Ted G's 427 Cobra Build #10333 - Aluminum Spats

[Windsor]

I originally thought my hydraulic clutch wasn't adjusted correctly because I had a very slight grind going into reverse. Searching the forum, I realized that this is somewhat normal in the Tremec transmissions. Going into first gear first or holding down the clutch for an additional second remedies that issue.

It wasn't until 80s (90s?) that transmissions even had a synchro on reverse. Sounds like Tremec (and predecessor) sorta made an attempt at making it work. Or, alternatively, us drivers are just trying to do it too fast.

Either way, I've developed a habit of dropping it into 2nd first and then "R" when driving manual gearboxes. 1st->R would also work fine.

[BornWestUSA]

Question on your SB100 experience. You did not have a "virtual" appointment with the BAR? Just an appointment for an "in person" appointment?? I'll be doing it in SoCal soon enough, just wondering.

[cv2065]

Just catching up on your build Ted. Outstanding job!! I'm installing roughly the same engine/trans combo. I didn't see any pics around the TKX mod where you reversed the shifter. Any issues hitting any cross members or tips on the switch?

[Ted G]

Question on your SB100 experience. You did not have a "virtual" appointment with the BAR? Just an appointment for an "in person" appointment?? I'll be doing it in SoCal soon enough, just wondering.

I did have the virtual one. If you make sure you have good pictures, you should be fine. It took me about 3 months for the in person appointment, but that was easy peasy. Got my plates the same day!

[Ted G]

Hey cv2065,

Thanks for the kind words. I think i do have the mod to my shifter. I went with a short shifter that ********** sells and made a bracket that leaned the shifter more forward. Below is a few pics. I did not have to cut the cross members for the shifter, but I did for the cup holders.

You can see in this first picture how the shifter is too straight upward.
Short Shifter.JPG

Then I made the bracket to tilt it forward.
Short Shifter Mod 1.JPG Short Shifter Mod 2.jpg

Final look:
Dash10.jpg

Ted

[Ted G]

Well, after technically finishing the car on the 4th of July, 2023; I realized that we are really never done. As of yesterday, I officially hit 2000 miles.
2000Miles.JPG

Another important milestone was getting through the California BAR appointments. The biggest hurdle was just waiting for the DMV to send me my SB100 certificate (3 months). I received it on a Monday and got my in-person visit to the BAR two days later. Then, I proceeded to the local DMV and got my plates the same day.... By the way, this was my birthday of all days!!
SmogExempt2.jpg Plates.jpg

Very strange to have all my milestones on a special day or holiday. I ordered my kit on September 11, 2021 (20th anniversary of 9/11). I took delivery of my kit from Stewart Transport on April Fool's day (yea, I know) of 2022. My technical completion of #10333 was on the Fourth of July, 2023.... that is the day I put on the emblems. Lastly, my birthday was when I got my final BAR inspection and license plates!

Since the build was completed, I've a a few minor issues. First was an oil leak, that I fixed, but I still have oil seeping from my grommets on the valve covers. I am going to add an oil catch can and I purchased some Earl's breathers and PCV that I think will help with this problem.

I have also been trying to fine tune the carburetor in regards to the squirters and cam for the power valve. I found this much easier when using a vacuum gauge. So, instead of hooking up a vacuum gauge everytime i went to tune this, I'd just add one under the hood. I also wanted a mechanical Oil pressure gauge under the hood as my electronic one on the dash seemed a bit inaccurate. Moving this a bit further, I read up on adding a Air/Fuel mixture gauge could also help. I decided this was better utilized in the cockpit of the car instead of under the hood. Here is a few pics of the gauges:
AFR.jpg underhoodGauges.jpg

Overall, I am having a blast driving this car (a lot)! I've since changed the oil, re-checked most all torque specs, scared myself twice, and left a mark or two on the pavement!! Not to mention a lot of Cars & Coffees, a few shows, and a few Cobra cruises with the local Sacramento group. I swear, I feel like a rock star everytime I drive this car.
October2023.jpg On the grass.JPG C&C July.jpg

Ted

[maclonchas]

Pretty productive weekend in the garage working on #10333. While I am waiting a few parts to trickle in from various vendors, I decided to tackle my ignition switch. Like others, I wasn't really happy with the provided FFR ignition switch and tiny little key. I decided to purchase an ignition switch from CJ Pony Parts for a 1965 mustang. I am using the left side of the dash position for the switch. Here is the original FFR supplied switch and the Mustang switch difference:

Attachment 176968 Attachment 176969 Attachment 176976

Because of the much smaller wires, I was worried about running the heavy amperage through the Mustang switch so I ran two separate relays for the Ignition and ACC feeds. I also have a "Ignition Switch" on my lower dash that is a kill switch for the ignition. Here is the wiring diagram (please excuse the handwritten diagram) and the relays after install:

Attachment 176970 Attachment 176975

Cutting into the carbon fiber dash is a bit tricky, specially with the small anti-rotation notches.

Attachment 176972 Attachment 176971

Overall, I'm very happy with the switch. I actually had to cut the spring on the switch as it was just too tight and made the key pretty hard to turn. Now, back to the motor!!


Ted

Ted,

I was going back through your build after seeing your post on your 2000 mile review. Still impressed with many of the mods you took on and your persistence with the overall build. A couple of questions on your ignition switch modification. I was looking at your diagram and wanted to make sure of a couple items on your diagram:
1) The ignition Switch is a SPST going to your Ignition Relay pin 86 (Correct?)
2) You do not use a master disconnect switch
3) The Fuse Box is the RF Fuse Box
4) What size hole is the ignition switch
5) Do you have a picture of the switch after the cutdown of the spring or how much of the spring did you cut down

Thanks for the help.

Bill

[Ted G]

Ted,

I was going back through your build after seeing your post on your 2000 mile review. Still impressed with many of the mods you took on and your persistence with the overall build. A couple of questions on your ignition switch modification. I was looking at your diagram and wanted to make sure of a couple items on your diagram:
1) The ignition Switch is a SPST going to your Ignition Relay pin 86 (Correct?)
2) You do not use a master disconnect switch
3) The Fuse Box is the RF Fuse Box
4) What size hole is the ignition switch
5) Do you have a picture of the switch after the cutdown of the spring or how much of the spring did you cut down

Thanks for the help.

Bill

Hey Bill, I hope I can answer your questions.

1) The ignition Switch is a SPST going to your Ignition Relay pin 86 (Correct?)Yes, nothing really changed in the diagram from the original switch that I can remember.
2) You do not use a master disconnect switch I have two master disconrect switches. The first is the battery disconnect switch (under my dash). The second is an ignition/fuel pump disconnect switch on my lower dash. Basically, this ignition switch cut off has the IGN wire going to it before the mustang key switch. The motor will crank, and everything will work when the key is in the ON or in the ACC position but won't start.
3) The Fuse Box is the RF Fuse Box Yes indeed
4) What size hole is the ignition switch hard question to answer. Simple answer is roughly an inch, but there are two small notches that keep the switch from rotating when you turn the key. I actually used a little JB weld back there to help if from turning
5) Do you have a picture of the switch after the cutdown of the spring or how much of the spring did you cut down. I don't have a picture of it that I can find, but I only cut down about a half of a circle in the spring.

Hope that helps

[Jpruss221]

Hi Ted,
Nice build very impressive! I haven't spent much time on the forum site but ran across your build then realized we are in the same area of Northern Ca. I lived in Folsom and El Dorado Hills for many years but moved to Fiddletown outside of Plymouth, you probably know of the area since your into wine. I started my build about a year ago (Mk4 #10387) and now finishing up trunk/panel work and electrical, hoping to install engine trans within the next couple weeks. Hope to meet you at Cars and Coffee in the near future.

Jeff R

[maclonchas]

Ted,

One other question for you on relay usage. I see you used relays for both the ACC and IGN circuits to the Ron Francis Fuse Box. Was the relay for the ACC circuit required or a safety factor for you?

Thanks

Bill

[Ted G]

Hi Ted,
Nice build very impressive! I haven't spent much time on the forum site but ran across your build then realized we are in the same area of Northern Ca. I lived in Folsom and El Dorado Hills for many years but moved to Fiddletown outside of Plymouth, you probably know of the area since your into wine. I started my build about a year ago (Mk4 #10387) and now finishing up trunk/panel work and electrical, hoping to install engine trans within the next couple weeks. Hope to meet you at Cars and Coffee in the near future.

Jeff R

Hi Jeff,

Good to hear that you are close by. You may want to join our Facebook group called: Sacramento Factory Five Builder's Group (https://www.facebook.com/messages/t/3884444508349296). It's a great group of guys who just love these cars. We just did a great drive up to Apple Hill this past weekend along with 12 of us. Yes, I know your area well. I'm at the Cars and Coffee in EDH often. Stop and say hello.

Ted

[Ted G]

Ted,

One other question for you on relay usage. I see you used relays for both the ACC and IGN circuits to the Ron Francis Fuse Box. Was the relay for the ACC circuit required or a safety factor for you?

Thanks

Bill

Hi Bill,

Yes, I used relays because the wires on the Ford Mustang switch are a much smaller gauge and I was afraid of burning them up under load.

[460.465USMC]

Hi Ted. Congrats on getting through the CA licensing process! You're not messing around with 2K+ miles already. Awesome. I love it. Thanks for posting the updates and the fresh pics.

[Ted G]

Well, I just hit 2600 miles over the weekend. I love driving this car when the weather is brisk. I had my brother and his family out for the Thanksgiving week and yes, I actually let him drive the car; first anyone else has driven it. I will admit, I was a bit scared and with the cold here in Nor Cal, the roads were a bit slippery. All went well though and he enjoyed the drive.

MyBro copy.JPG

I am contemplating a few things over the winter months #10333. Factory Five was kind enough to ship me out a new radiator at no charge as the original radiator sprung a small leak where the core meets the tank. First, I thought the leak was from a radiator hose on the bottom of the radiator. I replaced the hose and used the Gates Power Grip heat shrink clamps that I love so much. Much to my chagrin and after further inspection, I realized the leak was coming from the Rad. I checked for electrolysis as this could be the cause of a failed radiator, but no electricity running through the coolant. All my readings were less than .03 volts. Here's a couple of pics of the leak(s). I remember during my build, FFR was having some issues getting the radiators and may have used another supplier. This will be my priority project over the winter and I am also going to change out the radiator fan and have it switched. This fan is a little too loud for my taste and I would like to be able to shut it off when driving into a show or a cars & coffee.

Radleak1.jpg Radleak2.jpg

This past weekend, I was putting up Christmas lights on my house and I had to pull my car out of the garage to get to the lights. While I was on the roof, I noticed how cool my car looked in the driveway; So I took this picture and I'm thinking of having it blown up and framed! I just love it!

Rooftop copy.jpg

Finally, just another shot of her sitting in the garage ready for the next chilly drive. Some projects I am contemplating are "hood pins", new oil pan gasket as I still have a very minor leak on the front seal, and upgrading my leather on the trans tunnel; the leather piece I used has a slight imperfection and it just bugs me. I also may have some stitching done on the edges.

SittingPretty copy.jpg

[Ted G]

Well, I got a few things done over the holidays and just a few more to go for the "Winter Projects". First thing I did was change out the leaking FFR radiator with a new one from FFR. They were gracious enough to send me another. While at it, I also put in another fan as the FFR one was just too loud for my taste, although worked great! I had a fan delivered from Flex-a-lite that was supposed to be quieter. Well, the first one delivered had a broken blade, and the second one had a weird "grind" once it was turned off; is was also about the same noise level as the FFR so I decided to try another brand. I went with a pretty generic brand that had about 300 less CFM. This fan was also $60 cheaper and I'll say, it is much quieter than both the Flex-a-lite and the FFR fan. I guess I'll see if it holds up and if the CFM changes anything. But honestly, my coolant NEVER got above 190* even on the hottest days. So I think having about 1500 CFM may just work out fine. I also made it much easier to remove just the fan without the shroud in the event I have to change it out.

Radleak1.jpg New Fan.jpg

Then I moved onto a small leak I had in my Aviaid oil pan. This leak was coming from the gasket near the rear and front seal. This is my second time in attempting this problem. I was told by Aviaid to use a 4 piece gasket, but a single piece would work too. They just recommend the 4 piece. Well, after the first failed, I tried a second 4 piece.... With that failing too, in the same spots, i decided to go with a single piece Fel-Pro gasket. Fingers crossed! I also change from the standard oil pan bolts to oil pan studs. This made it much easier to replace the gasket and pan from below. I made sure I used RTV in those problem areas.

AviaidPanCleanedUp.jpg PanRemoved.jpg Studs.jpg.

Next project is cleaning up the sidepipes and realigning them just a bit more with gaskets, spacers and wedges. I am also planning on putting the lower hood button heads like FMan did here: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post519115

I have a few more tasks to do over the Winter like a good undercarriage and engine compartment cleaning, some adjustments on the interior and a double check of all critical torque specs. Since completed the car in July and finally getting it registered in October, I have driven it about 2500 miles (includes go-kart and pre registration miles) and have loved every minute of it.

Ted #10333

[Fman]

Sorry that Flex a lite did not work out for you, so far I have had really good results with the 3000 CFM wave flex a lite. The wave was so quiet I had to add a fan light on my dash to let me know it was coming on. Nice work on all the mods, fingers crossed for you on the oil pan keep us posted!

Was this the flex a lite you ordered?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/f...RoCKacQAvD_BwE

[egchewy79]

you probably figured it out already, but put a dollop of RTV on both sides of the oil pan gasket at the front and rear rounded corners where the flat part meets the round part.

[Ted G]

Sorry that Flex a lite did not work out for you, so far I have had really good results with the 3000 CFM wave flex a lite. The wave was so quiet I had to add a fan light on my dash to let me know it was coming on. Nice work on all the mods, fingers crossed for you on the oil pan keep us posted!

Was this the flex a lite you ordered?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/f...RoCKacQAvD_BwE

I ordered the 236 which was the 2600 CFM fan. I figured the less CFM, the quieter. Anyhow, the FFR won was only 2150 CFM and worked perfect... just too loud for my taste.

[Ted G]

you probably figured it out already, but put a dollop of RTV on both sides of the oil pan gasket at the front and rear rounded corners where the flat part meets the round part.

Yes I did, thank you.

[Ted G]

Well, this is something I always thought about doing and after FMan did it here, I thought I'd tackle putting the button heads onto my hood. Instead of rivets, I decided to use stainless steel button head screws instead as they can be easily replaced and less likely they'll damage the paint. They'll also match the screws on the hood scoop.

I ordered the button heads and two carbon drill bits from McMaster-Carr. Along with some blue tape, a ruler and a general diagram, I tackled this project.
parts.jpg

Carefully placing the tape onto the hood and measuring several layouts. Apparently, the FFR Hood is a bit narrower than what my schematic could handle. I also wanted it to look symmetrical within the stripes. I played around with different layouts including 14, 15 and 16 counts, but ended up using the 16 count as it seemed to layout the best. One thing I did notice was that the stripes were just a smidge more to the passenger side by about 3/16" which made me have to adjust the spaces in between on the bottom row just by about a 16th of an inch.

Here is my final layout before drilling into my perfect, beautiful paint:
layout1.jpg layout2.jpg

I gotta tell you, drilling into my hood might have been the scariest thing I've done to this car. Was it going to chip, peel, or crack? What if my measurements were off? Anyway, I measured about 40 times to be sure. Adjusted here and there, but was happy with my placements. I started with a 1/16" pilot hole and then moved to the 5/32" bit.
drill2.jpg drill1.jpg

After drilling, the real scary part was pulling the tape off. Next to doing the layout, this was likely my next slowest task. But, after careful removal, all holes were perfectly intact without any chipping or peeling of the paint.
holes.jpg

The screws went in perfectly. No need for a tap as the screws just tapped themselves into the fiberglass for a good, snug fit. These are also laid out in a manner where they don't protrude under the hood as they are with channel here:
UnderHood.jpg

This project was actually a lot easier than I thought, just a little scary to drill into Ken's beautiful paint job! Here is the final product:
Complete.jpg

[Mike.Bray]

That looks cool Ted. No way on earth I would have the nerve to do that on my painted car!

Funny story, been thinking about the screws and nuts holding the hood scoop on and my open stacks right under them. Today I went to the Borla website to order a set of "Bug Dome" screens that are "useful for keeping rocks and small animals from entering your engine" according to Borla. About $20 each so fair enough. The least expensive shipping option is $104! WTH?? I'm going to call them tomorrow and get that cut down.

[Ted G]

First of all, I will say I love my carburetor. This is a Holley 4160, 750 cfm with a vacuum secondary and electric choke. I know a bunch of you EFI guys will say "why don't you just go EFI?". I have no problem with EFI on these cars, it was just a personal choice to have a carb setup on my 427w. Plus I love the challenge of tuning it to perfection. I just crossed over the 3,000 mile mark on my car and I will say, the carburetor has been tuned perfectly with the addition of an underhood vacuum gauge and a AFR sensor and gauge under the dash.

Recently with the cold weather we have been having in Northern California, I was noticing the electric choke would just stay on for a bit too long and would come on or stick open during my drives. I adjusted, tuned and did a bunch of research on the electric choke. My research led me to a bunch of guys who just dumped the electric choke in lieu of an old fashioned manual choke for various reasons and so that is my plan. This project could have been done without pulling the carb, but I wanted to also check the setting of the butterfly valves and clean up the manifold and carb a bit and this gave me the access. Also the manual choke is a little finicky getting it all together and mounted, so removing the carb just made it much easier.

Manifold is cleaned up and waiting for the carb:

manifold.JPG

The plastic cam on the e-choke was getting a bit marred and this may have been part of the reason is was sticking. You can see in this picture the cam wasn't even riding perfectly on the cam (arrow), but more on the edge of the cam. Likely the reason it was getting chewed up.

1electricCam.JPG

Needless to say, I am excited about going manual and getting this carbed tuned with the new choke. I also reset all the mixture screws, curb idle screw, and the secondary screw so that I can reset the tuning for this carb. I also prefer the "look" of this set up and I will eliminate those two ugly wires that lead to the vacuum choke.

1electricchoke.JPG

e-choke removed and manual choke installed:

2nochoke.JPG 3manualchoke.JPG

Here is a little video I did showing the action of the new manual choke:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qS2i9QZThA

I would not recommend going manual choke on a vehicle that multiple people drive, as each person will have to "learn" how to start the vehicle. However, this car is only driven by me and if anyone ever drives it, it'll be with me in the passenger seat. I will follow up after I get everything put back together, tuned and have a few miles on the new set up.

[Railroad]

I have no issues with a manual choke, having driven cars and equipment with it as standard equipment, but,,,,
It looks like your fast idle screw on the choke may have been off center on the fast idle cam, or the end of the screw had a sharp tip.
The fast idle cam does need to fall free when the screw is lifted off by throttle movement and the heated coil has reached temp. Many tuners put the screw tip too close to the cam on the off setting.
Good job!

[Ted G]

Well, last week I decided to remove the Holley electric choke (see above post). I just had trouble with it coming down off high idle and if I shut the engine down for 20 minutes and then restarted, the electric choke would kick back on.

Nevertheless, I finally got it all back together, retuned the carb and set up the manual choke to get just enough richness and fast idle to have great starts. Low and behold, this is the best!! I have full control of the fast idle with the knob and full control when to push the choke back in. Although it took some fine tuning to get it just perfect, it was pretty easy conversion overall.

My first start after fine tuning the cable was a perfect start on a cold day and I slowly pushed the choke back off. Today, I started it with a little warmer temperature and started perfectly again.

The hardest part was where to place the cable. I like to start my Cobra without getting into the seat, that is why I put a left hand key in. This was the best place to put the cable without changing my dash set up:

4ChokeKnob.jpg 5ChokeKnob.JPG

I purchased three, yea three cables as I wanted to see what would work best in this area. I ended up using a choke cable made for a Toro riding lawn mower of all things. It had the perfect hard bend that I needed to get to the other side of the motor:

6CableFirewall.JPG

Here is the final product with the clutch open, then shut. You can see that in the shut position, I had to leave just a small gap to allow the air flow without totally choking the motor:

7ChokeOpen.JPG 8ChokeClosed.JPG

Lastly, just a shot of the engine bay with the firewall lights on:

9EngingBay.jpg

Overall, very happy with this Carburetor modification and having the ability to fine tune my starts and when the fast idle goes off.

[Ted G]

Having aluminum spats is one modification I have wanted to ever since I started seriously thinking about purchasing my Factory Five. The problem was I couldn't find anyone who made these spats for the Mark IV Factory Five body. Then I saw a post from Martin (magicmarto) who had them for sale on Facebook. At first, I thought he was just another scammer trying to take advantage of someone. Low and behold, a few well knowns of the FFR community vouched for him and I made the purchase and a few days later, I received them in the mail. Martin told me they were about 90% ready but would definitely need some more manipulation and trimming as every FFR body is a little bit different. Once I received them and did a test fit, I realized I still needed an English Wheel to make it fit perfectly.

I purchased an english wheel off of Amazon for $99. Yes, it's a cheap one but with a little manipulation and practice, it worked pretty darn good for finishing these spats. The spats definitely needed more curve, especially near the bottom outer edge. With a little more bend and some trimming, I think they look pretty good.

EnglishWheel.JPG

Initial fitment shows a pretty large gap between the inner edge of the spat and the body wall (arrow pointing to this). After initial trimming and a little english wheel work at the outside edge and near the bottom, I felt it was a pretty good fit, but still not perfect.

Spat01.JPG Spat02.JPG

More manipulation with the English wheel and some fine trimming, I felt the fit was good. You may be able to see in the picture of the driver side spat (left), some markings from the wheel (even after polishing). Those marking need to be removed for sure.

Spat03.JPG

So, I started out with hand sanding with some 240 grit, then sanding with an electric sander with medium scotch brite pads and moving back to wet sanding on to 800, 1000, 1500 grit sandpaper. This took some time to get the marking out.

Spat04.JPG Spat06.JPG Spat07.JPG

After sanding, and polishing, the spats needing a bit more manipulation. I think the heat from polishing distorted them a little bit. A little more on the English Wheel, more sanding and polishing was needed. Once I thought it was as good as I could get, I added some 3M HVB double sided tape to the back side. I made sure the tape went right to the edge so that debris from the road would not be able to enter the small gap between the paint and the spat.

Spat08.jpg

Finally, I mounted the spat with a few (lots) of clamping. I protected the polished side with plenty of blue tape so not to mar up the polish and that worked pretty good. I used a heat gun to warm up the paint and spat a bit as I believe the bond would be better with a little heat added. I kept the clamps on for about 24 hours as advised. I was prepared to add a rivet or two if needed near the bottom; however, the tape seems to be holding really well thus far.

Spat09.JPG

Overall, I'm very happy with the results. It's been raining a lot here in Nor Cal recently, so I haven't seen this in the sun just yet, but here is a picture in my garage of the finished product.

Spat11.jpg

[Windsor]

Nicely done.

[toadster]

looks awesome Ted!

[cv2065]

Looks great Ted!