Projects DRAG SNAKE "Vintage Terror!"

Slipped out this afternoon and installed the oil pan. Not happy with Ford Racing as this pan did not align itself correctly. It was obvious why as it had a mis-rolled edge but Ford Racing screwed around, looked at photos and finally said just send it back and we will look at it and decide IF it should be replaced on not.

I Didn't like how that sounded so I just beat on the $500 oil pan a bit...you know like a $99 chrome Speedway unit and moved on. I would not recommend buying anything from Ford Racing just call them, pick their brain, get a part number and then call a reputable parts house like JEGS or Summit who take care of customers.



I also popped in the ARP crank bolt and torqued it to 120 ft/lbs.



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So check this out. Rolled the engine over and installed the intake with Borla injection, the spacers and valve covers, dropped in the distributor and re-installed the front pulleys. This allowed us the opportunity to play with the expansion tank for the first time.





Way too high in my opinion. No way it will clear the hood at the front of the scoop. Not too mention it just looks goofy to me up there.

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I really like how it all fit together and of course according to the brackets, that is where it goes. If I could drop it down about 2 inches I think I would be happy. Just a bit of re-engineering involved.



So I took the bracket, cut it just above where it bolted to thermostat holder, took out 1.75 inches or so and welded it back together. I also welded the rear tank holding section on as it was bolted in place the first go around (but the holes were in the section I cut out). Lol



This also meant some editing on the elbow piece to make it fit.



Actually, edits to both ends to make sure it didn't stick though the housing and hit the thermostat etc.



After it was all bolted together we marked all the pieces including the tank for bracket placement. I am dropping it off tomorrow at local shop to be silver soldered together.




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Better.

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I will say this, especially since I have been picking a bit on Ford engineers, the distributor dropped in place with absolutely zero effort. I have never had a distributor install so effortlessly. AND yes James I have a black cap coming for it...LMAO!

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Randall something is wrong trust me the distributor never goes in that easy lol. And for that matter it should have a blue cap it is a ford after all lol


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Jackson, you should stop by for some lessons
Randall, looks like good progress

 

Dude I did it like 5 times! Trust me I know! There is never a more intense tool throwing session in my shop then when we are trying to stab a stupid distributor. It appears to me to be so simple because of the small hole in the block where the end of the distributor first drops and makes contact with the oil pump rod. The end goes in the hole at the same time as the first larger section of the upper shaft goes into the block. This secures the whole unit straight up and down. Then you just spin the rotor until it drops on the oil pump rod. Then there is still room to adjust up and down and get the cam gear where you want it before it drops the rest of the way in....Dare I say....ingenious!

 

Oh Man you are so right....Just shows how un-Ford I am. Now if we can just convince MSD to give up the red branding issues and make a blue one...LMAO. Might have to break out the old rattle can!

 

....and so I have been informed by what I call my "Cobra" mentor...LOL...that I have the wrong expansion tank. I sort of new this going in or at least for the past several months. However I ordered that tank almost a year ago when I was collecting parts. If you google AC Cobra Expansion Tank (at least if you are looking to purchase one, this is what is out there). At the time I just about choked on the price tag of this little do it yourself "some assembly required" unit. But I ordered it anyway.

I had been looking at a very limited number of original 289 AC Cobra engine compartment photos online. Most of them had what looked like this tank on the driver's side just above the valve cover clocked 45 degrees around.


I never really paid too much attention to my tank outside of finding a good local radiator guy to silver solder it for me. However after we got the car put together to at least show this summer, I noticed there was an issue. After looking closely at the before mentioned photos, while the tanks were basically shaped the same, the 289 car's unit did not have a radiator hose running in or out. They relied on smaller heater hose sized plumbing to connect them in the system. A few of the cars, maybe even the competition units had a small round spun tank (sort of like a Dewitt tank from early Corvettes).

So this weekend since we had great access to the front of the motor on the stand we decided to see what kind of placement or orientation we could come up with using the brackets that came with the unit. As is par for the course there were no instructions with this tank but to be honest it was pretty straight forward as to where and how it went. It is actually a pretty cool system and after make a few edits of our own I was satisfied with the placement as designed.

It is obvious however that this placement is much closer to where and how the 427 cars that came later had their tanks mounted.


If you think about it, it actually makes since. When it comes to ordering parts for an AC Cobra today, pieces for the 427 car are just about all that are in the aftermarket as those are basically the only replicas out there. So for now, since I spent the money on the tank and I am happy with the fitment, I guess I will leave it. I can always make a change later if I need or want. Headed to the radiator shop this morning to drop the unit off.

 

Checked my horde and it looks like two different models of tanks have been used.


Squared off


Round in front of engine

 

THIS LOOKS LIKE A MID 60S CORVETTE TANK

 

yep...Dewitt Tank.

 

Found one more on a real Dragonsnake squared off one.

 

The other issue we had immediately yesterday after rolling the motor over was how to attach the valve covers through spacers etc.


That bolt temporarily holding them in place is a 2" unit and it only has a couple of rounds in the head. We looked for some bolts that were both long enough and looked cool but at the same time being a solid roller we will be checking and adjusting the valves. What ever we chose needed to be user friendly to remove and reinstall etc.

Dad wanted to cut some all thread studs and then screw down some of the wing nut style shafts on them but that is not the look I want NOR will the top bolt in the middle of valve cover work because of the angle. This morning I was skipping around the Web and found these at CJPony.

They are perfect because as you see we can make our own longer custom studs for them.

And the best part is they are stamped with a little Ford emblem on their heads so I will never forget what kind of engine we are working on. Perfect. LMAO.

 

Not being a big Corvette or Cobra follower the Dewitt name is not familiar.
Always thought the Corvette expansion tanks were made by Harrison.

 

That could be Denny...I was just searching for the tank and ran across several that said they were for Corvettes. They were stamped Dewitt....so I just assumed...and you know what happens when you assume!

 

I think they reproduce the Harrison tanks for Corvette restoration suppliers such as Ecklers.

 

Randall you better get this thing goin so you can run with us at George rays in may of next year it's gonna be a real awesome event


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We will be ready.

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If you are going to use allthread studs, either get
1. the GOOD allthread, not the grade 3 silver hardware store crap
2. 1/4-20 socket set screws the right length.
https://www.grainger.com/category/s...-set-screws/fasteners/ecatalog/N-15gzZ1z0o17h
Run them thru the covers and spacers a few times to clearance (or file or BOTH) then tighten them into the heads (or your nut ends). If you have ever dealt with an air cleaner wing nut and stud where the stud is boogered on the end causing the wing nut to top out then unscrew the stud, you know what to avoid.
I like the socket set screws since you don't need to double nut them to install/remove.

 

I am sure you won't forget it is a Ford. I am sure you have learned some new uses for "Colorful Language" while you have been working on this engine

 

Well strike three on the alternator bracket. Man I have know idea what you have to do. The guys at March took all the part numbers of part and pieces already on the engine (ie: water pump, pulley kit, dampner and spacer etc.) plus I took measurements for them and sent them photos. They were 100 percent for sure they had it under control and this time (third time is the charm) etc. etc.! Wrong.




Jackson I think you may have called the other day at the car show....I am just going to have to build my own! ....Crazy!

 

A slight misalignment should be fine as long as you don't rev it up.

 

Randall does the w/p pulley line up with the crank if so just need to space the alt out to line it up


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With your skills in other areas fabing this and your previous car, I'm thinking you can make the necessary mods spacers or brackets to make it work. I understand it's still annoying as hell and its the principal that they should fit when you pay good money for it, but once you do it yourself you will have it exactly the way you like it and another small sense of pride on your badass ride.

Just my 2 cents ,believe me I have to buy way more of my parts than make due to my limited abilities so I'm not trying to act superior.

 

Pretty productive day in the shop today. When it was over this is what we ended up with...



As is par for the course around here it was a couple of steps backwards but I had been expecting most of it. To begin with the new radiator is 23.75" wide x 18" tall and is about 4 inches thick. With the Cobra on the lift we started by taking a piece of left over seat foam that was just a bit thicker than 4" wide. We cut the exact size of the radiator out of it. If you look closely through the grill opening above you can see it there.

Standing in the empty engine bay with the foam radiator in hand it was apparent we were going to have to do some cutting. For one, the radiator would not fit left to right between the up rights. AND even worse it would not fit up and down between the body and chassis. Below is roughly what we were looking at...going to need a plasma cutter and shoe spoon! LOL


So Above is what we had and below is where we had to get...



I mean we knew we would have some changes up front, that is why I basically left the chassis unfinished up there. However it was a bit more drastic than I had planned. As you can see above, the front supports that ran from the main chassis up to the top bar had to come out. Unfortunately the hood hinge mount is already in place on the bar. So that upper section can not move or of course the hood will no longer fit properly. So before we could start anything we created two new legs aft of the front suspension and welded them in place.

After securing the upper bar we cut out the two front uprights out and with our foam radiator substitute, established the correct placement and angle. As you can see above the radiator has to be lower than the chassis rails but since it is too wide to fit between them, it will have to go in front of them. Using the foam radiator we marked the angle to cut the front of the chassis rails then carefully cut them with a saws-all.

View attachment 4077412
With some scrap, light weight 1.75 angle iron we cut two pieces (to hold the radiator left to right) one for each side about 10" long. I figured that was about the max height we could afford as because of the lower radiator hose stub, the radiator would have to turn sort of flat, slide in at more of a horizontal angle and then drop in and swing down into the cradle.



As you can see above when it is in place the lower radiator stub is actually under the right side chassis rail (snug).


In order for it to swing into place, we had to cut notches in the cradle section for the studs on the bottom of the radiator to swing into (later we will a custom latch that will bolt on and hold them in place). You can also see the large notch cut in the back of the upright piece of angle iron for the lower radiator hose stub etc. There is a similar but smaller notch on the opposite side for the pep- cock.



Then after we were happy with the fit we welded the radiator cradle bracket solid to the front of the chassis rails. This sealed up the ends of them which is a nice bonus. Then we bent a roll cage bar that is welded to the front upper and lower "A" arm plate. From there it runs out into the nose and around to the other side. This will give us a place to mount the front bumperette hardware etc. We still have to run a couple of legs from it up to the upper bar but we were running out of energy and daylight.

 

Make sure to factor in for rubber mounting, either rubber lined cradle or rubber bushed mounts.

 

Well I picked up my tank this morning from the radiator shop. I am not sure what I was expecting but to be honest I don't think this is it...???









And believe it or not I have already spent 30 minutes with a Scothbright wheel cleaning on it.