Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

By the way, I sent a photo of my finishing touches to his spinner adapter to Scott at ET. I offered to create them or a cobra one or actually any custom thing you might want to put on 1.75" circle insert. I said I could produce 4 of them for $40 plus shipping. I have already had a call. That is called subsidizing the Cobra parts list...LMAO

 

WEEKEND UPDATE: LOL
Stay tuned boys and girls. I guarantee you are going to see a ROLLING CHASSIS this weekend!

 

yay, progress!

Damn, that's a lot of wires for such a small car

 

Looking forward to it!

 

I know that post was just for you DDD....lol

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I know ...LOL
It does look like a lot but it is only a 13 circuit kit. Perfect for something simple with no power windows or AC etc. I really like this set because it is already set for a fuel pump wire and relay out back and cooling fan wire and relay up front. It is amazing how many wires it takes just to make the lights, signals and flashers work etc.

Dad and I have already be looking my heavy duty chassis rails etc. So we plan to run all the wires front and back inside the frame rails for a nice clean look.

 

And lots of gauges across that dash to wire !

Deuced Up, you need to bring your Cobra to Brqad54's Gear Jam Vintage Drags, here in GA in April or next October- there is a great Kellison called Zorra's Charger you need to go up against!!!

 

Will you share what version of the kit your using?


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Don't do it. Wiring will need to be messed with again (I can guarantee it), and you shouldn't bury it inside a frame rail. Make it easy to get at.

 

I agree alchemy after being in the repair business for 30 years I don't care how good you think it is it will always need fixing at the most inconvenient spot like in the middle lol


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Slow start this morning but we are gaining speed. Got the front end together. Dad was worried we would get excited later on and forget the wheel bearings were not packed so he is packing them for our trial fit...lol




Time for a bbq burger anyway.

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The first hot rod I built I remembered that there was no oil in the rear end right in the middle of my wife stealing the first burnout.

 

I like that you run the wires from each device to the fuse block. Easy peasy. I used the same kit in my Corvette almost 20 years ago, no problems to date!

 

So after lunch we finished up the front. Installed the rotors and then the knock off assembly. It is pretty cool.


Of course it didn't take long to snag the front wheels and install them. But first just to double check the clearance we installed the calipers. A couple of spins on the knock off spinners and they were on, the jack was gone and she is standing on her own for the first time. At least up front.








And with both rims we give a quick check of our overall width. Remember we were shooting for 61"

Pretty darn good if you ask me. LOL

 

We got a good start on a full rolling chassis with rear suspension as well. The first thing we did (after a ton of measurements) was make the Quarter Eliptic Springs mount brackets.


We removed the springs from Posie Perches. I cut two 6" pieces of the heavy duty frame rail material and notched them about and 1" or so where the perch could be welded solid on multiple sides. After a few grinding sessions to insure the notches were the same "dead perfect" on both sides, we tacked, double checked and then welded them more than solid. We were very careful not to mess up either the Spring Eye mount holes nor the large Adjuster bolt in the Super Slider System etc.


Before test fitting it I welded a small cap on the end of the notch and tacked a temporary tab on the back to clamp it in place while we made final mounting adjustments.


With chassis mount mounts fabricated we turned to where the spring will connect to the axle housing. I had two of these heavy duty mounts, they were not cut for an axle tube fit so me and the plasma cutter had to help them out a bit. After getting both of them cut and cleaned up with grinder to be identical, we flipped the housing over to install them. After several measurements, double checking and adjusting, we tacked first, checked their alignment again and then welded them solid.


We test fit the driver's side, clamping it close to where it will likely wind up and attaching the shackle to the axle mount perch.


After temporarily attaching the one spring we squared up the rear end and check the center point. It was dead perfect. So tomorrow the plan is connect the other spring and mounts etc. Install the axles, rotors, calipers, 5 pin adapters and rear wheels. Then we will square everything from their, mount the ladder bar up front and then decide on final mount points for the springs. Likely this will be done with the body on so we can be sure we are in the wheel wells perfectly etc. (but that means cutting the SLAB portion of rear slabs etc.) Pretty excited to get a sneak peak of the stance etc.

 

Pretty late start today at it was nearly 2 p.m. before we found ourselves in the shop. We started by installing the 3rd member Hot Rod Doctor Dad with the assist! LOL



I also opted for bolt on rear caliper mounts this time around. First time as normally I get the weld on kits etc. Let me just say, these things are pretty darn cool.



View attachment 3811912


We slipped on the rotors and installed the calipers to double check wheel clearance. Man that is stupid close, but it clears none the less.....! That would have really sucked! LOL



It didn't take long to duplicate the other side and then we simply dropped the center cross member in (the one the ladder bar attaches to) and tapped it down in place and then adjusted for 90" wheel base before taking it down in good.


We installed the spring mounts (twice) but we finally got the ride height we were chasing. And so there you go....As promised: a rolling chassis this weekend. We still have to finish our frame rail design out back and fab up mount for both the shocks and the watts link....but that is another day.

And you know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so here is a few Grand worth of words...LOL!










Here is the thought I will leave you with tonight. That is the rear tire measurement from outside to outside. So 68" of tire hanging out of 61" of body, means 3.5" of exposed slick per side (sticking out beyond the flares). PERFECT!

 

heh...I came up with needing the edge of my slicks exactly 68" apart for my Barracuda! I guess it's a mid 60s thing

 

Kind of hard to see as it too dreary here for a good outdoor shot. So you will have to contend with the crappy florescent light here in my office. But here is the blue. It is the original paint code for 1962-64 Ford Viking Blue. I really like it. After seeing a test shot of it I had them mix me up an aerosol can so I could test spray a few things.

 

Those calipers can take a good bit if clearance grinding if needed.
Just polishing them takes off a bunch with the deep grainy texture.

 

At least when the pads wears it will move away from the wheel.

 

You could get a Cobra model car and try that color out on it first to see if you really like it.

 

It is pretty obvious we are missing a mount point for the rear end now that it is OFF the paper and sitting there in real life. Because we are using quarter eliptic springs with mandatory shackles, you can sort of set behind the chassis with hands on both slicks and rotate left and right (yaw if you will) LOL....through the shackle travel etc. Pretty easy fix though, unless I am missing something. A simple horizontal cross bar (same as on ladder bar car with two bars). We put one on the Austin. It runs from the front mount point of the one ladder bar at the chassis at an angel across to the rear mount of the opposite bar at the rear end housing. I don't see why it will not work the same on our system, from the front ladder bar mount on the chassis to a bracket on the opposite side.

 

I think your diagonal bar should attach to the straight bar at the front, not to another joint up there. That way you only have one moving joint, preventing any additional conflict.

 

The wheel and tire setup is incredibly sexy!!

I have to say though, that rear suspension is not passing my eyeball test. IMO the stubs that protrude from each frame rail need to be replaced by a crossmember that runs under/through the framerails to adequately support the load you're about to pass through them. That will probably require a change to the ladder bar design to allow a crossmember to pass through it.

Then the other end of the spring needs attention where it mounts to the axle. That plate is not going to be adequate to keep the axle connected to the spring under any form of side load.

You may already have addressed these things in another post. Just want to see you build it safe. Car is going to be bad ass!

 

I am really happy with the stance. When we first laid it out we had the spring mounts clamped on the frame rails. When we let the jack down they rotated a bit in the clamp which made it appear the springs were softer than expected. So we jacked it up further, marked the spring brackets at that point and tacked them in place. When we let the jack down it didn't move at all (which is what we expected the first time LOL). The frame had a killer "hot rod" rake to it but not what we needed for the Cobra.

So we popped them back off, put the chassis back were it was the first time and re-tacked the spring brackets. When we let down the jack she sat perfect. The chassis is dead level front to back 7.25" off the ground and the Quarter Eliptic adjustment screws are backed all the way down. That means we have about 2" of "UP" adjustment back there if need by simply turning the bolts.


It is still all just hard tacked in place. We have to knock of the tab we put on there to clamp it etc. After we get it all back apart and welded solid I think it is going to be a pretty cool chassis and suspension set up etc.

 

Yes we are addressing those issues in the next round of fabrication. The car is going to be running a watt's link so very little if any side pressure. However those spring mounts on the axle are part one of two pieces, the second being the shock mount bracket. It will strengthen those drop down mounts by giving them a gusset on the inside wall etc. and then becoming the lower shock mount.

As far as the cross member we are not running anything directly across because as you noted the ladder bar is in the way. However they will receive gusseting of their own and they will be tied across as well later above the ladder bar when we install the roll bar system back there etc.

Thanks for looking out though.

 

Looking at that rear end setup... I see potential problems. Those shackles bug me a bit. To me, they either need to be at an upward angle, or if pointed downward, leaned to the back, not front. That rear end is going to want to wrap itself up under acceleration. I think the shackle angle needs attention as well as a second ladder bar, parallel to the other one and closer to the frame. Your watts link will keep it centered.

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I realize they aren't fully welded yet and some may call it overkill but you may want to put some form of gusseting on the sides of your leaf spring stub mounts on the frame, a lot easier to do now than later.
About those whitewalls: I know you aren't building this to please anyone else, but I'm assuming because you mounted them on the inside that you hate them as much as I do.
Could you find a few spare minutes and black those things out, purdy please.

 

I know isn't that crazy! LOL.... But that is the only way you can buy them from Radir. They have no black wall option other than installing white walls on the inside. And you are right, they drive me crazy. However the whole wheel and tire is about to get wrapped in plastic for safety so neither of us will have to look them much longer. LOL