you are dealing with bare metal.  In order to get the proper adhesion, the base coat can not be shot over bare metal, instead, it has to be sprayed over the special primer.  This stuff has an agent that etches the metal, so the primer will adhere to the bare metal, then you can spray the base coat over it.  Just remember to sand the surfaces first!  Also, cleanliness is paramount!  We spent a lot of time cleaning the metal and then used the tack cloths for the final wipe down.  Primer is very thick, and this stuff was not different.  I used a primer gun, which is one with a very large needle/orifice to allow the thick mixture to flow.  I did have a few problems with the opening clogging up , especially when you stopped to re-fill the paint canister.  It's not real critical, being that we will have to sand the surface once we are finished and the paint cures, but still I tried to be as smooth and consistent as possible.  Once we had three good wet coats applied, we stopped and turned on the curing lamps for a couple hours then sanded the entire frame down with very fine sanding sponges.  Also, while we are working on the frame, we are also doing the same process to the rear end.  We used the lift to support it, and positioned it in the corner of our make shift booth.  So, what ever the process we do to the frame, it's also used on the rear-end, which has been taped off very well to protect the polished surfaces.

Base Coat

     First let me state that when we finish the body, we will be using this same process and the same products.  But..when we finish the body, we will use a sealer before we apply the base coat.

     After the frame sat for the night with the same heaters running, we began by first starting with a good cleaning, followed by tack cloths for the final wiping.  The base coat was much easier to apply then the Bare Metal Primer.  I used my DeVilbiss spray gun and it went on very nicely.  In all we used four (4) quarts of base coat on the frame, which equaled out to three (3) good wet 50% over lap coats.  This paint flashed in about 15-18 minuets, which just means the outer most layer of the paint evaporated and left a dry finish, enough that a very light touch would not leave a mark, if you touched it.  The biggest problem with a project like our frame, was all the little spots.  It's very challenging to be able to reach those small spots without making a run, you just have to constantly remind yourself that this is a long process, and they will eventually be taken care of with successive coats.  True-fully it's much harder to get a great finish on the frame then it is on the body.  This might sound backward to some, but the body is comprised of mostly flat surfaces, where the frame is all , or at least mostly round surfaces.  The trick is to get all the areas, avoid the over spray and still make it look wet.  Mainly the way I do it is to start high and go low, that way the over spray is latter sprayed over so that is no loss of luster, which would be the case if you did the reverse.  All the time I am painting, Dad is constantly turning the frame for me.  Moving it back and forth so I can get to all those hidden spots.  I would hate to have to paint this frame alone, but if there was no one to help, I could do it.  It would just not be as fun!

     This step in the painting process goes very fast, and fore-sight is the key, as it is in all the process's.  Before we ever start shooting any paint we have everything we will need laid out and ready.  All the paint is pre-mixed and ready to go, in sealed containers so nothing gets into it to ruin our day.  We are spraying Acrylic Enamel, which is very, very dangerous stuff.  Dad and I both have complete fresh air systems that constantly supply us with fresh, health air, and not the contaminated stuff floating around in the booth.  We also wear a paint suit that covers us completely and use shoe covers and gloves, so we are 100% covered and protected from the chemicals inside the booth.  It would be foolish to attempt such an endeavor without the proper gear, in-fact the paint we use is not for sale too the general public.  Safety has to be the most important consideration!!!  It does you know good to build a nice Hot Rod, only to be too sick to enjoy it.  This paint attacks the Central Nervous System, Kidneys and Liver!!!!  Be careful.

Clear Coat

     Heres the finished product....Our frame is now Dark Silver Metallic.  It is hard to truly tell just how nice the frame came out by the pictures.  We were very pleased with the results.

     Here the frame has been taken off the rotary rack and placed on the 2-post lift.  It will stay here for the foreseeable future, slowly regaining it's equipment.

      Is that a smile I see on my Dads face??  Yes..he is pleased with the results.

     This process is the same as the Base Coat, only there is no color.  This can be a problem, so  watch what your doing, or runs will result.  By now, you should have a system.  Stay with it and everything will be fine.  Again, we used three (3) quarts of clear and ended up with about the three (3) coats.  I could only get slow reducer, which means the paint took longer to flash.  This is only important because it took longer to dry, which meant it also stayed wet longer.  I had to adjust my system to avoid putting to much paint on the surface at one time, because it might run.  The plus side to slow curring paint, is it does flow out better, which means it lays down better and makes for a very smooth surface.  It's usually avoided with make shift booths because it allows for more contaminates to get trapped in the paint.  Like dust, dirt, lint and anything else that blows around.

     This concluded the painting of the frame, we will let it sit over night and then remove it from the booth.  Next to go inside the booth will be a few parts that need to be sprayed the same color as the frame.  Lets see, there is the fuel tank, brake pedal, running board supports, engine mounts, and a few other small parts we want silver metallic.  All of these small parts were cleaned, and lightly sanded before the process begins.  We will hang each one of them separately from the trusses, about eye level so we can easily paint each of them.  All will take the same three steps as the frame, primer, Base Coat and then Clear Coat.  After these few parts are dry, we will dis-mantle the spray booth till it comes time to paint the body.

Cost and Ability

     It takes a lot of money to have someone paint your project for you, but it takes even more money to do it yourself!  To do the job right, you have to have the proper equipment, and all of it is very expensive.  I spent will over $6,00.00 for the equipment and supplies to paint our project, but I have the tools, equipment and supplies to do it again if I so choose.  Please, if you do not intend to to purchase the right equipment, don't try to paint your project yourself!  The risk and damages are just not worth it.  For many, the notion of someone else doing the work for you is a valid option.  Sure I could have had the frame painted or powder-coated for much less money then I spent on getting the proper painting supplies and safety gear, but I would not have had the same results.  The attention to detail and the level of work performed is not what you would get from your local body shop, It's not even what you would get from a specialty body shop.  There is no substitute for labor hours, if it takes me 32 hours to condition a frame to this level, it will take them at least 32 hours as well.  There is nothing magical about it, it's just hard, laborious work that takes time and patiences.  Sure you have to have the right tools, but we have everything needed for the job and more.  If I take 32 Hours to prep the frame, it only cost me time, but if someone else does the work for me and they take 32 hours it cost me plenty.  Most medium rated body shops charge $45-60/hour plus shop expenses.  A high end shop charges $65-85/hour plus shop expenses, so just add it up.  The frame prep alone would have been somewhere between 2,100.00 and 2,700.00 + all the shop related supplies.  And that didn't include getting the frame there , taking it back home or paint!  That was just to get it into the condition I considered acceptable for the painting process.  The price for the paint and it's application would easily double or triple the prep price.  That means it could very easily cost you up wards of 10,000.00 dollars to prep and paint the frame!!  I don't know of anyone that could afford that kind of money for someone else to paint the frame.  Maybe you do?  But not me.  We also painted many more items then just the frame and they to had to be prepped and painted, which added to the total hours of work performed.  Anyone that has followed this Project, Project Cobra'33, or has been involved in the Hot Rod or Street Rod hobby, knows that most people do their own work because it's the only viable option.  Their skill level and or available funds, depend on how long the project last and or how well it gets constructed.  Like any other sport/hobby, there are different levels of finished projects.  On a scale of 1 to 10, most build at a level of 5, with some building lesser projects and other building higher level projects.  We are all individuals, with different taste so this keeps the sport interesting and fun, once it stops being fun, you have surpassed your level of build or comfort level of financial support.  So, build accordingly and have fun doing it.  We at Pro Weld, are shooting for a much higher quality build then say the average of 5 on the 1 to 10 scale.  In doing so, the frame and it's paint quality have to be extremely high, as does most all other parts related to the project.  If you are not building a Hot Rod of this quality, then the frame is something you most likely will not spend that much time or money on it's finish, this is perfectly fine, save that money for something more obvious.  We go to great lengths to give you all the details, what you do with them is up to you.

11-06-07 to 11-12-07

    As we eluded to earlier, we also painted several more parts then just the frame.  Of-coarse while we were working on and painting the frame, that was the sole item of concentration, we wanted that one item to turn out as nice as possible.  After the frame was finished, we moved it out of the paint booth and made way for the many other items that also needed to be painted in a matching color.  What is it we needed to paint the same color as the frame, which was a dark silver metallic?  Well the following is a list of all that was painted like the frame.

1.   Fuel Tank

2.   Rear Bumper Brackets (2 pieces)

3.   Front Bumper brackets (4 pieces)

4.   Front Fender Supports (2 Pieces)

5.   Engine Separation Plate

6.   Transmission Inspection Plate.

7.   Engine mounts (fabricated ones)(2 pieces)

8.   Engine Mounts (Pro Thane)(6 pieces,taken apart )

9.   Bake Pedal Push Rod

10. Running Board Mounts (4 pieces)

     All of these pieces had to be sanded, smoothed, cleaned, prepped, primed, base coated and then clear coated.  The process took a full day for two people, roughly 20 hours.  Once we were finished with these few pieces, we took down the temporary paint booth and cleaned up the shop.  There is always a lot of paint dust to be cleaned every time you paint.  The three walls of the paint booth did a good job of trapping most of it, but still there was much that made it's way beyond the walls.  I can definitely say that I would only recommend the use of canvas drop cloths for floor protection for now on.  The plastic just doesn't stay put, and the cloths can be re-used many, many times.

     This is the Ford 4.6L DOHC Ford engine, we are using to power Project COBRA'33.  I took this picture mainly for future reference.  We have to dis-mantel the accessory drive and other sections of the engine, and this will allow us to reference this picture latter on during re-assembly.

     The drivers side of the engine with the front drive removed.  You can see the alternator, it's the aluminum (round) piece with the red electrical connector.  Use under that, is the power steering pump, it's really compact and without a recovery tank attached, it easily mistaken for something else.  Directly behind the power steering pump is the Moroso Oil filter/cooler relocation bracket, all of these items will have to be removed for the painting.

     This is a shot of the rear of the engine.  The starter attachés to the drivers side, where the round hole in the block is.  Of-coarse since this is a Cobra or Terminator motor, it also has the eight (8) bolt crank shaft.  The two (2) tubes (with green tape on them) are for the heater, the water will exit one head and re-enter the other after it has gone through the heater core.

     The passenger side of the engine, it relatively bare.  The AC compressor is removed, and attachés where the three (3) bolts are.  After we pain the engine, everything you see in black will be Ford Blue.

      This is the front of the engine with everything removed.  The aluminum front cover will stay like it is.  The bracket behind the pulley's has been painted black and will remain that color.  The big front mounted pulley has a 9/16" Allen bolt holding it on, but it proved to tight to be removed.  I really didn't did to remove it anyway, I'll use the Allen wrench to turn over the engine.  The smaller pulley in the middle of the "V", is the water pump pulley.  The two (2) 5/8" nozzles sticking out of the lower intake manifold (just above the water pump pulley) is where the inter-cooler water enters and exits the inter-cooler.

     With most if not all of the items needing to be silver painted, we turned our attention to clean-up and then the painting of the engine and it's accessories.  Way back in the winter of last year I painted a few items on the Ford 4.6L DOHC engine, well I never really liked the way it turned out, so we are going to start over with this process.  The block has always been factory black, so when I decided to paint the engine, the most obvious question was what color do we want to change it too??  I settled on Blue, corporate Ford Blue and the paint of choice is POR-15 and there engine paint.  POR-15 is a great product, it's self-leveling and dry rock hard.  We painted the inside of the body with a similar product, Silver Bullet.  I choose POR-15 because I had talked with others that have used it, and I did some research and found it to be highly rated and truthful in it's claims.  In-order to paint the engine, we first had to tear it down.  By this I mean take apart it's accessory drive system, remove all accessories and components.  The AC compressor, power steering pump, all drive pulleys, tensioners, and attaching hardware were removed.  I also took several close-up pictures of the engine, just before tear-down, this would assure me of a great resource to make sure everything goes back like it came off.  Just a little bit of insurance.  Once the engine was dis-assembled, the following was prepped for paint.

1.  Main Accessory Bracket

2.   Belt Tensioners (2 each)

3.   New Oil Pan

4.   Main engine block, form the heads down.

5.   Secondary Accessory Drive

6.   Alternator Bracket

7.   Several Pulley Brackets

     In all there was 11 separate items that needed to be painted the same Ford Corporate Blue.  This engine paint we were using, isn't simply some engine enamel, it's a multi-step process that takes several different paints to end-up with a glossy rock hard finish that will last and live in high engine heat areas.  Also. our finish will live up to any known fluid used on automobiles, including brake fluid, which is a killer on paint.  The process begins like any quality painting exercise, with a through cleaning.  We were using all new parts, so there was no huge grease stains to remove, but we followed the process just like the instructions detailed.  First was a good cleaning to remove the topical stuff, that was followed by the application of "Marine Cleaner" which is a POR-15 product, followed by a good water rinse and they another application of engine clean, another POR-15 product.  One product is used then another that neutralizes the first.  This two-part system really seeded to work, as our pieces attested to.  The base coat in this system is a coat of the original paint, POR-15 you can get it in black or silver, we used the black.  This is as high solids paint, that is also self-leveling, so the brush marks simply fade out as it sets-up.  We allowed our POR-15 to set over night, before we went to the next stage of the process.  That being the application of the engine paint, the Ford Blue.  This is also a very high solids paint, and has the same self-leveling characteristics as the black POR-15.  Only difference is this time we had to wait till it was almost dry to the touch, then apply the clear coat.  The final paint is a clear 2-part paint that will protect the color paint below it, with out yellowing or lifting.01  As before-the clear is self-leveling and will allow most all brush stroke to dissolve before it sets-up, or it can be sprayed-on also.  The result is a highly glossy finish, very similar to quality brake caliper paint, that will last for a very long time.  This should be just the ticket, to give our engine the necessary sparkle it needs to set it off from the rest of the car.  Once the engine is finished we plan on doing the transmission and brake master cylinder that same way.  Word of caution.....this is very, very hard and lasting paint, please wear protective gloves, and goggles while using the products.  If you still mess-up like I did and get some on your skin, it will take weeks till you have worn it off, be careful around this stuff.

     Trouble....!!  We ran into a little trouble with the last process of the painting system.  for some reason, the 2-part clear paint when applied over the oil pan had a reaction.  The paint rippled and cracked, making the oil pan look a mess.  Why?? I'm not sure, I think it has something to do with the heat lamps, I may have had the heat to high and this is what resulted?  Either way I'm left with a mess.  I applied the clear coat to the engine block at the same time as it was applied to the oil pan, but the engine block didn't have any reaction, so I think it was the heat, too hot of a surface temperature for the clear to dry slowly.  Well it's my thoughts, and the only reason I can see for the mess that followed.  What will I do??  Well first, I decided to allow the whole mess to cure, then I'll try to sand the area and see if I can salvage the oil pan.  I'm hoping this stuff sands off OK, I'm thinking if I let it harden fully, then it should be OK, I'll have to see and of coarse I'll pass the info along.  Also, the black POR-15 paint really went on nice and flowed out great, making for a very nice finish.  The Engine paint didn't do as well, making me wish the I would have sprayed it on, instead of using a brush.  It just doesn't have the same self-leveling characteristics as the POR-15 does.  This leaves me in a bind, I bought the clear to top coat the pieces, it is suppose to be rock hard with water like clear properties, but I think it needs to be sprayed on to get the clear clean look I need.  Will it affect the other pieces?  I'll have to think about what I want to do with regard to using the clear 2-part paint.

     This is all we have gotten finished, the engine is still apart, and in a few days it will be back together.  We did remove the frame from the rotary rack and place it on the 2-post lift.  I also padded the arms with several layers of close density foam and than a soft cloth, to protect the bottom of the frame from scratches.  I also cover the frame with 2 sheets, while it not being worked on, this will help keep the many airborne contaminates off the top of the frames finish.  From this point on, every time we do any work on the frame, we have to protect the area we are working in, it's a necessary evil that will pay-off down the road.

11-10-07 - 11-12-07

     I have none nothing with the engine and it's parts.  I am letting them dry completely, while thinking about the situation.  Dad is working on the front of the firewall.  We had some areas that needed trimmed and then welded up.  They are mainly on the lower areas, where we had a overlap when we worked on the inside of the firewall.  There was also an area around the transmission tunnel, that we mentioned before and an area at the top of the firewall, where the sides angle in.  It took the better part of two (2) days to get all the areas trimmed, welded and then sanded back smooth.  One area that is left on the firewall to do, is the removable interior pieces.  There is a main transmission cover which is held in place by several 1/4"-20 fasteners, and two (2) more intermediate transmission covers that we inserted sheet metal screws into them to hold them in place.  The sheet metal screws were temporary till the whole thing was finished.  Now I want to slightly drill out the holes to allow 10-32 stainless steel screws to be inserted in their place and then tack-weld the nuts in place on the back sides, this will allow easy removal and replacement when access is only available from the front.  Once this part is finished the firewall will be done, and will only need minor body work and smoothing to get it ready for the painting process.  It really turned out very nicely, and most of the work we are now doing is cosmetic with the additional welding for both additional strength and smoothing.  Dad has two (2) pieces, one on each side, too make.  They are relatively small, but are needed to cover two (2) spots that were left open.  These are not much but I would not be surprised if they don't take the better part of a morning to fabricate, fit and weld in place.

     The fuel tank was now painted and ready for the assembly.  I removed the masking tape protecting the three (3) areas where it needed to be protected, and started the assembly by tracing the threads for the fuel sending unit and the old fuel pick-up plate.  There are two (2) areas with the same 5-bolt pattern, we really only need one of them.  Two cover up the area, I installed the original fuel pick-up plate, but trimmed the tubes prior to it's installation.  I also capped the tubes with small plugs the same size, since we will not be using any of them for this project.  If you remember back some time, we cut in a new modern fuel outlet, that allowed use to use the new modern electric in the tank fuel pump assembly, hence eliminating the older style pick-up tube assembly.  The tube Assembly mounted right up, and I used 10-32 x 1/2" screws with AN type washers and lock washers to keep it in place.  The fuel sender was a little more involved.  It is a universal sender assembly that has to be sized for the particular fuel tank it's being used for.  Our tank is a very small one, made smaller by the fact that we had to remove some of it's mid-section for clearance over the quick-change rear end.  The sender is made by VDO, and is a nice unit that comes with very detailed instruction.  These instructions have a chart showing the many different configurations of fuel tank depths.  Ours was 8-1/2" deep at the area of insertion, so following the chart we had to cut down the sender assembly to 4-1/2" and trim the float assembly to 5-1/4".  This chart they supply makes the whole job of fitting the assembly to your tanks size very straight forward and very easy.  Just measure the tank depth at the insertion point and then follow the recommended sizes.  I was thinking we might have a problem, since out tank had to be modified so much to work , but that wasn't a problem at all.  The sender varies the resistance level form 0-180 OHMS, with 0 being and empty tank and 180 being a full fuel tank.  I checked the out-put of the sender prior to installation, just too make sure everything was working as it should be, and it was working with-in the parameters of the instructions.  Once mounted inside the tank, I once again checked the out-put by connecting my meter and turning the tank up-side down, watching the meter as the float arm swung from the empty position to full, and again it checked out, no problems with interference from the tanks modifications at all.  After installing the new chrome V-8 fuel cap, the tank was finished and ready for final placement at the rear of our frame.  That will happen some time down the road, but for now it's sealed, functioning and ready for installation.

     I started re-assembling the frame.  I first mounted the three (3) coolers (oil, transmission and water) and then re-installed the oil filter assembly, and hose to the oil cooler.  Next I installed the front end and the power steering rack.  This is the fun part of any build, the parts are a snap to install, mainly because you have already done the fit-up and any adjustment needed before they were removed for the painting process.  The only difference, is this time I am using all the original polished stainless steel hardware that came with the parts.  We used cheap grade 2 hardware to do the fit-up, so as to not damage any of the real and expensive hardware during the build.  I took my time and installed the front end slowly, I cleaned all the parts real good and they looked great shining against the darker surface of the new frame.  Next will come the rear-end, brake lines and then followed by the fuel lines and filter assembly.  This will have to wait till the next time I get a chance to visit the shop.  As you know, everything that goes back on the frame or the entire car, is Stainless Steel with many of them polished.  I purchased a lot of button head 1/4"-20 screws, that I am using to assemble many items like the coolers, loom clamps, and other small items.  The AN washers really look nice on everything, I used them on most fasteners on the front-end, they look terrific.  They are just bigger then the bolt head itself, and while offering protection to the painted surfaces, also set-off the bolts very nicely.  There are many areas where normal sized washers would not fit, or would just not look proper.  I'm really glad I found these at Totally Stainless.  Also, please if you are partial to Stainless Steel fasteners like myself, you have to remember to use plenty of Anti-Size on them, or they will gall, especially on aluminum pieces.  There are many makers of Anti-Size, lock-tite is probably the best recognized name, but there are many besides them, just remember to use it.

     Whats next ??  Well besides working on that oil pan.....Dad will move to finishing the body.  We have many more areas to address.  There is one more quarter panel that also needs an inside pocket that will take some time.  The rocker panel on the passenger side got tweaked when we removed the body and needs some work.  The rear tail panel never was finished, and we have several small rusted spots to repair.  On the inside..I need to cut in a access door, right above the master cylinder, so we can easily access the brake fluid reservoir.  I still have to go around the entire body with seam-sealer to completely seal all joints so the outside air and elements stay out side.  The interior spaces like door pockets and certain other areas will get a coat of spray on sound deadening, and then the entire floor-board and fire-wall will get a layer of Dynomat sound proofing added to it.  This will take out the tinny sound, and deaden all noises plus contain heat transfer.  OH..don't forget that before anything gets lay-ed down the floor-boards will get a new and shinny coat of POR-15 or Rust-Bullet paint, this will keep and rust from forming under all those layers of material, where moisture could be trapped.  We have plenty to do, we are only about 30% finished with Project COBRA'33, and if all goes well, I am hoping to paint the body by April - May of 2008.  Right now the most challenging part is trying to keep everything finish painted safe and protected from the elements.  A busy shop is a dirty environment, we are using the welding screens to block as much Debra as possible when welding and grinding on the body.  This does help a lot, but I still have to be diligent and on my toes to keep everything safe, we keep the frame covered with two (2) sheets I got off my wife, and most of the other, non-installed parts are kept in the office, where the door stays shut.  I'm comfortable working on and around finished surfaces, but you do have to raise the bar in terms of self awareness when you are working around them.  Everything from the swing of your ratchet as you tighten a nut, to the placement and fastening of key components.  The way I see it, There are thousands of opportunities just waiting for me too slip-up and scratch, rub, nick, poke, Mar, gouge, and ruin the finish of the frame or one of it's sub-assemblies.  I intentionally slow myself down when I do any final finish work, you have too.

11-12-07 - 11-20-07

Wow, can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving !! And Christmas is just around the corner. I guess time really does fly when your having fun ! !

Dad is still working on the body. He has both rear quarter panels done, and has both pockets done, the ones behind the "B" post where the door swing off of. We decided to not replace the drivers side rocker panel. It only had two very small pin holes in it, and we easily welded those up. The passenger side was much worse, and needed replacement. These replacement panels we purchased are just not exact duplicates of the original body lines. They are off just enough to make things complicated. The only way to make the lines continue like they should is to stop the replacement panel just short of the body and use body filler to make a smooth transmission. This makes the replacement of these panels a slow and tedious job. You are always settling for the least amount of problems instead of working for the perfect fit. I think Dad has done a great job with these panels, and I know I would not have been any better , they require way to much Patience for what they are and should have been made to match the contour and lines of the body better.

On the engine, I decided to re-place the Canton oil pan with another new Canton oil pan, Part # 15-780. It is just like the original one we purchased, but this time I will not attempt to re-paint it, instead I will leave it the factory gold cadmium finish. I did try to rescue the old oil pan. I sanded it down and removed all the effected areas where the paint reacted to the finish. But, it was of no use, I re-sprayed the oil pan and got a few more reactions, which make the oil pan useless. The oil pan is in plain view, and the reactions are hideous. I will offer the oil pan for sale on E-bay, it’s brand new and has never been installed and would be great for someone that doesn’t need a perfect finish.

    I ordered the new replacement today and will install it once it arrives. This is the only thing holding me back from installing the engine in the frame.

I had to make a few purchases and the following is a copy of what we bought.

CAN15-780 Canton Ford 96-07 4.6/5.4L Street/Strip 7QT Oil Pan                             249.95

                                                       Shipping  11.95

                                                           TOTAL 261.90

Accusump 3 Qt Kit, 20-25PSI, EPT Electric Valve W/Alm Brackets                                          399.00

 Check Valve                                                   17.50

                                                           TOTAL 416.50

5505274 Chrome Master Cly Cover                                                              5.99

6201004 Straight Full Flow Hose Fitting, AN-10 3 @ 6.99                          20.97

6176050 AN-10 Flare to ½" Pipe 3 @ 4.99                                                 14.97

6176052 AN-12 Flare to ½" Pipe 2 @ 8.99                                                 17.98

6176174 Aluminum Female Pipe Tee, ½" NPT                                           24.99

6171027 180° Full Flow Hose End, AN-8 26.99

1822177 Auto meter 1-1/2" Hi-Vibration Pressure Gauge, 0-100psi    29.99

91058010 Spray Contact Adhesive 2 @ 9.99                                             19.98

91058011 Aluminum Sealing Tape                                                                6.99

91045845 Rear Axle Breather, An-4 Bulkhead                                         12.99

91045840 Rear Axle Breather                                                                       9.99

91021803 Speedway Transmission Mount Brake Boot                            17.99

91132102 1932 Ford Radiator Bezel, Chrome                                           29.99

91064059 Spal Fan Controller 2 @ 62.99                                                   125.98

7217888 Coil over Thrust Bearing Kit 2 @ 29.99                                         59.98

91031893-3 26" Stainless Brake Line W/90° end 2 @ 15.99                    31.98

5832500 Nitrous Oxide DVD                                                                           29.99

5832000 Supercharger DVD                                                                           29.99

910781-SPRT-XL Speedway Sprint Car T-Shirt                                             9.99

910783-SPRT-XL Speedway Sprint Car T-Shirt                                           11.99

6177036 Fuel Pressure Take-Off, AN10 to 1/8" NPT 2 @ 9.99                 19.98

91009400 An Fitting Cap Assortment Pack                                                   11.99

91009401 An Fitting Plug Assortment Pack                                                  11.99

                                                                                                           TOTAL 444.67

A variety of polished Stainless Steel Bolts, Washers, Lock Washers and Nuts

                                                                          186.95

An-10 Stainless Steel Braided Hose 20' Length                                                                                                              109.99

                                                                                                             Shipping 10.99

                                                             TOTAL 120.98

11-10-07

100 ft roll x 36" wide of sound deadening material                                 109.99

                                                                                                           Shipping 20.99

                                                            TOTAL 130.98

     We re-assembled the engine, it was really a good thing I took those detailed pictures as we were taking it apart. The stumbling block was how to re-install the inside belt drive. We got it after several different attempts and many long views of the pictures. While I was re-assembling the engine pieces I used all the nice polished Stainless Steel bolts, nuts and washers we purchased from Totally Stainless. All in all I suppose I like the way the engine turned out.......But I would do some things different if I had it too do over again. The oil pan was a huge disaster and a disappointment. Only thing I can think of is there was something on the oil pan or in it's finish that created a chemical reaction with the paint. I suppose I would have been OK if I would have just painted the oil pan with the dark silver metallic paint we used on the chassis, but instead I first painted it with the POR-15 and then painted it with the dark silver paint. Once I receive the new Canton oil pan I can then install it, and install the flywheel, mid plate, torque converter, and transmission. Once the starter is on and the headers are attached, we can drop it in the frame and bolt it down. The engine mounts that we fabricated turned out very nicely, as did the engine mounts from Energy Suspension. We painted these items back when we painted the frame and I re-assembled them several days ago. They look great with the red polyurethane and stainless hardware, It's nice to see something that turned out the way your expected it too. I think they will look very nice bolted to the engine and frame's side. Speaking of frame....I have been slowly re-assembling the frame and all it's contents. I have the front end assembled, and on the way I installed the front anti-sway bar. This is one item we did not mock-up, so this was it's first install. It was very simple, just measure over from center and down from the top of the front cross-member and then drill two (2) holes on each side of the front cross-member and tap them for 1/4-20. This is where the two (2) pillow blocks go that hold the sway bar in place, there is also two (2) locking collar rings that must go on first. These locking rings hold the sway-bar from moving side to side, they lock the sway-bar to the inside of the pillow-blocks. The rest of the installation is very simple, just remove the long 1/2"-13 bolt that holds the front shocks in place and replace it with a longer bolt, which is also polished and stainless steel, and your almost finished. This longer bolt allows for the placement of a rod end & spacer on it's end which attachés to the new sway bar ends. A small linkage goes from the sway bar end to that newly placed rod end, and the sway bar is installed. Now any time the suspension encounters a bump or sharp curve, the sway bar is there to add resistance to both the front lower A-arms, this resistance keeps the car tracking straight and body lean to a minimum.

     With the front end complete, I worked my way to the back and installed the axles, brakes and bearings. The first time we installed the rear axles we got the whole thing wrong, I saw that when I went to take everything apart, the backing plates were off, causing them to distort. This time when I installed them I made sure to check it out and get it right, the problem was we had the Axel retention brackets on the wrong side. Sounds difficult to do, but hey we were new at this and it happens. The main thing is I got it right this time, when it counted, and I'll never install one like that again, I promise. This time around I went as far as to install the brake pads, we should be done with this area, so I cleaned off the rotors with brake clean and wiped everything dry, then installed the brake pads front and rear. These Willwood brakes are fantastic to work with, everything fits so nice and machine like, race parts are totally cool !!

     I installed the brake master cylinder/booster and then installed all the brake lines and hoses. Everything went very smoothly and everything fit like a glove. I did change the way the master cylinder feeds the brake lines, I moved it over to the inside of the frame, which meant I needed longer brake hoses to span the distance from the hard lines mounted to the frame to the end of the proportioning valves threaded into the side of the master cylinder. I moved them to the inside because it looked better, not nearly as messy. The new lines where apart of the Speedway Motors order. Once they get here the braking system will be ready for fluid and bleeding, which would finish that system. I installed the new SS bolts in the rear most cross-member, and all the coolers are installed, along with the oil filter assembly. I will start running the hoses very soon, and then I can finally get out all those super cool aluminum hose separators. I have been looking forward to that day for over a year !!!! I also went ahead and pulled some of the electrical circuits through the conduit we hid inside the frame rails. Specifically the drivers side, which is most important now because it is the side that gets the huge #1 gauge starter cable. Knowing that once this big cable was inside my conduit I would never get anything else in there with it, I decided to just pull a bunch of #14 and a few #12 gauge wires with the cable. In all I pulled 3-#12 wires and 8-#14 wires with the 1-#gauge cable. This should give me all the circuits I need, off hand I know I need the following circuits pulled to that left side.

1. Starter Power cable    1 Gauge              Red

2. Headlights Low Beam 12 Gauge             Red

3.  Turn signal Left          14 Gauge             White

4. Running Lights            14 Gauge              Blue

5.                                      14 Gauge              Yellow

6  Horn Wire                    14 Gauge             Grey

7.                                     14                         Red             

8.                                      14 Gauge              Black

9.   Spare                         14 Gauge              Green

10. Spare                         14 Gauge              Orange

     The spare wires will come in handy latter on down the road, and if they don't get used I'll hide them for future use. We had to pull the left side wires because once the engine is in it would be a very difficult ordeal. The conduit was really cool, it did just what I wanted it to do. Provide a raceway for the wires, allowing the wires to be run from front to back without being seen, and protect the wires and the raceway from harm. The other side has two (2) raceways hidden inside it's frame, one is a 3/4' conduit and the other is a 1" conduit. This one I just used was a 3/4" conduit.

     What's all the new parts for ?????

  Well let's see look at each purchase and see why I bought them.

Above is the Canton Street/Strip Oil Pan (#-15-780), and along side is the Canton Wind-age tray(#-20-939).  This try has been shown to be worth up to 12 HP by itself !!  The factory oil pan will be removed and the factory wind-age tray removed as well.  Using an adapter, the wind-age tray gets mounted to the bottom of the mains and the outer edges are silicon-ed to the bottom of the block, then the pan gasket goes down and then the New Oil Pan gets bolted to the blocks bottom, sealing the engine and making it ready for use.  In fact, it was Canton that showed Ford just how much power they could save by using there oil wind-age tray.  Not  long after that Ford started using them on the Cobra and Special models like the GT40 !!

The Canton Oil Pan....This was purchased to replace the same make and model (#-15-780) pan we painted but ended up ruining. There was a chemical reaction when I painted the oil pan that caused the top coat to crinkle. This would not look right on the car so I will sell the oil pan on E-bay to someone that would like the benefits of such a pan, but doesn't necessarily care about the surface finish. The main reason for the purchase in the first place was to increase the level of oil carried in the engine, from 5 quarts to 7 quarts. The pan also has a series of baffles and traps to keep the oil pick-up submerged in a pool of oil. This will keep the oil pick-up submerged, keeping the oil pump from sucking air, and momentarily running dry. Under harsh conditions like extreme cornering or fast take offs, the oil can be pushed to one side or to the front or extreme back of the oil pan, leaving the oil pick-up tube in the open, allowing the oil pump to suck air, which would cause an interruption in the oil pressure. This would cause a sever drop in oil pressure, which would seriously hurt the bearings, valve-train or any other engine piece that depends on oil and oil pressure to survive.

     The wind-age try which we already had, will be bolted between the block and the oil pan.  This piece strips the excess oil from the crankshaft and routes it away, saving HP in the process.

The Canton Accusump.....Accusumps have been around for years, but I think they are only now getting the attention they deserve. For years smart drag racers and road racers have been using these pieces to maintain a quality oiling system. There are several different brands and they all have small operating differences, but mainly they all function the same. The canister is 1, 2 or up to 3 quarts in oil capacity. Ours is a 3 quart, but often room doesn't permit one to run one this large. By large I mean long, both the 2 and 3 quart Accusump are the same diameter (4.25') while the single quart unit is only 3.25" in diameter. The 3 quart Accusump is 16" long and the 2 quart Accusump is 12" in length.

 Above, first is the 3 Quart unit and then the 2 Quart one.  They are both the same 4.25" in diameter, but the 3qt unit is 16" long while the 2qt unit is only 12" long.

Inside the Accusump there is a bladder and on some a piston, that separates the oil from the air stored on one side of the assembly. The ideal is that when the engine is running and producing oil pressure, the Accusump stores a certain amount of oil and is pressurized by the engines oil pump. In our case the amount of oil stored will be 3 quarts. There is also an electrically operated valve at the end of the Accusump (some have an manually operated valve, but ours is electric) that is usually tied into the run circuit of the vehicle, this way while the engine is running the valve is controlled by a pressure switch, if the predetermined pressure value is obtained then the valve opens and the stored oil is allowed to flow from the Accusump to the engine, other wise it is held shut. A one-way valve allows the tank to constantly be pressurized to the highest oil pressure obtained, making sure the Accusump is always prepared and ready for use when the time calls. A simple scenario like this should clear things up for you. I'm a road racer, and I run an Accusump on my race car. As the car goes about the track the Accusump canister is pressurized to the highest oil pressure I ran, so say as I zoom down the long back stretch, my RP M's sore and the oil pressure rises to 75psi. The One-Way valve allows that highest oil pressure to pass through the One-Way valve and into the tank, but as the RPM's fall and the oil pressure drops to say 50psi, the One-Way valve closes and doesn't allow the higher pressured oil in the tank escape, if I ever reach a higher oil pressure then the 75psi we were at, then that higher pressurized oil would be allowed to enter the tank, thous raising the internal pressure in our oil tank. Now we are back to our race car and we entered a turn way to fast, the car spins several times and we correct and regain control, but only after several spins and some extreme wiggling. The oil in the oil pan takes a wild ride around the inside of the pan, as the car spins it's sent to the front, then to the sides , the rear and everywhere but where it was suppose to be. Now the oil pickup for the oil pump never moves, it's bolted in place and is stationary, so as the oil left the sump and flowed to the extreme front of the engine, the oil pump would have sucked air, which would have left us with zero oil pressure, while the engine is still running. In this case the Accusump would have detected the low oil pressure before it even went to zero, and the electric valve would have opened, allowing our tank full of 75psi oil to flow into the engine and momentarily take over the oiling duties till the oil returned to the sump, and the oil pressure resumed from the pump. Once the car is straightened out and running back down the track, the oil pressure stabilizes, the eclectic valve closes and the oil pressure form the engine replenishes the Accusump oil tank and pressurizes it also. Now the Accusump is ready for the next time it might be needed. Another great benefit of the Accusump is that it can be used to pre-lube the engine on start-up. The key is turned, which energizes the electrical system, arming the Accusump. Since it sense zero oil pressure because the engine has not started, it opens it's valve and floods the engine with a nice shoot of pressurized oil, thus preventing a start on dry bearings and engine parts. Of-coarse, once the engine starts the valve closes and the oil pump replenishes the Accusump oil supply and it's ready for the next time it senses low oil pressure. The level at which the electrical valve opens is set by which kit you purchase, Canton makes three (3) different kits, each with it's own oil pressure setting. Our is set at 20-25psi, there is also one that is set at 50-55 and another set at 60-65psi. This is the set pressure that the valve will open, when the oil pressure from the engine drops below that level. The reason for so many different levels, is many of these kits are used in racing or competition type conditions. The average street car like ours, should run the lowest setting, the 20-25 psi.

  This is the two (2) different tank mounts that Canton offers.  The straps is the normal choice, and the billet aluminum brackets are the optional mounts and also the ones we bought.

  Above is the manual valve many use with the Accusump, it has to be mounted close enough that one can turn it on or off by hand.  The middle piece is the On-Way Valve I talked about, it is there so the oil can only travel one way, into the Accusump, it's installed at the beginning of the Tee fitting.  Lastly, we have the EPC valve, it's a fully functional and self contained set-up that will allow the Accusump to operate on it's own according to a pre-determined set of rules.  On our Accusump, the valve will open at 20-25psi.

  Here we have the pressure gauge, which is highly accurate and liquid filled, and the manual hand vale for remote application of the manual valve.

Plumbing.....Many of the items we purchased from Speedway Motors was for the oil system, and tying in the Accusump. We are lucky that we already have an oil system that is external to the engine, this gives us plenty of option as to how and where we want to insert or Accusump. If you did not have this set-up, you would have to use a remote oil filter type set-up or at least a oil filter sandwich adapter to acquire a way to route oil out of the engines oil circuit. On our engine we route the oil supply out of the engine at the front left corner, where the oil cooler/filter assembly use to be. From that area, our oil flows out and to the rear where the oil filter is, then back to-wards the front to the oil cooler, and where it leaves the oil cooler is where we will intercept it at. I will install a 1/2" Tee fitting and then route the main oil supply back to the front of the engine. The other side of the Tee fitting will go to the Accusump. The One-Way valve will be inserted in the supply side of the Tee fitting, so once the oil comes from the oil cooler and into the Tee fitting, it can not go back-wards from there. Now when the electric valve opens on the Accusump, the oil can only go to the Tee fitting and then to the engine. With out the One-Way valve, when the electric valve opened, the oil could also go back thru the oil cooler and oil filter, defeating the purpose of the Accusump system.

Hopefully this diagram will help clear things up...just how the Accusump works.  Above in green, is the Accusump during normal conditions.  The oil is picked-up in the oil pan, and pressurized by the oil pump.....The oil leaves the oil pump, in our case where the Moroso Oil Filter/Cooler Adapter is located, and travels back to the oil filter, then forward to the oil cooler, once it leaves the oil cooler, we insert a Tee Fitting, just like above.  The ONE-WAY VALVE is installed into the Tee Fitting where the oil enters it, this will keep the oil from back-flowing to the cooler or oil filter.  Now we run a hose just like the diagram above shows from the Accusump to the middle portion on the Tee Fitting.  This allows the oil to travel both into and from the Accusump.  The electrical EPT valve gets mounted in the end of the Accusump, and controls the oils flow both in and out of the Accusump.  The hose from the other, far end of the Tee  fitting goes back to our Moroso Oil filter/Cooler Adapter, and back into the engine where it travels through the internal oil passages and to the bearings and other oil lubricated parts and pieces.

The above diagram in RED, shows how the Accusump reacts in the case of low oil pressure (oil pressure below the predetermined level designed into the kit).  The oil is allowed to flow back out of the Accusump and into the engine, the One-Way Valve, stops the oil from back tracking through the oil filter and or oil cooler.

Fat Mat Sound Deadening.....This is another source for the same type material we purchased from Dynomat. I saw this advertised and thought I would give it a shot. We had already purchased two (2) boxes of Dynomat, but that still wasn't enough to cover the entire floorboards and firewall of Project Cobra'33, so I gave this a shot. It looks and feel just like Dynomat and cost about a 1/3 the price, so I can't go wrong. I really like the fact that it came in a continuous roll, 100 feet long and 36 inches Wide. The Dynomat only comes in patches. No matter what, I can't go wrong, even if it took twice the amount to do the same job as the Dynomat ! I'll have more on this subject the closer we get to finishing the interior. 

This is what the rolled insulation looks like and how it should look like once installed on the floor-boards.

Over the matting we will also use some Sound/Heat insulation type material.  I bought several rolls of this material some two years ago.  This material is much different then the Dyamat like material, this stuff is thick (1/2") and has an aluminum foil on one side.  I suppose it looks more like the carpet under-layment found under your living room carpet, but much more dense and stiffer.  I plan on placing two (2) layers of this stuff on the floorboards, then covering it with the carpet.  I want to deaden the interior as much as possible, while also insulating it from any heat that might come from the headers, exhaust pipes, or coolers under the floor.  I bought this stuff in huge six (6) foot wide by 150 foot rolls, so there is plenty to go around.  In fact I have 4 rolls, so if you need any give me a shout.

 11-23-07-11-29-07

     While I haven't been real busy I have gotten several things done.  For starters....I got the starter ready.  We are using a Power House, gear reduction starter on Project COBRA'33.  I wanted to ready it for the engine installation, so I went ahead and pre-wired it.  I used a #1 battery cable for the main power feed, a #6 for a supplemental ground and a #12 for the starter control wire.  I used a quick connect type plug, one like you would typically find on a winch or NASCAR Battery.  The connection needs to be heavy duty so know power is lost in the transition, I used a 250A connector.  The starter has a pre-wired and terminated connector with about 24" of cable.  This will plug into a like connector, that is attached to the #2 Battery Cable and Ground coming from the Battery, down thru the raceway inside the frame-rail.  There has to be a quick and easy way to brake the connection to the starter so the body can be easily removed, these quick connect connectors allow that.  It's very hard to reach the starter when the engine is in the chassis and the headers are on.  One point the differs from what we earlier stated is that the starter is on the right or passenger side not the drivers side.  I pulled the main power (#2) cable down the drivers side, so I had to route it over to the passenger side.  To do this, I routed the battery cable down and behind the front cross-member and up to the opposite side so it can meet with the starters connection.

     Once both sides of the frame rails had been pulled, we were ready to assign circuits and terminate the ends with weather pack connectors.  The following is what we pulled.

    I also got the front and back Weather-Pack connectors on and the wiring cleaned-up.  These connectors, will be the way the body and the frame can quickly and conveniently connect and dis-connect from each other.  I used Weather-Pack connectors because they are among the best in the business, used world-wide by manufacturers every where that need to make and break electrical connections, in wet and dry conditions.

     Another accomplishment, was the running of the fuel, transmission cooler, oil and inter-cooler lines.  This was hopefully the last time I will have to mount all these lines.  This time I used the 1/4-20 button head screws to secure the padded loom clamps that attach the hoses to the insides of the frame rails.  Also for the first time, I got to use all those nice aluminum hose separators we bought, way back when.  They really look nice and keep the hoses separated every nicely and very evenly.  Everything went right back on like it was suppose to, the fuel filter mounted up and worked fine.  The fuel line are run from bulk-head fitting to bulk-head fitting, with just the fuel tank and engine left to connect to.  The transmission hoses are in place and only need to be connected to the transmission.  The inter-cooler hoses, are not very complete, and need extensive service to hook-up all the components.  The oil cooler in in and so is the oil filter assembly, with hoses run to each and up to the engine bay, they are complete except they need to be connected to the Accusump.  On a good note, the brake hydraulic system is complete, with only the interior gages to hook-up.  We can add fluid and bleed them anytime we want, which will be soon.

     The transmission needed some attention, remember I had to re-locate the in-pan oil temp sender?  Well, I had dad help me lift it up on the bench and I removed the pan and drilled and tapped a new 1/4" NPT hole.  This time to the right front.  I plugged the old hole and installed the temp probe with a 1/4" to 1/8" NPT reducing bushing.  I also checked out the insides of the transmission to make sure nothing was amiss, and no rust had formed.  Everything looked good, so I gave the pan a very good cleaning, and re-installed the pan, this time with lock-tite on the bolts.  I also installed the plug I had purchased for the rear most opening, where the speed sensor would go.  Now the case is ready for transmission fluid, which it will receive once the transmission is installed in the frame.  I also checked out the Torque-converter to see if it was ready to install.  I originally purchased 10mm x 1.0 nuts, but they turned out to be 3/8-24 nuts.  So, now everything is ready to bolt the converter up to the fly-wheel or flex-plate.  Once the oil pan arrives, I can get all these small jobs done and get the engine/transmission seated in the frame.  I remembered to bring the engine, transmission and rear end oils down to the shop, they will be used very soon now.  Next time I go down, I'll attach the shifter mount and emergency brake handle to the transmission, it looks super cool all painted up!!

12-13-07