Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

Sounds like someone ^^^ is tiered of sanding already, lol You have hardly started on the body yet! Better pace your self or get James to help you! lol I cannot wait to see this car finished ,it is going to be so cool! Larry

 

Larry you sure are gracious about offering my help.

 

With all stuff that needs to be finished I almost feel bad reporting this but they turned out pretty cool...so here you go.

This the original Cobra logo. It is the version that would be associated with my car. Dad has been working hard on polishing the valve covers and the extensions. Night before last while inspecting his work...LOL...I noticed both covers have a blank circle on their tops.


I decided we needed somthing there, you know like some crossed flags or something! LMAO
Bus seriously, Ford is not really known for "round" logos. However, luck for me, Shelby fixed that for them as well. I really wanted something on the covers that could have came from the correct time period.

I took the above logo, cleaned it up and live traced it in adobe illustrator to get cut paths. Then I shrank it down to 1.5" (stupid small) and sent it to the plotter at my work to cut it out. Now I have to say this machine is normally cutting out vinyl graphics that are 15 inches to 15 feet in size. So asking it to slow down and get delicate is nearly impossible. So as you might expect it litterally destroyed the thing the first try. It was not even identifiable as anything but a bunch of twisted up vinyl with a very small letter "O" near the middle.

So spent quite a bit of time messing with cut pressure and speed but alas, even though I got 70 percent of the design cut successfully, it tore up the rest. So finally I decided I would have to change the logo a bit. If I could make the snake a bit larger maybe it would cut. It worked but I have had to make further changes including getting rid of the original font. I did however insert the later text version and it worked so this is what I ended up with...

...AND if you think getting it to cut was a pain, you should try and weed out all those tiny little pieces after it was cut. I finally got two of them cut and weeded successfully. How ever the final size had to be 1.75" but it was done.

 

Wow what a great touch, worth the effort. Just looking at the pic I thought the aluminum was actually cut till I read about the vinyl.

 

Thanks. I chose a matte charcoal metallic for just that reason. Honestly the photos seem to enhance it more...in real life it looks so real you have to touch it. Lol

Sent from my SM-G970U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Really surprised you did not develop your own sandpaper. Stop making the rest of us look so bad. LoL

 

Fantastic! Glad you were able to make it work.

Would the vinyl be strong enough to use as a sand blasting mask? Just curious...

 

Yep. I have actually had concrete blasters use it. And glass etchers as well.

Sent from my SM-G970U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Check out the hungry little Cobra looking for something to sink its teeth into...


These are doubled up strips of rubberized fire hose. Just a bit of cushion between the engine and motor mounts.


Engine slowly making its way in. ANOTHER very temporary move.

 

Don’t take this the wrong way but, looking at it straight on without a motor in it all I can see is a catfish.
Now I want fried eggs and catfish for breakfast.

Thanks a lot

 

Your gonna wear out the motor mount bolts putting in and taking out that engine!

 

You don't know the half of it...wait till I get home tonight give you the Paul Harvey version of yesterday! Today we are at MOKAN watching Jackson @wrenchbender match racing his AFX Mopar...

Sent from my SM-G970U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Really like the valve cover decals.
Have to warn you, if you’re sick of polishing aluminum after a set of valve covers do not buy an Airstream!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I really shouldn't make this post. I should simply pretend everything went perfectly well in ROUND 2 of the foot well saga. As you know a bit ago we finally got to the point of installing the engine and transmission. Much to my shagrin as we were making the final adjustments to lower it all in place I realize we have a huge issue. While the motor fit perfectly, there was absolutely no room for the rear bank header tubes on either side.

We went ahead and sat it all in place and simply starred at it with a dull confused look. So as in life there is only one thing to do, just take the "gut punch" and the "two steps back" and start again. While the engine sat there we made marks on the foot box sides and top to show how much clearance we would need. Then we removed the motor again and set about formulating a plan to fix the areas. You probably saw the posts. It more than crossed my mine after making the edits to foot box frame work that we should stick the stupid engine back in and double check the fit.


Instead of doing that as you can see above, I decided, since I have the room I am going to take another inch or so off (which is the second lower line marked there on the foot box side).

So I did it and we did all the work to re-finish the area. It looked great. I was very happy with the edits and the final look. Yesterday we confidently dropped the engine in place. I know you have been saying "no freaking way" for the last several sentences...and you are correct! Even with all the new evacuated area left and right, the headers still do not clear. So I did the only thing I know will quickly fix the issue, I listed the Cobra for sale on Craigslist for $1500 and went for a steak. LMAO!

I am not going to dwell on the utter stupidity of how we find ourselves in the same situation for a second time. My only thought is with all the frustration of the first round of non-fitment the engine must have been still hanging "up" a bit on the hoist and not actually sitting on the mounts when I marked it.

So out came the engine AGAIN...and out came the saws-all. This time we stripped the entire sheetmeal out including the firewall. We completely cut the top frame work out of the box and started again (which is what we should have done the first time). In one quick effort we completely changed the shape of the foot boxes while also making sure the pedals still had enough room to work etc. We tacked it all in place AND THEN DROPPED THE STUPID-ASS 363 BACK IN PLACE FOR GOD KNOWS WHICH TIME AT THIS POINT! LOL


The above photo is looking straight down at the driver's side foot well. As you can see we now have tested and proven space for the headers. The motor is sitting there completely removed from the hoist. Since we started again there will be no complex angles for trim work sheet metal. I would like to say I am very happy but I really can not. While I do like the new direction and look, I am fairly frustrated with myself for pulling such a bone head move.

 

Well dang, Keep at it won't be long now.

 

So Randall now that the engine and headers fit is there still room for you? lol Don't worry before you know it that little Cobra is going to be shutting down some real fine 409's Larry

 

What's that saying........"50 million comedians out of work and we get stuck with you"

 

Bwhaaaahhhhaahahahahaha now that’s funny Larry not true by any means but real funny says the guy with a dodge that should outrun anything on the strip but can’t get enough traction for it to move out of its own way. Now back to the show I’m gonna go back to my own drawing board


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Jackson you just need to get a little old lady from Pasadena to drive for you. Or you guys can do what I do and by a Mercury or two. lol What can I say Hot Rods and Rock and Roll just go together. I will be quite now. Have fun Guys ! Larry

 

Good question. It is going to be bit tighter down there, looks like we may have to run the accelerator and the brakes off the same pedal, but other than that I see no major issues! LMAO!

 

AND I agree with you Larry, you know what the Beach Boys said about the Ram Induction vs. Fuel Injection!
...I think Jackson maybe in trouble. But for now at least his is RUNNING and it sure looks and sounds sweet!

 

You might have to take your shoes off to only push one pedal at a time, but don't Worry cause after she reaches operating temperature looks like you won't get cold feet

A Chevy along side of you might give give you Cold feet though.

 

Not any Chevy I've ever raced. They all cry and die.

Sent from my LG-LS998 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Well Saturday we started the daunting task of a "third time's the charm" footbox and firewall fabrication session. We have certainly done our homework this time around. Completely ripping out the aluminum sheet work (all of it) and starting again from scratch. As you saw earlier, after editing and tacking in the new framework design, we dropped the engine in and installed the headers!


As we talked over the new design Dad and I both decided while the first round of aluminum sheeting (and actually the second round as well) looked very nice, it was not the safest design. So as we began to reform these areas we chose a different substrate...good old fashion 14 gauge steel. One piece at a time we made patterns with poster board, plasma cut them and ground them for a perfect fit. One at a time we taped them in place and then moved on to the next one.


As you can see that also included the front of the foot boxes which meant drilling it out for brake and clutch master cylinders as well as the steering column hole.


We probably could have simply laid a good long bead with this heavier plate but just to be sure we did not get any warping we treated it like thinner sheetmetal. One spot tack at a time. As you can see above I have already cleaned up the welds on the outer joints. It looks very nice and clean.


It has an amonous look to it (don't you think?) ...kind of a Darth Vader vibe! LOL ....I really like the straight angles and flat firewall at the rear, looks more original. The first couple of rounds were very nice looking but to be honest the foot boxes and firewall should simple dissappear in the end. Having a killer 363 with AFR Heads, Holman Moody valve covers and Borla 8 stack injection, there should be no reason for anyone to be looking at the firewall. The original 1/4" aluminum plate, laying there on the floor will go back in place in the center. I am very happy with every aspect of the final direction, I am ready to get it all cleaned up, painted and the stupid engine finally in place!

 

I would have probably have got the engine compartment finished today if I had not decided to embroil myself in a little Father's Day project for Dad. He and my Mother spent the day at a camp ground with my sister giving me enough time to install a set of Doug's Headers electric cut outs on the coupe. Let me just say there is not much room under there and it took some serious fabrication but in the end....

 

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there...hope you all had a great day!

 

Very cool gift

 

Yep, the perfect gift for an old man...something to make him feel like a kid again! LOL

 

You know I was thinking Saturday how much I really enjoy fabrication. I mean there is nothing like having a clean piece of metal in your hand, sanded smooth, corners rounded and just slightly warm to the touch from the work. And then after a few quick edits it fits in place perfectly, like a missing puzzle piece. Thinking out of the box and or out of the scrap pile...taking something that was about to be discarded and creating the perfect part. Grinding good deep welds smooth making 6 plates of steel look like one solid piece. Noticing it is getting dark outside and the long shadows now stretching into the shop. Sitting back in an old office chair with your feet propped up on a welding stool, catching the evening breeze and admiring the work. Yes sir there is simply nothing better than fabrication...except for maybe ripping down the road or drag strip in a finished project...SO GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GET THE DAMN MOTOR IN THIS STUPID THING! LMAO

 

Check out these little beauties! I ordered them last week about the same time I was playing around with the cut vinyl for the valve covers. I was not terribly excited about them because they were so cheap. If figured they would not be worth messing with but at $2.99 each and buck fifty for air mail I thought why not. They just arrived from across the pond today and holy mackeral are they nice. They have high end 3M adheasive on the back. I can't wait to get home and try them on for size!