JB in NOVA's MK4 build : First overnight road trip!

[460.465USMC]

The oval panel on the back cockpit wall is something I fabricated from plywood covered with leather and a piece of ¾” foam insulation cut to fit snuggly into the Breeze cubby opening:

I used Velcro to keep it in place. This is really just a prototype – I’ve got some other ideas about how to fabricate this piece. But I think it really helps finish the look of the cockpit.

Looking fantastic, JB! Cool idea with the cubby cover.

[Caddy Dad]

Where was your C&C? I live in Maryland and always looking for a new place to meet up with fellow builders.
Cheers!

[JB in NOVA]

Where was your C&C? I live in Maryland and always looking for a new place to meet up with fellow builders.
Cheers!

The one I go to is at Katie's Coffee, in Great Falls, VA. They hold it every Saturday morning (weather permitting) from 6-9. On a nice day, it usually looks like this:

[BadAsp427]

Looks fantastic.. you've built a car to be proud of... and those photos really do all your hard work justice..

[jrcuz]

Your build is a beauty JB. I can't wait to get mine back from Whitby's so I can go to the local C&C's.
JR

[Fman]

Today I took #9822 to her first “cars and coffee” in my area, and she got a lot of attention. One of the photographers there was nice enough to share a few pictures:







So much fun!!

Great pics!!! and amen to your license plate too! So glad your out enjoying the car.... it really turned out sweet. C&Cs are so fun driving in the morning with no traffic being able to just cruise... a drive in a Cobra is just good for the soul

[JB in NOVA]

I just completed my 500-mile maintenance, which included changing the engine oil and filter, checking the differential fluid, re-lubricating everything, and carefully inspecting all the wear components. Everything looks good! While I was at it, I replaced my FFR standard side pipes with GAS-N touring pipes. (This was at the urging of my wife). I figured I would share my experience with the forum. First, the GAS-N pipes are beautiful – very well made, and they arrived in perfect condition. One thing I noticed is that they are several inches longer than the FFR standard side pipes, as you can see here:



I knew replacing the side pipes on an already-completed car might be challenging, and it was. The passenger side went in with no problems at all – I just needed a single flat spacer from Breeze. The driver’s side was a major headache, but I eventually got it done after several orders from Mark Reynolds’ Spacer and Wedge Emporium. Georgie at GAS-N was very helpful during this process and even offered to fabricate a custom collector for me. But I ended up not needing it.

One of the things I was interested in finding out is how much quieter are the GAS-N pipes? My son is a graduate student studying acoustic technology, so I asked him to help me set up an experiment. Using a Mengshen HT-80A Decibel Sound Level Meter, we took measurements with both sets of sidepipes installed, taking three measurements each at 5 feet and 10 feet, left and right side, at idle and at 2000 RPM:



We averaged the results, which are shown here:



At idle, the GAS-N pipes are 7.85 dB quieter than the FFR pipes, and at 2000 RPM, they are 4.8 dB quieter. This might not seem like a lot, but it is. Because decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, to compare two different decibel measurements x and y, you end up comparing 10^(x/10) to 10^(y/10). (Confession: I had to watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNmdIHUnF-s because I couldn’t remember how to do the math).

When I did the math, I found that the sound intensity of the GAS-N touring pipes is 16.4% of the FFR pipes at idle, and 33.1% of the FFR pipes at 2000 RPM. Put differently, the FFR side pipes are 6 times louder than the GAS-N touring pipes at idle, and 3 times louder than the GAS-N pipes at 2000 RPM. That’s quite a difference!

#9822 is back on the road, and a lot quieter than before!

[Fman]

+1 on Gas 'n touring, plenty loud but not ear breaking like the FFR pipes. Just curious if you guys did a DB sound test while driving/sitting inside the cockpit area? I also had to use wedges on drivers side and passenger side bolted right up.

[460.465USMC]

Thanks for the info., JB. So helpful to see results measured with an instrument. Great writeup! I'm sold! I just need to figure out how to get these in black.

[JB in NOVA]

Hi everyone, I'm still here! I've been hibernating a while taking care of other projects, but now that the weather is getting warmer, I've started taking the Roadster out for some more drives. After solving a high-idle issue (culprit: return spring was a tiny bit too long), she's been running great. This weekend, however, just as I was pulling into my garage, I heard a high-pitched squeal and lost my serpentine belt. Upon inspection, I discovered that my alternator casing had cracked:





This was really disappointing, as I've done nothing to the alternator or belt system since receiving the engine from Blueprint, and I still have less than 1,000 miles on the car. Everything is turning smoothly (PS, idler, drive shaft), so it wasn't a bearing problem. I've already ordered a replacement alternator, but before I install it, I was wondering if anyone else has ever had this experience? Was it likely caused by the belt being too tight? Is it possible that a different belt routing would help eliminate stress on the alternator mounting locations? Blueprint had it set up like this:



Should I switch to a "V" configuration? Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[BadAsp427]

Hope you are doing well. Wow, that is a one off issue. Give BluePrint a call. Your still under warranty and while I can not speak for them I bet they will get you fixed up. Car is still looking great and I love my Gas-N pipes as well.

[Fman]

James, I am running a similar serpentine configuration not a chrome alternator but similar type of bracket system (not from BPE got mine from Gordon Levy). I've almost got 3k miles on my car now and it has been fine. I think alternator cracking like that is a very rare issue, however not sure if a "Chrome" alternator is made any different than the standard finish? If it were me I would bolt up a new alternator and keep driving it. Switching to a V belt would require new pulleys, alternator, PS pump, water pump, etc...

[Blitzboy54]

My guess is a defective alternator housing. Like Carl said, Call BPE, my guess is they send a replacement.

[JB in NOVA]

Good news! Blueprint was quick to send me a replacement alternator. They chalked this up to a product defect, just as several of you also suggested. Here's the failed alternator out of the car:



The replacement took about an hour and was fairly straight-forward. The hardest part was removing the belt pulley and from the old alternator because it was bolted to a free-moving shaft with loctite. But I got it done. Everything tightened up just fine, and I doubled-checked the belt tension using the "twist" test (https://knowhow.napaonline.com/check-belts-car/):





She's back on the road and running great!

[jrcuz]

Good to see Blueprint came through JB.
JR

[WIS89]

JB-

Glad everything worked out with the alternator, and that it was little more than a pain in the neck for you; surely could have been much more "painful." Also pleased that BluePrint responded as they did; no surprise frankly, but still great to hear!

Your car looks great, and I am pleased that y'all posted the info on the side pipe DB readings. Please thank your son (and thank you) for your work there! Really surprising there is that much difference frankly but is really quite a lot of improvement!

Great blanket by the way!

Regards,

Steve

[Fman]

James glad your back on the road! Your Napa link is not working, mind sharing the belt "twist" test?

[JB in NOVA]

James glad your back on the road! Your Napa link is not working, mind sharing the belt "twist" test?

Fman, sorry the link is broken. It says (in step 3): "TENSING UP. Belts should be firmly secured in place with only a slight amount of give. There are two ways to check belt tension. First, find the longest run of the belt between two pulleys, then hold it with two fingers at the center and twist the belt toward the engine. If it turns more than 90 degrees, then the belt is too loose. The second option is to press down on the middle of the belt. A secure belt should give between one-half to 1 inch and not a bit more."

[JB in NOVA]

Because I did not include windshield wipers in my build, and because Virginia requires two electrically- or mechanically-powered windshield wipers even for a 1965 car, I found myself in need of some “temporary wipers” to pass state inspection. Following the lead of others, I fashioned a pair of temporary wipers from these parts:

• Wiper motors and 11” blades: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Unive...-Kit,2999.html
• Ron Francis WB33 Ford Roadster Wiper Brackets https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfw-wb33
• 12V female cigarette lighter sockets: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094R9SG3R...roduct_details

The Ron Francis brackets fit fairly well over the top of the windshield frame, and they do an adequate job of holding the motors in place during operation. Also, they don't damage or scratch the windshield or fame because they have soft rubber on the inside. The wiper motors from Speedway were easy to assemble and adjust. They come with a male plug for a cigarette-lighter adapter, so I wired female receptacles that can be hidden beneath the seats. When I need to hook up the temporary wipers, I unplug my seat heaters and plug the wipers in beneath the seats.





Not elegant or cool-looking in any way, but it works. And most importantly, it passed inspection!



Now I can stow them away until next year:

[facultyofmusic]

Now I can stow them away until next year:

You need to get your wipers inspected EVERY YEAR? (This is not a question. This is just a noob being very surprised.)

[jrcuz]

Fine job JB. Looks good.
JR

[jrcuz]

You need to get your wipers inspected EVERY YEAR? (This is not a question. This is just a noob being very surprised.)

We have to get an annual safety inspection and the wipers are part of the inspection.
JR

[JB in NOVA]

I'm still taking care of a few details as I inch closer to graduation. This week, I got my FFR seats re-upholstered in the same leather I used for the transmission tunnel and the door cards. I went through lots of potential seat patterns but, in the end, settled on something simple:





Basically, I widened the "stripes" compared to the FFR version, got rid of the piping, and used contrasting stitching to match the console. Perhaps overkill, but I like when everything matches.



Another to-do item off my list: a Cobra steering wheel insert from Finish Line:



Still making progress!

[jrcuz]

Nice JB.
JR

[JohnK]

The seats look awesome JB!

-John

[BadAsp427]

Looks fantastic....

[Fman]

Very nice custom touch they look great! also like your cover on your Breeze storage cubby. Is that on a hinge system or velcro on?

[JB in NOVA]

Very nice custom touch they look great! also like your cover on your Breeze storage cubby. Is that on a hinge system or velcro on?

Fman, the cubby cover is velcro'd in place. I'm still noodling other options, but the velcro works pretty well.

[JB in NOVA]

I had a great drive last weekend through the Virginia countryside. It was a beautiful drive, but toward the end the engine started running very rough, especially at idle. I nursed the car home, popped the hood and immediately spotted the problem. My #1 ignition wire had somehow made contact with the header and melted. Yep, that'll make the engine unhappy.

Many of you probably know this already, but I had to learn it the hard way ... make sure you insulate your spark plug wires!

This weekend, I replaced all the ignition wires with Taylors (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tay-75058). They have a ceramic coated spark plug boot, which should help protect them from the heat:



And I intalled fiberglass heat sleeves (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092RWJ72X...t_b_asin_title) on each wire in the area of the headers:



Hopefully that will keep them from getting fried again. After a week in the garage, #9822 is back on the road again, and running great!

[Fman]

+1 on the sleeves, i also had the same melt down last year. After 3000 miles have had no issues.

[JB in NOVA]

This week I finally got a chance to take the Roadster on her first overnight roadtrip! A friend of mine is getting married and asked if he could use the Roadster in his engagement photos. I was happy to oblige, especially since it gave me an excuse to drive out to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah mountains near Charlottesville, VA. The car performed like a champ, especially on the long stretches where I could really open up the throttle. It was fun watching the photographer using the Roadster as a backdrop for this young couple's "vintage" theme:





Then we finished off with a beautiful sunset at a nearby vineyard:



All in all, it was a great trip and a successful "stress test" for #9822. She passed with flying colors! The only trouble I had was convincing the valet at my hotel to let me self-park the car. Him: "Sir, we park all sorts of fancy cars here, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, you name it." Me (in my head): "Well, you're not parking this one." I eventually got my way.

[Blitzboy54]

That vineyard photo has POM written all over it.


The thing the valet doesn't understand is if they damage any of those other cars they can be fixed at the dealer. No matter who pays for any damage you built it, you have to fix it and that makes you the warranty

[toadster]

We have to get an annual safety inspection and the wipers are part of the inspection.
JR

I wish CA would do annual inspection instead of CARB, SOOO many unsafe cars on the road it's crazy! Your car looks amazing!!!

[nuhale]

This week I finally got a chance to take the Roadster on her first overnight roadtrip! A friend of mine is getting married and asked if he could use the Roadster in his engagement photos. I was happy to oblige, especially since it gave me an excuse to drive out to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah mountains near Charlottesville, VA. The car performed like a champ, especially on the long stretches where I could really open up the throttle. It was fun watching the photographer using the Roadster as a backdrop for this young couple's "vintage" theme:





Then we finished off with a beautiful sunset at a nearby vineyard:



All in all, it was a great trip and a successful "stress test" for #9822. She passed with flying colors! The only trouble I had was convincing the valet at my hotel to let me self-park the car. Him: "Sir, we park all sorts of fancy cars here, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, you name it." Me (in my head): "Well, you're not parking this one." I eventually got my way.

NICE!! Have a plant down there in Stuarts Draft that I frequent. The Blue ridge is gorgeous and each trip I always WISH I had my cobra with me.

[460.465USMC]

Beautiful, JB! What a fun trip! Thanks for sharing.

[jrcuz]

Looks great JB Thanks for sharing.
JR

[JMD]

I so enjoyed reading through your build thread. The car turned out beautifully and you picked one of my favorite colors. I'm waiting for delivery of my kit next month, so lots of time to read and bone up on info before diving in!